This is the first post, the first of many. As I’ve gotten older, I’m deeply unsatisfied with just playing video games. I need to engage with them on an intellectual level to make it “worth my while” to play them; unless it’s a good puzzle game or Dragon Quest of course! In Aguas’ Points, I challenge my nostalgia and throw the gauntlet at my biases. “Positive criticism” is the default mode here. This is a travel log of adventures in the digital world; the destination is of secondary importance. What really matters is when I catch a glimpse of my reflection on the screen when playing and then I remember that years ago I enjoyed this game as a kid. The thoughts ushered by this Borgesian absurdity of a grown person playing games alone in front of a screen while life moves on is a stream that will be followed to its source.
Aguas’ Points is a place where I will publish pieces without having to go through the process of dealing with a third party. Aguas is Spanish for waters; here these are the different streams of thoughts that diverge or converge when discussing game studies. The writings found here are relaxed, ruminations on the topic of video games and other things that I’ve found an urge to write about. These include book reviews related to video games and their study, video games, and general opinions, etc. In short, this is a blog. I’ll try to keep typos to a minimum.
Periodically, I will post updates on the release schedule of different projects, both pieces that will only be published for Aguas’ Points and other works meant for other publications. I hope to update the site once a week, but no promises – life moves in mysterious ways.
Future Pieces:
- Series on essential books in game studies
- Review(s) of issues one and two of A Profound Waste of Time
- Review of Japanese Role-Playing Games: Genre, Representation, and Liminality in the Jrpg; Rachael Hutchinson (Editor) Jérémie Pelletier-Gagnon (Editor), 2022
- Review of Bitbooks’ A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games
- “Untitled Dragon Quest Project”
- Video game reviews
- “No Ideas but in Things: Video Games Addressing Human Things Directly Without Us”
- My personal history with the GameCube
- And more…
Aguas' Points 