2023 Interactive Writing Contest

2023 Interactive Writing Contest

The USM Game Studies Group is excited to announce its second annual interactive writing contest, “Texts & Twine.” Using Twine, Inform 7, or another digital tool for writing interactive texts, we invite students to write, design, and submit an interactive text in any genre they wish—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, scholarship, game, memoir, creative nonfiction, interactive narrative, etc. Selected submissions will be featured here on Quest Log and compete for a few small prizes. Judges will consist of the editorial board of Quest Log and select members of the USM Game Studies Group.

Find everything you need to participate (Twine tutorials, articles and resources, etc.) here. Click “Read more” to find out the submission details and contest rules!

Play in the Pandemic

Play in the Pandemic

For most of us, quarantining began in March 2019, when the effects of the pandemic reached a point where it was simply safer to remain at home and distance ourselves for everyone’s health. For many gamers, staying at home meant more time to play games——in theory. In reality, the nature of the pandemic shaped the ways we experience, play, and think about games differently than the days before our pandemic experiences.

We asked members of our Game Studies Group to reflect on what it meant to play during a pandemic. How has the pandemic changed our encounters with games? Do we find that games help us cope with world changes? Or has the pandemic negatively impacted the way we view games and gaming? Ultimately, was the pandemic helpful or harmful to gaming culture?

Fifteen of us responded, and the thoughts are telling. We invite you to scroll through our reflections and thoughts and draw your own conclusions.