Articles written by Pete Davison

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About me - Pete Davison

Hello, and thanks for dropping by.

To paraphrase Terry Pratchett, I was born in 1981 and am still not dead, and as long as I remain not dead I intend to continue writing.

I write because I can and not for any other reason. To be able to communicate your feelings

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Hobbies & Games > Video Game Culture & Community The strongest female video game characters: 1 of 10

Following this first paragraph, this article will not be mentioning Lara Croft because although she is indeed a strong female video game character, there is a rich cast of leading ladies waiting in the sidelines for a mention while Ms Croft constantly hogs all the limelight. So Lara? Get outta here. Thank you. Now that forma...
Hobbies & Games > Video Game Culture & Community Video games marketed at young children: Too much, too soon?: 1 of 8

As most followers of the video game industry will happily tell you regularly, video games have come a very long way since their humble beginnings on a black and white screen making "bleep-bloop" noises. One might even say that they have made greater progress than films have in a shorter space of time, which means that, as a ...
Hobbies & Games > Video Game Trends & Genres Are video games getting better or worse as graphics, sound and gameplay complexity improve?: 4 of 24

This is a question that, at first glance, appears to have an obvious answer. "Yes, of course they are. Are you crazy?" The "are you crazy?" is optional, depending on how well you know the person, of course. Let's take a closer look at this issue, however, as there are more factors at work than some people take note of. First...
Hobbies & Games > Video Game Reviews Hidden gems in video game history: 2 of 9

Triple-A blockbusters flood the game store shelves. Games like Halo, Gears of War and Grand Theft Auto dominate the headlines - and not without good reason, as to many people they represent the current pinnacle of interactive entertainment. However, it's easy to forget certain games - games that you promise you'll always get...
Hobbies & Games > Video Game Reviews Downloadable game review: BrainPipe: 4 of 16

BrainPipe represents the kind of experience you only ever get from independent games - creative, artistic and, above all, weird. Developer Shrapnel Games freely admit that they are no strangers to "weird" but BrainPipe crosses that boundary into full-on insanity. This is entirely intentional, of course. The marketing page fo...
Hobbies & Games > Video Game Culture & Community Cliches in video game culture: 1 of 4

As with any form of media, cliches are rife in the world of video game culture, in the sense that sometimes game designers run out of ideas and dip into their Big Fun Barrel of Things We've Seen Before for inspiration. There's a time and a place for the use of said barrel, of course, but it pays to occasionally be aware of j...
Hobbies & Games > Board Games Do board games give educational value as well as family entertainment: 4 of 15

Playing a board game offers everyone the chance to learn something - and not just children, either. Board games nowadays are so diverse that there is likely something out there for everyone to enjoy, whatever their experience level, age or interest in the subject matter. In this article, I am going to discuss some of my favo...
Hobbies & Games > Video Game Reviews Downloadable game review: Eternal Eden, by Blossomsoft: 4 of 15

Japanese RPGs are ten-a-penny on the consoles. In recent years, developers have had to start trying new things to keep the genre a little more fresh - people have long since moved beyond the simplicity of the early Final Fantasy games and we now have titles such as Persona 3 marrying traditional RPG action with "dating-sim" ...
Hobbies & Games > Board Games Game reviews: Settlers of Catan: 2 of 7

Board game time with the family was, when I was a child, something of a treat. It was an opportunity for the whole family to get together and spend some quality time at each other's throats in the spirit of friendly competition. The rattle and roll of the dice on the table, the satisfying plastic "click" of moving one of Sor...
Creative Writing > Reflections Reflections: Best friends: 8 of 27

The coming and going of friendships is one of the strangest things about human interactions. One moment a person can be your best friend, the next, they can have left your life, never to be heard from again. One has to question that if this happens, is the person truly your best friend? There's not an easy answer to that. Th...