dropped frames – Bryant Paul Johnson

Dropped Frames #007: The Gatekeepers

Click upon the image to see the much bigger version.

Dropped Frames #6: Falling Empires

Dropped Frames #6: Falling Empires–a brief history of war games, The Empire of the Petal Throne and the bifurcation of the games audience.

Dropped Frames #5: Violence

This comic was written during the frenzy surrounding the Amy Bishop shooting at the University of Alabama. The intrepid reporters at the Boston Herald dug up the valuable and pertinent insight that Ms. Bishop played Dungeons and Dragons in college. This comic was my attempt to better understand the relationship between media (particularly interactive media)Continue reading “Dropped Frames #5: Violence”

Dropped Frames #4: The Game of Life

Years ago, two designers at the game development company I worked for were talking about “cellular automata.” I didn’t really pay too much attention to the conversation (beyond remembering the name). Much later, I was reading the book “Hackers,” by Steven Levy and came across a chapter almost completely devoted to the concept. It’s aContinue reading “Dropped Frames #4: The Game of Life”

Dropped Frames #3: Battlezone

This game had two iterations: one in which the player peered through a tank periscope teeming with MRSI, and one that didn’t require such faith in the cleanliness of others. It was an early example in a three-dee environment built mathematically.

Dropped Frames #2: Zork

A never before seen short history of the video game Zork. Zork was one of the very first video games I remember playing outside an arcade. Infocom (having long since been subsumed and scuttled by other companies) retains a special place in my heart for their clever, difficult and adventurous games!

Dropped Frames #1:Adventure

Last month I created a series of comics for The Escapist‘s webcomic contest. I didn’t win. I intend to periodically create these, as they’re of a personal interest.