Kenneth on Games: Rakan and Xayah in “League of Legends”

Rakan and Xayah have brought a new level of synergy to the League: their abilities explicitly reference each other by name for an additional effect. This has never happened to the same degree, and it raises a lot of questions about balance. But before those, we have to address some definitions: what exactly is synergy? How can we categorize it? What makes Rakan/Xayah’s synergy different from any other pair, and how can this distinction help us understand League’s design?

Kenneth on Games: The Logic Virus in “Nier: Automata”

Many triple-A JRPGs rely heavily on suspension of disbelief to carry their narratives. Titles like Nier: Automata overload the player with so much immediate emotion that they’re not given any time to think about the massive inconsistencies. These plot holes are explained if the player spends a long time searching for collectibles like notebooks or diaries that explain what is happening, but this process tells a story through text rather than showing it through play. What if this didn’t have to be the case?

WARNING: Massive spoilers for Nier: Automata.