This article, written by Laura Hudson, focuses on the different opinions people have of Twine, a game developing system. It provides reasons for the development of the types of games on Twine and names various developers of those games. The context of the article is geared towards older and more educated people, since it was published in the New York Times. Not many young individuals read the New York Times, and if they do, they are most likely educated.
Twine just recently became more known and began reaching more players. That’s why this article was recently written. As Twine is gaining popularity, it is also gaining more controversy. The article is trying to reach people of educated opinions and explain what exactly Twine was created for and how it benefits different groups of people. It does this through the views and stories of various developers on Twine, such as Porpentine.
Laura Hudson wants people to understand the benefits of Twine compared to the negative thoughts some people have against it. This article will reach people who don’t have much opinions on Twine to understand what it is before they compile negative opinions from others once Twine gains even more popularity.
I agree with everything that Hudson explains and portrays in the article. Previous to reading the article, I had thoughts that Twine wasn’t really a game. When I think of games I usually think of something that is fun and exciting. However, she portrayed Twine as the type of gaming world that allows the masses to participate in. Most game developers are men, which is why video games are usually the same thing. However, most Twine game developers are women, and most Twine games give different perspectives to what games are about.
I’ve played a couple of Twine games, and I experienced what Hudson portrays as the feelings one gets when playing some of these games. Depression Quest is the game that really got to me. Hudson explains that it makes the player feel empathy and really understand what a person that has depression goes through. I felt pretty bad after the game ended and did feel empathy for anyone that goes through that on a daily basis. One question that I do have is whether mostly women play games on Twine, or if it’s an equal distribution between men and women.
I appreciate the thoroughness of your summary! An interesting additional point is that Twine seems to have been especially important as a platform for transgender creators, people who have transitioned between genders or whose gender identity is neither male nor female. Your last question is one that we’d have a hard time answering without doing some research to find out, but anecdotally it does seem that the audience for Twine games is more women (just as the audience for mainstream games is more men).