"We play games and talk about them the way people talk about books in book clubs."
At the LJ Games Club, members first agree on which game to play, and then they discuss it at monthly meetings. They focus on games that are critical of their own medium. Among the games they’ve chosen so far are non-commercial works by artists and small teams, critiques of imperialism and capitalism, interactive poetry, critiques of games themselves, and works that explore interactivity in unique ways.
They analyze games both in terms of their design and their anthropological significance. Occasionally, they also read — creators’ manifestos or, for instance, academic articles published in game studies journals. They play short games (under 2 hours), affordable games, and ones that don’t demand too much from players. They are not interested in commercial standards aimed at profit. They are interested in games as an artistic medium.
If you're interested in games and would like to discuss them, you can join their meetings every second Tuesday of the month from 18:00 to 20:00 on the ground floor of the Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (+MSUM)!
Blue Prince (2025)
Somewhere beyond the realm of hyper-popular action games, sports franchises, and anything released by Nintendo, lies an entire world of independent developers. Be it to set themselves apart from mainstream game types, or to simply sate their curiosity, these developers often design their games with unorthodox or less commonly used visual styles or gameplay methods. Some attempt to invent new approaches, while others try to set themselves apart by creating their own form and flavour of existing visual or gameplay elements.
Blue prince sits firmly in this latter category, as the list of tags which could be used to describe the game is long and wildly varied. Is it even possible to categorise a game such as this, to fit it into an existing genre, or is there a point when this kind of amalgamation of genres morphs into something new, and individual? How fares, after decades of development of games and gaming culture, an approach best described as 'Myst, but more normal'?
For the purpouses of the meet, it's enough to have played through a few in-game days, to get a feel for the basic mechanics and puzzles.
The game is available on Steam.
