We want to bring a critiquing body to video games, similar to how others have critiqued music, movies and art of all kinds. 

Most people just play a game similar to how they would listen to a song or stare at a fanfic of your favorite TV show and enjoy it for its face value. Likewise, you can just play a video game to your liking. Each twist and turn, punch and kick, or load and lock can thrill you just like a roller coaster. Each button press instilling anxiety, excitement or anger. And like a roller coaster, once the game is done, you can walk away with the simple acknowledgement of a thrilling experience.

But what if that roller coaster inspired you? What if the gut-losing defiance of gravity compelled you to understand how you felt that rush? How your life flashed before your eyes and translated to your mouth as one giant scream – how did a roller coaster do that? 

Some of us are compelled by the engineering of a good game, the metallurgy of armor and weapon design, the construction of character development to the point we want to study it in ways that some may call absurd.

But some of us remember the never ending grind up the leveling slope of World of Warcraft, ready for the charge at our first 40-man raid, with our hearts in our throats as we fought to keep our DPS up to par with the boss timer. Others remember the twisting and turning of Dota 2 tournaments, the high-speed loop-de-loop battles between the final two teams for the world championships, and the yells and screams that followed while we cheered for our favorite team. We also all recall sighs of relief at the end of the ride, like when we hit the final wave of enemies in Mass Effect 3, or when we finally beat Halo’s campaign in Legendary mode. 

Every new video game creates a new ride on the map and a new potential to be thrown and tossed about. We see the height, the twists and turns, the speed of the ride, but there is no experiencing a roller coaster until you get in that seat, grab the controller and press start. 

And although some may scoff at the absurdity of it all, others will continue to build, to construct. Skeptics might say that video games have no body, no soul to convince, to persuade, to envelop an entire being to positive influence and upbringing. And before, during, and after their conversion to the gaming age, we will continue to brew. 

Welcome to SevenCut.

Game, think, know.