Critical Distance
“Where is all the good writing about games?” is the question that sits directly below the logo for Critical Distance. Founded in 2009, this website has served as a hub which answers that provocative question by curating a selection of the most interesting and challenging writing about videogames published in online formats. Articles (and now videos) can range from punk blog entries to PhD dissertations to current news to lost histories. Critical Distance also produces Critical Compilations, which pull together the best critical writing and histories about specific video games. While these endeavors might seem unexceptional for more established art forms, Critical Distance was a major force in nurturing art-criticism, essays, experimental rumination, and academic research and giving it a place amidst the consumer media that makes up a vast portion of video games discourse. Especially potent is CD’s ongoing dedication to highlighting an inclusive group of writers that speak directly to and from socially poignant issues of gender, sexuality, race, economics, labor, and politics as they relate to video games. Their This Year-In Videogame Blogging roundups are especially useful if you’re interested in getting up-to-speed on the critical conversations happening around video games.
Link: https://critical-distance.com
Note: Eron is a Patreon supporter of Critical Distance, knows a number of people involved with the site, and has been featured in a number of their roundups and Year-In lists.