This is a blog about games. I started it to chronicle my own development endeavors, as well as to try and encourage others to make games that interest them, and celebrate the work of my peers. It then immediately started to go downhill, and at this point I make horrible internet videos that will ultimately shame me when I run for office. It’s part masturbatory catharsis, part masturbatory analysis of the state of game design from high upon my Ivory Tower. So… I guess it’s all masturbatory, then.
If my insane rantings or horribly disfigured, snaggle toothed visage have harmed your psyche to the point where you wish to ask me to stop, you can contact me at cdfrankl (a with a circle around it) gmail.com.
Random links:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/campster
Blip: http://blip.tv/errant-signal
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/campster
I also occasional do podcasts and longform Let’s Plays with the crew over on Twenty Sided, so there’s that.
32 Comments
Jermaine J4RMZ Davis
Jan 1, 2012
Hey man I have been plucking your videos from the you tubes and placing them into a mixtape which Chronicles my decent into madness without your permission, The guilt will probably begin eating at me soon I hear so I figured I would drop a line and say hi and that I like your work and in no way meant to cast it in a negative light on it and, uh I don’t know yeah i guess that is it.
Dylan Goldblatt
Feb 2, 2012
When I watch your video essays, it is like I am having a conversation about gaming with one of my best friends. Please keep up the good work and provide readers like me with an option to subscribe/donate to you. By the way, are the author of “Less is more! Less interaction, more accessible”?
Johann F Weiss
Feb 2, 2012
You analyse games the way art critics analyse classic movies and it’s awesome. It gives me hope that video games may become a real form of artistic expression. Kudos to you good sir, Kudos
Rat Bastard
Feb 2, 2012
You should seriously consider doing a review of the Uncharted series or the Mass Effect series. I promise not to get too mad if you dislike them. Keep being awesome.
ertertwert
Mar 3, 2012
Hey, just wanted to inform you that your videos are by far my favorite on youtube. Just got through watching a marathon of all of them. Very high quality and professional work, but most importantly, your views and ideas are clearly and intelligently presented. Keep up the great work.
YuriAndrogynopov
May 5, 2012
Hey campster just want to let you know that your videos have helped me look at games in a way that flat out would never have occured to me before and i encourage you to keep up the great work :3
Aiat
May 5, 2012
Hey!
I just saw your video about sonic and speed from a link in the description of WTF video on the new sonic by totalbiscuit and dude, you so rock!
I particularity loved your video about violence in games, nice to see a fresh look on such a tired subject. Keep up the good work.
Oleyo
May 5, 2012
Been watching your videos since Shamus Young pointed me over here. I just wanted to say that I enjoy your work quite a bit. Even if I don’t always agree, I always find your material thought provoking.
BTW, I also think that you have been a great addition to the Spoiler Warning team. They really have a nice cross section of thoughtful/humorous people over there now.
So…keep it up!
Daniel Bloor
Nov 11, 2012
Hi Chris,
I love your videos and I’ve always enjoyed looking at games in as much detail and analysis as possible, I’m really glad I found your work. I was wondering if you had any advice or techniques you use that help you with thinking about games to such depth, because I’ve started to write reviews for a site and when I watch your videos I realise there are things that I end up overlooking, even though I thought I tried my best.
For example, Do you have questions that you ask yourself everytime to help you notice more details? Diagrams/mind maps?
Thank you for any advice you could give and good luck in the future.
Eric Jensen (Yeti434)
Nov 11, 2012
Hey Chris, really enjoy Errant Signal, and it was a pleasant surprise to see you join Spoiler Warning as well.
I wanted to get your opinion on a video game I really enjoy to play–The Legend of Zelda…..Majora’s Mask. I’m not sure if you ever played it, it was something of a cult game for the series. Anyways, did you think the game worked, failed, or something else? Anyways, I understand that I, a complete stranger on the internet, is asking a favor of someone (else) with a job, life, ect…so I respect your decision not to respond. Also, I’m not asking for some video or super long explanation of what you thought (although I will accept that! ha!), but just a fast email.
Anyways, yeti434@gmail.com if you have the time and desire to reply.
Oh, and if you never played it, I sincerely recommend you do.
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May 5, 2013
I do not leave a ton of comments, but i did a few searching
and wound up here About Errant Signal. And I actually do have 2 questions for you if you
tend not to mind. Could it be only me or does it look as if like some of
the responses look like left by brain dead individuals?
:-P And, if you are writing on other online sites, I would
like to keep up with anything new you have to post.
Could you list of every one of your communal pages like your linkedin profile, Facebook page or
twitter feed?
Christopher Franklin
May 5, 2013
Hey! I went ahead and added my Twitter/Blip/YouTube links, as well as a quick mention of the goofing I do over at Twenty Sided. I have a Facebook page, but I didn't post it because I rarely do anything - I haven't even announced the Bioshock episode there yet.
kids
Jun 6, 2013
There’s certainly a great deal to find out about this subject. I really like all of the points you’ve made.
Caspar
Jun 6, 2013
Hey Chris,
I would love to hear your thoughts on canabalt. You have such a sharp view on game mechanics…
Caspar
Wes Hallam
Jul 7, 2013
Hey Chris,
I’m starting some preliminary research for a dissertation come publication through my university in the UK. I would be delighted if you might be able to answer a few questions I have, given your expertise, on some of the ethics than run through modern games. Even some guidance as to literature would be helpful, as I am sure you have better knowledge of it than most academics.
Please email me if you are interested, of course full credit and referencing will be done, so I’m not stealing your work.
Many thanks,
Wes Hallam
Nicholas
Jul 7, 2013
I blog quite often and I seriously thank you for your information.
This great article has truly peaked my interest.
I am going to book mark your site and keep checking for new details about once a week.
I opted in for your RSS feed too.
David
Sep 9, 2013
I came to say I really appreciate your content and it has shaped my worldview on games. Your Bioshock infinite review helped convey what I was feeling to my friend when I couldn’t really explain it myself. I enjoy all the video’s you’ve put up on Blip and I just want to say again, I really appreciate what you do.
Worth Reading: 09/20/2013 «
Sep 9, 2013
[...] Chris Franklin gives some really thoughtful consideration given to the term “ludonarrative dissonance.” [...]
F.Z
Oct 10, 2013
Hi,
I am currently going through your videos and I enjoy them immensely. Your endeavor in making games better than they presently are resonates with my own in lot of ways. Keep up the good work.
Also, might I respectfully suggest making a couple retro vids? I think it would be quite interesting to see what you have to say about some of the good ole classics :) Anyway, good luck.
Dorkhammer
Oct 10, 2013
I really enjoy your look on video games an they give a fresh perspective. You really delve in into the subject matter and dissect it. There is one subject matter which you haven’t gone through but then again it isn’t concerted with one singular game but the game industry as a whole. Body Image, why do especially women have this wholly unrealistically image of themselves portrayed in video games and even men, can’t you have a great narrative experience with someone who looks “normal”. Do games really sell on how good the game protagonist looks or other characters?
Claire S.
Nov 11, 2013
Hi,
I really enjoy your video on Little Inferno. I’m also analysing this game for my phd (I’m a phd student in game design). I would like to quote your work, but I didn’t find information about your work and your academic education.
Maybe you could send me an e-mail and we could talk about this information (again just to quote right your work and your video)?
Thanks a lot,
Arthur S.
Nov 11, 2013
Hi Chris,
A friend of mine introduced me to your videos this year, and since then I’ve watched almost all of them (except the ones for games that I still have to play like Sleeping Dogs and Bioshock Infinite) and have been following your channel. I love your insight into game design concepts and your discussions of recurring topics of the medium. It’s something fresh to watch and an approach that is needed and easier to find in other arts like cinema and painting.
Anyway, I don’t know how you decide to choose the topics, but I’d love to hear your thoughts about why game designers should treat gamers with a respect for their intelligence, and why gamers should care about this, and also the typical prejudices toward so-called “techinically brilliant but boring” games and AAA “explosions and guns” approach. I see it as a similar discussion to how “cult” or “indie” movies present the viewer with different takes on cinema’s language (i.e.: how a story is presented, how colors are used, how editing can difer from the classical hollywood way of editing movies…), but can be tagged as “pretentious” and “boring” while blockbuster movies are usually associated with “dumb fun”, which can overlook a lot of the artistic value of the work. Why should we worry about being confronted with new ideas and being taken out of our comfort zone and also, why should we take our heads out of our asses sometimes and just enjoy a game that’s aiming for what they see as fun. Obviously discussing if this dichotomy exists at all would be another great topic to tackle.
Also, while watching your video on Bastion, I thought of how videogames can present us with beautiful, unforgettable moments that are built with the world’s design choices. Would that encounter with Zia, the singer, be as memorable if it didn’t fit so well with the games choices for a world “being built from pieces” (like the song, the whole fact that the levels constantly build the pieces where you step on, and so on)?
Again, looking at cinema’s main “artistic strength”, the image, we’re sometimes presented by a movie with a single image that we never forget (i.e.: Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 scene with the ancestors using the bones). I think Bastion does that by integrating that moment with the whole videogame’s language and main strength, interactivity. I’d love to see you do a video about it, if it interests you, obviously.
Overall, I’d like to thank you for putting time and effort into these videos, they’re great for inciting discussions and helping to challenge and improve our views on these things that we all love: the games.
Thanks a lot, and I look forward to more videos.
Old Sport
Jan 1, 2014
I’d just like to say, your work is awesome; I’m learning a lot about games and the ideas behind them, and it’s all presented in a fun, engaging way. I’d very much like to see you review Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance; the game’s insane, completely over-the-top tone should make for a nice contrast with your usual, cerebral, analytic approach.
t
Mar 3, 2014
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Charles Phipps
Mar 3, 2014
Hey, I love your videos man.
Could you do some on the inFamous series?
I’d love to hear your take on them.
Matt
Apr 4, 2014
Hey Chris – I’ve come across your videos every now and then over the last couple of years, but I’ve only now started looking at your material in earnest. Fantastic stuff: smart, engaged, well presented.
I was wondering: you mentioned at the end of your GTA IV video that you might do something on women and transgender people at some point. Have you done so, have you dropped the topic, or is it still in the pipeline? Also, I’d love to hear your thoughts on GTA V and Red Dead Redemption; there are snippets in some of your videos, but I haven’t found anything dedicated to them.
Finally, have you done any writing on games in an academic context? If so, could you point me in the right direction?
Thanks a lot & looking forward to more of your videos and posts!
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Jessica Mishler
Jun 6, 2014
Although you didn’t end up doing a video on Burial at Sea episode 2, I was wondering if you agreed with this article from Stephanie Jennings. It talks about sexism and racism in Burial at Sea episode 2: http://ludogabble.wordpress.com/2014/04/03/what-happens-when-bioshock-infinite-responds-to-criticism-commentary-on-burial-at-sea-episode-2/
Ted
Jun 6, 2014
Just wanted to say how much I appreciate your videos. Playing through games and comparing my analysis with others is what gives me a deeper level of enjoyment with this medium. :D
pixie
Jun 6, 2014
I want to collaborate with you. I write things like your video essays, but they are just essays. You have fans, equipment, experience and are a man, all of which are assets in this community which I lack. If I send you essays, and you read, edit them/collaborate with me on the content of them, I could take some of the writing burden off of you shoulders. I don’t even really want credit, I just desperately want to be part of the discussion. I have two essays prepared and am working on a series on how to incorporate ethical decisions more smoothly into gameplay. As you are pretty much the inspiration for my desire to write, discuss and care about video games as an art, it would be an honor and a pleasure to work with you.
I have tried to message you on youtube and I understand that you probably get a lot of mail so I am trying to contact you here. If you are not interested, I would appreciate an email telling me. If I get no response, I assume you don’t know I’m trying to contact you. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to sending you essays :D
Pixie
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