vsaravan – The Mechanics of Magic

RWP Week 3: Bokaro Planet And What Is It Like to Be a Bat?

April 24, 2026

Playing BOKURA: Planet began as a cooperation-based puzzle solving game but quickly evolved into something more nuanced and even unsettling. I went in expecting…

RWP Week 2: Slay the Princess and How Evil Should a Video Game Allow You to Be?

April 17, 2026

Playing Slay the Princess marks my very first experience playing a psychological thriller visual game involving a choice-driven narrative where the lines of reality,…

RWP Week 1: The Beginner’s Guide and Death of the Author

April 10, 2026

In the reading “The Death of the Author,” Roland Barthes argues that we have been approaching writing incorrectly, often treating it as a window…

Coziness and Juiciness in Games: An Intersectional Comparison of World of Goo and Slime Rancher – RWP Spring 2025 Final Paper, Varsha Saravanan

June 13, 2025

Coziness and Juiciness in Games: An Intersectional Comparison of World of Goo and Slime Rancher As a non competitive game enthusiast, playing games goes…

Read, Write, Play: Starcraft 2 – Varsha

June 12, 2025

Playing StarCraft as my first real-time strategy game was an intense and overwhelming experience. I went in knowing it might be challenging, but I…

P2: Whisk(ers) – Team 23

June 7, 2025

Whisk(ers) Build* | GitHub | Demo Video CS 247G: Design for Play, Spring 2025 Team Members: Kristine Ma, Varsha Saravanan, Sarah Teaw Whisk(ers): Help…

Final Reflection – Varsha Saravanan

June 7, 2025

I have never considered myself to be a game person. I was never good at video games, and as someone who likes winning, the…

Slime Ranchers – RWP

June 1, 2025

Slime Rancher might be one of my favorite current games! When I first started playing it for RWP, I wasn’t expecting to grow so…

The Escapists – RWP

May 31, 2025

When I started playing ‘The Escapists’, I didn’t expect it to make me reflect on morality. My first thoughts on this pixelated prison escape…

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist – Varsha

May 30, 2025

Game Name: one night, hot springs Creator: npckc, a Japanese video game developer Platform: Available on Microsoft Windows, Linux, Android, and Mac; can be…

Frog Fractions – RWP

May 30, 2025

Reading the phrase “intertextual knowledge to subvert the player’s expectations” didn’t really mean much to me, until I played Frog Fractions. Not only does…

Cookie Clicker – RWP

May 29, 2025

Cookie Clicker, my first time playing an Idle game, ended up being a pleasantly delightful experience. To be completely honest, for the first few…

Sketchnote – Plants vs. Zombies – Varsha

May 28, 2025

Critical Play – Games of Chance and Addiction

May 23, 2025

Game Name: Blackjack Creator/Origin: Originated in 18th-century French casinos; now a staple in both physical and digital gambling spaces around the world. Platform: Available…

Sketchnotes – Addiction by Design

May 21, 2025

Critical Play: Worldbuilding – Varsha

May 16, 2025

Game Name: Wizard 101 Game’s Creator: Kingsisle Entertainment Platform: Compatible with PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S. (Playtested using free…

Sketchnote: Loops and Arcs

May 15, 2025

Critical Play: Puzzles – Varsha Saravanan

May 9, 2025

Game Name: The Room Game’s Creator: Fireproof Games Platform: Compatible with Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Mobile App (iOS, Android) Target Audience: Individuals aged 13+…

Sketchnote: Puzzles in Games, Puzzles as Games – Varsha

May 7, 2025

Checkpoint 1: Concept Doc – Varsha, Sarah and Kristine

May 7, 2025

Synopsis + Story Our game, Whisk(ers) (name to be finalized), introduces the player as a cat, Mochi (as a default name) on Caturn, a…