XP
Joey Damiano
I think about the game I paused
my avatar guided by a map waypoint for
a side quest
I’m supposed to kill a local warlord
to stop his reign of terror
my reward, increased experience points
a new gun
I think about the game I paused
my avatar guided by a map waypoint for
a side quest
I’m supposed to kill a local warlord
to stop his reign of terror
my reward, increased experience points
a new gun
The strokes quickened—Frantic now.
Details skimmed. Splotches of red.
The dicing was raw. Tap tap tap—
That’s how the skin was pierced.
That’s why the strokes
refused to dry.
we drop into one of the void spaces / so common in these games / only to land in the bottomless dark / in a place / both within and outside the game / where true life / twinkles out of reach / resembling merry moons / orbiting an absent planet / and the only way out is dying
I used to crouch, run electricity through my body too,
so, no one could reach the purple parts
of my visibly green skin. Ask anyone who tried
to love me before I turned twenty-five.
i say
i am waiting
for my uncles to finish paintballing
in the adventure park out back
they are just over there
my many uncles
their many guns
We think video games are literature, and so why shouldn't there be literature about video games? That's the question we're hoping to answer here. Read more.