Michael Iantorno PhD Candidate, Game Designer, and Writer

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Nordicom Review – All in a Day’s Work: Working-Class Heroes as Videogame Protagonists

A journal article that I co-wrote with Courtney Blamey, Lyne Dwyer, and Mia Consalvo was recently published in the Nordicom Review! It is titled All in a Day’s Work: Working-Class Heroes as Videogame Protagonists, and analyses depictions of various working-class occupations in videogames (full abstract below). “Class depictions in videogames are prevalent, yet understudied. In this article...

Ultimate Fantasy Party: Radiostorm’s Entry

Following in my brother’s footsteps, I bring to you my Ultimate Fantasy Party. Some of these choices may seem strange or obtuse, and I’ll be the first to admit that my proposed roster is largely coloured by my fondness for these specific characters. Regardless, I feel that together this group forms a skilled and versatile team that is ready and willing to kick some serious ass. Fighter: Samurai...

The Alchemist, Practical Magician

The Alchemist, Practical Magician One of the more divergent aspects of the dMetric campaign setting is our complete kibosh on traditional arcane magic. There is no wizard class that uses a spellbook, components, wands or scrolls to cast spells. While the sorcerer is certainly capable of lobbing fireballs and lightning bolts, his powers are tapped from his aberrant heritage rather than studious...

The Oracle, Mysterious Gatekeeper

The Oracle, Mysterious Gatekeeper The oracle was the last class we conceived for dMetric. The timing is ironic considering the class fills the role of primary healer – widely considered to be the most integral role in any party-based game. The cause of the delay was a disagreement between my me and my brother. I debated that dedicated healers were inherently boring to play. My experiences in...

The Sorcerer, Master of Elements

After some dawdling and retooling, we’re finally ready to start posting profiles for each class that will appear in dMetric. Over the coming months, I’ll be posting a new class profile every week. Each update will follow the same basic formula: a personal introduction, a general overview of the class, a short blurb about how the class fits into the campaign setting, and a list of core abilities...

Stay Classy, Part II

Last week I went on a long diatribe explaining our decision to include classes in dMetric. However, I didn’t get around to listing the classes themselves. Heinous! So here they are, the meat and potatoes of dMetric’s character advancement system. For every three adventures a character completes, they may advance a single level in a class of their choice. Classes can be mixed and matched in any...

Michael Iantorno PhD Candidate, Game Designer, and Writer