Prior to 4, any critique of consumerism was background noise, humming away but never bringing itself to the fore. Fallout 4 brings it front and centre. ‘In the twenty-first century,’ the prelude explains, ‘people awoke from the American dream. Years of consumption led to shortages of every major resource. The entire world unravelled.’

It’s been a time defined by vitriolic and misogynistic attacks on women who dare to make or critique videogames and birther-movement-level conspiracy theories about the corruption supposedly at the core of videogames journalism.

Whether it’s Tomb Raider or Game of Thrones, male geek culture has a lot of trouble incorporating feminist and queer narratives. Women in games are often magical helpers for men or pieces of sexualised meat – and they are always hot. Very often in male geek narratives, the woman becomes the McGuffin.

Heading to the @wheelercentre for @Mean_land Reading in a Time of Technology. Should be interesting.less than a minute ago via TweetieSuzanneSteinbrucknerOfficialSuze Apologies to anyone unable to attend last night’s second official Meanland event at The Wheeler Centre, because it was a fantastic adventure. Not only was it riveting and engaging, it was positively electrifying; every […]