Online Culture

The New Era of Digital Dress-Up: How Roblox’s “Dress to Impress” Captivates a Generation

By Ore Adeyoola August 12, 2024
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In recent years, many female gamers have found themselves nostalgic for childhood staples like GirlsGoGames and Disney’s Pixie Hollow—once thriving, now long gone. Nearly two decades after its launch, Roblox is keeping the spirit alive, turning outfit creation into a competitive, multiplayer experience.

The Rise of Inclusive, Low-Pressure Communities

By Jenny O'Connor August 11, 2024
In a world of hyper-competitive and often toxic gaming environments, women look for a sanctuary to simply enjoy their games without the noise of exclusion. In the increasingly noisy world of online gaming, where hyper-competitive environments and toxic behavior often dominate, the need for alternative spaces is more crucial than ever. These spaces aren’t necessarily…

What Makes or Breaks a Video Game to Screen Adaptation?

By Ore Adeyoola August 5, 2024
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Examining the Evolution and Future of Video Game Adaptations It’s the early nineties, and video games have just experienced a boom in popularity. As two extremely visual mediums, film adaptations of video games felt like a no-brainer. Turning an already extremely popular intellectual property into a blockbuster film should be a guaranteed success, like the…

Frutiger Aero: The Iconic 2000s Tech and Corporation Aesthetic, and its Sub-genres.  

By Team G.URL July 30, 2024
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Written by Nataly Ornelas It’s 2007. After a long day at school, you’ve come home to try out the new Windows OS. You sit down on your good-old ergonomic chair and scoot up to your wooden desk, booting up your bulky PC and monitor. After a minute of watching the agonisingly slow loading screen, you…

Sonny Angels: The Cherubic Collectibles You Didn’t Know You Needed

By Jenny O'Connor July 20, 2024
Sonny Angels don’t just give you wings – they also lighten your wallet! Alright, let’s dive into the world of Sonny Angels. Picture this: you’re wandering through a labyrinthine Japanese department store, and suddenly, you’re ambushed by a horde of tiny cherubic figures. Each one is donning an outrageous headgear – a strawberry, a panda,…

Gaming Purity and the Attitude Towards Cheats and Wikis

By Jenny O'Connor July 13, 2024
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The Holier-Than-Thou Attitude Towards Cheats and Wikis in Single-Player Games In the hallowed halls of single-player video games, there’s an unspoken hierarchy among players—a purity test, if you will. On one side, you have the self-proclaimed purists, those who wear their struggle and perseverance like badges of honor. On the other, there are the pragmatists,…

Is the IT Girl Just an Online Girl?

By Jenny O'Connor July 9, 2024
Reflecting on the broader implications of digital culture on today’s celebrities In the kaleidoscopic realm of contemporary culture, the concept of the “It Girl” morphs and mutates, perpetually reinventing itself to mirror societal shifts. Once defined by fleeting glimmers in the tabloid spotlight, today’s It Girl is enmeshed in the digital ether, her identity coalescing…

So Kawaii: Exploring the Pastel Pink Underbelly of the ‘Cute Boom’

By Team G.URL July 6, 2024
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Written by Amelia Masters The word ‘kawaii’ derives from the phrase ‘kao hayushi,’ which translates to ‘one’s face is aglow.’ When I think of the roots of kawaii and ‘cute culture,’ I think of Japan – well, more specifically – Tokyo. Kawaii flourished in post-World War II Japan, where a new generation of the middle…

Trans Identity in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

By Belle Law June 26, 2024
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Vivian steps out of the shadows and into the spotlight in the Paper Mario remake

Super Sapphic Ultra Modern Girl

By Team G.URL June 8, 2024
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Pop culture’s ongoing sapphic explosion Written by Ashley Schofield Happy Pride Month! It’s a damn good time for sapphic representation. To put it one way, lesbians are eating good right now. For the first time in a long time, art made for and by the sapphic community is comfortably back in the mainstream, not hidden…