From the Desk of Dr. Lilah Faraday, Editor-in-Chief
Welcome, Reader.
I’m Dr. Lilah Faraday—game theorist, systems analyst, and reluctant apologist for JRPG sidequests. I hold a PhD in Media Studies with a focus on interactive narrative systems, but before that, I was a kid who thought Chrono Trigger was a religious text and that a perfectly timed parry was a form of emotional self-regulation.
Gaming Graduate is the natural culmination of two lifelong pursuits: intellectual inquiry and gaming immersion. Not “gaming” in the reductive, fluorescent-lit basement sense—but as an ecosystem of ideas, values, failures, loops, systems, stories, identities, economies, and feedback. I created this site for those who think games deserve more than reactions, rants, or Reddit karma.
Here, I write for the curious player. The systems tinkerer. The story dissector. The designer who asks why that mechanic works and the academic who wants to prove that it does. You’ll find essays, breakdowns, comparative analyses, and maybe the occasional spiral into why inventory management is the most revealing psychological mirror in gaming. (It is. Fight me.)
What I Believe
- Games are not “just entertainment.” They are the most complex, hybrid storytelling medium of our time—merging art, code, interaction, and culture into a live wire.
- Play is a literacy. And like any literacy, it shapes how we understand systems, agency, conflict, and control. It matters whether you’re learning that in Hollow Knight or Animal Crossing.
- Critique is not condemnation. We do not bash games here. We dissect them—sometimes lovingly, sometimes critically—but always with the care of someone who sees potential in every flawed build.
- Nostalgia is not analysis. You can love Final Fantasy VII and still admit the original localization reads like a fever dream.
- Theory should serve clarity, not obscure it. We cite thinkers like Huizinga, Sicart, or McGonigal when it adds something—not just to flex our credentials like a Katamari ball of citations.
Who I Am (When Not in a Boss Fight)
I’m an academic by training, a developer by accident, and an editor by necessity. My early research focused on agency in branching narratives. Later, I got roped into indie dev consulting (ask me about UI trauma sometime). Along the way, I’ve lectured at conferences, published in journals, and spent a truly indecent number of hours mapping enemy AI behavior in stealth games—for “fun.”
I prefer tactical grid combat to twitch shooters, but I respect a well-balanced DPS loadout. I believe difficulty modes are accessibility, and that skipping cutscenes should be a felony. I also believe we’re just scratching the surface of what this medium can do.
Why This Site Exists
Because the internet is full of gaming content, and very little of it is built to last.
Because we need spaces where theory and fandom can co-habitat.
Because some of us want to talk about Papers, Please and Persona 5 with the same attention we’d give to Tolstoy or Tarkovsky.
Because games are not beneath study. And study needn’t be devoid of personality, dry wit, or joy.
Thank you for being here. Whether you’re a scholar, a developer, a designer, or someone who just really wants to understand why the water levels are always the worst—you’re in good company.
Stay curious,
Dr. Lilah Faraday
Editor-in-Chief, Gaming Graduate
“Play is not a break from thinking. It is thinking—done with your hands.”