Janine "Iris" Hawkins is Among the Internet's Best Game Culture Writers in My Totally Biased Opinion -- But My 10 Favorite 2013 Posts By Her May Convince You of That Too

Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins has been writing about virtual world/gaming culture for New World Notes for nearly 7 years, and in my utterly biased opinion, has evolved to become one of the best online writers on that subject anywhere. Insightful, expressive, sardonic, sweet, scrupulously fair, with incredibly broad and eclectic tastes in games, she's passionate about gaming as an important art form and cultural force -- and just as passionate about making games better for everyone. I learn something new about games and virtual worlds from her posts nearly every week, which makes me eager to read them as both an editor and a reader. Here's my personal selection of her best posts of 2013. This weekend, as we come to year's end, I hope you give them a look, and help me sing her praises.

• 5 Games Women's Magazines Should Feature (When They Want to Get With the Times)
• So You've Bought Stolen Virtual Content in Second Life: Here's What You Should Do Next
• Play a Small and Strange Virtual World About "Silence, Love, and a Beach (in Space)": Welcome to Bientôt l'été
• This Weekend Steep Yourself in the Somber and Haunting World of Indie Adventure Game Kentucky Route Zero
• Bioshock Infinite's Damsel Dilemma: Hey Girl, If You're So Omnipotent Why Can't You Find Your Own Damn Airship?
• Dear Internet: If You Must, Harass me for What I'm Doing -- Not for What I Am
• Why Linden Lab's Acquisition of Desura Might Be The Smartest Thing It's Ever Done -- Think Indie Gaming
• This Skeezy Skyrim Mod Makes Me Question The Ethics of Enslaving NPCs
• If You Don't Stop Online Harassment, No One Else Will

Finally, no Top 10 compilation of Iris posts is complete without her epic (and epicly madcap) recreation of Downton Abbey in The Sims 3. Since it's unfolded in over a dozen posts, this recap is probably a good place to start.

It was difficult for me to winnow her posts down to just a top 10. So I post your favorite 2013 posts of hers in Comments below.

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Comments

[Argo]

Is there a reason I am receiving audio spam along with this blog? It is not at all welcome.

[Ordinal Malaprop]

She is really extremely good.

[Hamlet Au]

"Is there a reason I am receiving audio spam along with this blog?"

You shouldn't, I don't allow auto-play audio or video ads in my ad feeds. Hopefully one just accidentally slipped through and it doesn't happen again.

[2013]

nope, the Daily Show link about the NSA spying on SL is autoplaying. Has been since it was posted.

[Hamlet Au]

Holy crap, sorry, it hasn't been doing that for me. But I just put it below the break, so we should be fine now... right?

[Arcadia Codesmith]

Is all this glowing praise of Iris deserved?

Well... yeah. Duh.