“What We Write About When We Write About Grief” in Endgame Sequences (2021)

“And then I realized: it’s 2020. 2020 is a year filled with a lot of grief. There’s the grief we feel at the loss of life from the global pandemic and police brutality, and the grief we feel when we can’t visit, support, or physically care for our loved ones. And while I’m no stranger to grief, the intensity and compounded nature of grief during a global pandemic hasn’t reframed how much we deal with grief on a daily basis, but has changed my own perspective on writing a game about death.”

“What We Write About When We Write About Grief” is a post-mortem about the writing of A Mortician’s Tale (Laundry Bear Games, 2017).

Endgame Sequences is a collection of essays and illustrations dedicated to exploring the many facets of death in the games we pour ourselves into. In what ways do these games portray loss? In what ways do they explore bereavement, ceremonies for the dead, and concepts of rebirth? And what do they give us in return?

As a finished zine, Endgame Sequences includes over ninety pages of writing and art, as well as six free mini-essays. Those who did not back the Kickstarter can buy a print (while supplies last) or digital copy on Gumroad.

Contributors: Ana Valens, Julie Muncy, Nadia Shammas, Vivian Chan, Ashley Oh, Kaitlin Tremblay, Oliver Hong, Yussef Cole, Jess Erion, Mary Kenney, Sharang Biswas, Alina Constantin, Kevin VQ Dam, Emely Pascual, Molly Mendoza