Reading List March 2021 (Patreon)

The reading list is back again! March has marked the one year, uh, anniversary? Milestone? Of covid being an awful hellscape. You probably don't need much reminding about that, but darn if it hasn't created some interesting writing on games!

Second Opinions

Whenever I finish a review, I usually end up watching a few other reviews or other related content afterwards. Here’s some of the best stuff other people have had to say about the games I’ve been talking about lately!

A Decade-Long Affair: The Making of Maquette by Ari Notis: Notis interviewed the devs behind Maquette. Highlights include the many ways the game was inspired by its “setting” of San Francisco, many of which are almost invisible to non-natives but instill the game with more meaning.

Adios: Farewell, Goodbye, Good Luck, So Long by Stu Horvath and David Shimomura: Horvath and Shimomura interviewed Adios’s primary creator, Doc Burford, prior to the game’s release, discussing the game’s unusual tone, Burford’s journey as a creator, and how fiction is/should be constructed.

A Short Video About a Short Hike by Pixel a Day: Pixel a Day had a lovely little video talking about A Short Hike, what made the game tick, and how its narrative matched their own headspace going in before becoming the same mental balm for them that it was for its protagonist.

With a Little Help From my Friends

Both of the videos here are a little special for me because 1) they are by some of my closest professional friends, and 2) both of them have pretty sporadic release schedules that only let them put out a few videos a year. And somehow, the stars aligned and we got videos from both of them this month. So yes, full disclosure that I’m using this as a naked excuse to bring attention to friends’ work, but man do they deserve it!

What Goes Wrong When Anime Goes Hollywood by Select Screen: Select Screen took a long look at the many ways that the Hollywood Ghost in the Shell movie attempted and failed to translate its source material into its own . He watched the live action GitS like six times for this, and that level of dedication and suffering alone deserves your click!

On Indie, Oxenfree | Story Without Killing by Micah Edmonds: Edmonds has started a new series specifically trying to explore games that tell their stories without resorting to violence, and his first foray into Oxenfree became a meditation on genre and the pros and cons of indies targeting a specific niche.

One Year Later

Gaming in the Quarantine Years by Errant Signal: Errant Signal gave voice to a lot of people’s experiences during these quarantine days, describing time spent on comfortable treadmills that give the feeling of doing something without requiring the commitment to actually doing something.

‘Pushed to the Limit’: Could 2021 be the Worst Year Ever for Video Games? By Keza macDonald and Keith Stuart: MacDonald and Stuart interviewed several game companies on the state of the industry, which is looking very different a year into covid, and predict that 2021 won’t be the same blessing for the industry that 2020 was.

The Game That Made Me a Gamer by Laura Crone: Crone talked about her experiences getting into games over the quarantine through accessible visual novels, focusing primarily on Arcade Spirits, the one that finally sold her on games as a medium.

Everything Else

Inside PokemonMaxRaids, the Kindest Community on the Internet by Chris Tapsell: Pokemon’s support for its multiplayer gameplay is, frankly, abysmal, so of course what’s a fan community to do but come together and provide that support themselves? Tapsell went in-depth on how players have come together and coordinated through a reddit board to turn an obtuse and highly frustrating set of mechanics into a palatable, community-centric experience.

$42 Million, Fake Checks, and Broken Promises: How One Teenager Nearly Forged His Way Into Esports by Jacob Wolf and Kevin Hitt: Wolf and Hitt walk through one of the most Catch Me if You Can-esque capers I’ve ever seen in the medium: the outrageous story of how a few teenagers nearly managed to scam their way into the esports business and make millions.

Why the Original Resident Evil is Still Scary 25 Years Later by Matthew Weise: Weise dove deep into the original Resident Evil, discussing how it imitated the work of John Romero and what it did right that later titles eventually forgot, then remembered all over again.

Asian American Game Developers Are Dreaming of Their Own Minari Moment by Matt T.M. Kim: Kim interviewed a number of Asian American developers about their experiences working in the medium, how they relate to their cultures both here in America and in the countries of their heritage, and representation in games. It’s a solid read!

Why Every Gamer Needs to Play D&D by Quest Marker: Quest Marker covered how tabletop games outstrip many RPGs in opportunities for player expression and how if you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out.

Why Do Tired Guests Down Slower than Energized Guests in RCT2? By Marcel Vos: In what makes for an entertaining anecdote on game design, Vos explored the simple design reason behind why guests in RollerCoaster Tycoon paradoxically take longer to drown if they’re tired.

How the ‘Loop Hero’ Devs Pitched a Hit Game That’s Impossible to Describe by Patrick Klepek: Klepek followed the unlikely journey of recent indie hit Loop Hero, the game’s early struggles to explain its off-the-wall core loop, and how the game eventually overcame that hurdle.

The Hidden Game Within Microsoft Flight Simulator by Writing on Games: Writing on Games used Microsoft Flight Simulator’s camera mode and a lot of headcanon to make his own fun inside the game, delving into a deeply weird, borderline broken world that was not remotely designed to be played with that way, resulting in some truly fascinating shenanigans.

What Makes Metroid Zero Mission so Replayable? By PrimeHylian: PrimeHylian dives into Zero Mission to discuss how the game is more than just a remake of the original Metroid — it’s a greatest hits tour of every lesson the Metroid devs learned from all their previous work.

Wild Rift is League of Legends for Everyone by Cass Marshall: Marshall’s review of the new League of Legends mobile version paints it as a game of interest for the time crunched player, featuring most of the meat of the game without the time commitment or toxic community. It’s actually quite the enticing sell!

Media Molecule Talks Curation and the Future of Dreams by Jack Yarwood: Dreams is a fascinating and incredible tool for creating games, but it’s also been the recipient of criticism about how difficult it is to actually connect players with any of the incredible work being done on their platform. Yarwood interviewed the devs behind the title about how they’re turning that around.

How the Grand Dame of Shooting Games is Making Its Return by Martin Robinson: Robinson interviewed Kazuma Kujo, the lead designer behind R-Type Final on the bullet hell series’ imminent comeback.