Reading List (January 2018) (Patreon)

This year, I’m going to spread out the Patreon rewards a bit so you don’t get them all in one go at the end of the month. That means I’m going to try and get the reading list out in, roughly, the middle of the month. 

This time I’ve got stuff from this year and last year, some look backs at classic games, plenty of design stuff, and some great videos on film making. 

2017 in review

Mario + Rabbids inspired the creative director of XCOM to reevaluate the genre - “Don’t be surprised to see movement work completely differently” in the next XCOM.

Ken Levine on Zelda and the terrifying need to demolish the old to make way for the new - The Bioshock creator focuses on the bravery of Nintendo to radically change the Zelda formula, to arrive at the incredible Breath of the Wild. 

[Video | CC] Hellblade and Living with Psychosis - Sid’s video on Hellblade is disarmingly honest about how the game reflects his own struggles with psychosis.

Designer Interview: The aesthetics of frustration in Getting Over It - Bennett Foddy explains why failing down a mountain is worse than seeing a game over screen.

2018 Independent Games Festival announces main competition finalists - Want to play the best indie games of 2017? This list is always a good place to start. (A few games might not be available to the public, yet)

Top 2017 games that waste your time properly - Some games that are short, condensed, sometimes meaningful, and always interesting. I need to check some of these out. 

The Year of The Devil - One of the brightest stars in the iOS game dev space, Swedish dev Simogo, is quitting mobile because of endless changes to the operating system. 

Had we known back in 2010 that we would be updating our games seven years later, we would have shook our heads in disbelief.

[Video |CC] Horizon Zero Dawn Documentary - Danny strikes again. Lots of detail and full of great stories. 

Looking ahead

The 50 most exciting games of 2018 - Not sure what to be excited for in 2018? Eurogamer‘s got you covered. Personally, I’m most interested in Red Dead 2, Far Cry 5, Yakuza 6, The Last of Us Part 2, and A Way Out. 

The Indie Games You Should Be Looking Out For in 2018 - But as usual, the most intriguing and original games are found on the indie side. Here’s a bunch to put on your radar. 

Design space

10 of the best PC game mechanics from 2017 - Some more stand-out mechanics from the previous year. Including virtual reality nut-punching. 

[Video | CC] The Painted World of Ariamis - James D picks apart one of the most interesting areas from Dark Souls. 

(Remember: if you don’t step off a moving elevator, jump on a weird outcropping, pretend to be an egg, fight a secret boss, find an item, and use it in the right spot... you’d never even visit this place on your play-through!)

An In-Depth Look At Overwatch's Eichenwalde Map - Lots of maps, test footage, and developer insight, focusing on a single Overwatch map. 

Using Psychology and Loot Boxes too Destroy Video Games: A Fun and Practical Guide - Don’t let Electronic Arts read this.

What Video Game Subtitling Got Wrong In 2017 - An exhaustive look at video game subtitling. It’s mostly about the failures, but there are plenty of successes to learn from, too. 

[Video | CC] Analysis: Tekken - The Difference Between 2D and 3D - How an extra dimension can completely change a fighting game. 

42 Problems and a Fix Ain’t One: Fixing Tokyo 42’s Camera - A fascinating deep dive into how a developer fixed (or didn’t) an issue with their game, post release. 

Art and Sound

[Video] Style & Substance, Cuphead's Animation - More of Dan’s great animation series, this time look at rubber hoses and bouncing heroes in Cuphead. 

[Video] In Defence of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Soundtrack - Matt’s got his own take on the quiet world of Hyrule.

[Video] Every Overwatch Hero Explained by Blizzard’s Michael Chu - Some neat behind-the-scenes stuff on Overwatch in this charming video from Wired. 

Post mortem

Invisible limbs and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - the gruesome secrets of Dead Space - PC Games N talks to ex-Visceral devs to find out how Dead Space was made. 

[Video / Article] The pitch that convinced Miyamoto to back Mario Rabbids - Eurogamer recounts the story of how a Nintendo fanboy got to pitch “Mario shoots Rabbids” to Miyamoto. 

[Video] Talking to the Original Designer of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater - A great video about how Tony Hawk’s came together, then fell apart.

Tales from the Borderlands: The Oral History - I still haven’t played this much-loved Telltale game. But here’s the story of how the project came together, and how the game was written. 

[Video | CC] Night Trap: 25 Years Later - I enjoyed this documentary on a game that was way more important than good.

Culture club

Cree concerns hammer home why Civ needs to reject its own traditions - Firaxis is adding an extant Native American tribe to Civ 6. They’re not too pleased. Rock Paper Shotgun explains more. 

Super Mario Land 2 DX - A ROM hack to add colour to Super Mario Land 2 (one of the first games I ever played). 

Game Over

[Video] The View From Here Is Impossible - Why first-person shots feel so weird in movies. 

[Video] Frames and Containers - Why is every film the same shape?

[Video] The Art and Ethics of Digital De-Aging - A look at Hollywood’s hot new trend: de-aging actors. Oh, and go watch The Congress with Robin Wright if you haven’t already.