Reading List (August 2018) (Patreon)

Hello everybody! It’s your favourite time of the month! Reading List time! I’ve got 30 articles and videos for you to check out, so get reading and watching. 

Top Pick

[Read] The 10 Secrets to Indie Game Success (and Why They Do Not Exist) - Making an indie game in 2018? Read this advice from the maker of Frozen Synapse. This isn’t super specific tips, but general game-making good behaviour to follow.

Design of Everyday Games

[Watch] God of War Case Study - Matthewmatosis wasn’t too thrilled with God of War 2018, and explains why by comparing it to a bunch of other games. 

[Watch] Wario Land 4: Breaking Convention - The Wario games are notable for how they rebel agains the Mario formula. James looks at the stellar 4th entry.

[Watch] Suda 51 Games | Almost Legendary - Grasshopper Manufacture, and the auteur designer Suda 51, have put out a bunch of different games. The Gaming Brit explores his legacy, thus far.

[Read] What Other Games Can Learn From the Bullet Hell Genre - Genre cross pollination is a fascinating subject. Paste looks at how games like Undertale have borrowed from bullet hells.

[Watch] Pushing the Shooter Genre with Sky Noon - CJ looks at an innovative FPS that marries Smash Bros ring-outs with Quake 3-style action.

[Watch] Ninja Gaiden - Charlie has been a busy boy. Here, here’s looking at the action franchise that often gets forgotten: Team Ninja’s tricky Ninja Gaiden

[Watch] Bowser Should NOT Be the Final Boss - Skip The Tutorial’s got loads of videos on boss battles. This one, on Mario Odyssey, is well worth a watch.

Retro Corner

[Read] The history of water rendering in classic games - How did classic games make water work? Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry explains all.

[Read] An Oral History of ‘GoldenEye 007’ on the N64 - Stop peeking at my corner of the screen!

[Read] James Chambers on Twitter - Ever wondered how Animal Crossing reads your letters, and decides whether to send you a gift in response? Wonder no more.

In the Trenches

[Read] Making Chess in Pico-8 - From design, to juice, to AI, Krystman chronicles his attempt to make Chess in the Pico-8 engine.

[Read] Sneaking Things into Games - Why devs put Easter Eggs, references, favourite books, personal details, and more into their games.

[Watch] Why the Bow in Horizon Zero Dawn Feels SO Good - Polygon returns with more game feel goodness, this time looking at bow and arrow THWICKs and THWUNKs in Horizon.

[Read] The daunting aftermath of releasing your dream game - Making an indie game all by yourself? Read this.

Art, Story, and Music

[Read] Crafting an evocative score for Hollow Knight - Hollow Knight has a great soundtrack. The composer breaks down his process.

[Read] Hollow Knight and the art of consistency - Consistency is a tool that every developer needs to think about. RPS looks at it in the context of Hollow Knight.

[Watch | CC] Fez's Animated Environments - Dan Root breaks down the cute animated art of Fez.

[Watch | CC] How Music Was Made On Super Nintendo - Nerdwriter be stepping on my turf. Here, he’s looking at how 16 bit composers like David Wise pushed the boundaries of the SNES sound chip.

[Read] How Persona 4 Golden’s “Sub-Buttle” Joke Works in Japanese - You know I love localisation trivia. Here’s the skinny on a sub-butt-le joke in Persona 4.

Other Worlds

[Read] Small Scale Games: 16 Intimate Videogame Worlds - Amr doesn’t mean small scale like one city or one island. They mean SMALL: like Pikmin and Katamari.

[Watch] Other Places: Yakuza 0 - Andy Kelly comes out of Other Places retirement, to show off the two areas in Yakuza.

[Watch | CC] Shenmue's Greatest Moment - Austin chats about a favourite moment from Shenmue.

Culture Club

[Watch | CC] The Nintendo Emuparadise Controversy and How it Affects all of Us - Nintendo took down a bunch of ROM sites recently. This is is a bit of a nightmare for game preservation, as this video explores.

[Watch] Zelda: Breath of the Wild Speedrunner Performs Crazy Trick with the Help of Bananas - How do you reach the top of Hyrule Castle with a slab of rock, a few bombs, and a bunch of bananas? This video explains how people are still breaking apart Zelda. 

[Read] Fortnite Is so Much More Than a Game - Keith Stuart explores the cultural phenomenon of Fortnite. 

[Read] Trees, Cancer, and the Pursuit of Flowers: Why I Loved Prune - A lovely look at a wonderful little mobile game. Grab this app if you haven’t already.

Media Watch

[Watch] Fake Friends Episode Two: Parasocial Hell - Shannon continues her look at our online relationships to media creators. This is a really important topic in the current climate.

[Read] Giant Bomb Still Changing Video Games Media 10 Years Later - This makes me feel really old for some reason.

Not Quite Games

[Watch | CC] Language and Translation in Isle of Dogs - This film was controversial for its use of the Japanese language. Here’s what the film was actually trying to do.