Reading List End-Of-Year Special (Patreon)

So, for your final reading list of 2018 I decided to do something a tad different. I wanted to gather together the best writing and videos on the game’s stand out releases. I’ve got pieces about the music of Celeste, the last hit animation of Smash Bros Ultimate and the depiction of slavery in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

Some of these pieces were on previous reading lists this year so apologies if you’ve already seen them. I just wanted to make this as complete as possible.

If you’ve got more pieces that you think I’ve missed, please do chuck them in the comments below!

Red Dead Redemption 2

[Read] Red Dead Redemption 2' fails to justify its own excessive existence 

[Read] The irony of Red Dead Redemption 2’s themes 

[Watch] Is Red Dead Redemption 2's Animation Too Slow? 

[Read] Red Dead Redemption 2's Redface Proves How Far Games Haven't Come 

[Read] I've Watched a Lot of Films: The Cinematic Failures of Red Dead Redemption 2  

Red Dead refuses, outside of actual cutscenes, to break its illusion of ultimate player freedom and intentionally take control of the camera and frame a shot. You know, like cinema does. 

[Watch] Following NPC's in Red Dead Redemption 2 for a Whole Day

[Read] Inside Rockstar Games' Culture Of Crunch 

[Read] Red Dead Redemption 2: Should Crunch Impact Reviews? 

[Watch] Rockstar's Game Design is Outdated 

GRIS

[Read] Gris mirrors the stages of grief through art, sound and design 

Tetris Effect

[Watch] The Emotional Journey of Tetris Effect 

Battlefield V

[Watch] Thanksgiving Leftovers: Battlefield V 

[Read] 'Battlefield V' Shows the Series Needs to Give Up on Single Player 

God of War

[Read] "Cory Barlog Kept Punching Guys Forever:" The Making of God of War's Leviathan Axe 

[Read] Recalling the Leviathan Axe 

[Watch] God of War Case Study 

[Read] God Of War Gets The Stress Of Parenthood Right 

[Read] 'God of War's Kratos was an angry lump of muscle. I made him a struggling father' 

I liked the idea that there was a lot more to Kratos than any of us knew. In order to get that change to ring true, especially with a character as quiet as Kratos, you need an external force. That’s where Atreus came in.

[Listen] God of War's Cory Barlog - The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook 

[Watch] Making God Of War's Axe Recall sound with just an iPhone mic 

Prey: Mooncrash

[Watch] Prey: Mooncrash 

Florence

[Read] Designing Florence to convey the ineffable feeling of being in love 

Iconoclasts

[Read] The 10-year making of Iconoclasts 

Celeste

[Read] Why The Very Hard 'Celeste' is Perfectly Fine With You Breaking Its Rules 

[Watch] How Celeste Teaches You Its Mechanics 

[Watch] Breaking Down Level Design in Celeste 

[Read] Celeste: Level Design and Difficulty as Storytelling Beats 

[Read] Why Celeste's dash feels great 

Across 5472 lines and in variables like JumpGraceTime, DashHJumpThruNudge and DuckFriction, the code precisely defines her ability to run, climb, jump and dash, bringing her to life in your hands.

[Watch] Fluid Motion

[Watch] The Anxiety of Celeste and its Music 

Return of the Obra Dinn

[Read] How a book binds the Return of the Obra Dinn 

[Watch] Return of the Obra Dinn Thinks Differently About Narrative 

[Read] Lucas Pope and the rise of the 1-bit 'dither-punk' aesthetic 

Monster Hunter World

[Read] Being adopted by a Monster Hunter veteran is brilliant 

Spider-Man

[Read] 13 years later, Spider-Man 2's swinging has never been bettered - here's its story 

[Read] It’s Easy To Miss One Of Spider-Man’s Coolest Audio Details 

[Read] They made that one videogame again but this time it’s called Spider-Man 

[Watch] Spider-Man PS4: Combat, Context, Legacy 

[Read] Deconstructing Game Narrative – Part 1: Spider-Man 

[Watch] Spider-Man's Animation: The Zip To Point 

[Watch] Spider-Man and the Effective Use of Musical Clichés 

[Read] Spider-Man's Quiet Moments Are Its Most Important 

Spider-Man is a masterclass in how to create a fantastic story filled with people we can’t help but care about, and I hope developers look to its example in the future when it comes to telling stories, particularly those about servicing others and finding hope in unexpected places.

[Read] Spider-Man's Take on Police Feels Out of Touch 

Dead Cells

[Read] Building the Level Design of a procedurally generated Metroidvania 

[Read] The long, hard, journey behind the design of Dead Cells' player builds 

[Read] Tuning Dead Cells to appeal to players both fast and slow 

[Watch] Dead Cells & Stream Integration 

Into the Breach

[Watch] Does Into The Breach Really Have Perfect Information? Why RNG Matters

[Read] Into the Breach's interface was a nightmare to make and the key to its greatness 

[Read] Reimagining failure in strategy game design in Into the Breach 

[Read] Chris Avellone on Into The Breach 

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

[Watch] Other Places Walks: Athens 

[Read] Assassin's Creed Odyssey presents a ‘softer’ version of slavery 

[Read] Why Homer would approve of Assassin's Creed Odyssey 

A vast sweeping tale of bold heroes, touched by the gods and accomplishing great feats. Assassin's Creed is the perfect game to do Homer justice.

[Read] Sexing My Way Through Ancient Greece In Assassin's Creed Odyssey 

[Read] History in Color 

The Messenger

[Watch] Analyzing the Messenger's Simple Twist 

[Watch] The Messenger: Defying Expectations 

Minit

[Read] How Minit's team found creativity through limitations 

[Read] High Scores: Jukio Kallio’s “Minit” Soundtrack Embraces Lo-Fi Sounds 

[Read] Minimalism and Collage in Minit 

Far Cry 5

[Watch] Far Cry 5 and the Art of Saying Nothing 

[Read] Far Cry 5 Critique - A Game of Missed Opportunities  

[Read] Finally, a Video Game for Cowards 

[Read] Far Cry 5 Offers No Insight into Christian Fundamentalism 

Octopath Traveller

[Watch] The Design of Octopath Traveler 

[Watch] How Octopath Traveler Hypes its Boss Battles 

[Watch] Octopath Traveler: Reimagining Game Music 

[Watch] How Octopath Traveler Changes Key 

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

[Read] For one great level, Shadow Of The Tomb Raider makes Lara Croft feel like a real person 

It’s a cute way to foreshadow the stunts that adult Lara regularly has to perform, and it’s a little hint that she might enjoy being a reckless daredevil more than she lets on.

[Read] Ascendant: The Fall of Tomb Raider and the Rise of Lara Croft 

Detroit: Become Human

[Watch] Detroit Become Human is Amazing, for the Wrong Reasons 

Fallout 76

[Watch] How Does Fallout 76 Compare to Previous Fallouts? 

[Read] The Nukes of 'Fallout 76' Are Where Power Fantasies Hit a Breaking Point 

Wandersong

[Read] Behind the colorful music wheel of Wandersong 

Super Smash Bros Ultimate

[Watch] How Super Smash Bros. Music Sets a Tone for the Series 

[Watch] Smash Bros. and the evolution of the last hit