Reading List (February 2019) (Patreon)

Hello, you beautiful people! 

Oh man, yesterday was lovely. It was the hottest February on record in the UK. And while that's probably a terrifying consequence of the climate change that threatens to destroy our planet and kill us all - it was sure was nice out!!!

So I'm in the mood to sit under a shady tree and read some articles about game design. And also films and seat belts and Dungeons and Dragons. Join me, won't you?

Top Pick

[Read] The fall of Starbreeze - The story of this Swedish studio’s demise is a sad tale of mismanagement, hubris, and stupid ideas. It’ll actually make you angry to read it, which I’m not sure is the most compelling recommendation. 

Design Corner

[Watch | CC] Dungeons and Dragons and Writing - Writing a DnD campaign requires a really special set of skills. Razbuten talks about his process, and more.

[Watch] Motion Controls - Remembering waggling Wii motes? Novacanoo does, and talks about the capabilities of motion control through the lens of a handful of notable Wii games. 

[Read] Design Diary: The Jester - Terry Cavanagh (VVVVVV, Super Hexagon) goes in deep on the design choices around his next game, Dicey Dungeons. 

“I’m frequently surprised by what doesn’t work, and I find I discover lots of things accidentally while trying out random things. Game design often feels a series of happy little accidents to me.”

[Watch | CC] The Evolution of Roguelike Design - How Rogue led to FTL, Spelunky, and So Many More - A complimentary vid to my take on roguelikes, where Design Doc talks about how the genre’s major and minor tenants can be changed to make new experiences.

Critical Hit

[Watch] Resident Evil 2 vs. Resident Evil 2 Remake - Super Bunnyhop talks about the changes made from a 1998 tank-controlled PS1 game, to a fancy new 2019 third-person shooter. 

[Watch] The Meaning of Travis Strikes Again | Suda 51, Legendary Again - The new No More Heroes game didn’t make a huge splash at launch. But here’s The Gaming Brit, a big fan of the series, extolling its virtues.

[Watch] Board Games Don't Have to Be Boring - One Night Ultimate Werewolf - One of my Patrons has started a new video series about board game design. This is well done and interesting. Hey, if you make videos or write articles, send ‘em to me!

History Club

[Read] ‘Heroin for middle-class nerds’: how Warhammer conquered gaming - I remember painting these little figures. I was terrible at it. But ignore that - here’s the Guardian talking about the history of Warhammer.

[Read] Pac-Man: The Untold Story of How We Really Played The Game - Just like our footsteps can erode the concrete on a staircase, our fingers leave trace marks over Pac-Man cabinets. Very cool article. 

[Watch | CC] How ARMS was Created - More mini design histories from Thomas Game Docs. This time, it’s wiggly arm box ‘em up, ARMS!

[Read] The Secret History of Wu-Tang Clan’s Bizarre Hip-Hop Fighting Game - Remember when bands had to have their own game? KISS Psycho Circus, (Mötley) Crüe Ball, and Aerosmith’s Revolution X. Games are weird. 

[Read] Saved, But Not Forgotten - A history of saving your game, from passwords to hard drives to the cloud. 

Art Attack

[Watch] 4 Ways Sonic Mania Improved Classic Sonic's Animation - Sonic Mania is obviously inspired by classic Mega Drive Sonic games, but that doesn’t mean it’s stuck in the past.

[Watch | CC] Can Old Games Have Great Animation? - Yes! New Frame Plus’ Dan looks back at the history of games, picking one game a year that had excellent animation. 

[Watch] Konsoll 2018: Jake Clark - Cuphead - Creating Djimmi the Great - I don’t normally post talks (because, shhh, they’re often a bit boring). But I dug this look at drawing and animating a Cuphead boss.

Story Time

[Read] Far Cry’s villains aren’t working anymore, and New Dawn’s twins are the final straw - Everything about Far Cry since 3 is formulaic, right down to the design of their primary antagonists. None can hold a candle to Vaas, says Games Radar. 

[Watch | CC] The Dark Heart of Katamari Damacy - A sharp look at the subtextual meaning of a silly game about rolling up paper clips and donuts and elephants. 

[Watch | CC] What Was Undertale Actually About? - Adam goes deep into the story of Undertale, to try to figure out the game’s real meaning.

[Watch | CC] Ocarina of Time - A Masterclass In Subtext - Good Blood (the guy behind that hilarious Sonic remake video) has put together a very flashy fan theory about Zelda’s secret meaning. 

The Business of Games

[Read] Tearing down the lone developer myth - Iconoclasts creator Joakim Sandberg reckons developers should learn from his mistakes of trying to make a game by themselves, rather than follow his example. 

My mental health is destroyed. For your own mental health, you need to not squander your friends. You need to not have financial risk right at the start of making a big game. You need to make sure it works before you dedicate your life to it.

[Read] Fortnite's Appropriation Issue Isn't About Copyright Law, It's About Ethics - I mean it is about copyright law. But, yeah, ethics are important too! A short history of people ripping off black culture for financial gain. 

[Watch] What Apex Legends Could Do For Titanfall - I had no idea Apex Legends was set in the Titanfall universe. I forgot the guy from the intro cutscene was a boss in TF2. I’m not very observant. 

Culture Vulture

[Read] What It Means When We Dream About Video Games - I’ve dreamt about Tetris, Hexic, Crackdown orbs, and Zelda. Here’s what that means.

[Watch] Breaking Storm The House with an Auto Clicker - This guy made a bot to automatically play a silly and nostalgic Flash game. There’s something strangely alluring about that.

Beyond Games

[Watch] The Broken Formula of Music Biopics - That Queen film just came out, and an Elton John flick’s out this year. Patrick Willems argues that they’re all following the same script. 

[Read] The deadly truth about a world built for men – from stab vests to car crashes - I mean, yeah. For us, a lot of what we think about game design (why we play, how we react to stress, the genres and stories we like) are also massively male dominated. 

[Watch] Woke Brands - H Bomberguy looks at the history of brands feigning progressivism to get you to burn your Nikes, and buy some Nikes. 

[Read] Forget Strong Female Characters! We Need Complicated Female Characters Who Screw Up (A Lot) - A strong female character isn’t a perfect, powerful, flawless individual. They’re just… normal. With agency.  

[Watch | CC] Independence Day vs. War of the Worlds - Lindsay Ellis is amazing, as always. 

[Read] 'Playable shows are the future': what Punchdrunk theatre learned from games - These interactive theatre productions have had a huge impact on games, inspiring stuff like Bioshock and Gone Home. So read this! 

[Watch] First Man – A Sobering Look at Human Greatness - A good breakdown of Damien Chazelle’s new movie about a man who wants to do a big thing… but at what cost!?!