Reading List (December 2021) (Patreon)

Santa Claus is here, and he’s got a gift for you: articles! And videos! And also a DVD of the Minions movie for some reason.

Now, sometimes I do a end-of-year round-up for the reading list… but that usually just results in a lot of duplicate stories I had already shared early in the year.

So, instead, here’s just a classic, tried-and-tested reading list for your reading and viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

The Design of Games

[Read] Unpacking Vulnerability, Empathy and Player Agency - "Games that take place in intimate spaces like the home don’t leave as much room for the player’s own self."

[Watch | 9 mins] The Open World Design of Halo Infinite - Game Design Foundry explores the pros and cons of Halo ditching its linear roots

[Watch | CC | 14 mins] How Deus Ex Blended Genres To Change Shooters Forever - Warren Spector talks about why he mixed stealth, FPS, and RPG into one game. I'll be quoting this video in an upcoming GMTK episode, for sure...

[Watch | CC | 11 mins] The Secret To Amazing Combat - JoystickDrummer explores the satisfying art of a good parry

The Business of Games

[Watch | CC | 35 mins] Roblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper - People Make Games did an excellent Roblox investigation a few months back - this update is even more surprising, and horrifying.

The Development of Games

[Watch | 12 mins] Every Game I Ever Made - I enjoyed this speedrun through Jonas Tyroller's game dev portfolio

[Watch | 10 mins] 5 Things You Can Do To Make Games Like A Pro In Unity - Some good Unity tips, including a bonkers "multi scene workflow" that's just way beyond my skill level.

[Read] Fine-tuning The Last of Us Part II’s interactive guitar - "With The Last of Us: Part II we knew we wanted to take things a step further, and put the music directly into players’ hands."

The Playing of Games

[Read] Why do video games make some people feel sick? - VG247 talks to developers and researchers about how to combat motion sickness in games.

[Watch | CC | 25 mins] Ten Indie Games You Missed in 2021 - These lists are usually filled with games everyone's heard about - but most of these are genuinely under-the-radar picks

[Read] I Can't Enjoy the New 'Grand Theft Auto' Because I'm Old Now - A fun trip down memory lane, from VICE, that explores the disconnect of nostalgia.

[Read] Resident Evil Village Was the Most Completed Game of 2021 - Data from How Long to Beat reveals some interesting info.

[Read] Playing videogames carefully - "What if we thought of playing games as a careful act, rather than a skilful one"

The Art of Games

[Read] The Super Flat Design of Michiko Sakurai - An interesting look at the UI design philosophies seen in Smash, Kirby, and more - which are designed by Masahiro Sakurai's spouse.

[Watch | 9 mins] Why Racing Games Feel Slow - This video explores the tricks and techniques game devs can use to make racing games feel faster.

[Watch | 38 mins] The Animation in Metroid Dread - Dan Root explores the excellent animation of Dread - from Samus to the enemies to the boss fights.

[Watch | CC | 17 mins] The Sound Design of Loneliness - "With so many of my favourite titles exploring themes of solitude, designers have to find ways to make games sound lonely."

The History of Games

[Read] The Bizarre Story Of Rockstar's Cancelled Austin Powers Kart Racer - "It will be the grooviest racing game ever released."

[Read] ‘Help! I’ve been spotted!’ Terry Pratchett on Thief, his favourite video game - "In the early 2000s, the Discworld author frequented a forum dedicated to the Thief series of stealth games. His posts provide a fascinating insight into his fondness for gaming"

[Read | Long Read] How Kindness Saved the Cult Hit 'Anachronox' from the Wreck of Ion Storm - "This is a story about how far you can get, and what you can get, by being kind. "

Beyond Games

[Watch | 18 mins] EXPLODING Glitter Bomb 4.0 vs. Package Thieves - Mark Rober continues his Christmas tradition of glitter-bombing jerks who nick packages off doorstops.

[Read] The Making Of The Fake Game In The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication Video - Turns out one of the creators of this infamous music video went on to work at Naughty Dog. Huh!

[Watch | 8 mins] Making MrBeast’s Squid Game in 10 Days - Think what you want about MrBeast's Squid Game homage, but I found it fascinating to see how this YouTube video basically got a Hollywood-level VFX treatment.

[Watch | 9 mins] The Bestselling Novel That Fooled The World - A classic AustinMcConnell episode, loved it.

[Watch | 7 mins] The Horror Short Film In Spider-Man 2 - Sam Raimi snuck a slasher film into this classic super hero flick. Nerdwriter breaks it down.