Reading List - July 2016 (Patreon)

Hello! As usual, here are loads of articles and videos that I heartily recommend this month. No big topic emerged this month (do you really want loads of hot takes on Pokemon GO?) but I'm sure No Man's Sky will remedy that in August.

Videos (YouTube Playlist*)

Top 5 Best Games Done Quick Moments - snomaN gaming talks us through Mario Maker races, one person co-op runs, and glitch exhibitions, to reveal the twisted majesty of this speed run expo.

Super Mario Land 2 Finished in 7 Minutes - This cheeky speed runner goes to insane lengths to break this GB classic, by having Mario literally run through the memory of the game. It's absurd.

The God of War 4 rant - TheGamingBrit has some legit concerns about how the walky, story-focused GOW 4 will get away from the action roots of the series.

Uncharted 4 Gameplay Critique - If you watched that mammoth Uncharted 1-3 video I linked last month, you should probably check out this episode which goes into great detail on U4.

Mario Kart 8 - Original Sound Theory - I dig this video which goes in depth on the Mario Kart 8 soundtrack. It's really interesting how it uses one repeating idea, with variations, like level design in a Mario game.

What makes a good companion? - Cagey Videos talks about games that have AI companion characters, and how they can fail and succeed.

Timing - The Animation of Shadow of the Colossus - Dan at Extra Credits is killing it with these video essays on game animations. This time, he talks about how timing gives extra character to the hulking titans of Team Ico's masterpiece.

Analysis: Shaq-Fu - Everyone knows Shaq-Fu is a piece of crap. But Core-A Gaming breaks down exactly what makes it suck, to teach us about the fundamentals of fighting game design.

Metroid: From Super to Prime - Turbo Button talks about map design in the two most beloved Metroid games. This is one of those videos so jammed packed with thoughts you'll need to watch it twice to take it all in.

Inside and Character Motivation - a strong video which talks about the way Inside establishes the motivations of its protagonist.

The Story behind Sonic Mania's Fans Turned Developers - Super Bunnyhop goes deep on Taxman and Stealth: the two Sonic modders who got hired by Sega to make this crazy remix. It gives me hope for Sonic Mania.

Are Women Too Hard to Animate? - FemFreq crushes some common excuses for not including female characters in games.

The Artist is Absent - The Beginner's Guide continues to provide great inspiration to those doing narrative-lead game essay stuff. This time, Ian Danskin takes a stab.

Nintendo GameCube Startup - Console BIOS Fanfare - This is my jam

Articles

Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix - Man, i'm so bummed that this sequel to Fate of Atlantis got canned. These leaked design documents and art all look and sound awesome.

Fallout 4 proved bigger isn't always better - Polygon makes the argument of scale vs blandness, as it pertains to Bethesda's enormous open world's.

At some point it may be worth moving the slider back a bit towards smaller games that allow for more environments that don't feel like they were cranked out of a production line. When open-world games become so vast that time management pushes productivity over individuality to the point that the end result feels generic, it's time we ask: Are games becoming too big?

Bloodborne begone: a hardcore gamer lets go - Souls expert Rich Stanton talks about finally leaving Yharnam in peace.

What Makes Shigeru Miyamoto Tick - The legendary Nintendo designer talks about how he makes his games feel unique, and "tegotae" which seems like the Japanese version of Game Feel.

So you know programming is all about numbers. The challenge is getting this kind of feeling into numbers

The Great Outdoors: The Witness - RPS talks to Witness artist Luis Atonio about geography, architecture, colour schemes, and more.

If you build a castle and the stones are too big, as an artist you don’t think about this, but [the architects] show you if the stones are too big it means they had to be carried by slaves which means you’re implying there was a slave civilisation, that there was a monarchy

How Doom's Glory Kills Maintain Momentum - Are you reading Alex Wiltshire's The Mechanic series on RPS? It's frightfully, enviably good. This time he talks to id about the glory kills in Doom.

Non-gaming stuff

Gone Girl - Don't Underestimate the Screenwriter - this channel, which uses scripts to explore movie storytelling, is brand new and well worth subscribing to.

*Thanks to Casey Jones for making this.