Reading List - October 2016 (Patreon)

I've compiled a complete hodgepodge of stuff to read and watch this month. From developing Tomb Raider to music in The Last of Us, from immersive sims to Image Comics. 

I'm always looking for new stuff for this article series so if you see a good video or article you think I might like please don't hesitate to DM, email, or Patreon message me.

Cheers!

Video nasties

Max Payne - Identity From Adversity  - Turbo Button looks at how the Max Payne identity has changed from the first game to the third, through the lens of each game's cutscenes. Turns out, flashy graphics ain't everything. 

The Story of Rocket League  - Danny O'Dwyer is about to roll out his first fan-funded video game documentary, which focuses on the smash PSN hit Rocket League. The vid's not out yet but check out the trailer. 

A Love Letter to Grim Fandango  - RagnarRox returns with another lavish love letter to a favourite game: LucasArt's swan song (what fourth Monkey Island game?!) Grim Fandango. Beautiful game, awful puzzles. 

Overwatch and Asymmetric Level Design  - Between this episode, and the one on asymmetric character design , Extra Credits is killing it with Overwatch stuff at the moment. 

Are Bullshots Illegal?  - As No Man's Sky enters the news yet again, with the advertising standards agency in the UK investigation the game's hype campaign, Super Bunnyhop asks - are fake screenshots of upcoming games actually illegal?

Why Mankind Divided Isn't Deus Ex  - I loved loved loved Mankind Divided but I can't disagree with much of this video about why the new Deus Ex fails as an immersive sim. 

Errant Signal - Devil Daggers  - Errant Signal does a Halloween special in the only way he knows how: by looking at weirdo indie games. Also see Oxenfree and [Anatomy.

The Last of Us - Music Analysis  - Oh man, the soundtrack to The Last of Us is On. Point. ChaseFace goes deep into the whole OST and the work of composer Gustavo Santaolalla. 

Three Games to Refund No Man's Sky For  - I think I've decided that I just don't like survival games very much. So perhaps listen to Joseph Anderson talk about them instead. He likes these three especially. 

Music Genre: Video Game  - A dude improvises some game-like music and you will totally believe it is ripped from some N64 game you half remember playing.  

Relay - Gameplay Trailer - A couple trailers worth watching. The morse code game Relay is getting turned into a full game. Keyboard Sports is a very clever idea for a video game. 

A Closer Look at The Witcher 3's Most Outrageous Quest  - Heather Alexander takes us through an interesting quest from The Witcher 3. I need to do more of these quest deep dives myself. They're always fun. 

Words and pictures

Time crisis: Is this the end of the light gun?  - Simon Parkin writes about the death (and partial rebirth) of the beloved light gun genre. The games only work on chunky CRT TVs, rendering classics like Virtua Cop and Duck Hunt unplayable on modern displays without completely new versions. 

Better Than Black and White: One Man’s Decade-Long Quest to Remake 'Metroid II'   - AM2R is one of the most impressive fan projects of the year. A complete overhaul of Metroid 2 that is apparently (I still haven't played it) the best Metroid game in years. This article takes us through the game's creation. 

Making a Big Budget Video Game Is Riskier and Harder Than Ever. So Why Do It?  - An article about Gears 4 that doubles up as a deep dive into the bug fixing process, and a terrifying read on the future of console games. 

20 years on, the Tomb Raider story told by the people who were there  - Tumultuous development isn't anything new, of course, as we can see in Eurogamer's rollercoaster story on the development of the classic Tomb Raider games. Best line: "Tomb Raider 5 was effectively a load of old shit". 

The Hi-Bit Era  - Did I post this last month? Can't remember. Either way, this is a fun post from Owl Boy's artist on the new generation of pixel art with loads of screenshots and GIFs. 

Not even a game 2/10

Scott Pilgrim: Make Your Transitions Count  - Yup. Yup yup yup. Edgar Wright is one heck of a director. 

Spawn - The Rise of Image Comics  - I know absolutely nothing about comics but I enjoyed this look into the subversive world of Image. 

The Shining - Quietly Going Insane Together  - The Shining might be like Super Mario Bros 1-1 in terms of overplayed analysis (see the movie Room 237). But I'll take something new from Lessons from the Screenplay any day. 

Movie Geometry - Shaping the Way You Think - If you don't yet know about how different shapes have different associations with emotions then, well, you will in 3 minutes 59 seconds. 

Hercules, Disney's Beautiful Hot Mess  - I've never seen Hercules but I thoroughly enjoyed this critical breakdown of a less talked about Disney flick. 

Does Vertical Video Mean the End of Widescreen Movies?  - A funny and insightful look at the future of video making, in a time of vertical movies shot on phones. Suitably, the entire video is done in portrait orientation.