Reading List - November 2016 (Patreon)

I've got a bit of a bumper Reading List for you, this month. I count 50 different things to read or watch. On the plus side, my Pocket  queue is almost empty! 

Do let me know what sort of stuff you do and don't like to read, to help me shape future instalments of this post.

Big Game Month

Mafia 3 - Chris Franklin has a good video review of the game , but his video about the game's length , and thinking about how long a game needs to be, is even better. The Verge looks at  how the game's racial commentary is undercut by the game's shooting mechanics.

Dishonored 2 - Director Harvey Smith is always a good interview subject - there's a good one on The AV Club , and another strong read on Glixel . But someone else worth reading is Maya Hansen, a fashion designer  who really shaped Dishonored 2's look.

Also, if you've played the game, read both Kotaku  and Gamesradar 's take on the game's best level (according to them!), Clockwork Mansion. I prefer Crack in the Slab... or perhaps even the pure and functional architecture of the Grand Palace. Maybe I'm weird.

Titanfall 2 - Over at Waypoint , Patrick Klepek asks senior designer Jake Keating about the game's best mission, Effect And Cause. The Glixel interview  with Vince Zampella is worth reading, too - and find out why  Respawn isn't telling players exactly what's inside the game's patch notes.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Gotta admit, Infinite Warfare's story was pretty good. I'm not surprised to learn  that Infinity Ward (that's a confusing name) brought on Uncharted's narrative director to help out. 

Stuff to read

Movement Mechanics  - Some interesting stuff on the tiny quirks of Link's movement in the first Zelda game. Nintendo did some really clever stuff to fix the annoyances of grid-based graphics.

I was there when The Witcher 3 launched  - Eurogamer's Robert Purchese got an inside look at the lead-up to launch for The Witcher 3. Surprising fact: The Witcher 3 couldn't be played as an open world game until a couple months before the (original) release date because the streaming tech wasn't finished. Whaaat.

A Closer Look at The Witcher 3's Most Outrageous Quest  - Still in a Witcher mood? Heather Alexandra does another of her great quest breakdowns, this time looking at Dead Man’s Party, from the game's Hearts of Stone DLC.

Lessons on VR motion and interactivity from leading VR devs  - Does what it says on the tin. VR needs all new lessons and design, so this is a good place to start.

Neil Druckmann  - A fab, wide-ranging interview wit the creative director of Uncharted 4. A viewer passed this onto me, as the stuff about Uncharted's struggle violence is something I'm thinking about a lot, lately.

Video Games Are Boring  - The piece everyone talked about this month. Brie Code talks about the narrow range of experiences, and the annoying quirks, that make video games unenjoyable to a wide bunch of people. Over at The Guardian, Keith Stuart responded to this  by suggesting how games can be more approachable - by learning lessons from TV.

The self-destructing game of 1986  - A great story about a forgotten game. If you failed at this submarine game, the disk became unusable. Now those are high stakes for failure! After you read that, check out Wired's argument  that video games should embrace failure, for narrative reasons.

Australia's Most Successful Game Studio Is Having An Identity Crisis  - Kotaku looks at the messy story of Halfbrick, the studio responsible for Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride. It's a compelling account, and a frightening look at a world where game designers are disposable! 

NES Classic Edition Developer Interview: Donkey Kong  - Oh man, have I missed Iwata Asks (developer interviews, conducted by Nintendo's late president). This series of NES interviews is the closest we'll get. Check out the other interviews on Balloon Fight, The Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario Bros . 

The making of Dishonored's greatest mission, Lady Boyle's Last Party  - Andy Kelly, over at PC Gamer, breaks down the best level from the first Dishonored game. I'm bummed I never got that far. One for the backlog, I reckon.

Ubisoft explains new approach open world game design  - A quick read. This NeoGAF poster translated the bullet points of a French magazine interview with Ubisoft. Sounds like big changes are coming to the Ubisoft formula. 'Bout time.

How Little Choices Make Sorcery! Feel Epic  - Inkle is a studio to watch. It's doing terrific stuff in the realm of interactive fiction, and its PC and iOS games like Sorcery and 80 Days are well worth playing. This article details how they use little choices to make a big impact on the player.

How Virginia’s Cinematic Editing Works  - I didn't like Virginia much, but I am fascinated by the use of cuts during real-time gameplay, seen in Virginia and Thirty Flights of Loving. Would be keen to see that explored in a different type of game.

How turns make Thumper feel physical  - One more link to The Mechanic, which is RockPaperShotgun's game design series. This one's about the evolution of the turn mechanic in the excellent Thumper.

Factorio's final form revealed: an enormous machine that plays Sandstorm by Darude  - Madly creative. 

The Impossibly Complex Art Of Designing Eyes  - A surprisingly interesting look at the technical difficulty of rendering a good CGI eye, and how that stops video game characters looking more realistic.

Stuff to watch

Mercenaries and The Deck of 52  - I never played the first Mercenaries game, but this "Deck of 52" system sounds really cool. It's always interesting to look at older and less impactful games, to see the clever ideas that didn't get copied by every game ever. 

The Bioshock Infinite we never got  - CrowbCat is a fascinating channel. It's just about collating footage from trailers, interviews, and finished games to tell stories about game development. Like video collages. Also check out Dead Rising 4 is not Dead Rising .  

Why JJ Would Nail A Portal Film  - This video is more about why Portal's rad, than JJ Abrams's filmography. But that's okay, it's a strong look at the aesthetics and storytelling of Valve's weirdo puzzle game.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Level Design  - The ever brilliant Turbo Button breaks down one level from the excellent Tropical Freeze to look at how it introduces, twists, combines, and throws away ideas. 

Pokémon, Evolving The Gaming Community  - Oi, KaptainKristian! Stay outta my territory! Just kidding: another excellent video from this dude, focusing on the social aspects of the game. You can't get the full Pokeperience if you play alone.

SHODAN (System Shock) | Devious Intent  - SHODAN has been inspiring games for ages. Remember the villains who mock and taunt you over the radio in games like Bioshock, Portal, Arkham Asylum, and more? It all comes back to SHODAN. Learn more in HyperBitHero's video.

Off Camera Secrets | Bioshock  - A weird but fascinating channel that uses noclip mode, and other stuff, to reveal the magic tricks that the developers are pulling where the camera can't (usually) see. This episode is about Bioshock.

The Story of Rocket League (Part 1), How To Build a Rocket  - Danny O'Dwyer kicks off his documentary series with a look at Rocket League. They basically made this game twice - once as an unsuccessful PS3 game with a silly name, and then again as the monstrously popular Rocket League we all know. The next doc is on DOOM .

Bloodborne Is Genius, And Here's Why  - Got an hour? Hbomberguy goes in-depth with an interesting and entertaining love letter to Bloodborne. The basic idea (if you haven't got time): removing the shield made Bloodborne better, and retroactively made Dark Souls more fun too.

Resident Evil 4 for Beginners  - SuperButterBuns is a good person to subscribe to. Her videos are very funny - case in point, this detailed look at Resident Evil 4. 

Anticipation: The Animation of Monster Hunter  - More terrific animation stuff from Dan of Extra Credits. This time, we're looking at the anticipation principle in animation (the crouch before a big jump), and how that can work in video games, where we want to see our character react instantly to a button press.

Wait, these aren't games!

Hidden Messages In The Music  - Music theory is always fun. This video delves into the way the Harry Potter score can emphasise or hint at different elements in the story.

Movie Accent Expert Breaks Down 32 Actors' Accents  - A fun look at movie accents. Wired's putting out some good, Vox-level stuff lately.

How China is changing Hollywood  - Speaking of Vox, here's a handy explainer on how China's massive desire for movies is changing the way films are getting made. From setting films in Shanghai to co-producing with Chinese firms.

Whiplash vs. Black Swan, The Anatomy of the Obsessed Artist  - Two films about two obsessed artists with two similar beginnings and two different endings. Another great episode of this show. I love it.