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James Frierson on the work behind the magic and when your passion becomes a product, Noclip releases their documentary on The Outer Wilds, Chariot Rider discusses using games for escapism and the studies researching the healthy and unhealthy effects escapism can have, Errant Signal on the recent Star Wars games and hoping that Star Wars starts to leave nostalgia and iconography behind in the future for more interesting works, Ian Hamilton looks at game accessibility quotes of 2019, Gamespot interviews Control's game director to learn how its most ambitious level was created, Phillip Moyer looks into how independent game stores survive, part two of Foxcade's Nier retrospective, Tom James looks at a genre defying game for its 25th anniversary Konami’s Tokimeki Memorial, part five of Codex Entry's Persona 5 analysis, and more.
Gaming News (Announcements, previews, release dates, interviews and writing on upcoming games, DLC and game updates, company and developer news, country news, tech, mods)
Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls To Explore the Depths on PC on January 15
QuoteYesterday, Xseed revealed that Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls will release on PC via Steam and Humble Bundle on January 15, 2020.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot video gives you an idea of what to expect
QuoteHere’s a new Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot video to hold you over until release.
Langrisser I & II Gets a Sneak Peek at Latest English Version Gameplay
QuoteNIS America recently livestreamed a sneak peek at Langrisser I & II‘s English version featuring localization editor Jon Chang.
Manipulate the politics of a country in FMV game Not For Broadcast
QuoteIn Not For Broadcast, you are given the power of controlling a national TV station at the time of a highly public political scandal. You only came to the studio to clean up, but now you've been thrust into the role of production director for the National Nightly News Team — that's quite a big promotion.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum confirmed for Xbox Series X and PS5
QuoteThe Lord of the Rings: Gollum has been confirmed for Xbox Series X and PS5.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions Is Great On Switch
QuoteTokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore arrives on the Nintendo Switch on January 17, bringing the excellent Wii U role-playing game hardly anyone played to a much larger audience. While the Shin Megami Tensei/Fire Emblem crossover has more than enough style and charm to stand on its own, Atlus added a bit more story and a few additional features to sweeten the pot. It’s a very sweet pot now.
QuoteIf you missed it, watch the latest trailer here.
Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories
QuoteNIS America today released a new trailer for Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories, which is slated to release stateside for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC on April 7. Holding true to the series' history, the new footage for Summer Memories shows players will be making allies and meaningful choices in the face of disaster.
Oddity is an Earthbound spiritual successor that used to be a fan sequel
QuoteThe Mother series, known as EarthBound outside of Japan, stopped with Mother 3 in 2006, and only the second game was released internationally. That hasn't stopped fans from carrying a torch for it over the years, with one group deciding to stop waiting for Nintendo and create their own sequel, which has now transformed into a separate game with a new name, Oddity.
Kentucky Route Zero Will Finally End (And Come To Switch) Later This Month
QuoteOn release day, Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition will launch on Steam, and anyone who has the Kentucky Route Zero season pass on Steam will receive the fifth and final act on that day.
Escape from Tarkov not getting playable female characters despite dev retracting initial statement
QuoteThis all started in a 2016 interview with Wccftech where a Battlestate representative said the team “came to the conclusion that women can’t handle that amount of stress” as the reason for snubbing female characters.
Crytek seeks to dismiss its own Star Citizen lawsuit until Squadron 42 launches
QuoteCreator of CryEngine believes Star Citizen's single-player game will be delayed past June, moves for October trial
Platinum Games receives capital investment from Tencent Holdings to expand into self-publishing
QuoteBayonetta 3 and Babylon’s Fall developer Platinum Games has received a capital investment from Tencent Holdings as a basis for partnership, the company announced.
Riot feared angering gamers with mobile and card game announcements
QuoteAfter the reception Diablo Immortal and Artifact got, it’s hard to blame them.
Fantasy Flight's Video Game Studio Is Closing
QuoteIn 2017 Fantasy Flight, a juggernaut in the board game world thanks to stuff like Game of Thrones and Star Wars, opened a video game studio. Barely two years later, Fantasy Flight Interactive is closing its doors.
One of America's Largest Unions Gets Serious About Organizing Game Developers
QuoteThe Communications Workers of America (CWA) union has embarked on an ambitious national campaign to transform the tech and game industries for workers.
Esports
QuoteWith every new Pokemon game comes new changes, giving each generation its distinctive identity and heavily shaping the competitive Pokemon metagame for years to come.
The challenges and advantages of casual approachability in Brawl Stars esports
QuoteA visit to the World Finals in South Korea.
Content I found interesting this week (interviews, recommendations, think pieces, history, music, culture, design, art, documentaries, criticism, etc)
QuoteHowever, one of the lessons we learn growing up is that matter cannot be created or destroyed. Santa Clause had no part in the development, sale, and delivery of Spider-Man for the Nintendo 64; Mom and Dad had to work, get paid, budget, plan, travel, and purchase that cherry-red cartridge so that I could mash C buttons and web-up thugs into squirming cocoons. All things begin and end with labor, even magical video games.
Pauline Jacquey’s World Tour: The Unlikely Journey of Ubisoft’s Punk Nomad Fixer
QuoteShe worked in six countries, trekked across two continents, and nearly gave up everything after burning out. Now she’s finally found her calling.
Seven Games That Were Almost My Game Of The Decade
QuoteWhen people ask me to name my game of the decade, I pause. There are so many. I took away hard-won lessons from some of them, but over time, I’ve come to realize that those lessons were probably wrong.
Extra Ball: How Visual Pinball Wizards Bring Back the Classics
QuoteFor this community of enthusiasts, preserving pinball history in virtual form is an intensive—and legally gray—labor of love.
The Cost Of Being A Woman Who Covers Video Games
QuoteNow that it’s 2020, I keep thinking about how it felt to be a woman writing about gender in video games back in 2010.
Surviving GameStop: How Passion, Community, and Novelty Keep Indie Game Stores Alive
QuoteIn an era dominated by chains and digital distribution, is there still room for the little guys?
Game accessibility quotes of 2019
QuoteBelow are a few things gamers and developers have said over the year that stood out for me, covering those topics but also some others too. It's a long page, but an easy read. Some of these quotes are inspiring, some are thought provoking, some have practical advice – and some are a wake-up call.
How Unity Of Command 2 balances game design with military history
QuoteThe first Unity Of Command was designed for the open steppes of the Eastern Front. There, the major battles were about manoeuvre, with tank units chasing and covering miles of ground for their objectives, and lines of infantry moving to counter and support. The steppes were perfect for UoC’s unique focus on maintaining your army’s supply lines.
25 Years With an Invisible Elephant in the Room
QuoteIt’s about time we in Western circles more widely grappled with the place that historical dating sims inhabit within this canon. In the remaining days of this year, one already rife with significant anniversaries in video game history, there’s one paradigm-defining entry in the genre that turned 25 this past May, yet has lamentably gone ignored despite its sheer presence in its homeland and its immense legacy remaining in many of today’s chart-topping hits.
How Age of Empires 2 got some Scottish kids into RTS
QuoteHere's a question: How do you get a bunch of disillusioned kids in the arse end of Scotland into real time strategy games? I doubt it's a question the creators of Age of Empire 2 ever asked themselves but nonetheless, they provided a definitive answer. Now I can't help but wonder as I play through the recently released Definitive Edition, are there games that could manage similar feats? Better ones?
'Sayonara Wild Hearts' and the Masks We Wear to Protect Ourselves
QuoteIn a year of personal change, a video game pop album helped me understand how to move forward.
Life is Strange 2: Validating the Pain of Being Human
QuoteIt’s been incredibly helpful that Life is Strange 2 is also angry as hell. Like Parasite, my favorite movie of 2019 and one of my favorite films ever, there’s an intense rage simmering underneath the empathy that ultimately prevails. I say this empathy prevails only in the sense that it rings genuine and true to the experiences of the undervalued. It’s an empathy that shows nobody actually wins in the end because this world isn’t made for people like us to win, and it’d only be irresponsible to whitewash the truth and pretend otherwise. Neither Life is Strange 2 nor Parasite are particularly grandiose stories but both are masterfully told. And maybe the most important stories to tell of the world we live in today are no longer the ones that offer escapism but instead the ones that commit the bold, fantastical, and often unfathomable rebellion of giving a voice to the people whose voices society never gives a shit about.
Persona 5 Analysis [Part 5]: This is Totally Fine. // Codex Entry
Quotethis game is haruible haha the commodification of rebellion routinely undermines sincere political movements that actually seek to have beneficial impact on the world for the sake of churning a profit by selling people the illusion of aiding in social change be sure to buy my Phantom Thieves Brand Masks to learn more
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/codexentry
Nier Retrospective | A Difference of Perspective (Part 2)
QuotePart 2 of my Nier Retrospective, look at the themes of the game, and trying to maintain my sanity in the process.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Foxcade
The Magical Other World: Understanding the Nature of Escapist Play
QuoteEscapism is a common coping method to deal with the stress of life. But is it healthy? In this video, I explore the phenomenon of escapism in gaming.
What Minecraft Is Like For Someone Who Doesn't Play Games
QuoteThis past year, my wife made the mistake of taking an interest in my hobby, and instead of just letting her play games for fun, I figured it'd be more interesting to chronicle her journey of figuring out how to play video games. So, this is a continuation of those experiments where I look into what Minecraft is like for someone who doesn't play games.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/razbuten
Star Wars: The Franchise Strikes Back
QuoteI looked at Star Wars way way back in 2013, but I thought (given all of the Star Wars stuff that's come out in the intervening years!) maybe it was time to look back again? Or maybe that's a bad idea...
Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/errantsignal
Indiewatch: Top 10 "Don't Miss" Indie Games of December 2019
Videogames & IRL Politics: The Decade's 5 Most Important Developments
QuoteSupport Left Left Up (and my other rad projects) on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/marijamdidLLU
How Death Stranding Became My Favourite Game
QuoteHere's my pretty chunky analysis and discussion of Death Stranding, a game that managed to exceed my expectations and become my favourite game of all time
Please be aware that there are SPOILERS in this video.
All background music is from the Death Stranding score.
How Control's Most Ambitious Level Was Created | Audio Logs
QuoteThe Ashtray Maze is Control's standout level: a motel that twists and turns around you, backed by an unforgettable soundtrack. Game director Mikael Kasurinen describes where the idea for the maze came from, and how the team at Remedy implemented something so ambitious and unique.
History Respawned: Assassin's Creed II
QuoteBob talks with Dr. Anne Proctor about Assassin's Creed II. Topics include Renaissance Florence, the Medici family, Leonardo da Vinci, popular historical fiction, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/historyrespawned
The Making of Outer Wilds - Documentary
QuoteBecome a PATRON to unlock more videos https://www.patreon.com/noclip
We talk to the developers at Mobius Digital Games about the design of their breakthrough hit - Outer Wilds.
Things I missed from previous weeks
Dear Player: I love you, let’s talk
QuoteA love letter from a game designer to all players
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