Friday, April 10, 2015

News & Views
4/4/15-4/10/15

Hey everyone! I hope you all have been having a great week. Mine has been pretty darn good—I beat Bloodborne on Monday and have been chugging my way through the extremely difficult Chalice dungeons ever since. This weekend is an exciting one on the tv show front too, as we get both an entire season of Netflix’s Daredevil and the season premiere for Game of Thrones! I also found a lot of cool things around the web this week. From essays about the bonds formed with the giants of Shadow of the Colossus, the financial expectations for making an independently published game, and why you should want politics in your video games, the pieces this week span a wide range of topics and interests. So sit down, read a couple, and let me know what you think in the comments or on Twitter, @alexsamocha.

Spotlight
Tim Rogers, Gamasutra

Worth Reading
Bryant Francis, Gamasutra

Keza MacDonald, Kotaku.uk

The Moscow Times

Chris Kohler, Wired

Phil Cameron, Gamasutra

And the rest!
Dave Tach, Polygon
Cities: Skylines is a game I went from knowing nothing about, to seeing stories about it left and right. Many claim it is the new SimCity. I don’t think I’ll ever get around to playing it, but it is rad to see San Francisco (where I live and work!) so painstakingly recreated within the game.

Nick Wanserki, A.V. Club
Shadow of the Colossus is my favorite game of all time. The game is bold, innovative, imaginative, and visually evocative. Wanserki explores some of the feelings you get when progressing through the game, and how it does not always feel so great to down these ancient titans. Be sure to check this one out, there is some gorgeous art on display here.

Duncan Fyfe, Campo Santo
Campo Santo caught my attention quite a while ago when they announced their upcoming game, Firewatch. (As a side note, please have it come to PS4!) In this interview, Campo Santo gives insight into their hiring process, and how affiliation with a certain hashtag reflects upon your character. Lost Boys is a fascinating, insightful read.

Jonathan Allford, The Guardian
I have been playing MH4U for nearly two months now, and I’m still probably less than halfway through the content. It’s unreal. Allford writes about something I have had limited experience with during my time with the game: the online co-op multiplayer. So often online communities for a game are toxic and unfriendly, but MH4U is a clear exception. And, for a game as challenging and demanding as MH4U, the welcoming community comes as an even greater shock.

Cassey Baseel, Rocket News
Sigh. I cannot believe this piece of news. The male character’s outfit is so sexy that it had to be toned down? Are you kidding me? What about Riku in FFX? Or pretty much any of the other female Final Fantasy characters?

Darren Nakamura, Destructoid
I commend Nakamura for bringing this story to people’s attention. The Last of Us is a phenomenal single player game, and is my second favorite game of all time. The multiplayer mode in the game is also fantastic. It is a shame Naughty Dog moved from purely cosmetic DLC to content that provides advantages to paying players. Let’s hope this gets addressed soon. I certainly would hate for this style of content to be released for Uncharted 4’s multiplayer.

Alex Wawro, Gamasutra
This news is really exciting! I recently reviewed Ubisoft Montpellier’s Valiant Hearts, and I thought it was pretty great. I cannot wait to see what Yoan Fanise does with his own studio.

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