News & Views
11/14/15-11/20/15
Finally!
The experiment week to end all experiment weeks is coming to an end. I suppose
that’s a slight exaggeration, but when you do 3-4x as many samples than you’ve
ever done in one week, you would be tired too! Thankfully I’ve had the amazing
Justine and Fallout 4 to keep me
sane.
News &
Views is back, as always, with a meaty selection of great writing about video
games. Check out the links below for stories about Until Dawn as an interactive movie, how AAA games have stopped
innovating, the dissonance of violence & narrative in Tomb Raider, and an argument that you cannot be evil in Fallout 4.
And of
course you can check out the brand new episode of The Impact Factor podcast
that was posted today! You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, or if you prefer other methods,
check out our SoundCloud. We’re on YouTube too!
Spotlight
Karen Russell, The New
Yorker
Worth Reading
Adi
Robertson, The Verge
Thomas KL,
In the Games of Madness
Josephine
Maria, FemHype
Patrick
Klepek, Kotaku
Simon
Parkin, Gamasutra
With Comments
Stephen
Totillo, Kotaku
This is one of the most important pieces
that has been written all year. The industry has struggled for a long time to
establish its identity. Most coverage of video games is modeled off
entertainment writing: with reviews, previews, & other heavily PR/marketing
guided content. A handful of individuals, several of whom work at Kotaku, have
been attempting to bring ‘real’ journalism to games. It’s an argument I can see
both sides of. I applaud Kotaku for bringing the issue to everyone’s attention.
ZiggyD
Gaming, YouTube
ZiggyD presents an interesting
question: can you truly be evil in Fallout 4? Gone is the
morality system of games’ past, and almost no one reacts (or remembers) your
unscrupulous actions. It’s certainly something I’ve noticed as well. As a
counterpoint to his argument, though, I’d propose that your companions help to
define the player’s morality. For instance, ‘evil’ actions are reflected in companions’
disapproval. Kill someone innocent or steal or use drugs, and you’ll be audibly
scolded by your traveling buddy. They will also like you less. Regardless, I’m
glad there’s already great Fallout 4
discussions happening around the web.
Patrick
Klepek, Kotaku
Oh man oh man. I almost forgot about
this game. Thanks for helping me remember, Klepek. I sank an embarrassingly
large number of hours into Teras Kasi. Luke was my main (his
unblockable, homing, highly damaging super Klepek writes about may or may not
have been the reason why). I can still hear the announcer saying ARDEN LYN.
Good times. Bad game, but good times.
Ben
Croshaw, The Escapist
Croshaw is known for his
inflammatory statements. He even has a show devoted to (mostly) ‘telling it
like it is’ about new AAA releases. That said, I found myself largely agreeing
with what he writes here. AAA releases often feel comfortable more than actually interesting. I find my novel ideas,
gameplay, and other innovations in the indie space. It’s been nice.
Illusory
Wall, tumblr
The interconnectedness of Dark Souls’s world is one of the best elements of one of the best games ever
made. This article is extensive and fantastic. I’ll let reddit user dratyan
speak for me here:
“What really makes Dark Souls a masterpiece IMO, by perfectly
uniting all its elements, is the world of Lordran. Its cohesive design made me
question every videogame world I'd experienced up to that point. From the
wastes below the backbone of the land up to the very top of the tallest tower
of the tallest castle, the world's vertical and intrinsic design never fails to
maintain its authenticity and unimpaired flow. After transversing the map not
too many times, I could - and still can, months after actively playing the game
- definitely draw a convincing transcription of it, with all its shortcuts and
intersections. It's amazing.”
I couldn’t agree more.
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