The Impact Factor

News & Views

2/20/16-2/26/16

I know this isn’t video game related, but it’s Oscars weekend! Who do you think will win? This is the first year in the past few that I feel like I have only seen a small handful of the nominated films. Oh well. Awards shows are always fun to have on in the background!

Now onto News & Views, a weekly curation of the best video game writing, stories, opinions and more! Check out the links below for the trails of a female eSports champion, how Firewatch calls back to dating during the early internet, undressing Kratos, and how no one really know what games cost.

And of course please 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

The man who made 'the worst video game in history'

Richard Hooper, BBC

Worth Reading

How Beyond Good & Evil 2 Died

Zack Hage, Medium

No One Really Knows How Much Games Cost

Graham Smith, Rock Paper Shotgun

In Play: Games' relationship with nature is weird

Oli Welsh, Eurogamer

Skin to Screen

Janine Hawkins, Giantbomb

The benefits of integrating a writer: Rhianna Pratchett makes the case

Christian Nutt, Gamasutra

Undressing Kratos

G. Christopher Willamas, popmatters

With Comments

'Game Snack' Went on Hiatus Because It's Hard to Be in YouTube's Middle Class

Nicholas Deleon, VICE

The middle class is disappearing in nearly all aspects of gaming. The gamedev middle class disappeared midway through the last console generation with the loss of studios like THQ. Just last week we saw the closure of GameTrailers, the middle class of mainstream / old-school games media. And now, as Nicholas Deleon writes, YouTube is losing its gaming middle class too. It’s sad.

The trails of a female eSports champion

Kevin Roose, Fusion.net

I enjoy watching Hafu stream. She really knows what she’s talking about when it comes to Hearthstone’s arena mode. I cannot even begin to imagine all of the harassment she has had to deal with over her many years as a known professional gamer. Though Roose’s interview dwelled too long on the negative, Hafu eloquently paints a horrific picture of being a female eSports champion.

How Firewatch hearkens back to relationships on the early internet

Katerine Cross, Gamasutra

Cross writes an fascinating piece describing the relationship at the core of Firewatch’s experience. It’s about two people who’ve never met, never seen each other, trying to feel each other out through sparse vocal interactions. I never really participated in a romantic relationship in the early internet, but the comparison seems apt. Firewatch continues to provide great platforms for discussion. I love it.

Steph Curry Is So Good, NBA 2K Can't Depict Him

Jason Schreier, Kotaku

The Impact Factor is talking about a sports game? You bet I am! This story is hilarious. Steph Curry’s real life NBA performance cannot be replicated in NBA 2K. That’s insane. He’s too good to be properly simulated in a video game. I think it works to reinforce what I’ve heard from the sports media world: Steph Curry is redefining the NBA. The parallel with that sentiment and video games is awesome.