Friday, April 8, 2016

News & Views
4/2/16-4/8/16

Phew, I’m lucky to even be writing this post this week. Enter the Gungeon is finally out and I’m totally obsessed. What game are you really into right now? I would love to know.

News & Views is your weekly infusion of great gaming content! I scour the web each week to find the articles, opinions, videos & more that are worth consuming. Check out the links below for stories about a blind gamer who excels at a highly competitive fighting game, how one pair of game developers are nearly halfway to simulating existence, and the rise of young eSports pros for a smartphone game.

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
Justin McElroy, Polygon

Worth Reading
Wes Fenlon, PC Gamer

Wesley Yin-Poole, Eurogamer

Brandon Sheffield, Gamasutra

Luke Winkie, The Daily Dot

Thomas Grip, GDC 2016 via GDCVault.com

With Comments
Heather Alexandra, Giantbomb
Heather Alexandra writes a fantastic piece about violence in games. The Division’s subject matter continues to be divisive among professional game critics. She writes that the game displays a recurring power fantasy of legitimized violence. The Division not only allows you to wantonly kill other survivors, it actively encourages you to do so. I might just have to play this game at some point. The discussion surrounding it is just too fascinating not to.

David ‘dacidbro’ Broweleit, The Pop Tart Diary
I always love reading about success stories. More than that, I love reading about how people have used games to over come obstacles, stave off criticism, and escape dark times. Dacidbro’s story is a nice one and I’m glad he’s found his calling. His story reinforces the idea that games can be more than just a diversion or escape. Games can fundamentally change the core of your identity.

Caty McCarthy, Kill Screen
Reading about games I have never heard of continues to be great. Caty McCarthy spotlights the old Japanese title Idolm@ster and its depiction of depression. McCarthy applauds the game for not focusing on overcoming depression or finding a cure as so many other titles (across all media) do. Instead Idolm@ster shows the past, present, and future of depression and accepting it as just a part of life. The game is able to transport the player to a world, a depression, that almost none of us will experience: being a pop idol. Really cool story.

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