The Impact Factor

News & Views

5/14/16-5/20/16

This week has been pretty incredible. I still can’t believe I got to play, and finish, Uncharted 4. What a game. Expect a review here next Tuesday. And there’s so much more! Survivor’s finale, warm weather, and the promise of summer fun has me feeling great. Now onto the real meat of the post.

News & Views collects the week’s best gaming editorials, opinions, and more into one convenient place. This week I found stories about the woman who invented cosplay, the grief of finishing a great video game (I’m feeling it with Uncharted 4), and the ever changing role of a game’s publisher in major eSports scenes. You should give them all a look and let me know which ones resonated with you!

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

Uncharted 4 and the grief of finishing a great video game

Keith Stuart, The Guardian

Worth Reading

Discussing Video Game Violence With My Three-Year-Old Daughter

Andrew Reiner, GameInformer

Why eSports commentary is so difficult

Sam Greszes, Kill Screen

Meet the Woman Who Invented Cosplay

Jennifer Culp, Racked

Meet the Smash Sisters

Patrick Miller, Giantbomb

Power Dynamics in Esports - the Role of the Publisher

Bryce Blum, ESPN

With Comments

Leveling systems scare the crap out of me

Anthony Burch, Destructoid

Burch spotlights a problem not a lot of us think about – leveling systems. Visualizations of progression can be an extremely powerful hook in gaming, so much so that they can often impact how you play a game. Leveling in multiplayer modes specifically can create this terrible mind space, where you only are playing to level up. In certain games (RPGs) I quite enjoy leveling systems, but not every game needs gear you can strengthen, or player levels to increase. Great thoughts.

Why I don't have the stomach for 'Battlefield 1'

Nathan Ingraham, Engadget

Shortly after watching the high-octane trailer for Battlefield 1, I started to ponder the implications of what a World War I shooter would actually be. WWI was a terrible, brutal, bloody, inglorious and awful war. Battlefield is known for cartoonifying war so it felt odd that their team would try to depict WWI. I certainly “have the stomach” for Battlefield 1, but there is a lot to think about here.

Death to review scores

Katherine Cross, Gamasutra

It might seem strange for me to spotlight Cross’s article here since The Impact Factor uses review scores, but I totally agree with the points she makes. Review scores, overall, are useless. Not only do they often say nothing, more often than not they stifle the conversation surrounding games (oh, it’s only a 7.5? Not worth my time). Scores can be helpful in establishing a certain kind of quality to a game, but they should not be the be all end all. I also went with a 5 star system here as to not play into the other terrible aspect of review scores – their inclusion in score aggregate sites. There is a lot to chew on here.

An End To "GIT GUD" - You Don't Need To Be "Good" At Games To Enjoy Them

John Walker, RockPaperShotgun

John Walker’s article about whether or not you need to be good at games stimulated a lot of discussions online. On one hand, I agree with his title. You do not have to be good at games to enjoy them. But then again, I do think a certain level of competency is essential in reviewing games. Walker conflates this “GIT GUD” mentality for reviewers versus fans, but overall I quite liked the piece. People should never use skill at gaming to make someone feel like they don’t deserve to be playing.