Friday, June 10, 2016

News & Views
6/4/16-6/10/16

We are only days away from E3, one of the biggest video game shows in the world! I’ve got my tweeting fingers ready for two solid days of new game announcements, trailers, gameplay reveals and more. In the meantime, why don’t you take a second a read some great gaming writing?

News & Views collects the best gaming writing from around the web and puts in into one convenient place. Check out the links below for stories about the underground fight clubs of Dark Souls III, the benefits of unsurprising characterization in games, and how minority characters should not be relegated to DLC.

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
Zoran Cunningham, Gamasutra

Worth Reading
Veve Jaffa, Model View Culture

Jason Schreier, Kotaku

Brendan Caldwell, RockPaperShotgun

Steven Messner, PC Gamer

Ben Kuchera, Polygon

With Comments
Jason Imms, Giantbomb
I was lucky enough to attend GDC 2015. Alongside excellent talks and a developer-rich show floor was the alt.ctrl.GDC display. I didn’t know what I was getting into when I approached. But I am so glad I did. Games like Butt Sniffin’ Pugs redefined the way I interacted with a video game, and I loved seeing the creative energy of game devs manifest through non-traditional controls. Alt.ctrl.GDC is wonderful and I’m glad Jason Imms spotlighted it here.

Wesley Yin-Poole, Eurogamer
Even as not the biggest fan of Half Life, something remains off about the franchise seeing no new releases in over a decade. I get that Valve has found plenty of other ways to make money, and I understand the pressure to deliver an unparalled game doesn’t match the fiscal risk vs. reward. But still. It is crazy over a decade later we’re still missing the conclusion of a trilogy.

Anthony Burch, Destructoid
It should come as a surprise to no one that I am not a fan of Reaper’s character design. He is so Hot Topic it hurts. Burch, however, praises the unsurprising characterization of heroes like Reaper or Genji in that they act to further draw out just how creative and just how exceptional Overwatch’s other heroes are. Food for thought.

Janine Hawkins, Giantbomb
Janine Hawkins takes us down a journey of reminiscence. Instead of reliving memories by looking through old photos, Hawkins reconnects with her deceased mother by booting up her old game saves. A wonderful piece that is well worth reading.

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