The Impact Factor

News & Views

7/30/16-8/5/16

Summer Games are afoot. Rio’s opening ceremony airs tonight and Lucioball is talking folks by storm in Overwatch. While you wait, why not sit down to read a few pieces of great gaming writing?

News & Views collects the week’s best writing about video games and puts it into one convenient place. Check out the links below for stories about the relationship between goats and DOOM, the insane fan culture that’s arisen around No Man’s Sky, and the less than stellar race politics of the new Deus Ex 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

Should eSports be in the Olympics?

Patrick Stafford, Polygon

Worth Reading

'No Man's Sky' Isn't Out Until Next Week, But This Guy May Have Already Beaten It

Austin Walker, VICE

Farewell, Kotaku

Patrick Klepek, Kotaku

"Augs Lives Matter": The hollow race politics of the new Deus Ex

Maddi Chilton, Kill Screen

The Goat, the Devil, and DOOM

Reid McCarter, Kill Screen

The Relationship between Monetization and Gamer Behavior

Mantin Lu, Gamasutra

With Comments

Is 'Easy Mode' Possible In Dark Souls?

Matt Sayer, Unwinnable

As a long time Souls fan I’ve long wondered if there was a way to make the games more accessible without compromising their unrivaled design. The answer to my own question was typically a resounding no. Matt Sayer also investigates this question. He provides some possible avenues to consider: like directing the player to focus their attack on a specific part of the boss via glowing limbs, or warnings for players about to fall to their deaths. I like what he’s trying here, but disagree that these would work. More thought is needed.

Furi: some tough design decisions striving to make a memorable game

Emeric Thoa, Gamasutra

I quite enjoyed Furi. I really appreciated how dedicated that game was to its core principles, for better and worse. Emeric Thoa, one of the game’s designers, writes about their philosophy for the game. Of the most interesting aspects is The Game Bakers’ goal to make a ‘triple I’ game. It centers around the idea that you cannot compete with AAAs in terms of scope, so you must focus on one feature and make it exceptional. This will help your game stand out among indies. Thoa also writes about how, in doing so, you cannot worry about alienating a large audience—you can’t please everyone.