Da
News & Views
2/6/16-2/12/16
Happy
weekend and happy soon-to-be Valentine’s Day to all! I know I’m ready to kick
back, relax, and enjoy the extra long off time with my fiancée. And the right after the weekend is the long awaited release of Street
Fighter V!
As a
Valentine’s Day gift you to, News & Views is back and better than (mostly
the same as) ever! This week’s News & Views has great stories about short
vs. long term progression in game design, labor issues facing the gaming
industry, how gaming experiences about isolated protagonists helped one
writer’s depression, and much more!
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
Chris Baker, Gamasutra
Worth Reading
Michelle Ehrhardt, Kill
Screen
Ian Williams, Giant Bomb
Josh Bycer, Gamasutra
Olivia White, Paste
Mitch Dyer, IGN
With Comments
Mary Kish, Gamespot
I love that game difficulty has such a dynamic
range in the modern marketplace. There was a period during which games, AAAs especially, were too afraid to alienate the player (& buyer) by being too
hard. That’s not the case today. We have tons of brutally challenging games
like Darkest Dungeon, Crypt of the
Necrodancer, and Bloodborne.
I’m also a big fan of games eschewing difficulty altogether, like the
interactive narrative experiences we see in Oxenfree and Firewatch. It is a great
time to be into video games.
Megan Condis, Unwinnable
Ugh. This annoying debate. Condis does a great
job at explaining why we should not focus so strongly on the ‘games’ part of
‘video games,’ but this is honestly a piece that should never have to be
written. Does That
Dragon, Cancer offer interactibility
while running via computer processors? Then it is a video game. There are no
two sides to this debate.
Michael Martin, Playboy
I have followed the fighting game community
(FGC) for quite some time and it has been great to follow Rickie Ortiz’s career.
She is among the best of the best at Ultra Street Fighter IV. The
FGC is often seen as insular and bigoted, but Ortiz’s story is one that gives
me some hope. Playing Street Fighter
well earns you respect, regardless of how you identify. Very cool stuff.
Michael Martin, RedBull
The FGC’s evolution as an eSport has been a
fascinating one. So many other games were quick to adopt the boring
self-seriousness of ‘real sports’ with suit-jacketed commentators that offer
little fanfare to their play calling. Not the FGC. It fought against the moniker
of ‘eSports’ up until it was an unwinnable battle, and to this day retains so
much unique charm and personality other eSports lack. Paul “BlaqSkillz” DeCuir
is a great example of said personality. This player / commentator mixes comedy
and performance art together to be one of the most striking (& likeable)
figures in the SoCal Street
Fighter scene. Martin’s piece about
BlaqSkillz is well worth your time.
Reid McCarter, Paste
My fiancée Justine and I have found our niche
in consuming young adult (YA) media together. It’s been a blast to watch Degrassi
and play Life is Strange with her.
But YA games are not just for us and, as McCarter argues, are important to the gaming
industry as a whole. I agree. And I cannot wait to play through Oxenfree with Justine.
