News & Views

1/23/16-1/29/16

Welcome back everyone to another week of News & Views. Crazy to think that next time I’ll be posting here we’ll already be one month into 2016. Time sure does go fast! Got a lot of exciting things cooking both in and out of the science world, so I am feeling pretty swell. Anyway, onto the stories!

This week I found a heaping helping of video game writing goodness. Check out the authors’ work below for stories about the relationship between walking simulators and fun, avoiding the ‘tagalong’ trap in co-op games, and how some of the best new video games are about making video games.

And of course you can 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

The best new videogames are all about... videogames

Jake Muncy, Wired

Worth Reading

School life in Rockstar's Bully

Samuel Roberts, PC Gamer

How "girl games" will save the post-apocalypse

Sarah Doukakos, Kill Screen

Avoiding the "Tagalong Trap"

Catharina Bohler, Gamasutra

Walking Simulators and the Theory of Fun

Alisha Karabinus, Not You Mama’s Gamer

You must construct additional pylons: South Korea's shrinking StarCraft II pool

Stephen Chiu, ESPN

With Comments

Stop asking about all female tournaments

Lillian Chen, Lilichen

Lillian Chen writes a super interesting piece about her evolving thoughts on what can be done to make women in competitive gaming feel more comfortable. The author is a long time veteran of the pro Super Smash Bros. scene, having felt first hand what it is like to attend a tournament as a woman. This article is about more than just having an all female tournament or not, and is well worth a read for anyone with an interest in how to make eSports better.

10 of the scariest expressions in game development

Geoff Coates, CG Society

Reading through this list of scariest expressions in game dev reminds me so much of similar situations in biomedical sciences. Coates’s humorous piece covers ten of these fear-inducing phrases, using his distance from the traumatizing moments to great comedic effect. If I could also never hear “It’s whatever you want it to be” or “Huh, that’s weird” again I would be a happier scientist.

Most Notoriously Difficult JRPG Bosses

Gamesradar, YouTube

As a big fan of JRPG’s, this click-bait title got me good. Gamesradar does a great job with this short video. It not only spotlights some brutally punishing bosses, but also some great JRPGs you might have forgotten about. It certainly did not inspire any confidence in me to start up my copy of Suikoden II that I’ve been meaning to get to for a while, though. A certain final boss of that game may or may not have made this list. Uh oh.

Death is random, but so is survival: Learning to love random chance in Tharsis

Ben Kuchera, Polygon

Kuchera’s piece on Polygon covers more of what I can’t stop thinking / talking / arguing about Tharsis. Kuchera does a great job at articulating how, by embracing the highs and lows of randomness, you can look past Tharsis being too hard or too luck based to be fun. I maintain that strategy can trump bad luck, but the game does rely on randomness (and all the fun / unfun that goes with it). Both Kuchera and I agree that gambling is an underutilized (and poorly implemented) mechanic in modern games, and Tharsis gives some hope that more can be done with it in the future.

TIF Plays: Week of 1/18-1/22
Gameplay

Hey blog! I've decided to do something new for gameplay posts on The Impact Factor. Previously, I just posted every single video in its own post. That created a huge glut of posts each week, which could make it difficult to find the rest of my content. To make things more tidy, I'll post all of my gameplay videos from the past week in one roundup post each Monday here on the blog! Of course everything would be easier if you just subscribed to The Impact Factor's YouTube channel, but hey, don't let me tell you what to do! So let's get it started:

Welcome to the The Impact Factor's last week of gameplay! Check out below to links of all my gameplay. Be sure to catch me live on Twitch (MegalodonPhD). I stream every Tuesday at 5:30pm PST and Thursday at 6:30pm PST. Plus some special Friday streams, too!

To keep up to date with everything The Impact Factor, and me, follow me on Twitter: @alexsamocha

See you all next week!

News & Views

1/16/16-1/22/16

Let The Impact Factor keep you cozy on this cold, dark and rainy (at least in the Bay Area) Friday. This week was a pretty good one, though I’m more than ready for the weekend. So many great games to play!

News & Views compiles the best and most interesting gaming stories from around the web each week. Check out the links below for cool writing about the PhD’s who are changing games, the math of Hearthstone, making roguelike randomness visible in Tharsis, and how emulation is good for more than just archival.

And of course you can 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

Brain wave: The PhDs changing games

Patrick Stafford, Polygon

Worth Reading

Touching Obama's hair and my hope for the future of games

Jamin Warren, Kill Screen

The Math of Hearthstone

Michael Shalyt, Gamasutra

How Sony Stopped A Vita Port From Being Canned

Patrick Klepek, Kotaku

Californium brings Phillip K. Dick's vision of the world to life

Chris Priestman, Kill Screen

Why I Quit my Dream Job at Ubisoft

Maxime Beaudoin, Gingear Studio

With Comments

In praise of the "bad" design of Tharsis

Will Partin, Kill Screen

Tharsis is a game I’ve been having a good time with this past week or so. Now that I’ve put it down (likely for good), I was curious what others were saying. Much to my surprise, so many people loathe the game. Huh. While reading through all the negativity I found this, a piece by Will Partin praising the ‘bad’ game design of Tharsis. His take is an interesting one. His thesis essentially boils down to how the punishing and random nature of Tharsis is emblematic of the unseen forces of the universe, and how reality is impartial towards human life. The inevitability of death is a constant. I liked what Partin had to say.

Roll for your life: Making randomness transparent in Tharsis

Roy Graham, Gamasutra

More Tharsis talk. Sorry, this game (& even more so the discussion around it) has really sucked me in. Roy Graham writes about the randomness of Tharsis and how, at times, progression is more about gambling than it is about strategy. I agree. I wish the article had talked about the dichotomy between randomness and strategy, which is the issue at the heart of the game’s detractors. A good read regardless.

Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann on why Uncharted has to end

Dan Silver, Eurogamer

Dan Silver has a great interview with Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann about the end of Uncharted, one of last generation’s best IPs. I’ll be sad to see it go, but Druckmann has me convinced it’s the right move. Really excited for what they have coming next.

Emulators, Speedruns, and That Video Where the Guy Only Presses A 0.5 Times

Jeff Gerstmann, Giantbomb

Gertsmann writes a great little piece about how emulating old games can go far, far beyond archival. One of most salient points is about how contemporary emulation allows old games to be dissected, and inspected, in ways that were never possible before. Looking at, and playing with, the code of old titles gives insight into game design (the hows & whys of its existence), and discovering the many secrets hidden below the player interface. We live in an exciting time.

The Impact Factor Ep. 38: Cannibalism, In Space!
Podcast

Welcome to the 38th episode of The Impact Factor! The Impact Factor is what happens when two scientists, and two best friends, get together to talk about video games. Hosts Alex Samocha [biomedical scientist] and Charles Fliss [social scientist] sit down every week to discuss the week in gaming! Listen in for the news, views, and games that made the biggest impact!

Please send your suggestions and feedback to: impactfactorpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode Alex and Fliss talk about Minecraft: Education Edition, Oregon Trail, game dev, eSports, Heroes of the Storm, ESPN, Mortal Kombat XL, Star War Battlefront, Tharsis, Lifeline, comic books and more!

'Rise of the Tomb Raider, and the dubious benefit of a console exclusive' by Bo Moore, Gamasutra

Subscribe to us on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-impact-factor/id993404882?mt=2

 
For articles and reviews from Alex, check out: www.theimpactfactor.blogspot.com
For a blog about Japan, pop culture & more from Fliss, check out:

www.flissofthenorthstar.blogspot.com

YouTube page: www.youtube.com/channel/UC_zpRq6h1O7d2MlMYWhNNjw 

Follow Alex @alexsamocha on Twitter. twitch.tv/megalodonphd
Follow Fliss @thecfliss on Twitter. twitch.tv/flissofthenorthstar

Intro song:

You Kill My Brother by Go! Go! Go! Micro Invasion, East Jakarta Chiptunes Compilations. Freemusic Archive. (Attribution Noncommercial Share-Alike License)
freemusicarchive.org/music/Indonesi…s_Compilation/
Transitions:
News & Views and Perspectives transitions from victorcenusa, Freesound.org (Creative Commons 0 License)
freesound.org/people/victorcenusa/sounds/148785/
freesound.org/people/victorcenusa/sounds/148784/
Experimental Methods transition from Sentuniman, Freesound.org (Attribution Noncommercial License)
freesound.org/people/Setuniman/sounds/143994/

TIF Plays: A Gaming Medley
Gameplay

Hey blog! It's been a while since I posted my gameplay here. I've accumulated a nice couple of videos, so instead of posting them all separately I decided to combine them into one mini-mega-post. More Nuclear Throne goodness, and two videos from a special Friday night stream I did this past week. Check out an archive of my stream linked below, and be sure to catch me when I go live by following me on Twitter (@alexsamocha) and Twitch (MegalodonPhD) Enjoy!

News & Views

1/9/16-1/15/16

Welcome everyone to a much more normal News & Views! It’s been a busy first full week back in lab, but The Impact Factor never skips a beat! Really looking forward to relaxing some this weekend, though.

News & Views is always here to bring you the best video game writing, stories, editorials & opinions from around the web. This week, I found great pieces about drug use in eSports, how a dating app is like Warcraft, why Life is Strange passes the Spielberg test of games as art, and how H.G. Wells was one of the impactful pioneers of tabletop gaming. Enjoy!

And of course you can 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

Werner Herzog Talks Virtual Reality

Patrick House, The New Yorker

Worth Reading

Analysis: Drugs and Competitive Gaming (eSports)

Core-A-Gaming, YouTube

'Life is Strange' passes the Spielberg test for video game as artform

Christopher Byrd, The Washington Post

The Mechanics of Tension

Chris Pruett, Gamasutra

How the voices behind your favorite games and shows are re-inventing live D&D

Ben Kuchera, Polygon

Tinder matchmaking is more like Warcraft than you might think

Michelle Ehrhardt, Kill Screen

With Comments

Behind the dice-based design of space cannibalism sim Tharsis

Zach Gage, Gamasutra

What an awesome look into the analytical mind of a game designer. So many games use, and rely upon, dice rolls (hidden from the player or not). Gage runs through the evolution of the dice-rolling system in Tharsis and it’s fascinating. One of the key points here is the balance of dice rolls leading choices or making a choice and then relying upon dice to see if you can accomplish your goal. It’s the difference between craps and King of Tokyo. Very interesting and well worth a watch if you have any interest in board games, video games, randomness, or game design.

Black women are already superheroes

Sidney Fussell, Offworld

Fussell continues to write extraordinary pieces for Offworld. Here, Fussell ponders what games can do to better represent black women. The depiction of black women often focuses on strength, but in the process loses ‘personhood.’ It would be great to see more characters that are funny or quirky or dark, and less one-note.

How H.G. Wells Helped Pioneer Tabletop Gaming in 1913

Brian Taylor, Paste

Well, if you needed any more reason to like (or at the very least appreciate) H.G. Wells, here it is. Taylor details how Wells championed a tactical tabletop game titled Little Wars, and the evolution of that idea into the modern board game, especially those that are miniature-based. Very cool.

The 25 best Final Fantasy games

Gamesradar Staff, Gamesradar

I’m a big fan of ranked lists. For example, you can check out a list of my #12-7 and #6-1 top games of 2015. Or my ranking of the Souls games. I can’t say this Final Fantasy list is 100% accurate (since I haven’t played them all), but I mostly agree with their ordering. Final Fantasy 6 is the best. Period.