The Impact Factor Ep. 61: Won't Be Remembered
Podcast
Welcome to the 61st 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 special vacation episode Alex and Fliss do their own things! Alex is joined by super special guest co-host Justine to discuss The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo NX, Street Fighter V, and video game endings. Fliss discusses how Disney princess culture is bad for girls, good for guys, and how it affects gender roles in games.

“Endings Won’t Be Remembered” by Matt Sayer, Unwinnable

“Yes, Disney princess culture is influencing your daughters -- and your sons” by Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon

Subscribe to us on iTunes

YouTube page

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

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)
Transitions:
News & Views and Perspectives transitions from victorcenusa, Freesound.org (Creative Commons 0 License)
Experimental Methods transition from Sentuniman, Freesound.org (Attribution Noncommercial License)

The Impact Factor’s 2015 Game of the Year Awards!

Article, Part 1 of 2

2015 has been an absolutely phenomenal year for games. We’ve had stellar AAA games years in the making, surprise indies that wowed, and small artistic experiences that brought something new to the world of gaming. It’s also probably my busiest year ever as a gamer. I jumped between my computer, phone, Vita, 3DS, PS3 and PS4. I played nearly 60 games total. Starting The Impact Factor back in January was a huge inspiration to sit down to play anything and everything that not only caught my eye, but the critical eyes of others too. 2015 is the year current generation consoles became a must buy. Welcome to The Impact Factor’s game of the year awards for 2015! Strap in.

It’s a real treat to once again list my favorite, and the best, games of the year. After all, making a game of the year (GOTY) list was how I started The Impact Factor. What was five last year is twelve this year. I’m sorry. I just can’t narrow it down to the standard list of ten. Believe me, I tried. The games in the #12 and #11 slots are just too good to not be represented here today.

As a scientist first and games writer/podcaster/streamer second, I’m all about full disclosure to my audience. To address the first and most pressing question: no, I was not able to play literally every single game that came out in 2015. You may notice some big exclusions, or games that made it onto many other GOTY lists.  By virtue of me actually trying to complete my Ph.D. in a non-Rip Van Winkle-esque timeline, I just can’t get around to playing all the games I want to. My list, like all lists really, are a collection of the games I thought were the best this year. My favorites. All GOTY lists are subjective and given how many exceptional games came out this year, it should come as no surprise that lists this year were so varied. So I suppose I should include an asterisk in this article’s title that reads: *based on an incomplete sampling. You can see all games that I ‘sampled’ below.

This year was the first I could share my GOTY list in more than written form! The Impact Factor podcast just recorded its GOTY talk, in which I go into more detail about my top five favorites of the year. You can find the episode below.

But without further ado, let’s get into The Impact Factor’s top 12 games of 2015! 12-7 are today, honorable mention and 6-1 tomorrow!

12. Grow Home

3D platformers are few and far between nowadays, but Grow Home gets it so right. The game is charming, whimsical, atmospheric, and fun. I finished Grow Home over the course of one night & the following morning because I couldn’t stop playing. Grow Home nails floaty physics, contrasting the powerful pull of growing large vines with the lightness and clumsiness of your lovable little robot. 2015 is the first year I can quote myself about just how much I enjoyed some of the games on this list, so I’ll let my review’s summary do the rest of the work here: “Grow Home is an unmissable experience in gaming. My time with the game was awe-inspiring and meditative. A beautiful world complements your simple objective—to fill a planet with life. Climbing your way through a growing world creates a tremendous sense of player impact. Unusual physics and controls set the foundation for creating a compelling bond between the player and the game’s robot avatar, B.U.D., the more you play. Grow Home is a game that understands what it wants to be and shows players total respect. Grow Home is a perfect, compact experience deserving of your time.” You can read my full review of Grow Home for more about what makes the game so great.

11. Life is Strange

Life is Strange does a remarkable, and almost unprecedented, job of making the ordinary extraordinary. You live the life of a teenage girl discovering who matters most in her life, who she is, and who she wants to be. With a bit of supernatural elements added into the mix to amp up the drama. To summarize it briefly: you play as Max, a senior at a high school for the arts, who discovers she can manipulate time. She uses her newly found powers to reinforce, or erode, her social bonds. More importantly, though, it’s about rebuilding her time worn friendship to her childhood bestie, Chloe. What’s most impressive and engaging about Life is Strange is its depiction of normal life. The coming of age in during a trying time and about the complicated nature of making meaningful connections. Life is Strange runs the gamut of big dramatic moments, like drug abuse and suicide, but it’s groundedness (and humanness) make its dramatic flairs feel earned. Over the course of the five episodes I grew so attached to Max and Chloe. I did everything in my power to keep the two happy and healthy, because they deserved it. A few instances of clunky dialogue aside, Life is Strange excels in every way. I loved seeing another studio, DotNod, take a shot at a genre that Telltale had seemingly monopolized. And do it so incredibly skillfully. Life is Strange was another of 2015’s big surprises.

10. Persona 4: Dancing All Night

The surprises keep rolling with Persona 4: Dancing All Night (P4D). At the start of 2015 I would have scoffed at the idea that I’d care about a rhythm slash visual novel hybrid game based off a JRPG franchise I’d never played before. Let alone that it makes my top ten of the year. But here we are, and P4D is my number ten favorite game of 2015. I was blown away by Persona 4 Golden earlier this year, and it created an insatiable hunger for more. P4D sated that hunger, surprisingly, and stood out as it’s own fantastic game. P4D does everything well. The visual novel elements are well-written, funny, and feature great animated character models (a big deal for a visual novel game). The rhythm elements are even better. Motion-captured dancers move through interesting backgrounds, songs are instantly catchy and infinitely repeatable, and the inputs are simple yet mask a complexity that appears at higher difficulty levels. The Persona team does not make bad spin-offs. Perhaps most powerfully, P4D is a game that my fiancée played while I watched. Playing through P4D with her is one of my favorite gaming memories from 2015, easily cementing the game’s placement in my top ten list. I’ll let my own words wrap this up, “ P4D exudes design confidence, showing that Atlas not only knows its world, but knows how to perfectly expand upon it. I expected P4D but to be fun, but not great. Turns out it’s exceptional.”

9. Until Dawn

Until Dawn is the best realization of a long-promised notion in games: that your choice matters and affects the outcome of the story. What an exceptional surprise and a devilishly fun game. Until Dawn had everything going against it: a troubled development (it started as a PS3 Move game over five years ago), a formulaic plot (teen slasher / supernatural horror set in a cabin in the woods), and released with almost no fanfare. As a big fan of both horror and adventure games, I had to see what Until Dawn had to offer. I was blown away. Until Dawn is so freaking fun. The characters are shallow and tropey, but knowingly so. Voice acting is exceptional. The story takes twists and turns that easily carry you through the 10 hour experience. You’re in a constant state of fear, not only because of the monsters lurking in the shadows, but knowing that every choice you make could result in the permanent death of one of the game’s protagonists. You can beat Until Dawn with everyone alive, no one alive, or anywhere in between. Until Dawn does new and interesting things with adventure game control schemes too, namely the ‘don’t move’ prompt that requires you to keep your controller perfectly still during some of the game’s most tense moments. Until Dawn is a great solo experience, was a great co-op story experience for my fiancée and I, and would also be an exceptional party game. Until Dawn is the game form of yelling at the screen during a B-horror movie: do you run or try to hide from the masked intruder? And so on. Until Dawn was another of 2015’s great surprises and easily one of the best games this year.

8. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

Well, here it is. The game I promised to review since March. The game I never got around to reviewing. So this will have to suffice. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (MH4U) is exceptional. MH4U was my first foray into the long running Monster Hunter franchise. A franchise that, while limited to a small (but passionate) following in the west, is routinely one of the biggest games in Japan. The game boils down to a couple disparate parts. You travel out into a multi-zoned map to track, find, and kill gigantic monsters to complete quests. Killing said monsters awards you with monster parts, which can be used to craft new armor and weapons. There’s a loose story, but MH4U is all about killing big things with big swords (or axes, in my case). MH4U is impressively complex and almost unfathomably content dense. Killing your targets is never a button mash fest—it’s the exact opposite. Killing these giant monsters requires problem solving, pattern recognition, and quick reflexes. Your attacks are slow, monsters do a ton of damage, and they have a large health pool. Each new fight is a puzzle, one in which your life is on the line. Combat is therefore deliberate and tense. Enemy design is great, too. MH4U is an RPG fanatic’s dream, with a wealth of systems to master, each with immense complexity. The game is also like 8+ games in one, as each weapon type makes monster encounters feel totally different. Fighting with a sword and shield is nothing like fighting with a switch axe, a bow gun, or a hammer. They each require their own skill set and approach. I played MH4U for 80+ hours and I got maybe halfway through the content. That’s if I’m being generous. MH4U took me completely by surprise. And as I’ve read online, as the most accessible Monster Hunter yet it’s a perfect place for newcomers like me to jump on board. Just writing this makes me want to pick it up again. Dangit.

7. Tales from the Borderlands

Tales from the Borderlands is the little game that could. It had a lot to prove from the outset: how could Telltale make a game set in the Borderlands universe? It also had some pretty lofty expectations to overcome. As a big fan of both Telltale and the Borderlands IP, this unusual pairing was very much a peanut butter in my chocolate kind of scenario. But I was skeptical. Tales from the Borderlands delighted in proving me wrong. The game is one of the year’s best (duh), one of the year’s funniest, and Telltale’s second best game ever (just behind The Walking Dead S1). If I were to make a list of my favorite new characters from 2015, Tales from the Borderlands would easily secure upwards of four to five slots on a top ten. Letting me speak for myself here, “Tales from the Borderlands is fresh and exciting. Telltale flourishes in their return to comedic storytelling. Original characters feel at home in the Borderlands universe and are some of the best Telltale has ever done. The writing is sharp, witty, and often laugh-out-loud funny. Decisions made in Tales from the Borderlands feel meaningful, both within the game’s self-contained plot and in the Borderlands universe at large. Tales from the Borderlands is a wild ride and a raucously good time.” Telltale also plays with their own game conventions in Tales from the Borderlands, freshening up the play experience for the first time since The Walking Dead. Fan of Borderlands or not, Tales from the Borderlands is a must play. You can check out my full thoughts on the game in my review.

Check back here tomorrow for a couple honorable mentions and #6-1!

News & Views

11/14/15-11/20/15

Finally! The experiment week to end all experiment weeks is coming to an end. I suppose that’s a slight exaggeration, but when you do 3-4x as many samples than you’ve ever done in one week, you would be tired too! Thankfully I’ve had the amazing Justine and Fallout 4 to keep me sane.

News & Views is back, as always, with a meaty selection of great writing about video games. Check out the links below for stories about Until Dawn as an interactive movie, how AAA games have stopped innovating, the dissonance of violence & narrative in Tomb Raider, and an argument that you cannot be evil in Fallout 4.

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

Helping Hand: Robots, Video games, and a radical new approach to treating stroke patients

Karen Russell, The New Yorker

Worth Reading

The great Fallout 4 sustainable housing experiment

Adi Robertson, The Verge

Thoughts on Until Dawn and Interactive Movies

Thomas KL, In the Games of Madness

Fatal Femininity: Witches in 'Dragon Age' & 'Skyrim'

Josephine Maria, FemHype

Here's Carl Sagan's Pitch For A Contact Video Game

Patrick Klepek, Kotaku

Tomb Raider and the clash between story and violence in games

Simon Parkin, Gamasutra

With Comments

A Price Of Games Journalism

Stephen Totillo, Kotaku

This is one of the most important pieces that has been written all year. The industry has struggled for a long time to establish its identity. Most coverage of video games is modeled off entertainment writing: with reviews, previews, & other heavily PR/marketing guided content. A handful of individuals, several of whom work at Kotaku, have been attempting to bring ‘real’ journalism to games. It’s an argument I can see both sides of. I applaud Kotaku for bringing the issue to everyone’s attention.

In FALLOUT 4 You Cannot Be Evil - A Critique

ZiggyD Gaming, YouTube

ZiggyD presents an interesting question: can you truly be evil in Fallout 4? Gone is the morality system of games’ past, and almost no one reacts (or remembers) your unscrupulous actions. It’s certainly something I’ve noticed as well. As a counterpoint to his argument, though, I’d propose that your companions help to define the player’s morality. For instance, ‘evil’ actions are reflected in companions’ disapproval. Kill someone innocent or steal or use drugs, and you’ll be audibly scolded by your traveling buddy. They will also like you less. Regardless, I’m glad there’s already great Fallout 4 discussions happening around the web.

That Time Star Wars Became An Awful Fighting Game

Patrick Klepek, Kotaku

Oh man oh man. I almost forgot about this game. Thanks for helping me remember, Klepek. I sank an embarrassingly large number of hours into Teras Kasi. Luke was my main (his unblockable, homing, highly damaging super Klepek writes about may or may not have been the reason why). I can still hear the announcer saying ARDEN LYN. Good times. Bad game, but good times.

AAA Games Have Stopped Innovating

Ben Croshaw, The Escapist

Croshaw is known for his inflammatory statements. He even has a show devoted to (mostly) ‘telling it like it is’ about new AAA releases. That said, I found myself largely agreeing with what he writes here. AAA releases often feel comfortable more than actually interesting. I find my novel ideas, gameplay, and other innovations in the indie space. It’s been nice.

Dark Souls 1: Distant Views Explained

Illusory Wall, tumblr

The interconnectedness of Dark Souls’s world is one of the best elements of one of the best games ever made. This article is extensive and fantastic. I’ll let reddit user dratyan speak for me here:

 “What really makes Dark Souls a masterpiece IMO, by perfectly uniting all its elements, is the world of Lordran. Its cohesive design made me question every videogame world I'd experienced up to that point. From the wastes below the backbone of the land up to the very top of the tallest tower of the tallest castle, the world's vertical and intrinsic design never fails to maintain its authenticity and unimpaired flow. After transversing the map not too many times, I could - and still can, months after actively playing the game - definitely draw a convincing transcription of it, with all its shortcuts and intersections. It's amazing.”

I couldn’t agree more.

TIF’s Snuggle & Scream Ep. 03: Until Dawn
Podcast

Snuggle and Scream as you listen to this podcast about horror films! In this special seasonal spin-off of The Impact Factor, Alex is joined by his co-host, fiancee and fellow (begrudging) horror movie watcher Justine to discuss some scary movies! Each episode we’ll talk about a new horror movie we’ve seen together and give our thoughts.

This week Justine and I discuss 2015’s Until Dawn.

Send questions & comments to:impactfactorpodcast@gmail.com
Alex is on Twitter @alexsamocha
Follow all things TIF: http://www.theimpactfactor.blogspot.com

Intro: ‘Horror TV’ by FoolBoyMedia, freesound.org. Attribution Noncommercial License.

freesound.org/people/FoolBoyMedia/sounds/246516/

The Impact Factor Ep. 26: Shameless Pug

Podcast

Welcome to the 26th 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 Paris Games Week, No Man’s Sky, PS VR, Detroit: Become Human, SFV, SXSW, Persona 4 Dancing All Night, Until Dawn, Halloween & more!

The video game guide to sex--reader feature:metro.co.uk/2015/10/24/the-vide…rs-feature-5459168/

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/

News & Views

9/19/15-9/25/15

A gnarly stomach bug may have taken me out of commission for most of this week, but nothing stops The Impact Factor! Welcome back to another News & Views. This week, I found great writing about how Metal Gear Solid V allows you to bleed for your enemies, what Mad Max says about physical disabilities, and fear of missing out. Thanks for sticking with me everyone, I hope to be back up to full speed next week: which means more great stuff here and on Twitch.

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

Worlds Worth Believing In: On Demon's Souls and Dark Souls

Ario Barzan, Gamasutra

Worth Reading

Critical Witching

Jordan Wood, MetaThesis Blog

Why it's worth continuing to cover games with low review scores

Ben Kuchera, Polygon

Your body isn't your world: The heroes of Mad Max and disability

Tauriq Moosa, Polygon

None Up

Stu Horvath, Unwinnable

Steam Fighting Game Takes Risks That Super Smash Bros Won't

Nathan Grayson, Kotaku

With Comments

Loving Your Enemies in Metal Gear Solid V

Joshua Cauller, Gamechurch

Cauller gives his fascinating take on combat in Metal Gear Solid V. In so many games the player is forced to take countless lives. You’re essentially a mass murderer. But in MGSV, Big Boss is able to incapacitate, rather than kill, essentially every foe. Cauller writes how this allows him to express his faith, bleed for his enemies, and respect life. It’s a very cool perspective you don’t see often in games writing.

Until Dawn: On Representation, the Horror Genre, and the Illusion of Choice

Bianca Batii, NYMG

Until Dawn is a game I’m still dying to play. I have it slotted for October as a part of my horror fest game and movie media consumption mega-plan. Batii’s perspective is a welcome one. She writes that, although Until Dawn does play with some of horror’s more unseemly tropes, the game doesn’t give enough player agency to subvert others. For example, the cliché and misogynistic “cat fight” is totally unskippable. Something to consider during my playthrough.

Reasons Competitive Fighting Gaming Is Better Than Competitive Fighting

Gerald, Core-A Gaming, YouTube

Click bait title aside, Core-A-Gaming produces a pretty great video expounding the virtues of competitive fighting games. I’ve said a lot of what the video discusses here on the blog before, but it’s always worth reiterating.

Watch Spelunky's creator build a hellish stage in Super Mario Maker

Nick Robinson, Polygon

Derek Yu is a fascinating game designer. Spelunky is one of my favorite games of all time. It’s cool to see what Yu puts together in Super Mario Maker, especially with his procedural level generation mindset. I really want to play his SMM level. Dangit, Wii U.

News & Views

8/29/15-9/4/15

Hey everyone! It’s been a fun week for The Impact Factor. First and foremost, I’m trying to stream more. Gaming has always been a pretty insular experience for me, so it’s still so strange to be broadcasting my thoughts and gameplay on Twitch. But I think I like it? All stream archives will be posted here on the blog! You can watch live (and I would LOVE if you did) at Twitch.tv/megalodonphd.

As always, News & Views compiles the best written pieces about video games from around the web each week. I know I write this a lot, but I found a ton of good stuff this week. From how R. Mika is a force for women in games, to how we are all Mario, and to how gamification is the new nihilism, you can find a bit of everything below. Let me know your thoughts!

And of course you can check out the brand new episode of The Impact Factor podcast that was podcasted 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

Cibele: The most authentic, romantic game I've ever played

Andrew Goldfarb, IGN

Worth Reading

Until Dawn and the "Final Girl"

Zach Budgor and Jess Joho, KillScreen

We are all Mario

Will Partin, KillScreen

I Wanna Hold Your Hand: Exploring "Hand-holding" in Videogames

Brian Taylor, Paste

Games and Gamification: The New Nihilism

Cheap Drunk Games, Vimeo

Street Fighter V's Rainbow Mika: A Force for Women in Games?

Nadia Oxford, US Gamer

With Comments

This feels like a complete waste of time

Pietro Polsinelli, Gamasutra

This is an issue that comes up all the time for me, not just for smartphone games (the main culprits) but also with larger console games. It felt hard to put into words exactly why playing 90 hours of Bloodborne felt worth my time but 10 minutes with Fallout Shelter felt like a waste. According to Polsinelli it comes down to three things: if a game tell you a story, progressively trains you, or links to your social life in some way the time feels worthwhile. Interesting. I don’t disagree, but wonder if there are other factors that determine the gradation of the worthwhileà time wasted spectrum.

The Wonderful Honesty of Final Fantasy XV

Marty Sliva, IGN

Ah, Final Fantasy XV. A game that’s been off and on my mind for the past, what, 8 years? Crazy. Square Enix has been incredibly honest with their development process in the past year or so, and it’s so refreshing to finally feel like we’re getting even a little bit closer to the game’s release. Here’s looking at you, 2016.

My Nightmares Are Going To Miss You, Wes Craven

Patrick Klepek, Kotaku

Not specifically games related, but I had to include it. I was stunned to learn of Wes Craven’s passing earlier this week. Patrick Klepek, a games writer I deeply respect and who shares my passion for horror films, posted a great reaction and reflection of Craven’s legacy. Rest in peace.

Blizzard Branding: Exploring Cross Game Marketing

Josh Bycer, Gamasutra

Blizzard’s cross game marketing strategy is hugely significant. It was the leading factor in getting me to try out Heroes of the Storm. I did it all for a stupid card back in Hearthstone. Josh Bycer writes what I’m trying to say far more eloquently in his piece on Gamasutra. Blizzard has created a gaming dynasty, its own shared universe, that has the capacity to dig its tendrils into fans deeper and more anchored than anything before it. I know they’ve got me good.