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No Man's Sky - Reading List for August 2016
🕑 Added 2016-08-31 07:11:24 +0000 UTC Hello everyone! Got a lot of links for you today - about 40 things to watch and read, if you have the time. This month's featured topic is, of course…No Man's Sky
No Man's Sky has been a fascinating game to read about. From its impossibly over-hyped marketing, to a hugely divisive reception on release, to the refund debacle… it's inspired quintillions of think pieces.
That's why I've been hesitant to do a video myself. Don't want to get lost in the shuffle! But to make up for that, here are my favourite videos and words on this intergalactic game.
The reviews: Matt at Cool Ghosts takes a really balanced view of the game - talking about its flaws and its strengths. The comparisons to the iOS game Out There are especially intriguing. videogamedunkey is a lot less balanced but he sums up the game's issues in no time at all and is funny to boot.
The hype: RockPaperShotgun and Jim Sterling go deep into whether or not Hello Games actually lied in their marketing for the game. Developer Paul Kilduff-Taylor (Frozen Synapse) says no - missing features are just the realities of game dev.
And whether or not their marketing was entirely honest, Rami Ismail reckons the game is a masterclass in pitching a game to customers.
The stories: Dan Marshall (The Swindle) shares a story of struggle from the game to argue why it's so special. Alex from Gamespot has a similar story. I guess the question is: do the game's mechanics do enough to make these terrific moments of conflict and hardship happen?
The subtext: One of the more troubling aspects of No Man's Sky is this idea of "discovering" things that have quite clearly been discovered. Are we all asshole colonialists? Brian Crimmins weighs in.
The history: Over at The Guardian, Keith Stuart gives a run-down of the game's cultural influences - from Chris Foss to post-rock to Elite. Eurogamer focuses on games for this playlist of similar space exploration epics.
The other: Brendan Keogh has lots of good stuff to say in this collection of notes on No Man's Sky. Michael Cook thinks we need to adjust the way we discuss procedural generation to keep expectations in check.
Okay, that'll do it. There are loads more hot takes so if you've read / seen something good, please drop it in the comments!
Moving pictures
The History of Quake - From gothic blaster to multiplayer romp, Gamespot's Danny O'Dwyer takes us on a whirlwind tour of one of the most changeable franchises in FPS history. I played a butt load of Quake 3 back in the day.
This is the Police is fun, but ill-judged - A lesson in how sensitive topics can be poorly handled in otherwise good games, courtesy of Eurogamer. Kill Screen goes more in-depth, and includes quotes from the game's Belarusian developer.
Explosions - JW from Vlambeer dives deep into the explosions of Nuclear Throne, to explain how so many different disciplines go into a tiny part of a game. Find out how design, programming, art, sound and more lead up to a big ol' boom.
Making Gameplay more Engaging by using Animated Cover - GMT supporter Robin-Yann Storm sent me this video and this article about an experiment in using dynamic cover to make players more mobile during firefights. I think it's a really clever idea and I'd like to see more games use this.
It's Not Easy Being Blue - Ian Danskin talks about Sonic's major problem: where Mario's "fun" is timeless, Sonic's "cool" is always on the verge of becoming un-cool, forcing the poor blue hedgehog to play an endless, exhausting game of cultural catch-up.
Lost in Concept - Prey 2 and a Hostile Acquisition Gone Wrong - While I'm excited to see Prey become another immersive sim from Arkane, this fab video from HyperBitHero explains how Prey's sequel could have been very intriguing if Human Head had a chance to finish it. Goes into the design of the game, and the murky business of its cancellation.
A Love Letter to Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - RagnarRox goes deep into one of his favourite games: the cult classic, RPG-style immersive sim Vampire. I bought this game for £1 a few months ago and still haven't installed it. Sorry!
How Pillars of Eternity Changed the Stats Game - Most of this went over my head, but it points out something really interesting: some (most?) pen and paper RPGs gave you a role and you had to try and play it. Modern RPGs let you pick a role. Very different. Imagine a Fallout game where you get given a random character at the start and you have to play and make decisions to fit your role.
Yoshi's Island - Really Freakin' Clever - This series is always good. This episode on the story-through-mechanics of Yoshi's Island is a particular treat.
Ojiro Fumoto Creates a Mario Maker Level - More people should be watching these videos where Polygon gets game designers to build Mario Maker levels. Lots of good design talk within. This time, it's the creator of Downwell (which I've heard is quite good).
Zombies - Ahoy takes us on a brief history tour of the undead. From voodoo to Dead Rising, it's a worthwhile watch.
Mega Man Legends 3 Documentary - A rather long but no less interesting video about the doomed development of Legends 3. This is the game that Capcom asked the fans to help make so it's untimely death was doubly rough for hardcore Mega heads.
Static words
15 of the best video games you have missed in 2016 - These lists are usually packed with games you couldn't possibly have missed, but Kate Gray mines mobile, browser games, and more for this exhaustive list of 2016's truly hidden gems.
Shovel Knight's Japan Localisation - Shovel Knight has always been (largely) faithful to actual NES games, and so Yacht Club obviously had to go the extra mile for the game's Japanese port and copy many of the changes seen between NES and Famicom games back in the day.
Platform Games: A Primer - Designer Scott Rogers, who worked on the Maximo games, gives a detailed run-down of the basics of platform game design. Lots of good stuff, though some of it is a bit "thou must…" to fit every type of game.
Visual Guide: Multiplayer Level Design - Another comprehensive set of images about designing a specific thing. This time, it's multiplayer level design. Loads of good stuff and the presentation is terrific.
Thief 1's Assassins and environmental storytelling - I hope to return to the Thief games one day, to talk about their excellent level design. As a taste, here Robert Yang talks about one fascinating level in The Dark Project.
Furi and creating memorable moments - The developers of the rock hard, boss rush action game Furi talk about the pain and power of making a game for a niche audience, and ignoring everyone else.
Mafia II is the game that made being in the mob brilliantly mundane - Hamish Black reckons Mafia 2 is a dramatic subversion of the mafioso genre, making mob life kinda boring. This piece was inspired by a video from Ryan's Theory.
Adam Jensen's Mankind Divided apartment: an analysis - We can learn a lot about a character by looking at the state of their house. Andy Kelly (creator of the sadly now defunct Other Places series) dives deep into Adam Jenson's flat.
Wait, these aren't video games!
Interstellar - Movies with Mikey - I didn't much like Interstellar, but Mikey does his absolute damndest to charge my mind. I'll say this for the film: the idea of a planet's strong gravitational pull warping time so you lose years of your life is potent as hell. Space is cool.
Bugs Bunny - The Origins of an American Icon - I'm still infatuated with kaptainkristian, who makes breathlessly loving tributes to his favourite animation. Here, he talks about the endlessly versatile Bugs Bunny.
The Dark Knight - Creating the Ultimate Antagonist - This video got me to back Lessons from the Screenplay on Patreon. It's a slick, coherent, and fascinating dive into the way The Joker is written to compete with Batman.
How Stranger Things got its retro title sequence - This show's great. The intro is simple but effective in nailing that 80s nostalgia. For more, check out Art of the Title.
Comments
Andrey Kurenkov
Great list! Glad you publish these every month.
Game Maker's Toolkit
thanks! crafting systems are definitely something I need to look at one day, for sure
Thanks for all the great posts and video's, you've quickly become one my favourite YouTube channel :) Maybe you could do an analysis on crafting games, in light of the new release of No Man Sky? Just an idea, take it or leave it ;) Keep up the awesome work!
