I'm writing about video games (and other things)

Finally finished writing about The Swapper.

https://verumvenari.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/the-swapper-has-multiple-identities/

I didn't like it as much as Titan Souls, but I sure thought a lot about it. This will probably be closer to the length for most of these writeups -- 2k-3k words, maybe a bit over. The 4.5k as for Titan Souls would just get unsustainable.

Going to figure out what to play next, but @JellyBerry recommended Ori and the Blind Forest, and someone else (was it macca?) recommended Transistor. Limbo and Gone Home are the other two contenders.

 

http://www.gamestop.com/xbox-one/games/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-special-edition/131511

 

Limbo is free today if you don't have it already.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/48000/

 

Limbo is next, then. Looking forward to it, especially after hearing Sok talk about it.

I've also considered playing some super recent, free indie games, like the weird quirky ones that don't get much mainstream attention.

 

Limbo was a very good recommendation. Finished it, post will go up when it's done.

 

Writing about LIMBO got a lot more complicated than I thought it would, but the post should be done in a day or two. I'm considering going straight into Inside (a game made by the same people, apparently with similar themes and attitudes), rather than Gone Home or Ori, which are the other two choices.

 

any of you guys tried shelter 2?

one of my kittens got eaten by wolves because I wasn't fast enough :'(

currently my three other cubs seem to have left me and I have to return to my den alone.

 

https://verumvenari.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/surviving-limbo/

LIMBO done. Not entirely satisfied with some of the later portions, but even so, this might be the strongest piece I've written so far. Like I say at the end, Ori, Gone Home, or Inside up next. Or I might write about Enter the Gungeon, which I have played a little bit, and have a few thoughts on.

@darklord48 it was a real dang good recommendation, mate.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the game. I'll read your write up tonight. I'm waiting for a job to finish running on an Exchange server, and with 15 hours of sleep since Sunday, I need something to keep me awake.

 

I enjoyed your write up. If you're considering Bastion and Transistor, both are 80% off on Steam through July 18th.

 

Definitely thinking about Transistor. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Thanks! You were completely right about the adversarial design of the game; I didn't realize it would be as big a deal as it was. Not really sure I enjoyed the game in a raw sense (it was real dang dark), but I definitely appreciate what it does, and liked thinking about it.

I dunno if that's laziness or anything; you don't need to approach every piece of media with a hyper-critical attitude. Agreed on the unrealized potential and low expectations, though, and while that's especially true for triple A games, it can happen indies plenty as well.

 

Was incredibly busy these last few months with school and procrastination, so the indie project was on a bit of a hiatus. I might play another one or two, in the same format or a different one, over break.

For now, though, here's an old essay I wrote about Darkest Dungeon. I remember talking about the game briefly in the video games thread in OT, but this essay really gets into what I want to say about the game. The format and rhythm are a bit different from the other things I've written, but it's a decent piece, I feel.

Here's the link: https://verumvenari.wordpress.com/2016/12/17/the-darkness-in-darkest-dungeon/

 

that was the game i was going to suggest. see? i read threads.

 

It's an interesting one! I haven't played it for quite a while -- doubt somewhat that I will go back to it -- but it's especially neat to talk about.

 

do you spend any time in the forums of the games you review? i find that different genres seem to draw different crowds. each game forum has a unique vibe to it almost as interesting as the game itself. and i mean the general discussion forums, not the off topic nonsense.

 

Not really. I cruised around the Darkest Dungeon forums a bit, just to see how other players were taking the game. But yes, different games do certainly have different types -- I've played a lot of fighting games, and that is certainly a different scene than anything that shows up around Pox, or around roguelites. I don't really consider that fan atmosphere to be an inherently important part of writing about a game, or even reviewing games (which isn't really what I'm trying to do, anyway). I often really dislike fan/player communities, even for things that I enjoy, so that, coupled with my lack of need to visit those places, often keeps me away. Do you generally check out community stuff?

 

i cant very well tell devs how to make their game without trolling their forums now can i. in some im a critic, in others im a fanboy. depends on what roll i think is under represented. gotta stimulate that back and forth to see who people really are, ya know?