A Much Needed Dose of Normal
Let’s take a break from the news of COVID-19 and relax with some video games.
This week, I’ve decided to focus more on the normal types of articles that you’re used to seeing and less on the COVID-19 articles. I’m doing this because reading article after article about this pandemic left me sad, depressed, and uninspired to put this issue together. I’ve seen a lot of people who get sick and scared after reading COVID-19 articles, and I don’t want Load Save to be a place that you have to worry about that. I think that a lot of us could use a return to normalcy. So starting this week, we’re getting back to the OG Load Save.
INDUSTRY
The Messenger and the Myth of Progress
What does “next-gen” mean to you? Is it the presence of an SSD, better graphics, or HRTF audio? Or is the next step for video games, whatever that may be? This is the question that Stephen Mansfield asks in this great article. He also does something that I’ve never seen (or, read): backs up his argument with a video game, The Messenger.
Y’all know I had to link an article that talked about The Messenger. I love that game so much, and this article focuses on the aspect of it that I love the most: the time-traveling.
Enjoy this read and maybe reconsider what you think next-gen means.
Image credit: Devolver Digital
Stadia launches Makers program to attract experienced indies
Stadia is still trying to bring in Indie developers. This time, it’s by opening it up to the whole world through a sign-up page.
A few weeks ago, I linked an article about Stadia’s lack of Indies due to the low pay the offered Indie companies. Now it seems like they’re still trying to bring in some Indie devs by offering more services, but the actual payment is still unspecified.
If I was Google, I would just bite the bullet and pay these devs a little more to get them to the platform. I mean, they definitely have enough money to do it. If they’re serious about Stadia, they need to put their money where their mouth is.
COMMUNITY
The priceless work of Make-A-Wish, and the potential of games
This article made me cry more than once, but it’s the most important article in this issue. It details the work of the Make-A-Wish foundation in the US and the UK and how the gaming community can continue to help kids’ dreams come true.
Enter GameStars, the tool that lets you raise money while streaming or just doing a fundraiser. This helps Make-A-Wish have the funds to let kids, well, make their wish. With COVID-19 affecting the whole world, Make-A-Wish is having issues with funding, so they’ve had to turn kids away. If you’re a streamer or if you want to help raise money for this cause, consider checking this out. Read the article to learn more about it and let me know if you want to fundraise in any way, I would love to link it on an issue of Load Save.
p.s. Shoutout to The Gaming Pub for linking this article in their latest issue.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Is as Anxiety-Inducing as It Is Relaxing
This past week, I was feeling particularly down due to the overwhelming presence of monotony in my life. The social distancing of COVID-19 has forced my life to become a rinse and repeat of online work, online school, and then games or Netflix for a few hours. I’ve been playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons since it’s release last Friday, and while I love it, I feel like it’s not the best thing for me right now. I began to flesh out a Medium article about how I felt, but then I saw this article. While it’s not completely what I was feeling, I still resonated enough with it to feel a connection.
I especially related with the overwhelming Twitter feed of New Horizons. At first, it’s so fun to see hundreds of other people playing the same game you are and seeing their creations and experiences. Now, not even a week later, seeing these incredible islands and houses really brings out my insecurity. I’ve never considered myself artistic, which can be a source of anxiety and insecurity, and New Horizons has so many options to show off creativity and artistry. When I see viral tweets about the art people have made in-game or the beautiful garden they’ve cultivated, I can’t help but compare it to mine. This leaves me stressed and like I have something to prove, the exact opposite of what I expected from an island getaway.
If you’re loving New Horizons, please keep loving it! I don’t want the feelings in this article and shared by me to ruin your experience. I know that this game has brought joy and happiness to a lot of people in a tough time and I hope it can continue to do that. But this is a great article to see how other people are experiencing New Horizons. And hey, it can never hurt to your broaden YOUR Horizons (pun intended) by reading other people’s takes.
How Games Marketing Invented Toxic Gamer Culture
This article title is a tad bit clickbaity, as the author admits that it wasn’t solely video game marketing that “invented toxic gamer culture,” but this is a good read nonetheless.
This is essentially the “I can’t believe they would put that in an ad” of video games. It’s easy to look back at the ads of the 20s and brush it off because it was so long ago, but the ads in this article were from the late 80s and 90s, not that long ago. That makes them even more crazy.
Even if you don’t want to read this whole opinion piece, it’s still a good article to look at a bunch of ads from Sega, PlayStation, and Xbox in the late 90s and early 2000s. I had to keep myself from going into a rabbit hole of “DarkMaster” Xbox promo videos on YouTube.
Opinion | It’s a Perfect Time to Play Video Games. And You Shouldn’t Feel Bad About It.
Last week, I linked an article titled, “Time Enough At Last.” It described the lack of interest in gaming that the author was experiencing due to COVID-19. I have a feeling that a lot of people feel that way, but this week, let’s take a look at another perspective: why you shouldn’t feel bad about playing games (maybe a lot of games) right now.
This article puts some real force behind the argument for playing video games during lockdown other than “because I have time.” If you’re like me, reading it will open your eyes to why video games feel so good right now. I often don’t think about my escapist tendencies, but this article helped me realize that they’re front and center during this pandemic.
If someone is giving you grief for playing games, make them read this article. Odds are, it’ll change their perspective.
DEVELOPMENT
Deep Dive: Making a cozy, therapeutic experience in Coffee Talk
If you keep your ear to the Indie streets, you might’ve heard of Coffee Talk, a visual novel where you play a barista, serving humans and fantasy creatures alike. It’s not your typical Cooking Mama game where you have to get orders out quickly, instead, you take your time and interact with your customers.
This is a great articles from the developers of Coffee Talk that describes some of the steps they went through when building this game. Don’t worry, there’s no technical talk, it’s mostly the ideas behind the game and how they made it feel like an actual coffee shop. If you’re missing the coffee shop experience, maybe Coffee Talk is just what you need right now. Thanks Toge Productions!
p.s. I started listening to the Low-Fi soundtrack for this game just to get the vibe, and now I’m afraid that I like Low-Fi.
Valve: “VR has been missing a big game that everyone can get excited about”
Half-Life: Alyx came out this week, and it seems like it’s great (see review below). In reality, I’ll probably never be able to play this game since I don’t have a gaming PC, so to make up for it, I’m reading as many articles about it as I can. This article looks into the development behind the game and the drive to make this a VR game that people can really get excited about it.
Congrats to Valve, it seems like they have a hit on their… hands.
JUST FOR LAUGHS
Playing Nothing But Half-Life: Alyx In VR Made Me Hallucinate
This article is either very funny or incredibly scary. I’ve never experienced VR, so it’s hard for me to relate to the feelings relayed in this article. Maybe that’s why I found it so funny — imagining someone running into store shelves because they thought they would phase into it like they would in-game.
With Alyx being one of the first VR games that people are spending continuous days playing, I wonder if this is a step closer to Ready Player One. Maybe that world is closer than we think.
Let me know what you think about this article. Funny, scary, or a little bit of both?
REVIEWS
Half-Life: Alyx review
I haven’t linked a review in a long time, partly because I always have hope that I’ll play the games and be able to form my own thoughts about them, but since I won’t be playing Half-Life: Alyx anytime soon, I’m more than happy to link a review about it. Plus I really like to read RPS articles.
This article is a stipend for people who can’t experience this game. It goes into details about the awesome moments that VR brings forth as well as the failures of the platform. Overall, I would love to play this game before I die. That’s when you know that I’m serious that I won’t be playing it anytime soon.
It seems like Valve has made a killer VR game, which isn’t an easy feat. Mix this with Gabe Newell’s interest in brain-computer interfaces, I think Valve is going to be a very interesting game company to watch in years to come.
Before You Go
Thanks for stopping by! This list o’ links was originally sent out in the Load Save newsletter, a curated collection of discussions about the gaming industry, development, and community. Subscribe today to get a new issue in your inbox every Saturday afternoon!
If you like what you read and you want to share it around, I would be super appreciative. You can share this Medium article on your socials or share the Load Save website! Whatever you decide to do, just know that it means a lot to me.
I’ll see you next time!
