I'm so proud of Animal Crossing. When the original released on the GameCube, I knew only 4 people who played it: my family and exactly one of my friends. It felt like a cult classic, as most GameCube games did back then. It was one of the first games of its kind, a game to … Continue reading Animal Crossing: 6 Months Later
If I enjoy a game's soundtrack, I find myself forgiving said game's bland or unimpressive parts. If I enjoy it enough to listen to it in my spare time, I find myself even forgetting the game's flaws altogether. The music will transport me back to the environments I was in and the feelings that music … Continue reading My Favorite Video Game Composers
My wife must really like me. She'll patiently listen to me gab on about the most recent game I've played, even if the game isn't cute or funny or not Animal Crossing. Sometimes she'll even watch me play the whole thing -- my Blind Nuzlocke playthrough of Pokemon Sword was quite a tense experience, and … Continue reading My Wife Played Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Loved It
For me, Super Mario Maker 2 was a life experiment: if the barrier between coding and game design was taken down, would I enjoy game development? Should I make my own indie game? The answer was more complicated than I had hoped. In the first few months of this game's life, I played through story … Continue reading Super Mario Maker 2: A Year Later
Most games have fighting of some kind in them. Whether it's decision-making in an RPG combat system, combo stacking in an Action game, or blasting monsters in a shooter, violence is conveyed in some way or form. You could even say that Mario jumping on enemies and them poofing out of existence is a... mild … Continue reading An Ode to Nonviolent Games
This past spring I had a lot of fun playing through Masahiro Sakurai's works and picking apart the elements of his design approach. It was certainly a highlight of the year. I figured why not do it again next year with another prominent game director? I already have a few devs that I'm thinking about: … Continue reading 4 Game Devs I’m Considering for a new Analysis Series
If you want a Game Awards done right, you gotta do a Game Awards yourself. Welcome to my year in review, everyone! And Happy New Year! 2019 was another year full of changes. I started out the year insanely overworked, and it only got worse as I went into summer. Both gaming and this blog … Continue reading My 2019 in Gaming
Obviously every year has games with inspired art direction, but 2019 especially had so many amazing-looking ones. From the childlike Yoshi's Crafted World to the gritty cyberpunk of Astral Chain, I believe I have a new visual standard for games. And even though I have my mini-review marathon on the way, I wanted to take … Continue reading 2019: The Best Year for Game Art Direction
Indulge me for just a little bit. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I've explored several fascinating and diverse landmarks in the region -- from the remains of ancient volcanoes to rocky coastlines, and from stark deserts to thick temperate rainforests. Never has a place I've lived in contain so many different biomes and land features … Continue reading Let’s Make a Game Inspired by the Pacific Northwest
Let's talk about GameStop. I loved GameStop as a kid. All those games on the shelves made the place feel like a library full of adventures, with limitless possibilities. As an adult... I can tolerate the store. I was in their Elite Pro program last year and they helped me afford all of the Wii, … Continue reading Can GameStop Survive?
