errantsignal

Anachronox (Moderate Spoilers)

Added 2018-03-04 23:00:02 +0000 UTC

Sorry for the delay, but February's episode is here!

Some thoughts on this one: I remain uncomfortable with how much covering game history involves covering auteurs/creative movers & shakers vs. the people who had boots on the ground. Anachronox may well be Tom Hall's baby, but it's weird how, as we progress past about 2004 or so, the idea of auteurs stays but the size of the projects balloon well beyond what can easily be traced or attributed to one person. I guess I just wish there were more sources to talk about production and teams vs. individuals, especially once we reach that turn-of-the-century point for big budget games. Ah well.

The other thing is that I forgot how hard it is to put a game into historical perspective. Thematic readings are pretty easy because they A) Mostly just involve picking apart the thing, and B) Aren't necessarily entirely dependent upon context when looking at things years later. But a historical view of the game is entirely about context, and I'm not sure how well I pulled that off here. The "PC vs Console Gamer" bit in particular feels true, but I have few if any meaningful sources to cite other than my own anecdotal memory of the period.

Still! Anachronox is a funny game, and a game near and dear to my heart (especially for someone who isn't particularly huge on JRPGs or Point & Click games). Even if this video is mostly an excuse to screen some best-of clips from Anachronox to a wider audience, I'm happy to fight the game receding from memory.