THOTH (And How I Talk About Games)

I'm personally very much into the mechanics of games. I do also greatly enjoy your thematic analyses but I'd be very happy to hear you dig into this kind of mechanical games more in the future. In fact, I'd even like to request you to share your thoughts on Nex Machina once it's released later this year (PC and PS4). Knowing the developer Housemarque it should be full of fine-tuned mechanics. And the game seems to have something light on the thematic side as well ;-)

Ville Nurmi

I love when you get more into mechanics. This video came off pretty well. I agree with Mark M that it could have gotten deeper into the specific mechanics, but overall I really enjoyed it. I wasn't aware of this game at all and now I'm intrigued. Most of all, if you do end up expanding in this direction, I like that it opens up access to games and themes that you wouldn't otherwise be able to get at.... Your thematic analysis is outstanding. and I just feel like, with that background, you may come up with unique takes on more mechanical games..

tambutts

Personally, I just don't care for these kinds of games at all, so I'm disinterested in the coverage. But that's just me.

Stella-Terra Clemens

For what it's worth, I think you hit a nice balance in length were it didn't feel like you were reaching too much on anything, and I appreciate that it touched on a game I haven't heard of. I don't know that I like this style as much as your usual "lit crit" angle (especially because of how underserved that end of the spectrum is), but I like it as an interlude of sorts and respect the efforts to push yourself into new territory.

Theo Gerome

Hard for me to say how well this video succeeded. I like dry mechanics discussion, though you didn't really delve into specifics. I've liked all the humanities stuff you've done previously. And you introduced me to a game I hadn't heard of. So it worked for ME. But I don't think I'm super typical. But maybe I'm your niche audience. idk

Josh Foreman

I was going to say the same thing. I'm just so happy there are finally people stepping up to fill out the bottom portion of that triangle.

Josh Foreman

Haha - thanks for including me on the graph. I would personally pull myself a tiny bit closer into the bottom right corner - which essentially means I have the opposite problem that you do. People often ask me to talk about games like Firewatch or Night in the Woods, and I have - so far - declined. As those games are all about story, theme, etc, my critical vocabulary / background is just useless. I would rather leave it up to someone like yourself, who would do it justice. I do think there is some benefit in cultivating a, sorta, "brand" of criticism so people know what to expect. When I click on a video from you about Mafia 3, I know it's gonna be like 30% mechanical stuff, 70% narrative. If it's a Jim Sterling video, it's more likely to be about the business stuff. I know what's what, going in, and there's a certain level of comfort and familiarity with that. It would be weird if Jim started talking about subtext. But sticking to that would, of course, preclude you from talking about the games you mention in this video. So, I totally support your drive to explore new things. For me, I try to (operative word: try) capture the fun and thrill of playing these mechanical games, in words. The adrenaline rush of skating around a battlefield in Vanquish; the tense bullfight with a pinky in Doom; the way you inch through a Dark Souls map; the bouncy, elasticated joy of jumping in Mario. These games make you feel a certain way, and I think the goal is to figure out how the mechanics helped you get to that headspace. How did the game put you on the edge of your seat, or make you feel smart, or leave you with beads of sweat at the end. To me, that ties a bow between the top bit of your triangle (product review) with the bottom right (design). "The game made me feel X, and on closer analysis, I think it's because the developer made the decision to do Y." I don't always achieve that, and I definitely fall into the dry thing sometimes (personally I don't find it dry, because I'm a massive dork, so I have to deliberately force myself to think "is this too boring?"). But, yeah, that's the plan. Good luck - I reckon you should put it out to the public. It's an interesting conversation to have with your wider audience.

Game Maker's Toolkit

Personally, I would've preferred a special episode like you used to do exclusively on the subject of how games are talked about. The Violence in Games one is quite old and a little rough but I still rewatch it frequently because it's stuffed with good points. Tying this video into THOTH meant that neither subject, the game or how we talk about it, received adequate focus.

This is great stuff, I'd really enjoy more videos like this. They don't have to be as long but you can still articulate how the mechanics work in the context of the game, and of similar games, and what makes them stand out.

Ryan Aston

I agree with Mike. Thoth could have received the Devil Daggers' treatment. Don't worry about being dry. If diving deep into mechanics is what is required to understand how a given experience is generated, it's more than fine to do it.

Stephane Bura

Found this fascinating, and super cool. I really enjoy your more crit-analysis stuff, especially cause it's too rare online, but I would totally watch stuff like this. You weren't just looking at the mechanics, but how they work and how the specific combination of mechanics and gameplay used creates feel and style and atmosphere for the game. I love that shit. I think Mike's problem could be solved pretty easily if you... i guess just used a few more examples from the game with direct explanations. I've seen this game in action once or twice, so I don't know if the video would be quite as good if you had no idea what the game was/how it worked. overall tho loved it.

No, that's a valid point. Really I think a lot of that came from the desire to get this out *fast* and while in a Sudafed haze. I definitely could/should have delved deeper into some of the specifics of the game's approach to topdown shooter mechanics, and how specifically it tries to play with them.

Christopher Franklin

As a mechanics focused man myself, I dig the desire to talk more about mechanics. I think it came out well, though I wouldn't have minded some more specifics. The video is very broad strokes, talking about the structure of the game, and the way it uses it's mechanics. But what of the mechanics themselves? Sure the game introduces a mechanic with each section, and then mixes it with others for interesting outcomes, but what...are the mechanics? Would have been interesting to hear you talk about a specific mechanic, or combination of mechanics that you found especially interesting. How it made you rethink your play style to deal with it or something. Without any really specific examples, I don't feel like I really understand the nature of the game, or how it combines puzzle mechanics with top down shooter mechanics. Just based on this video, it seems like a regular minimalist top down shooter from where I'm sitting. Maybe I'm just dumb though ;P

A good even if small and kinda dry nevertheless a good episode. Also, I prefer the cultural/literary crit approach in your videos, but once or awhile I don't mind the whole learning the mechanics/formalism of a game. I find them to be very interesting. Finally, Have a better March without feeling like crap!

Bardcraft

Ugh, sorry to hear about the sinus infection, that's no fun at all. As someone who has never even heard of Thoth, I thought the video was interesting! Looking forward to more videos in March but I totally understand that sometimes life just won't allow for certain levels of productivity.