Q&A Session #2 -- ANSWERS February 2017

im actually a he...

- Man, if you wanna see some more dual tech in combat done right, I'd urge you to play at least the first Mario&Luigi: Superstar Saga. It's an absolute classic to me, expecially for the snappy, engaging and wacky combat system. Easily my favourite (original-to-)GBA title. - Also, I think you may have already heard of this book from Mark Brown or others, but A Game Design Vocabulary is a book I'd really reccommend to you. It's got surprisingly few definitions for a self-nominated vocabulary, but in part that's a strength of the book, since it manages to condense the basic parts of games and game design in few, very meaningful concepts. It helps a good deal with breaking out of the usual epiphenomena-like terms commonly thrown around ("fluid gameplay", "engaging story" and more assorted formless mist) and actually focusing on the building bricks, the prime movers of the experience. Not that you really need it, but you know, games have had a need for a common, useful vocabulary for a long time, and this piece is a very good step in the right direction. - I'd have to (sadly) agree that controversy/crazes help a good amount with the popularity of longer videos, to justify the average viewer going through that: I'd picture that either some would long to experience a newly-released game in a distilled, yet comprehensive manner, or people in the middle of a craze may come to the video and judging from the length, expect someone with fully-formed—thus likely valid—opinions, that will both settle their uncertainty, AND give them good arguments to throw around in their own discussions. Also there's the people just frothing at the mouth with their OWN opinions, just looking for pieces that either confirm their preexisting view, or that need a bashin' in case they don't quite line up to the gospel. However all that is just a very cynic view, not to mention something that I pulled right out of my ass just now, so I really wouldn't let it influence your process aside from maybe the priority schedule, and even then, within the constraints of everything else: I'd never forgive myself from seeing you burn out from chasing after some receding release date or ongoing drama! Besides, some of those people are less likely to be repeat customers. - Just sayin', but I really value the enthusiasm you put in your critiques (that in turn influences the voice tone, the drive to deconstruct, the attention to details etc.) I may have come for Infinifactory but I surely stayed for the passion (and the insight that springs from it). - Also there's that mail I sent you a bit ago about your books ;) (On that, I don't want to hear any excuses. You've been unthinkably busy, that's plain to see, and besides I'm a patient man) - About those bad games that we ended up liking... For me, I'd nominate Harry Potter 1 for the GBA, also Yoshi's Story for the N64. Infatuations of youth, surely, but nonetheless I played both of them at least twice to completion, or at least did my damnednest to 100% them. It's two of those games that have tried somewhat hard, but have still done something palpably, unquestioningly wrong, to the point it'll be mostly enthusiastic kids willing to overlook those flaws that will be able to enjoy the game. And, apparently I was one of those kids at the time.

Riccardo Broccoletti

"Can I turn this question back onto you? Or anyone else reading this? I more often hear about critics praising a game and it ends up receiving poor user reviews. It's a lot rarer for big sites to pan a game and then players respond saying it's great. And by "pan" I mean 4 or 5 out of 10, not the infamous 8.8. That's still a great score." So I'm cheating a bit here given your clarification about a "pan," but I think Splatoon kind of fits the bill. It was averaging professional review scores in the mid-70s right after launch (and for the IGNs of the world, that's definitely a mixed review), but the player base quickly embraced it. This is partly on Nintendo for drip-feeding the content throughout the summer. But I think the larger issue was the "big site hive mind," where all the pro reviewers approached the game thinking, "shooters MUST have voice chat, weapon customization, 25 maps, 110 adjustable settings, custom servers, etc etc," all while completely missing the point. A brightly colored shooter that was inclusive (appealed to male and female, young and old), oozed charm, emphasized teamwork, de-emphasized K/D ratios, and invented a whole new mobility system. In some ways, it was Overwatch before Overwatch.

Ben Taylor

Day 17: Still haven't finished reading Joseph's Q&A.

GiantPurplePen15