Worth Reading: 05/31/2013

We’re about to enter a period of the yearly gaming cycle where the regular flow of releases is going to slow down. For some, this is a bummer, since it means there aren’t any (or few) new games. For me, it’s one of the most exciting times of the year, since I can hack at my backlog.

What are you guys looking forward to playing with the extra time?

For me, it’s Eternal Darkness and System Shock 2. Waiting until Halloween might make more sense when it comes to timing, but there will be other horror games (where you at, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs?) coming throughout the year, and I must strike while the iron is hot. Both have have such cult followings, and have obviously influenced those that came after. It’s one thing to know something is influential, it’s another to experience it yourself.

I can’t have the summer just be about horror, though, and so I leave the possibilities elsewhere to you. Valkyria Chronicles is an interesting strategy game that many recommended once I’d put Fire Emblem: Awakening to bed, and I intend to actually play (and finish) Dark Souls before the sequel comes out.

Hey, You Should Play This

• NothingElse by Ivan Zanotti (PC, Free)

NothingElse is coming with an unfortunate caveat: I haven’t finished it. The first 15 minutes have hooked me, but enough is going on at work that I haven’t been able to see where it all goes. The reason NothingElse is commands this space, however, is because NothingElse comes from imscared designer Ivan Zanotti. If anyone’s earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the unsettling, Zanotti has.

And You Should Read These, Too

• "On Consuming Media Responsibly" by Jenn Frank for

When I wrote about Amnesia: The Dark Descent, one of the motivations was coming to grips with why I continue to enjoy horror. When my father passed, I wondered whether my exploration of death in a safe space would mean the genre no longer meant anything to me--that hasn’t been the case. Jenn Frank discusses her fascination with horror and other media in this piece, set behind the backdrop of the dialogue around Anita Sarkeesian and her videos exploring tropes about women in games.

"I think what I’m getting at is, especially with the horror genre, it’s less important what a movie says and more important that you, the viewer, understand why you’re enjoying it. I believe in judicious self-awareness; a director like Nicolas Winding Refn knows exactly why he makes the directorial choices he makes, and he works those kinks right out onscreen. Or, if you aren’t enjoying a piece of work—if ultraviolence isn’t your thing, or if you’re suffering a visceral reaction—it’s every bit as important that you identify what about the piece is making you uncomfortable."

• "How to not hate Anita Sarkeesian" by Colette Bennett for blow in the game slot

Colette Bennett has some recommendations for Sarkeesian’s critics, and how to separate the argument from the author. I’m including two pieces that touch on Sarkessian’s series because the second one premiered this week and is featured below, and I know how the comments sections on those articles tend to go. You are allowed to disagree with Sarkessian, even aggressively so, but do so with a sense of class. Articulate your response, explain yourself. Stooping to name calling, derogatory remarks, and childish attitudes only undermines your point.

"Let's just say, for a moment, that instead of watching Anita's video series, you're reading the same ideas in a book (and there are dozens on the subject of feminism, and a handful on women's role in games as well). Are you still angry about them? You may be. If so, you can focus your hatred on the author of that book, or any of the other books. But notice how you feel when you're angry: insulated, seething, closed. If that feels bad, consider that there are other options, and other ways to react."

If You Click It, It Will Play

Crowdfunding Has Promise, Hopefully Developers Don't Screw It Up

• Unrest wants to see what it would be like to set a serious RPG in ancient India.
• Yeah, I'm definitely on board for Armikrog, a new game from the developers of Neverhood.
• The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers is a fascinating, ambitious project.

Tweets That Make You Go "Hmmmmmm"

Oh, And This Other Stuff

• You bet your ass we'll be looking at this chemical spillage simulator.
• Ashly Burch opens up about some personal turmoil in her life recently. Heartbreaking.
• Did you know Donkey Kong 64 shipped with the expansion pack because of a BUG?
• Games writer Susan O'Connor on the difficulty of writing for video games.
• Digital Foundry tries to figure out if the cloud can make games better on Xbox One.
• An outsiders perspective on the prospects of next-generation from John Siracusa.
• These old posters for Konami arcade games are the friggin' best.
• Find out why Penny Arcade Report couldn't go to China to cover League of Legends.
• How MOMA chose which games should appear in its current exhibit.
• Michael Abbott waxes on and off about the advantages of working in genre.
• Are Sony and Microsoft doing enough to convince us to buy new machines?
• The advantages of having a plan.
• I remember Weaponlord, but I sure can't remember if Weaponlord was any good.