Worth Reading: 01/04/13

So, 2012, it’s over. Blah. You’re gone. I can’t say I’m too upset about having 2012 in the rearview mirror, even if there was plenty to celebrate about those 12 months. I’m just happy to be moving forward, and can begin enacting change for the better, based on my time spent thinking about the recent past.

Sure, most of that’s going to happen in my personal life, but given how intertwined my personal life is with my professional life, that also means change for Giant Bomb--and my approach to news. When I first got here, I was hired as a news and features guy, and that was my role for the first few months. There weren’t enough podcast microphones to have me on the Bombcast regularly, but the office bought another one, and that changed. I’d drop into Quick Looks every so often just to fill in, but as it became clear there were games I was interested in looking at that no one else was, that changed, too. It all started to add up, and while I’m still regularly writing features for the site, it doesn’t happen enough, and I certainly do not have the time to spend doing background reporting on truly big stories.

That’s gonna change in 2013 in ways that will become evident in the next few months, I hope, and doesn’t really have much to do with shifting my day-to-day interaction with the site and you guys. It’s mostly making adjustments to operate more efficiently (ie: using a service to transcribe my interviews to get the writing part started sooner), and maybe bringing in outside writers to report on material that I have no interest in or time to tackle.

We’ll see. I’m only sharing some of these ideas with you to let you know it’s a new year, and while everyone talks about it being a time for change, I’d actually like some of it to happen. And, yes, that includes getting that PC. I already have the CPU and GPU, just need to get the rest. Soon, I think. Spookin' With Scoops will return, then, too.

Hey, You Should Play This

• Killer Escape by Psionic Games (Browser / Free) -- www.kongregate.com/games/Psionic3D/killer-escape

I may or may not have gone slightly overboard with the horror coverage on Giant Bomb in 2012, so I had every intention of opening Worth Reading in 2013 without a single reference to a horror game. Then, of course, I landed upon this terrific point-and-click adventure game about escaping the confines of serial killer, and absolutely had to share it with you. Killer Escape has an awful name, but Psionic Games has done a masterful job of establishing a sense of dread in a game with largely simple, static visuals. The damn game even managed to pull off a terrific jump scare out of nowhere, and I suspect you won’t see it coming, either. The whole experience doesn’t last more than 20 minutes or so (if you’re stuck: spiderwebs), but a timer ticks and tocks in the corner of your inventory, instilling a constant sense of “oh, shit, will the killer actually come back?” as you desperately click your way out.

And You Should Read These, Too

• "The Negative Influence of Games: An Autobiographical Essay" by Matthew Duhamel for Nightmare Mode

What brings pleasure to some will bring pain to others, as evidenced by this stunning essay about the negative role video games have played in his life. Granted, were games not around, it’s entirely possible Duahmel would have substituted them for a different form of fantasy and escapism, but today, the medium of choice for many is video games. We do not spend much time thinking about the consequences of the games we make and the games we play, and I’m troubled by the industry’s obsession with the word “addictive” and making games “addictive.” It’s not to suggest video games are “bad,” only that maybe there may, in fact, be “bad” things about games. The worlds we create and the mechanics we design that are beloved by most may bring out the worst in others. Should it matter?

The difference between my own experience, and that of a typical hyper-successful ivy-league-bound student is that my sense of self was built around fabricated success. Video games present a fictitious sense of trial that produce a baseless sense of accomplishment. Saving the world feels like it’s worthy of note but it is simply the outcome for every person who plays the game and doesn’t turn off the console.

I chose to define myself by my gaming successes as a way of displacing the definition given to me by my circumstances. This has brought with it all the consequences Deresiewicz describes, but without any of the benefits gained from the hard work real-world success requires. I still craved the type of success that Ivy League schools looked for, but the ease with which I could turn on a video game and feel successful without any of the work was (and still is) incredibly difficult to pass up.

• ”The Year of Antisocial Gaming" by Gavin Purcell for The New York Times

Gavin Purcell likely speaks for many of us when he talks his guilt from playing with the popular iOS word game Letterpress in 2012. I went through a similar psychological arc years ago when Words With Friends, and it surfaced some of my worst tendencies. It’s awfully easy to start a game with someone, but I’d usually never make it past the second turn. Then, you’re trying to avoid the messages from people asking you to keep playing, and you resent the game, the concept of push notifications, and, ultimately, your friends. Terrible! I don’t blame people for giving up.

I take so long to play? Well, guess what, dude, I’m busy. I put in long days at work. I have to buy things from time to time. I eat. I have a family. And I was just told by my own children to put the iPhone down. So, yes, I take my time.

The interchange gnawed at me. This was an entirely new development. Guilt. Anger. Betrayal. All because I wouldn’t play this dumb little iPhone game. Looking back, my friend probably did care about what was happening in my life at the time but he was blinded himself. He just wanted to play his turn.

If You Click It, It Will Play

I Don’t Know About This Kickstarter Thing, But These Projects Seem Pretty Cool

• The campaign to raise funds for a sequel to The Ship went nowhere, and the developers share lessons.
• Full Bore started as a simple action game, but it's growing bigger. Looks like this has potential.
• I'm so glad Dreadline didn't disappear into the ether. This ghostly game looks fantastic.

Maybe Every Top 10 List Doesn't Have to be the Absolute Worst

• Indie Games compiles a list of the best independent horror games from 2012. I missed a few!
• Super Hexagon creator Terry Cavanagh rattles off his favorites form the past year. Read, listen, play.
• Gamasutra reveals its most popular stories from this year, as does Kotaku.
• Apple outlines how to go from a casual player to a hardcore enthusiast in just 10 steps.

Valve Just Launched Greenlight, So Here’s Some Games That Don’t Look Terrible

• KRUNCH looks just like the kind of assholishly hard nostalgia I haven't experienced in a while.
• I don't know what to make of people saying They Breathe is genuinely horrifying, but I gotta find out why.
• In 2013, I will play more couch co-op games, and maybe Super Motherload can help in that quest.

Patrick's Watching TED Talks As Part of a New Years Resolution, So Here You Go

Oh, And This Other Stuff

• You've probably seen it already, but read this excellent essay criticizing The Big Bang Theory.
• Sony is not the only company investigating anti-piracy measures for next-gen, but it patented one idea.
• Electronic Arts continues to demonstrate its blatant disregard for decency.
• The whole War Z debacle happened while we were on break, but the creator has apologized. Christ.
• Whenever a developer announces co-op in a horror game, I cringe, and here is that cringing put into words.
• As more casual players look for deeper experiences, is the new term "mid-core"?
• People have so many fond memories of Morrowind. I wish I could count myself among them!
• Interesting commentary about games "forcing" us into situations where we do questionable things.
• I've never played the Shining Force games. Do they hold up at all?
• Michael Abbott does the best interviews, and recently he spoke with designer Warren Spector.

So, 2012, it’s over. Blah. You’re gone. I can’t say I’m too upset about having 2012 in the rearview mirror, even if there was plenty to celebrate about those 12 months. I’m just happy to be moving forward, and can begin enacting change for the better, based on my time spent thinking about the recent past.

Sure, most of that’s going to happen in my personal life, but given how intertwined my personal life is with my professional life, that also means change for Giant Bomb--and my approach to news. When I first got here, I was hired as a news and features guy, and that was my role for the first few months. There weren’t enough podcast microphones to have me on the Bombcast regularly, but the office bought another one, and that changed. I’d drop into Quick Looks every so often just to fill in, but as it became clear there were games I was interested in looking at that no one else was, that changed, too. It all started to add up, and while I’m still regularly writing features for the site, it doesn’t happen enough, and I certainly do not have the time to spend doing background reporting on truly big stories.

That’s gonna change in 2013 in ways that will become evident in the next few months, I hope, and doesn’t really have much to do with shifting my day-to-day interaction with the site and you guys. It’s mostly making adjustments to operate more efficiently (ie: using a service to transcribe my interviews to get the writing part started sooner), and maybe bringing in outside writers to report on material that I have no interest in or time to tackle.

We’ll see. I’m only sharing some of these ideas with you to let you know it’s a new year, and while everyone talks about it being a time for change, I’d actually like some of it to happen. And, yes, that includes getting that PC. I already have the CPU and GPU, just need to get the rest. Soon, I think. Spookin' With Scoops will return, then, too.

Hey, You Should Play This

• Killer Escape by Psionic Games (Browser / Free) -- www.kongregate.com/games/Psionic3D/killer-escape

I may or may not have gone slightly overboard with the horror coverage on Giant Bomb in 2012, so I had every intention of opening Worth Reading in 2013 without a single reference to a horror game. Then, of course, I landed upon this terrific point-and-click adventure game about escaping the confines of serial killer, and absolutely had to share it with you. Killer Escape has an awful name, but Psionic Games has done a masterful job of establishing a sense of dread in a game with largely simple, static visuals. The damn game even managed to pull off a terrific jump scare out of nowhere, and I suspect you won’t see it coming, either. The whole experience doesn’t last more than 20 minutes or so (if you’re stuck: spiderwebs), but a timer ticks and tocks in the corner of your inventory, instilling a constant sense of “oh, shit, will the killer actually come back?” as you desperately click your way out.

And You Should Read These, Too

• "The Negative Influence of Games: An Autobiographical Essay" by Matthew Duhamel for Nightmare Mode

What brings pleasure to some will bring pain to others, as evidenced by this stunning essay about the negative role video games have played in his life. Granted, were games not around, it’s entirely possible Duahmel would have substituted them for a different form of fantasy and escapism, but today, the medium of choice for many is video games. We do not spend much time thinking about the consequences of the games we make and the games we play, and I’m troubled by the industry’s obsession with the word “addictive” and making games “addictive.” It’s not to suggest video games are “bad,” only that maybe there may, in fact, be “bad” things about games. The worlds we create and the mechanics we design that are beloved by most may bring out the worst in others. Should it matter?

The difference between my own experience, and that of a typical hyper-successful ivy-league-bound student is that my sense of self was built around fabricated success. Video games present a fictitious sense of trial that produce a baseless sense of accomplishment. Saving the world feels like it’s worthy of note but it is simply the outcome for every person who plays the game and doesn’t turn off the console.

I chose to define myself by my gaming successes as a way of displacing the definition given to me by my circumstances. This has brought with it all the consequences Deresiewicz describes, but without any of the benefits gained from the hard work real-world success requires. I still craved the type of success that Ivy League schools looked for, but the ease with which I could turn on a video game and feel successful without any of the work was (and still is) incredibly difficult to pass up.

• ”The Year of Antisocial Gaming" by Gavin Purcell for The New York Times

Gavin Purcell likely speaks for many of us when he talks his guilt from playing with the popular iOS word game Letterpress in 2012. I went through a similar psychological arc years ago when Words With Friends, and it surfaced some of my worst tendencies. It’s awfully easy to start a game with someone, but I’d usually never make it past the second turn. Then, you’re trying to avoid the messages from people asking you to keep playing, and you resent the game, the concept of push notifications, and, ultimately, your friends. Terrible! I don’t blame people for giving up.

I take so long to play? Well, guess what, dude, I’m busy. I put in long days at work. I have to buy things from time to time. I eat. I have a family. And I was just told by my own children to put the iPhone down. So, yes, I take my time.

The interchange gnawed at me. This was an entirely new development. Guilt. Anger. Betrayal. All because I wouldn’t play this dumb little iPhone game. Looking back, my friend probably did care about what was happening in my life at the time but he was blinded himself. He just wanted to play his turn.

If You Click It, It Will Play

I Don’t Know About This Kickstarter Thing, But These Projects Seem Pretty Cool

• The campaign to raise funds for a sequel to The Ship went nowhere, and the developers share lessons.
• Full Bore started as a simple action game, but it's growing bigger. Looks like this has potential.
• I'm so glad Dreadline didn't disappear into the ether. This ghostly game looks fantastic.

Maybe Every Top 10 List Doesn't Have to be the Absolute Worst

• Indie Games compiles a list of the best independent horror games from 2012. I missed a few!
• Super Hexagon creator Terry Cavanagh rattles off his favorites form the past year. Read, listen, play.
• Gamasutra reveals its most popular stories from this year, as does Kotaku.
• Apple outlines how to go from a casual player to a hardcore enthusiast in just 10 steps.

Valve Just Launched Greenlight, So Here’s Some Games That Don’t Look Terrible

• KRUNCH looks just like the kind of assholishly hard nostalgia I haven't experienced in a while.
• I don't know what to make of people saying They Breathe is genuinely horrifying, but I gotta find out why.
• In 2013, I will play more couch co-op games, and maybe Super Motherload can help in that quest.

Patrick's Watching TED Talks As Part of a New Years Resolution, So Here You Go

Oh, And This Other Stuff

• You've probably seen it already, but read this excellent essay criticizing The Big Bang Theory.
• Sony is not the only company investigating anti-piracy measures for next-gen, but it patented one idea.
• Electronic Arts continues to demonstrate its blatant disregard for decency.
• The whole War Z debacle happened while we were on break, but the creator has apologized. Christ.
• Whenever a developer announces co-op in a horror game, I cringe, and here is that cringing put into words.
• As more casual players look for deeper experiences, is the new term "mid-core"?
• People have so many fond memories of Morrowind. I wish I could count myself among them!
• Interesting commentary about games "forcing" us into situations where we do questionable things.
• I've never played the Shining Force games. Do they hold up at all?
• Michael Abbott does the best interviews, and recently he spoke with designer Warren Spector.

worth reading!

Stop saying Valve Just Launched Greenlight.

@MrPeabody:

Definitely worth reading.

That videozine thing is pretty interesting. Thanks for the links, Patrick, and happy 2013!

That "middle ground between Left 4 Dead and Day Z" is just Left 4 Dead on Expert (Realistic On). Seriously, that shit is paralyzing at times.

Yes, Shining Force holds up well enough.

The link under "Apple outlines" is broken. Leads to the Top 25 Kotaku article.

Uh oh, the CBS overlords wont cotton to you criticizing their BBT cash cow. Watch your back Patrick.

"and maybe bringing in outside writers to report on material that I have no business, interest, or time to tackle."

My native language isn't english but shouldn't it be business with, interest in [...]...?

Also, you use, a lot of commas, which is, very annoying to, ultimately, read.

REASON Magazine, represent!

I am nothing but excited that this new year will hopefully allow Patrick to explore and share more of the games that appeal to him (and obviously none of the other bomb crew). We are living in the fucking future now... let's get experimental!

SagaciousJones clearly is not a Hardcore Gamer.

Shining Force does indeed hold up pretty well. The second one, anyway.

Wow, I've just realized something:

Saving the world feels like it’s worthy of note but it is simply the outcome for every person who plays the game and doesn’t turn off the console.

This is reductionist as hell. Who said that "saving the world" would be easy within that given game? That's like saying, "Graduating summa cum laude from Harvard sounds prestigious, but that's what happens to everybody who goes to that college and doesn't drop out."

Maybe it was just a really poor selection of quote.

I definitely feel for Matthew Duhamel in the article. To be very honest, I think video games killed my concentration. I don't even know if I could recover from it either... Man, what a downer.

You should watch the TED talk parodies on the Onion youtube channel too. Some TED talks are great, but there's some Jonah Lehrer-style BS in there.

@Video_Game_King: That article is misleading anyway. It is less about the "Negative Influence of Games" than a sad man describing using video games as a crutch to escape from his sad reality.

@TheHT: Basic transcript of every L4D2 Expert Realism game: "There's a Hunter over there. Over there. By the.....OVER THERE! GODDAMNIT YES THAT ONE! GET IT OFF ME YOU IDIOT!"

@GrantHeaslip said:

Aside from ending a couple of sentences with ", too." (why?), I've got to give credit where credit's due: Patrick published an entire long-form article without any blatant spelling or grammar errors. Here's hoping this wasn't just a fluke.

Edit: Looks like I spoke too soon:

@TrafalgarLaw said:

"and maybe bringing in outside writers to report on material that I have no business, interest, or time to tackle."

My native language isn't english but shouldn't it be business with, interest in [...]...?

Also, you use, a lot of commas, which is, very annoying to, ultimately, read.

It always cracks me up when people do this, who cares...

That essay about the Big Bang Theory is going to make it way easier to explain to my friends why I don't like that show.

Keep up the good work!

Also, TED Talks are the shit.

@patrickklepek The "Apple outlines" link points to Kotaku's top 25 stories article.

mid-core is a stupid term that I can't agree with.

Oh man, TED talks. I got completely, hopelessly addicted to those a few years ago. Haven't seen them in a while.

If Worth Reading has one every week, I would be so happy.

Just finished Killer Escape. No walk through used.

31:01, 25000 points

More Ultima Online in 2013!

Just when I thought patrick couldn't get any more pretentious he starts posting TED talks in "worth reading." This "feature" needs to be taken out to pasture.

That post about co-op in horror is really interesting. I've had one co-op experience that I found really creepy, even though the game isn't a horror game at all. It was Terry Cavanagh's At a Distance. If you ever have a chance to give it a shot, definitely do.

I think that you need to decide whether this is a column meant to aggregate and inform on obscure video games and news related thereto, or whether it's a personal blog for you. Personally, I think the former has more value to the site, but GB will do as GB wishes to.

Electronic Arts apparently responsible for... the legal sale of firearms in the United States.

What fuckery is this? "Blatant regard for decency". Do you even know what decency means? Say what you want about comarketing, but it's not like they're promoting the sale of crystal meth. If you don't like guns, try to get guns banned. But trying to make them taboo, EA mentioning them is 'indecent'?

You're not 22, Patrick, you're as old as I am. Are you being serious with this or is this just a Tom McShea-ish play to the kneejerk and the reactionary?

Completed Killer escape 16:50 25000 points. Not worth your time, Jump scare is jump scare, scary and cheap.

@Xeirus said:

@GrantHeaslip said:

Aside from ending a couple of sentences with ", too." (why?), I've got to give credit where credit's due: Patrick published an entire long-form article without any blatant spelling or grammar errors. Here's hoping this wasn't just a fluke.

Edit: Looks like I spoke too soon:

@TrafalgarLaw said:

"and maybe bringing in outside writers to report on material that I have no business, interest, or time to tackle."

My native language isn't english but shouldn't it be business with, interest in [...]...?

Also, you use, a lot of commas, which is, very annoying to, ultimately, read.

It always cracks me up when people do this, who cares...

Well, the guy writing the article probably should.

Just beat Killer Escape. I'll just say that Condemned: Criminal Origins is a hell of a game.

That Ultima Online picture made me think of two words.

Corp Por!

Yeah typos suck and all but man... those top 10 that aren't the worst are totally the worst.

@gladspooky said:

@Xeirus said:

@GrantHeaslip said:

Aside from ending a couple of sentences with ", too." (why?), I've got to give credit where credit's due: Patrick published an entire long-form article without any blatant spelling or grammar errors. Here's hoping this wasn't just a fluke.

Edit: Looks like I spoke too soon:

@TrafalgarLaw said:

"and maybe bringing in outside writers to report on material that I have no business, interest, or time to tackle."

My native language isn't english but shouldn't it be business with, interest in [...]...?

Also, you use, a lot of commas, which is, very annoying to, ultimately, read.

It always cracks me up when people do this, who cares...

Well, the guy writing the article probably should.

That's all well and good, but the condescending tone in which people "correct" him is uncalled for and more annoying than any grammatical errors Patrick makes.

Patrick, I first saw your work when you were over at G4 in the glory days on the Feedback podcast. You moving to Giant Bomb is a large reason why I'm here, and I am happy that your role in the site will continue to evolve. To 2013!

@Xeirus said:

@GrantHeaslip said:

Aside from ending a couple of sentences with ", too." (why?), I've got to give credit where credit's due: Patrick published an entire long-form article without any blatant spelling or grammar errors. Here's hoping this wasn't just a fluke.

Edit: Looks like I spoke too soon:

@TrafalgarLaw said:

"and maybe bringing in outside writers to report on material that I have no business, interest, or time to tackle."

My native language isn't english but shouldn't it be business with, interest in [...]...?

Also, you use, a lot of commas, which is, very annoying to, ultimately, read.

It always cracks me up when people do this, who cares...

Usually I don't comment on grammar or errors and as I said english isn't my native language but it can be really annoying to read. I think Patrick has some interesting stuff to read but when I think about the format...it first starts out as a personal blog/introspective...that's okay...back to games and then some random youtube links without any introduction...?

I'm looking forward to new writers.

Still anxiously awaiting that last Faces of Death, dude.

ULTIMA ONLINE!!! <3

If there's one thing I don't like about Giant Bomb, it's the assholes in every Patrick related article or video that feel the need to point out his flaws. Unfortunately, I will be skipping the comments section on anything Patrick related from now on.

Keep up the good work Patrick, your content is great.

blagh I never like it when intellectuals publicly denounce the idea of schooling. I understand their point, and I understand that US public schools are fucked, but then dumb people take their message and run with it and are like "YEEEAaahhh i dont need college im dropping out" without any good alternative ideas, and then people I know end up with dead end jobs that they post about on Facebook. Shoulda just gone to school, man!

Edit- thanks for linking the Morrowind article, if there's one thing I've loved more than Morrowind, it's reading about other people who love Morrowind.

To the people bitching about grammatical issues:

That you should be so bothered by this should be cause for concern.

You are not forced to read this.

You are getting this content for free, to complain about it is nothing short of lunacy, or perhaps I was the only person who was taught the proverb that you should never look a gift horse in the mouth?

Grammar != journalism. I would read the most typo laden, error filled piece of shit ever if it was, for example, a breakdown of Duke Nukem Forever's creation. Don't confuse what you had to do in your English language class at school with some actual reportage.

There's probably numerous errors in this post. Well guess what you pedants, I don't care. I wish I could live in a world in which my greatest concern was the grammatical accuracy of a news post about video games that I was able to read for free, but unfortunately I have some far more important problems, such as how my fridge is so far away from my computer I'm going to have to get up to get a beer now. Holy shit people, the GB community is so much better than this. Stop embarrassing yourselves.

@GrantHeaslip: Pretty sure I remember Brad being cited as the one who gives the final once-over on articles.

@Zelyre: Or even better, 3 words; Kal Ort Por or even Vas Rel Por

Honestly, I clicked on this article solely due to the UO image.