Posts in reflections
When I didn't speak the language of games
My uncle introduced me to video games around the 2000s. He wasn’t an avid gamer, but he did have a Sony PlayStation 1 for his daughters - my older cousins - and he also dabbled in some PC games. I would run over to his house, load up titles like Crash Bandicoot and Resident Evil 2 on PS1, or maybe Deus Ex or Serious Sam on PC. Crucially, many of these games were in English, despite the fact I didn’t live in an English-speaking country, nor did I speak the language
... (keep reading)Why do I like games I do not finish
Hey there. I really like video games, and on average I play a little under a hundred games a year. The number has slowed down a tad bit after my daughter was born, but things have been picking back up - I’m starting to have some time here and there.
... (keep reading)Why we optimize the fun away: a case against the second screen
I’m going to make a case that the ease of access to information in video games can diminish the potential for fun. I’m not a Luddite and I’m not here to advocate for shutting down the Internet, but I do yearn for a time where looking up an answer wasn’t as easy, or at least wasn’t an immediate instinct.
... (keep reading)The joys of leaving the map behind
This line of reasoning was the main reason I named this blog “Unmapped Worlds,” but it’s a topic I haven’t yet written about. Probably because I’ve feared that this article would need to be great, but the longer I’m putting it off, the more I feel like this needs to be amazing. In reality, it’s not a revolutionary take; I just want to talk about how some great games handle navigation and traversal.
... (keep reading)Oblivion lockpicking and progression systems
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has a lockpicking mini-game. When you encounter a locked chest or a door, you whip out your lockpick and try to set the lock pins in the right position. There’s some intuition to it, and you get better as you play. But here’s the kicker: as your character’s in-game skill increases, the number of tumblers you have to interact with decreases, significantly simplifying the mini-game. So, as you, the player, get better at the mechanic, the game itself gets easier.
... (keep reading)What makes a procedural world have a soul?
Procedural generation promises endless replayability… but does it deliver? Rarely. Procedurally generated worlds often feel hollow, empty, and soulless - a void where an expression of a creator could’ve been. I hate procedural generation in video games.
... (keep reading)On owning games
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working on compiling my thoughts on every PC Game Pass game I’m familiar with. That 10,000-words-so-far monstrosity is likely coming next week, but it did get me thinking about owning games.
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