Worth Reading: 10/25/2013

If this video game thing doesn’t work out, I’ve figured out my new gig: helping Halloween web sites escape from 1994. Have you tried looking at a haunted house web site? Oh my god.

I’m headed to a haunted house for the first time in possibly a decade tomorrow night. For whatever reason, San Francisco had zero options in the city, and you need to travel a decent distance for anything that’s not the respectable but remarkably tame Six Flags.

In any case, as October rolls to an end, it’s hard to avoid looking ahead towards November, which brings two new hardware launches. My invitation to attend Sony’s PlayStation 4 launch party in New York City arrived, though lord knows if I’ll actually be hopping on a plane. I’m not sure why Sony is asking folks to fly to New York for this event. They have boxes to ship stuff in, you know.

While the money stickler within me isn’t that psyched for either machine, I can’t help but get caught up in the hype. And while it’s even better that I won’t be standing in line for anything on either launch day, I’ll probably drive around and see what the lines are like. Standing in line was so much fun, man! I stood in line for a PlayStation 2 (didn’t get one, Circuit City ran out), GameCube, Wii, and Xbox 360. I didn’t end up purchasing a PlayStation 3 until a year into its life.

The Wii line was probably the most fun, albeit less so for anyone who wasn’t me and my friends. Only half of the people in line were even waiting to purchase a Wii, everyone else was just hanging out and getting drunk in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Upon coming home in the wee hours of the morning, I spent an hour getting upset that my component cable hadn’t yet showed up, since it meant Twilight Princess looked like crap.

For Xbox 360, though, I spent my morning hanging out outside of a Costco. Places with a membership tend to get fewer allocations of hardware, but it also means there are fewer people showing up. I remember having to purchase a bundle with Kameo: Elements of Power and being pretty bummed out. I actually liked Kameo!

I can’t remember anything memorable about the PS2 line, except high-fiving my mom for allowing me to skip a few morning classes to give the purchase a shot. I still had to go to school for the rest of the day.

You guys have any good line stories?

Hey, You Should Play This

• No More Table
• Kingdom
• Paper Sorcerer
• One Last Dance for the Capitalist Pigs

And You Should Read These, Too

• "Son of Pong" by John DeVore

Video games are just like any other hobby. Interest can become passion, and passion can turn into obsession. John DeVore has thoughtfully written about growing up with a father who loved video games, seemingly at the expense of having the kind of relationship his son wanted with him. Games allow us to escape, and we can use it as a coping mechanism sometimes. When the real world hurts, why not seek comfort in a virtual one? While that’s not the reason DeVore’s father seemed to spend countless hours staring at a television screen, the reasons we play games are not always about the pursuit of entertainment.

“I remember when he brought home our first videogame system. He carried the box in his arms as if he had snatched it out of a basket floating in the Nile. I remember thinking how many trips to the amusement park one could buy with the funds he invested in a toy I never asked for. If he had asked me if I wanted an expensive toy, I would have happily told him that what I truly required was a Castle Grayskull Playset. It was stunning to see that he had used me. His son. I was his excuse to buy a videogame system for himself. When he first powered it up, he clapped a slow clap; his football clap. The clap he had spent his life perfecting. A slow, satisfied clap that said ‘Good. Effing. Job.’”

• "Breaking Madden: The Buccaneers and their 44 Greg Schianos" by Jon Bois

I don’t know if it’s possible to give a link a higher recommendation than the one above these words right now. There are not many funny video games, and there aren’t many funny people writing about video games. But god damn, Jon Bois is one hell of a humorist. I’ve never heard of Bois “Breaking Madden” column, in which he regularly breaks Electronic Arts’ annualized franchise, but I’ll be reading it religiously from now on. You don’t have to care about sports to enjoy what Bois has put together, in which he takes the current troubles facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to their logical conclusion.

“Heading into Thursday night's game against the Panthers, Schiano's Bucs are 0-6, and his job is likely in some jeopardy. Something must be done, but it must be a something that holds true to Mr. Schiano's game philosophy. Schiano has a special term for players who fit his mold: "Schiano men." I imagine that he knows more about coaching than I do, and that if the Bucs are failing, it's because their men are inadequately Schiano. I released every single real-world member of the Buccaneers from the team, and replaced them with 44 identical copies of Greg Schiano.”

If You Click It, It Will Play

Like it or Not, Crowdfunding Isn't Going Away

• Between Me and the Night explores the idea of your nightmares invading the real-world.
• Remember that horrifying Oculus Rift game called Alone? It's trying to expand.
• The Vanamo Online Game Museum wants to help archive gaming history. (We're bad at that.)
• I played Sentris back at PAX Prime, and it's a rad little music game.

Tweets That Make You Go "Hmmmmmm"

Here Are Some Retro City Rampage Steam Codes

• 5RDMJ-28Q5H-W64VI
• WIX9X-4YG3B-9ZZTF
• GAX5F-5JJTG-BP2GL
• IAXLC-BIZB9-C3DJ4
• BBW2A-8Y9XF-MAEFY
• 75WK7-MHR83-GIQZR
• IMRQG-H2K9X-KQALY
• LF8C2-0C7V0-3RRQ0
• QJX8B-R7AFF-L44LI
• GTC90-7YF20-V54K8

Oh, And This Other Stuff

• The Stanley Parable has been a huge success, but that's it's own set of pressures.
• Simon Parkin looks back at Eurogamer's games of the generation, including Portal.
• Darius Kazemi helps break down how Spelunky levels are constructed.
• What happens when someone plays Grand Theft Auto V completely by accident.
• A wonderful profile of the upcoming Below by Mathew Kumar.
• This person's account of playing Super Metroid for the first time is the greatest thing ever.
• If Warner Bros. won't make Mortal Kombat HD, the community will just do it for them.
• Brendan Sinclair looks at the (troubling? strange?) trend of games writers going into PR.
• Chris Pruett and Thomas Grip have recommendations for what NOT to do when making a horror game.
• How The Chinese Room struggled to please everyone when designing Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.
• A developer responds to Total Biscuit's copyright woes. It's not a good argument. Sorry.
• The main character in Eldritch isn't a white dude. Why? The developer explains.

Steam codes!

TAMBA

I'd snag one of those RCR codes if I didn't own the game already. Also, @patrickklepek once referred to River City Ransom as River City Rampage and then I got confused.

Thank for the code. I got the first one.

Tips AGAINST horror games? Damn it! They stole an idea for a blog I was never going to write!

Conan O'Brien playing horror PC games: http://www.joystiq.com/2013/10/25/watch-conan-obrien-play-pc-horror-games-in-the-dark/

Kameo's a great game. Love it. Feeling like it's time to re-play it soon.

here's a neat article about emergent narrative that i think is worth reading

Man, that Breaking Madden article was one of the funniest things I've ever read in my entire life. Thanks Patrick! Miss you on the bombcast!

I ended up liking the Wii bundle I bought from Sam's Club once upon a time, as it included enough controllers for my family as well as a bunch of stuff I would have picked up anyways (namely a recharging dock and the batteries to go with it). That'll probably be the route I go when I pick up an Xbox One or PS4, but I won't be standing in line (in fact, I'm thinking I won't buy a new console until E3 or so next year, which should give me plenty of time to make a decision as well as hopefully allow for some time for some great games).

I know it's nitpicking, but am I the only one that's mildly bothered by the second "probably" in this article's tagline?

@chaser324: That and the gross misspelling of Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hasn't that team suffered enough, Patrick?

These WRs are usually a little rougher when they first come out, I've noticed. Probably haven't had a second set of eyes yet.

"When a boy hears his father call his name he runs."

That intro line could use a little editing @patrickklepek!

Thanks for the Steam code, I got the third one.

I'd just like to say that pretty much everything Jon Bois writes is awesome. Here's something he did on the possibility of Brett Favre coming back: http://www.sbnation.com/2013/10/24/5025084/brett-favre-still-has-a-little-magic-left-in-that-arm-of-his

YES! Gary eating that chili pepper is the best thing i have seen this week! well also that nice lady who also ate a chili and having a emotional breakdown while reviewing GTA V was also the best thing ever.

hey wheres the controversial link thats supposed to make us wage war in the comments? this aint the worth reading i know!!!111 there's actual 100% positivity here?!!?!

(im kidding around people)

Toren reminds me of a fully realized version of The White Birch prototype from Double Fine

sneak attack steam codes!

Retro City Rampage is pretty cool... I played for a few hours

Del Toro´s crib is fucking awesome ... so jelly of him :(

I love that Playstation commercial and yay Tim Schafer XoXo talk

This Breaking Madden thing had me literally crying with laughter. Everyone should read it.

Haha, aw, poor Gary.

I know everyone's said this already, but you did a great job on the TEDx thing Scoops! There's even a brief article on the same subject on the New Yorker website, which I choose to believe is them cribbing off you.

Tim Schafer is such a lovable guy.

That link about level generation in Spelunky is fascinating.

Probably.

That Chinese Room interview left a bad taste in my mouth. I mostly loved Machine for Pigs, it's build up of atmosphere in the start was excellent, it was then only towards the end when it kinda bellyflopped (coughtechnopigcough). The devs come off really sitting up on their high horse, with such derision in their tone when speaking of the use of jump scares and FPS players.

It's important to stick to your guns when doing creative work, but it's also important to respond to criticism with a level head. That said, I am not looking forward to their next release.

Kameo is decent, but having played it for the first time recently I wouldn't call it great. It's no Banjo-Kazooie, that's for sure.

Wait, where's the blog post from some overly-sensitive "Game Journalist" decrying the evils of something mainstream and sexist? This isn't worth reading! This is an impostor! Also I found that Breaking Madden article to be really funny despite knowing very little about Tampa Bay's situation in the NFL.

Didn't you read the Eldritch article? The comments on that are painful enough

It made reading the commentry on Gamasutra (thats more interesting than the article itself) all the more surprising

yea but people here though are totally cool and could care less this week..

there's usually a thing in a worth reading, whether it be something patrick wrote in a tone that comes off as hyperbolic, or something he links to, that sets a fire and causes war in the comments.

but no, comments are totally fine, and worth reading is totally fine this week.

ITS MADNESS I TELL YOU.

That email to Alexander Bruce is priceless.

Timmeh! Awesome talk. Wasn't a fan of the monkey island puzzles, but I loved the story, words, and art. The spitting contest still haunts my dreams.

I can't be the only person who can see that the antichamber email is someone pretending they couldn't solve the first 'puzzle' for a laugh. Makes me sort of sad that it was replied to with a condescending email that somehow took it seriously.

"When we lose curiosity, I think we lose, entirely, inventiveness, and we start becoming old".

Oh FFS, I was not ready for that burst of wisdom. Completely taken off guard but definitely one of the best things I've heard in a long time.

*slow clap for del Toro*

Oh man is that guy who sent that email to the Antechamber dev going to have his mind blown if he continues to play the game.

Ahh poor Gary! Love that channel!

"Uses french press w/whole beans, chews 'em" made me laugh out loud, which is not a thing that text on the internet usually does. I would maybe start following football just to better understand the Breaking Madden column because man is it smart.

You should also all read Jonathan Holmes article called "What if the next Link was Blasian".

It's a very accurate play-by-play of how every video game "controversy" so far has been going, be it about race or gender.

http://www.destructoid.com/what-if-the-next-link-was-blasian--264202.phtml

I'm a sucker for parallax scrolling and hand-painted art. Elegy for a Dead World looks awesome.

I had to pause a 'hot sauce'.

Breaking Madden is now my first source of Tampa Bay Buccaneers coverage.

If you're not reading Breaking Madden out of apathy for football, read it anyway. You wont regret it. I don't care about Madden either, but you should see the Schiano game breakdown, it's beautiful.

@epicsteve at 35:30 in that Tim Schafer talk. Good talk, too. Tim has a unique kind of endearing nervousness.

Not sure if the GTA V thing was meant to be satirical/funny or not. I really hope it was a failed attempt at the former rather than anything genuine.

"I accidentally played Chess for the first time. This is what happened." Story of someone not getting any enjoyment out of screwing around with a board and some pieces without trying to learn the rules or why so many people find engagement in the activity.

that was a pretty cool playstation ad