GMTK Digest - August 2024

Hello GMTK supporters! Summer is still being summer, so it's a little light on new releases and announcements. But I've still got some stuff to read, watch, and play while enjoying these last few glimpses of sunlight. Speak soon!

Headlines

PlayStation’s ‘Concord’ Did Not Break 700 Players On Steam On Launch Day

"I have never seen this before. Not to this extent. The $200 million-losing disaster, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, launched with 13,000 concurrent players". Ouch. You don't wanna compare unfavourably to Suicide Squad...

Game Informer is shutting down

This magazine never made it outside of America, as far as I'm aware. But it has made a global impact on the games biz nonetheless. Thoughts with the editorial staff who are affected.

gamescom 2024: The Biggest Announcements

I can't think of any massive news to come out of Gamescom in Cologne (uh... Indiana Jones is coming to PS5, I guess?). But here's a round-up of stories, trailers, and interviews via IGN.

Remedy signs deal with Annapurna for Control 2

Annapurna continues its rise to be a monster gaming publisher, by buying the rights to release Remedy's sci-fi sequel Control 2. Previously, the Finnish firm was working with Epic to publish Alan Wake II.

New Releases

Black Myth Wukong

It's one of the biggest games from China in years: a visually impressive Soulslike brawler, featuring the famous Monkey King fairytale character. This one is clearly paying homage to Sekiro with its fast and hyper focused combat system, but it also has a wide array of magic spells and summons to mix things up. It's hard and I'm bad at it.

Tactical Breach Wizards

Tom Francis (Gunpoint, Heat Signature) keeps on winning, this time with a funny and intricately designed tactical game. It puts fantasy spell-casters into a world of SWAT team situations. Haven't played it yet, but it's got great reviews.

Star Wars Outlaws

This one came out today, so no impressions from me yet. It's an open world action adventure, and seems to hew pretty closely to that Ubisoft template we're all used to by now. IGN says the game's "hindered by simple stealth, repetitive combat, and a few too many bugs".

Thank Goodness You're Here

A super silly adventure game that's absolutely steeped in jokes about the North of Britain. I have no idea if the jokes will land with anyone outside of the UK, but for a native it's packed with gags that made me smile. Gameplay is super simple, but it's ultimately just a vehicle for goofy jokes.

Castaway

A Zelda: Link's Awakening inspired game with chunky retro pixel art, puzzle-filled dungeons, and fun items. The only downside: the whole game is over before you really get into it. At about 40 minutes long it feels more like a demo than a full game.

Also out this month: Squirrel with a Gun, Crypt Custodian, Steam World Heist 2, Concord, World of Goo 2, Feed the Deep, and Arco!

Reading List

Design

[Watch | CC | 28 mins] System-Centric Puzzle Design in 'Patrick's Parabox' - "The developer of Patrick's Parabox shares a collection of puzzle game design techniques used and learned during its development:.

[Watch | CC | 15 mins] Bayonetta and the Art of the Dodge - "If you ask me, its most interesting mechanic [in Bayonetta] isn't an offensive one... but a defensive one."

[Watch | 14 mins] The Existential Crisis of Cozy Games - "Cozy games pull everyone into a peaceful fantasy.. but what really sits below the surface?"

[Watch | CC | 45 mins] The Design of Dredge - "We sit down with Black Salt Games to talk about the design of their cosmic horror fishing game DREDGE."

[Watch | CC | 12 mins] Mario Wonder's Got Nothing on ROM Hacks - "While Super Mario Bros. Wonder was the freshest 2D Mario we've seen in years, it still feels like it hasn't reached the potential that kaizo has."

[Read] The making of the Dark Urge in Baldur's Gate 3 - "How Larian honoured BioWare's story while creating its "most heroic" playthrough yet."

Development

[Watch | 31 mins] 10 reasons to make a game in one weekend - This is my keynote talk for the Nordic Game Jam in Copenhagen. Thanks for having me!

[Watch | 8 mins] Must Have Unity Assets For Intermediate Game Developers - Game Dev Guide shares some favourite and most-used assets. Actual tools and editor extensions. Not, like, low poly horses.

[Watch | CC | 17 mins] Committing game dev crimes to finish my game - Luke Muscat reveals the messy tricks used to get his game, Feed the Deep, released on schedule. Interesting look behind the curtain.

[Read] Random thoughts about Unity - An ex Unity developer offers his opinions on what's gone wrong with Unity lately.

[Watch | CC | 19 mins] 1 Year of Developing My Game in Godot - A fun dev log exploring the evolution of a fast-paced Quake-inspired movement shooter.

Culture

[Read] The eagerness to grave dance on unpopular games has become a bad habit - "My guess at the real reason for all this grave dancing is that it feels like a victory over FOMO."

Critique

[Read] 15 Years Ago, Batman: Arkham Asylum Changed Superhero Games Forever - "Looking back at where it all began, Arkham Asylum was a truly remarkable experience that set a new bar for what we expect out of a superhero game"

[Watch | 30 mins] A "Mature" Sports Game - Raycevick explores a sports game that actually includes all the grimy, messy, nasty stuff that's usually left out of glitzy sports sims.

[Read] The Grimy Optimism of the Metro Series - At Unwinnable, Joshua Henson compares the post-nuclear fantasies in Fallout and Metro.

Artistry

[Read] Black powder, pink bows: How shooters got cuter - "Now, in-game cosmetic items are more inspired by the art of Lisa Frank, the magical girls of Sailor Moon, and fashion icons like Ariana Grande".

[Watch | CC | 10 mins] T-Poses, A-Poses, Other Weird Poses and Why - Ever wondered by video game characters are created with their arms stretched like that? Doodly explains.

History

[Read] How The Sega Genesis Made Weird Work - "Both the cocky mascot and ‘tude-laden marketing were not only a stark contrast to Nintendo; they flew in the face of what was considered acceptable advertising to children"

[Read] Tech limitations actually made Silent Hill and Crash Bandicoot better games - "It’s difficult to imagine Silent Hill without its spooky, ominous fog, but sometimes developers stumble into iconic aspects of games while simply looking for creative solutions to technical problems".

Beyond Games

[Read] How To Make A Video Essay: A Guide From An Editor With Millions of Views - Editor Shannon Strucci offers some sage advice to anyone wanting to get into this weird job.

[Watch | CC | 14 mins] This hidden Swedish design is very mindful - Tactile crossing maps tell blind people how to cross the road. Linus Boman explains how they came to be.

[Watch | CC | 6 mins] The Sustained Two-Shot - Every Frame a Painting returns. "What do you do when you’ve got two actors, a bunch of dialogue, and only enough time to get one camera angle?"

[Watch | CC | 58 mins] Why Does Acting Feel So Different Now? - "I dive into the complicated history of how American Film Acting evolved from classical Hollywood theatricality into contemporary naturalism and why nobody can agree on what "Method Acting" actually is."