Reading List (April 2020 - Part 1)

Hello! So as you probably know, I make a reading list article each month, which is packed with 25 videos and articles I think you’ll enjoy.

Well, seeing as we’re still stuck in lockdown and probably getting a tiny bit bored, I thought I’d boost that to two lists a month for the foreseeable future. Here’s part one, see you later in April for part two.

Cheers!

Mark

Top Pick

[Watch | CC | 42 mins] YouTube's Copyright System Isn't Broken. The World's Is - Tom Scott goes deep on copyright, to explain how traditional rights management isn’t really compatible with a website where millions of videos are uploaded every month. 

Designer Notes

[Read] Valve Explains Why Half-Life 2: Episode 3 Was Never Made - A fascination with new technology and pushing the envelope made Episode 3 an uninteresting prospect for Valve.

[Watch | CC | 11 mins] Half-Life: Alyx - Locomotion Deep Dive - Alyx has some of the best movement systems in a VR game: Valve explains how they did it.

[Read] Design of Doom Eternal - Game designer Adam Saltsman breaks down some bits of DOOM Eternal that didn’t quite work for him.

Critical Hit

[Watch | 31 mins] The Evolution of Anime Games - From Famicom visual novels to anime-style fighting games: how game devs have gotten better and better at turning Japanese animation into game assets.

[Watch | 10 mins] This Game is Helping Me Cope Right Now. It Might Help You - Chris Bratt talks about a penpal game that’s helping him get through lockdown with his sanity intact.

[Watch | 4 hours, 18 mins] The Witcher Critique - The Beginning of a Monster - You read that right. Joseph Anderson kicks off his massive Witcher series critique with a four hour breakdown of the first game. That should keep you busy!

Culture Club

[Watch | CC | 5 mins] How Japan's Government Got Mr Resetti Fired - Okay, the title’s a tad hyperbolic. But a nice look at how this grumpy mole’s involvement in Animal Crossing has changed over the years. 

[Read] Someone's built the entire Earth in Minecraft - to scale - And you thought you were bored in lockdown…

[Read] Animal Crossing fans are contributing to a real museum, too - While the Museum of English Rural Life has shut its doors for now, Animal Crossing fans are still able to help out. 

[Read] Our Fascination With Canon Is Killing the Way We Value Stories - Written about TV and movies, but applicable to games too. Do we only care about stories and character arcs if they contribute to a greater whole?

[Watch | CC | 7 mins] Hey what's up with all these eye hand bosses? - Worth it for the punchline 

History Corner

[Watch | 1 hour, 40 mins] The Silent Hill 2 Analysis - Charlie tackles the epic survival horror sequel, in his huge analysis.

[Watch | CC | 6 mins] Remember when Donkey Kong had a REAL GUN? - You probably don’t. And that’s because Miyamoto got involved. Thomas explains all.

[Watch | CC | 8 mins] The 8-bit arcade font, deconstructed - Vox has got a very fancy video, looking at the construction of pixelated letters. 

[Watch | 14 mins] Wolfenstein 3-D: Children of DOOM Episode 2 - Errant Signal continues his year-by-year breakdown of the FPS genre, by looking at id’s predecessor to DOOM.

Business Lunch

[Read] Episodic Games Were the Future, and the Future Was Dead on Arrival - I had such hope for episodic games. Now, it’s practically a dirty word.

[Read] Bungie: Google Stadia an "amazing solution" for playtesting during lockdown - How do you get loads of people to playtest your game remotely, without shipping them an expensive devkit or computer? Go to the cloud. 

[Read] Should we be marketing games like it is 1992? - One indie dev boosted their Steam wishlists by putting out a free prologue - a good year before the main game comes out. 

Art and Audio

[Watch | CC | 8 mins] Anticipation - The 12 Principles of Animation in Games - One Dan continues his look at the principles of animation.

[Watch | CC | 9 mins] Game Animation Fundamentals - Elegance - While another Dan finishes his series on game animation fundamentals. Two Dans for the price of one.

[Watch | 19 mins] Bioshock Infinite's Infamous Arrangement - Remember when Bioshock Infinite had barbershop quartet covers of famous songs? Here’s how they were made. 

Beyond Bytes

[Watch | 10 mins] Explained Videos (Explained) - In/Frame/Out goes ham on those videos which tell you how movies end.

[Watch | CC | 9 mins] The Coronavirus Explained & What You Should Do - Slightly topical right now, I guess…

[Watch | CC | 6 mins] Why Dark Video Is A Terrible Blocky Mess - And we come full circle, with another Tom Scott video. This time, why that horror movie you streamed on Netflix looks like a mosaic.