Reconnect Recap for w/e 31 March 2024
Connecting you to even more great games writing
Welcome readers to your weekly issue of the Reconnect Recap, where I share some of the articles on Reconnect that caught my eye. I’ll also share an additional thing or two that I think you might like.
Good News Only
The industry has been a in a pretty dark place of late with lots of layoffs and uncertain speculation about the future.
However, I want to highlight some amazing news that has all happened in the last week. So let’s put on the happy song and dig in.
Most of these come from GamesIndustry.biz which is a great site for hearing what’s going on the industry. Click the links below to find out more.
New Studio Launch!: Misfits Interactive is a new studio from Misfits Gaming.
New Studio Launch!: Lunacy Games is another new studio which already has a survival RPG in the works.
New Studio Launch!: Sunset Sugar Studios has launched in the UK and will be working on the Pixel Puzzle series.
Workers Unite!: Over 150 employees at Sega of America have successfully negotiated a union contract, this is a big win for protecting workers rights.
Toys for Bob gets funding!: After recently separating from Microsoft and going independent the studio has secured funding for their next game… from Microsoft.
Indie Game successfully launches thanks to funding from Xsolla: After trying to go solo, Happy Juice needed funding to get their game out the door, and in this happy story they got the help they needed.
That something extra I promised….
Keeping in the theme of positive stories, the_gaming_anthropologist on Threads shared a multi thread about the research that shows the positive effects of video games.
A selection is screenshotted below but if you want more head over to the threads post here or go straight to their Patreon to see more things like this!
Reconnect Recap articles
This week my second paid article of the month is all about patching a Pokemon Game in the GameBoy era.
How they patched bugs in the GameBoy era
Bugs can be resolved relatively easy these days, provided you are connected to the internet, but back before Game Consoles connected to the World Wide Web, resolving a bug was a lot harder. In some cases it resulted in a recall of the game, in others players, could get a refund and a reprinted bug-free version of the game was then put on the market. Of course their were plenty of times when nothing was done.
Last week I published my first paid article about EA’s. TLDR: EA claims AI will fix all their troubles, and then I point out all their many historic failures and how AI would have saved none of them. A bit of a ranty article.
AI won't save EA, and probably nothing will.
The recent proclamations from EA’s CEO, Andrew Wilson, that AI is a way forward for the company is an absolute farce. Wilson predicts that up to 60% of their development processes could be sped up by AI, and could result in 30% quicker development time. Specifically he claims that generative AI (Gen AI as he's been calling it 🙄) is a promising future for the organisation.
Free readers can still read my article about Bungie below:
A series of unfortunate events featuring Bungie.
I love Destiny 2. Have been playing it weekly since it launched in 2017. But what I have not loved, is the constant business choices that have constantly put the game and jeopardy and it now it looks like we might be seeing the final nail in the coffin.
Last Weeks Recap
Reconnect Recap for w/e 24 March 2024
Welcome readers to your weekly issue of the Reconnect Recap, where I share some of the articles on Reconnect that caught my eye. I’ll also share an additional thing or two that I think you might like.