Reconnect Recap - w/e 1st June

A weekly newsletter highlighting some of the best articles to feature on Reconnect in the past week.

Kia Ora folks

Can’t believe it’s June already. As the industry gears up for a month of industry events we have a slue of new games, new trailers, and plenty of speculation. I will be partially avoiding the Switch Launch, the Keely’s, and my favourite event - the Giant Bomb Couch, because I’ll be in Japan.

Welcome to another week of the Reconnect Recap, the companion newsletter to Reconnect, a website that aggregates hundreds of games writers work into one easy to use location. It’s my way of reminding the world that games writing isn’t dead!

This week we’re diving into some great write ups about accessibility, AI and machine learning, and as always fun hardware.

Let’s dig in.

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Great Write Ups

• AI AI Oh : Maurice Klimek (The Solo Gamedev ) gives us insight in what it takes to make a game with AI.

• Making accessible, playable: Superjump explains the Accessible Games Initiative and how Xbox brought the accessible game pad to the market.

• Outlaw Machine Learning: Tommy Thompson (AIandGames) explores how the speeder bikes in Star Wars Outlaws use machine learning to help navigate the difficult terrain.

• Throwing throws are bad: Roger Renfro (Load Last Save) really doesn’t like throw loops in Street Fighter 6, like, really doesn’t.

• Getting ready for the Switch sequel: JM Mendez (1upVault) write a goodbye letter to Nintendo’s best selling console on the eve of it’s successors launch.

• Indies don’t deserve the valve tax: Push to Talk levels the case as to why Valve should be following Epics example of not charging Indies such a high tax.

• The sounds of Marathon: Between Music & Gaming explores Marathons musical identity and how fans are responding to it. (Yes full disclaimer about the games stolen art work)

• So much sand: The Video Game Storyteller dives deep into one of gamings most common biomes, the Desert. How it’s used and how it makes its impact.

• Sour Apple: George E. Osborn (Video Game Industry Memo) outlines how Epic got Apple to back down around Fortnite.

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Fun Tidbits

• I recently was trying to find a dual screen emulation device for a friend, but little did we know we were a few months early, enter stage left, MagicX Zero 40.

• Talking of dual screen devices, this very clever person uses a Nintendo DS to make music, and then burns it onto a floppy disc for you know, reasons.

• Many people won’t remember that you could read e-books on a Gameboy, it was mainly a Japan only thing. But those of you with the Analogue Pocket, just dying to read some e-book cartridges, there’s a mod on the way to help you.

• My favourite yellow handheld is getting its second season of games to play.

• I’ve only recently learned what a Bearbrick is, my partner definitely wants one, and the one they want is probably expensive. Of less interest to my partner is a PS1 Bearbrick that’s going to be huge.

• A fan remade Konami’s arcade X-man game and it’s playable right now.

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Writer Recap

This week we want to highlight The Drifter (which i’m hoping is a Destiny 2 reference).

They have a positivity to their writing that makes reading their articles a joy, and I’m not just saying that just because they have nice things to say about Star Wars Outlaws.

Give them a look:

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Housekeeping

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