Reconnect Recap - w/e 8th June
A weekly newsletter highlighting some of the best articles to feature on Reconnect in the past week.
Kia Ora folks
It’s that time of year again, Summer Games Fest, which means I’m enjoying my favourite past time, the Giant Bomb Couch. Where the crew host five hour long live streams across multiple nights as they talk about the news and chat to people in the industry. It’s genuinely one of the things I love most about the industry.
As previously mentioned, I’m off to Japan on holiday in a few days, so I’ll be skipping next week’s newsletter, but I’ll be back the following week, so don’t worry.
It’s been a manic week for the industry, the new Switch launched to a normal amount of issues and excitement. No Mans Sky announced their 573434th free update and game announcements have been plentiful. But it doesn’t mean that the writing slowed down at all.
As always this is 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 the Playdate, Ai, fantasy games, Pokemon, Devolver Digital and so much more!
Let’s dig in.
Great Write Ups
Over 50% of gaming revenue isn’t made in the west: In their latest piece, GameDev Reports shows how Asia and MENA markets are huge markets for gaming and expected to keep growing strongly right through to 2029.
Ten people and AI cannot make the next Zelda: In light of Tim Sweeny claiming that AI will enable small teams to make games as big as Breath of the Wild, Prof. Rock explains whats wrong with this sort of retoric.
Its still no E3: Neverending Backlog writes nostalgically about the E3 that was and how it hasn’t quite been replaced.
Japan lives the fantasy: Superjump Magazine explains how Japan fell in love with the Fantasy genre and produced so many great fantasy games.
Crankin’ that yellow console: I love my Playdate, arguably I love owning it more than playing it, but it’s a fun device to tinker with. Good Game Lobby has started a series on the small handheld, showing off some great games to try.
SGF is a sad reminder of the times: No Escape pens a very poignant piece on how the Summer Games Fest just doesn’t work in the current age of games coverage and sad reality of the industry.
Interview with the Poke Centre Blog: Johto Times has an interview with the portuguese news blog Poke Centre Blog and how it grew since its inception in 2012.
An ode to the midnight launch: Paul Shkreli writes about the midnight launches that defined their younger gaming years.
Actual, real AI NPCs: Games Alchemy explores how AI can make games more immersive and reactive.
How Devolver Digital makes it work: Superjump Magazine dives into Devolver Digitals financial statements to show how the successful Indie publisher makes its money and stays afloat in this turbulent times.
What to fight for as a Narrative Designer: Narrative News explains, when working as a Narrative Designer, what fights are worth fighting, and what aren’t.
It doesn’t have to be Edutainment: The Boss Level talks about how gaming is quite educational without it being the sole focus of the game.
Ubisoft vs the Tax Man: Stephen Totilo of Gamefile has the inside scoop on a hearing with French Senators where Ubisfot explains how they benefit from Frances tax breaks, and how they wouldn’t like for the French government to chance tack.
Fun Tidbits
Imagine advertising a good game, then never launching it, only to release a downgraded version instead. This is exactly the story of Cu-on-pa, and Games Asylum has the scoop.
I’ve never played, but have heard so many good things about Final Fantasy Tactics, and now we have news of a remaster coming September.
Check out this archive of student game development projects from The Game Assembly in Malmo, Sweden.
Fans of Star-Wars X-wing might have a modern port to play soon. A plucky dev team is recreating the game in Unity.
What do an overwhelming amount of men play? Call of Duty, what should men be aware of? Testicular Cancer. A health initiative is infiltrating Call of Duty to remind men to check for cancer.
A talented artist has set out to create a series of Zines celebrating the Nintendo DS and the games that made the console iconic.
Want to chill out to some chill Zelda music? Check out this new YouTube channel.
It wouldn’t be a video game movie without Jack Black, and apparently we nearly got a MediEvil movie with a Tenacious D soundtrack.
Writer Recap
This week we’re highlighting Creating for Godot by David Byrne. As someone who has dabbled in some game development in the past, I really appreciate it when developers take the time to explain the process, talk through issues, and show off their work.
I really recommend checking them out.
Housekeeping
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Those 3DS zines are so cool! What a neat idea.
Appreciate the shout out! Great list.