If I could ask Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka, Toshihiko Nakago, or Kazuaki Morita about any one single thing, it would be: Goomba. I do not know if these four original developers of Super Mario Bros. have thought about the Goomba’s origin much in these last 35 years, but it has been consuming me over the […]
Read MoreWhat Does Metroid Taste Like? (October 2021)
Whoa, it’s the end of October. I started this as a New Years resolution back in January, and I guess there are only two more of these left before the end of the year! I haven’t decided yet whether I will continue this in 2022, so let me know what, if anything, you’d like to […]
Read MoreSeptember 2021 – You Can (Not) Sell Out
A bit of a break from the usual this month. I spent September preparing for a big trip, and then going on said trip, so this was actually written in August. No videogames this time, but I hope you still enjoy this very simmered take on a topic everyone has moved on from, and next […]
Read MoreLessons from the Great Attorney, Wroenix Phight (August 2021)
Summer is coming to a close! I’m bidding adieu to my beloved long days of sunlight. In my imagination, summer is the chance to be the most productive. Yet this month I only really played a single game: The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Switch). It just released worldwide last month after being region-locked for six […]
Read MoreDesigning Systems for Games (July 2021)
It’s still July, right? Not only have I missed my self-imposed deadline for the first time, but I have missed it by a whole week. It has been more challenging to write anything recently, partially due to travel, but mostly because every day online the games industry brings more heartbreak. The stories out of Activision-Blizzard […]
Read MoreAbsent Design (June 2021)
We’ve come halfway through the year! My local farmers market has continued running throughout the pandemic, but this month it seems to have exploded to be the busiest it has ever been. I wish to be the same — I am ready to burst with life! I flew back home to see my family and […]
Read MoreNew Pokémon Snap (May 2021)
A very short catch up this month; I am flying out to visit my parents tomorrow, now that we have all been vaccinated. I have been able to spend more time this month in much needed social company, and I hope you all are able to as well. A funny side effect of this is […]
Read MoreLooking at the credits
Sometime near the start of April I needed to research some top-down combat implementations on the GameBoy. This initial quest sparked a tangential curiosity, which would consume most of my month. I started by playing the Japanese release only Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, or “For Frog The Bell Tolls“ for the GameBoy. […]
Read MoreGnosia (March 2021)
This month I did not play very many games! I finished playing Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GC), which I had been streaming with friends a couple times a week, but after the credits rolled I decided to take a break before continuing onto the sequel. This left me without a new major project for […]
Read MoreHow much is a coin worth? (February, 2020)
In my books, this month’s biggest release was actually rather small: Bowser’s Fury — a bonus feature packaged with the Switch reissue of Super Mario 3D World, originally for the Wii U. Bowser’s Fury is a stand-alone experience constructed out of the engine and assets used in 3D World, but manages to feel completely fresh […]
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