Game Articles and Videos Thread

[Ezekiel]

Please welcome legendary writer, designer, director, and executive Neil Druckmann to Sacred Symbols+. Here in the games space, Neil is already one of the best-known names in the development scene, a man who began at Naughty Dog as a programmer on the latter Jak titles, only to climb the ranks to lead the entire studio, full stop. Today, we focus our conversation primarily around his work on HBO's rendition of The Last of Us, an adaptation which he co-wrote, co-produced, and even helped direct, tasks which -- when combined with all he does at Naughty Dog itself, including writing and directing the upcoming Intergalactic for PS5 -- has forced him into a number of roles in multiple industries. How does he keep it all straight? Does he ever sleep? What are his priorities, both professionally and personally? And how does he feel about the reaction to HBO's The Last of Us, from casting to story changes and more? While we wait for Intergalactic as patiently as we can, let's instead delve into the life and times of one of the few people who has successfully crossed between gaming to film and back again.

Listened for twenty minutes.

Fluffer: "...my brother and I recently played through the game, and he had somehow avoided all the spoilers. It was amazing. He was shocked and awed."

Druckmann: "Has he lived in a cave? How does one do that?"

He's right, if speaking about gamers, but should be humble enough not to ask that.

Druckmann speaking about fans of the show discovering the games: "And then they would pick up the game and it would be a gateway for them for this whole other medium. And that has actually happened. I've had multiple people come up to me and tell me, 'I picked up a PlayStation with The Last of Us, and then after that I played God of War and then I played Ghosts of Tsushima,' and so on and so forth. And it actually worked in becoming a sort of ambassador for video games..."

So he turned TV consumers into movie game consumers.

 

[BrawlMan]

So he turned TV consumers into movie game consumers.

While I am happy for the people who made their own discovery and are playing these games, that doesn't make Druckmann unique. The Sonic, Mario Bros, and Mortal Kombat films already did that. Their respective TV shows already did that too back in the day.

 

[Ezekiel]

While I am happy for the people who made their own discovery and are playing these games, that doesn't make Druckmann unique. The Sonic, Mario Bros, and Mortal Kombat films already did that. Their respective TV shows already did that too back in the day.

Sonic, Mario and Mortal Kombat aren't movie games. Fans coming to Druckmann's game from the TV show apparently only gravitate to the same kinds of experiences.

 

[BrawlMan]

Fans coming to Druckmann's game from the TV show apparently only gravitate to the same kinds of experiences.

Ok. Still doesn't make him unique.

 

[BrawlMan]

Kinkymation on Marathon
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I do love her commentary on games need to focus on making art. We are seeing a shift in the dynamics where indie and AA are making games to be fun and being artistic. Not just constantly copying trends and selling "product". The AAA industry still acts as if it's still the pre-HD era and copying trends that have gotten old real fast and people are already moving on to the next thing.

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[hanselthecaretaker2]

 

[Chimpzy]

TLDR: dude, who seems to be a bit a Sega fan, got a theme song composed for him by Yuzo Kashiro, of Streets of Rage, Shinobi and Shenmue fame. So kinda like if a Final Fantasy fan got a theme song from Nobuo Uematsu.

 

[BrawlMan]

TLDR: dude, who seems to be a bit a Sega fan, got a theme song composed for him by Yuzo Koshiro Kashiro, of Streets of Rage, Shinobi and Shenmue fame. So kinda like if a Final Fantasy fan got a theme song from Nobuo Uematsu.

Alright, Happy Console Gamer! I never subscribed to him, but I've followed him for a long time since the early YouTube days. I am happy for him, and I glad Yuzo Koshiro reached out to HCG.

 

[BrawlMan]

3D Games Made into Weird 2D Game Boy Advance Games | Punching Weight | SSFF

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[Bedinsis]

Interesting video laying out why Nintendo's price hike and marketing for Switch 2 might end up costing them.

It also presents why they've been so profitable this generation.

Personally I wonder if any competitor could benefit from Nintendo's choices. A kid-friendly Steam-deck or something might be more tantalizing for families on a budget.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Interesting video laying out why Nintendo's price hike and marketing for Switch 2 might end up costing them.

It also presents why they've been so profitable this generation.

Personally I wonder if any competitor could benefit from Nintendo's choices. A kid-friendly Steam-deck or something might be more tantalizing for families on a budget.

Unless they were also going to have Nintendo’s franchises on there it’d likely be a moot point.

 

[Bedinsis]

Unless they were also going to have Nintendo’s franchises on there it’d likely be a moot point.

Nintendo makes good games. They are hardly the only studio doing that. And while Nintendo has the advantage of being a brand with immense consumer awareness that becomes moot if the only platform people can access them on is one that is outside of their price range.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Nintendo makes good games. They are hardly the only studio doing that. And while Nintendo has the advantage of being a brand with immense consumer awareness that becomes moot if the only platform people can access them on is one that is outside of their price range.

Until Steam announces something specifically different for kids, a low end Steam Deck currently is just $50 less than a Switch 2 will reportedly cost, while the high end model is a couple hundred more. The original was $300, which was the same price of a bloody Wii U before it. Regardless of Nintendo’s reasoning, they’ll argue it’s still competitively priced given its recent “competition”.

I don't see the point in buying an Xbox Series S if a base PlayStation 5 is only $20 more

The PlayStation 5 Pro, with improved performance, is also $70 cheaper than the 2TB Xbox Series X.

www.windowscentral.com

 

[BrawlMan]

Max Dood - Harada shares the truth


Top 10 Nintendo games of all time


The Sub-genre Nobody Talks About - Wild West Games
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[hanselthecaretaker2]

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection isn't just modern fighting game rerelease, it's an interactive documentary with 20 different versions and even includes the completely awful GBA game

Rollback netcode AND a tribute to some of the worst fighting game ports ever? Sign me up!

www.gamesradar.com

I’d love if it also had Shaolin Monks, but this is still an impressive Kollection.