IT'S DOCTOBER

Hey! So!

Here's a short story that may be the basis for a game... ;)

Yes, we have a whole game planned out. Phil and I worked it out over a couple evenings and it's something we have to make now.

https://docseuss.medium.com/micah-benedicts-opus-aa7c2d07638

And here is one of my biggest essays EVER!! This one is thanks to all of you!

https://docseuss.medium.com/refuting-the-bullet-so-you-wanna-write-an-interesting-story-but-dont-know-where-to-begin-c67003cce233

At its core, the piece is about "how do you make stories interesting" framed through the lens of Danganronpa. The thing I wanted so much to do with this piece was communicate something USEFUL to the player and simultaneously FORMAT it in a way that could avoid a lot of spoilers.

See, when I'm writing these essays, to reach the most people, I need to focus on the universal aspects of the work I'm exploring; you should be able to read a piece on a game you have no intention of playing and still go "oh! wow! yeah, this is helpful!" Otherwise, like, what's the point? We don't want to get too nerdy with it--we want to be able to take something away, even if we don't have the same experience.

It's a lot like what I do on my games--you and I don't have the lived experiences of our characters (I would hope none of you are disposing of bodies for the mob, for instance), but I suspect we understand the emotionality of what's going on, even if the specifics aren't the same.

Back when I was freelancing for Kotaku, I learned very quickly that I needed to communicate "why you should care" about a piece. If you go "I'm going to write about a game," people who don't have interest in the game often won't really care? If that makes sense?

So when I'm writing these persuasive essays, my goal is to give you something that's useful, whether you've played the game or not.

I remember this one freelance guy who indicated he saw me as a way 'in' to Kotaku (I was never that and always tried to make that clear--I couldn't get myself a full time gig, so how could I get that for anyone else?) who kept trying to mimic how he saw me as writing--"oh, you're talking about games I haven't played and talked about why those games are good." 

That's not what I was doing, but it's what he saw, so he took a different approach; instead of trying to take a lesson from an work and convey what made it interesting, he just said "these unpopular games were actually good, you idiots, and you should have appreciated them." The response wasn't what he hoped for, I think. People don't like being talked down to, and "you didn't appreciate this, ingrates," isn't a great way to win people over. More importantly, it's not useful.

Writing is an act of serving the audience--when I write these pieces, I am writing them for you. I am thinking about their usefulness to you. There's no POINT to half-assing this. 

I often talk about why games don't work, but it's important to share the joy of games, and make it clear "here is why this should be interesting to you." I can never be an Iron Pineapple type, right? That person makes tons of videos about one specific genre/developer. What I am, I think, is someone who explains how things work--a lot of people respond to these essays going "wow, this applies to other fields as well," and yup, that's intentional! That's the purpose! Nothing I write is ever about just the one game--it's about how the game provides a meaningful example for the audience. Even if Danganronpa isn't your thing, or you intend to play it later, this piece is structured in such a way that you should be able to read and take a lot away from it.

Now, here's the thing: this was August's piece. Because it's late, my September piece is a bit late. This is a mix of things--I've been through a pretty traumatic experience this summer that, combined with serious health issues I've been facing, I'm far worse off than I'm letting on publicly. It's a load that I, as the sole inhabitant of my body, am gonna have to continue to shoulder alone.

But you? You're the reason I get to pay my bills. You're why I'm going to be able to go to the doctor's office tomorrow and have them work on this hip pain that's been plaguing me. Thank you. Thank you so much. I get to write these hopefully helpful pieces because of you. Thank you for all you do. Thank you so much.

Waifu Death Squad, my upcoming game, is now past 70,000 words.

Expect a reveal in 2024.