Man, Outer Wilds is great, but all the great exploration, compelling mysteries and space borne shenanigans can all be traced back to one thing: running out of stuff.
But including resource management in your game is a bit harder than you might think, as there's the potential for players to be pushed and pulled into playing in a way that you didn't intend. How? Find out as The Architect dives into the end of the universe to find out where all the frazzles went:
Take a look at First Five here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtBssYWSCRgz9O42Ok44lNg
You Saw:
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)
Enter The Gungeon (2016)
Destiny (2014)
Outer Wilds (2019)
Dicey Dungeons (TBR)
Sunless Skies (2019)
Spelunky (2012)
Resident Evil 4 (2005)
Resident Evil 7 (2017)
Dark Souls (2012)
Celeste (2018)
Dark Souls 2 (2014)
Super Mario Party (2018)
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (2016)
Islanders (2019)
Borderlands 2 (2012)
DOOM (2016)
Descenders (2019)
Frostpunk (2018)
XCOM 2 (2016)
Final Fantasy 7 (1997)
Offworld Trading Company (2016)
Subnautica (2016)
Pokemon Uranium (shhh don't tell nintendo)
Pokemon Ultra Sun (2017)
Void Bastards (2019)
Dark Souls 3 (2016)
Fallout 4 (2015)
Final Fantasy 15 (2016)
Interesting Links:
https://kotaku.com/how-to-get-into-outer-wilds-1835919229 A great article about how to get over outer wild's initial comprehension hump
https://games.avclub.com/outer-wilds-makes-an-art-form-out-of-oh-f*ck-i-m-goin-1835290390 Running out of stuff is fun, see!
Soren Johnson's Website: https://www.designer-notes.com/
2019-06-29 22:15:18 +0000 UTC
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Phew, this one was hard work to get up, hope you enjoy this belated Architect Address!
2019-06-13 00:23:24 +0000 UTC
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Multiplayer games are really interesting, because despite all the high-budget titles out there, I've found myself prefering smaller, more focused titles that put the spotlight on the players instead of the mechanics, but why is this?
Join The Architect on a trip onto alien worlds, spooky castles and a land filled with fowl as the multiplayer mystery is unravelled once and for all.
Duck Game Mods:
Grenade Pack: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=491555785
UFF Items Mod: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=566393556
Dord's Weaponry: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=945664816
Copyright Infringement Hats: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=945664816
Duck Souls: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=945664816
GNC Items Mod: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=790458788
You Saw:
Duck Game: 2014
World Of Warcraft: 2004
Golf With Your Friends: Early Access
Overcooked 2: 2018
Civilization 5: 2010
Civilization 6: 2016
Rocket League: 2015
Offworld Trading Company: 2016
Deep Rock Galactic (again): Early Access
Maplestory 2: 2018
Factorio: 2016
Clatter: Early Access
Jackbox 1: 2014
Jackbox 3: 2016
Jackbox 5: 2018
Monster Prom: 2018
XCOM 2: 2016
Interesting Links:
A fantastic vid from my boy CoreA on mindgames, bluffing and taunts and what they mean for competitive games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PElmAFZFoqQ
Nice little article about Overcooked: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/overcooked-2-review
The most interesting Link of all: https://bit.ly/2oVgjkd
2019-06-10 15:30:10 +0000 UTC
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Anyone remember Terraria? It was brilliant, wasn't it? Loads of bosses, loads of content and a really satisfying world to explore- but what's the secret behind Terraria's enduring success?
Mastery is an interesting concept, and one Terraria explores really well, so let's join the Architect and deep dive into how we don't just get better at games, we master them.
The Mods:
Calamity
Thorium
Terraria Overhaul
Magic Storage
Boss Checklist
Recipe Browser
You Saw:
Terraria (2012)
Risk of Rain 2 (TBR)
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance: (2005)
Dark Souls: (2012)
Eternal Card Game: (2018)
Sonic Mania (2017)
Shovel Knight (2014)
Ikaruga (2001)
Super Mario 64 (1996)
Metroid Prime (2002)
Minecraft (2009)
Bioshock (2007)
Darkest Dungeon (2016)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2012)
Dwarf Fortress Steam Edition (NO IDEA BUT GET HYPE!)
SnakeyBus (2019)
Renowned Explorers (2015)
Dead Cells (2018)
The Hex (2018)
Heaven's Vault (2019)
DUSK (2018)
ISLANDERS (2019)
Wandersong (2018)
Dark Souls 2 (2014)
Toki Tori 2 + (2013)
A Hat in Time (2017)
World Of Warcraft (2004)
Interesting Links:
Notch? Who's that?
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-03-28-minecraft-removes-references-to-notch
Great Article About Heaven's Vault
https://www.wired.com/story/heavens-vault-review/
Another good one about Terraria's Monetisation
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-05-09-re-logic-were-leaving-money-on-the-table-with-terraria
2019-05-20 15:16:44 +0000 UTC
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Hey All!
Sorry about this one coming out a bit late- it's essentially two videos worth of work. This was originally going to be a bout something completely different, but I didn't like how it turned out and I'm still not totally happy with the direction but I hope you enjoy this anyway, thanks for your patience!
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Progression systems are in just about every game nowadays- to the point that we're all getting a bit sick of them, but is there more to it?
Using a great little game that's been sucking up all his time, The Architect makes a the case for there being more progression systems than we think, and a different perspective on what the problem really is.
You Saw
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed: 2012
Apex Legends: 2019
Starcraft 2: 2010
Warrame: 2013
Monster Hunter World: 2018
World Of Warcraft: 2004
Sunless Skies: 2018
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: 2014
Trine 2: 2011
Darkest Dungeon: 2016
Mass Effect 3: 2012
Magic The Gathering: Arena: 2018
Deep Rock Galactic: TBR
Pathway: 2019
Metroid Prime: 2002
Forager: 2019
Pokemon sun and moon: 2016
Hollow Knight: 2017
Dark Souls 2: 2014
Destiny 2: 2017
Enter The Gungeon: 2016
Spelunky: 2008
Risk of Rain 2: TBR
Don't Starve: 2012
Overwatch: 2016
Guild Wars 2: 2012
Dishonored 2: 2016
Borderlands The Pre-Sequel: 2014
Dicey Dungeons: TBR
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided: 2016
Super Mario Galaxy 2: 2010
Super Mario Odyssey: 2017
Rimworld: 2018
Far Cry 5: 2018
Hitman 2: 2018
Deltarune Chapter 1: 2018
Anthem: 2019
Fallout 76: 2018
Super Mario 64: 1996
God of War: 2018
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance: 2005
Slay The Spire: 2018
Battle For Wesnoth: 2003
Terraria: 2011
Interesting Links:
Forager has some great grinding, and that's the point: https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/26/18516772/forager-game-impressions-pc-linux
Fantastic article on problems in modern game development: https://kotaku.com/how-biowares-anthem-went-wrong-1833731964
A much more simplistic look at fixing progression systems:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5camMoNw-o
2019-05-01 09:25:39 +0000 UTC
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We're back with another installment of The Architect Address!
This time we go over hub worlds, weird games and some potential changes to how I run the channel that won't actually affect anyone!
2019-04-10 00:44:27 +0000 UTC
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There are a million different kinds of games out there- but the most important one of all is weird games.
Weird games- aside from just being cool - help us appreciate much more normal games, and can even inspire some total classics. How? Join the Architect as they roll up the truth about weird games!
Video Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gYumlgVeDQmAlEAnEW7w1I9_KTNTm_WH4Hl0gT_xywQ/edit?usp=sharing
You Saw:
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (To be Released)
Monstrüous (2018)
Undertale (2015)
Donut County (2018)
Katamari Damacy REROLL (2018)
Don't Starve (2013)
Far Cry 5 (2018)
We Love Katamari (2005)
Super Mario 64 (1996)
Grow Up (2016)
Super Mario Bros (1985)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)
Super Mario Sunshine (2002)
A Hat In Time (2017)
Multiwinia (2008)
Northgard (2018)
Day Z (2018!?!?!?!?!)
Apex Legends (2019)
Yume Nikki (2004)
LISA the first (2012)
Battlezone (1980)
Herzog Zwei (1989)
Airmech (2018)
Yume Nikki: Dream Diary (2018)
Offworld Trading Company (2016)
Dark Souls (2012)
Eternal Card Game (2018)
Destiny 2 (2017)
DOOM 2 (1994)
Dota 2 (2013)
Sunless Skies (2019)
The White Laboratory (2019)
Baba Is You (2019)
Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice (2017)
Interesting Links:
Some more deets on consumption in Katamari: https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/22/17493942/katamari-damacy-keita-takahashi-wattam-ps4
Hbomb talks about the LISA series, one of the highest-profile followups to Yume Nikki: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-5_zoEsY6c
The focus on joy in katamari: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-12-14-the-joy-of-katamari-damacy
2019-04-07 14:42:37 +0000 UTC
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Do you think hubworlds are boring? That they're some sort of throwback level design artifact? Well have you considered that they've actually got a very important job to do?
Join The Architect as they uncover what being a hub is all about, using Dark Souls' Firelink Shrine to do it.
Video Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17kttpzNbPYks_POO7ukMgnSOksSWLczuOLXDztlnBX4/edit?usp=sharing
You Saw:
Mass Effect 3 (2012)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2016)
Bloodborne (2015)
Monster Hunter: World (2018)
Deus Ex: mankind Divided (2016)
Maplestory 2 (2018)
Shovel Knight (2014)
Dark Souls (2011)
A hat In Time (2017)
Super Mario 64 (1996)
Super Mario Sunshine (2002)
Metroid Prime Trilogy (2009)
World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth (2018)
Wandersong (2018)
Yooka Laylee (2017)
Deep Rock Galactic (To Be Released)
Wolfenstein The New Order (2014)
DOOM (2016)
Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze (2014)
Destiny 2 (2017)
Mass Effect 2 (2010)
Nier Automata (2017)
Return of the Obra Dinn (2018)
Oxygen Not Included (To Be Released)
Dishonored 2 (2016)
Final Fantasy 15 (2016)
XCOM: EU (2012)
XCOM 2 (2016)
Half Life 2 (2004)
Opus Magnum (2017)
Interesting Links:
Great article on Hub Worlds: https://kotaku.com/hub-worlds-can-be-games-greatest-pleasure-1822520149
Deus Ex MD's great(ish) open world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USVr936aKzs
Dark souls and the rebirth of tragedy: https://variety.com/2018/gaming/opinion/dark-souls-analysis-1203028245/
2019-03-20 02:49:43 +0000 UTC
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Where am I? What year is it?!
I'm back with another instalment of The Architect Address, where I give a quick rundown of some of the latest videos!
2019-03-02 22:53:38 +0000 UTC
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There's been a real trend lately of bringing retro games back to life, what's up with that?
A lot of people are trying to create successors to the legacy of classic titles, but not everyone succeeds- what makes a good successor that can do the likes of DOOM proud?
To find out, The Architect will need to journey to hell and back, picking up some game design wisdom along the way.
Video Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_qPwdc27svCQpVWtZpgBnzw3kZk6azSFD1XY73QILKc/edit?usp=sharing
You Saw:
Civilization 5 (2010)
Metroid Prime (2002)
Pokemon Sun (2016)
Magic: Arena (2018)
DUSK (2018)
A Hat In Time (2017)
Wargroove (2019)
Sunless Skies (2019)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011)
Deus Ex (2000)
Yooka Laylee (2017)
Banjo Kazooie (1998)
Fallout 2 (1998)
Fallout 4 (2015)
Dark Souls (2011)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)
Starcraft 2 (2010)
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 2 (2009)
Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze (2014)
Sonic Mania (2017)
Sonic 1 (1991)
XCOM 2 ( 2016)
XCOM UFO defence (1994)
XCOM 1 (2012)
Golf With your Friends (2016)
DOOM (2016)
DOOM (1993)
Dawn Of War 3 (2017)
Super Metroid (1994)
Advance Wars: Dual Strike (2005)
Megaman Battle Network (2001)
One Step From Eden (Not yet released)
Apex Legends (2019)
Titanfall 2 (2016)
Interesting Links:
Is DOOM (2016) the real DOOM?: https://www.destructoid.com/more-doom-than-doom-376645.phtml
How Dusk nails 90s FPS:http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/333992/More_than_a_throwback_How_Dusk_nails_the_best_parts_of_90s_FPS_games.php
Some good news for the fiscal viability of successors: https://www.vg247.com/2019/02/05/wargroove-broke-even-three-days/
2019-02-26 03:57:34 +0000 UTC
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After much deliberation, the questions - and answers, are in!
Delve into the fractured remains of The Architect's mind as all the banal and uninteresting mysteries that keep you up at night are put to rest.
Thank you for 100 subs! Normal service will resume in a bit.
And a special Patron message seeing as I didn't do one for the last video:
Seriously, thanks so much for your support over the past 2/3rds of a year, it's been completely insane to see the positive response and the fact that some of you, for some reason, want to give me money.
I'll have another episode out by the end of the month, and THEN we'll be back to regular service- sorry, the Undertale video both did better than I was expecting (prompting a rapid rise to 100k and the obligatory special vids) and took quite a lot out of me, so I needed a bit of a break earlier this month- the next vid is in the editing stage now, so hopefully not too long to wait!
2019-02-20 18:55:06 +0000 UTC
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Are you a fan of arbitrary numerical celebrations? Me too! Put your questions in the comments and I may or may not get around to them!
Real video coming in less than a week- took a few days off after the Undertale Extravaganza.
2019-02-15 03:37:26 +0000 UTC
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Hi! This video is finally done- it's a long one so I may have made some editing errors. If you see any mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them!
Video Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FL0-Y6Y99Zke85jFyFYQUJDtxyZqnyfGB8sWgD2ZKtg/edit?usp=sharing
Undertale is a very strange game, and is perhaps one of the most culturally relevant indie games ever made - It's inspired a whole host of spinoffs, fan art, and even a bunch of Youtube videos.
However, as far as The Architect is aware, no-one's actually figured out the meaning behind Undertale- if it even has one at all. So buckle up for three quarters of an hour of desperately trying to figure out what Undertale was all about, and what, if anything, we can learn from it.
You Saw:
Err... Undertale mostly.
Interesting Links:
AVClub article about the impact of the Genocide route: https://games.avclub.com/undertale-dares-players-to-make-a-mistake-they-can-neve-1798287299
Me and Hbomb ended up coming to a lot of the same conclusions and that makes his video good- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E-0sjkDnkc
Bork- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woPff-Tpkns
2019-02-01 10:07:06 +0000 UTC
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Greetings, delicious friends.
A small update to tell you that over christmas (after a short break) I started work on another BIG video in the same vein as What is a Sonic, anyway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqlnVjeXGf0 and the much more sensibly named A Comprehensive Reading of Nier Automata: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EnbSokFpjQ .
That means that you won't be getting the video I'd ordinarily be finishing around now. Instead, you'll get twice as much if not more content later this month!
This video has been kicking around in my head for a few months now and I think the new year is the time to finally get down to making it, so I hope you'll enjoy it when I'm finally done.
Now, back to writing!
JAN 21ST UPDATE: Owing to three complete rewrites (yes! Three! Arrghh!) and a longer than expected length, the next video might not be quite ready for the end of the month - I'm currently doing audio for it, so things are a bit up in the air as to whether I'll finish or not in time. In the event it isn't, I'll post the script here in advance, just for Patrons so you don't have to go a whole month without content.
Apologies, hopefully the wait will be worth it!
2019-01-06 14:03:53 +0000 UTC
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Hello! This video was a bit of a weird one, so instead of talking to you about cut content, let’s have a look at some more games I considered putting on the 20(18) games you should have played list but for whatever reason didn’t make the cut.
First up…
Celeste
Celeste is probably this biggest omission from this years list, and the one I grappled with a lot. The game is a tricky, hardcore platformer that managed to challenge even veterans like myself. But that’s probably not why you’ve heard of the game, Celeste earned its fame with a very empathetic, warm take on what’s typically a very aggressive style of game.
Celeste’s story of staying true to yourself despite the odds and making sure to remain mindful forms a very interesting backdrop against what could have very easily have been yet another Meatboy wannabe. The presentation and music are brilliant as well, as is the addition of an assist mode that allows you to change the difficulty of the game at any time.
Celeste ultimately didn’t make the cut not because it was too good, but because everyone has already played it! (also the contrarian in me thinks it’s a bit overrated but that’s an issue for another time)
Prey: Mooncrash
Well wasn’t this a surprise! Prey was a really interesting game with a crapload of issues ultimately stemming from an over-adherence to the immersive sim template - and so Mooncrash was a really awesome breath of fresh air for the game, turning it into a run-and-gun roguelike.
Where mooncrash really excels is in its metagame. Rather than everything resetting to zero when you die, Mooncrash has a semi-persistent world. If you pick up a useful gizmo with one character, it won’t be there when you come back as a new character. However, that might be okay! That’s because rather than starting off as a blank slate, all of Mooncrashes’ characters have unique powers and strategies, and even unique storylines.
When you add a points system, gradually ramping difficulty and several ways to win into the mix, you’re left with a game that pushes Prey’s already great systems to the limits they were designed to shine at, without any rubbish story or overpowered gubbins to get in the way. Ultimately I have a lot of the same sort of things to say about Prey: Mooncrash as I do Dead Cells, so this got dumped as it isn’t quite on the same level quality-wise and is a DLC of a game I’d otherwise hesitate to recommend.
Artifact
Artifact was a preliminary contender for the 2018 list the day the release date was announced. It’s a Valve game, it’s a unique take on the CCG genre and it was even designed in part by the great Richard Garfield! What’s not to like?
Well, as it turns out, quite a lot. The game is hard to read, drags on way too long than it ought to and has a microtransaction model that is significantly less consumer friendly than the alternatives with no real good reason - even the highly touted real money card economy has crashed and burned.
Ultimately, Artifact is still a very interesting game, but for all the wrong reasons, and it probably doesn’t deserve to go on a list of recommendations in its current state- particularly when it was competing for a spot with Eternal, a much better and more generous game.
Fallout 76
I held out the faintest hope this game wouldn’t be a total disaster and somehow it was more of a trainwreck than I feared. My condolences to those who brought into the hype.
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Well there you have it, hopefully that’s a bit of an insight into why some games got in and others didn’t! Have a happy holiday season/Festag and I’ll see you in the new year.
2018-12-22 21:15:01 +0000 UTC
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Video Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qseAHEU57PuGH92eyKtw-sCbCPJVuCMS8YnjGpj9e9w/edit?usp=sharing
2018 was a weird year for games, for every great title that was released, there was a massive controversy, that meant that some great games went completely unappreciated.
Luckily for you, The Architect is here to right that wrong and tell you all about 20 games that you might've missed but really should have played.
You Saw:
Forager
Rimworld
Maplestory 2
Destiny 2: Forsaken
Smoke and Sacrifice
HEARTBEAT
Minit
Monster Prom
Prismata
Overcooked 2
Frostpunk
Florence
Deltarune
Wandersong
The Red Strings Club
Dead Cells
Cultist Simulator
Eternal
The Hex
Subnautica
Bad North
Hitman 2
Return of the Obra Dinn
Into The Breach
Slay the Spire
(They all came out in 2018 you dorks!)
Interesting Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n3pFFPSlW4
2018-12-22 02:32:13 +0000 UTC
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2018-12-08 01:51:23 +0000 UTC
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Wow! This video was going to be a short one! Between premiere throwing a fit when trying to render and having to chop and change large bits because I'd unintentionally plagarized this vid took longer than expected, sorry!
Follow me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/Thefearalcarrot
Video Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ToBgrvtTNe3TOsWKlh4K-ucie4s73UDjyXSgsIEb8DE/edit?usp=sharing
There's a lot of memorable levels out there, from Titanfall 2's Cause and Effect, to pretty much anything in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. The Architect's top pick for a memorable level is The World of Tomorrow from HITMAN 2016.
What makes a level memorable though? And why is memorability important? Put on your tie, hide your silenced pistol somewhere the sun don't shine and dive in to find out the answers.
You Saw:
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze- 2014
Call of Duty 4 Remastered- 2016
Mass Effect 2- 2010
Portal- 2007
HITMAN 2- 2018
Sonic Generations- 2011
Ocarina of Time 3D- 2011
Titanfall 2- 2016
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword- 2011
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess- 2007
Legend of Zelda: A link to the past- 1997
Metroid Prime Trilogy- 2009
Rayman Legends- 2013
Megaman 11- 2018
Megaman X-1993
The Hex- 2018
New Super Mario Bros U- 2012
The Haunted Island: A Frog Detective Game- 2018
Donut County- 2018
Fire Emblem Awakening- 2012
Halo 3- 2007
Bioshock Remastered: 2016
Oxygen Not Included: Early Access
Braid: 2008
Interesting Links:
Chris Mcente's Rayman Legends talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFu1utKAZ18
Blackthornprod's video about me (and others): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDW0hSUyK5M
Designing HITMAN 2 for deeper levels: https://www.polygon.com/2018/11/7/18068608/hitman-2-preview-ps4-xbox-one-pc
2018-12-06 10:23:56 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends and enemies alike.
Just a small update to tell you I won't be able to get the requisite two videos out this month, the current vid is very much in production, but I thought it'd be best to let you guys know that it will in all likelihood be finished in the early days of december.
I get really stressed about meeting the arbitrary deadline of two videos a month and to my credit, this is the first time I've not been able to meet it! Unfortunately, the fact that the average video takes just over half a month to make has finally caught up with me.
I'm going to try and be a little less harsh on myself and make sure to put out quality content rather than rushing things out, but I'm aware you are paying me money so if this is an issue (even if I'm going to be making videos at the same speed I normally do, just with less stress on my end) then I'm sorry.
You'll be getting two videos for sure in december and if I can swing it an extra special long video come 2019! I'm terrified!
- The Architect.
2018-11-30 18:49:17 +0000 UTC
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Hello, hello! it’s time for another installment of the Director’s Cut, this time for my video about what makes video game stories special.
Now, in a shocking twist, I didn’t actually have that much I needed to cut once I’d finally got the idea established, but there was one thing I wanted to squeeze in but couldn’t, and that’s how games as a Verisimilitudinous (Is that still a word? Who knows? ) artform that is dependant on someone experiencing them have been around for longer than digital tech, and one of the earliest examples of this can be seen in detective fiction.
See, detective stories are unique, because unlike most genres of literature they’ve got an ever expanding series of hidden rules and restrictions authors have to pay attention to in order to make the “who/why dunnit?” mystery entertaining. This is stuff like not being able to say “the unnamed butler I never mentioned before did it” or needing to imply a motive without giving the game away.
The end result is a form of game, with the author coming up with stories in the knowledge that the reader knows all the rules and tricks and is trying to outwit them and solve the case before the reveal. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Scandal in Bohemia, we learn that not every case ends with a confession from a murderer. In fact, it’s revealed that Irene Adler, a suspected blackmailer, is actually not only totally innocent, but she also manages to outwit Sherlock Holmes himself.
This clues in readers to the possibility of the resolution to a case being that there was no crime at all - a fact they’ll have to keep in mind as they read and try to suss out other books, written by people who now know this is an option.
There’s no better example of an author and a reader matching wits though, than Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Akroyd. In this book, there are very few conclusive ways to figure out how the murder went down, and all the main characters seem like they’re either way too obvious, or have satisfying motives- it’s almost as if the book is hiding information to throw you off the scent and that’s because it is!
The real killer is the narrator, Dr Sheppard, who fills the Watson role to inspector Poirot’s Holmes. It’s genius the way Agatha Christie does this, because Sheppard’s account never actually lies to the reader, he just omits key details which are really obvious in retrospect.
“I did what little had to be done”, writes the Doctor, talking about what he was doing when the murder happened, implying he did nothing of interest when really he’s covering up his part in the murder. We never suspect him though, because we assume our narrator is reliable- not any more. This instance opened the floodgates and now when reading detective novels, you can no longer trust the narrator if you want to solve the case - adding an additional layer to the ever evolving game of figuring out pretend crimes.
Now, if that sounds rambly and like it wouldn’t fit in the video, then we’re on the same wavelength, I really love detective fiction but I couldn’t find a spot for it in the vid, maybe some other time!
2018-11-20 22:52:37 +0000 UTC
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Video games are the new kid on the block when it comes to expressive artforms, and they've got a lot to learn. More specifically, they've got a lot to learn about themselves.
The Architect has journeyed to distant shores, plumbed the depths of knowledge and invaded more than one other medium to figure out what makes games tick, and why a 2-bit game about insurance can tell a better story than multimillion-dollar megahits.
Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15vr3AC7j2Ckrva3zsaMYe4-p9nauX3yPRkaPPK5F1KE/edit?usp=sharing
You saw:
The Legend of Zelda (1986)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)
Nier Automata (2017)
Delta Rune (2018)
Thronebreaker (2018)
Bayonetta (2009)
[NICE TRY]
Return of the Obra Dinn (2018)
Darkest Dungeon (2016)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Alien (1979)
Hitman 2 (2018)
Mass Effect 3 (2012)
Thomas was alone (2012)
Batman: Arkham City (2011)
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
Mario Odyssey (2018)
Overcooked 2 (2018)
Final Fantasy 13 (2009)
A Way Out (2018)
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012)
Pac-Man (1980)
The Colonists (2018)
Spelunky (2008)
HellBlade- Senua’s Sacrifice (2017)
Metroid Prime (2002)
Monster Hunter World (2018)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)
Don’t Starve (2013)
Spiderman (2018)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Trials and Tribulations (2004)
Ace Attorney anime (2016)
Dishonored 2 (2016)
Fez (2012)
Interesting Linkos:
The power of the Obra Dinn's magic book: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/11/07/how-a-book-binds-the-return-of-the-obra-dinn/
The right way to play HITMAN: https://kotaku.com/hitman-2016-taught-me-a-better-way-to-play-hitman-2-1830477221
A bit of a look at the upcoming Delta Rune: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-11-02-undertale-creator-says-the-rest-of-deltarune-has-not-been-made-yet
2018-11-19 04:09:55 +0000 UTC
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2018-11-03 00:32:05 +0000 UTC
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Hello Friends! I wrote this list of recommendations for someone I'm in a discord channel with and I thought I may as well post it here for all to see. Aren't I a nice guy? Honestly steam is using the term horror pretty loosely here but whatever there are some cheap games up for grabs. Go check out these sweet spooktacular games accessable here: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/halloween2018/
Darkest Dungeon (£5.69) - The premiere vaguely lovecraftian misery simulator. Send hapless adventurers into a series of very scary dungeons filled with some truly nasty foes in order to slowly build up your town and better equip your dudes, sounds pretty standard right? The real draw of Darkest Dungeon comes from two sources, it’s very unique take on character “progression” and the battle system itself.
Darkest dungeon’s adventurers don’t really get stronger or more magical, they just slowly go insane, get sick and develop unhealthy habits like alcoholism as the dungeon drives them to madness, this promotes a really cool relationship with you treating certain adventurers as the expendable cattle that they are and trying your best to stave off the crazy eating away at your best troops. The battle system is also pretty unique, taking place in row-based formations that leads to some cool mechanics based around movement and positioning that spices up what would otherwise be plain tactics rpg mechanics. Tens of hours of content here, well worth a buy.
Resident Evil 7 (£12.99)- Finally, a good resident evil game! It’s been a long time since resi four and the series has gone back to its horror roots, adopting a first-person perspective and really leaning into the campy b-movie side of horror for most of the scares, it manages to provide a really compelling survival horror experience we’ve really not seen since the first game.
The game’s cast of weird hillbilly characters are very charismatic and make for great bad guys as well as bosses, fought with satisfying gunplay that never outstays its welcome... That is, until the very end of the game which is a bit of a shooting gallery. The end third of the game really ditches the horror stuff in a way I’d argue is for the worst, but up until that point the game is a fresh new take on a very old formula and one of the best straight up horror games of the last few years.
Crypt of the Necrodancer (£2.19)- What if I told you that you could mix a rougelike and a rhythm game? You’d call me a madman and quite rightfully so, at least until you played some Necrodancer. Jumping around randomly generated dungeons to some fantastic music is surprisingly intuitive and provides the inspiration for some great enemy designs that remain fun to fight hours into the game.
There’s a surprisingly rich selection of levels that took me several hours to master and even longer to actually beat, and that’s not counting the DLC which adds a bunch of new stuff too. Between that, the multiple characters and the daily challenge runs this is the best value proposition of the lot and also one of the most unique takes on the rougelike formula I’ve ever played – though be warned – if you’re not into the whole dying a lot thing, Necrodancer won’t change your mind.
Grim Fandango Remastered (£2.74)- The best Double Fine game of the lot, Psychonauts be damned. You play as Manny, a normal skeleton in a decidedly abnormal Mexican dia de los muertos styled afterlife.
The game has a great story, about unravelling a noir-esque conspiracy that predictably involves solving some rather clever puzzles and engaging with some of the best comedy writing in an adventure game. If you want to see an old-school adventure game done right for once, then Grim Fandango isn’t to be missed as it’s one of the best of all time.
Did I mention you get to drive around in a skeleton-themed souped-up Hot Rod? No? Is that why you’re not playing the game right now?
Limbo (£1.39) and Inside (£6.74)- Doing these ones together because they’re very much the same sort of game by the same developer and both star weird mute monochrome boys who get murdered a lot. Inside and Limbo are dark, atmospheric puzzle platformers which don’t actually do that much new on the mechanical front but man do they NAIL the atmosphere.
These games are grim, managing to feel oppressive and uncomfortable, yet also weirdly enticing, drip feeding you small lore nuggets to keep you pressing on through the weird and wonderful obstacles they can come up with like evil spiders and mind controlled pigs. You’ve probably heard the hype for these games and Limbo in particular has been a little overblown, but taken at face value as a pair of standalone movie-like experiences, you can’t go too far wrong with Playdead’s catalogue.
Prey (£9.99)- Prey’s a strange beast. An immersive sim released about a year after the second great immersive sim extinction that’s really trying to be system shock 2, bioshock and also dishonoured at the same time. The end result is a game that’s a little messy, loses the plot about halfway through and has some serious balance issues, but in a really interesting way.
Prey is a game with some wonderful potential, and great immersive simmy toys to play around with, like the glue gun which gums up enemies and can be used to create hardened glue structures on walls and floors. It’s also got a great soundtrack, trust me, if you play for about two mins, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
The best designed part of the game though is the mimics, the first baddie you meet and one that’s capable of disguising as any of the game’s physics objects. These little guys really help ratchet up the surprise factor and are used to play some great practical jokes on the player in ways I won’t spoil, seriously, they deserve a spot on a “best enemies ever” list.
Witch Hunt (£6.11)- Don’t let the cheap graphics and lack of polish turn you off, Witch hunt is a very interesting game that excels at evoking a very specific theme – monster hunting. Most of your playtime is spent hunting Werewolves and other gothic baddies in a big wood, slowly stalking your prey. The game is slow, occasionally boring and more than a little bit frustrating at times, but it taps into a really engaging loop of skirmishes with your mark as you slowly whittle them down before resuming the chase once again.
The game isn’t perfect but if you ever want to feel like Van helsing armed with a flintlock pistol and are looking forwards to about six hours in a spooky forest getting jumped by spiders, you’re in luck here.
Sunless Sea ( £4.75)- London has fallen, literally. It fell into a vast underground cave system years ago, on the coast of the unterzee, a vast underground ocean, and that’s where you come in. You’re tasked with captaining a boat and sailing it between the many varied and strange islands in the Unterzee, engaging in mind-bending adventures, eating your crew and maybe even getting enough money to retire.
Sunless Sea is written, predictably, by the Fallen London team, and it too has the same rich and expressive writing style that’s just dripping with lore and interesting characters. Each island is its own self-contained series of mini adventures making Sunless Sea an awesome pick up and play storytime game bursting with high-concept charm. The actual mechanics are a little wonky and the balance is strange (farm the early port reports if you want to live) but that’s more than made up for by the reams of excellent writing you won’t find matched in many other games.
Well. There you go. Some Halloween games. Now if you don't mind, I've got a crypt to return to.
2018-10-30 02:47:37 +0000 UTC
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Apologies for any small audio hiccups in the video, I've been under the weather lately and that made editing a bit of a challenge.
There's a very old quote from the creator of Civilization, Sid Meier "A good game is a series of interesting decisions" and despite how popular this quote is, an "interesting decision" is a pretty hard idea to break down.
It's time for The Architect to reboot history and go back to the basics of strategic games in figure out what an interesting decision is, how they can be best used, or whether we need them at all.
You Saw:
Civilization 6- 2016
Xcom- Enemy Unknown- 2012
Kingdom Rush Frontiers- 2013
Destiny 2- 2017
Gwent: Thronebreaker- 2018
Maple Story 2- 2018
Pokemon Ultra Moon- 2017
Far Cry 5- 2018
Armello- 2015
Slay The Spire- 2017
Path of Exil- 2013
Final Fantasy 10- 2001
Shovel Knight- 2014
Into the Breach- 2018
Transistor- 2014
Magic the gathering: Arena- 2018
Prismata- 2018
Return of the Obra Din-2018
Titan Souls- 2015
Rayman Legends- 2013
Interesting decisions/links:
Sid Meier's GDC talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WggIdtrqgKg
Great Errant Signal video on Far Cry 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EPqF_o4mCs
The dangerous myth of Civiliazation: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/03/15/all-rise-and-no-fall-how-civilization-reinforces-a-dangerous-myth/
2018-10-29 23:20:34 +0000 UTC
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Hi! My apologies if it's been a while, it's been a hell of a week what with getting over a cold, having my PC die for a bit and a few other things, but I'm back on track and the new episode should be finished tomorrow (meaning it'll be out for most people the day after).
In the meantime, let's talk about a very cool game I played during a lunch break, Monstrüous. Now you're probably not getting much from that picture, but let me explain how it all works. You play a team of four adventurers, a frogman, a bubble wizard, a princess/fencer and a robot who have been tasked with killing this gross worm. Each of your heroes has two abilities and as you might expect, the worm might try to kill you in return.
Here's the catch.
Rather than swinging swords or summoning mighty fireballs, your heroes are a bit rubbish, they can only do useless things like drink tea, blow a trumpet or ring an alarm clock. That means you're going to have to be creative and use your weird abilities in exactly the right order to expose the worm's weak spot and counter it's attacks. If you've played the GROW games by japanese developer On, then you'll know what to expect here.
The whole game is essentially one big logic puzzle that's a little trial and errory but that's made up for by the lovely animations and cute characters. The whole thing takes about 20 mins to complete. During that time you'll feel very disappointed by meteors, drink way too much tea and discover the surprisingly lethal potential of bubbles.
I had a blast with Monstrüous and I expect anyone with a sense of humor and just under half an hour to kill will do too.
The game is available here for whatever you want to pay (that probably means a few bucks, the developer really deserves it!): https://nonomiyo.itch.io/monstruous
I will return with a new video and hopefully no further delays!
2018-10-28 14:46:52 +0000 UTC
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Thanks for your feedback about what you want instead of reviews, I'll reorganize a quick talking point about Dishonored 2's different challenge modes that got cut from the video and will write it up for tomorrow!
Also apologies for the lateness, between getting a bit sick and a video idea that didn't pan out, this one got a bit delayed.
---
Shovel Knight was cool, but The Architect never really liked it as much as everyone else seemed to. That was until a brand new way to play was uncovered, and The Architect finally saw what the fuss was about.
But how do challenge runs work? How do we come up with a good one? Looks like our hero will have to dig up some answers!
You Saw:
Shovel Knight- 2014
XCOM: Enemy Unknown- 2012
Slay The Spire - 2017 Destiny 2- 2017
World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth- 2018
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild- 2017
Northgard- 2018
Borderlands 2, The Pre-Sequel- 2014
Pokemon Ultra Moon- 2017
Half Life 2 Episode 2- 2007
Diablo 3- 2012
Dishonored 2- 2016
Dark Souls 2: SotFS- 2014
Rayman Legends- 2013
Metro Redux- 2014
Interesting Links: The origin of the Nuzlocke Challenge, an old and distinctly okay webcomic: http://www.nuzlocke.com/comics/pokemo...
A look at all the talentless hacks that copied Shovel Knight: https://yachtclubgames.com/2017/04/to...
A classic episode of GMTK all about Shovel Knight and Nostalgia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHhX5...
2018-10-12 20:28:27 +0000 UTC
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Hello!
I'm hard at work on another video but I've had a bit of a read though the suggestions on the comments of the latest Architect Address and I'd like to pick your brain about the $3 option specifically. I'm fine with where the other ones are, the Architect Address is fun and quick to make and I like the more expensive ones being related to kudos rather than withholding content.
The big sticking point has been the reviews which I feel don't naturally play to my style, are a bit of a pain to make and don't seem to do very well in terms of people actually watching them (the same can be said for the AA but that's significantly less of a timesink).
So, to that end, I've got some alternate proposals for the $3 tier that I'd love for you to vote on. If there isn't a conclusive winner or it wins, we'll stick with reviews but the other two options are:
Video Voting- I'll occasionally go to patreon to choose the topic or prompt idea for a video. It won't be every single one and I'll obviously reserve the right to change my mind, but you guys having a little bit of input into which videos you want to see made sounds like a great incentive and also really helpful because sometimes I can't make up my mind.
Director's Commentary- In addition to every main episode I release, I'll follow it up a few days later with some cut ideas, extra thoughts and additional links to flesh out the topic in a way I couldn't squeeze into the video.
Looking forward to hearing from you on this- The Architect of Games wouldn't be possible without your support so it's only fair you get to get a say on what the rewards for doing so are!
- Adam
2018-10-05 19:12:03 +0000 UTC
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Hi! In addition to this month's Architect Address, I'd love for some feedback on how the patreon is treating you.
I started this thing on a whim without much thought and I'd love to hear what, if anything, you'd like out of supporting me. Please let me know!
2018-09-27 01:52:41 +0000 UTC
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You are being lied to. Tricked. Deceived and Bamboozled. Surely that’s a bad thing, right? Well not always, video games are constantly tricking you, but keeping you in the dark is integral to the workings of not just the best games but nearly all of them.
The Architect has traveled to the far future, an alternate present and the depths of Hel itself to confront some uncomfortable truths about the way we think about video games, and to shed some light on some very dark secrets.
He even came up with a way to talk about XCOM again!
Apologies for the slight delay on this one, it's a big topic and I wanted to make sure it was up to scratch!
You Saw:
Destiny 2 (2017)
Eternal Card game (2016)
Hollow Knight (2017)
Slay The Spire (2017)
XCOM 2: WOTC (2017)
DOOM (2016)
Rayman Legends (2013)
Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice (2017)
Fez (2012)
A Hat in Time (2017)
HITMAN (2016)
Bioshock 2 (2010)
Ikaruga (2001)
Volume (2015)
Spelunky (2008)
Batman: Arkham City: (2011)
Alien Isolation (2016)
Mirror’s Edge (2010)
Dark souls (2011)
Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing Transformed (2012)
Uncharted 2 (2009)
Pacman (1980)
Interesting Links:
Jennifer’s GDC Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YdJa...
A great Making of bit for hellblade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFhzV...
Cool article about the nuts and bolts of combat design in DOOM: https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/2...
2018-09-26 02:46:23 +0000 UTC
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When doing these recommendations I always try to choose some interesting or unknown titles so here’s a real out of left field entry, HEARTBEAT, or at least it’s demo.
The full game isn’t out yet but the demo is insanely comprehensive with a good 2-4 hours of content to play so you’ve really got no excuse not to pick it up.
HEARTBEAT is in every way a love letter to classic JRPGs, as you might be able to notice from the screenshot up there, its artstyle and world filled with cute critters takes heavy influence from the GameBoy Advance Pokemon titles and the battle system is very reminiscent of a Mother/Final Fantasy crossover.
So what sets HEARTBEAT apart from its clear inspirations? Well, not much, to be completely honest. If you don’t like menu based combat and classic world puzzles like block pushing and a lot of talking to NPCs then there’s nothing here that will convince you to stay, but if you’re already a JRPG fan, HEARTBEAT is a refreshing new spin on old ideas.
Most notably is the way combat works, gone are the days of waiting for endless combat animations or having to cycle through eight different menus to cast a spell, every fight is clean, slick and yet no less tactical leading to a sense of kinetic satisfaction that JRPGs can rarely muster. That, combined with a kickass soundtrack and some actual fight complexity even in the first few hours, immediately elevated HEARTBEAT’s combat above other games which just rip off final fantasy.
Your party members are all Mogs, cute furry creatures which, contrary to Pokemon, all of human intelligence and are not just animals- something the game makes very clear to point out. Each one you gather up has a unique set of abilities and role in your party, for example your starter catfriend is a healer and physical attacker, whereas a lightning-infused chimera you pick up later on fills the role of a squishy caster. Each of these guys have their own personalities which are for the most part pretty charming and never outstay their welcome in the case of the more one-note additions. They’ve also got abilities that can be used to solve puzzles and get around on the map like pushing blocks around or entering hidden pathways that break up the action nicely and help the world feel a little more alive.
Speaking of which, the writing in HEARTBEAT is really quite impressive, it’s nothing too groundbreaking or dramatic, but what is on display is clean, concise and generally lighthearted. There’s a lot of jokes on display and a fun collection of characters but that’s never at the expense of actual thematic exploration which I won’t spoil here but HEARTBEAT certainly goes further than you’d expect. HEARTBEAT doesn’t fall into the trap of bogging you down in early exposition but also gives it’s characters and their arcs room to breathe, even going so far as to have party members even disagree and argue, a surprising rarity in my experience.
All in all, HEARTBEAT is a new take on the classic JRPG format for existing fans of the genre who’ve gotten a bit tired of being bogged down in filler content and angsty writing and want something fresh that’s still clearly an homage to the style. And if you’re looking for something to convince you that not all RPGs take 10 hours to get going and require lots of grinding then HEARTBEAT might be able to win you over.
HEARTBEAT is available here: https://shepple.itch.io/heartbeat
2018-09-11 17:01:47 +0000 UTC
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