Smartphones as gaming devices will never have the longevity, or reliability, that handheld consoles have I never really had a “proper” smartphone until last year. My last “good smartphone” was a Nokia E95 (I miss that design and clicky keys) more than 10 years ago, and since then I only bought low-to-mid-range smartphones because I never used them for anything …
Category: Video Games
I like video games.
Sacred 2 was a diamond in the rough
Sacred 2 is a not-so-hidden gem that showed what ARPGs could be, given the chance, time, and money Note: this was originally published on Medium. It was edited to be published here. Revisiting this old gem is like meeting an old friend: weird at first, but surprisingly nice. There are some games you just can’t play enough, they always make …
The “games as a service” philosophy is not that great
The concept of “games as a service” might be detrimental to the game industry as a whole in the long run Note: this was originally published in 2019 on Medium. It has been now reviewed and edited to be posted here. Many things changed in the industry, but I think the point that drove me to write this article still …
Open world in video games
In open-world games, traveling should be a core part of the design, instead of treating the map just as a background setpiece Note: this was originally posted on cohost in a thread about open-world games and in-game traveling, and edited before being posted here. Like many people, I consider Morrowind to be Bethesda’s pinnacle, and it’s all due to its …
A short, personal, and wordy essay about gachas
Most gachas have predatory practices, but there are a few that can be played as normal games I’m over 30, and as I get older(TM) and real life(R) start to creep up on my free time, I’m starting to value mobile games more and more. I always liked handhelds (I’m salty to this day about how Sony treated the PS …
Using “AI”-translated content is a bad idea
In some ways, I could be considered a Luddite, I guess I’m not against it because I fear for my job. I actually would embrace any new technology that made things easier, but that hasn’t been the case here. The issue with “AI” – and I use quotes because it is not a true AI, despite its hype – is …
Video game reviews
Sometimes I like to talk about games that I like, and sometimes I like to write about games that I like. There’s an indie video game digital magazine I collaborate with from time to time, and I wrote two articles for them this year: one was about Caves of Qud, a roguelike/RPG that’s pretty cool and expansive; the other was …