Hearts of Stone

Experiencing Content

Not to be confused with Hearthstone, that’s a different thing

Only you can prevent forest fires

I don’t think we give enough credit to CD Projekt for being excellent writers, and so I’m here to do just that. I can’t stop thinking about my 200 hour expedition into The Witcher 3, and although I’m done with it, it left an indelible mark on me, especially with Iris, a woman who thought she was marrying the perfect husband and ended up being a casualty of a deal with the devil gone wrong. Hearts of Stone tackles love, misery, loss, marriage, and consequence, and ends up having some wonderful moments where theme is all over every mission and action. Painting a world that reflects what you feel is one thing, but being trapped inside someone’s art is another, and I simply love the writing here to death. This shit gets me every time:

“I’ll remember you”, says Iris.

“It matters not”, says Olgierd.

Everything she says is poetry, every fucking line; she earns every moment and is one of the most tragic characters in games that I can ever remember. So enough babbling, watch the video.

If you are so inclined, the link for my channel (where you can find other videos in the series) is here. And you can follow me on Twitter here.

E3 2017 Battle Plans

Experiencing Content

War. War never changes. Except in early June.

Not this kind of battle, but whatever, you do you Ubisoft

Battle stations! E3 is coming, so prepare for war! Exclamation points galore! Here I lay out what each company doing a press conference should do, or else be scorned by history and gamers on the internet.

If you are so inclined, the link for my channel (where you can find other videos in the series) is here. And you can follow me on Twitter here.

The Witness

Level Design Hall of Fame

Witness the genius of this game

I still have no idea what the title of this game means, by the way

Out of all of the Level Design Hall of Fame videos I have done, or intend to do, I don’t think anything will achieve the brilliance that this game is able to pull off. The Witness is a game that is capable of blowing your mind through nothing but pure gameplay, at its most basic and conceptual level. No text, no story, no guide, no map, quest arrow, items, enemies, AI, nothing. Nothing but puzzles and intricate level design, art design, sound design, and magic fairy pixie dust sprinkled on top for good measure. It’s incredibly rare to find something like this, so let’s marvel at this masterpiece.

If you are so inclined, the link for my channel (where you can find other videos in the series) is here. And you can follow me on Twitter here.

Hard Rain

Level Design Hall of Fame

And it’s HARD to hold a candle, in the cold November RAIN

Or I’ll just end up walkin’
In the cold November rain

I have an oldie but goodie for this week’s Level Design Hall of Fame. This is a redone video on Left 4 Dead 2’s Hard Rain, and I’ll be double or triple dipping in older Valve games because they’re honestly some of the best ever made. Why can’t we get another one of these, honestly? Makes me so mad, that they just keep silent and do nothing but tinker with (and screw up) Steam. Fucking Gabe.

If you are so inclined, the link for my channel (where you can find other videos in the series) is here. And you can follow me on Twitter here.

P.T.

Level Design Hall of Fame

RIP you brilliant, brilliant Playable Teaser. We lost you too early.

Fuck Konami

This might be the most borderline, on the fence entry to the Level Design Hall of Fame, but I don’t really care. The minimalism on display here works extremely well for what the game is trying to do, and I appreciate that. I mean, yeah, you could have designed a hallway too, but it’s not the hallway exactly, it’s what you do with it. So just remember that, because it’s a sketchy way for me to just talk about P.T. being genius.

If you are so inclined, the link for my channel (where you can find other videos in the series) is here. And you can follow me on Twitter here.

Praying at the Alter of Yooka Laylee

Experiencing Content

I bow down to the ancient gods of Banjo and Kazooie, and the new gods of Yooka and Laylee.

The best pun in gaming history? Ukulele?

So I made a new Experiencing Content video on my snow day from work. A blizzard hit in New York City, so I got a chance to do…whatever this is.

If you are so inclined, the link for my channel (where you can find other videos in the series) is here. And you can follow me on Twitter here.

Sen’s Fortress

Level Design Hall of Fame

If only I could be so grossly incandescent.

Enter if you dare.

I brought back an old series I used to do and now I’m cranking out new episodes and remakes of old ones. It’s called The Level Design Hall of Fame, and I induct great levels, stages, and maps into a canon I’m compiling. Here is an episode about Sen’s Fortress in the original Dark Souls.

If you are so inclined, the link for my channel (where you can find other videos in the series) is here. And you can follow me on Twitter here.

Helping Out Ken Levine

Experiencing Content

Ken, please hire me. I will do anything for you, just hit me up, slide into my DMs, I’m free whenever.

This man is my hero, my icon, my muse.

On this episode of Experiencing Content, I bow down to my #1 game designer, director, and writer, Ken Levine, and try to help him out as he makes a new game at newly named Ghost Story. Would you kindly watch this video? It’s long but it’s a good one. A good one, and thorough. That’s a Big Lebowski reference.

If you are so inclined, the link for my channel (where you can find other videos in the series) is here. And you can follow me on Twitter here.

On Avant-Garde Video Games

Experiencing Content

There are no mistakes in games, just happy little accidents.

Mario is the Bob Ross of the Mushroom Kingdom.

On this episode of Experiencing Content, I look at avant-garde games and how they fit into the gaming landscape. They don’t really, but they should. This series will continue whenever I remember to upload more.

If you are so inclined, the link for my channel (where you can find other videos in the series) is here. And you can follow me on Twitter here.