Blaugust: The Game
Top five (or 10 or 20) game developers / modders.
Um... I don't know any modders. I don't know what's recent or what's in anymore, and my first thoughts are of the game devs I grew up with.
Insomniac Games is the first to leap out at me– They did the OG Spyro trilogy! Of course, for the JRPG fans in the 90s you had Squaresoft. I can rattle off more: Namco, Capcom, Konami, Rare, Atlus. SEGA, Sony, Nintendo, Ubisoft. And if you had a PC, who could forget Sierra Entertainment?!
All that aside, I do have some ramblings that are somewhat related to today's topic, so let's see what I got.
I guess I can tell you how it started...
How It Started
What I had of Sonic the Hedgehog was through the Western lenses of SatAM and Archie Comics; my best friend in 5th grade also had all the games. I really enjoyed the cartoon aspect of this IP; the games felt secondary to me. So when I think of the very first video game I ever played, it isn't Sonic 2 that comes to mind.
It's Super Mario 64.
Enough said, right? But it clicked for me here that video games are really so freakin' cool and they're doing new things all the time. It clicked so much that I voted to play another level instead of swapping secrets during a sleepover.
This was when owning a console morphed from passive thought to tangible desire.
For research, I began picking up gaming magazines. Gamer's Republic was vital into figuring out which one I wanted to pester my parents about for Christmas. They covered all the major platforms (along with anime).
I'm an avid reader, too. The more I looked into what these things were about, I became familiar with all different types. How stories were accomplished in Role-Playing Games was what drew me to them: a roster of characters to know, a whole world to wander around in, boxes of text.
So, the Playstation's impressive RPG library was what got my attention. GR's review of Spyro the Dragon further cemented my decision. And Lara Croft. And hey, optical data? So modern!
and you know not gonna lie they also had Final Fantasy
As I waited for Final Fantasy 8 to hit the 'States, I was gifted Final Fantasy VII for my birthday. Cue the "Baby's First JRPG" jokes; I earned 'em! And there were a lot more Firsts where that came from. From here, I am dying to also launch into the beginnings of my fannish-fandomness, but I'll keep that in check. That should be its own post.
How It's Going
TLDR I am a straight up indie gamer. AAA is trash, capitalism is trash, Steam is probably about to become the villain since they've lived long enough, and what the fuck is a Fortnite? Is that Valorant or something else?
Despite the beating Itch.io recently received (read their announcement here, and no thanks to Collective Shout), that is still my platform of choice. (And I am still on Steam.)
SilverSpook creates science fiction stories that pull from classic inspirations (like The Matrix), as well as their own life experience as a Native Hawaiian. Their work is thoughtful and so, so compelling.
I am desperately waiting for the ValiDATE game to update! It came out in 2022 and it is just so beautiful, chock full of BIPOC characters of various identities and walks of life.
You can follow Love Conquers All Games there. Christine Love is behind the helm and they did one of my favorite visual novels of all time, Digital: A Love Story.
I gotta mention pillowfight for another favorite: Heaven Will Be Mine:
It’s 1981, and the dream of a new home in space for all humanity is dead. After fighting for decades against an intangible and ephemeral existential threat from beyond the solar system, Earth command has declared the war effort a huge waste of time. The honeymoon is over, and a future of glittering cities across the solar system and cosmic battles between giant robots just isn’t going to happen. The outcome is clear: it’s time to come home.
But we don’t care....
Let's see if I can squeeze out one more... Aha! OpenSorceryGames did, well, Open Sorcery. That and it's kinda-sequel, Sea++, are text-based adventure games blending magic and technology.
