Video Game Deep Cuts: Summer In Mara's Shipbreaker Wildfire

[Actually, the very first game I worked on as a pro game designer was bundled with a 3D card.]

It’s issue number 200 (I think!) of Video Game Deep Cuts on Substack, so thanks for all of those still sticking around.

Nowadays, betwen 2,500 and 3,000 people actually open and read each of these newsletters across Substack and Gamasutra, and as many as 250 click through on each individual link, so… that’s great! Will keep it going as long as I can…

- Simon, curator

The Current: New(er) Games To Consider

• Hardspace: Shipbreaker (PC, Early Access) is an impressive-looking first person salvager (FPS?) where the focus is on looting derelict spaceships. 

• Summer In Mara (Switch, PC) is a gorgeous-looking ‘Harvest Moon vs. Wind Waker’ 3D pastoral adventure that arrives with hype, tho it has a rare negative review from NintendoLife & mixed Steam reviews. 

• Out last month, Wildfire (PC) is a 2D game about starting impressive dynamic fires to stand up to an authoritarian military intent on beating you down. 

• Beyond Blue (PC, Xbox One, PS4, Apple Arcade, pictured) is a relaxing-looking underwater adventure that also teaches about the ocean. 

• The Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition (PC) is in progress, with over 900 game demos to sample - here’s sixteen of the best broken out. 

The Culture: Game Culture & Deep Dives

• A well-done video on how Animal Crossing New Horizons fosters routine and connection. 

• Looks like chess is having a moment on Twitch, led by grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. 

• How games like Satisfactory make chores and busywork… fun? 

• EVE Online disabled the 'asset safety' feature on in-game factories for lapsed players. Despite a heads-up, a looting free-for-all ensued. 

• In 2017, you could get a Super Mario Odyssey… marriage license? 

The Past: Game History

• Sega president Hayao Nakayama’s company New Year speech in 1994, a fascinating (near-peak?) juncture in Sega history. 

• GameClub, which resurrects older/incompatible iPhone games in a subscription service, has also now launched on Android. 

• The World Video Game Hall Of Fame has inducted Bejeweled, Centipede, King’s Quest & Minecraft with a very well put-together video presentation. 

• Namco’s Famicom (NES) collection just shipped on major platforms including Switch, with neat rare material - Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti (pictured), and a NES ‘demake’ of Pac-Man Championship Edition - in it. 

• The very specific horror of old PC graphics card packaging art (see top image) 

• Arcade1Up's David McIntosh on Ms. Pac-Man and surviving a pandemic. 

The Other Goodness

• What’s the role of slurs and obscenities in Scrabble, where words are stripped of their broader functions? 

• An ode to the game design opportunities created by the Nintendo DS’ dual-screen format (especially visual novel puzzle 9 Hours, 9 Person, 9 Doors!) 

• The hard truth of poker - and life: you’re never ‘due’ for good cards. 

• The secrets of Streets Of Rage 4’s well-constructed animation.

• The man who never left Habbo Hotel (pictured. Well, Habbo is, not the man.) 

Thanks for reading, and see you next week.
Simon.