It’s Sunday! The day you’ve been putting off for ages. Finally, your siblings are arriving to sort through the inherited family photos and trinkets that have been gathering dust in your spare room. Resist the urge to get annoyed at their lateness, because deep down, you know it just confirms what you’ve always suspected: you’re the most responsible one. Settle into that comfortable feeling of superiority, grab a seat on the sofa, and enjoy some excellent reading from the past week.
Jeremy Peel, a contributor to RPS, publishes his own newsletter called “The Peel Perspective.” He occasionally shares older articles, like this one exploring how Fallout: New Vegas‘s vintage style goes beyond just cowboy hats.
New Vegas possesses a certain hard-edged quality reminiscent of the classic 90s Fallout games. When you accept a quest, there’s no guarantee you’re supporting the “good guys” or acting in the best interest of the surrounding communities. In Vegas, money speaks louder than ideals. That, and the presence of Caesar’s Legion soldiers, who openly boast about their cruel treatment of slaves, a constant reminder of servitude.
Keith Stuart, writing for The Guardian, delves into the humble, Teletext-inspired beginnings of Football Manager, featuring an interview with the original creator, Kevin Toms:
Football Manager launched during the early stages of the gaming scene. Sales happened via mail orders and at computer trade shows. However, around 1982, major retailers noticed the rising video game industry. “WH Smith reached out, stating their interest in stocking the game, and invited me to London. They eventually placed an order for 2,000 units – the invoice exceeded my annual income. About a month later, my girlfriend called me at work saying ‘Another order from WH Smith came in, 1,000 units.’ Upon returning home, I discovered her math was a bit off – it was actually 10,000.”
From the Void, a localization company known for their work on games ranging from Children of the Sun to Goat Simulator 3, has a founder, Marc Eybert-Guillon, who expresses skepticism about the supposed inevitability of generative AI in game development:
All the talk about inevitability is based solely on promises made by tech CEOs and investors who need everyone to believe in this idea so they can extract as much capital as possible while the “AI bubble” is still growing. They’re selling the tools, and we’re taking their word for it. Nevermind that after decades of overblown promises, machine translation is still only “decent” in most situations. Nobody has managed to make it effectively for game localization where the context surrounding the language is key to a good translation. Nevermind that every worker who has seen AI being pushed on them by management has shown that AI actually slows down and hinders a lot of processes. Nevermind that some AI models are actually getting worse as they reingest their own outputs after flooding the web with nonsense, like some dystopian non-human centipede.
Kerry Brunskill writes about Doomdark’s Revenge, an ambitious and peculiar game for the ZX Spectrum that came with its own tie-in fiction and real-world rewards for reaching the best ending.
It’s a surprisingly warm welcome for a game set in a frozen world. The preface to the five-chapter novella (a prequel expanding the lore with new allies, enemies, and the reason for setting out for war) carries the same tone, Mike Singleton concluding with “I wish you luck on your quest and hope you enjoy the game as much as I enjoyed writing it!”.
Shifting gears, John Paul Brammer at The Pickup explores why Oklahoma City, a city not necessarily known for skyscrapers, suddenly wants to build the tallest tower in America.
I visited the website. A non-clickable link labeled “Our Staff” featured an obviously AI-generated Black woman with aviator glasses boldly stepping into a hopeful future. “Our Volunteers” showcased brave participants with deformities that haven’t yet been recognized by science. A picture of two hands shaking had a dozen fingers between them, a baffling image choice considering the countless royalty-free handshake images, implying the new organization is committed to sourcing visuals straight from Uncanny Valley.
For Literary Hub, Maris Kreizman argues that reading more books won’t magically solve all the world’s problems, but it’s still a worthwhile activity.
I’ve come across numerous studies that suggest reading fiction increases empathy, by understanding and considering someone else’s point of view. But, I do not believe that reading is some magical shortcut to empathy. It never was. My standard response is something along the lines of, “I know many morally questionable individuals who regularly read fantastic books.”
Today’s musical selection is Jamie Page’s Birdbrain, a great song that makes me willing to risk reputational damage by admitting I sometimes enjoy vocaloid music. Actually, you know what? It’s great! Screw it! Screw it all! Have a fantastic Sunday.