Sundays are for indulging in a Walkers grab bag. Before we get started, let’s read this week’s best articles on games (and game-related stuff).
On Polygon, Harri Chan wrote about the impossible quiz and how it helped them learn to work together. You know me, I’m a sucker for a nostalgic trip and this one hits the spot. It’s a throwback to a raging Flash game called “The Impossible Quiz” and how it took over Harri’s class, first infuriating and then encouraging camaraderie as they teamed up to beat it. This piece is also a part of Polygon’s Computer Lab week, which is also filled with other fun pieces. Well worth a look!
It was a bit of a phenomenon in the classroom. At one point, eight kids could have played The Impossible Quiz on different computers, young minds at work. We were always looking to see who could get the furthest. While this was competitive, it also resulted in a strange group collaboration. Since the questions made no sense to us, the only way forward was to memorize as many correct answers as possible. Watching each other play helped us learn the answers to riddles and practice memorizing them. I remember playing The Impossible Quiz while another kid coached me on the answers over my shoulder and told me when to use my skip arrows strategically. (Spoiler: This would bite us in the ass later when the last question required the use of all seven skips.)
For Eurogamer, Christian Donlan wrote how he has been training for MultiVersus since birth. An interesting perspective on MultiVersus I hadn’t considered in my MultiVersus open beta impressions. Maybe it leans on history to make up for a lack of Nintendo polish?
The second reason goes a bit the other way. You can play as Bugs Bunny in MultiVersus. And Batman. And Shaggy from Scooby Doo. This really makes a difference. It makes the game – for someone like me in my forties – extremely easy to get into. I know Bugs Bunny. I know Batman and Shaggy and Wonder Woman. And this means I have a strong idea of how they’re going to show up on the battlefield.
On PC Gamer, Tyler Colp spoke to the brains behind NieR: Automata’s church mystery. If you’re not familiar with the church debacle, Alice O’s post is a must-read. Colp’s chat digs deeper into why they harassed deceptive people and how they did it.
“I’ve been tinkering with games for years learning programming and reverse engineering, jumping from one game to another, but the Nier series is the one I’ve stuck with the longest,” said Wolf. “I think it’s because the community is so committed, however small (compared to others), and no one has worked on modding tools before! So I thought that had to change!”
Miguel Penabella considers the Forza Horizon series and the portrayal of a “dream life” for Haywire Magazine. A great summary of the dreamy fantasy that the Forza Horizon series represents.
Plus, the handful of “showcase events” offer moments of scripted spectacle, similar to planned moments during a vacation, such as witnessing the Eiffel Tower light up after dark or catching the sunset over Santorini. These can find players cutting through farmland toward seeing hot air balloons take off in the distance, or soaring up a steep shoreline as a storm erupts over the Mediterranean. What the game tries to convey at such moments is a certain sense of being centered, capturing experiences that feel glamorous, cinematic and romanticized. Unconcerned about competition, many events emphasize driving rather than winning: “Finish in the top 3” or “Drive the Huracán to the festival!” the game commands excited players. In that sense, Forza Horizon 2 resembles the sunnier flip side of the 2015 nighttime Need for Speed, another game that emphasizes competition in favor of just cruising with friends, capturing the feeling of youthful freedom.
Music this week is Arpeggio by Alexandros. Here is the YouTube link and Spotify link. The opening track of Judgment is excellent.
That’s it for now, see you next week folks!
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