I think the most interesting part of this is that it creates a flattening effect where the representation of race in both the game and reality can be considered just skin deep, and that’s definitely not the case in reality as it shapes our cultural experiences way beyond that, and by extension, who we are. As such, I…

I suppose the only other question to consider (not one I care about personally, to add that disclaimer) is whether to indicate to MS and CD that these timed exclusives will lead to more sales on a specific platform. Buying on 360 may well do that. Again, nothing too important, but something to consider if you’d prefer…

I loved watching this interview of him:

There’s a joke in there somewhere about him already being the size of Wyoming, but I won’t go there. Instead, as a huge fan of his work, I’ll simply say Thank God for Jim Fucking Sterling, Son!

I think the reviews could simply include a version number for the software so people could tell what changes had been made since the review was posted. Seems like the easiest and most logical approach.

Ah! That’s why I saw that! Makes good sense. I figured the level just had to be beatable overall.

Here’s a free idea Nintendo: Make it so the Makers I follow have a section like the Up & Coming and Featured sections where I can see an Activity Feed of my friends’ levels without having to check every single one of them to see if someone who makes levels I like has added a new one that I haven’t played yet. That…

I think a video I saw about it showed a checkpoint flag over a spike pit..... so it could very well be used to troll people.

Custom music for each level is definitely a must-add feature in the future.

Honestly, there’s enough great stuff to justify a purchase beyond that, but I won’t be that guy and list them all. But games like Splatoon, Mario Kart 8, and Smash Bros have all claimed dozens of hours of my life as well (and I’ve never been a big fan of Mario Kart OR Smash). Great stuff, and a great console. It…

The biggest issue for me was that by the end, I knee nothing I did mattered. Why bother to save people in the town on the way to the diner when I was going to rewind to before it ever happened anyway? They’d never know any different, and I was trying to prevent their suffering.... But the game kept track of that?!…

They’ve said it wouldn’t be possible in the past, but I can’t imagine why. As long as users need to beat their dungeons before uploading, no Zelda dungeon could be more needlessly poorly designed and/or pointlessly difficult than anything I’ve seen in the Expert challenges in Mario Maker.

I’m assuming Nintendo’s desire to placate big box stores is the only reason such a thing isn’t possible. Otherwise, I feel like having what essentially amounts to a preorder service and producing out of stock Amiibo to meet demand based on web-only orders would be a great way to get a 100% sell through on Amiibo…

**Warning: Final prediction for the end of the season**

Damn. I hadn’t considered this, but it sounds entirely too plausible. I knew I shouldn’t have read the comments section on this one.... or the article.... or let my expectations be shaped. Now I’ll be bummed out if this happens (like I got an unintentional spoiler from the universe somehow), but your theory seems…

I definitely wouldn’t mind the feature for some AAA games like Assassin’s Creed as well. I just played and finished 3 in the last week (I liked it way more than I expected to since I didn’t like 4 much, and lots of folks seemed to love it far more than 3), and it didn’t have nearly as many “don’t get seen or you will…

I seem to recall this already being an option in other games, weirdly enough. If I recall correctly, Alone in the Dark (the reboot attempt) let players simply skip scenes like a DVD, no? Again, I guess I don’t see the harm in adding it in as an option, upon further consideration. Also, in terms of games driven by…

I suppose this also raises the obvious question of narrative-driven games. I don’t think Life is Strange would be better for suddenly being able to skip to content in Episode 4 devoid of context. Or jumping right to fighting Ganon improving a Zelda game. I think it comes with the implication that levels and game…

But then, why bother to have it? If designers know players can play the levels in any order, then why bother doing the design work that comes with including linear progression as an “option” since that’s essentially what it becomes in this scenario? I just don’t think it leads anywhere good for the designers of games…

I don’t think “earning it” is as important to this conversation as this approach and its implication that all levels have identical mechanics (which is why I think COD can get away with this.... Since there’s not much to it beyond “point gun at man, kill man” with a couple one-off level gimmicks included that have no…