The hottest Video Games Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Culture Topics

Star Trek: Resurgence

Have You Played? • 39 implied HN points • 06 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Video Games Graphics Storytelling Dialogue
  1. Star Trek: Resurgence is a dialogue-driven adventure game focusing on preventing an interplanetary war.
  2. The game mimics the style of Star Trek: The Next Generation with dialogue choices that affect crew opinions.
  3. The inclusion of unnecessary minigames like stealth and tricorder scanning detract from the core storytelling experience.

#10 - UI/UX tips about password design in video games

A Good Interface • 19 implied HN points • 04 Dec 23
🕹 Technology UI/UX Design Video Games
  1. Give users the ability to view what they type in password fields by including an 'eye' icon.
  2. Inform users if the 'Caps Lock' or 'Num Lock' key is enabled to help prevent errors and save time.
  3. Display the required conditions for creating a password to remind users and consider limiting the number of conditions to make passwords easier to remember.

What Have I Been Reading This Year?

Barbarian Grunge • 44 implied HN points • 17 Aug 23
📚 Literature Graphic novels Video Games Novels Short Stories
  1. The author read and studied various types of content over the past year including graphic novels, video games, screenplays, novels, nonfiction, TV & film, short stories, poems, and for fun
  2. The author found inspiration from the works they read, learning from different genres and styles to enhance their writing
  3. Many of the works the author read were by well-known writers such as Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Stephen King, and Warren Ellis, among others

College Football Players Get $600, Amazon Snags An Exclusive Playoff Game for $150 Million, And Apple Takes Its Next Step In Sports

Huddle Up • 20 implied HN points • 23 Feb 24
🎾 Sports Business Technology Video Games Finance App
  1. EA Sports is paying college football players $600 to use their name, image, and likeness in the new video game, sparking debate over the adequacy of the compensation compared to NFL players.
  2. Amazon secured rights to stream an exclusive NFL playoff game by paying a hefty $150 million, highlighting the competitive landscape for sports broadcasting among tech giants.
  3. Apple is making strides in the sports industry with its new Sports app, underlining the company's expansion into the realm of sports entertainment beyond its traditional tech offerings.

#5 - Best practices for modals in video games

A Good Interface • 19 implied HN points • 20 Sep 23
🕹 Technology UI Design Gameplay User Interaction Video Games
  1. Modal windows are design elements in video games used to highlight important information while keeping the current context for the player.
  2. Modal windows should be displayed sparingly and for specific reasons like conveying essential information, blocking progress until required input, and collecting new settings.
  3. Best practices for modal windows in video games include initiating them through user actions, providing an emergency exit, having a clear title, and including a call to action with appropriate sizing.
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Motorola's 6809 : The Best 8-Bit?

The Chip Letter • 17 HN points • 03 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Operating Systems Video Games Memory management Computer Architecture
  1. Motorola's 6809 microprocessor series evolved to become a major player in the 8-bit era, competing with the likes of Intel and Zilog.
  2. The architecture of the 6809 was designed with 'source code' compatibility with the 6800, allowing programs written in 6800 assembly language to run, but with changes in machine code.
  3. Despite its advancements, the 6809 faced limitations due to the rise of more advanced processors like the 68000, leading to it being seen as an evolutionary rather than revolutionary design.

GenAI will change how games are played

Let's talk games & AI. • 15 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Video Games Cloud Computing Hardware Algorithms
  1. In about 7.5 years, there is potential for playing any game experience whenever you want.
  2. The speed of GenAI model advancements will likely lead to faster response times for gaming.
  3. Over the next few years, GenAI will revolutionize how games are created and played through user-generated content, dynamic gaming experiences, and cloud gaming solutions.

Jan Berger: Compressed Time — Final Fantasy VIII as a Model of Our World

Do Not Research • 19 implied HN points • 16 Oct 22
🎭️ Culture Video Games Capitalism Politics Time History
  1. Final Fantasy VIII is used as a model to explore political and cultural conditions of our current times.
  2. The game's narrative reflects capitalist ideologies and the characters' struggles to bring about change.
  3. Time compression in the game is linked to speculative realism and the idea that the future influences and organizes the present.

Radicalized by the Game Genie

Cybernetic Forests • 19 implied HN points • 18 Sep 22
🎨 Art & Illustration AI Art Video Games Creative Expression
  1. The Game Genie introduced the idea that the invisible codes of software and society are changeable, inspiring a period of art crimes and hacking into perceived norms.
  2. AI art creation tools like DALLE2 can be viewed as game engines for art, setting rules within which artists create, illustrating the importance of navigating the boundaries between tools and personal expression.
  3. Artists have historically used tools like machinima and hacking to subvert and repurpose gaming structures for storytelling, highlighting the potential for AI art to evolve beyond prompt responses.

#11 - What's behind the interface of Lethal Company

A Good Interface • 2 HN points • 28 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Gaming UI/UX Design Video Games Art Indie games
  1. The user interface of Lethal Company is successful because it matches the game's genre and atmosphere with carefully chosen colors, shapes, and ornaments.
  2. A key aspect of the UI design is displaying the right amount of information, ensuring the player remains immersed without feeling overwhelmed.
  3. To make the UI easily understandable, leveraging common icons, patterns, and familiar elements is crucial. It helps simplify the learning curve for players.

Understanding the Great Video Game Recession. Or Not.

The Bottom Feeder • 2 HN points • 05 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Video Games Industry Trends
  1. The video game industry is experiencing layoffs and closures, signaling a potential recession.
  2. The industry is oversaturated with games and facing tough competition from various platforms and streaming services.
  3. Economic downturns, like in any industry, are part of a natural business cycle that includes periods of growth, over-investment, and eventual correction.

Months Late Game Review ... Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The Good Things.

The Bottom Feeder • 2 HN points • 30 Aug 23
🎭️ Culture Gaming Review Entertainment Technology Video Games
  1. Video game criticism is rushed, but thoughtful analysis takes time to assess what works and what doesn't.
  2. Zelda games are unique in their niche popularity, combining puzzle elements with combat, and creating an open-ended exploration experience.
  3. Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom introduces fascinating game design elements like weapon durability and a physics engine that enhances gameplay.

Spoken Egyptian in Age of Mythology

Maximum Effort, Minimum Reward • 1 HN point • 09 Jul 23
🎭️ Culture Video Games Languages Ancient Civilizations
  1. Age of Mythology is a fun real-time strategy game with rich mythology and fantastical elements
  2. The game features unit sounds in ancient languages like Greek and Norse, allowing players to translate some of the words
  3. Deciphering the Egyptian unit sounds in the game is challenging due to limited knowledge of how Ancient Egyptian language sounded

A mythological rabbit hole 🐇: The Divine Dragon 🐉 in Sekiro 🏯 : The Sword and the Everblossom

Rabbit Holes 🐇🕳 • 0 implied HN points • 25 Apr 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Mythology Anime Video Games Pop culture
  1. The Seven-Branched Sword in Sekiro symbolizes the connection of the dragon to the divine realm through intricate design and historical significance.
  2. The Everblossom Tree represents impermanence and the beauty of ephemeral existence in Japanese culture, with the loss of the tree being a significant event tied to the quest for immortality in the game.
  3. Eastern dragons in popular media such as Spirited Away, Dragon Ball series, and Legend of Zelda embody mythical themes like guardianship of water bodies, granting wishes, and control over weather and natural elements.

Seriously shady stuff

Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends • 0 implied HN points • 01 Sep 15
🕹 Technology Startups Video Games Tech Updates Internet culture
  1. Silicon Valley may be in a bubble, with highly valued startups and underlying human drama to ponder
  2. Jason Scott is singlehandedly preserving thousands of computer manuals, but his plans for them remain mysterious
  3. A subgenre of video games mocking Millennials by exploring modern love and sex exists, representing a form of condescension