Sundays are for saving a Steam Deck Unboxing for when you get back from vacation, just to beat that blues. Before you almost lose all your willpower, let’s read this week’s best writing on gaming (and gaming-related stuff).
In The Guardian, Keza MacDonald asks if the Olympics are getting it wrong in video games. The first esports week of the Olympics will feature nine virtual sports, but they’re not what you’d expect. Heartstone, Valorant, Overwatch? No, Tic Tac Bow and Just Dance, dude. MacDonald examines why the IOC would have chosen lesser-known ‘non-sports’ games, as well as whether it is necessarily a bad thing.
“For the average esports fan, their inclusion in the Olympic Games should have been a triumphant moment that represents a step forward for the community, which has grown from a few hundred players in the early 1980s to over 500 million this year”, says Matt Woods. from esports marketing and talent agency AFK. “Unfortunately, last week’s announcement left us disappointed and, honestly, a little embarrassed. Rather than work with existing game publishers or well-established tournaments, it appears that the Olympic Committee decided to use this event as a marketing vehicle for new and ill-thought-out unlicensed mobile games.”
Nicole Carpenter wrote a post for Polygon on independent study that has not paid its workers in months. A tough read, with some unnerving moments, namely Oueslati joking about the whole situation.
About 20 workers at Montreal-based independent studio Dynasty Loop are looking for answers — and money — after months of missed paychecks, four workers told Polygon. The studio, led by CEO Rania Oueslati, apparently owes its workers and outside contractors more than $2 million in back pay, expenses and bonuses, according to people affected by the situation and supported by numerous documents and work chats reviewed. by Polygon. These employees, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, told Polygon that they were asked to turn in their work equipment and were not allowed access to the Montreal office space. The studio told them they weren’t fired, but were left with no expected schedule for pay or any work to do in the meantime.
At Eurogamer, Christian Donlan wrote about Idyll, a peaceful social world from the creator of Library Of Babble. A lovely, fast-paced piece from Donlan about little pills and conversations that can take years to unfold.
I stumble along, a brilliant little pill person, and I gather I might run into other pill people brought here by chance. I can announce my thoughts to the wind and the sky, and when I reach the shore, there might be a bottle floating on the waves, with someone else’s thoughts in it. I can add my thoughts to theirs if I want.
For VG247, Dom Peppiatt wrote about Destiny 2 Lightfall Ultimate Hidden Exotic Questand why it reminds them why they love Destiny 2, despite all. Liam and I have been hard at work on our next episode of Inventory Space, which coincidentally ties in with Destiny 2. Stay tuned
I have not been kind to Lightfall. Yeah, I think there are some really cool moments, and yeah, I’ve had a lot of fun playing through the Legend campaign. But overall, it’s a roll of the dice: a strange tonal aberration that undoes much of the work The Witch Queen did to correct the shaky storytelling of this nearly decade-long experience. But Destiny is about so much more than her campaigns; the game lives and dies on its seasonal content, and in the way it continues to draw players into its best-in-class sandbox FPS. And little quests like this recently added NODE.OVRD.AVAL.ON quest are great examples of where Bungie really succeeds.
This week’s music is “On the Street (with J. Cole)” by j-hope. Here is the Spotify link other youtube link. I learned that j-hope is a member of the K-Pop super band BTS, and that this song acts as a “see you later” before he does his mandatory military service, and also features his idol J.Cole, hence the name “j-hope.” J. Cole’s verses remind me of the typical features of rap in pop songs, but elevated. He perfectly balances lyricism with accessibility. The man looks so comfortable now.
That’s all for this week guys, have a great weekend!