Every four months or so, StoryBundle.com does a bundle of game-themed books. Back in the day they were curated by Simon Carless, nowadays they’re curated by David L. Craddock.
The current gaming book bundle — available for only the next 18 days — features an exclusive book by Ethan Johnson with a cover designed by me!:
No new game history articles from me, but there’s a video I’ve been working on that’s so close to finish, I was hoping it’d be in this month’s newsletter. Very soon.
Twitter Threads
JUL31: The Battletoads Lie
Standard/Nebula Projects
If you’re into education videos that cover geek topics or history but not both at the same time, the last 30 days were an exciting month for projects I created visuals for.
Half As Interesting asked me to create a bunch of courtroom drawings for their comedic Nebula Original, which features cameos from various creators:
I also helped design the new branding for Jordan Harrod’s channel:
AND I illustrated this Tarot card parody design for a Philosophy Tube t-shirt! It comes in both men’s and women’s styles:
Around The Internet
2020 is the year of the virtual comic/gaming convention. I may or may not show up in future virtual panel. Stay tuned.
CON: SDCC @ Home
Never been to the world’s biggest comic con? This will at least give you a sense of what the panels are like.
CON: MysteriumCon
More than you ever knew you wanted to know about the adventure game series MYST.
CROSSOVER: One X-Cellent Scene
In an epic Youtube crossover, numerous creators and essayists pick one favorite X-MEN movie scene to analyze. Patrick H. Willems played loose with the theme, doing a comic scene instead of a movie scene.
I wonder what scene I’d do? Maybe a comic scene as well? I could imagine doing the opening of X-MEN #1 (1991). Or maybe reprising a segment from my controversial blog Kirby Without Words (currently on hiatus).
VIDEO: How Companions Change The Game (Story Mode)
Story Mode is a new Nebula-exclusive channel about storytelling in video games by the people who do Lessons From The Screenplay.
VIDEO: The Story Of Mario Paint (Gaming Historian)
Norm dug up some great historical info, mixed in with personal accounts.
VIDEO: Carmen Sandiego PBS Game Show Reunion (Hosts At Home)
Rockapella and co-host Greg Lee discuss what it was like making the old PBS game show. Contains a short clip of the lost planetarium film.
VIDEO: The Intamacy Of Everyday Objects (Jacob Geller)
Most of us still haven’t had a chance to play HALF-LIFE:ALYX, so Geller discusses out one specific aspect that makes the game feel extra immersive.
VIDEO: How IMAX Made Christopher Nolan A Better Filmmaker (Patrick Willems)
VIDEO: The Strange Comfort Of Time Loop Movies (Patrick Willems)
Patrick has really been cranking out essays during this pandemic, unlike me. His time loop essay is particularly relatable, in how he compares time loop movies to distancing fatigue.
VIDEO: Resurrecting The Ecto-1
A short documentary about restoring the car for the new GHOSTBUSTERS movie.
VIDEO: TWIN PEAKS Actually Explained
VIDEO: …Even More
VIDEO: …Responding
Everyone’s got theories about the symbolism of Twin Peaks, but this one really nails it. It literally changed the way I look at Twin Peaks. Yes, the above three videos are, like, six hours worth of essay, but worth it if you’re a fan of the series.
ARTICLE: The Secret Origin Of The Action RPG
Fascinating discovery of the missing link between RPGs and Action-RPGs. The first sentence almost put me off because it makes it sound like Zelda is an Action-RPG, but the rest is good. ;-)
ARTICLE: How Flash Games Shaped The VIdeo Game Industry
Interesting experimental visualization of Flash game.
That’s all for this month. As always, you can support my research on Patreon.