When I started writing this there was a big stuck boat, and because I move at a snail’s pace, the big stuck boat is no longer stuck. Now it’s just a big boat that was stuck. But at least the big stuck boat before it was a big not-stuck boat brought us all together to commiserate over the absurd simplicity of a big boat being stuck.
Anyway, hello friends and welcome to issue #2 of Hello Void. This one is structured a bit different, instead of having one big segment and a couple smaller ones, this is comprised of a variety of shorter segments.
Contents:
The Case for Linearity and Playdead’s INSIDE
Interlude
On Newsletters and Moving On
Read Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
Play More Demos: Lunark and The Last Spell
Signing Off
The Case for Linearity and Playdead’s INSIDE
I’ve always liked linear games. I want to be swept up on an adventure that’ll show me all the sights, to know that the experience from point A to point B has been fine tuned. Linearity isn’t a bad thing, but when I see it come up in conversation, it’s often with a negative connotation.
Linearity can create powerful and evocation experiences, all centered around the idea of knowing exactly where the player will be and limiting the scope with which they can react. And Playdead’s INSIDE is the perfect example of this.
In Playdead’s INSIDE the game slows the player down when it needs them to slow down, or speeds them up when it needs them to speed up. At no point during this does it feel like control is being removed from the player. Each nail-biting jump is manufactured, a pre-designed outcome that feels to players like an organic result of their input.
Simplicity is used as a mechanism to limit the scope of a player’s reaction. You can jump, move left and right, and interact with objects. That’s it. So when a monster starts chasing you, you can only go left or right, and the game knows it. This is how it limits the scope of players’ reactions, and because of these limits the game can squeeze the margin for error tighter and tighter but with precision. At no point does it feel unfair, or like you’re under leveled, or wandered into the wrong area. More often than not, you’ll make the jump on your first try. But it’ll feel like you almost didn’t. And that’s the point.
For now, we’re just talking about running and jumping, but you can apply the benefits of knowing when and where a player will be to a whole host of scenarios. From combat to narrative sequences, even upgrades and levelling up.
I’m not sure how this could be recreated in non-linear games. Looking at open world games as an example, their popular for their sandbox nature, but can also devolve in to meandering collectathons and repetitive tasks. The only way to recreate that sense of precision is to plug the player into isolated locations that can then impose linearity on their progression. But leaning too heavily on these dungeon-like levels can make the sandbox feel redundant, like it’s really just a hub world to traverse on your way to the next mission.
It’s why I enjoy linear games so much. There’s no meandering, no wayward wandering. The experience is focused and fine tuned. I like to be led along, and to know the sights will be exactly where they need to be.
Interlude
Violet Orlandi is a musician whose been making covers on YouTube for years now. She’s overall awesome and gives all her covers a dark, horror tinge. A little while ago she released her first original song, “Creatures,” with her band She Won’t Live.
I absolutely love this song, and have been listening to it on repeat nonstop.
On Newsletters and Moving On
It recently came to light that Substack has been engaging in scummy business practices via their Pro program. You can read more about the situation here and here.
So, this is going to be the last issue of Hello Void sent out via Substack. For me, it’s ultimately not a big deal. I have a small handful of subscribers and no paid subs. But I 100% understand why others who have improved their circumstances and rely on paid subs for their livelihoods would be hesitant to make the jump.
Where will Hello Void go? I’m not sure. I’m leaning toward Revue, it’s the most convenient and easy to use option for me, but there are a few hurdles to getting it setup. For the time being Hello Void will live on my blog, and I’ll continue to post issues there during this interstitial phase. (Does this mean it’s not even a newsletter anymore? An e-zine? Just weirdly formatted blog posts? Who knows.) Hello Void will likely be in limbo as I figure things out, but the (admittedly small) archive can be found at matthewmarchitto.com/hello-void
I hope you’ll still pop by to see what’s up! Until then, keep an eye on your inboxes for Hello Void’s return 👀
Read Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
I adore Ring Shout. This is a must read, it’s equal parts horror and hope. Filled with surprises, evocative imagery, and unflinching truth. I highly, highly recommend checking it out.
Play More Demos: Lunark and The Last Spell
Do you remember demo disks? I had this one filled with tiles, each tile a demo for a different game. I’m ashamed to admit I can’t remember what all the games were, but I do remember one of the secret games. Another kid in my elementary school had the same demo disk, and he told me that if you put in a special input, you could get the tiles to flip. Supposedly, there was a secret demo hidden behind them.
So I ran home and tried it. Lo and behold, he was right! That’s why out of all the demos on that disk, I can only vividly remember one, Fighting Force. It was like I’d just unlocked a hidden treasure. I replayed that demo constantly, cherishing it, my own clandestine polygons that only a few (probably lots of) people knew about. Looking back, it’s a unique experience from a time when cheat codes weren’t readily available and games were filled with little easter eggs that weren’t easily discoverable.
All this to say, I like demos. I wish they were commonplace these days. They’re a great way to let players try a game out first, and with some clever design can also be used to hook players, almost like the opening line of a novel.
As such, I’d like to highlight a couple demos for games I’m excited about. Check them out, download the demos, and let me know what you think.
Lunark
I backed Lunark’s Kickstarter, and have been eagerly awaiting its release ever since. Now there’s a demo you can download via Steam to give the game a try for yourself.
Lunark is a sidescroller adventure game in the vein of Out of this World. The combat is slower with a precise methodical feel to it. But once you get the hang of it, navigating the world and dodging enemies becomes extremely satisfying. Lunark is set in a beautiful sci-fi world that is filled with vibrant colours, accompanied by awesome music, and brought together with meticulous rotoscoped animations. I definitely think this is a game to keep your eye on.
The Last Spell
The moment you load up The Last Spell, it hits you with the tone of the game. A sea of zombies all looking to a singular figure brandishing a staff aloft, a town on fire, and heavy metal playing in the background.
The Last Spell is a turn-based tactics rogue-lite. You have a limited amount of days to build defences, upgrade your heroes (assuming they stay alive), and fight oncoming waves of a zombie horde. Your goal is to protect the mages in the center of the village trying to cast the last spell that will banish all the undead.
Each day plays out in three phases. Phase one is where you upgrade buildings which provide a variety of benefits. Phase two is when you build defences, walls, barricades, and so on. And the final phase is nightfall, this is when the zombie horde swarms your town.
Combat plays out on a grid, alternating between the heroes’ turn and the zombie horde’s turn. There’s a plethora of abilities for your heroes to use, and many of them are AOE based, emphasising mass horde squelching efficiency.
The Last Spell is in early access, and the demo is the alpha version of the game. As such, it’s missing some features, particularly the meta progression which will let you carry over resource into a new run. It also throws you right into the action with very little explanation of what all the stats and abilities do. But still, it’s an absolutely fun experience and made me excited to see where the devs take the game. You can download the alpha demo now via steam.
Signing Off
Thus concludes Hello Void issue 2. I think I prefer these shorter segments, its easier for me to put together and offers more variety. But let me know what you think, do you prefer longer single topic issues or this mixed bag of subjects?
If you’d like to find me around the web, you can visit my Twitter, or check out my website, matthewmarchitto.com, where you’ll find links to all my work and more.
Thanks for reading!
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Banner Photo by Patrick Carr on Unsplash