Issue 46

Video Games Were Due for a Price Increase, but Not Quite Like This

Someone had to be the first to introduce the higher price point for next-gen, and 2K21 took the hit.

I remember some games during the PS3 era releasing at $70 and tying it into their marketing strategy. If a game costs more, shouldn't it be better? Those games didn't live up to the hype and as we know with NBA 2K games, I doubt they'll be breaking the mold in any major way. But separately priced games have been becoming more and more of a staple in the industry. The introduction to Indie games brough incredible stories to us for low prices and even games from well-known developers like Insomniac Games have released at lower than expected (Ratchet and Clank 2016). So in a way, this price increase was expected.

I doubt we'll see any decrease in sales for 2K21, as a lot of gamers heavily focus on sports game, so $10 isn't going to stop them from their yearly purchase. I wouldn't be surprised if games varied in price even more next-gen.

What do you think of this $10 increase?

A good week ruined by sickness

Hey everyone, thanks for checking out another issue of Load Save.

Unfortunately, a pretty good week has been ruined by me being sick. Fingers crossed it's a common cold, but it's stopped me from putting a whole lot of effort into this week's issue.

Enjoy the read and hopefully I'll be back in shape next week.

Let's Talk!

Each issue of Load Save is filled with articles that encourage discussion. If you have any comments on this week’s issue or just want to say hey, shoot me an email!

Development

The Dark Pictures: Little Hope's Will Poulter Tells Us How Bandersnatch Prepared Him For The Game

I love seeing narrative games slowly blur the lines between video game and movie. Recently, there's been a small spike in Hollywood actors in video games, like Jon Bernthal in Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, but that's always felt like developers putting a noticeable face in a game to generate some hype. But developers who are making cinematic games are starting to explore using well-known actors to bring their character to life. Cameron Monaghan, best known for his roles on Gotham and Shameless, did a great job bringing Cal Kestis to life in Jedi: Fallen Order.

I can't wait to see how cinematic adventures in gaming continues to evolve.

Image credit:

Why the discussion around difficulty is outdated and archaic

Whenever I see a discussion of difficulty in gaming come up, it's mostly filled with comments telling someone else to just "get gud", so it's nice to see an article like this that really dives into the nuances and details of developing a game with varying difficulties in mind.

Part of me agrees with difficulty levels, others don't. On one side, I like to know what I'm getting myself into, especially game genres I don't play much. If I were to boot up a CPRG or top-down turn-based game, I would choose an easier difficulty because I'm not skilled at those games. Other times, I prefer to hit play and start the game without considering how much effort I want to put into a game. Plus, this takes away the shame of lowering the difficulty if I suck.

I love the point made at the end of this article about the different ways games teach players that don't necessarily correspond with difficulty. Games like Dark Souls are built with the mechanic of death teaching you the game. Many other games take this route and it doesn't mean that the game is stupid hard. Other games like you to learn without having to replay a section, like the Assassin's Creed series. And being someone who has experience with these different approaches, I know what to expect when I play these games. If I play a souls-born game, I know I'm going to die. But if I die while playing Assassin's Creed, I'm surprised! With new titles, I normally catch onto what type of game it is within the first few hours which molds my playstyle. I kind of prefer it that way.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Hit the link at the top of this issue to shoot me an email!

Image credit:

How Minecraft and Mojang taught Xbox how to buy studios | GamesIndustry.biz

This is a great interview article with multiple studio heads who are now apart of Microsoft. It explores the off-handed nature of Microsoft with developers and it seems like these devs really enjoy being apart of the Microsoft team.

Now take this with a grain of salt. This is a part of a series with Xbox Game Studios, so I'm sure Xbox had a say with what was included in the article, but all seems well over in Microsoft-land.

Image credit:

Portrayals of Latinx Characters in 2020 Video Games Already Have Me Tired

This makes a great point about the terrible portrayal of Latinx characters in a lot of triple-A games.

I highly doubt that the next Far Cry game will do any better, but maybe now that the conversation about it is happening, we can see better representation in the future.

Image credit: Ubisoft

Editor's Note: I apologize for this lackluster comment. I'm currently struggling through sickness and my thoughts are quite jumbled.

Community

Pokémon Snap had a different kind of focus | Why I Love | GamesIndustry.biz

This column, "Why I Love," is a rare sight at GamesIndustry, but I love to read each one. I love to see developers talk about their inspirations and favorite games because it shows how much these people love video games.

Games like Pokémon Snap are always some of my favorites because they take the road less traveled. They attempt to engage the player by nontraditional means, like photography. Personally, I always like to have a game like this whenever I'm playing through a particularly intense game. I'd imagine that a lot of people have been taking breaks from the stressful The Last of Us Part II with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, just to get their mind off of the heavy subjects presented in Naughty Dog's latest.

I can't wait for New Pokémon Snap. It feels like the Switch was made for that game and I can't wait to relax and take pics of some awesome Pokémon.

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The US Army's Twitch stream is being flooded with questions about war crimes | PC Gamer

Ever since the U.S. Army Esports tweet that was weird happened, I've felt weird about branches of the military having Esports/gaming outreaches.

Specifically, I feel uncomfortable with their streaming team playing Warzone, a game that glorifies killing. I'm not trying to say that all games that have guns in it are bad and I enjoy playing Warzone, but seeing the Army chilling while gunning down a ton of other players (and having a very bro-like vibe to their stream) puts me off.

I 100% fine with military branches reaching out to people about joining and using marketing to get their message out, but it's weird when they showcase a game that makes killing casual.

I don't know if my thoughts are making sense, but I would love to hear your thoughts. Hit the link at the top of this issue to send me an email or DM me on Twitter

Image credit: U.S. Army Esports

Before You Go

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for reading! Hopefully my sick ramblings made some sense.

I'll see you next time!