Hey friends! It’s the third week we’re newslettering already. Time flies when you’re having fun. This week I will share some Game Thoughts™ I had.

How am I doing?

I’m doing pretty good! Took a lot of rest days last week to recover from a bunch of social engagements. I hadn’t played any games recently, so I took the time to pick up something from my backlog: ‘Paradise Killer’. It’s a detective game where you explore an island to gather clues to solve the political murder of a bunch of people.

The game was enjoyable enough, but there was something unsatisfying about it. It took me a while to understand WHY I wasn’t satisfied after completing it. The game’s got a LOT going on: demons, gods who are essentially aliens, an immortal ruling class, wacky character designs, vaporwave aesthetics, and the list goes on. I love an original setting with interesting world-building. I love detective mechanics and freeform exploration, both of which the game has in spades. By all accounts, this is a game I should adore.

But, I didn’t adore it. I only barely even liked it. I think it’s because nothing about Paradise Killer is relatable.

The only motivation your character is given to investigate is because they like investigating, which is already kind of weak. But as a player, you’re not even given any at all. Why should I care about solving the murder of someone I don’t know, by people I don’t know, in a world I don’t know, and don’t even know the laws of physics of?

Paradise Killer’s entire premise is built on the assumption you are there to solve a fun mystery. The assumption you want to learn about its world in the process. But if you don’t give me a reason to care as a player, even if I want to solve a mystery, playing it out will feel like a chore.

I believe this is why in movies and shows, they often open with an establishing shot of the crime happening. You get to see the perpetrators or the victims somehow, either introducing them as characters or the impact of the crime itself. This context creates a thin empathic link, however tenuous, from the story to the audience.

Paradise Killer does not have an establishing shot. It literally drops you into a world where some crime happened, without much prior context at all. So in the end, I solved the mystery, got to know the world and its characters, but still felt there was no reason for me to do any of that. I’ll keep this in mind whenever I want to set up a mystery from now on!

What am I doing?

Last week I spent most of my time editing my YouTube channel trailer. I did a first draft and got some amazing feedback from y’all, thanks for that! Editing is a lot of work, and I don’t love it, so I hope I can find a way to speed that process up.

Other than that, I’ve been writing a blog post about game scope, which I aim to finish this week. For the uninitiated, game scope is basically how much effort your game is going to be to make. The blog post will describe some ways to estimate and narrow your scope into something workable.

I’m not sure what the rest of the week has in store yet!

Why am I doing? (this)

I’ve previously talked about my motivations for starting a community, not going back to a stable job etc. This time I will talk about why I will keep doing the newsletter. Funny enough, the newsletter was at the bottom of my priority list. Why do I need a newsletter, if I maintain a Discord server where I could make announcements? Why do I need a newsletter, if I have a YouTube channel where I could post vlogs?

I could talk about marketing strategies, client loyalty, and whatever other reasons there actually are to maintain a newsletter. I don’t care about any of that. Once again, my motivations for doing things are purely self-centered! Trust me, that will be an ongoing theme.

This is basically my journal. I’ve been enjoying looking back at my week and finding something to talk about. It makes each week feel unique and helps me gather my thoughts and feelings. In my life, it’s easy for the days to blur together, and telling you all about my week breaks that pattern!

So thanks, for sticking around and listening to me ramble. It’s very therapeutic <3