Some of the other things on our minds when we weren’t doing everything else
BOOK
Everything To Play For bit.ly/dideogames Subtitled How Videogames Are Changing The World, Marijam Didžgalvyte’s impassioned, fiercely intelligent, proudly left-wing tome has the quality of a manifesto. Which is to say that How Videogames Might Change The World would perhaps be more accurate. Didžgalvyte’s early promise to interrogate “this boundless, fascinating, grotesque industry” is an invitation to strap in, as she outlines her formative experiences with the medium before briskly, approachably outlining what games and the surrounding culture are getting right and wrong. Pertinent points about misogyny, the industry’s environmental impact, how it remains snagged in the machinery of capitalism and more are made, while the author notes that games are an inefficient way to make a political statement. You would struggle to say the same of this.
WEBSITE
Simogo 2.0 bit.ly/fifty-four With its most recent six games all earning Edge 9s (and a couple coming close to double figures), the Swedish duo is among the most consistent developers around. As such, it’s no great surprise to see a similar attention to detail (and crisp, clean design) in its official website, which has been updated to offer a potted history of its catalogue so far. One of the highlights can be found at the link above: details of a cancelled 3DS project set in the Beat Sneak Bandit universe called Rollovski. As well as a brief downloadable prototype there are two 3D screenshots, which can be viewed via the 3DS browser.
GAME
Xenosphere bit.ly/xenonex The kindest thing would be to simply tell you to play this free game from Nifflas (Knytt, Ynglet) and leave it at that. Ostensibly, it’s a momentum-based one-button platformer, as you tap or hold a button to rev up an orb before releasing to accelerate up ramps or around loops, an algorithmic audio score responding to your inputs. That would be engaging enough for a freebie, but there is something more going on – something you would never possibly guess without prior warning. It’s an audacious, ingenious trick, smartly conceived and executed with remarkable assurance. Hats off, too, to fellow contributor 1Neila1, supplying art and so much more. When the ride is over we’re left feeling positively euphoric: heartened that, nearly 400 issues in, games can
