It's a pleasure to open the year up wide with a new Moosies! Thanks for the exhaustive list of words, and for bearing some vulnerable thoughts about being creative for us to read. No matter the direction, no matter the style, and clearly - no matter how many words it is, I will be back here next year to read more. ❤
Nice blog, Moose! For as remarkably long as your writing tends to be, I could've easily read another 5,000 to 10,000 words in this sitting. Cyberpunk is good! LAD:TMWEHN is good! And I installed the bunnies game because I am a gal of culture. See you soon for part 2!
No coffee today, but that won't stop me from reading! I can safely say that a weirdly functional contraption-building system was one of the last things I expected from the new Legend of Zelda game. I didn't follow TOTK or anything, so I'm not sure if they explained all this stuff before the game came out but I was... mystified to see such a (seemingly part-time) conservative company like Nintendo bust out such a bizarre idea for one of its most precious game series.
It's nice, in a way that there's still something unpredictable about big-budget video games in the year 2023. From a distance, I remember the specific open-ended nature of BOTW being the last thing I expected, as well. Isn't that wild? The series that so many kids grew up loving and being inspired by, still impressing and inspiring and doing incredible new things over 30 years later. I know we've said it's just Nuts and Bolts, or Besiege or Kerbal or whatever other sorta buildy-type games, but I sincerely can't wait to see how this specific iteration of those ideas will inspire and evolve open world games over the next decade.*
A new Moosey blog to go with a cup of coffee? Thank you very much for accompanying my sleepy morning with more lovely words. I have virtually zero knowledge about Zelda, but my boyfriend is playing TOTK and the feelings of reprisal and imagination really shine through. I think it's kind of amazing for games to rekindle a childlike wonder and creativity for just trying things, and wandering and weaving together stories from learning about the world.
I guess it's something that I tend to forget - that stories create themselves organically, but only as long as we keep moving and exploring. Maybe I'll go for a walk later. Maybe I'll see a dog. At least you can pet them in real life.
Nothing beats waking up with a piping hot coffee and a new Moosey's (Not So?) Hidden Gems. Thanks for shining a bright light on Severed Steel! I've had this on Steam forever now, and yet again you've gotten me to dig deep into my library to dust it off and install it. I appreciate the emphasis on just how specific the illusive "game feel" can be. It's the little things that we feel but never quite think about as much as the bigger, brighter parts.
I think about like, remakes or rereleases that have been hastily put together for a cash grab, and die by a thousand cuts because they miss so many little bits from the source material that came together so well. I was playing that fuckin stupid GTA San Andreas remaster at someone's house the other day and it just... completely misses the point.
Nothing quite accompanies morning coffee like a fresh Moosey blog. Thanks so much for taking the time to write about Unsighted - a game I purchased on steam about 1/4th through reading this, FYI. :)
I was speaking at a library last week about my experience as a trans person, and it was right around the time that those knobs were making waves about eradicating people just like you and me. The timing was something else - it ended up making me mediate on queerness in a way completely different from what I had intended. It's exhausting, yeah but I found comfort in the fact that you were thinking, too. It's okay to turn off the timers, to take your time, to breathe, to rest - just as okay as it is to fight, and shout and scream. The way that a game can portray all of those feelings in queer-y context reminds me of why video games are so cool to begin with. Just, some shit I would've never thought of, but makes so much sense when I hear it.
That timer is always in the back of my head, for a handful of personal reasons. In spite of that, I don't want to rush the life that I've got, no matter how long or how little I have left. I'm not sure if anyone does... I guess that's the hard part. I'm glad we're on the same side, at least. ❤
The couple of times I visited America this year, the thing that stuck out the most to me was just the friendliness and heart of everyday people. It's easy to grumble grumble about all the messed up shit I see people say from/about America in every piece of media, but I often forget about the people who are working hard and trying to get by. What you said about that NORCO game resonated with me in that way, to the point where I just bought it on the Steam sale... so, thanks for that bit, Moose friend.
I love reading your thoughts, as always. I still remember reading all about your Cyberpunk experience one afternoon while I was waiting an hour for the next train to arrive. It was the highlight of a very hard day, and the warmth and comfort of your writing invariably comes back to me when I think about that day. I just hope you know that you stick with me in those little ways. ❤
The 2022 Moosies also win:
Best blog to untangle my hair to after waking up at 1 pm very slightly hungover on New Years Day
Only GOTY blog I have read and will read from the year 2022
"Oh, I should play more of that eh" award for Elden Ring
I appreciate you speaking on the mechanical differences that cops get over other types of enemies in the game. It's game-y as hell, but it's also kinda hilarious how stuff like enemy parameters and abilities and privileges end up having way more of an apt social commentary than whatever junk the writers came up with. If anything, it just reminds me that games are capable of doing so much weird, profound shit in the nuts and bolts of it all.
Like you said, expectations for people like you and I are (rightfully?) cynical sometimes, but.... man. What if you and me had the Cyberpunk license?
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