GMTK Digest (December 2024)
Steam Scraping! Cinematography! Jank!
Hello!
Apologies for the delay. But it's time to round out 2024 with a look back at what happened in December. I've got headlines, new releases, and plenty of articles and videos to check out.
Let's jump in!
Headlines
Everything announced at The Game Awards 2024
As always, the actual awards at the Game Awards are overshadowed by big new game announcements. This time we got a first look at The Witcher 4, a co-op Elden Ring thing, a surprise Okami sequel, and a look at what Naughty Dog's doing next.
The addictive poker-themed roguelike Balatro got slapped with an adults-only age rating in European countries, because of its gambling adjacent mechanics. Which maybe makes sense, until you notice that EA's football games, which are stuffed with lootboxes, get a 3+ rating.
Unpacking developer calls out Nintendo
Remember the "Nintendo Seal of Quality"? We're a long way from that with the eShop, which is stuffed with shovelware and slop. The developers behind Unpacking noticed that Nintendo's store contains multiple games using that same trademarked name.
New Releases
Just a note: I realise that each month, my write-up for these games boils down to "it looks interesting, but I haven't had a chance to play it yet". That's definitely not going to be any different for December's list! But I'm going to try my very best to right that wrong in 2025. I want to come to you with some actual impressions! So, watch this space...
Antonblast
A mad, destructive, knockabout platformer inspired by Wario Land 4. No, I'm not talking about Pizza Tower. This is a different game. This one doesn't have any pizzas! It seems fun from the small amount I've played... though it's perhaps a little TOO bonkers for me. The screen is so full of noisy pixels and chaotic screen shaking nonsense that it's hard to tell what the heck is even going on. Game needs to take a chill pill, y'know?
Caves of Qud
This complex ASCII roguelike RPG exists somewhere on the spectrum between Rogue and Dwarf Fortress. It's got your classic permadeath and random generation, but also a wild worldwide simulation system that's generating characters, wars, and entire histories to uncover. It was a bit over my head when I played the early access version a few years ago, but the 1.0 release is the top-rated game of 2024 according to Open Critic. It's doing something right!
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Okay, I haven't played this one at all. But it sounds very interesting - I've heard it called a mash up of Dishonored and Hitman, with a taste of The Forgotten City. And it's by the devs behind the new Wolfenstein games, so I can be sure that the Nazi murder is taken care of. This is definitely the first game I want to try in 2025.
Marvel Rivals
An Overwatch-style hero shooter featuring Marvel super heroes could easily have been an embarrassing Concord-style flop. But it seems like people actually dig this one! I... you guess it, haven't played.
Monument Valley III
Ah, now this one...! Uh. Nope, I haven't played it. But my wife has! She says "it's very pretty". Monument Valley was an iOS hit back in the day - a stylish, inventive puzzle game that played with perspective and impossible architecture. So another game is worth checking out. I'm just about to go pick up a new iPad, actually, so I will endeavour to give it a go!
Reading List
Design
Read - The future of storytelling with Ken Levine - "We spoke with the renowned designer about the biggest challenges in telling stories that react to players, the balance between author vision and player agency".
Watch (21 mins) - the genius puzzle game that gamers are missing out on - Luke Muscat talks about how game devs have taken Sudoku and run with it, for outlandish new puzzle concepts.
Watch (19 mins) - How Balatro Was Made and Why The Creator Expected to Sell Only 6 Copies - "After getting obsessed with watching YouTube videos of people playing a roguelike slot machine game, LocalThunk pivoted his project to a single player roguelike deck-building experience".
Watch (2 hours) - Half-Life 2: 20th Anniversary Documentary - "We've gotten members of the HL2 team back to talk about the game's development, how we almost ran out of money, what it was like when we were hacked, what happened when we were sued by our publisher".
Development
Watch (1 hour) - how does an indie game get made? - YouTuber Noodle sits in on a game dev Discord to see how the studio makes decisions.
Watch (1 hour) - Marketing For Indie Games | Land a Hit Game! - "I interviewed Chris Zukowski on how to promote your indie game to set it up for success on Steam. This is everything you need to know about indie game marketing and more."
Watch (11 mins) - I Scraped the Entire Steam Catalog, Here’s the Data - "I scraped data from the entire Steam catalog, analyzing over 140,000 games across 40+ data points, including genres, ratings, prices, and player feedback."
Critique
Read - Dying Is a Form of Education - "Each game is a little different for every player—not just understood differently, as with other art forms, but literally different."
Read - Wordle and I Are Breaking Up - Electric Literature - "I wish you the best of luck and hope we can still be friends. An occasional breakfast or lunch would be nice."
Read - Embrace the Jank! - "Maybe it’s not polished to a mirror shine, but that doesn’t make it worthless. That’s where the soul is, the raw edges, the weird ideas".
Read - Reappraising Shadow the Hedgehog, one of 2005's biggest misfires - "This was a legitimate game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise featuring firearms, and it was coming that holiday season - whether we liked it or not."
Watch (43 mins) - Every Softlock in Portal - "How many ways can you possibly get stuck in Portal? (a lot)"
Artistry
Watch (1 hour, 26 mins) - Which Game Has the Best Dodge Animation? - "What makes a dodge animation good or bad? And which video game has the best-looking, best-feeling dodge? The only way to find out (apparently) is with a tier list."
History
Read - The Rise and Fall of the Sony PlayStation Vita - "The Sony PlayStation Vita is a story of innovation, ambition, and ultimately, miscalculation."
Watch (21 mins) - Sonic on Saturn: What Could Have Been - "In this video, I'll reveal facts about Sonic's past that will change your perception on his entire Saturn career, as well as dream up my ideal 32-bit Sonic title"
Watch (16 mins) - RollerCoaster Tycoon was the last of its kind. - Ahoy charts the history of Chris Sawyer's career, including the creation of perhaps the best theme park sim ever.
Watch (19 mins) - Why Nintendo Didn't Want to Hire Shigeru Miyamoto - "Shigeru Miyamoto may have become Nintendo's superstar developer, but his career with the company very nearly ended before it began."
Beyond Games
Watch (11 mins) - How They Made Hagrid Big - A short, sweet look at how the filmmakers used CGI, camera tricks, and big animatronic heads to make a 8 foot tall bloke.
Read - The 50 greatest innovations of 2024 - An interesting look at the handy new gadgets, cars, health services, and more.
Watch (28 mins) - The Best Cinematography I've Ever Seen - "A tour through the greatest cinematography I've ever seen in film, and why beauty is more than just stylistic choice. "