The Superboss Problem

I just want to feel like when I do my best, the best is what will follow.

The Art of Combat

How you fight tells me who you are as a person

Why Does No One Copy Risk of Rain 2?

It is only in trying to imitate what we see as perfection that we can discover the next level to our art.

The Reverse Difficulty Curve: When a Game becomes Tedious

If you know you’re going to win anyway, what’s the point in playing to begin with?

Seeing the Blueprint: Appreciating Older Games

There’s something beautiful about being able to see the bones of the systems you know and love today in these games from the past, even if you feel their datedness all the more potently because of it.

Making your Enemies your Rivals

It is no longer a faceless enemy, but someone that has personally wronged you intentionally and with great maliciousness. 

Expedition 33 Doesn't have a Good Ending. It Does have a Correct Ending.

We can’t go our entire lives trying to preserve every single thing as it was, and if we try to we will often ruin things we love.

When Does a Fake World become Real Part 2

Art matters, the soul matters, and it will always be real, even as it portrays things that don’t necessarily exist.

When Does a Fake World Become Real Part 1

It is the love we extend ourselves, giving us the permission to grow and not simply wallow in the pain, that defines us.

When Gameplay Mechanics Serve the Narrative

When they truly sing is when people realize that the story should be told not just through the writing but through the game itself

How to-and how NOT to-Make a Roguelike Final Boss

It’s a lot more fun when the final boss plays by the same rules as the rest of the game.

Difficulty as Narrative

You are not meant to feel overwhelmingly powerful in these games. You’re supposed to feel like the underdog, fighting against all hope to maybe secure a better future. 

Movement is Gameplay Too

I will forgive a lot in a game if it just remembers to make movement fun.

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Welcome!

Welcome to Working Through the Backlog, a weekly blog where you can accompany me as I work through a 170 or so game backlog and write about my findings in video games as I go! Come here every Sunday at 12 pm PST to find an article diving into whatever