I made a game!
This is a short post but wanted to let anyone subscribed know that I made a short story game in Twine on a whim at the weekend. It's queer, it's sci-fi, it's everything you need. Check it out! https://catherine-masters.itch.io/
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Baby Steps : Devolver's Secret Code Giveaway
On the 23rd of September, Baby Steps – the long-awaited collaboration between Maxi Boch (A City Sleeps), Gabe Cuzzillo (Ape Out) and Bennett Foddy (QWOP) – released. As part of the launch, publisher Devolver Digital set up a livestream on their YouTube page called “Baby Steps - Calming Naturescapes for Relaxation”. It
Interview : Maezza Romero on Community Management at Romero Games
Back in February, I had the opportunity to attend the FÍS Games Summit in Galway, Ireland. I’ve covered the bulk of my trip already but haven’t written up all of the talks and other things I took part in that day. In light of Romero Games’s recent
Superman : You’ll Believe (Review)
In 1978, Richard Donner, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve defined the characters and world of DC Comics’s Superman for generations to come in the hero’s first blockbuster film. 47 years later, James Gunn, Nicolas Hoult, Rachel Brosnahan and David Corenswet define the world of Metropolis anew
The Impact of the Itch De-Indexings
CW : This article discusses lobbyists using games depicting rape and incest as a core part of their platform. It also expresses concern for the rollback of LGBTQ rights and personal freedoms. NB : I have chosen to link to the Steam pages for most of the games discussed as I feel
About an Discount
About an Elf (Meringue Interactive) is an offbeat “point-and-click-ish, rpg-ish, visual-novel-ish” game that uses toyetic models and stock footage backgrounds to tell the story of elf Princess Dam. Dam wields marbles she calls “Magiballs” in combat and her sidekick is a giant talking cat
Memory Card #5 : A.I-aye Captain
Where Do You Draw The A.I Line? Over the last few years, Large Language Models and generative AI tools have been pushed more and more in the tech space as the next big thing. Why pay someone to code your game or create art assets when you can just
R.I.P & Tear
N.B : This article was written before the 7th of July, but an updated paragraph and statement from Romero Games has been added to the end of it. In short, they're still open, if not flush with cash. It’s no secret that Microsoft’s games division is
The Alters : Where Do You Draw The A.I Line?
Over the last few years, Large Language Models and generative AI tools have been pushed more and more in the tech space as the next big thing. Why pay someone to code your game or create art assets when you can just ask a computer? After an endless parade of
Why I'm not playing the new Fantasy Life
When I was a child, my Nan let me play with this strange device called a “DS” that could play games like my Dad’s Xbox 360 or PC without needing to be plugged in. Alongside Brain Training and 101-in-1 Explosive Megamix, she had these two games that
Batman #158 : H2SH Chapter One
Back in 2002, DC Comics decided to take a big swing. After the endless crossovers spilling into each book since the 90s, they put Jeph Loeb (Batman : The Long Halloween) and Jim Lee (Wildstorm) on the flagship Batman book to tell a self-contained story for a year. Readers were
We Need To Talk About Poinpy
Hey everyone! I’ve been spinning several plates at once since finishing my travelogue. None of them are done yet but I need to jump into your inbox ahead of any of that and talk about one of my favourite games while I still can. Poinpy is a vertically-scrolling
Archive
Memory Card Special : The FÍS Travelogue : Day Four
My final day in Ireland started like all the others : waking up much earlier than I’d like to so I could get breakfast. I crammed everything back into my bag, now with enough space for my book thanks to security throwing out my soap, and went down for breakfast.
Archive
Memory Card Special :The FÍS Travelogue : Day Three
I wish I could have slept in forever, but even at the weekend breakfast had a time limit. I went down at 10:30am and had a similar assortment of fried foods. I made a sandwich out of some bread and cuts of meat offered and smuggled it and some
Archive
Memory Card Special : The FÍS Travelogue : Day Two
The day it’s all been leading up to. I woke up in my customary immense pain and killed time checking my messages until it wore off enough to get up and wash. Laying there at 7am, I was frustrated that I had to start my day so early after
Archive
Memory Card Special : The FÍS Travelogue : Day One
Since my plane out of the country wasn’t leaving until 6pm, I was able to make a travel plan that didn’t make me wake up too early. I spent the morning cramming as much into my backpack as I could : a pair of jeans, a black skirt, some
Archive
Memory Card Special : The FÍS Travelogue : Day Zero
Hi! It’s been a little while, hasn’t it? I’ve been swamped with assignments and various health issues for the last few weeks, so stringing together a sentence, let alone a whole article, hasn’t been possible until recently. However, I recently had the incredible opportunity to attend
Interviews
Interview : Alexander Taylor on Witching Stone
After playing Witching Stone for review, I sent lead developer Alexander Taylor a few questions about his roguelike puzzler. (Disclaimer, Taylor sent me a review code for the game and has followed my Patreon and Cohost blogs in the past.) Note that this interview was conducted over email and has
Reviews
Review : Witching Stone (Switch)
Disclaimer : I was given a review key for the Switch version of Witching Stone by lead developer Alexander Taylor (who also follows my Patreon), but I did pick up the game when it launched on PC out of pocket. Roguelikes, deck-builders and especially roguelike deck-builders are commonplace in
News
Memory Card #004
Kingdom Come On, Man Kingdom Come II: Deliverance came out on PC and consoles. It’s a medieval RPG developed by Warhorse Studios and is doing pretty well for itself. Look it up and you’ll see the million sales on Steam, the glowing reviews and the robust guides economy
News
Memory Card #003
The Age of Indie Sequels If you keep up with the game showcases like I do, then you’ve probably noticed a lot of indie game sequels being announced lately. Steamworld Dig 2 in 2017 stuck out, as did Spelunky 2 in 2020. But Citizen Sleeper 2, Tails of Iron
Opinion
Memory Card Gaiden : Toppling the Stack (Archival)
Hi! This is your friendly neighbourhood Catherine dropping into your inboxes with an update. Chris Best, co-founder & CEO of Substack, put out an article yesterday praising Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg for being bastions of free speech. You can read it here : https://read.substack.com/p/the-
News
Memory Card #002
Banning Marvel Snap and Remembering David Lynch
Newsletter
The Week in Games #001
Switch 2 and Spelunky, Too.