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_{[Nior is here to take us on a journey of their life, using video games as touchstones for important moments. Some of this is incredibly personal, and I’d like to thank them for taking the time to share. – Kevin]}

Last year I turned 24 years old. Although it doesn’t seem like a lot of time, that’s a quarter of the average human lifespan, give or take. It’s been an interesting journey so far, and even though I still have much to see and do, I feel like I did a lot. And video games, more than any other media,? have accompanied me every step of the way.

Right?? now, a new decade is starting, and this presents a great opportunity to reflect on the past and the choices that led me here. As you could probably deduce by now, I chose one game for every year I’ve been on this planet. It was considerably harder than I expected but it was worth the effort. And hey, you can consider this my very late introduction too!

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (Blizzard, 1995)

Picture a little boy born in the '90s, surrounded by CD racks, floppy disks, and big CRT monitors. Playing games just?? to pass time, treating it no different from any of his other toys. Then Warcraft II came along and changed everything, showing me a genre I couldn’t even fathom at the time. Controlling an army and leading it to victory was something I could never have imagined possible. It was a revelation, proof that?? there was so much more to that hobby than I initially perceived?. Although, I probably installed Warcraft II more times than I played it.

One day, my father got a new HDD for the computer, and I had to reinstall everything. The problem was he also changed the soundboard, and he forgot to tell me. After I installed the game and there was no sound, I freaked out and ?promptly reinstalled it again and again. It took a whole day for me to figure out that I coul?d just select "default" instead of trying every single option available to me and be done with it. Yeah, I wasn’t a bright kid. Shut up.

StarCraft (Blizzard, 1998)

I never beat Warcraft II, but the RTS genre burned itself into my mind, and after tasting that power, there was no going back. But, I was still yo?ung, and young people are stupid. I tried a bunch of other RTS's, and I sucked at them all. Fortunately, this is my father’s favorite genre, so I could simply watch him play instead. Spending a whole holiday watching him play was one of my favorite things to do, and there was no game I loved to watch more than StarCraft.

This was when I fell in love with the genre a second time. The atmosphere just sucked me in. The asymmetrical balance of the races was something inconceivable to me at the time, and the intriguing space opera that was the campaign made ??for one hell of a story, something I never paid any attention to in other RTS, or any game for that matter. My English was just starting to de?velop at the time.

Lucky for me, StarCraft was one of the games that came fully localize??d to Brazil, complete with voice acting. There were parts I didn’t understand that my father would later try to get me up to speed on, especially in the expansion, Brood War, since tha??t was never l??ocalized for us until Remastered dropped in 2017. Unfortunately, my father’s English? wasn’t much better either, but he wasn’t about to look bad in front of his firstborn now, was he? I later found out his translation was far from the mark, but hey, it’s the thought that counts.

Daytona USA (Sega, 1993)

That tradition of never finishing games continued into my days of arcades as well! Where I was raised you didn’t have many options. The one place I knew would have the machines was the local shopping mall, but I seldom had the chance (or the change) to go there. However, when I did, there was one machine that ate all of my money. As a kid, I was a giant fan of Ayrton Senna, even though he had already passed by the time I was old enough to watch his races. I vividly remember wanting to drive just like him. Unfortunately, there were no F1 a??rcades here, but Sega brought ??me the next best thing: Daytona USA!

Man, I can hear that music already. ??My eyes ??were immediately drawn to it the first time I entered that arcade: the wheel, the pedals, the drive stick! Daytona allowed me to live the fantasy of being a famous racer in a way? other games just couldn’t. Steering that wheel, hitting those pedals, changing the game to first-person for maximum immersion. It was incredible. While I would eventually play things like Metal Slug and Marvel Vs Capcom, they d??id??n’t even come close to the money I put into Daytona. I spent hours and hours trying to learn how to use the manual gear because I wanted to feel like a racer, and I’d be dammed if I’d let the other kids be better than me. I never be?at a single circuit of that game, but by Odin did I had fun!

Re-Volt (Acclaim, 1999)

Daytona was a luxury. I had to rely on my family visiting the mall, and even then, I needed to have some spare change to actually play. So, in the meantime, I had to satiate my need for speed in a different way. By then, I had acquired an interest in one particular type of toy: radio-controlled cars. I have no idea how or why. I just remember really wanting one at the time. I wouldn’t get my wish until a couple of years later, but my father, wise as Gandalf, had already prepared a plan.

He called me into the living room, where our PC was located at the time, and showed me this new game he picked up. It was a racing game about, what else, radio-controlled cars. Its name: Re-Volt. Screw the toy, this was the next best thing! Re-Volt was fast, charming, and challenging. The game simulated RC toys incredibly well, and I remember having to be very carefu??l with my turns to not send my little machine spinning around the track. Power-ups could quickly change the tide of a race and that music!

My God, the music in Re-Volt is amazing and brings the whole game together! I don’t play it nearly as much nowadays, but its music is still a part of my playlist. It’s a style of electronic music I don’t quite know how to properly describe (I guess techno?), so just listen and judge for yo??urself. Just know that it wouldn’t be outta place in a rave! It’s good stuff! I found out people still play it online, so I can’t be the only one who loves it to this day!

LEGO Stunt Rally (Intelligent Games, 2000)

Re-Volt also came with a map editor, but I remember it being very rudimentary and limit??ed. I couldn’t build creative tracks with crazy jumps for my little RC toys to race. Fortunately, I had another escape for my creative urges: Lego. No, not the toys. The games! Nowadays, they have a shit ton of licensed games, but back then they made a lot of original content.

You had “simulators” like Lego Loco, puzzle games like Lego Alpha Squad, strategy games with Rock Raiders, and of course, racing. In particular, Lego Racers 1 is pretty fondly remembered for its fun gameplay and the freedom you? had in building your vehicle??. But, I didn’t have Lego Racers. I had Lego Stunt Rally, and ??I loved it! For one, it was so easy that even I could finish it. The game steered for you, and the computer didn’t exactly put up much o??f a fight.

Plus, it was completely locali??zed as well, Mr. X (the last boss) telling me “Congratulations, World Champion!” has really stuck with me for some reason. After finishing career mode, I was free to hop in and create whatever crazy courses my heart desired! Three loops in a row, followed by a ramp that drops you right on top of quicksand? Don’t mind if I do, game! I’m pretty sure everything was more limited than I remembe?r it, but I’m not about to spoil that memory with a replay.

Top Gear (Gremlin Interactive, 1992)

Both Re-Volt and Stunt Rally have special places in my heart for different reasons, but they were nothing compared to what would come next. By the time I was bored with the track editor in the latter, and cheat codes had completely ruined my progression with the former, th?e era of the locadora was startin?g to come to a close. If you read my stuff, you definitely know what’s coming next.

It was there ??that I found and fell in love with the ultimate racing game: Top Gear. Since I already dedicated an entire blog t?o it, and I don’t want to repeat myself, here’s the TLDR:&?nbsp;Top Gear hit the perfect spot between simulation and arcade, filling the void left? by Daytona. It was fast, difficult, it had an amazing soundtrack, and an excellent competitive split-screen. It dominated the multiplayer scene, and to this day, it’??s Brazil’s favorite game. I love this game and I always will!

Chrono Trigger (Square Co, 1998)

During my time at the locadora, it was the RPG genre that truly captivated me. The?y offered something different from the frantic speed ??of Top Gear or the chaotic shooting of Metal Warriors: a story. On PC, I didn’t get to explore the genre when I was little. The closest I got wa??s with some adventure titles like Grim Fandango. One day, while searching for something to play, I came across a cartridge whose cover I thought I recognized. I picked it up, and one of the other kids turned to me and asked, "dude, you’re gonna play the Dragon Ball game?" Well, he was half right.

The familiar art style belonged to no??ne other than Akira Toriyama. Still, I had no idea what to expect when I ?popped that cartridge into the SNES and one name appeared on the screen: Chrono Trigger. And, boy, what a ride that one was. Not even half an hour in and you’re already traveling back in time, saving princesses, fixing the continuum of history, and meeting a frog that’s also a knight. Its gameplay and story were somethi??ng that I had never seen before, and everything about it fascinated me. 

It was a fascination that was abruptly cut short. I was so absorbed by it that I lost all notion of time, and when I least expected, Mr. E -- the owner of the parlor -- came in and shut the console before I could save. However, the see??d was planted. I went home with burning curiosity, and not? a day later, I was back for more. It was a game that sparked my imagination. I simply had to know what happened next. What other eras would I explore? What other characters would I meet?

This is probably the game’s strongest ?point. It made me feel like anything could happen, and when time itself is o?n your side, I guess that really is the case, huh? Chrono Trigger is ?the root of my love for the JRPG genre. It isn’t special just because it was the game that showed me what the genre was all about, but this i?s a game I played entirely with an audience, and a live one at that. It left me wanting more. More games that took me to fantastic places, that let me meet interesting characters, that made me laugh and cry. So, at the end of the day, I could go home with timeless memories.

SimCity 3000 (Maxis, 2000)

At the same time I discovered the wonders of the fantasy worlds, real life was knocking on the door, and it wouldn’t go away until I answered it. By this point in time, I believe my little brother had just turned three years?? old, and as the older son, it was my job to help take care of him as best as I could. That meant less time gaming and more time babysitting. I needed a game that would reward me for not playing it, so it's bloody convenient that my father had just bought SimCity 3000.

This felt like the logical conclusion for the RTS path I took. I used my big brain to lead armies to glory in violent combat, and now it was time to lead modern civilization to prosperity through planning and advantageous market policies. Or, I could unleash Godzilla on those ungrateful bastards! How dare they complain that the industrial zo??ne is literally right next to their houses? Don’t you see the money you’ll save on transportation? A nice atomic blast will teach ya!

In all seri?ousness, the game was mostly a creative sandbox for me. The main goal of making sure your city has everything it needs was far from being my first priority. For me, it was all about using cheats to build the most absurd cities I could think of, or recreate my own from memory, and then just sitting back and watching it all flow. The game had this meditative effect on me. I could watch it for hours, especially with that amazing soundtrack! It was pure jazz, and to me, it didn’t sound like "video game music," and ??it was an introduction to the genre. Thank you, SimCity!

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (Crystal Dynamics, 1999)

Coming up with this list, I knew that eventually I’d hit some games that I enjoy every aspect of except their gameplay. I just didn’t expect them to come up? before the halfway point, but lo and behold, here we are. Soul Reaver was a game I watched my father play from start to finish, and to this day, I haven’t actually played it myself. The reason I’m even including it on this list is that this game became the benchmark I judge all stories from.?? Soul Reaver is but a piece in a ??much more intricate and complex sto??ry dealing with fatalism, determinism, free will, paradoxes, and time travel.

It’s i?ncredibly well written, with fully-realized charact??ers, grandiose monologues that are truly worthy of being called Shakespearean, and voice acting I’m yet to see surpassed. This was the game that expanded my vocabulary and truly made me learn t??he English language, so I could follow the rest of the series -- Soul Reaver was ??the only title localized for Brazil -- and I can say without a shadow of a doubt, you would not be reading this if it wasn’t for this g?ame. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing, I’ll leave for you to decide.

Lineage II (NCsoft, 2003)

The advent of my teena?ge years coincided with the fall of the locadora and the rise of the internet cafés/LAN Houses. As it’s usual with that period between kid and adult, social life started to play a big role in my life. I was as average as you can get, and I can’t say I had many friends, but paradoxically, I met all kinds of people thanks to the gig I got at my local LAN House. There was a time when Orkut was still relevant, Messenger was the hottest thing aro??und and flip phones were cool.

In that chaotic scenario, I was presented my first MMO in a manner that’s strangely reminiscent of a drug dealer getting someone hooked. One day, this guy (let’s call him Roberto) had a hot new game to show us. He presented it as "something fun to play with friends," an???d he opened a folder with a name I’ll never forget: Horyu. It wasn’t the name of the game, rather it was the name of the pirate server that was most popular at the time. And the name on the login screen? Lineage II.

The game was as grindy as Korean MMOs from the 2000s get, but I had the time and the energy to spend, and that journey was unforgettable. Creating a character and just being thrust into a new and strange world that slowly but surely became familiar, like the back of my hand, is the sort of thing that I wish I could experience for the first time again. Because of my nerdy looks and humble origin (my family was somewhat poor at the time), I was bullied at school. Not a lot, but enough to make me conscious of the differen??ce between me and those around me. But in Lineage, that didn’t matter. I was free to be whoever I wanted, and the game encouraged me to do so. This is probably why I enjoy the tank class to this day. It felt good to be ??relied on, to know that my party was co??unting on me and that I was important.

I’ll never forget the moment I fell in love with the game. I had just reached?? Dion, one of the towns you visit when you hit level 20 or above. In?? Lineage II, you can pay an NPC called a Gatekeeper to teleport you to places, usually towns. Dion’s GK was set on top of a hill, right at the side of a church. The moment I arrived is when I saw it: a huge crowd of players rendered before my eyes, going all t?he way down the hill and stretching as far as the draw distance would allow. Dwarves selling consumables and buying materials, supports selling their buffs, players organizing raids and leveling parties, clans preparing for sieges, and so much more. It was overwhelming in the most positive way possible, and the music -- "Shepard’s Flute" -- punctuated that moment perfectly.

There was no turning back from there. In the next five or so years, this game dominated my life. I leveled multiple characters, joined a clan that became my fa??mily away from my family, raided Anthara’s Lair and fought the Legendary Dragon with 100 or so other people, laid siege to Giran’s Castle more times than I care to count, and killed countless people ?in Forbidden Gateway. That was the place to go for PVP combat. The list goes on and on. I've tried many other MMOs over the years, but none ever came close to replicating the feeling of camaraderie or the intensity of it??s PVP battles. It truly was the kind of experience that only comes once in a lifetime.

Unreal Tournament (Epic Games, 1999)

A man can&rsq??uo;t live out his MMO persona alone. Internet in the mid-2000s was shitty, to say the least, so more often than not, it was either down or too unstable to play online. Those were the rare moments the rest of the boys and I would be back in the real world. We would fire up one of the many games we could play via LAN like CS 1.6, Age of Mythology, the DOTA mod for Warcraft III. However, none of them compared to my personal favo?rite: Unreal Tournament.

I wasn’t into shooters when I was ?little ??(and by that I mean my father wouldn’t let me play them), so UT was my first real contact ??with the genre, and what a start it was! Unreal rewarded skill, precision, and fast-thinking, thanks to its fast-paced movement and brut??ally satisfying guns. This was the game that taught me how to rocket jump, the value of? prediction shots, map control, and that there’s no weapon more amazing in the history of ever than the Flak Cannon -- as long as you don’t blow yourself up in the process.

Facing Worlds is the single most perfect map ??in the history of gaming. UT was fun with friends, bots, or any combination of the t?wo, and 20 years later, this is still the alpha and th?e omega of arena shooters, and you can’t change my mind.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (Westwood Studios, 2000)

Speaking of fun, let’s go back to the world of RTS for a moment. Considering my backstory, I’?m surprised it took me this long to get into the C&C series, but hey, better late tha??n never. Westwood’s swan so?ng was the game that brought me back to the genre for one simple reason: everything about it was fun.

My previous experiences?? with the genre were mostly tied to ??external factors: Warcraft II expanded my world view, StarCraft allowed me to spend time with?? my father, and Age of Empires/Mythology was a whole lot of fun to play in LAN. Red Alert 2, however, was the first time I truly enjoyed an RTS for the game. With its cheesy FMV cutscenes, fast-paced gameplay, ridiculous story, and obscenely powerful units, it wa??s a blast from start to finish. If you ever needed a reason to become a fan of the genre, look no further than Red Alert 2.

Final Fantasy VI (Square Co, 1994)

At this point in my history, my old locadora had already gotten rid of all the SNES and Sega Genesis around, in favor of the new hotness: PlayStation. Luckily for me, I had a PC and a CD containing a shit ton of SNES ROMs. Yes, it was at this time that I discovered emulation. Okay, listen, I’m not in favor of piracy, but back then, it was the only way I had to replay those games. Anyways, this gave me a chance to relive som?e favorites and explore some I’ve never seen before. Amidst that collection was a title that I never completed during those days. I booted it up, now older and maybe wiser, and the next thing I knew five hours?? had gone by. Oh, Final Fantasy VI, you work in mysterious ways.

Chrono Trigger may have served as my i??ntroduction to JRPGs, but it was Final Fantasy VI that cemented the genre's place in my heart. Once again, I felt drawn to another fantasy world. Although, this time the cast was larger, the story was darker, the characters were much more distinct, and the villain was just oozing with person?ality and presence. The game left such a strong impression that it was actually one of the first things I ever wrote about here on Destructoid, way back when I didn’t even know how to properly format a text, and no, I don’t recommend? you go looking for it.

Sonic Adventure DX (Sega, 2003)

One series that passed me by while I was growing up was Sonic. The Genesis was a side console for me. The ma??jority of my console time was spent playing SNES with the other kids. Single-player games were, for the most part, something to keep me occupied w??hile I waited for someone to join me. Fast forward almost ten years after that, and I discovered Sonic Adventure. This effectively?? introduced me to the franchise, and I&rsqu??o;ve been a fan ever since, as painful as that is sometimes.

There was a fair amount of content here. The six playable characters all had different stories, and the Chao Garden was just a huge time s?ink that I loved. But, what really made me put SADX on this list is the fact that this was the first game my brother and I played together to completion. I’ll never forget the night we finally managed to end Big’s story mode (I hated his stupid fishing gameplay...), the last one on the list, and the amazing realization that there was one more story to play: Su??per Sonic.

We managed to get to the fin??al battle with Perfect Chaos and then…? it was time to go to bed. Our mother was not taking no for an answer. I barely got any sleep that night, I was too excited and amazed with the game. That was the first time I lost sleep because of a game, and the moment I found out I’m very weak to rob?ot characters acting like people. Gamma’s story made me cry, and as silly as I think that is, it’s a memory I hold near and dear to my heart.

The World Ends With You (Square Enix, 2007)

By the time I hit 15, I was what one would call a "shitty teenag??er," and probably the most unpleasant person you could meet. A crude and uncontrollable ball of anger, never happy, never satisfied, and I wanted nothing more than to lash out at the world. Because of that nasty attitude, I pushed people away. I got into fights with my parents. I couldn’t hold a job, and I was always one step from being expelled from school. The reason for all that anger is something that I still can't quite explain to this day. Maybe there wasn’t one, and I was just an asshole. ???Still, that asshole managed to get a hold of a Nintendo DS.

It was an old and barely functioning piece of plastic, but it was mine. That’s when I came across The World Ends With You, Squeenix’s JRPG about an angsty teenag??er in modern-day Shibuya. This game resonated with me. The point the game is trying to make is that being shut down in your own world can be harmful, and one doesn’t really live unless they clash with other people, come into contact with their differing beliefs and way of life, and ultimately, improve ?from the experience.

The story reflects that start to finish. The gameplay that forces you to pay attention to two characters at the same time reflects that. Hell, even the stuff outside the game reinforces the message! Taking breaks rewards you with sleep XP, and some pins -- the skills you use in combat -- can only be obtained by meeting other players in real life, netting you mingle XP. The game wants you to put its ideals in practice, and I took the lesson to heart. If I have friends all over the planet today, it’s because of TWEWY. Expand your world, kids!

999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (Chunsoft, 2009)

Now that I was living that portable life and had? my games on the fly (much to my parent’s displeasure), I decided to try this whole visual novel thing. The genre felt so pointless to me at the time. I thought that, if I wanted to read, I might as well grab a book. However, that opinion was full of bias and assumptions sinc??e I hadn’t actually played any to confirm or deny my theories.

I chose Phoenix Wright as my starting point, which proved to be a winner. It had a good balance between gameplay and story, the cast was charming, and the music was great. Unfortunately, I thought the main “game” ended after the second case and everyth??ing after was a bonus. It jus?t goes to show you how ignorant I was. So, I didn’t finish that until much later because I immediately moved on to another visual novel. This one grabbed me by the balls and never let go. 999 is, without a shad??ow of a doubt, one of the best stories I've?? ever had the pleasure of experiencing. ;

It's a mix of novel and "escape-the-room" puzzles, and the plot revolves around a group of nine people trapped inside a sinking ship, forced to play a deadly game called The Nonary Game. From this relatively simple premise, it twists and turns and really goes places, thanks to its superb ??writing and absurdly clever plot twists. The descriptions are eloquent and vivid (especially when there’s a corpse involved).

The story uses real-life scientific concepts (and some theoretical but real in-universe) that greatly contribute to making that world seem as true as our own. I?? came out of that experience feeling a little smarter myself. At the very least, I felt a little more curious. Seriously, this was a game I couldn’t put down, and it made me a fan of the genre for life.

Guilty Gear XX (Arc System Works, 2002)

Here’s one fun fact about myself: I’ve always been sort of contrarian. While everyone else was playing soccer and?? sending Goku their?? energy, I was studying the blade practicing my basket?ball and rooting for Seya to unleash his cosmos. Hell, even now I’m doing that, blogging in English instead of Portuguese. It&rsquo?;s not that I want to be one, I just do whatever feels comfortable and that just so happens to go against the norm. This includes my taste for fighting games.

While all of my friends were getting their groove on in the?? latest King of Fighters (probably the most famous fighting seri?es here in South America) I was rocking Heaven and Hell in Guilty Gear XX. The pace of the KoF series was always too slow for my taste, so when it came time to choose a fighter to add to m??y collection, I went wit?h GG XX because t??hat was the only other option at the time.

I never imagined that the game was everything I could’ve ever wanted: fast, over-the-top, full of deep mechanics, and extremely metal. I never stopped liking metal, but back then, I was really in?to it. After recognizing some riffs and catching a bunch of references, there was no going back. ?This is the game that got me into the genre and allowed me to meet people that I’ll treasure for a lifetime.

Metal Gear Solid 2 (Konami, 2001)

I’ve never been into stealth games. I’m too clumsy and impatient to play them like you’re supposed to. It’s just something that’s burned into my DNA. So much that I couldn?’t even get past the second level of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. After?? that, I decided this wasn’t for me and peaced out. 

While I dislike stealth, I do love me som?e weird shit from Japan. That’s probably why I gave the&n??bsp;Metal Gear Solid series a chance. The fourth game came with my PS3, and I decided why the hell not. Pro tip: never start a story at the end. It’s bad for your health. Although, it ended up paying off because I immediately acquired the HD Collection after finishing it.

Still, ??I wasn’t ready for the mind fuck that is MGS 2. Nowadays, the story of its development it’s pretty well known, but what this game did with its story, gameplay, and marketing in favor of its central message still blows my mind. I can only imagine the reaction of people going into this game completely blind way back in 2001. They were probably expecting to play as Snake, only to? have him “die” in the first hour.

Then, of? course, there’s that final hour of gameplay when the game "breaks," for a lack of a better term. I won’t spoil the specifics, just in case you’re one of the few people that haven’t played it yet, but let’s just say that the final ??codec call before the last boss still haunts me. I don’t know if Kojima is a genius or not, but MGS 2 cert?ainly is a genius game that gave me a lot to think about.

To The Moon (Freebird Games, 2011)

A couple of years after my experience with MGS 2, I was verging on adulthood, and I figured it was time I started acting like one. I began looking for jobs, considering my college options, and planning for life in general. My gaming habits started to reflect that, as I was spendi??ng less time with big-budget games that requi??red a huge time commitment, choosing instead to go for more bite-sized experiences. In particular, this was when I discovered indie games, which were becoming more and more mainstream at this point.

Enter To The Moon, and holy macaroni, I never knew I could cry so much. This simple game, made entirely in RPG Maker, tells the story of two doctors specialized in changing human memories as a sort of last wish. It’s basically a fusion between the movies Inception and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, one of my all-time favorites. It’s about as moving as it sounds. It sports a powerful narrative, with some truly gut-punching moments, that leaves a clear message be??hind that regrets are inevitable, and as such, one should strive ??to live life to the fullest. Words to live by if you ask me.

Persona 3 Portable (Atlus, 2012)

By the time I reached 16-years-old, I had my first experienc??e with the inexorable truth that is death. I lost my grandma after she fought a long and hard battle against the sequela of ??an accident that left her in a vegetative state. It was a shock, and the painful realization that I would never see her again destroyed me. I couldn’t bring myself to accept that, and I buried myself in video games in an effort to forget.

Try as I might, death became this lurking thought that would occasionally pop in to taunt me. Life moved on and, since her passing, I'?ve only been through a few other funerals. While I got better at accepting it, I still hadn't understood it. When I turned 18, my brother was gifted a PSP for his birthday, a gift I would borrow from time?? to time. That’s when I came into contact with Persona 3.

Now listen, while this isn’t the first (or the only) game to deal with death, its story and message were exactly what I needed to hear. The game is clearly dripping with urban fantasy from start to finish, but the lessons I took from it were very much grounded in reality. The game over screen summarizes it all pretty ?neatly: "Though life is merely a journey to the grave, it must not be undertaken without hope. Only then will a traveler's story live on, cherished by those who bid him farewell." As weird as it seems, Persona 3 ended? up being the coping mechanism that gave me the words I needed to hear the most.

NieR: Automata (Platinum Games, 2017)

Putting one of Yoko Taro’s games on this list was a no-brainer. The entire point of his work is to get an emotional response from the players, usually through the writing. While I think the writing in the original Nier is by far the best in the entire Drakengard/Nier franchise, it was Automata that struck a chord with me.

As we established earlier, I’m very weak to robots that act even remotely similar to humans. While that definitely helped, it wasn’t necessarily the cause. The whole reason I can’t get this game out of my head is because of Ending E. Automata’s gr?and finale is the emb??odiment of a maxim adopted a long time ago: leave something good behind. To me, this is the entire point. This is the ideal I try to shape my life around, the reason why I scatter these words on the internet like leaves on the wind.

It's proof that I was here, that I helped or entertained someone even if only slightly. It doesn’t really matter if one or ten thousand people get to read it. It doesn't matter if they leave a comment or thanks. Those are just pleasant surprises. I was able to make that final choice with such e??ase because I know that a piece of me is now forever out there, and someday, it will help someone in need. Somehow, that makes it all worth it.

ZeroRanger (Erasure Systems, 2018)

T??he shmup genre is probably one of the last places where you’d expect to find life-changing experiences. They're the type of games that are light on story and meant to replayed until either you or the game break. That said, this is a genre I grew up playing, fro?m Chicken Invaders to eXceed 3rd, so I knew I couldn’t leave them o??ff this list, but I couldn’?t quite decide on one.

Lucky for me, ZeroRanger is a vertical slice of everything I love about all of them! Not only does it ?have all the marks of a fantastic shmup (tight controls, striking visua?ls, an amazing soundtrack, and a fair deal of challenge), but it’s also a love letter to the genre and everything that inspires it. It’s surprisingly strong in the story department too, without being intrusive or hard to follow like in Raiden V or Astebreed. That&r??squo;s it, I just really like ga?mes about shooting everything that moves in space. It’s my list, so I'll do what I want!

Celeste (Matt Makes Games, 2018)

It’s impossible for a story to universally appeal to every per?son. We’re just too different from one another for that to b??e feasible. However, if there is one topic that gets really close, it would be mental health. It doesn’t matter who you are. This is something everyone will have to deal with sooner or later in life. Few games tackle the subject with such elegance and grace as Celeste. Beneath the fantastic platforming action, there’s an amazingly well-executed (if a bit on the nose) metapho?r about facing the trials of life, and overcoming the seemingly impossible odds, with effort and persistence.

Playing Celeste reminded me of how I felt three years ago during my college plight that almost destroyed me: the fear, the confrontation, and the feeling of relief after. It’s rare that I come across something that can trigg?er those memories, and it's even rarer that they don’t make me feel bad about said memories. But, this game did it. For that, it's ?rightfully earned a place on this list.

CrossCode (Radical Fish Games, 2018)

You know, I think it’s only fitting that the last game on this list is one that takes me back to a simpler time. As I grow older, it’s only natural that I wish I could go back and be young and innocent again. Nostalgia is a very powerful thing, and the industry seems to have caught on to that fact. The indie scene is especially ??adept?? at pulling my heartstrings, and no other game has pulled them quite like, my personal GOTY of 2018, CrossCode.

Everything about it just evokes memories of some of the best moments of my life. The pixel art reminds me of the 16-bit era RPGs I used to play, the music has this nostalgic feeling to it, and it c??aptures the M?MO setting so well too. Exploring the world of CrossCode as Lea fe??lt no different from when I explored Lineage II as my human Gladiator, despite?? both games being in com?pletely different genres.

Reaching new towns, finding new leveling spots, befriending complete strangers, or just taking in th??e view for a screenshot, CrossCode managed to evoke all of these familiar emotions while sti??ll being a fantastic game on its own. It combined the combat from&nb??sp;Ys, the charm of Chrono Trigger, and the exploration and puzzles of Zelda. It’s like all of my childhood memories turned into one game, and I loved e?very second of it.

Well, that was h??ard. Even with 24 slots, deciding on what games deserved to be here proved to be quite a challenge, particularly during the start of my college years when I wasn’t playing that many games. I tried to be as concise as possible, and considering the original draft was bordering on ten thousand?? words, I think I succeeded. In writing this list and looking back at my own life, I realized how much I’ve changed as a person while my tastes remained pretty much the same.

I wonder how this l?ist will loo?k to me 24 years in the future.

Also, I have no clue how to end this, so let me just say if you read it all, you’re a goddamn trooper, and I appreciate you taking the ti??me to indulge me. I’ll be back with my usual shenanigans soon, and I hope to see you there too!

The post My life in 24 games appeared first on Destructoid.

The golden strawberry runs are going to be nuts

Celeste originally released in January of 2018 to almost res?ounding critical praise, and today, its final batch of DLC is dropping in the form of Chapter 9. I’ve always considered myself pretty decent at twitch platformers, but these new levels gave me ?a taste of something I hadn’t experienced in a minute: humility.

The fact that you need to beat Chapter 8 (aka The Core) in order ?to even access these new levels should give most folks an indication of just how intense things get. On top of featuring some of the toughest levels in?? the game, Chapter 9 also introduces a few new mechanics to wrap your head around.

For example, there’s a cute little fish that you can hop on to make your way across gaps. However, doing so pushes them downward, so you only get one landing. If you hit them from the side, they’ll explode and shoot you across the screen. You’ll need to intentionally make use of both of these features in c?reative ways to clear the many layers of obstacles that lie ahead.

There’s also a jellyfish that you’ll grab onto and glide across surfaces, like Mary Poppins with an umbrella, as well as the official introduction of wavedashing as a mechanic. Wavedashing is something anyone who follows the speedrunning community is familiar with, but this is the first time it’s actually been necessary to complete a level in Celeste. It requires jumping, dashing diagonally towards the ground, and then immedia??tely jumping while holding forward. I?t shoots you across gaps further than you’d normally travel and regains your dash ability all in one fell swoop. It’s also incredibly tricky to get the hang of.

The story here takes place after the?? events from the base game, but it’s rather light in terms of extending the existing narrative. Still, it serves as a solid impetus to throw poor Madeline back into the fray, and the ending scenes were really sweet and heartwarming. I’d love to spend more time with these characters in another game, but it all feels very much over by the time you fin?d yourself back at the menu screen.

For anyone who absolutely hates themselves, there is an option to do a golden strawberry run. Once you pick this thing up, you’ll hav?e to finish all 100 levels without dying once. If you die, you’re sent all the way back to the beginning. Personally, there is no chance in hell I will ever do it, but I’m excited to see the inevitable videos that’ll pop up from various streamers.

I mentioned up top that Chapter 9 managed to give me a lesson in humility. What did I mean by that? Well, besides realizing that I was never going to get that golden strawberry, this was the first time I’ve made legitimate use?? of the ??assist options, and I have to say that I don’t regret a thing. I beat everything up to The Core the old-fashioned way around release, but something about Chapter 9 finally broke me. My progress hit a major roadblock, and I wasn’t having as much fun.

With your average game, this is where I might shelve it to gather dust until I’m in the right mood. Luckily, Celeste isn’t about proving yourself. It’s about tackling your own mountain and doing the best you can. I love that, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This isn’t a competition, and it’s not like you can’t go back later to experience things at the default di?fficulty.

For a free addition to a game that was already stuffed with hours of content, I’m quite happy with it. I wouldn’t consider it essential for anyone hopping into Celeste for the first time, but it’s a wonderful sendoff for fans to satiate their appetite with something more demanding. And, if you don’t think you quite have what it takes to tackle the challenge, don’t be afraid to use Assist Mode to make things more manageable. It’s definitely worth it just to see Madeline smile one? last time.

_{[These impressions are based on a pre-release build of the DLC provided by the publisher.]}

The post Celeste’s Chapter 9 DLC is here to kick your butt appeared first on Destructoid.

Again, it's free

Celeste came out in J??anuary of 2018, but its journey isn't over.

Creator Matt Thorson revealed at the end of the year that "tough farewell levels" were in development, which "should be ready in early 2019." A month later Thorson noted that the team was a bit behind schedule, but gave us some other details to make up for it: it's one giant chapter, it's harder than the rest of the game, it contains new strawberries but has new items and mechanics, and best of all, it's free for all p??latforms.

Now he's giving us another tidbit this past week: the DLC, titled Chapter 9, is now "over 100 levels" in scope. Thorson is also quick to explain that he isn't "talking release dates until [they're] 100% sure," but they've a?lready missed an internal target (likely the aforementioned "early 2019"). He does explain that it's because the project grew to this gargantuan size, so I think everyone will get over it.

As far as we know, Chapter 9 is still go??ing to be free on all platforms, which includes the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.

Matt Thorson [Twitter]

The post That free Celeste DLC chapter is going to be a who?pping 100 plus levels appeared first on Destructoid.

The team 'just never figured out what it was'

Before Celeste was even a thought, the devs over at Matt Makes Games were working on Skytorn. A procedurally generated Metroidvania, the title was sidelined when Celeste began development. After a few posts reassuring that the action game would eventually get released, designer Noel Berry has confirmed in a blog post that Skytorn is no more.

"Having worked on the game for several years," Berry writes, "we constantly struggled with what the game was. To its core, it was a procedurally generated adventure game without permadeath, but the procedural elements always clashed with the Metroidvania themes, and I didn’t know h??ow to design around that." That last element seems to be the sticking poin??t. Berry couldn't conceive a reason for why the game should be procedural but didn't want to drop the gimmick, either.

"Taking out the procedural parts felt like it defeated the purpose of what the game was," Berry continues, "so as it shifted towards a mor?e linear adventure, the procedural map stayed but simply got more and more constricted, until ??the procedural-ness of it didn't really mean anything."

Restarting the project would mean throwing out much of the code for the game, so the team has decided cancelling it was the best course of action. The team will remain together, though, and will be showing off something about its follow-up to Celeste in the new year. "The Celeste team is sticking to??gether and working on something new," Berry concludes, "but we're not ready to talk about what yet. We'll have news to share in the new year."

Skytorn is Cancelled [@NoelFB via Medium]

The post Celeste devs cancel procedural game Skytorn appeared first on Destructoid.

Level editor?

Matt Makes Games has been...making games for some time and if TowerFall put the developer on the map, then Celeste claimed an entire continent in its name.

It's been taking the indie (and Switch) scene by storm this year (expect to see it in plenty of GOTY roundups) and there might be more of it on the way. Simply teasing it as a "work in progress," MMG boss Matt Thorson tweeted o??ut a small multi-screen level that seems like it cou?ld either be the basis for extra challenge levels for Celeste or a level editor.

As a Twitter user in the thread points out there's already an unofficial map editor, but that's? only on PC. A free update that adds a full-on map creation ?system into every version would be something else. For now it's just speculation.

pic.twitter.com/Ls9Kn9Bj3R

— Matt Thorson 🍂 (@MattThorson) November 3, 2018

The post TowerFall/Celeste developer teases something new appeared first on Destructoid.

New playable characters from Celeste round-out a near perfect game

Team battle Smash with items turned on can be just as competitive and skill-reliant as the standard 1-on-1 no random variables matches that are common in the tournament scene. Just imagine a fight between two pairs of evenly matched friends. Their percentages are all past 90% and there's less than 20 seconds on the clock. The next one to land?? a decent attack will end it, and all parties are cautious about how close they want to get to the competition, as they consider holding out for sudden d??eath.

Then sudde??nly a box of Bob-ombs spawns in the center. Everyone makes a mad dash for them, the team that gets to them first quickly tosses them at their opponents, hoping to catch them off guard and win the match. With lightening fast reflexes, the thought-to-be-doomed team reflect?s the first bomb, causing it to bounce back and explode the would-be victors at the last second. 

These kinds of moments happen in Towerfall all the time, even when playing with relative beginners. The game only has three moves; a jump, cocking and firing an arrow, and a dash maneuver that also allows you to catch a fired arrow in mid-air. There are plenty of power ups other modifiers to explore from there, but at its heart, this is a game about using those three moves to outflank, unnerve, and surprise your opponent, and in doing so, maybe yourself as well. The set up for happy accidents, mind games, and surprises is nearly endless, which combined with the intense technical depth, has led Towerfall to become a pillar in its genre, and now its coming to? Switch. 

First released in 2014, Towerfall could be considered a prequel to Celeste, a game that's gone on to be one of the great Cinderella ??stories of 2018, and one of the most critically and commercially successful games on th?e eShop. Both titles were created by Matt Thorson and his small team of collaborators, and as such, if you've played one you'll be familiar with the feel of the other.

They control almost identically, with major differences being that Madeline (the protag of Celeste) can climb walls (which makes senses, given that she's a mountain climber) while the crew from Towerfall are all have the ability to fire arrows, which makes sense given that they're all archers. So if you played Celeste and wished that it had a little more power fantasy action to balance out the platforming tension, then Towerfall is the game for you. You spend a lot of th??e game jumping and air dashing, but getting to the next platform is less about getting through an obstacle course and ??more about picking up fallen arrows (as you start each match with a limited number) and positioning yourself for battle. 

These battles can come in many forms. There's the standard 1-4 player versus mode that has been in the game since day one, and also three campaign modes that can be played solo or with friends. I was particularly impressed with the small but smart Dark World campaign that's got a large beastiary of enemy types, including four multi-stage bosses. This is the kind of co-op experience I want from the next Smash, like The Subspace Emissary, but ti??ghter a?nd faster paced. 

The other two modes, Quest and Trials, are a little less robust, but are still worth checking out. Quest is just a horde mode, with more stages total than Dark World, but no bosses. Trials is just a series of target practice stages against dummies that can be either stomped or shot with arrows, but like everything Towerfall, within its simplicity lies incredible potential for depth. I average about 15-30 seconds on my completion time for most of the Trials, but?? there are people that can beat those same stages in less than 2 seconds. If you choose to put the time in, there is almost no limit to how fast and powerful you can become. 

There's plenty of incentives to get there too. Unlockable characters and stages are everywhere, many of which require the player to criss-cross between campaigns to achieve. Getting to a new stage in Quest will unlock a new stage in trials, which will in turn put you on the path to unlocking a new character, and so forth. Each character plays the same though, including the addition of Madeline and Badeline from Celeste, so their differences are purely cosmetic. 

On the other hand, the game is filled with other variables that are anything but just for show. There are bomb arrows, laser arrows, destructible environments, slow-motion power ups, exploding corpses, and all sorts of other upgrades and curveballs. There's even a big head mode ala Mortal Kombat, which mak?es it a heck of a lot harder to keep your face out of the path of a passing projectile. 

Towerfall doesn't allow you to manhandle anyone like you can in Smash. You can't dominate someone else for an entire match with constant rush-downs and lengthy combos, though there is a more simple combo system in place for taking on enemy NPCs. No, Towerfall is less about feeling unstoppable and more about riding the playful edge between joy and pain, knowing that every decision you make could be a matter of life or death. That's more true than ever in the Switch's exclusive 6-player mode, which like Smash 4's 8-player brawls, feature larger battlegrounds to acc?ommodate the expanded c?ompetitor count.

If you??'??ve been waiting for the definitive version of the game, then your wait is over. Time to cock your bow and take aim.

_{[This preview is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Towerfall ??on Switch i??s the perfect warm up for Smash Ultimate appeared first on Destructoid.

A closer look at how a soundtrack comes together

Celeste was a surprise indie hit when it released at the beginning of this year, and it’s now solidified itself as a bona-fide classic in the realm of twitch platformers. However??, the incredibly tight gameplay and damn-near-perfect level design are only some of the factors that make it?? such a standout title.

Alongside a wonderfully-written story, which tackles themes like depression and anxiety in a way that never feels gaudy or pretentious, the music perfectly mirrors the themes and actions of the play?er. When you move from scene to scene, the music moves with you. When Madeline, the protagonist, is filled with anxiety, so are the sounds that surround her.

Most impressively, the soundtrack stands on its own, outside of the game, as a genuine album, yet it’s still impossible to fully remove it from Celeste. While the songs have their own story to tell, it’s all so perfectly scripted for each scen??e that I find myself getting very specific flashbacks to exact moments from the journey when listening.

Lena Raine, the composer for Celeste, put so much heart and feeling into each note. After years of h??ard work in the industry, she’s finally starting to receive some of the recognition that she deserves. Most people hear a song in-game and assume that the creation process is exactly the same as what you hear on the radio, but there’s so much more to it than that. I had the chance to chat with her last month about writing video game music and just what exactly that ent?ails.

Kevin: In your experience, what's the biggest difference between writing music for a video game and more conventional music? On both a technical and philosophical level, it seems like there would be a great deal of variation between the processes.

Lena: In my eyes, the differences lie primarily in the intended purpose of the music as informed by the venue where it's experienced. Video game music can still be conventional music, but it relies on how you define conventional. One of my favorite methods of defining music comes from David Byrne's book How Music Works. He argues that music genres and styles arise out of the venue they're meant for. Chamber music was made, literally, for a chamber. Religious music is defined by the cathed??rals it's performed in. It's slower than chamber music, meant to fill a huge resonant h??all. Recorded music is defined by the analogue or digital mediums it's recorded for. To extend Byrne's reasoning, video game music is defined by the hardware and systems it's interacting with.

Everyone generally knows that early game music was defined by its hardware limitations. Various chip sounds, and the?ir limited possibilities, created a palette to write with. Once everything moved to CD audio, however, there arose a common misconception that ?limitations were over. You could just write whatever you wanted. But even still, for games that wish to engage with reactive and dynamic presentations for their music, there are very real limitations to be taken into consideration.

How does your music react? How does a piece of music being reactive define its composition? Most AAA games have settled into an expected pattern for this. You know what music will probably sound like in an Assassin's Creed? title when you go from exploration to comba?t. On the indie side, we're trying our best to work within those limitations and create scores that use dynamic implementation to the advantage of music. But that also means that game music is something to be experienced within the context of a game. It's defined because it happens while you're interacting with a game, and that's what sets it apart.

_{[This is easily my favorite song from the album.]}

Most video game soundtracks fall into this trap where all of the songs sound like audio clips from the game. You went the extra mile and created something that stands alone as a full-on album. These are fleshed out songs that build into a separate story of sorts. More insanely, the instrumentation is actually interesting from a music theory and composition standpoint. This isn't just basic pop melodies either. You veer off into territory that reminds me of early Faust, Berlin era Bowie/ Warm Jets era Brian Eno, and some of the more poignant acts of today. Why go that extra mile? Why challenge yourself like that? Clearly, it's paid off in retrospect, but what was your reasoning going in?

I think it's extremely important to consider a game soundtrack and a game album two wildly different things. They should be treated separately, but also cared for simultaneously. It's actually a very important part of my process, especially with dynamic music, to create a listenable "album version" of each series of tracks I write for a game. I did this with every area I wrote for in Celeste, as well as my upcoming soundtrack for ESC. It's not just for my benefit, or the soundtrack's, but it also helps the team to hear my inten?tion for a piece of music and how it evolves through play.

When you jus??t write for a series of cues within a game, you risk losing the thread. It can be extremely easy to drop thematic content, write something that is too similar to a cue you just wrote, or is wildly out of place. By checking in ??and hearing music not just in the nonlinear context of a game, but in a linear and organized fashion, you can verify that what you've written for the game can be considered a complete and well-paced statement.

When compared to struc??turally complex music, a game level that has an interesting narrative flow will also require a soundtrack with a flow to match. But then it's not just looping wallpaper. It's movements within a larger whole. It's developing thematic material across movements. It goes back to what I mentioned earlier about venue defining the music. If I let myself use the mechanics, structure, and narrative of a level to help define the score, then the music is more interesting.

As for the second question: My general attitude is, why would anyone not challenge themselves? I can think of a number of reasons why you wouldn't (time, money, direction...), but I got into music because I wante??d to write thi?ngs no one else was writing. So I challenge myself because I feel I need to, and to prompt others to join in.

Speaking of audio cues... As someone with limited knowledge of game development, I was curious how that process actually works. Are the audio triggers in the game (when different segments of a song start up during frames of the game) something that you handled the direction of, as the composer, or is that something other folks on the team implement at their own discretion? How involved do composers typically get with the way that their creations are presented in-game?

It really depends on the composer and ??also how they're interacting with the team. Sometimes there's an audio engineer specifically tasked with planning out and implementing music files as they're delivered from the composer. Sometimes, ?and especially for indie projects, the composer is handling everything themselves, or they just hand it over to the designers to implement. I've had a number of different situations over the years.

For Celeste, I mostly planned out the cues and how I'd like them implemented. I then sent over the files and worked with our sound designer Kevin to get them into FMOD, the middleware tool we used for audio implementa?tion. Then, Matt and Noel would ?take the triggers generated by FMOD and implement them in the level scripting. For my current projects, I'm doing all the audio setup myself, working on setting up files and how they trigger dynamically, and preparing them for designers to implement.

_{[Really, they're all amazing though.]}

You say it's a "middleware tool," but, for the sake of folks like myself who are totally lost, what does that actually mean? Everything I've found has left me scratching my head when trying to understand its primary function. Is it just a software specifically designed for implementing audio in a game, via choreographing audio triggers, or does it have other functions as well?

Basically, FMOD is an implementation tool that works in conjunction with the game engine to handle how the game calls and deals with audio. Everything regarding the scripting of dynamic music to the way sound effects play back is handled by the tool (which could be FMOD, Wwise, and a few others, but the first two are the most common). It simplifies things for the programmer or designer implementing audio, so they can just put a simple call in the script -- thing plays or cues here -- and the audio tool handles the rest, from randomizing sound effects, to doing fancy fadeouts, or triggering dynamic music cues on the beat. 

I've always been curious about how a soundtrack is initially built for a video game. As a composer, are you just presented with a demo that gives a basic outline of the game and story, or is it a more reactive process where you're given segments of a game, in increments over time, to specifically write for? What sort of basic blueprint were you presented with when beginning to write for Celeste?

Again, it totally depends on the project. I love to work as hands-on as I possibly can. For Celeste, I had constant build access as the team was working on the game. I was in there, playing levels, even before any final level graphics were created. I'd test out mechanics, give feedback, and plan out how I'd use the st??ructure and interactivity of each level to influence the structure of the music. In previous projects, I've been given a simple list of tracks that need to be written, as well as access to story outlines and artwork from the project to help guide my process. I'm not as big a fan of this, however, since it really makes the process so much less directed. If at all possible, I always want to be playing the game both before and after my cues are in there, to make sure I've got the right vibe and pacing.

One fun exception to this was when I worked at ArenaNet as a designer on Guild Wars 2. I often had the opportunity to write music for quests I was designing,?? which meant I was creating the content, determining how music would fit into the gameplay, writing the music, and then implementing ?the cues in my script. Having that kind of extreme hands-on experience really helped me a lot in learning the full iteration loop necessary to get music into a complex game.

_{[A screenshot from ESC. I have no idea what's going on here, but I'm into it.]}

You mentioned your upcoming project called ESC. What the heck is it, and when are we going to hear more? As of right now, all I've really heard is that it's an interactive novel that you'll be composing music for and writing. Is this going to be something akin to visual novels, which focus specifically on narrative, and how will the change in gameplay elements affect your approach to writing music? Is the soundtrack going to be orchestral (like past works), electronic, or something entirely different? No matter what, I'm super excited to shove more of your ear candy into my brain, but what should fans expect?

The general way I've been pitching it is that ESC is an interactive novel about identity, roleplay, and dreams. It takes place within two character perspectives: a recreation of a text-based roleplaying MUCK, and a series of logs from a mysterious individual known as the Navigator. During the MUCK sections, you inhabit a character and type out all of her text input, but everything has been predetermined, a lot like the text chat segments in Superhot. I wrote and programmed the whole game, and of course composed the score, which is just under fifty minutes of music. I also teamed up with 2 Mello (composer of Read Only Memories, as well as a remix in Celeste itself) to do some really cool sound design and Dataerase, a super rad glitch artist, to? do background art and graphic design for the project.

The soundtrack is primarily ambient electronic, but verges into a bit of IDM, trance, and some generally weird, glitchy shit. Because everything is focused on embellishing the words themselves, the musi??c often functions more like sound design, until it really needs to crank up the intensity. I had a whole lot of fun writing both the words and music, so I'm hoping people check it out! It's in beta right now, and hopefully releasing ?later this Spring.

When you say that ESC is an interactive novel, do you mean something akin to Steins;Gate, Danganronpa, and Doki Doki Literature, or is it more like a text adventure? Also, you wrote, programmed, and composed the music for this project? Is this your first time ever helming a video game's development from all angles like that? How do you balance a passion project like that with your other work?

I'd say it's more along the lines of the short stories in Lost Odyssey, or the text-only segments in the NieR series. In fact, the way I present some of the game was extremely inspired by NieR: Automata. Similarly, the game is not short on surprises, and you might? find that it is slightly more than I'm letting on.

The way I differentiate between ESC and a visual novel, is that something like Danganronpa or Doki Doki Literature Club focuses more on visually presenting the characters and dialogue. ESC is more about focusing on the text itself, whether it's a roleplay chat log or first-person prose. Ther??e's backgrounds, sound design, and music, but the primary focus ??is the writing.

And yes! I've primarily worked on other people's projects, but this is my first time stepping into the director's seat so to speak. I've got a lot of experience working part-time on my own projects, like my music work before going freelance, or writing a n?ovel while working QA earlier on in my career. I'd say it's less balancing and more sacrificing my own free time to do something I'm passionate about. You could say that's poor work-life balance, but it's a bit hard to draw that line when my hobbies are also things I aspire to be professional at.

_{[I'm loving the art style for Date or Die so far.]}

Celeste has been quite the success story, and you're now, rightfully so, one of the more prominently known composers in the industry. Outside of the upcoming project ESC, what's your next move? Seriously, the sky is the fucking limit for you. Do you ever see yourself pursuing a music career outside of games?

So, regarding pursing a music career outside games, that's something I already started with my Kuraine alias. I released a solo EP Singularity back in 2016, which is actually seeing a vinyl release alongside Celeste! I'm hoping to continue that project and release even more solo music beyond what I'm doing for games. I'd also love to delve into writing music for animation at some point. I ha??ve no strong desire to score live-action film, but I've always loved animation from around the globe and am extremely up for trying new things.

As for my next projects, I extremely wish I could dig into those publicly! Unfortunately, almost everything I've got going is under some pretty heavy NDAs. The one project I can talk about is Date or Die, a visual novel by a whole bunch of talented folks that I'm co-writing the soundtrack for alongside Christa Lee, who also contributed a remix to Celeste. Beyond that, I'm working on an unannounced indie game that is ?extremely charming, and I can't wait to talk about it. I'm also working o?n a AAA title that I cannot say anything about and is probably a long way off. Stay tuned!

Alright, Date or Die has my attention. What's it about, who else is involved, and when can I expect to hear more? Just going off the name, my brain is already starting to come up with hypothetical plots.

Date or Die is a visual novel about a group of individuals that have been kidnapped by a terrible individual known as The Host and forced to play a televised dating game with life-or-death stakes. It's a bit like The Bachelor meets Danganronpa. There is actually a fully-playable prologue demo available! The demo features Christa's music as of the time?? of its r?elease, but we're both going to be hard at work to flesh everything out!

Thank you so much for taking the time to be a part of this! Seriously, you're doing exciting things in the industry, and it's always great to get some insight. Video game music is still in this wonderful phase where it's growing and rapidly evolving at alarming rates. It's a beautiful thing, and you're working magic like a freaking wizard. I have no idea how you're doing it, but, please, don't ever stop.

Th??anks so much for the gre?at questions! It was a pleasure!

The post Celeste composer Lena Raine talks ?video game music, philosophy, and upcoming projects appeared first on Destructoid.

'Start small, grow slowly, own your work, and make sure the process itself makes you happy'

Matt Thorson got his start making "small indie games in Game Maker and Flash," only to one day craft critically acclaimed titles like TowerFall and Celeste for multiple major platforms. Life can move pretty quickly, and for Matt, things have been accelerating to top speed since he launched TowerFall in 2013 on the ill-fated Ouya.

A week from the launch of Celeste we decided to catch up with him and see how i??t went, and find out what he's got planned for the future.

Hindsight is 20/20.

The Ouya seemed like it was going to be an unstoppable force, especially in the eyes of many industry insiders and developers when the Kickstarter was founded in 2012. Surprisingly the system launched shortly after in 2013, but it just wasn't ready for market (among other issues), and promptly died in 2015. For Thorson, however, the whole Ouya thing worked out: "Releasing on Ouya was really good for TowerFall. Obviously it's impossible to know what would've happened if we had done it differently, but we got a lot of attention on Ouya which gave us a leg up when we later launched on Steam and PS4. It feels like it would've been harder to stand out if we want straight to Steam?? and PS4."

Thinking about it that strategy does make sense, as it was arguably the most prolific Ouya title at release, which propelled it into the spotlight and set up future slam dunks like Celeste. As I pondered about TowerFall some more, I dug into its influences, which Thorson has said in the past are very much colored by late-night sessions with Bushido Blade. Thorson elaborated, "Local multiplayer games were a huge part of my childhood. What I love about these kinds of games i??s how they bring people together, and I have a ton of fond memories playing the classics with family and friends."

From Ouya, to PC, PS4, Xbox One, to...Switch? Thorson has worked on a lot of platforms over the years, but the latter really interested me the most given the sheer momentum it seems to have, catapulting over the Wii U's lifetime sales in just nine months. When questioned about the Switch, Thorson was even more excited for it than I thought he'd be: "As soon as we played the Switch, we knew it was a great fit for Celeste. We also had a hunch that Celeste would resonate with Nintendo's audience, and that the game would find a home there. We're going to patch Celeste first, and then start working on porting TowerFall." It did very well for itself on the Switch too, as Thorson chimed in "The Switch version of Celeste has sold the most, and that's what we were expecting. We feel like Celeste and the Switc??h are a perfect fit for each other. We are glad we launched on all consoles though, and we really apprec?iate the support we've seen across the board."

But it can't be easy jumping into a brand new platform, especially for an outfit as small as Thorson's studio, Matt Makes Games. I asked him for one bit of advice that would best help out development teams that are working on a new platform, and got a great response: "We've grown our team very organically and slowly over many years, and we've never really taken big financial risks. I think it's importa?nt to make sure you aren't working in a high-stress situation, and that you have space to experiment and do your best work. Start small, grow slowly, own your work, and make sure the process itself makes you happy."

It seemed like more than just the process has contributed to his team's happiness, as Celeste has garnered a heap of critical praise. Thorson was able to distill his feelings down to the following respons?e: "The reception has blown us away. When you're working on something f??or so long in relative secret, part of the challenge is keeping perspective on it. It's easy to forget about what makes your game special and focus on the flaws, so when reception is positive it kind of blindsides you. We've got some great feedback and we've been fixing bugs and making small changes to the game since launch. There'll be a patch soon that will address most of that!"

Another positive reaction has been making the rounds in the form of a little homage to the original Celeste, which snuck its way into the proper release. I inquired as to how that came about, and apparently it was a result of a small conversation and a whim: "That was Noel [Berry's] handiwork. We talked about the idea of including the PICO-8 origin??al inside the game, and one day Noel just did it."

But Celeste is about more than just platforming and retro homages. As the main heroine Madeline climbs the titular mountain she deals with a lot of interna??l challenges, and as someone who has suffered from anxiety in the past I wanted to delve into how the team was able to nail down this effective characterization. Thorson noted, "The entire team put a lot of ourselves into this game. I was in charge of the writing and design, and I drew from a lot of personal experience to craft Madeline's arc as she climbs to the summit. It was a challenge to strike the right balance with characterization, I'm glad it resonated for you!"

Following up from that, I asked if Celeste was somewhat of a teaching tool for dealing with emotional turmoil or personal demons, and Thorson had a really great response: "We didn't write Celeste as a teaching tool, but if it is effective at that I think that's very cool. I was writing from a place of personal experience and it really is about Madeline's individual journey. We wanted it to be honest, personal, and frank, but I wouldn't claim that it's universal. I'm reall??y happy that it seems to be helping people, but if someone's experience with anxiety is different they should know that's totally valid too."

Drawing upon the concept of putting the original Celeste into Celeste (ha), I thought of the perfect parting question -- "out of all of the games in your stable, which is the one you'd like to see get the 'Celeste treatment' next?" Thorson was appropriately vague, but gave us a good idea of where he's headed: "Honestly, I'm much more interested in exploring new territory than revisiting old games! There are some ideas in my old work that might be worth revisiting. Celeste shares DNA with Jumper and Untitled Story, for example. So although it's not likely I'll directly revisit?? any of my old work, I think you??'ll always see hints of it in my future work."

The post Celeste and TowerFall? creator talks Switch performance, personal influe??nces, and advice for indies appeared first on Destructoid.

Nostalgia for the win!

Not many people realize this, but Celeste has quite the history behind it. Starting as a small project during a game jam, creator Matt Thorson later expanded the game into the release we now know and love. Obviously there are references strewn about th??e experience to remind us of the original prototype, but you can also play that original version in all of its indie glory from within the new game.

Accessing it is as simple as finding the Easter Egg within the title and walking up to an old PC. From there, you can play out the entire prototype, if you so wish. I love when d??evelopers do things like this; I'm a huge proponent of preserving video game history, so this just makes me smile.

Grant Hanlon [Twitter]

The post You can enjoy the original Celeste?? in the new game appeared first on Destructoid.

Strawberries never tasted so sweet

If you’re even remotely interested in this game, this review is a huge waste? of your time. It’s good. It’s very fucking good. You should just go ahead and buy it.

Celeste is one of those rare games where I knew it was special right off the? b?at. It’s a twitch platformer with a heart of gold, and it’s positively oozing charm out of its every orifice.

Celeste (PC [reviewed], PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
Developer: Matt Makes Games Inc.
Publisher: Matt Makes Games Inc.
Released: January 25, 2018 (PC, PS4, Switch) / January 26, 2018 (Xbox One)
MSRP: $19.99

The story revolves around a young woman, Madeline, who decides to climb a mountain. It’s a tale about overcoming depression and anxiety, but it does so in a fun way where it’s unafraid to laugh at itself. Still, there are some surprisingly heavy thematic elements at play here, and I’d love to dive into details, but I think it’s something best experienced on your own. With Celeste, it’s all about the journey.

The controls are minimalism at its finest. Throughout the entirety of its roughly twelve-to-fifteen-hour playtime, you only have access to three abilities: jump, dash, and climb. Starting out, you can only dash once before you must plant your feet on solid ground again. Much like in Breath of the Wild, your climbing ability comes with a stamina meter, indicated by color changes on the character. Once the meter runs out, you’ll lose your footing ??and fall.

Despite this limited skillset, the game never stops throwing new ideas at the player. Each chapter revolves around a diff??erent environmental mechanic, which keeps gameplay exciting and interesting. Coupled with the ever-increasing difficulty, you’re never allowed to feel truly comfortable for long. The entire climb is one struggle after another.

This is a twitch platformer in the purest sense, and assuming you’re up for the challenge, it ??will test you. However, it also offers options so players of any skill level can get in on the fun. For most, I don’t see this as being necessary, but it’s a wonderful feature for those who need it.

The main storylin?e is difficult, but the B sides to each? level, unlockable by finding hidden collectables throughout the campaign, are where the real challenge lies. These things don’t fuck around. They will break you but also offer a blood-pumping sense of accomplishment upon completion. I live for this kind of stuff.

Celeste also features a plethora of speedrunning options, including leaderboards and optional timers which allow you to push yourself ever towards perfection. On top of that, there are hidden strawberries strewn across each chapter, and the struggle is so real if you want to capture each one. These two elements give the game a ridiculous amoun?t of replay value for those who aim for 100% completion.

Then there’s that beautiful goddamn soundtrack. It’s never anything less than perfect. Lena Raine deserves an award for this. Even when it’s just subtle background, I found it hard not to notice its beauty, but there are times when it goes head-on into all out bangers too. I know she’s do?ne work in the industry before, but this stuff is on a whole other level.

Celeste is the complete package. It builds on the foundations established by other heavyweights in?? the indie scene and sets a new standard for what I’d define as a modern “classic.�There are not eno?ugh words in the English language for me to properly describe just how much I love this game.

Its themes and mechanics effortlessly feed into the narrative in a way that left me downright floored. Everything is just so damn finely tuned to the point that I can’t help but think, “How the hell is anyone going to top this?�/p>

For the first time in ages, I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Celeste was everything I’d hoped for and then some. I’m not saying this is the best video game I’ve ever played. It’s much too early to start declaring things like that. What I am saying is that this is an essential gaming experience. Everything this team set out to do they accomplished. If you have any love for indie games, youâ€??™re about to fall head over heels. These people have created something very close to perfection.

_{[This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Celeste appeared first on Destructoid.