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Ghostbusters on the Atari 800Xl – busting costs a fortune
By Neil Merrett
Ghostbusters, released on the Atari 800XL in 1984, published by Activision
There are many more exciting and action-packed games that have sought to create the proton-packed appeal of the Ghostbusters movies and cartoons than the 1984 original. But few of these videogames have effectively recreated the fiscal challenges facing the foremost capitalist heroes of children from the…
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#Activision#Atari 800Xl#bank account#business simulator#David Crane#floppy disk#gaming finance#Ghostbusters
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A £400 leap into the ‘next generation’ of games
By Neil Merrett
The investment required for a new piece of gaming hardware is not inconsiderable. Yet with questions over what exactly we should expect or want from ‘next generation gaming’ what exactly are we investing in? Perhaps we keep trading up our consoles and game machines increasingly not just the hope of embracing or more gorgeous and better games, but arguably as a tool for engaging…
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Death’s Door – All things must pass, even videogame characters
By Neil Merrett
Death’s Door, released on Nintendo Switch in 2021, developed by Acid Nerve
It is not unique in videogames to charge the player with ending the lives of digital characters. But Death’s Door motivates the player to kill not for a sense of morality, vengeance or spiteful fun – but simply to ensure that all things must pass.
“Just remember,Someone is on your side,Our side,Someone…
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Survival Horror in Weybridge – playing Alone in the Dark in the real world
By Neil Merrett
The concept of a human being transposed into an artificial simulated world has been a relatively popular concept in speculative fiction for decades. But a new generation of immersive experiences, such as a recent haunted house commissioned by THQ Nordic for its upcoming Alone in the Dark reboot, is showing the sophisticated ways that players can become the hero/victims of real…
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Raging against the seconds – time as an oppressive force in Risk of Rain Returns
By Neil Merrett
Risk of Rain Returns, released on Nintendo Switch in 2023, developed by Hopoo Games
Risk of Rain Returns offers a wide range of choices of how a player might chose to build up their abilities and skills for the longer they can survive the game. However, it can also be punishing if gamers find themselves taking too much time in getting from one level to the next.
There is…
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We Need to Talk About Starfield -AKA - a design deep dive of No Man’s Mass Skyrim Effect
By JJ Robinson
Starfield, released on Microsoft Windows in 2023, developed by Bethesda Game Studios
Journalist and writer JJ Robinson emerges from his journey through Starfield wishing it did more with some of the brilliant, or at least interesting AAA and indie games that have clearly influenced its development.
(The following article contains spoilers for Starfield)
This is the story of…
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Mario Kart 8: ten years on – the evolution of a 96 course world touring odyssey
By Neil Merrett
Mario Kart 8, first released on the Nintendo Wii-U in 2014, developed by Nintendo
For the many, many people that have indulged in Mario Kart 8 in some form since 2014, Nintendo’s decade-long development of the title has arguably made a very good game much bigger. But for any players choosing – in a single setting – to play through all 96 of the courses that have been gradually…
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Wi-Fi Wars and the case for social screentime
By Neil Merrett
The ongoing technological and cultural development of gaming and online platforms is helping to showcase that the idea of gaming as in inherently anti-social or introverted hobby is far too oversimplistic. The output of developers such as Jackbox Games, and interactive game show entertainment such as Wi-Fi Wars, show howe sometimes focusing on our screens can actually be a…
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#Araknoid#connectivity#Everybody 1-2-Switch!#Jackbox games#ppng#quiz games#Steve McNeil Rob Sedgebeer#Tetris#Wi-Fi Wars
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THE YEAR IN SQUAREBLIND 2023: July – December
By Neil Merrett
In the second half of Squareblind’s look back at some of the games played by the team over 2023, we consider the concept of in-game time and how it should be used/wasted in the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the kingdom. There is also a look at the fusion of theme park attractions and videogames in order to create new approaches to immersive and interactive experiences.
July
The…
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THE YEAR IN SQUAREBLIND 2023: JAN – JUNE
By Neil Merrett
The first part of this year’s retrospective of some of Squareblind.co.uk’s gaming highs and lows includes considering the dos and don’ts of trying to recreate iconic childhood cartoons such as Optimus Prime and Scrooge McDuck as crusading gaming heroes. There is also a look at what it means for gamers to masquerade as a just or vengeful god.
January
2023 had kicked off with…
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Welcome to Leonida – the world reacts to Grand Theft Auto 6 reveal
By Neil Merrett
In unveiling its plans for the future of Grand Theft Auto and the new high definition setting of Leonida – Rockstar Games appears to be less a developer and more a kind of digital architect with its focus on recreating the US’ most lavish and egregious elements for our amusement.
It was a seemingly big deal this month for the late rock icon Tom Petty that his song, ‘Love Is A…
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Programming a funny: embracing the concept of a ‘good’ comedy videogame
By Neil Merrett
Earthworm Jim and Monkey Island or even one-off indy games such as 2009’s Don’t Sh*t Your Pants all take very different approaches to trying to function as effective interactive comedies. What then makes a good comedy game? As is always the case with humour, the answer – whether developers look to embrace absurd concepts or game mechanics, or ludicrous characters and scenarios –…
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#.Cult of the Lamb#comedy games#Earthworm Jim#Frog Fractions#Goat Simulator 2#The Secret of Monkey Island
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Cool kids at the back - In praise of the engineer on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
By Neil Merrett
In trying to build ever more immersive theme park rides. Some of the world’s leading entertainment giants are leaning into the interactivity of videogames to put you into their intellectual property. While many thrill seekers at Disney’s Hollywood Studios park may be queuing for spectacular space battles and daring smuggling missions, there is something much more endearingly…
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#blue wine#Hollywood Studios#immersion#interactive attractions#Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run#Star Wars franchise
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One more round: ‘Dimension Shellshock’ DLC adds some strategic depth to the old school brawler
By Neil Merrett
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge – Dimension Shellshock (DLC), released on Nintendo Switch in 2023, developed by published by Dotemu
For those that enjoy the prospect of forming their own colourful ninja squad, the recent addition of a survival mode to Dotemu’s cartoonish and joyful 2022 brawler game creates a much more intense and strategic multiplayer…
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#brawler games#Dimension Shellshock (DLC)#Dotemu#Online Multiplayer#strategy#survival mode#Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder&039;s Revenge
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Embracing chaos – the precious, fleeting value of tranquillity in Vampire Survivors
Vampire Survivors, released on Nintendo Switch in 2023, developed by Poncle
By Neil Merrett
While Vampire Survivors is a game that can quickly descend into overwhelming on-screen chaos, it’s ability to provide the player that chance to utterly dominate the chaos with overpowered glee can quickly become almost therapeutic
In terms of software innovations, Vampire Survivors almost gleefully…
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The transgressive appeal of Trombone Champ: embracing being a laughably bad digital musician
By Neil Merrett
Trombone Champ, released on Nintendo Switch in 2023, developed by Holy Wow Studios
If the developers of the comedically difficult rhythm game Trombone Champ are to be believed, the trumpet is nothing but a ‘coward’s trombone’. Instead, the player is asked to fearlessly toot along to some of the most iconic classical music of all time and bring it down to their level, sometimes…
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Double Dragon Gaiden: embracing - the sometimes painful - decades of evolution in the brawling genre
By Neil Merrett
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons, released on Nintendo Switch in 2023, developed by Secret Base Games
Following up on the successful modern updates of the Streets of Rage and Ninja Turtles brawler games over the last three years, the Double Dragon series is looking to show the genre is a great vehicle for more modern gaming mechanics. Is there a danger of having too…
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