By Isaac Smith When I picked up The Binding of Isaac, the first expansion, The Wrath of the Lamb, had just come out. I was vaguely aware of the game’s completionist achievement, “Real Platinum God”, but had no idea what it entailed or how to get it. I was a noob, and I died […]
Author Archives: Isaac Smith
The New Combat Paradigm, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dodgeroll
by Isaac Smith As an early Christmas present, I got my dad Witcher 3 (GOTY edition, what kind of son do you think I am?). He loved the heck out of Skyrim but isn’t a “gamer”, per se. In spite of that, he dug it immensely and, now that he’s my Steam friend, I get to see […]
“Getting Over It” could really be about learning to live with a disability
by Isaac Smith (Disclaimer: I have never suffered from a disability and only know what I have seen, read, and been told by people who do. Please don’t deride me for discussing Getting Over It in this context, though please do educate me if I put forth any misconceptions about it.) Bennett Foddy does not […]
Hall of Fame Review – VA-11 Hall-A
VA-11 Hall-A Release Date: June 21st, 2016 Developer: Sukbegan Games Publisher: Ysbryd Games Rating: M for Mature Genre: Social Simulator, Visual Novel Platforms: PC, OSX, Linux I always know I’m writing about a good game when I have trouble starting. Trying to process the experience of a really well-crafted game can be daunting, even when it’s not as weird […]
Sac Gamers Expo: The Inside Scoop
by Isaac Smith I love being part of the gaming community. It’s so vibrant and alive, full of people who really enjoy doing what they do, whether it’s streaming, speedrunning, developing, making fanart, blogging, or simply just sitting down and slogging through a new title. The earnest social awkwardness and camaraderie is infectious. Our developments […]
The Summer of the Platformer
by Isaac Smith This summer, I was fortunate enough to spend a few hours here and there exploring some games I hadn’t played before. Not as many as I’d like, of course! By and large, I was playing platformers. The lofty platformer is one of my favorite genres, behind sandbox games and RPGs. There have been plenty […]
Unspoken Agreement: How Games Explain Their World
Anybody who’s followed me knows my love of Super Metroid’s game design. It teaches the player to play the game without a single word, tutoring and encouraging through level design and cleverly placed objectives. It makes plain the fact that it has secrets, but forces creativity in how to obtain them. When I blind play a […]
What We’re Playing This Week: June Bugs Edition!
Ben Fitzgerald – Quest for Glory III: Wages of War, Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness, Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire (PC) I’m still in the midst of a classic retro binge of the Quest for Glory series, only now I’ve made my way past the first two games (at the time […]
Grand Opening of a Grand Endeavor: Square One Clubs
by Isaac Smith As a lifelong Sacramento resident, I’ve had this strange mix of pride and frustration when I look at the city’s creative people and the work they do. I’m proud because I see world-class artists in every medium from music to literature, visual art, dance, film, and (of course) game development. I’m frustrated […]
Why I’ll never whistle Minecraft’s music on the way to work
Well, the real reason I won’t be whistling on my way to work is because I’m unemployed! #justmilennialthings I’m kidding, of course. Gainful employment is the statistically number one killer of blog post productivity, and that explains a lot about LTG! Many of our writers have gotten pretty steady gigs, and have to figure out the […]