Ludens
Links
Game History
CRPG Book
The Digital Antiquarian
Art Games Have Always Existed
Writing
Mark R. Johnson's writings
Necessary Games - His game "Loneliness", in conjuction with other things I was studying, burst open the floodgates for me with regards to the possibilities of games-as-art when I was 12!
Ludus Novus
Arcade Idea - Giving old games the critical analysis they deserved.
Jonas Kyratzes - I'm glad I played some of this guy's games as a kid
Three Hundred Mechanics
!Liz Ryerson - Some of my all-time favorite games writing was created by this wonderful woman <3
Project Horseshoe: Reports
NO DON'T DIE - "Don’t Die is an online lighthouse for people who feel lost, voiceless, and powerless working in creative industries and enduring the social internet. The collection of 600+ interviews is preserved by Stanford and aims to tell the story of how we are trying to come to grips with early 21st century life."
Critical Gaming
Weird Fucking Games
Pippin Barr
Museum of Screens
Articles
Raph Koster: A Story About A Tree
Nicky Case: Curse of the Chocolate Covered Broccoli
Nautilus: Let's Play War
Julian Dibbell: A Rape In Cyberspace
Video game economies suck
Evan Todd: Making Games - I realized that game development had served as a coping mechanism for me ever since childhood.
Games, Play, and Joy
Unlosing Writer: ZHP
Youtube
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
Leadhead
Extra Credits: Game Design
Extra Credits: Game Community
GDC: 50 Game Camera Mistakes
"Why do we not have more history edutainment games that aim to replicate the kinds of decisions that the figures it depicts would face? The experiences they would go through? The emotions they feel? Like Oregon Trail?"
Software
Game Creation
Godot (Itch/Steam)
Inform - If I were to start going all in on making an old-school style text adventure, this is what I would use.
Bitsy (Itch) - This tool usually manages to spark my imagination when I touch it.
Twine
Iterary - Making card games when you don't have the physical resources to realize your vision.
Scratch - Made me who I am.
Narrat
Emulators
Higan - I play lots of old stuff for Nintendo and Sega consoles with this. RIP Near.
DOSBox
Flashpoint
WINE yes i know, don't @ me
Memories
2021-03-26: "For some reason, I've always felt that the exploration style of the first King's Quest game possesed a certain purity/charm to it that I seldom feel elsewhere. Something about the empty, completely 'useless' sections of forest and land you would go through, combined with the non-scrolling camera and the small protagonist walking slowly across the screen in whichever direction you had pointed him in... just worked. Although the general trend of game design has been towards increasing immersion by upping the graphics & putting the focus on whoever the player is in the game, I think many indie games lacking the budget for that stuff could benifit from this kind of style, where it feels more like peering into another world, watching a moving painting instead of a movie." (Source)