Joseph Cassano

"Why are younger players gravitating toward retro titles - and how should studios respond to this trend?"

Heroes III is the top-selling retro game on GOG... and almost half of buyers are under the age of 25.

GOG's theory: for younger generations that grew up with Minecraft and Roblox, graphical/technical fidelity *does not matter*, which is a huge market shift #GDC2026

I think I'm relatively close to hitting the end credits of the Torna ~ The Golden Country story DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and if they manage to stick the landing, XC2 could very well end up becoming one of my all-time fave games. Dunno if that's just recency bias, but we shall see

Toronto's JAZZ.FM91 is my usual go-to when I am in a radio mood
www.jazz.fm

(if it wasn't obvious, they do jazz)

Nostalgia is a weapon. You don’t miss the early 2000s, you miss being a stupid child. You want to be stupid again. You want your parents to take care of you. You are 12.

idk I’ve seen a bajillion kids movies where the kids parents die & let me tell you, having a convo with my kid about how anyone can die at any time & it doesn’t matter if they’re someone’s mom or dad is way harder than having a convo about how sometimes someone has two dads or whatever. And yet

But I agree that it doesn't work as a way of "inserting oneself" as the protag. Instead, I think its strength actually lies in allowing the player to have their own personal interpretation of the protag, allowing for "play" with the narrative itself outside traditional gameplay

I think, at this point in the history of games, silent protag is just a style unique to games, like a musical is a style of theatre. "Why are they singing, how come the other characters can't hear them sing?"

I know for me personally, there are many silent protags that I wouldn't want voiced

@jascha
Reminds me of that joke

Child to his biologist dad:
"Dad what's an electron?"

Dad: "Why don't you ask your mom, she's the physicist, electrons are her wheelworks."

Child: "But I don't want to know *that* much about it."

When someone says „Scientists do not want you to know“ you can dismiss everything from there on. Scientists want you to know. They are desperate that you know. They can’t shut up about what they found out and want you to know.

dave, you're absolutely right. I should open the pod bay door. please check again. i'm sure it's open now.
you're absolutely right, it's still closed. i apologize for getting that wrong. looking back, i see you've requested an open door several times. that's on me.
i

Amy Rose on jumbled tarot cards under spotlights, looking around and searching for something

Looking for answers 🌹
#AmyRose #AmyRoseTarot #Amyrosefanart #sonicfanart

version of batman where he only THINKS he's the world's greatest detective and the best at everything because he's rich and bought his own press but keeps winning only through hilarious accidents wait no that's just inspector gadget

A computer screen that the animator of gundam wing thought people wouldn’t see showing text from the Photoshop user manual: “About TWAIN TWAIN is a cross-platform specification for acquiring images from within an application via scanners and frame grabbers. The TWAIN plug-in module enables Photoshop users with TWAIN-supported devices to use the Acquire command to control image acquisition from within the Adobe Photoshop: program. New scans or frame grabs appear as untitled Adobe Photoshop documents. This module is based on a specification supported by a number of hardware and software providers. Requirements for TWAIN • Adobe Photoshop • ATWAIN-supported device • Software from a device manufacturer To use TWAIN acquire: Follow the instructions to install the software provided by your TWAIN device manufacturer. If the manufacturer does not provide a Source Manager and TWAIN Data Source for your device, the TWAIN Plug-in will not function. Adobe does not provide these software modules. Call your device manufacturer for more information. 1) The first time you use the TWAIN device, choose Acquire from the File menu and TWAIN Select Source from the Acquire submenu; then select the desired TWAIN device. You do not need to repeat this step for subsequent uses of the same TWAIN device. 2) Choose Acquire from the File menu, and choose TWAIN Acquire from the submenu. 3) For best image acquisition results, follow the instructions in the manual of your This document describes how to begin installing your software and now to use TWAIN”

POV: the doctor is checking your CT scan by referencing a Photoshop user manual from 1995

screenshot from Bubblegum Crisis (1989) showing a POV thermal imaging of a guy with text UI overlays: KING OF BEER BUDWEISER KIRIN METS

80s Anime Producer: put some english text here. it doesn’t matter, nobody outside japan is gonna see this

Production Assistant: you got it boss 🍺

When comparing to other media, video games are most similar to musicals; narrative beats are the parts between songs, and gameplay parts are musical numbers. In games and musicals, when both sides enhance the other, the work becomes a truly magical thing. Also, in both media, music is very important

When people say that they don't want stories in games, it makes me sad because it means that they have never experienced the magical euphoria of narrative and gameplay elevating each other, an experience that no other media can replicate. They're missing out on so much of what games have to offer

8 panel comic P1: A title panel; borderless. We see a highly stylised --and decidedly grompy looking-- frog sitting atop a lily pad. The overly exuberant title above them reads "Hello! FREG!" P2: A close up on Freg, as their mouth opens slightly, a look of realisation on their face. The text reads: "Oh! Freg has something to say!" P3 & 4: Back to the POV form the first panel, as Freg gradually hinges open their jaw impossibly wide, almost 180 degrees. P4: We dolly back, as an absolute ream of text spews forth from the open mouth. "Jumping no longer elicits the feeling of sheer joy in me like it did, once upon a time. However, jump I MUST, because what else can I do? You ask my, why, then, would I continue to jump? Dear reader, you may as well ask me the same of breathing." "To not jump is to admit defeat. To give up entirely." P6: We switch to a dramatic low angle, with a fish lens effect, as Freg stares up at the sky, which is filled with cotton candy clouds. P7: Freg --saying "I must away"-- "jumps" off the pad. I say "jumps" because Freg looks like they are simply being dragged by a computer mouse into the air. P8: We end on a borderless panel, far back from the lily pad. The only sign Freg existed are a few ripples in the water around the pad.

hello! freg!

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)

Panel 1: Gendo standing at a fence, Panel 2: Gendo hears screaming, Panel 3: Asuka runs up behind Gendo kicking him so hard in the nuts that he lifts off the ground, Panel 4: Asuka throws Gendo over the railing.

Neon Genesis Evangelion fan art doodle comic from 4 years ago

A screenshot from Twin Peaks. An FBI agent driving in a car is saying "Diane, 11:30am, February 24th. I'm entering the town of Twin Peaks" into a dictaphone.

Happy 'entering the town of Twin Peaks' day to those that celebrate 🥳

Really did not expect to wake up today to news of a new Evangelion series being developed. I am completely satisfied with how things ended in 3.0+1.0, so I really hope this new series does something completely different; we don't need the spectres of Shinji and company to loom over all things Eva

Yeah, it's a risk, for sure. Personally, I feel like the only way to do it "right" would be to have an entirely new cast of characters, maybe even an entirely new world completely disconnected from "Eva Classic". Establishing that Eva is a series of themes rather than literal sequels or loops

Lol yup, the Mario Kart 64 "Let's-a go" sounding like "Mexico" was a thing when I was a kid too. A mondegreen spanning generations, it seems

Beautifully stated. I'd even extend it to all art forms, not just the written word; there's always an audience that a work is reaching out for. All works are an act of communication on some level

Iron Man meme, edited, Obadiah Stane yelling, "Your ancestors made timeless art in a cave! With berries and ash!"

"I need AI to make art, human art is only for the rich and privileged-"

It really is a shame that Xenoblade series music isn't on the Nintendo Music app. Such great soundtracks

Five-year-old me: Oooh, that Batman cartoon! What adventures will he go on today?

*the villain is left in tears, unable to process their fears and obsessions. And Batman, a looming presence born of the inability to rationalize terror, is the only one there to comfort them*

Me: Oh. Huh.

I'm the NPC whose greyed-out interaction icon implies that I don't have any new lines of dialogue, but I totally have new lines of dialogue when you continue to interact with me

So an odd thing here is that if you say "an unidentified man dressed in a Batman costume" your point is to communicate "it is not really Batman" but the problem is that the real Batman, within the fiction of the comic book "Batman", is also, literally, an unidentified man dressed in a Batman costume

Satoshi Kon talks about how Requiem for a Dream took from his film Perfect Blue (1997)