It’s summer. I am in Italy to visit family, it’s quite hot and I cannot go outside because I am in quarantine. So my current activity is split between a little work and just resting and binge watching stuff. That said, quarantine time will be over when this email will reach you and I’ll probably be free taking photos and shooting videos around for a thing.
This month’s binge
Mythic Quest. I know, late to the party, etc. I always been sceptical about tv shows related to the game industry but this one has actually been a funny ride. Even though I cannot say I entirely enjoyed it, and I think it could have done better in showing the true darkness of the industry (I found it a bit forgiving about that tbh), it’s still good entertainment. And, probably in contradiction with what I’ve just wrote, she is my by far 100% favorite character:
I feel like the best episode is the only one completely detached from the starring characters and really speaks about living a life making videogames (S1E5, you’re welcome). CW’s “origin story” in the golden age of sci-fi writing is also remarkable.
Mythic Quest it’s available on Apple TV+. You probably already know, but there you go.
A hidden gem
I also watched (twice in a few days!) The Truffle Hunters, a beautiful documentary set in Italy, where a bunch of young 70-80 something keep going out to find one of the most precious food ever and swear and bond with their dogs and escape concerned wives.
And it got me, there is a lot about aging gracefully and sometimes it makes me a little sad that the industry where I work is so unbelievably ageist. Probably another thing we need to change and which is quite unspoken. Anyway, I think you should watch this movie because it’s not only a tender and moving story, but it shows what passion means and how to live it. And if you are a dog person, well… you will absolutely go crazy for it.
A date and a cat
I have taken a little leap of faith and preordered a Playdate. For the ones of you who don’t know, it is quite a crazy project which comes from a collaboration between Panic (which makes all sorts of design products and publishes games) and Teenage Engineering, the cool kids in industrial design who make mini synths and posh electronic instruments, which are basically Fisher Price for adult hipsters (but I love them).
Playdate is a teeny tiny yellow console with a black and white screen and… a crank. Games are published in seasons and distributed weekly (for now Season 1 is planned and included with the console. Not clear what will happen after that). Anyway they involved the most artsy indies around, they are supporting teams founded by underrepresented people and in general everything about it looks insanely cool. And of course I’m curious about making something for it.
The thing that interests me the most is that, for the console very nature, many games will probably be shorts. And you know how much of an advocate I am about short games that just give me distilled, pure content. Which brings me to the disappointment of the month (even though it’s not even out yet, which is very me).
Stray is one of the titles that rocked the E3 last year, and I mean. You play as a cat in a world where apparently humans are no more and only robots keep doing stuff around. The cat does the cat but it apparently also does deliveries and things for the robots. Focus on the cat does the cat. As an absolute cat person, being a cat is pretty much the coolest thing ever in a videogame if you can nail it.
And if you look at the recently released trailer from Annapurna Interactive, all the first part is so so good. You do everything a cat does and if you are me, you are cheering and singing Everybody wants to be a cat. Then you squeal as the cat scratches a leather couch. And then, everything crumbles. A door opens and the game becomes a 3D shooter/platform where the cat has a laser shooting backpack. It all becomes… so boring. It really seems like a good idea has been held back by the necessity of making it… commercial? Gamey? I mean.
Being a cat is already the coolest thing ever. Befriending robots, especially when they seem to express themselves through emoticons, could totally work. I would have loved to see something based on exploration and discovery, harnessing the inherent curiosity of the cat. But lasers? You don’t need lasers. Unless they are laser pointers for playing.
It almost seems as if there are two games here. One cool and original and different. And the other just more of the same uninspired stuff. Oh, I really really hope I’m wrong on this.
(And maybe all this should have gone on Virgo Rising, but also maybe it will, in an extended way - if you’re interested).
Cats, again (sort of)
Remember Cat Person, The NY Times short story about bad dating that went viral about three years ago? Well, apparently the author Kristen Roupenian has taken quite a lot of inspiration from someone real.
Alexis Nowicki recognised herself in the character of Margot and she found quite specific details in the short story which completely overlap a relationship she had during her senior year in high school and her first college year.
I like the graceful way she told her part of the story, and I feel it makes everything so interesting, seeing how stories we pick up around us can become narratives.
Listening
Yeah, I am biased, but still. Marisa Monte’s new album, Portas, is a gem. I think we just need this warm, sunny, positive sound. Something that reminds us that smiling and enjoying life is still possible, despite all odds.
My favourite song is Calma. Which I pretty much need now.
So that’s it
It’s been quite an intense month for me, with the moving to my new place (oh, yes, it’s awesome) and general adulting things. But I’m lucky as I got the chance to see my family in Italy and despite endless testing and quarantines I’m grateful I’m ok. See you in September. Have fun. Take care. Befriend cats. Calma. ❤️