Electron Dance Highlights
Side by Side: Fling to the Finish
Side by Side is a video series on local multiplayer games. This is the first episode of the fifth series.
Joel Goodwin of Electron Dance and Gregg Burnell of Tap-Repeatedly are bound to have some fun in the alpha (!!!) build of Fling to the Finish, an upcoming, madcap co-op racer from SplitSide Games. You might detect a slight echo of Heave Ho, but it's definitely it's own thing.
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Watch the video here or direct on YouTube.
Side by Side S5: Teaser Trailer
It's September. You know the drill. Winter The new series of Side by Side is coming.
Go the Distance
I am a skillful operator in the field of self-deception. I said I was going to give my mobile gaming a rest. I needed to do other things on my daily commute instead of playing games, like look out of the window. That might sound like a joke to you, but I haven't seen a train window since I acquired a smartphone six years ago.
I uninstalled all the puzzle games I had been working on but there were a few evergreen titles that had to stay. There’s Dissembler (Ian MacLarty, 2018) for example, whose daily challenges can easily suck me in for weeks. But there’s also the roguelike Hoplite (Doug Crowley, 2013).
The last time I was on a Hoplite roll, I stopped playing because, after hours of commuting hours sacrificed to the sweaty swipe, I couldn’t earn the “Speed Run” achievement.
Cards on the table. 2019 has not been kind to me. I needed not merely a distraction, but a small victory.
I decided to take on Hoplite again. And this time... I would win.
Discussion: Into the Green
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But not every day could be spent exploring the City of London, so some days were spent meandering through local parks. However, our new companions had not been trained in the art of walking-fu and needed a concrete goal for any adventure. Fortunately, they had already solved this problem and brought it with them on the plane.
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Discussion: Mythbusting
Welcome to the July newsletter (sign up if you want to read it):
Today, it is usually the open world game that generates urban legends. However, it’s difficult to know whether player reports are made in good faith or made up for clicks and likes, much like those schoolfriends who used to boast about crazy videogame happenings which never actually happened. There’s a page full of GTA: San Andreas myths from Bigfoot to UFOs.
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Discussion: Insert Coin
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Once I had paid tribute to the digital god, the machine would respond with the magical phrase CREDITS 01. The attract mode was likely to continue playing - but the machine was aware of my presence now. It was waiting.
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The Farfield: Dark
The Farfield is an occasional series where I write about something other than gaming.
This is a machine seen in the German sci-fi thriller, Dark. A clockwork mechanism with a beautiful, intricate design that defies understanding.
That, right there, tells you everything you need to know about Dark.
Discussion: Monument
Welcome to the tad late May newsletter (sign up if you want to read it):
I can’t bring myself to say goodbye, even though I know it’s over. I could play again but that wouldn’t be the same experience at all. The install is no longer just the mountain of bytes that comprise code and visuals and sound but personal investment.
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Transmission: Explorer Special
60 minutes. Three games.
Stream this week - Wednesday 29 May, and will begin at 9:30PM UK, 10:30PM Central Europe, 5:30PM EST. My Twitch channel can be found at twitch.tv/electrondance.
I will discuss the following titles:
Previous Transmissions are available on the dedicated E/TX YouTube channel.
Update 01 June. Here's the archived stream:
Remade In Their Image
I thought I had no preconceptions when launching Feather (Samurai Punk, 2019). It was something about being a bird. Possibly an exploration game.
Turned out I was not far off the mark: I was indeed a bird who could fly anywhere I wanted on an island. Oh, I also saw these throbbing hoops, inviting me to fly through them.
Did you catch it? Did you spot my reaction to the hoops? Let me zoom in, Bladerunner style, because it’s quite faint. Enhance: Oh.
I assumed the hoops were a form of collectible. That I must fly through each to complete the island. Oh, of course. Another game selling out its explorer fanbase for the goal hunters. Oh.
This isn’t the punchline because more experience with Feather revealed I was wrong. The hoops were not collectibles at all and Feather was completely not that type of game.
Yet I wondered about that instinctive rejection and what it was a symptom of.
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Recent Comments
"Thanks for the consideration, really digging the series!" – Hole In My Chest
"Ah Cuphead! Co-op scales the HP of enemies and bosses so don't expect it to be any easier! If anything, it's probably harder because if..." – Side by Side: Fling to the Finish
"RbbtPk: My apologies. Urthman also beat me up about spoilerage recently! I've removed the offending image and also included a mention of spoilers for Cosmic..." – Hole In My Chest
"> I am very sensitive to spoilers and cannot stop my conscious brain evaluating all of the possibilities that the tiniest morsel of data could..." – Hole In My Chest
"a ROGUELIKE POST, oh my I haven't played Hoplite but it seems like it might scratch a certain itch for me as a short roguelike...." – Go the Distance
"Thanks very much for a comprehensive answer Gregg! I'll definitely be giving it a spin - extending the reach of what must be hundreds if..." – Side by Side: Fling to the Finish
"@Lorenzo: Thanks for your Persona insights, hm I have to think about this. I'd say the whole high-school-anime thing could be a little too much..." – Go the Distance
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