Level 53: Epic Games Plays the Long Game
This week, Smash.gg's fraught place in the Smash community an Epic Games primer of epic proportions and Fanime in Discord
✏️ The Pause Button Exclusives
Growth vs Grassroots: The Struggle for Expansion & Identity in the Smash Bros Community: In this week’s Pause Button exclusive, Alexander Lee joins us to outline the ongoing identity crisis taking place in the Super Smash Bros. community. A historically grassroots group, the world of competitive Smash is still adjusting to the introduction of the “corporate” side of esports. A major point of contention: a global tournament circuit dubbed “The Smash World Tour” and Smash.gg’s deep integration into the competition. Link
How to Put More “Character” In Your NPCs By Geoffery Golden Link
Can Riot’s Wild Rift Become the Next Honor of Kings By Jeff “SuiJeneris” Chau Link
P.S. We’re always looking for journalists and contributors to write for The Pause Button. Let us know if you’re interested!
📜 This Week’s Notable News
The Primer on Epic Games: It’s no secret that we’re big fans of media industry veteran Matthew Ball. When it comes to understanding the future of gaming, whether it’s the metaverse, or esports, Ball consistently produces thoughtful, easy to understand content.
He recently released a critical analysis and breakdown of games publisher/developer Epic Games. In this six part series, Ball and co-author Jacob Novak detail every aspect of Epic: their game engine, game store, game studios, online services, publishing division, and (of course) Fortnite.
“This six-part series is designed to be an “Explain Like I’m (Twenty) Five” edition of Epic Games. Or if you want a throwback to the 1990s, when then-Potomac Computer Systems was founded, “Epic Games For Dummies”. Technical terms and other details have been eschewed and simplified accordingly.”
If you only have time to read one section, read the last one, covering Ball’s perspective on Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and his ambitions for the future of gaming and technology. Rather than charge exorbitant fees by controlling the ecosystem from end to end, Sweeney is actively using all of Epic’s resources to grow the industry. It’s the ultimate long-term play: make the entire pie bigger rather than take a larger piece. Link
💡 Industry Content
Discoverability in the Sea of Nintendo: Discoverability is one of the most difficult problems for any gaming platform. Marketplaces like Steam are prime examples of how having too much content and not enough platform management can lead to a bloated system. In this piece, fellow newsletter author Simon Carless discusses the discoverability problem that's begun to plague the Nintendo Switch, and how developers are tackling it. Link
Sponsorship Banners in League of Legends: This week Riot Games announced “Arena Banners” for League of Legends; essentially these are in-game sponsored ad spaces, visible only to spectators. In game ads stand to be a multi-billion dollar industry, but historically haven’t found success with the top developers. Keep an eye on this space moving forward — when one of gaming’s largest publishers, Riot, takes a step, it’s not long before others tend to follow. Link
🎮 Fun & Games
Remasters and the Death of Innovation: Let’s face it, remakes of hit games are “in” right now. Taking a successful classic with devoted fans and reproducing it for the modern era is a sure-fire way to make money. But when everything is a do-over, what place is there for something new? In this piece, Jordan Oloman outlines his theory on the future of new games in a world of remakes. Maybe taking risks on new games isn’t such a bad thing? Link
The CEO’s Kid Played It: Across the industry, we frequently hear stories about last-minute deadlines and resource-constrained creators. But as far as rush-jobs go, the story of side missions in Assassin's Creed might be one of the craziest. Charles Randall, one of the game’s developers, recounts how he and four other devs built the entire side mission mechanic for the original AC in five days — all because the CEO’s kid allegedly said the game was boring. Game Development is wild. Link
😎 Other Cool Reads
The Sims & Quarantine Escapism: Do you remember your last “normal” day before the pandemic? Were you outside at a park, or hanging with friends? In her recent piece for Vice, journalist Gita Jackson discusses how she’s handled moving to a new job, making new connections, and finding her way in the city since shelter in place began. Her main outlet? The Sims. She has an ongoing game featuring a character to represent each of her co-workers. It’s a hint of Black Mirror meets modern gaming. Link
Prince of Persia: This a podcast with the infamous video game developer, Jordan Mechner, who built Prince of Persia from his dorm room. Link
😍 Our Current Favorites
Max (@maxlowenthal)
Tons of gaming conventions are being cancelled in the wake of COVID-19. In reality, there isn’t really a good alternative that encapsulates what it's like to go to one of these events IRL. That being said, passionate communities don’t let anything get in the way of celebrating their favorites. Case in point — Fanime is attempting to run their entire convention via Discord servers. Link
Fawzi (@fawzitani)
I’ve enjoyed keeping tabs on Launcher.gg’s running list of Indie Games to play in May. If you’re looking for unique, relatively cheaper alternatives to your classic AAA title, this is the best place to start. Link
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