Zoe

I have defied all expectations and continued to do a thing

Episode 2 of Demo Disk:

So I never really post here (doesn't jive with how my brain be, is all) but this is where all the video game-y people I follow are so I figure it's the place for it

Years back, when I was actually trying to build a Twitch following, I would do a thing each Saturday of playing demos, prototypes, jam games, weird stuff off itch.io, whatever. The idea being to experience video games before they're Video Games.

I enjoyed doing it! Played some pretty cool stuff! Small Saga, Coffee Talk, Dicey Dungeons, Patrick's Parabox, Lucah Born of a Dream...

And then I stopped doing Demo Disk and lost track of upcoming games and I feel like these are related

So I've shamelessly riffed on Iron Pineapple's Steam Dumpster Diving (the format's so similar to the Demo Disk podcast I did anyway) (I did a podcast of Demo Disk! It was audio-only! That was a very silly idea) and made a video playing stuff from Steam Next Fest that's way down the popularity list

I pulled like 100 demos during Next Fest so even with a bunch going down over time I can keep making these for a bit if people care

Maybe I'll do it long enough to get decent at production again, I haven't produced a video properly in like 6 years, hot damn, that audio's grimy

Over on Mastodon, where I'm doing my short-form muttering into the void, I've plopped myself into a writing-centric community. And so, in between the daily life vignettes and shameless self-promotion, there's some writing-focused icebreaker hashtags. One of which is "seven books to know me", which has naturally paired with "seven films" as well. Haven't really seen one for video games, though. Maybe I'm in the wrong scene for it, but oh well.

But then, I also saw a YouTube video from someone trying to work through their backlog--which, godspeed fella--and during one of the many tangents (it's a YouTube video about video games, so of course) he brings up this ancient meme: a horse, on a beach, staring at the ocean, going "man". Classic. And it reflects a specific mood. Not just "oh, that was enjoyable, I'm glad I experienced it" but "that has hit me in a very particular way". Which is more what I hope to do with my writing (totally reasonable and modest aspiration, I know). So I sat down and tried to think... what are the seven games that would make me a horse standing on a beach? Not my favorite games, ones that hit that particular feeling. And here's what I've got, in no particular order:

No Man's Sky

The game has a lot that I'm admittedly a bit shrug about. But the way that 65daysofstatic's music swells on the first visit to a space station... okay, ya got me. Close runner-up moment when I finally made it to Hilbert, it actually felt like an accomplishment.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

I knew going in that the game would have a certain soft tenderness about it, but they did a great job of using that to just be unapologetically earnest about so many things, and that's a strength. Earnestness is too rare.

Kentucky Route Zero

I didn't care for Kentucky Route Zero. Not that it was bad, it was just... fine. But the desolation and sense of community at the end did something to me. Was my strongest "shrug to tearing up" whiplash ever.

FEZ

A rare game that actually hit me with its mechanics rather than its narrative. They used 2D -> 3D well, and at the time I played it (back in college), its depth of secrets was honestly impressive.

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker

The other FFXIV expansions, not so much honestly. Nice romps, good lore, but Endwalker naturally had to deal so much with endings of things small and (very) large. Of course it's melodramatic, it's Final Fantasy, but it swept me up for sure.

Night in the Woods

I grew up in a Possum Springs. I knew guys like Gregg and Germ. I was far too meek and self-isolating to have the kinds of experiences Mae does, but regardless, I have never felt so seen.

Lucah: Born of a Dream

I don't think I actually finished Lucah (I struggled towards the end of every souls-like game I've played) but its unapologetic style and personality sucked me in so hard for the entire ride up to that, it made me want more things that feel like that.

Maybe, with a bit further thought, I could put together a better list. And they're definitely not my favorite or most formative. But hey, they do be Very Video Game, and I'm here for that.