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Blog Herding – The Best Blogs Of The Community (June 2, 2016)
Not only do we have a lot of great blogs for you to absorb this week, but possibly a fun and creative writing challenge to sink your teeth into. Now enjoy this week's edition of Blog Herding!
Community Blogs For May 26 – June 1:
The Girls of Summer: Intro
Blogger Haley is cranking up her blog count, and she will continue to do so
with this new series on gender analysis. It's inspiring, and some day I'd love
to write a series about minorities – particularly Mexican Americans – in
gaming.
My Top 5 Games of the Year so Far in 2016
Refle isn't afraid to make some judgement calls on 2016's game of the year thus far.
To be perfectly honest, this list confirms one thing that's been obvious this
year: We've seen the release of a bunch of great, possibly console-defining and
series-defining games.
Top 5 Worst Places to be...
StarterPack takes us on a journey through some horrible video game levels and
settings. Bonus points for including Condemned. Any of the levels from this
disgustingly underrated gem could make all five spots on this blog, but the
mall is the worst. One word: mannequins.
Online Co-Op: A Logistical Nightmare
Rebekah Lang laments the lack of ease that comes with scheduling online play.
Her story on shooting skags in their ugly mouths is exhausting (but anything to
end those skags is worth doing). The only way for me to finish an entire
playthrough of Borderlands 2 cooperatively was to do it locally, on a couch,
over months. Playing the first game with friends was nearly impossible since I
was marooned on an island in Alaska. But that's another tale about bears, sea
lions, and skags (oh, my!) for another Blog Herding.
The Video Game Community Needs to Stand Up to
Those Who Threaten or Harass Others
In this blog, Refle tackles the death threats sent to a video game developer.
He's right about one thing: We can't tolerate hate. As a minority growing up in
America, I've faced my fair share of hate – both physical and verbal. It's
terrifying. Don't be afraid to stand up for our community and be a beacon of
light and good.
Why Aren't There More Superhero Games?
Haley delivered a hat-trick of blogs this past week, but I like this one the best. The heroics and action on the pages of comic books – along with the
grandiose stories and great characters – would make for great adventures. Now
give me Rick Remender's Low in video game form.
Community Writing Challenge:
We like to write about games, gaming culture, and how we all want Pokémon as pets (okay, maybe that's just me). But let's do something different this week – write a brief video game script. Not a tome, but something brief. Maybe the opening dialogue to a video game idea you have. Or perhaps one to a dystopian Super Mario game. It can be for any part of your game idea, written any way you'd like. Maybe it's the pivotal scene that should kick off a game series that's been on too long of a hiatus. Have fun with this one. And since this is a different sort of challenge, we'll devote two weeks to this one.
Writing Challenge Response:
Community Writing Challgenge: The Characters I've
Connected The Most With
GerardoExber chooses a colorful mixture of characters for his blog. But once
you read about why the goofy Luigi makes the list, it'll all make sense. Gerardo
actually spent one summer vacuuming ghosts to pay for college and collect a new
mansion. Maybe. You'll have to read the blog to find out!
Community Writing Challenge: Are Casual Games Satisfying?
I missed Haley's writing challenge response last week, but thought it was worth
including this week. Why? Well, our blogger writes about the types of games
that satisfy her, but how she could only play "casual" mobile games. From there
she dissects her time with them and what her ultimate takeaway is. I play quite
a few mobile games, and am currently enjoying one nearly as much as Uncharted's
final hurrah.
Community Playdate:
We'll take a break this week and get back into the swing of things soon.
I hope you enjoy the blogs! Please contact me via my Game Informer page or on Twitter at @LouisGarcia12 with any blog news or playdate suggestions.