Tag: video games

noiselandco:

noiselandco:

Twenty-five games, thirty years, over eighty ports–whatever the number, there’ve been a heck of a lot of Simpsons games. The story of the big sitcom that tried to make it in video games is a long and sordid tale, now collected here for your reading pleasure. With detailed critiques from a longtime writer and collector, as well as collected insights from the creators, this promises to be the most complete look at every Simpsons video game ever made.

Read all about them in the first novel-length look at the entire series – http://www.noiseland.co.

ICYMI, I wrote a whole bunch about every Simpsons game ever, and now it’s all on Medium! Check it out if you prefer their newspaper aesthetic over my neon green stylings.

Bart vs. My Hopes & Dreams: A Retrospective

https://noiselandco.medium.com

New Fiction 2020 – October

“The Adventure of the German Student” by Washington Irving (1824)

He was, in a manner, a literary goul, feeding in the charnel house of decayed literature.

“The Apparition of Mrs. Veal“ by Daniel Defoe (1706)

If the eyes of our faith were as open as the eyes of our body, we should see numbers of angels about us for our guard.

“Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament” by Clive Barker (1984)

If one has given oneself utterly, watching the beloved sleep can be a vile experience.

“The Soul of the Great Bell” by Lafcadio Hearn (1887)

All the workmen wrought their tasks in silence; there was no sound heard but the muttering of the fires.

“In the Water Works (Birmingham, Alabama 1888)” by Caitlin R. Kiernan (2000)

Fresh wound, these walls, this abscess hollowed into the world’s thin skin.

“The Damned Thing” by Ambrose Bierce (1898)

All seemed to be waiting for something to occur; the dead man only was without expectation.

“A Visit” (prev. “The Lovely House”) by Shirley Jackson (1952)

A tile is missing from the face of Margaret, who died for love.

“Night Surf” by Stephen King (1969)

He said his name was Alvin Sackheim. He kept calling for his grandmother.

“The Lonesome Place” by August Derleth (1948)

What do they know about a place and time when a boy is very small and very alone, and the night is as big as the town, and the darkness is the whole world?

"The Phantom Coach” by Amelia B. Edwards (1864)

Against what superstition have they waged so long and obstinate a war, as against the belief in apparitions?

“Afterward” by Edith Wharton (1910)

The sunny English noon had swallowed him as completely as if he had gone out into Cimmerian night.

“The Demon Lover” by Elizabeth Bowen (1945)

You have no time to run from a face you do not expect.

“The Tower” by Marghanita Laski (1955)

There was nothing left in her brain but the steadily mounting tally of the steps.

“Don’t Look Now” by Daphne du Maurier (1971)

How to replace the life of a loved lost child with a dream?

“███████” by Joyce Carol Oates (1998)

Each of us had one, in our bowls. Warm and pulsing with life and fear radiating from it like raw nerves.

“Vampire Princess” by Ryuki Mao (2004)

The human will want to take you into the light, saying it’s for your own good.

“Cruel Sistah” by Nisi Shawl (2005)

One singing note, which he raised and lowered slowly. High and yearning. Soft and questioning. With its voice.

“The You Train” by N.K. Jemisin (2007)

All the defunct lines, the dead lines. I think they never really go away.

“Hello, Moto” by Nnedi Okorafor (2011)

It always felt so good to take from people, not just their money but their very essence.

“Pearls” by Priya Sharma (2012)

All because you couldn’t have me.

“Monstro” by Junot Díaz (2012)

Motherfuckers used to say culo would be the end of us. Well, for me it really was.

“Bugs” by Ageha (2013)

Hey, pinky promise you’ll play with me.

“The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis” by Karen Russell (2013)

Yolk came oozing out of the mystery, covering all our hands, so that we became involved.

“Out of Skin” by Emily Carroll (2013)

A heap of wet skin and decaying cloth, crowded inside a dark pit I’d never seen before.

“How to Get Back to the Forest” by Sofia Samatar (2014)

The smell in the bathroom was terrible now–an animal smell, hot; it thrashed around and it had fur.

“Sixteen Minutes” by Premee Mohamed (2016)

I felt its breath in the night sometimes, like the warm, moist breath of my son when he’d crawl into bed with us.

“Wish You Were Here” by Nadia Bulkin (2016)

Hopefully, by the time the world ends, you’ll be gone.

“A Diet of Worms” by Valerie Valdes (2016)

Hell, maybe you’ll even stay and watch the movie.

“None of This Ever Happened” by Gabriela Santiago (2016)

Someone has to write Uhura looking out the window and dreaming of home.

“The Taming of the Tongue” by Russell Nichols (2016)

You don’t know what this boy wants you to see way out here, but ain’t nothing worth getting eaten alive for.

“Wet Pain” by Terence Taylor (2007)

It doesn’t matter whether you believe in ghosts if they believe in you.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season dev. Telltale Games, Skybound Games (2018-2019)

Maybe we’ll learn to fly together, someday.

“Black Box” dir. Monica Garrison (2010)

I felt so special that they had invited just me for a visit that day.

Splice dir. Vincenzo Natali (2009)

You never wanted a normal child because you were afraid of losing control.

In the Tall Grass dir. Vincenzo Natali (2019)

The field doesn’t move dead things. It makes them easier to find.

Fright Night dir. Tom Holland (1985)

The master will kill you for this! But not fast. Slowly! Oh, so slowly!

Near Dark dir. Kathryn Bigelow (1987)

Howdy. I’m gonna separate your head from your shoulders. Hope you don’t mind none.

Don’t Look Now dir. Nicolas Roeg (1973)

This one who’s blind. She’s the one that can see.

The Ritual dir. David Bruckner (2017)

It’s the bit they don’t show you in the nature documentaries.

Thirst dir. Park Chan-wook (2009)

He loved helping the hungry. He’d offer me his blood if he wasn’t in a coma.

Hush dir. Mike Flanagan (2016)

Too many endings. They are all the same.

A Tale of Two Sisters dir. Kim Jee-woon (2003)

As much as you hate it, I’m the only one in this world you can call mother.

The Invitation dir. Karyn Kusama (2015)

I am different. I’m free. All that useless pain, it’s gone.

Bird Box dir. Susanne Bier (2018)

If you look, you will die.

Jennifer’s Body dir. Karyn Kusama (2009)

How could I ever be insecure? I was the Snowflake Queen.

Bee and PuppyCat – Season 1 (2014-2016)

My payment was supposed to be the sweet release of death, and a permanent home for the soul.

The Twilight Zone – Seasons 4-5 (1963-1964)

The others thought about joining the army, or flying to Mars. They finally grew up and they forgot their dreams; I didn’t.

The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)

To truly love another person is to accept the work of loving them is worth the pain of losing them.

New Fiction 2020 – October

“The Adventure of the German Student” by Washington Irving (1824)

He was, in a manner, a literary goul, feeding in the charnel house of decayed literature.

“The Apparition of Mrs. Veal“ by Daniel Defoe (1706)

If the eyes of our faith were as open as the eyes of our body, we should see numbers of angels about us for our guard.

“Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament” by Clive Barker (1984)

If one has given oneself utterly, watching the beloved sleep can be a vile experience.

“The Soul of the Great Bell” by Lafcadio Hearn (1887)

All the workmen wrought their tasks in silence; there was no sound heard but the muttering of the fires.

“In the Water Works (Birmingham, Alabama 1888)” by Caitlin R. Kiernan (2000)

Fresh wound, these walls, this abscess hollowed into the world’s thin skin.

“The Damned Thing” by Ambrose Bierce (1898)

All seemed to be waiting for something to occur; the dead man only was without expectation.

“A Visit” (prev. “The Lovely House”) by Shirley Jackson (1952)

A tile is missing from the face of Margaret, who died for love.

“Night Surf” by Stephen King (1969)

He said his name was Alvin Sackheim. He kept calling for his grandmother.

“The Lonesome Place” by August Derleth (1948)

What do they know about a place and time when a boy is very small and very alone, and the night is as big as the town, and the darkness is the whole world?

"The Phantom Coach” by Amelia B. Edwards (1864)

Against what superstition have they waged so long and obstinate a war, as against the belief in apparitions?

“Afterward” by Edith Wharton (1910)

The sunny English noon had swallowed him as completely as if he had gone out into Cimmerian night.

“The Demon Lover” by Elizabeth Bowen (1945)

You have no time to run from a face you do not expect.

“The Tower” by Marghanita Laski (1955)

There was nothing left in her brain but the steadily mounting tally of the steps.

“Don’t Look Now” by Daphne du Maurier (1971)

How to replace the life of a loved lost child with a dream?

“███████” by Joyce Carol Oates (1998)

Each of us had one, in our bowls. Warm and pulsing with life and fear radiating from it like raw nerves.

“Vampire Princess” by Ryuki Mao (2004)

The human will want to take you into the light, saying it’s for your own good.

“Cruel Sistah” by Nisi Shawl (2005)

One singing note, which he raised and lowered slowly. High and yearning. Soft and questioning. With its voice.

“The You Train” by N.K. Jemisin (2007)

All the defunct lines, the dead lines. I think they never really go away.

“Hello, Moto” by Nnedi Okorafor (2011)

It always felt so good to take from people, not just their money but their very essence.

“Pearls” by Priya Sharma (2012)

All because you couldn’t have me.

“Monstro” by Junot Díaz (2012)

Motherfuckers used to say culo would be the end of us. Well, for me it really was.

“Bugs” by Ageha (2013)

Hey, pinky promise you’ll play with me.

“The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis” by Karen Russell (2013)

Yolk came oozing out of the mystery, covering all our hands, so that we became involved.

“Out of Skin” by Emily Carroll (2013)

A heap of wet skin and decaying cloth, crowded inside a dark pit I’d never seen before.

“How to Get Back to the Forest” by Sofia Samatar (2014)

The smell in the bathroom was terrible now–an animal smell, hot; it thrashed around and it had fur.

“Sixteen Minutes” by Premee Mohamed (2016)

I felt its breath in the night sometimes, like the warm, moist breath of my son when he’d crawl into bed with us.

“Wish You Were Here” by Nadia Bulkin (2016)

Hopefully, by the time the world ends, you’ll be gone.

“A Diet of Worms” by Valerie Valdes (2016)

Hell, maybe you’ll even stay and watch the movie.

“None of This Ever Happened” by Gabriela Santiago (2016)

Someone has to write Uhura looking out the window and dreaming of home.

“The Taming of the Tongue” by Russell Nichols (2016)

You don’t know what this boy wants you to see way out here, but ain’t nothing worth getting eaten alive for.

“Wet Pain” by Terence Taylor (2007)

It doesn’t matter whether you believe in ghosts if they believe in you.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season dev. Telltale Games, Skybound Games (2018-2019)

Maybe we’ll learn to fly together, someday.

“Black Box” dir. Monica Garrison (2010)

I felt so special that they had invited just me for a visit that day.

Splice dir. Vincenzo Natali (2009)

You never wanted a normal child because you were afraid of losing control.

In the Tall Grass dir. Vincenzo Natali (2019)

The field doesn’t move dead things. It makes them easier to find.

Fright Night dir. Tom Holland (1985)

The master will kill you for this! But not fast. Slowly! Oh, so slowly!

Near Dark dir. Kathryn Bigelow (1987)

Howdy. I’m gonna separate your head from your shoulders. Hope you don’t mind none.

Don’t Look Now dir. Nicolas Roeg (1973)

This one who’s blind. She’s the one that can see.

The Ritual dir. David Bruckner (2017)

It’s the bit they don’t show you in the nature documentaries.

Thirst dir. Park Chan-wook (2009)

He loved helping the hungry. He’d offer me his blood if he wasn’t in a coma.

Hush dir. Mike Flanagan (2016)

Too many endings. They are all the same.

A Tale of Two Sisters dir. Kim Jee-woon (2003)

As much as you hate it, I’m the only one in this world you can call mother.

The Invitation dir. Karyn Kusama (2015)

I am different. I’m free. All that useless pain, it’s gone.

Bird Box dir. Susanne Bier (2018)

If you look, you will die.

Jennifer’s Body dir. Karyn Kusama (2009)

How could I ever be insecure? I was the Snowflake Queen.

Bee and PuppyCat – Season 1 (2014-2016)

My payment was supposed to be the sweet release of death, and a permanent home for the soul.

The Twilight Zone – Seasons 4-5 (1963-1964)

The others thought about joining the army, or flying to Mars. They finally grew up and they forgot their dreams; I didn’t.

The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)

To truly love another person is to accept the work of loving them is worth the pain of losing them.

segacity:

Let’s go, Gogo!
‘Tiny Toons: Buster’s Hidden Treasure’
Mega Drive
@Konami

There’ve been a few instances from my youth when I would’ve liked to play a particular game but didn’t have the console to play it. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was a big deal but I didn’t have a Nintendo 64 until a few years after its release. Instead, I found a similar experience through Mega Man Legends on PlayStation. It was the same sort of action-RPG as the Zelda games, albeit with less sword fighting and more laser blasts. Legends remains one of my favorite games while Ocarina of Time is only notable for me as the progenitor of Majora’s Mask, a far more interesting take on the Zelda formula.

In any case, this GIF from Tiny Toons: Buster’s Hidden Treasure reminds me of how this game filled the same niche for Sega Genesis players as Super Mario World did for the SNES. Like many games released after Super Mario World, Buster’s Hidden Treasure provided some options through the usage of an overworld map that allowed players freedom in how they proceeded through each of the game’s many platformer levels. There were also the same sorts of secret routes, boss encounters, and lively animation and art. In short, this game provided an experience that wasn’t quite as lofty as Super Mario World but still important for the platform and its players. Other games on Sega Genesis attempted and stumbled in their efforts to replicate the success of Super Mario World’s sprawling exploration and gameplay (I’m looking at you, James Pond 3), but I can’t think of many games that achieved what Konami did with Buster’s Hidden Treasure.

segacity:

Let’s go, Gogo!
‘Tiny Toons: Buster’s Hidden Treasure’
Mega Drive
@Konami

There’ve been a few instances from my youth when I would’ve liked to play a particular game but didn’t have the console to play it. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was a big deal but I didn’t have a Nintendo 64 until a few years after its release. Instead, I found a similar experience through Mega Man Legends on PlayStation. It was the same sort of action-RPG as the Zelda games, albeit with less sword fighting and more laser blasts. Legends remains one of my favorite games while Ocarina of Time is only notable for me as the progenitor of Majora’s Mask, a far more interesting take on the Zelda formula.

In any case, this GIF from Tiny Toons: Buster’s Hidden Treasure reminds me of how this game filled the same niche for Sega Genesis players as Super Mario World did for the SNES. Like many games released after Super Mario World, Buster’s Hidden Treasure provided some options through the usage of an overworld map that allowed players freedom in how they proceeded through each of the game’s many platformer levels. There were also the same sorts of secret routes, boss encounters, and lively animation and art. In short, this game provided an experience that wasn’t quite as lofty as Super Mario World but still important for the platform and its players. Other games on Sega Genesis attempted and stumbled in their efforts to replicate the success of Super Mario World’s sprawling exploration and gameplay (I’m looking at you, James Pond 3), but I can’t think of many games that achieved what Konami did with Buster’s Hidden Treasure.

I’ve been writing about video games for the last year and half. Five chapters to go. It’s kind of maddening.

It feels strange to even mention it here, compartmentalized as I am.

I’m ready to be done.