Please enjoy this self-indulgent vlog about my first day at the Expo in over four years.I’m not going to be so focused shadow of doubt, and I’ll have a proper preview in the next few weeks, but I can’t stress this enough – it’s awesome. Rarely has such a bold vision matched its execution. It reminds me of Cloudpunk, which I love so much, but I desperately want a less passive relationship with the city itself. With its amazing immersion and commitment to fine-tuned interactivity in the game’s core design, I felt Shadow of Doubt was very much what I wanted. I can’t wait for the full version to come out next year.it won ‘Best Games in the UK’ on Gamescom A few weeks ago, it was obvious why from the moment you started the demo.
As I write this, it’s day two at EGX: yesterday was one of the best times I’ve had at the trade show. It really feels like events are finally back, and it’s easy to forget how important it is after months of relative normality following the pandemic. I say relative because of course covid is still with us – I’m not ready to drop my mask – but I’ll accept the sweetness of relative normality instead of no one outside a poorly framed webcam Contact alternatives.
I didn’t really think about that before EGX. I’m new to the job and I thought it was mostly a great opportunity to finally meet some of my iGamesNews colleagues in person (and how important it was – I finally knew what Connor looked like in 3D, and really There is no need for the bevel of the laptop screen to identify him). But I find myself really influenced by a group of friends who are mostly in their teens/early twenties hanging out in the showroom together, role-playing, laughing at silly jokes, buying Hatsune Miku t-shirts, and usually just doing normal stuff Things – their generation was rejected for a full 18 months during the most critical developmental years of their lives. I haven’t really thought about this aspect of the pandemic until now. I’m almost 40, I’ve settled down, my social days are over, and I like to sit on my butt. I’m in an extremely privileged position, and covid is more proud than anything else in this situation.
Following the events of the past few years, the Expo takes on a new importance. Spending some face-to-face time with each other is critical to our collective healing as an industry and as a society. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to actually talk to the people behind the games we cover – feel the enthusiasm they radiate as they describe their artistic process, their hopes for the project, their inspiration. Those indefinable aspects of human communication are rare through streaming video. Indeed, it makes you understand why screen actors have to go through years of training to get any benefit, and why good actors are so well compensated for their work: Pushing raw human emotions through the lens is hard work.
While the work-from-home revolution is good for those of us lucky enough to enjoy it, it nourishes the soul of doing things IRL, even if it’s just a long weekend.
If you’re at EGX on Sunday, come watch the iGamesNews Best Games Ever Podcast: Live! in front of people! it could be you!
