As is the case with many video games published by Annapurna Interactive, there’s nothing quite like A Memoir Blue on the market. The upcoming title developed by Cloisters Interactive will undoubtedly be labeled as “games as art,” “interactive story” and a whole lot of other relatively meaningless subgenres to say that it boasts a unique narrative rather than action-heavy gameplay, but Shelley Chen’s first project as creative director and driving force is still going to catch plenty of people by surprise. For starters, there’s no text or spoken dialog. The entire tale — which happens to be about the ups and downs of a championship-winning swimmer named Miriam — is told entirely through the player’s interactions and song, leaving plenty of space for interpretation and imagination to fill in ...
On March 31, 2016, times were simpler. Obama was president. Harambe was alive. Global pandemics were reserved for sci-fi movies. Things were generally going pretty well. To make things even better, that was the day when developer and creative director Alx Preston of Heart Machine released Hyper Light Drifter into the world. An acclaimed and refreshing indie title that paid tribute to classic 16-bit action RPGs, Hyper Light Drifter became an immediate fan favorite and award winner for a number of reasons — particularly the unique and unforgettable score that was equal parts nostalgic and futuristic. Richard Vreeland (better known as Disasterpeace) was the one behind the now-iconic soundtrack, which soon became one of the most sought-after vinyls in the entire industry. At the time, Vreeland...
Source: Alexandre Morin-Laprise / Getty The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or the Super NES, was a groundbreaking game system in its time. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the SNES might be responsible for the explosion of gaming in the US as it helped launch as well as reinforce some of the largest brands in gaming. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System first arrived in the United States on August 23, 1991, in a limited release before getting an official nationwide release date of September 9, 1991. The SNES was Nintendo’s answer to Sega’s 16-bit console, the Sega Genesis. The SNES would sell 23.35 million consoles in the United States and 49 million worldwide thanks to games like Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, and more. Thousands of games lived on the console, but we...