What a week to start a newsletter about what you’re obsessing over, huh? If you aren’t aware, the U.S. is imploding. Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times by police when he attempted to peacefully break up a fight in his neighborhood. Protests erupted and a 17 yr old with a rifle shot three people, killing two. Sports leagues are striking, or maybe they’re not. Wildfires are burning up California while hurricanes threaten the southern coasts. Coronavirus continues to tear through the country and the Republican National Convention is taking place all the while, where death-masked automatons recite rote lines about how the United States is the greatest country in the world.
Everything feels a bit grim these days, in other words. But I do keep trying to stay sane, keep trying new things, keep exercising my brain as much as I can. Currently that’s through the game James and I are playing for our podcast I’ll Show You Mine, Cave Story.
I won’t get too into the details of the game’s production, you can hear that in James’ introduction in the episode when it drops. The main takeaway is, it’s a very smooth and satisfying platformer with a somewhat odd and mysterious story. You play as an android that has lost its memory, in the midst of a conflict that involves other robots like yourself, rabbit-like creatures called Mimiga, and humans. Everything takes place underground, in large caves (hence, “Cave Story”) and you have little choice but to press onward to discover more about the world you find yourself in and what to do next.
But the thing that really surprised me about this game is how immediately I felt at home with the controls. Not all games have intuitive controls, and even the ones that do don’t necessarily capture the “feel” of your avatar moving through digital space. Cave Story gets that right completely, and I’ve found that simple connection goes such a long way towards my enjoyment of a game. When it just *feels good* to move in a game—when you can sense the weight of your character, how high they can jump, how fast they can go—getting through tough bosses or tricky corridors is less tedious.
It reminds me of another game James and I played together, one we and all our friends became slightly obsessed with for a while: Super Meat Boy. The quintessential hyper-precise platformer, Super Meat Boy is well known for its similarly “floaty” physics and its punishing challenges; learn the limitations of Meat Boy’s movements down to the pixel, the game demands, or become just another stain on the walls.
Sometimes when games present a challenge, it’s frustrating and not fun for me as a player. I’m not exactly the most skilled, so when I find myself dying over and over, that’s not a great experience! But Cave Story has so far managed to hit that sweet spot, where the difficulty isn’t insurmountable, but still makes for a satisfying feeling when you finally beat a hard boss. Yes, I know, I’m only about 15 years late.
But What Happened On Twitter This Week?
I pretty much covered it up top this time, but there were a few other things that went down this week. Come get y’alls chisme:
DC Fandome happened and the stans were unleashed.
Look there’s so many clips of what’s happening at the RNC, I can’t keep up, and I refuse to look them up.
Sh**n K*ng was trending for something, probably another scam.
Okay one of the RNC memes was that Melania wore a bright green dress and of course the internet turned it into a green screen and went hog wild. I’m still not looking it up though.
Don’t let the bastards get you down.
<3 Elyse