NEW VIDEO! These Indie Games Will Give You Hope For Gaming's Future (ad-free!)

Hey everyone!

Just letting you know that the new video is now available ad-free via the link above! The games industry feels broken at the moment, especially if all you're looking at is the AAA side of things. Indie showcases like Steam Next Fest, however, give me hope for the future of the medium. Let's talk about the demos I played during Next Fest that you need to pay attention to, and why they're decidedly not in the AAA sphere.

So first off, I'm so sorry this took so long to get out there. I swear I'm not looking for sympathy or anything like that, but just for context things have been tough on the ol' health front lately—just been kinda exhausted trying to work through everything. My best laid plans for getting vids out there have been consistently subject to delays that I could try and just push through, but I'm trying to be somewhat healthier about it and realise when my body is yelling at me to stop.

As I've been working on these videos (and there have been a ton that I promise are very close to being complete/uploaded, along with multiple scripts in various states of completion and enough "notes documents" (that usually amount to thousands of words each anyway) to last the channel for many many years to come even without the barrage of new ideas my brain subjects me to on a daily basis) I have never stopped thinking how grateful I am for your consistent and unbelievably generous support.

That support is precisely what has allowed me to take the time to adjust to things like new medication and that is HUGE to me. Basically everyone I've talked to about it over the years has told me to take my time, they just want to support my ability to work rather than simply expecting a specific amount of Content™, all that stuff, but I still feel like I've let you down on the schedule front lately and for that I'm truly sorry. Just know that I truly appreciate each and every one of you for your generosity and patience.

With all that out the way, here's the video! I really hope you enjoy it. I've been thinking a lot about how to effectively showcase more indie stuff on the channel (as an upcoming vid will talk about, it's a challenge in its own right) but I really enjoyed just showcasing a bunch of stuff in that field that I'm excited for. As I say in the video, it felt... hopeful.

I'll still be discussing bigger games when I have things to say about them (and like I say, I have enough scripts in production to that effect to last the channel for many, many years—I will almost never be able to get around to half the ideas I have), but god, indie stuff is just so cool right now, man.

I'm also considering doing more roundup videos like this for all kinds of games I've been playing generally—a real neat challenge to be as concise as possible while trying not to sacrifice insight or whatever wank you want to call it. People seem to like the format here and I enjoy making it, so we'll see how it goes.

But yeah, I've got like three videos I'm hoping to have at least posted here by the end of the month. Also want to do another Q&A vid at some point (I'll do a call for questions in a separate post). Ambitious, but we'll see. If my body tells me it needs a break I'll take it. Hopefully that's OK with all of you.

I cannot thank all of you enough for your support. It truly means the world to me.

Thanks again,

Hamish

Writing on Games