In some ways, writing is one of my love languages, as it more or less represents a desire to give back to both the gaming community, and humanity at large, in a moment of surprisingly non-cynical solidarity.


It might also be my way of silently acknowledging that every day somehow grows worse than the last, and we will never make it as a species if we attempt to weather this dark carnival that is reality alone

The last two days have been a mood on ATE, that’s for sure. I don’t know where these tumultuous bouts of melancholy fury spring from, but they are formidable forces to be reckoned with. This comes into sharp focus when one has a daily regiment to keep, as low energy days become a “hard mode” of sorts, at least in the face of keeping to one’s guns, and not remaining in bed for the duration of that twenty four hour period. Such malice ridden time periods avail themselves only to the darkened obnoxious, as one races against the clock under tortuous pretense to not fail the considerably long and continuous streak of success one has accrued for themselves, let’s say for example, in the realm of writing and posting an article everyday, so time truly becomes of the essence, even during these blackened hours of menace.



I don’t usually give out writing tips, though in regards to combating a sour mood, when one has obligation, at least in terms of where writing is concerned: lean into it, as then you end up alchemizing the energy into some sort of cathartic panacea of sorts, thusly harnessing the energy keeping you down as an aid against itself. Works remarkably well for me at least, but it does take practice. In any case, I got plenty of sleep last night, and have had a nice full day that gave me plenty of time to sojourn on in Mina the Hollower (MTH), which has been a delight, top to bottom, even when I roam the games wilds in aimless attempts at “finding myself”, as I wander lost and without spirit.

I’m still constantly amazed at how “big” an 8-bit game can be, and one must keep in mind, I was growing up in this era back when it was en vogue and not considered a worthy museum piece, so I’ve see up close and first hand what the rich simplicity of this time period can bring. Developer Yacht Club Games (YCG) has truly nailed the authentic feelings where adventurous daring is concerned, and what was the bread and butter of the retro style Zelda games, when they were the undeniable cock of the walk.



I think one of the understated elements that makes MTH capture the essence of such a gameplay loop, is that YCG are mindful in leaving most of the experience obscured in mystery, so one has to commit themselves to a trial and error process in exploring, combat, puzzle solving, etc. Nothing is quite laid out for the player explicitly, but the suggestive hints of how one is suppose to go about things exist where they need to, without being overbearing. I think most importantly, even at the beginning of the game, Mina essentially forgoes any real tutorials entirely, and there is next to zilch in terms of where hand holding is concerned, something Nintendo got worse about over time, and received plenty of fair flak for where it was concerned in dropping the ball so hard for veteran players.



While I understand the reasoning a developer may have about making a game be self-explanatory, or having all of the context clues hidden within the game itself, based on the sheer fact of where smart phones and internet browsing is concerned, you’d think more devs would happily take the Mina route, and keep explanations, “how to’s”, and general easter egg and secret sharing to a bare minimum, knowing most people are going to be lazy and look it up. The ardent players will push through and feel a sense of pride for their commitment, while those who were never going to commit to the act of DIY success in the first place, aren’t missing anything anyways.

That’s one angle at least, and it’s not as if it would be different from the days of yore, as strategy guide sales were certainly relevant for a long time, and it was due to the obscure nature of video games themselves, whether it be the way forward, hidden collectables, or the crazy hard tactics one would need to utilize to beat difficult bosses; and the lack of the internet that helped to sell such tie ins of commerce. It could of course be a generational thing, and on some level, developers know that if their game has even an ounce of perceived disagreeability to it, most people will drop it like a hot potato within an instant, and go back to whatever phone game and it’s dopamine rich traps of ensnarement will provide.



For the sake of reinforced clarity on the issue, where I’m staking my flag in the plot of “less is more” mentality, in not explaining jack shit and still being on the “winning” side of history, Elden Ring sold more than the entire Souls series combined, with tens of millions of copies out the door, and that is one of the least explicit, most obscured, and ridiculously unforgiving games on the market, so people definitely have both the stomach and the want for this kind of thing I propose, and knowing Mina ripped a page out of FromSoftware’s book, by borrowing some Souls verse for it’s own machinations, I’ll be amazed if Mina doesn’t sell gangbusters for similar reasons.



I think we are kind of at a crossroads in gaming, though this may be a reflection of society at large being in an awkward transitionary phase, as well. This is due to the idea a lot of people are turning their back on the “new way” of doing things, which is more or less a reference to modern day tech issues, related to AI, out of control hardware pricing, chaotic subscription models, just all in all, “of our time” problems, so elements that bring one back to a more “sane” time as it were, like Mina does, becomes more than just an easy sell, but a welcomed escape hatch to flee the turmoil of the yesterday and tomorrow we are constantly plagued with.

Just got to keep on hollowing through the trouble spots.

~Pashford