by Elvie Mae Parian | May 9, 2022 | Interviews, Video Games
As places to discover and publish games seem to be growing more accessible, we often take for granted how interests of the previously niche were hard to find and unapproachable, especially in online spaces. Although tracking down obscure media remains a challenge—and games preservation in particular remains a contentious issue—the influences left by fleeting memories of something seemingly lost has inspired many developers today to turn what was old into something new for contemporary audiences to indulge in.
Otome games, story-based games that originated in Japan targeted towards women, for example, have seemingly left an imprint on visual novel and romance elements that exist in games of other genres. I had an opportunity to discuss that question and more with Georgina Bensley, founder of Hanako Games. We discussed what goes into doing work as “Hanako,” and how the continuously changing landscape of the games scene—especially for independent games development—has offered both challenges and opportunities for visual novels and other forms of interactive fiction. From its early beginnings working within the narrow scope of its influences through Cute Knight, to expanding into even wider themes with more recent titles like Night Cascades, Hanako Games has every intention of growing its library while continuing to work in an ever-evolving industry.
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Elvie somehow finds bliss in purposefully complicating the art of storytelling and undertaking the painful practice of animation. If you see her on Twitter at @lvmaeparian, she is doing neither of those things. She currently helps with managing the socials to ensure that the secret recipe will never be revealed.
by Elvie Mae Parian | Feb 25, 2019 | Interviews, Mobile Games, Video Games
Beyond the Sense: Lucid Dreamers is a 2D adventure game that follows a group of friends uncovering a mystery as they are trapped in a strange world slowly falling apart.
Beneath its surface, BTS:LD is actually a covertly designed fan game that uses the members of K-pop group BTS and the themes of their music as a template for its characters and narrative. (more…)
Elvie somehow finds bliss in purposefully complicating the art of storytelling and undertaking the painful practice of animation. If you see her on Twitter at @lvmaeparian, she is doing neither of those things. She currently helps with managing the socials to ensure that the secret recipe will never be revealed.
by Naseem Jamnia | Apr 26, 2018 | Interviews, Video Games
During Sidequest’s 24-hour Live Stream to celebrate the launch of our new website, we decided to play a game that editor-in-chief Melissa fell in love with at PAX West 2017: Monster Prom. It’s a competitive dating sim that involves wooing monsters to find your perfect prom date, and we’re hooked. Luckily for us, the game’s lead developer, Julián Quijano, decided to stop by during the stream and chat with us. With Monster Prom’s release today, we decided to share that talk with all of you—and give you more reasons to love the game.
Given that most of this interview was in an impromptu Twitch chat in November, the answers have been modified for grammar and moved around for interview flow. The content remains unchanged.
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Sidequest’s former managing editor Naseem Jamnia used to do sciencey things, but they now slam their keyboard and call it art. Their debut novella, THE BRUISING OF QILWA, introduced their queernorm, Persian-inspired secondary world; their middle grade horror debut SLEEPAWAY comes out in 2025.
by Soco Cinconegui | Nov 7, 2017 | Features, Video Games
Last month, Kitfox Games took the internet by storm with the announcement of their new “Shack-n’-Slash” game, Boyfriend Dungeon. Covered by all major game news outlets, the game’s trailer has already racked up over 60,000 views on Youtube.
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Soco is a translator, writer and editor from Buenos Aires, Argentina who works in mobile games. She’s also a long-time tabletop roleplayer, a self-taught witch, and the mom of the tiniest, fluffiest mop of a dog. Follow @SocoCinconegui on twitter for pics of said dog and lots of game industry retweets.
by Corissa Haury | Sep 4, 2017 | Features, Video Games
VR is quickly becoming the next big thing in gaming with more than 1.6 million consoles sold in 2016 and will bring in $7 billion in industry revenue by the end of 2017. This is an industry shift that allows startups to emerge with revolutionary ideas in a new kind of interactive world yet to be defined. One of these companies is Polyarc Games, born of a few professionals from various game development companies such as Bungie and Oculus Rift.
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I love to play random games on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4, GameCube, iOS and PC (in that order). Favorites include Tomb Raider (newer series), Horizon Zero Dawn, Overwatch, Breath of the Wild, Assassin’s Creed, SSB Melee, SSB Brawl, Mortal Kombat, Animal Crossing, and more!
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