Aftermath

Read this now, read Moby Dick next, then book a trip to Mystic. You’ll regret none of it (except maybe that middle watch section of the book).

My “why” is because I’m a sucker for anything that requires endurance. It’s because I used to go to the Mystic Seaport Museum as a kid and couldn’t pass up the chance to spend a night in its recreated historic village. It’s because Mystic’s marathon takes place on a tall ship called the Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest still-floating commercial vessel and the last survivor of a 19th century American whaling fleet. I also went because, for much the same reasons Ishmael says he goes to sea in the book’s opening lines–"whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet"--the marathon sounded like the opposite of the way I spend most of my days camped out in front of my computer, pinned between the despairing onslaught of the news and the relentless pressure of running a business. I wanted to be with strangers I didn’t know from online, with a paper book before me; I wanted ropes and wood and water; I wanted to do something weird and silly and most likely miserable that was about as far from my daily life as I could get.

This weekend I attended the Mystic Seaport's Moby Dick marathon. I spent the night on a tall ship. I talked about Assassin's Creed. I had a panic attack. I healed two decades of queer childhood trauma. I read one of the densest classic books in 25 hours. Gift link: aftermath.site/moby-dick-ma...

The Charles W Morgan at the Mystic Seaport Museum, a 19th century wooden whaling ship with tall masts and sails

With a boat and some help, you can read Moby Dick in a day
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‘Dopamine simply doesn’t work like that’: an interview with a user experience researcher:

aftermath.site/video-games-us...

Board game company fucks around (announcing new Harry Potter game), finds out (when fans revolt and media announce boycotts):

aftermath.site/harry-potter-j...

Subscribe to @aftermath.site if you want to read 5000 words about the Mystic Seaport's Moby Dick marathon on Monday, because I own the website and no one can stop me from giving them to you with questions like "what does this have to do with video games"

You Have To Hear Chris Plante’s Sandwich Story - Aftermath "It’s somehow getting on us, but we’re so happy that we’re not gonna die"

Aftermath Hours is our weekly podcast. You can listen to the full episode here: aftermath.site/aftermath-ho...

You have to hear @plante.bsky.social’s sandwich story

updated my story with statements from visa and mastercard, as well as warranted skepticism about the contents of both

Death Stranding 2 hit me harder than any Kojima game since MGS3. I think it's one of the most human games he's ever made, wildly goody, introspective, and the only direction it made sense to go in following COVID lock downs. For @aftermath.site aftermath.site/death-strand...

when these companies try to claim this is about what’s legal or not, they’re lying. none of the games that were removed from steam or itch broke the law. financial companies are making subjective decisions based on what might inconvenience them

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The New York Times will never learn.

aftermath.site/new-york-times...

Board game company fucks around (announcing new Harry Potter game), finds out (when fans revolt and media announce boycotts):

aftermath.site/harry-potter-j...

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Inside The Mass Call Campaign To Stop Video Game Censorship - Aftermath Following censorship of adult games on Steam and Itch, people are calling Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Stripe 'round the clock.

aftermath.site/steam-itch-p...

Genuinely the most well thought, well written, and well researched article on the topic I've seen. THIS is journalism

excited to get 'what i do' (my series interviewing individuals about their specific jobs in the games industry) back on the site and this was GREAT, @bentaels.bsky.social has some extremely interesting stuff to say about UX, as well as dispelling some myths about the field

itch and steam’s logos

On today’s stream, we’re joined by @plante.bsky.social to discuss life after Polygon, his new show, Post Games, and this week’s biggest story: the mass call campaign to stop censorship on Steam and Itch. We go live at 4 PM ET

twitch.tv/aftermathdot...

a screenshot of a fly on a person's foot from time flies

You have 78 seconds to complete your bucket list in Time Flies: aftermath.site/time-flies-pla...

God this part hit SO HARD. I subbed to aftermath a little bit ago after realizing I wanted to read every single story I saw of theirs, and it is worth every penny.

Great article, loving this game. Day two for me and today’s Twin Peaks theme adds a fun layer

This is a great quote and it speaks to the complexity of design as a discipline for things like game UI, where you want engaging the mechanics to be the right mix of challenging and accessible, and the UI and camera are knobs you can turn there, sometimes AGAINST what might be "good UI" elsewhere.

This is the first piece I've seen that I think nails it. Recommend.

‘Dopamine simply doesn’t work like that’: an interview with a user experience researcher:

aftermath.site/video-games-us...

if you appreciate this kind of reporting, subscribe to @aftermath.site! I was only able to spend days on a story this detailed because we're reader-funded and less beholden to the demands of the daily content/SEO grind than other sites. more subs = more pieces like this

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since last week's deindexing of nearly all NSFW content on itch, a major indie game storefront, due to pressure from payment processors, artists and fans have been organizing and calling financial companies en masse to turn back the tide of censorship. in their eyes, this clash was inevitable

a disembodied mouth superimposed atop a phone, yelling the logos of mastercard, visa, and paypal

Inside the mass call campaign to stop video game censorship

aftermath.site/steam-itch-p...

a screenshot of the grid from clues by sam

Clues by Sam is my favorite daily puzzle game: aftermath.site/clues-by-sam-w...

Peak Is A Playground For Slapstick Comedy - Aftermath Peak creates space for players to really fuck around, punctuated by a swift emphasis on finding out

My newest piece for @aftermath.site is up and it's about how much fun the slapstick comedy of @landfall.se and @aggrocrabgames.bsky.social 's PEAK is, especially with friends (gift link!)

🎁aftermath.site/peak-multipl...

A character in the game Peak, a purple figure standing on a rock

Peak is a playground for slapstick comedy
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