The Ghost of Will Borger

I think so, too, but I am not falling for it either way

This is a trap baited to catch Wills and I simply will not

I would like for national political reporters to place a moratorium on “But what will voters in the rest of America think about New York City’s socialist mayor?” We don’t care! Red states are notably full of psycho politicians yet rarely do you see pundits asking Brooklyn people about them.

Julie, I damn near spat our my drink

Obligatory "not all games journalists." Many brilliant people in the space and if this doesn't apply to you, it doesn't apply to you. No need to self-select into it.

Like many things I say, I am sure it will get me in trouble, but thank you.

Damn good piece

It's all of that plus just being a mech game in general and a From game that is not Souls specifically, but Armored Core has always been well-written, and it's depressing to never see it get any flowers for it.

Like the stuff is there, you know?

I say this because if I don't, the read will be "Will is really mean and hates game stories and ganes writers" and it's simply not true. I just wish we were more broad in our view of what storytelling in games is, what a good story is, and what games we were willing to praise.

Yeah, it doesn’t stand alone. It's part of other things.

Anyway, game stories can be (and are) good. My issues are more with the way we talk about them, and what gets that respect and what doesn't.

I think there's a lot there, and I'd be excited to read that. I think our perception is generally really flawed and limited in ways that hurt what gets spin and what doesn't, you know?

I think we also confuse production values with narrative in a way that is harmful to less big budget or visually polished things. I think Armored Core 6 is an extremely well-written game. I haven't seen many people talk about it like that. My guess is not mainstream enough + no production values.

That's a very big one word question, Mitch. I agree with @jakesteinberg.substack.com in that I think we tend to conflate only dialogue and plot with writing in games when it's a lot more than that and largely that the games press does not read books, so stuff that’s well-worn seems more novel.

Because this subject has become Discourse and I don't want people to misunderstand: there are a lot of very well-written video games.

They just generally don't tend to be the ones getting gassed up as being well-written in the mainstream spaces. Always exceptions, though.

THE GREAT ONES NEVER LOSE. THEY JUST RUN OUT OF TIME. THE GREAT ONES NEVER LOSE. THEY JUST RUN OUT OF TIME. BY WILL BORGER The Rams don’t have any decent corners, so my first and fifth round picks in my Madden league’s Madden 26 draft are corners. Wha…

And my piece on Madden, getting older, and the passing of time for @lifebarmag.com:

Hope, Zombies, and Resident Evil A look at the Resident Evil series as a source of rare optimism within zombie media.

Here's @stolisomancer.bsky.social 's piece on Resident Evil, the zombie genre, hope:

@stolisomancer.bsky.social 's piece on Resident Evil and my essay on Madden in @lifebarmag.com made Critical Distance this week, alongside a lot of other really good games writing.

I'll link both below, but everything here is worth your time. Support good games writing!

my essay on The Evil Within, sex, and violence makes an appearance in this week's roundup, alongside incredible pieces by talented writers that you should also read

As someone who plays Madden and has a good time, I feel this. Longshot doesn't get the credit it deserves.

Happy birthday!

a lot of Pokemon fans are mad that the rival is the real protagonist of Legends Z-A.

I wonder if they would also be mad that the protagonist of The Great Gatsby is Gatsby and not Nick, lol

Gamers Don't Understand Story Narrative is more than cutscenes and dialogue boxes.

can i post this again? is that fair? pls ignore if it's not fair:

jakesteinberg.substack.com/p/gamers-don...

Every time I find another member of the games press who has seen The Wire it's like finding an oasis in the desert.

Haven't played it, can't speak to it.

Talking about storytelling in this space is truly one of the most depressing things about working in it because you'll be talking about a narrative technique and ask if the other person has read X Influential Novel or Y Writer of Note so you can use them as an example and the answer is always no.

My general stance is that when the wider games press says a game is well-written I assume the opposite because most of the people who write about storytelling in this space don't read books or watch serious film and television and it has never steered me wrong.

Making my @rollingstone.com debut writing about Monolith's incredible F.E.A.R. and how the story's meaning has kind of gotten lost over the years.

Alma isn't F.E.A.R.'s villain. Armacham and the people that made her are. She's as much a victim as anyone else, a spirit of vengeance made, not born.

The only real question here is "do I want my money to be used to harm trans people" and if the answer is no, you have only one course of action.

You are your choices. Live accordingly.