Author: VGC | John

John Scalzo has been writing about video games since 2001, and he co-founded Warp Zoned in 2011. Growing out of his interest in game history, the launch of Video Game Canon followed in 2017.

Listology 5.0: See the Video Game Canon Using Only Modern Best Games Lists Published Between 2016 and 2020

You may want to sit down, because what I’m about to say might shock you… video games have changed and evolved tremendously since the 1990s.

Version 5.0 of the Video Game Canon was built using Best Games lists published between 1995 through 2020, and that 25-year span gives us a nice overview of the titles that game writers have loved over the years. But what if you wanted to zero in on the more recent games that benefited from all that change and evolution?

Thankfully, we can do just that. Say hello to a “Modern” filter for Version 5.0 of the Video Game Canon (V5-M from here on out).

Created using the 17 Best Games lists published between 2016 and 2020 (Version 5.0 didn’t include any lists from 2021), this remixed ranking includes many of the classics you’re used to, as well as a big focus on the groundbreaking titles of the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.

Ultimately, V5-M produced an aggregated list that looks very different from the full-length Version 5.0 (or any other Version of the Video Game Canon that came before it).

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David Craddock’s “Long Live Mortal Kombat Round 1” Will Fight Its Way Onto Shelves in October 2022

Get over here… and learn more about the release of the next book from David L. Craddock.

The author of Monsters in the Dark: The Making of X-COM: UFO Defense, Shovel Knight, and many more will dive into another mostly unexplored corner of video game history this October with Long Live Mortal Kombat Round 1: The Fatalities and Fandom of the Arcade Era.

As you might have guessed from the title, Long Live Mortal Kombat Round 1 will focus on the early days of the franchise (specifically Mortal Kombat through Mortal Kombat 4), and will be the first volume in a trilogy of books:

Long Live MK Round 1 is divided into four sections, organized according to material that concerns MK1, MKII, MK3 and Ultimate MK3, and MK4. You’ll discover the obstacles co-creators Ed Boon and John Tobias faced as they made each game, the ways Midway’s culture influenced MK’s creative and technical directions, how Acclaim revolutionized video game advertising by going all-in on the multi-million-dollar “Mortal Monday” campaign, learn how actors from the games and films landed their roles, and other crucial events in MK history.

If you’d like to get an early look at Long Live Mortal Kombat Round 1, the author was generous enough to share excerpts from the book with a quartet of outlets:

Game Informer – Read An Exclusive Excerpt From Long Live Mortal Kombat: Round 1, A Novel On The Early History Of MK

Nintendo Life – How Mortal Kombat Led To The Birth Of E3 And The ESRB

PC Gamer – Why do Mortal Kombat 3 players still insist on keyboard controls 27 years later?

Shacknews – How Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3’s Tier List Determined the Best Fighters

Craddock is currently seeking funding through Kickstarter to publish Long Live Mortal Kombat Round 1. If the campaign is successful, the book will be available in a Standard Edition (in your choice of hardcover, paperback, or ebook) and an oversized Ultimate Edition with dozens of photographs and a stylized layout.

UPDATE (4/12/22): It’s your lucky day as the author has returned with three additional excerpts for Long Live Mortal Kombat Round 1, bringing the total to seven:

Ars Technica – The punch that changed Mortal Kombat history

Game Developer – Crushed: Inside Capcom’s Marketing Feud with Acclaim and Mortal Kombat

Medium – How Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat Divided Arcades

And congratulations are also in order, as Craddock’s project is now fully-funded on Kickstarter.

UPDATE (10/4/22): It’s release week for Long Live Mortal Kombat Round 1 and author David Craddock is back with one more excerpt. This time, he shared a story with IGN (Mortal Kombat Nitro Developer Remembers the Faster, Bloodier SNES Version That Never Was) about Sculptured Software’s plan to release a bloodier upgrade of Mortal Kombat for the Super NES.

UPDATE (10/8/22): Happy 30th Anniversary to Mortal Kombat! To celebrate, David Craddock shared yet another excerpt with Ars Technica. This time he delves into the story behind the fight over the actor who claims he co-created Mortal Kombat.

Bite-Sized Game History: The Final Footage of Star Wars 1313, Sony Acquires Bungie, and Ninendo Announces End of 3DS/Wii U eShop

Get a bunch of video game fans in a room, and they’ll gladly talk your ear off about all the ones that got away. Games that hooked us right from the first announcement and then just withered away in development hell. I know it’ll never happen, but I still hold out hope that Capcom will revive Maximo 3 someday. I mean the first two were so fun…

Anyway, for this edition of Bite-Sized Game History, let’s talk about a few games, developers, and online storefronts that got away…

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Inscryption Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2021-2022 GDC Awards

A new player got dealt into the game at this year’s Game Developers Conference. Just an hour after claiming the “Seumas McNally Grand Prize” at the Independent Games Festival, Daniel Mullins Games’s Inscrpytion also took home “Game of the Year” honors at the 2021-2022 Game Developers Choice Awards.

Even though we’re more than a decade removed from the rise of the indie movement, this is the first time a game has won both awards in the same year.

While Inscrpytion made history, Insomniac’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart continued to do what it’s done at nearly every ceremony this year, collecting statuettes for “Best Visual Art” and “Best Technology.”

But the GDC Awards usually gives the spotlight over to a lot of unique games, and that certainly happened this year. Other winners from last night’s ceremony include Iron Gate’s Valheim (“Best Debut” and the “Audience Award”), Witch Beam’s Unpacking (“Best Audio” and the “Innovation Award”), Double Fine’s Psychonauts 2 (“Best Narrative”), Kitfox’s Boyfriend Dungeon (the “Social Impact Award”), and Hazelight’s It Takes Two (“Best Design”).

A full list of all the nominees at the 2021-2022 GDC Awards can be found after the break, along with a replay of the ceremony.

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Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 Include Zelda: Ocarina of Time, PaRappa the Rapper, Minesweeper, and More

It’s that time of year again… the curators of the World Video Game Hall of Fame at the Strong Museum of Play have announced the finalists for this year’s class of inductees.

The games fighting for a spot in the Class of 2022 are all classics, but many of the titles have been here before. For Civilization and Dance Dance Revolution, this will be their third attempt to gain entry into the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Sid Meier’s Civilization was previously a finalist in 2016 and 2019, while Dance Dance Revolution tried to groove its way to immortality in 2018 and 2019.

Four other titles are also getting a second chance on the World Video Game Hall of Fame shortlist, including Resident Evil (which was a finalist in 2017), Ms. Pac-Man (2018), Candy Crush Saga (2019), and NBA Jam (2020).

With six slots spoken for by repeat finalists, there were a few surprises among the games that are brand new to the process. That includes Microsoft’s beloved timewaster, Minesweeper, which could be considered something of a frontrunner after Windows Solitaire‘s inclusion in the Class of 2019. The 1990s as a whole were well-represented on the shortlist, which also included appearances from PaRappa the Rapper, Sony’s funky PSone era rhythm game, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the first 3D adventure from the Zelda franchise.

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed, Michael Toy and Glenn Wichman’s Rogue, and Zynga’s Words With Friends rounded out this year’s list of finalists.

As in years part, the general public will be able to vote for their favorite finalist by visiting WorldVideoGameHallOfFame.org between now and March 24. The three games that receive the most votes will be submitted as a Player’s Choice ballot alongside the other ballots from the Hall of Fame’s International Selection Advisory Committee.

This year’s inductees will be announced during an online presentation on Thursday, May 5, at 10:30 AM (Eastern Time), and you can learn more about all 12 games after the break.

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Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Wins “Video Game of the Year” at 2021-2022 SXSW Gaming Awards

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker made history this weekend at the 2021-2022 SXSW Gaming Awards.

Square Enix’s MMO won “Video Game of the Year” at the close of the ceremony, marking the first time an MMO has ever won the top prize at one of the major year-end award shows. Not content with a single trophy, the game also took home the “Excellence in Narrative” and “Excellence in Original Score” awards for Square Enix and Producer Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida.

As in years past, the SXSW voting body chose to spread out the remainder of the awards among a wide variety of deserving titles.

The developers at Witch Beam can put the “Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award” on their shelf for Unpacking, but it was Kena: Bridge of Spirits that was honored with the “Indie Game of the Year” award last night. Another buzzy indie from last year, Daniel Mullins’s Inscryption, cashed in a winning hand with a victory in the “Excellence in Game Design” category.

Insomniac’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart rode its next-gen accolades to a trophy for “Excellence in Technical Achievement,” and Playground’s Forza Horizon 5 did the same in the “Excellence in Animation, Art, and Visual Achievement” category.

The creepy soundscapes of Capcom’s Resident Evil Village claimed the “Excellence in Audio Design” award, while stablemate Resident Evil 4 VR won “VR Game of the Year.”

Finally, after scoring “Game of the Year’ victories at The Game Awards and the DICE Awards, Hazelight’s It Takes Two had to settle for “Excellence in Multiplayer” at SXSW.

A complete list of winners and nominees from the 2021-2022 SXSW Gaming Awards can be found after the break.

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Three Mini-Documentaries for Mario Day

It’s March 10th, which can also be written as MAR-10, which means that it’s Mario Day, an annual celebration of Nintendo’s mustachioed plumber.

Like Disney and Star Wars Day, the consolemaker has embraced this fan-driven holiday, and it’s likely that some kind of major announcement will happen later today (the smart money is on the first trailer for the upcoming Super Bros. Mario movie).

But you need to get into the proper headspace to truly enjoy the holiday, so sit back and enjoy this trio of mini-documentaries about the man they call Mario.

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“Mortal Kombat: Games of Death” by David Church is Now Available from University of Michigan Press

The Mortal Kombat franchise has been spilling blood and ripping spines for 30 years, and we’re bound to see some sort of celebratory announcement from NetherRealm Studios later this year.

But first, fans will be able to revisit the history of the series in David Church’s Mortal Kombat: Games of Death. In addition to recalling its arcade debut (and the political backlash it caused after moving to the Genesis and Super NES), Church will explore the multicultural inspirations behind the franchise’s creation, and its evolution over the years:

Upon its premiere in 1992, Midway’s Mortal Kombat spawned an enormously influential series of fighting games, notorious for their violent “fatality” moves performed by photorealistic characters. Targeted by lawmakers and moral reformers, the series directly inspired the creation of an industrywide rating system for video games and became a referendum on the wide popularity of 16-bit home consoles. Along the way, it became one of the world’s most iconic fighting games, and formed a transmedia franchise that continues to this day.

This book traces Mortal Kombat’s history as an American product inspired by both Japanese video games and Chinese martial-arts cinema, its successes and struggles in adapting to new market trends, and the ongoing influence of its secret-strewn narrative world. After outlining the specific elements of gameplay that differentiated Mortal Kombat from its competitors in the coin-op market, David Church examines the various martial-arts films that inspired its Orientalist imagery, helping explain its stereotypical uses of race and gender. He also posits the games as a cultural landmark from a moment when public policy attempted to intervene in both the remediation of cinematic aesthetics within interactive digital games and in the transition of public gaming spaces into the domestic sphere. Finally, the book explores how the franchise attempted to conquer other forms of media in the 1990s, lost ground to a new generation of 3D games in the 2000s, and has successfully rebooted itself in the 2010s to reclaim its legacy.

Mortal Kombat: Games of Death was recently published in hardcover and paperback by University of Michigan Press as part of their Landmark Video Games series. It’s also available to download as an open access title via Fulcrum in multiple formats.

Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole With Enter the Matrix, Path of Neo, and The Matrix Online

Even though its fast approaching the silver anniversary of its release, The Matrix still feels like a modern blockbuster to me. Maybe I just don’t want to admit how long its actually been, or maybe the eternal agelessness of Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Hugo Weaving has permanently trapped my brain in 1999 (my apologies to Laurence Fishburne and Joe Pantoliano).

Whatever the reason, it’s still great to go back and experience The Matrix all over again today. The gravity-defying fight scenes and its green-tinged cyberpunk aesthetic have forever etched the movie in our collective consciousness… and cast a long shadow over the game industry thanks to titles like Max Payne, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Control, and Nier: Automata.

But The Matrix also had a more direct inspiration on three incredibly ambitious tie-in games (Enter the Matrix, The Matrix: Path of Neo, and The Matrix Online) that were produced between 2003 and 2005. Let’s see how deep that rabbit hole goes…

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Hazelight’s It Takes Two Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2021-2022 DICE Awards

Hazelight’s It Takes Two continued its improbable run with a “Game of the Year” win at the 2021-2022 DICE Awards (and making it two-for-two after its triumph at The Game Awards).

More than 50 games received at least one nomination at the DICE Awards, but the membership of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences continued to come back to the same titles over and over again… which benefited the developers at Hazelight with a second trophy for It Takes Two in the “Outstanding Achievement in Game Design” category.

While it didn’t win “Game of the Year,” Insomniac’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart took the momentum from its nine total nominations (the most entering the night) and tallied up four victories during last night’s ceremony across an eclectic set of categories (“Outstanding Achievement in Animation,” “Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction,” “Outstanding Technical Achievement,” and “Family Game of the Year”).

Several other games secured multiple awards at the DICE Awards, giving the development teams from Eidos Montreal (“Outstanding Achievement in Story” and “Adventure Game of the Year” for Guardians of the Galaxy), 343 Industries (“Online Game of the Year” and “Action Game of the Year” for Halo Infinite), Ready At Dawn (“Immersive Reality Technical Achievement” and “Immersive Reality Game of the Year” for Lone Echo II), and Housemarque (“Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition” and “Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design” for Returnal) two chances to deliver a speech on the DICE stage.

You can find the full list of winners and nominees from the 2021-2022 DICE Awards after the break, along with a video replay of the IGN-produced ceremony, which was hosted by Greg Miller and Jessica Chobot.

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