Video Games are Real

My new book is out today!

Caleb J. Ross — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 13:00:56 +0000

A love letter to a life-changing video game. Two years. That’s a long time to write a book. But it’s nothing when the book in question is so very, very important. Of all the books I’ve written (many), this is my most important. I’m a life-long gamer and a devoted thinker, and this book is […]

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AI in video games will (not?) destroy the conversation around video games.

Caleb J. Ross — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 23:00:51 +0000

Humans can’t live without AI. Our brains won’t let that happen.

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Edith Finch Book Cover Reveal and Release Date!

Caleb J. Ross — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 14:28:36 +0000

Today is an exciting day. Today, I reveal the cover of my newest book, a book about my favorite video game of all time, What Remains of Edith Finch! I’ve worked on this book for the last two years. Of all the books I’ve written (many), this is my most important. I’m a life-long gamer and […]

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Will I Ever Confront a Stranger in Real Life?

Caleb J. Ross — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 16:00:11 +0000

Who needs better weapons in a video game? Decision-making is my power fantasy.

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An excerpt from my upcoming book about What Remains of Edith Finch

Caleb J. Ross — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 15:11:01 +0000

This book is my love letter to a game that has changed the way I live.

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Help Me Invent a Term

Caleb J. Ross — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 18:47:25 +0000

What's that thing for when you want to create something but you're afraid of the burden it might put on you once it has been created? Something something phobia?

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Exploding the Small Things for Fun

Caleb J. Ross — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 21:54:52 +0000

How small can you make a thing and still have that thing be interesting?

I’ve been told throughout my life spent creating things (books, video games, YouTube videos, podcasts) that simplicity is a core ingredient of creative output. When a thing is simplified enough, when it’s abstracted to its core requirements, when the guardrails are robust and the lanes clearly defined, that’s when creativity tends to flourish.

I embrace the challenge, and in fact, when a thing is simplified, that’s when I discover an interest enough to justify the very act of creating. Not until all magic has been stripped away am I able to see the potential for magic.

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Content Writers, Programmers, we chase the same high

Caleb J. Ross — Sun, 08 May 2022 18:20:47 +0000

Programming and content writing initially seem like functions at opposite hemispheres of our brain. Though programmers will insist that creativity is part of programming, and content writers will insist that structure is part of content writing, I have witnessed a reductive division between the “left brainers” and “right brainers.” But that division isn’t actually so static. The gulf isn’t so wide.

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Podcast Island. And Unreal Engine 5 Game (that I made!)

Caleb J. Ross — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 22:10:59 +0000

Constraints support motivation supports learning

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Rogue Jam Ep. 1…That’s my game!

Caleb J. Ross — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 16:40:28 +0000

I have kinda, sorta shared a stage with Reggie Fils-Aimé, Peer Schneider, and Daemon Hatfield.

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Suddenly I was a Shark! My Time with What Remains of Edith Finch

Caleb J. Ross — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 22:36:16 +0000

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Learning Things I Don’t Want to Learn but Need to Learn Anyway (Maybe)

Caleb J. Ross — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 18:22:39 +0000

I know learning animation is important
I’m intimidated by learning animation, so I’m avoiding it as much as possible
I have no practical use in mind for animation, which supports my aversion
Looked forward to a future devlog where I inevitably dismiss animation as “super easy”

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Video Game Music is Pretty Damn Great

Caleb J. Ross — Sun, 13 Mar 2022 01:49:57 +0000

Today we talk about that stuff that goes in your ears when you play a video game. No, not the wet fingers of an annoyingly immature roommate or little brother (though, in this case I’m pretending both the immature roommate and the little brother are named Wily, so getting a “wet Willy” at least […]

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We Talk Video Game Controls

Caleb J. Ross — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 15:30:21 +0000

The game-making lessons we learned are: Button combos don’t have to be complicated if the designers leverage “domains of knowledge” (also mentioned: Caleb’s video, “Button Combinations Should Be Complicated! Why Aren’t They? (Video Game Controls)” “input recycling”… “input pairing”…? Almost every virtual action in the game shares a physical input with another virtual action […]

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I Made a Chess Set…and a Chess Game

Caleb J. Ross — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 21:34:16 +0000

I learned an important lesson: things move much faster when other people are helping.

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Solve a puzzle with cats and laser pointers? We talk Brainstorming!!!

Caleb J. Ross — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 20:46:47 +0000

The game-making lessons we learned are: Lack of exposition + personal artifacts = introspective environmental storytelling. Gamifying the mundane. Anywhere decisions can be made (ex: where to place physical items in a room) a game can be born. (Unpacking). Shout out to Ian Bogost’s “How to do Things with Video Games.” All characterization is […]

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What is Procedural Generation and How Can We Get Caleb to Not Hate it?

Caleb J. Ross — Sun, 30 Jan 2022 16:14:58 +0000

The game-making lessons we learned are: Music both directs and enhances the mood. Chill must support a chill atmosphere but also it provides feedback to the player that this is a game (or section of a game) that should allow for chilling out. Lack of enemies alone doesn’t signify a conflict-free scenario. (Valheim) Pawns […]

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If you aren’t passionate about your project, do you really understand your project?

Caleb J. Ross — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 20:23:26 +0000

Reno 911 reminded me: “If you can’t get excited about your work, how can you expect anyone else to?”

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Desk Golf, where a ball named Juan thinks everything is a golf hole.

Caleb J. Ross — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 00:26:36 +0000

I call this scene “Desk Golf.” My lamp model makes a comeback in this lesson! This time, it’s helping a golf ball reach the hole at the top of a stack of books. I cheated a bit by looking up a tutorial on how to make the golf ball. And somehow, even with the tutorial, […]

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Lamp Lessons: Lessons Make Lamps. Lessons Lamps Learn. Blender is Neat.

Caleb J. Ross — Sat, 22 Jan 2022 21:40:48 +0000

Always follow passion. Right now, I have a passion to learn more about 3D modeling. It sure doesn't hurt that I'm having a ton of fun doing it (Fun is the strongest direct motivator).

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I know I need to eat an apple, but I can’t remember how to take the first bite

Caleb J. Ross — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 23:55:35 +0000

There are infinite ways to eat an apple. Some may be better than others, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat the apple.

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Whatcha’ Makin’? We Talk Tracer: a Neon, Heart Pounding, Endless Arcade Racer!

Caleb J. Ross — Sun, 16 Jan 2022 18:04:17 +0000

The game-making lessons we mentioned are: Don’t waste the player’s time. A novel input system cannot survive on novelty alone; it MUST serve good gameplay. Otherwise, the forced input falls from delightful to frustration (Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask) Movement in a platformer MUST feel great above all else. If a game has […]

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Development Log, Malevolent Slog

Caleb J. Ross — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 20:26:03 +0000

This dev log will inform how I approach game development (design, coding, etc). It may cause a populace uprising that will change how my approach governs my code. My code = the government. My dev log = the will of the people.

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Don’t Fight Your Tools! Light-Bulb Moments in Game Dev

Caleb J. Ross — Sun, 26 Dec 2021 18:01:27 +0000

Listen in as we talk about our game development “ah ha” moments, including: The importance of commenting even as a solo dev Self-documenting/readable code The importance of having fun as part of the learning & development process Shaders are black magic Unity events are suuuuper useful The absolute need to LEARN THE TOOLS YOU […]

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Learning Blender 3.0 one simple logo recreation at a time

Caleb J. Ross — Sat, 25 Dec 2021 16:02:36 +0000

Daunting project + audience I care about = motivation.

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I Hope you Don’t Like Gameplay

Caleb J. Ross — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 17:59:08 +0000

The game-making lessons we mentioned are: Re-use of levels doesn’t have to be boring. Narrative, along with day segments, means each environment feels very different despite their repetition. (Death Loop). Mentioned: Dishonored 2 Devs Explain the Clockwork Mansion. Simplicity can be deceiving. Simplicity doesn’t mean boring. (Super Auto Pets). Difficulty doesn’t make Caleb hate […]

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Why We Do the Games We Do

Caleb J. Ross — Sun, 28 Nov 2021 17:23:09 +0000

The game-making lessons we mentioned are: Inscryption – A game’s mechanics don’t have to be novel in order to be worth playing or developing around Luigi’s Mansion 3 – Puzzles should have feedback to guide the player. Meandering and luck are not satisfying game mechanics. Doki Doki Literature Club – Video games can still […]

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The Game Dev Journey Archive

Caleb J. Ross — Sat, 14 Aug 2021 17:46:41 +0000

In September 2015 I decided I wanted to make a video game. Having no experience with game development, let alone any experience with programming of any kind, I sensed quite a daunting journey ahead of me. So I took to the internet.

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The Weird Reason I Loved Final Fantasy VII Remake

Caleb J. Ross — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 20:16:54 +0000

[VIDEO TRANSCRIPT] The credits are rolling on Final fantasy 7 remake and I loved it… But maybe for reasons you don’t expect I avoided playing Final Fantasy VII Remake for a long time. But not because of some unhealthy affinity for the original. I believe change is almost always good. Loving something isn’t a reason […]

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Video Game Preservation is Important…Duh.

Caleb J. Ross — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 20:03:46 +0000

Video games are great. Learning from our ancestors is great. So shouldn’t our descendants have access to the greatness of today’s video games? In this video I talk about video game preservation. Why is it important to preserve both physical video games and digital video games? How you can help preserve and archive video game […]

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Video Game Button Combos Should be More Complicated. Why Aren’t They?

Caleb J. Ross — Wed, 19 May 2021 21:03:26 +0000

Once the player’s mental model adapts to the understanding that face buttons function differently than shoulder buttons, and those in turn function differently than d-pad buttons, the player’s experience starts to feel intuitive. A well-designed input system never explicitly communicates to the player about these functional categorizations. Smart input design simply reveals it to the player.

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Platformer Video Games with a Keyboard? How Different are Gamepads and Keyboards, Really?

Caleb J. Ross — Tue, 04 May 2021 01:42:58 +0000

Gamepad directional buttons tend to be pressed for longer durations than keyboard arrow keys. This means user input isn't just a preference; it's a gameplay consideration.

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Is Usability the Reason You Quit That Video Game You Thought You Liked?

Caleb J. Ross — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 21:27:40 +0000

Games usability seeks to answer three questions about a game as the player plays it:

Does the player know what they have to do?
Is the player able to do what they need to?
Does the player know how to achieve their goals?

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Are Unskippable Cutscenes a Games Usability Issue?

Caleb J. Ross — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 01:23:30 +0000

So if unskippable cutscenes can possibly cause player frustration. And skippable cutscenes can possibly cause player frustration. And cutscenes that are skippable midway through can possibly cause player frustration. What’s the solution? The obvious solution is to create cutscenes that are so captivating that a player happily watches them. But that’s not a reality. Different things captivate different players in different ways.

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Are Button Prompts in Video Games a Sign of Bad Design?

Caleb J. Ross — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 20:20:51 +0000

For a long time I’ve considered button prompts in video games to be an element of lazy game design. “Shouldn’t a well-designed game give players a play space so rich with affordance and feedback that players would frictionlessly and joyously discover the game mechanics and their associated inputs?” Not only did I think this, but […]

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Old Video Games Remind Me How Far We Haven’t Come

Caleb J. Ross — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 00:10:01 +0000

I’ve recently been playing through the original Ninja Gaiden on the NIntendo Entertainment System (NES). Why, you may ask? Maybe subscribe to the podcast Tales of the Lesser Medium, which I co-host, and pay attention to that subscription feed. Maybe you’ll have your question answered soon… As I was playing Ninja Gaiden, I was taken […]

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Can Disco Elysium: The Final Cut Teach Me to Love Keyboard Gaming?

Caleb J. Ross — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 20:57:24 +0000

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is a game I’ve been waiting for. Ever since Disco Elysium was released in October 2019 I’ve wanted to play it. However, my PC is terrible and, more importantly, I’m scared of keyboard controls. But then console ports were announced. Yay! But instead of diving right into a PS4 version […]

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Maquette Makes me Feel Smart (a review of Maquette from Graceful Decay and Annapurna Interactive)

Caleb J. Ross — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 17:00:14 +0000

I just finished playing Maquette, an incredibly unique first person puzzle game developed by Graceful Decay and freshly published by Annapurna Interactive. Is Maquette a good game? Is Maquette fun? Watch this video review for my thoughts on the game. Maquette is a first person puzzle game, which is a genre I love very much. […]

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10 Video Games like The Legend of Zelda that you Should Play

Caleb J. Ross — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 01:06:32 +0000

The Legend of Zelda is an amazing video game series. Zelda games are always full of puzzles, adventure, exploration, and gadgets. But what other games like The Legend of Zelda series exist? What games can you play if you like the Legend of Zelda? It turns out, there are a ton of Zelda-like games out […]

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Why Can’t I Ever be the Bad Guy in a Video Game?

Caleb J. Ross — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 22:06:33 +0000

Games have fundamental limitations in terms of scope, and because of that developers must make choices about how to keep a player interested and engaged. Tapping into a moral goodness is one way of doing that.

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A new favorite game, 5 Google Stadia tricks, and more Lara Croft (January 2021 Channel Recap)

Caleb J. Ross — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 18:30:12 +0000

January 2021 was another productive month for this channel. In this video I recap what went on regarding my channel and regarding my video gaming life. Get ready for a video roundup, podcast roundup, a “what I’m playing” roundup, and a book roundup. Videos Is Amazon Luna a Good Enough Cloud Gaming Service to Stick […]

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Quitting Video Games is Hard but I’ve Learned to Embrace it OR Why Beat a Video Game?

Caleb J. Ross — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 00:12:30 +0000

Quitting a game before it’s completed is actually not easy for the easily influenced human brain to do. Self-determination theory is a driving force behind mission completion, and therefore game completion. People engage in voluntary behavior (like play) to the extent that it scratches three psychological itches:

The need to feel competent at what you’re doing (Competence)
The need to feel like you have meaningful choices when deciding how to do it (Autonomy)
The need to feel connected and related to others in the process (Relatedness)

So maybe I quit a game before completion when it fails to constantly satisfy self-determination theory, when the game itself fails to motivate me.

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5 Google Stadia Tips and Tricks You Didn’t Know About

Caleb J. Ross — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 22:38:39 +0000

Google Stadia has been a great video gaming platform for me. I love its ease-of-use. I love the selection of games. I love the controller. But there’s actually way more to love about Google Stadia than a lot of us realize. In this video I present five Google Stadia tricks and Tips. These are five […]

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Video Game Bugs and Glitches are Here to Stay

Caleb J. Ross — Sat, 09 Jan 2021 20:26:51 +0000

But why do we as gamers accept bugs and glitches in our video games? Because video games are really, really, really, really, hard to make. In this video I talk about why video games contain bugs. I explore why glitches in video games are inevitable. I even talk about why bugs in video games can […]

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Is Amazon Luna a Good Enough Cloud Gaming Service to Stick Around? Or does Google Stadia reign?

Caleb J. Ross — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 17:46:56 +0000

Amazon Luna is a great service, so why don’t I play video games with it very often? I’ve had access to the Amazon Luna Beta for approximately 2 months, and though I determined that Google Stadia only narrowly edged out Luna in a head-to-head battle of the two game streaming services, see that video linked […]

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Lots of Cyberpunk 2077, Scalper Love, and a new Tales Episode! (December 2020 Channel Recap)

Caleb J. Ross — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 00:09:29 +0000

December 2020 was a very productive month for this channel. In this video I recap what went on regarding my channel and regarding my video gaming life. Get ready for a video roundup, podcast roundup, and a “what I’m playing” roundup. Videos How the Stock Market Can Explain Dumb Decisions From Big Video Game Publishers […]

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The Best PlayStation 4 Games of 2020 (and why I didn’t play them)

Caleb J. Ross — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 18:11:52 +0000

“The best games of 2020” is a subjective thing, of course. It’s no surprise then that I wasn’t compelled to play most of them. But why, really, didn’t I play 2020’s best video games? In this video I review the Metacritic list of the best PlayStation 4 video games of 2020. Along the way, I […]

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Cyberpunk 2077’s Johnny Silverhand Cocktail is REAL…and it tastes, well, um…

Caleb J. Ross — Thu, 24 Dec 2020 20:26:14 +0000

Today I’m going to make the Johnny Silverhand cocktail, as featured in the video game Cyberpunk 2077. I’ve been playing a lot of Cyberpunk 2077 lately. I’m having a lot of fun with it. But am I having as much fun drinking this cocktail featured in the game? Watch to find out. Mentioned: Petee’s Power […]

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I love ALL ways to play video games, but I prefer consoles. Here’s why.

Caleb J. Ross — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 00:06:07 +0000

I prefer to play video games on consoles rather than PC. I like the simplicity of a PS4, an Xbox, or a Nintendo Switch. In this video I’m going to give you three reasons why I like gaming on consoles. If you are a PC gamer, stick around. You may learn why some people prefer […]

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Unboxing the Annapurna Interactive Deluxe Limited Edition (8 PS4 games) from iam8bit

Caleb J. Ross — Sat, 19 Dec 2020 22:08:43 +0000

I’ve been looking forward to the Annapurna Interactive Deluxe Limited Edition collection of PS4 games for a long time. Finally, it’s in my hands. Join me in this rare Caleb Gaming unboxing video. What makes this collection so special? Why am I excited about this collection of games? Watch to find out. This collection from […]

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