Hey, newsletter gang. How are we? I hope you’re all cosying up by the fire, getting ready for Video Game Christmas next week, that big bad fidelity extravaganza in the City of Angels. Some of you may already be there, bumbling around convention halls and converted studios, drinking La Croix and sampling sights unseen. Have fun, if so, and do make the most of it. Go to The Broad, Grand Central Market, and the Bradbury Building if you get the chance. Grab some tacos at Poquito Mas in Burbank. And go watch the skaters at Venice Beach. Probably keep it light on the THC, too, just in case you prang out in front of Phil Spencer or something.
Alas, while you’ve been going to theme parks and experiencing the bleeding edge of interactive entertainment, I’ve been in a boiling hot bedroom, cooking up games media infrastructure. Someone had to do it. It can’t be swag bags and mimosas all the time. So, in the spirit of awards season, here’s a World Premiere.
INTRODUCING: The Postmode Archive
Like anyone who is sane and online these days, I screenshot and save a lot of things that I think look cool. This means my phone has become a messy mood board, a reference pit for inspiration that often goes unused. Hence, the Postmode Archive. It’s a page on Instagram where I’ll be dumping everything—memes, old video game print and TV ads, arcade flyers, promotional renders… you name it. There are only 19 posts so far, but it already looks vibey, and I hope to build it into a little fan community for People Who Like This Sort Of Thing. It’s like Pinterest, but relevant and not shit. I’ll be sharing little tidbits and fun internet culture factoids on there, too. Go check it out!
The Postmode Playlist
In addition to my visual curation station, I’ve embedded a link to the Official Postmode Spotify Playlist on Postmode.org. If you’re on the hunt for new music, give it a listen while you’re working.
Out of the frying pan, into the… cold?
For Postmode.org, I had a chat with The Water Museum about Arctic Eggs, a game where you peddle poultry for crunchy-textured strangers by flipping physics-based ingredients around a slippery pan. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric indie game, challenging and charming in all the right ways. It’s over in a few hours and demands your attention. Go check it out.
I really want to play the Versus Mode Kevin mentioned during our call:
“I’m not smart enough for this, but I would love to add some kind of versus mode. I don’t know if you’ve played Ultimate Chicken Horse – it’s like Competitive Mario Maker. I would love for a mode like that where you’re with a group of friends, and if you lose the challenge, you could decide to take away an ingredient from the list you have to cook or add one to make it harder. I think Chicken Horse tells you to work together to make the level challenging but still beatable. I’m thinking about playing with my little brother. Like we’re just cooking eggs, and a bullet falls down, and I would love to be able to just toss the bullet into his pan, you know, and make it into a hot potato. I’m not the best programmer ever, but if I ever get any better, I’d love to do something like that.”
The melancholy legacy of Japan Studio
Also, for Postmode.org (a theme is emerging!), I penned a little op-ed about the new Astro Bot trailer that debuted during the State of Play. I’m thrilled to see PlayStation’s de facto mascot flourish, but I'm also pretty moody about how delightful it feels to see ‘Old PlayStation’ icons like Parappa and Ico wheeled out of the vault.
“As well as tugging rigorously on our nostalgic heartstrings, I think part of the reason we delight in Asobi’s thoughtful, often-profound references to Old PlayStation is that, ultimately, this is what we have left of that era. Yes, you can still play some of the games that Astro Bot is referencing – those that gave PlayStation an early reputation for playful creativity. A few have been remastered or remade in the years since. But most of them are inaccessible on modern platforms, for whatever reason, which hollows out part of the homage.”
WordPress for Dummies, by a Dummy
Born out of frustration at the Google Search GPT minefield, I wrote a no-bullshit ELI5 explainer about how I built Postmode.org. It covers the whole process in a baby-step manner, from TLD choices to managed or unmanaged hosting and SSL installation. All that boring, jargon-y rubbish you may or may not be familiar with is demystified and, crucially, not attached to any affiliate links. So, if you want to build your own blog or portfolio website, go check it out!
Hooroo for now
That just about wraps things up, I think! I’ve put together a Postmode Linktree to pull together all of the different pockets of presence, which you can check out here.
And, as always, you can help justify this whole endeavour by supporting Postmode on Patreon. I’d really appreciate it, as I’d love to be able to give this even more time and commission some cool freelance features in the near future. Watch out for some more indie interviews in the near future.