The Evergreen Library
SUPERJUMP has been independent for just over two months now. It’s been a big transition, and there’s still a great deal of work ahead of us. Many writers have opted to migrate their stories from Medium to SUPERJUMP, and we’re working through that process writer-by-writer at the moment.
Of course, we aren’t simply migrating existing stories to the new site. The team have been doing some of their best work over the last two months; I’m really proud of everyone for their outstanding efforts. If you haven’t visited our new site yet (or it’s been a while), here are some of my favourite new stories from the last month.
Collecting Pokémon Cards: A Primer
by Tristan Jung
I’m endlessly fascinated by collecting, especially in the video game world. Some folks spend many years building the perfect collection; maybe it’s retro games, or Amiibo, or in this case, Pokémon cards. In this piece, Tristan delves into the fascinating details around what, exactly, makes certain cards super collectible.
Unravelling the Mysteries of AI in Video Games
by Benji Tigg
The very best games often give you the feeling that characters (be they friend or foe) within the digital world are truly reacting to your behaviour in realistic or believable ways. Benji’s feature is a highly comprehensive primer that discusses a wide range of approaches game designers take when building believable digital characters.
Exploring Dungeon Synth: Music, RPGs, and Nostalgia
by Karl Otty
“Long, dark stone corridors. A distant echo of a drip, or perhaps a squelch. A haunting melody played on a brass instrument, with an uncanny, stiff lifelessness to the notes. A thick guidebook filled with rough sketches of swords, amulets, creatures, and villages.”
Need I say more? If you’re a fan of old school RPGs, then you might have already discovered “dungeon synth”. But if you somehow haven’t heard the good word, I won’t spoil anything further — go and read Karl’s fantastic story, which includes an interview with Erang, a dungeon synth musician.
Journey Games: From Japan to Egypt
It’s always an honour when game developers write for SUPERJUMP. I’m grateful that Felipe (creator of, among other gems, Horizon Chase Turbo) is lending his considerable game design insights to us. In this piece, Felipe hones in on something that is immediately understandable but difficult to describe: the sense of going on a journey in video games. In this piece, Felipe discusses how games give us the “feeling” of going on an epic journey (simultaneously noting why we don’t always get this feeling from open world games). A must read.
Open The Door: How a PlayStation RPG Helped Inspire Undertale
by Luca Fisher
Toby Fox’s Undertale has become ubiquitous in the gaming world. Even if you haven’t played it, you’ve most certainly heard of it. But Undertale, like many great games, was inspired by a variety of classics that came before. One of those games, which you may not have heard of, is Moon for the original PlayStation.
These are just a tiny selection of the stories published at SUPERJUMP through May. I highly recommend checking them out. As always, thank you for your continued support.
Kind regards,
James Burns
Editor in Chief
