In life, expectations have lots in common with rules: While they’re intended to be abided by, that still doesn’t stop folks from occasionally breaking them. In the world of entertainment, expectations can take on a different meaning—either pertaining to how audiences perceive a specific genre or what they think they’ll get out of a particular work of art. Where video games are concerned, there’s no shortage of titles that are initially seen as one thing and end up being another.

Around six years ago, Xbox took a leap of faith. The company unveiled the Xbox Adaptive Controller, a new type of gamepad that defied traditional design conventions in service of a singular mission: make video games accessible to all. The console maker has devoted itself to that goal in the subsequent years, rolling out new accessibility options for its video game software, bringing external developers into the fold so they can test their own accessibility features, waiving the licensing fee for accessible hardware developed through its ‘Designed for Xbox’ program, and building entirely new devices such as the Xbox Adaptive Joystick.

Despite existing in one form or another since the early 80s, people still have room in their hearts for a good ol’ fashioned point-and-click adventure game. In fact, some folk (cough zoomers cough) are just now learning how rewarding it can be to patiently peruse a plethora of pixels in hopes of finding the precise one that matters, or how frustrating it can be to come to grips with the developers’ unique interpretation of human logic.

The following excerpt is from Animal Crossing by Kelsey Lewin. The book was published August 15, 2024, and is available from Boss Fight Books. Use discount code TOMNOOK for 10% off your purchase. The story of Animal Crossing’s development first starts in the space between Yoshi’s Story’s international release date in 1998 and Eguchi’s new “communication game.” During that brief interim, he and Nogami were assigned to work as advisors on an odd new concept called Mario Artist: Talent Studio[1]—part of a series of 64DD software all named under the Mario Artist umbrella.

There is no feeling quite like getting behind the wheel of a really good racing game and hitting the track for the first time. Whether you’re a fan of realistic competitive racing, fast and furious chaos or breathtaking scenery and a good tune on the radio, racing games are one of the most flexible, adaptable and enduring genres of games. It’s been over 50 years since players could first get into the virtual driver’s seat - with Atari’s Gran Trak 10 releasing in May of 1974 – the genre has only continued to rapidly accelerate, and never falls off the podium as one of the most popular genres on the market.

Bonaparte–A Mechanized Revolution is the upcoming steampunk-infused 4X strategy title from Studio Imugi, the Canadian studio established by former Kitfox Games and Sabotage developers back in 2021. The indie outfit has been quietly chipping away on the project since the pandemic, securing vital funding in the form of grants from the Canadian government and Ubisoft, scaling up from three co-founders to eight employees, implementing a four-day work week, and mulling over how they can punch above their weight in a genre dominated by juggernauts like Paradox, Firaxis, and more.

It has been eight years since Firaxis launched Civilization VI, but creative director Ed Beach hasn’t stopped ruminating on what the studio might have done differently. “Civilization VI was very successful,” he says, speaking to Game Developer at Gamescom 2024, “but it didn’t mean the design team loved it by the time we were finished. We are self critical, and we’re happy to dissect and pick apart our own creation and see its flaws.

I’m constantly surprised and impressed with the sheer scope and creativity that comes from the modding scene. One that has been on my list to check out for a long time is the X-Com Files, one of the larger mega mods to the original game. Giving it a play and despite being restricted by the UI/GUI of the original game, delivers an experience I’ve been wanting from tactical strategy games for over 20 years now.

Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws is the latest in a long line of open world single-player games from the multinational developer/publisher—but if you were surprised that Tom Clancy’s The Division developer studio Ubisoft Massive was in charge of the project, that would be fair. Though one end of the team had been working on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, this was the first single-player game for many team members, including creative director Julian Gerighty.