God of War Coverage
A series of features on the then-upcoming God of War for the PlayStation 4. Written before, during and after playing through the game with a pre-release review code provided by Sony, I used the opportunity to dig into how this game changes the series and how it remains true to the series' core. I also captured footage of myself solving all of the Nornir chests and doors throughout the game in order to write a comprehensive guide on how to solve them, using video to further showcase their solutions to readers and viewers.
(Cowritten by Kevin Dunsmore)
Metal Gear Won’t Survive Without Kojima
An opinion piece about how the Metal Gear series won't continue the way fans want without the input of creator Hideo Kojima. It looks at the recent failings of Metal Gear Survive in comparison to the historic highs that the Metal Gear Solid series enjoyed under the leadership of Kojima.
GDC 2018 Coverage
Though I was the junior-most member of Hardcore Gamer's writing staff, our Editor-in-Chief gave me the opportunity to be one of the four writers on staff to go to GDC this year. During a five day period I interviewed dozens of industry professionals, demoed countless games and acquired a deeper understanding of the industry as a whole. It was an amazing experience that I can't wait to replicate at E3 or TGS in the future. Here is a small assortment of the articles I wrote during the event.
The Evolution of Final Fantasy Battle Systems
Being one of my favorite series, I've spent a lot of time playing Final Fantasy games and slowly learning the ins and outs of how they operate. I decided to write a series of features on the franchise focusing specifically on their battle systems and leveling systems, detailing how they evolved from simple turn-based battles to real-time battles. The leveling systems in particular were interesting to research, as I learned many of the mechanics that underpin the Esper system in Final Fantasy VI or the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X. As well as writing the articles, I designed each featured image using Photoshop and images from the games using my capture device.
Checking The Score
Checking the Score is a monthly feature on Hardcore Gamer that focuses on video game music, composers, musicians and tools of the trade. It was started a few years ago by another staff writer and has changed hands a couple of times until it was assigned to me by the site's Editor-in-Chief. I've used it to showcase individual songs, general sound design in games and as a vehicle for composer interviews. It has allowed me to focus on specific elements of game design in my writing, and I've enjoyed the challenge.
Every Pokemon in the detective pikachu trailer
An article, video and slideshow deep-diving into the first Detective Pikachu trailer, detailing every pokemon that appears in the trailer and uncovering numerous other references in the trailer and official poster. While I wrote the article and assembled the slideshow, I worked together with various staff editors through Slack and a Google Doc to help find every possible hidden secret we could. I assisted in the assembling of this doc and played a part in forming the script used for the Detective Pikachu breakdown video, which proved to be exceptionally popular both on IGN and our YouTube channel.