A decade ago, I took advice from Greg Miller on Podcast Beyond. I wish I knew the episode in question, but the gist was this;

If you want to work at IGN/cover games, go out there and do the work. Start a blog, write, get in front of a camera. Do it.

When working the stock room at Kmart, I took this advice to heart. I started a blog called Go Left Gaming, based off a Miyamoto quote about rewarding the player that goes to the left and explores off the main path. I started my third YouTube channel (and it’s the one I have stuck with to this day). This advice directly inspired me to pursue a degree in journalism.

On May 18, 2013, I published my first written review for a game. I picked Guacamelee! and I opened with this cringe,

What happens when you mix avocados, onions, tomatoes, limes, garlic cloves, and peppers? You get a delicious bowl of guacamole. Now what would happen if you took memes, intense platforming, rich environments, deep combat, hilarious dialog, and gorgeous levels into one game? You would get Guacamelee.

Go Left Gaming is defunct now. I imported all of my posts here to Max Frequency and shut down the original .wordpress site. Maybe I should have kept it up, but I just wanted one place for my online work to live. Max Frequency is that place.

My work on Go Left Gaming would help me land gigs at some places. I would go on to write for PlayStation Insider, PlayStation Wire, and DualShockers.¹ One time, I even interviewed at Twinfinite to write about MOBAs. Of course, the biggest gig was being a guide writer for IGN for five years. At the time, I thought the door was open. Greg’s advice worked and I was going to work full-time at IGN. Despite a handful of interviews, it never happened.

Looking back on the 10 years, Greg’s advice did work, just not the way 18-year-old Max expected. Now I have what I always strived for and I built it myself. I have two great podcasts that I pour myself into producing. I have a website that is all my own where I can write whatever I want, at my cadence, without being beholden to SEO trends. I am just as creatively free as I was in 2013. It just took a few years to figure out I always had the opportunity I wanted.

So if you’ve read or listened to any of my work in the past decade—from my in-depth histories on Breath of the Wild or Naughty Dog, to my reviews, to the hundreds of podcast episodes I have recorded—thank you. Here’s to the next 10 years! 🥂

1. I’m sensing a theme here.

You’re Invited: PlayStation Showcase broadcasts live next Wednesday, May 24 at 1pm Pacific Time by Sid Shuman for the PlayStation Blog

PlayStation Showcase broadcasts live next Wednesday, May 24 at 1pm Pacific Time / 9pm British Time.

The show will run a bit over an hour, focusing on PS5 and PS VR2 games in development from top studios from around the world. Expect a glimpse at several new creations from PlayStation Studios, as well as spellbinding games from our third-party partners and indie creators.

Here’s a live view of the anticipation and desperation for PlayStation news.

Introducing Punching Up, Last Stand Media’s Nintendo Podcast by Colin Moriarty for Last Stand Media

Today, we are pleased to launch an all-new product, one that many of you have asked for over the years. It’s called Punching Up: A Nintendo Podcast, a biweekly offering presented by Last Stand Media. You can listen to or watch the first episode right now, and if you’re not a Patron, our usual standard applies: The first episode is immediately free-for-all. So jump in!

…I think you’re going to be pleased who we tapped to co-host Punching Up: Our very own Dustin Furman (Executive Procucer and co-host of Sacred Symbols), Dagan Moriarty (co-host of Constellation and KnockBack), and Micah Watson (Coordinator and Shopkeep), and — for the first time as an official member of our family — Gene Park (The Washington Post).

This popped up in my feed and I was delighted and not surprised. After I chatted with Dustin on MFP two months ago, I asked if Last Stand was ever going to do a Nintendo show. Having coverage on The Big Three makes sense. While Dustin didn’t give me anything, I could tell during the intervening months that this was inevitable. Subtle drops or explanations of how they’d have to do it kept occurring. Colin mentioning designing a logo for a show. It was like buying a car and then suddenly seeing that model everywhere. I knew they’d tackle a Nintendo show soon.

The first episode is great with a killer lineup of hosts. There’s a wide range of experience, insight, and knowledge. I’ll dip out before the Tears of the Kingdom chatter, but I’m here from week one.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – DF Tech Review – Is It Really ‘Too Big for Switch’…? by John Linneman for Digital Foundry

I could not believe the performance. A solid 30fps, outside of using the Ultrahand ability in busy areas. Nintendo knows their hardware inside and out. Crazy to think that the performance from previews had improved so rapidly with the day one patch.

I’m excited to dig into Zelda, someday soon. I have to finish this move and go to a wedding first. Sure, I could play portably, but I need to get cozy on the couch and play on the big screen.

How Nintendo Solved Zelda’s Open World Problem by Mark Brown for Game Maker’s Toolkit

You might think this is just another GMTK game analysis that is timed for the release of a new game. While the timing part is true (gotta appease the SEO gods), the actual analysis is not Mark’s usual.

In 2017, Nintendo gave a presentation at the Computer Entertainment Developer Conference in Japan about how they solved for an open world where the player can go anywhere and do anything, yet still end up at key locations to progress the story. The talk was never uploaded and photos were essentially DMCA’d by Nintendo.

So Mark has recreated the talk. By digging through the Wayback Machine, having articles translated, and using modern tools, Mark has done his best to represent the original talk by Nintendo; and I think he nailed it. Insight directly from Nintendo is quite rare, as Mark notes, and this may be the closest we get to access that original material in a video/presentation format. It’s tight, focused, and insightful.

As for Tears of the Kingdom, I wonder how the horizon of triangles will be translated to floating blocks in the sky. Then you have to think, up on the floating islands, you can see the world below, so how do landmarks appear from above, with no obstruction (except for draw distance). I’m excited to see how Nintendo’s open world design has evolved in a post-Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey world.

Apple brings Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro to iPad from Apple Newsroom

Apple today unveiled Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad…

Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad will be available on the App Store as subscriptions starting Tuesday, May 23…

…Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad will each be available on the App Store for $4.99 (US) per month or $49 (US) per year with a one-month free trial.

It’s happening.

PixelOpus on Twitter on May 5, 2023

Dear friends, our PixelOpus adventure has come to an end. As we look to new futures, we wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to the millions of passionate players who have supported us, and our mission to make beautiful, imaginative games with heart.
We are so grateful!

In this constant cycle of acquisitions, it’s not every day we see a first-party studio shut its doors. The last time Sony closed a first-party team was in 2021 with Japan Studio being reshuffled into Team Asobi. It’s unclear if the folks at PixelOpus are being reorganized throughout other teams or if everyone is just gone. Either way, my best wishes to all those affected.

Almost two years ago, PixelOpus announced a new wave of hiring for an Unreal Engine 5 project in partnership with Sony Pictures Animation. Seeing all of the TV shows and movies that are releasing this year, it’s easy to imagine that PixelOpus’ game was to be tied in with some sort of animated movie. Concrete Genie released just in 2019, so this new project had only been in the works for four years; and I suspect only really in serious development since that Unreal Engine 5 announcement two years ago.

Phil Spencer Interview: Redfall Reviews, Activision Deal by Kinda Funny for the Kinda Funny Xcast Ep. 137

This interview dropped yesterday and I saw quite a few articles about it. I watched/listened, because any chance to hear an executive is interesting to me. Xbox is in and has been in a tough spot lately. So much is riding on Starfield. Games haven’t been hitting. Releases have been missed. It’s worth hearing what hte man in charge of Xbox has to say about this climate right before their Summer Showcase.

At the end of the interview, Phil Spencer spoke about Xbox’s (the console) position in the marketplace. Two quotes stood out to me as contradictory.

“We have a different vision…Play the games you want, with the people you want, anywhere you want. We want Xbox to be something that people who buy our console can feel like they are a member of. Obviously, who are playing on PC, who are playing on cloud, that they feel like full members of our ecosystem. Game Pass players can play on many different devices and we remain fully committed to that. We’re not in the business of out-consoling Sony or out-consoling Nintendo. There isn’t really a great solution or win for us…”

This statement is quite matter of fact. Xbox is in “last place” when looking at console marketshare. This generation, I’d say that Xbox’s (the company) goal has not been to sell the most home consoles, but to sell the most subscriptions. We don’t know the exact numbers, but I’d wager that Game Pass has quite the user base. They don’t want to own the living room anymore; they want to own your time. They want Game Pass to be the hub for your game time. Whether that is on an Xbox console, a TV app, your phone, a Steam Deck, etc. they want your $15/month to be the foundation of your game library/access/time. That’s the different vision.

Yet, mere minutes later, Phil said this,

“The console is the core of the Xbox brand…”

It’s not anymore Phil. How can the console be the core when you aren’t trying to out-console either competitor? How can the console be the core when your games aren’t running well on said box?

It is okay for the box to not be the core anymore. Your subscription service can be. The brand still feels like it is in this transition period and they can’t quite say the truth.

I want Xbox to do well and release good, fun, exciting games. Competition is great. I am jazzed for Forza Motorsport now that I’m all in on sim racers. But I haven’t touched my Xbox in months. I packed it up the other day for the move knowing I won’t be playing it for the next couple of months. I haven’t paid for Live Gold or Game Pass in over a year. You have to make the games and release them to keep players engaged.

There was one other bit that caught my ear, but not from Phil. Host Mike Howard, aka SnowBikeMike, opened up the show asking about the blocking of the Activision, Blizzard, King acquisition by the CMA. This is what Mike said,

I didn’t want to have to do it like this, but Phil it’s been a tough week in the Xbox universe. As you know, of course, the CMA kinda blocking our acquisition of Activision, Blizzard, King…

As a commentator, reporter, host, etc. Mike should not be speaking for Xbox, Sony, Nintendo, or any company, other than the one that actually pays him. None of the $70 billion is Mike’s money.¹ Mike’s career doesn’t ride or die on the acquisition. He’s not stressing out how to make the deal go through. I found it unprofessional and fan-focused. I get coming from a place of being an excited consumer, but you cannot have this our mindset as a professional commentator, reporter, host, etc.

1. Okay. That is technically not true. I assume it is a safe bet that some of Microsoft’s $70 billion did come from Mike (and me) buying Xbox consoles and games, but I digress.

‘This Guy Reads a Lot Better’, with Quinn Nelson by John Gruber for The Talk Show

Special guest Quinn Nelson joins the show to talk about Apple’s rumored AR/VR headset, Apple silicon, and more.

No, this is not an episode of MFP. I wish! Seeing Quinn be a guest on The Talk Show made me quite happy. I’ve been watching and following Quinn’s work for nearly a decade.¹ I would wager that being on The Talk Show is a dream most Apple fans, observers, commentators. As someone who looks up to both these fine folks, I felt pride listening to Quinn. Maybe someday I’ll get to talk to both of them.²

Plus, all their discussion on Apple’s VR/AR headset is spot on. This is a must listen before WWDC in one month.

1. YouTube says I started back in September 2014 with his “All About Headphones” series.

2. I don’t think I meet The Talk Show guest requirements, but maybe someday on MFP.