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It has been a minute, hasn't it? My next essay was not "a combination of another striking moment in Journey and save files on my copy of A Link to the Past named 'GRAMPS' and 'FARTR.'"1 Instead, I workshopped my previously canned essay about how I Played God of War: Ragnarök Wrong (and you probably did too). After that, I started reworking my mythical Memento and TLOUPII script, but along the way I got distracted.
Before I published my Ragnarök essay, I built an app—perhaps "directed" is a more apt term. I directed the creation of DDDS, a macOS app for capturing your modded 3DS. It's what I always wanted in an app like this that no developer was ever going to make for the Mac. If you are inside the niche of Mac users with a modded 3DS console, this is for you.
Since the end of July, I have been distracted from essay work. I was making a different Thing™ and the guilt of not addressing this very, very small audience here in Memory Card land was weighing on me. I have considered shuttering the whole newsletter—again—and chalking it up to another failed creative experiment. I almost did it. Then I got to thinking about the "slogan" or "manifesto" of Memory Card.
"Memory Card is a real-ish time, raw, drip feed newsletter of my creative process for telling stories. It’s how The Thing™ gets made.
I am a huge lover and believer in sharing the creative process. After each major project and at the end of the year, I write big behind-the-scenes and retrospective posts. Memory Card is a regular, raw drip feed of my creative process and where I am currently at. It's how The Thing™ gets made. The big breakdowns will still happen, Memory Card is a more personal real-ish time version of those."
The creative process is messy. It has highs and lows. It changes and is modified and alters direction. It's not a rigid thing, but malleable. And right now, where my attention is being spent, is a new and different creative endeavor. It's video essay adjacent, but not the focus at this particular juncture in my creative journey.
If that's outside the purview of why you signed up, I understand. You can unsubscribe at the bottom of this here letter and no hard feelings will be felt.
Right now, my attention is all on making another app. One that meets the needs I had a decade ago when I was making video game guides. An app with the features I wish I had when recording gameplay for essays. Software that helps and delights by capturing those special gaming moments.
I'm building myself a replacement for OBS.
And I think it can be that replacement for other Mac users too.
So I think I am going to start sharing about that app and its creation process here. I hope you'll join me as I figure out this new Thing™.
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Seriously happy I caught this moment the other day while testing.
Until next time...
Memory Card Newsletter
This letter is one block from the newsletter Memory Card by Max Roberts. Thoughts? Send me an email at [email protected].
Max is the writer and producer behind Max Frequency, a place where he cultivates and curates curiosity—both for himself and for others—by delighting in the details and growing greatness from small beginnings.
He's written a rich history and dive on the making of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II, celebrated the 15th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the voice behind its hype, and examined how Zelda "stole" Fortnite's best mechanic.
Memory Card is a real-ish time, raw, drip feed newsletter of his creative process for telling these stories. It’s how The Thing™ gets made. You can sign up below. (Look down)
It's all powered by Max Frequency.
Wanna see The Thing™? Check it out on YouTube. Read it on The Blog.
Footnotes
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Still working on that one though! ↩