NEW YEAR, BIG ADMIN: SU&SD Newsletter #78

Tom: Lots of things happened at SU&SD in January! We’ve taken our typical slow start to the year to set up a bunch of systems for all the new projects we’ve got stretching ahead of us, with the Top 100 being one of many. We’re amped about everything going on this year!

What are we working on?  🖥️

Tom: We’ve not really got a ‘topic’ for this newsletter like we usually do, so I thought I’d change the format slightly, and pop in a section about what we’ve been working on!

January is always slower for us as we think more broadly about what we’re doing this year, why we’re doing it, what needs changing, and what new systems we want in place. For me, one of the very largest tweaks that needed to be made was to my day-to-day environment; most work days I find myself cooped up in the same room in my flat with little reason to move around, go outside, or properly socialise! I’ve realised that the monotony of it was starting to seriously affect my body, which was seriously hitting my brain - which in turn was seriously damaging my relationship with work! So, my resolution this year is to vary that diet up a tad - taking more days to visit Mr Lees in London and to ‘walk home from work’ every day. Small stuff, but it’s working so far! I feel better during this winter than I have during basically any winter of my life? I can’t be stopped!

On the more tangible end of things, I’ve been playing a whole bunch of games to pick out a few upcoming features. I got sent a bouquet of AllPlay 's small box games, the absolutely gigantic 'Bloodstones' from Martin Wallace, and I might even find some time to dip into the 18XX genre with 'Shikoku 1889'. The thing is, I can't stop myself from playing 'Dune: Imperium'. I've been really banging on about how good it is to my friends, maybe out of the shame of slagging it off in our original video review - and we've ended up playing an absolute heap of the thing. We're working on something of a retrospective feature for the game, including a review of the fabulous re-tooled 'Uprising' edition - and it's a great excuse to play a whole bunch of a great game and write a whole bunch of dumb jokes. Can't wait for you to see that one finished!

Matt: After probably actually years of talking about the technical behind-the-scenes bits we’ve been doing, the FRUIT IS NOW FALLING FROMTH T’TREES. The Top 100 series has been a long time in the making, and we’ve now got a brilliant foundation to play with! A complicated pipeline of devices and virtual computers and optical cables means that it’s now pretty seamless for us to record on multiple cameras, in 4K, without much faffing around or getting things set-up.

And that’s huge! We’re not only saving time and energy here, we’re freeing up such substantial chunks of headspace: if I don't have to think about all of that stuff - it means I focus on other technical preparations for when we’re filming in the studio. Props! Silly Ideas! Unexpected treats for us, and for you - the viewers. I think there’s an energy in the first episode of The Top 100 that I think represents a little seed of possibility for what it might be in the future. I’m already proud of it, but I’m also hugely confident that - babe - we’ve not even STARTED.

But that’s only been the FIRST part of the puzzle: it's all very well to make it easy-squeezy to film studio footage - how on earth do we then reliably turn those files into great internet videos? Editing large-format files is a pain - and editing longform recordings is also very time-consuming, particularly if you want to actually do a semi-decent job? So that brings us to what I’ve been up to THIS year, so far: the second slice in my personal Triforce of Boring Technical Solutions. That's right - it's an EDITING WORKFLOW, CUSTOMISABLE ASSETS & REUSABLE VIDEO TOOLS. I am not someone you want to talk to at a party, right now!! Please do not invite me to your party!!!

Delving into the nodal nightmare of Davinci Resolve’s Fusion page, I’ve been working to build a bunch of custom tools that should make editing the Top 100 series a breezier, far more satisfying task. Starting a project like this, ostensibly, is easy! But ensuring that you don’t give up on it when the extensive edits become an absolute pain? That’s been tougher - but it’s really exciting to see the extent to which I can literally hack away at our video software to make it function in the exact ways we need. And gosh - all of that seemingly endless research about disk speeds, PCI pipeline-bandwidths, high-end networking & NAS storage solutions? It’s finally paying off in the most boring way possible. It. All. Just. Works. I can’t wait for 2024 to start properly - I’ve almost finished being a complete boring bastard, and now it’s time to start having FUN.

What are we video games!  🎮

Matt: Forget about WHAT are we videogames: WHY ARE WE VIDEOGAMES? That’s the question of course that I set out to answer with the video series “Cool Ghosts”. With the fourth and officially speaking final episode now completed, I now feel FREE to ENJOY VIDEOGAME?! So who knows what I’ll be playing over the next few months!

For now though, I remain firmly back on my bullshit, endlessly playing deck-builder roguelikes on my Switch. Cobalt Core seemed AMAZING for a while but I think it needs a little more time in the oven: for the meantime I'm back to playing Monster Train again. CHOO CHOO. It's very good, and I now frequently do an impression of the cat shopkeeper chuckling, to myself, just for fun. It's fun to have fun!!!

Tom: My New Year’s Resolution to myself was to finish more games, and so far I’m absolutely chewing through them. Trying to eliminate that slightly depressing ‘What Do I Play’ paralysis has led to not only a more varied diet of entertainment (when I don’t feel like playing one of the games I’ve set out to finish… I do something else?? Who knew?!) but also, predictably, a greater appreciation of the titles I’m choosing to see through to the end.

You can keep up with the games I’ve been working my way through on Twitter, but for those who don’t want Mr Musk anywhere near their data, here’s the skinny. Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is the very finest example of MiMiMi's stealth-tactics mashup to date and is so good that I made a little video for it in the Bonus Bits - check that out below! Laika: Aged Through Blood proved an initially frustrating metroidvania that, by the end, fully won me over with a genuinely touching narrative and one of the best 'late-game traversal tools' the genre has to offer. HUMANITY is an exceptional puzzle game with great music and even greater vibes in its early hours that gently turns into a bit of a clunky bore by the end. I adore the idea of the core gameplay loop shifting as much as it does in this one, but I don’t think it nails the landing in adapting the tools you have at your disposal to fit that metamorphosis. It’s good! But it’s not as great as those early hours had me believe.

I've also been hopelessly addicted to Against The Storm. More on that next time, probably, help.

What are we music!  🎵

Tom: I’ve had ‘Projector’ by Geese on repeat for this entire month - a great record for fans of bands like Car Seat Headrest, I’d hazard a guess. It’s propulsive, hooky, and has some moments of absolute brilliance. The back half of ‘Fantasies/Survival’, the start of ‘Exploding House’, the entirety of album closer ‘Opportunity is Knocking’? Great record.

Their latest album, ‘3D Country’ is a complete pivot away from their previous sound - it’s got an ‘unhinged cowboy’ energy? The opening track ‘2122’ is such a mission statement - brash and raucous and wild… but then it’s followed by the pretty serene and mildly goofy title track that makes you completely re-assess the record you’re listening to? Great band. Great albums. Really excited to see what they get up to in the future.

What are we watching? 📺

Tom: I’ve been hooked on watching old episodes of Survivor. Me and my flatmates watched the UK version and enjoyed it greatly, but the very best of the US Seasons is just completely off-the-chain TV. We watched Season 7 (Pearl Islands) first and felt utterly spoiled for how good it was - especially delighted by the charmingly 2000s aspect ratio and gritty image quality. Following that up with the equally fabulous Season 16 (Tocantins) has made this… kind of my new favourite thing?

Emily: So… it’s happening. I’ve finally given in to the inevitable. After years of avoiding the stereotype, I have started getting into anime. Pray for me.

Matt: Oh gosh, welcome. I’ve barely dipped my toes in, but it’s a slippery slope. Delicious In Dungeon is a ridiculous weekly treat right now - same studio who did the ridiculously good Cyberpunk: Edgerunners a few years back. I still think about Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood about once every few days. Hoo mamma!

Emily: My siblings have been avid fans for as long as I can remember, but I haven’t kept up with much since I watched shows like DBZ, Tsubasa, Cardcaptor Sakura and Naruto as a child. Then, recently, a friend described Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury to me and my interest was piqued. A show about freakin’ sick mechs with a cute queer relationship at the forefront?!? Yes, please! Thank you! I’ll take your entire stock! It starts off following a quirky, seemingly good-hearted but socially misguided girl as she attends school for the first time to become a trained pilot. The first few episodes more or less follow a predictable ‘fish out of water’ structure as she adjusts to the elitism of the school and the social dynamics with her classmates. However, the story quickly shifts as it explores themes of political corruption, ethical dilemmas around violence, and more personal themes of moral corruption and identity. An incredibly satisfying watch. I enjoyed it immensely!

Now that I was in the weeds (weebs? No. I’m sorry :c) I thought I may as well get around to watching the show I had been recommended RELENTLESSLY by friends and family over the past couple years. Spy x Family is just so good. I hate when people recommend something for so long, I ignore them, and they end up being right. It’s not an issue with me, it’s their fault somehow!! It is just a wonderful show about a spy who, needing a fake family for his mission, adopts a girl with the hidden ability to read minds and pretends to be married to a woman who is secretly an assassin. The characters are exceptionally likeable. Watching this fake family with their secrets grow closer is just so pleasant. It makes me smile. The cruise arc was the best. VERY GOOD!!

Matt: Best thing I’ve seen recently has been Station Eleven - a show that I think flopped into oblivion on account of being about the aftermath of an incredibly devastating global pandemic, and launching at around the same time as an actually fairly awful global pandemic. It’s a huge shame, because really it’s a show that’s so much bigger than that - a messy tale about humanity that featured far, far more Shakespeare than I could have possibly expected? A huge recommendation from me, another shockingly great performance from Mackenzie Davis, for my money one of the best actors currently living on our big-ole wet galactic ball.

What are we reading? 📚

Emily: Us by Sara Soler is an exceptional graphic memoir that I whole-heartedly recommend to anyone interested in gender identity and expression. The book is incredibly heartwarming, emotional, funny and beautifully illustrated by Joamette Gil. Seriously, the cover alone makes me want to find a way to adequately put it on display. It’s gorgeous. The story follows Sara and her partner Diana's love story, as Diana comes out as a trans woman.

It fills my heart with so much joy to see a story that is so honest and relatable out there in the world. A little raw and difficult to read personally as my long-term relationship did not have the same happy ending when I came out, but that didn’t detract at all from how beautiful their story is and how proud I am to see it told. Absolutely loved it.