I'm not a game developer, so I don't have as strong of a perspective on the process behind game creation as a developer would. I learned very quickly that the development process is much more work than fun, and that the expectations on developers to "just make a good game" are grueling, not even scratching the surface of deadlines and crunch culture that have permeated video games today, so I decided somewhere in my teenage years to just play games as a hobby. That said, I will always appreciate any insight into the behind-the-scenes aspect of game creation.

Another Pokémon Game rules. God I love this.

It's an excellent presentation and reflection on the expectations of game creators, developers, and consumers, from the outside and inside, with a specific focus on common sentiment and criticism of Game Freak as a whole.

I've complained about Pokémon a bunch before, and I try to stay as level-headed as I can (and fail) regarding criticisms of the latest Pokémon games, having played almost all of them since Red and Blue were released in North America, but tackling Pokémon as a whole is always a daunting challenge. Despite my consistent disappointment with the newer releases, it's still a series close to my heart and I can't in good faith point my finger and just blanket-statement say "this sucks because of this reason." It's complicated, and game development is complicated, and a commercial success like Pokémon having the particular problems that we're becoming increasingly more aware of is messy.

Play this if you care about Pokémon.

I promise it isn't just Another Pokémon Game.