Happy New Year! 2012 was a great year at Pixel and Texel. We spent most of it developing our new title, as well as finishing support for Fara and a few other projects. Any year that we get to spend our days developing games and working on new things is a success. Sometimes it's easy to focus on the future (what are going to make next?!, what should we do?!, etc!), but we are incredibly lucky guys to just be making games TODAY.
Okay, now that we've got all that philosphical junk out of the way, on to some fun lists! Everyone seems to make these at the end of the year, and we always enjoy reading/discussing/disagreeing with them. So, without further ado, here are things that we loved in 2012!
**Note, Andrew's list are things that actually came out in 2012. Brett's are just things he liked, because, well, he tends to wait until holidays and birthdays for his games, so he is usually a year behind. Also, he is grumpy and likes what he likes, dangit. Regardless of the year!**
Andrew's List:
Games:
Sound Shapes (Vita) -Brilliant platforming design. THE reason to own a Vita.
The Walking Dead (PS3) -Probably the best story in a game ever. Not sure how much gameplay is really there, but I didn't care.
Persona 4 Golden (Vita) -Completely addicting, strange and engrossing. I ended up caring more about the daily life of Inaba than actually fighting through dungeons.
Resident Evil Revelations (3DS) -The best Resident Evil game this year (and I actually liked 6!). Tense, gripping survival horror.
True Skate (iOS) -I love this game. It is basically just a sandbox to play in (with a virtual skateboard), but I played it until my fingers cramped. The skateboard just "feels" right.
Music:
High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis -Amazing sludge metal from the best metal band around.
Gemma Hayes - Let It Break -Brave, ethereal songwriting from Ireland.
Tanlines - Mixed Emotions -This album was sorta trendy. But I really like it a lot. Synthesizers, beat heavy, great lyrics.
Hard Girls - Isn't It Worse -The best punk album of the year. Passionate and real. I cannot stress enough how good this is.
Sharks - No Gods -The Clash meets something newer. Absolutely great songs.
Movies:
Moonrise Kingdom -Probably the best Wes Anderson film in a long time. A great intersection of drama, comedy and surrealism.
The Dark Knight Rises -A fitting end to the trilogy. Some people didn't like it. These people also don't like good things.
The Cabin in the Woods -Incredible horror/comedy/parody. The last 15 minutes are amazing.
Bernie -Jack Black is so, so good in this one. It also nails the feeling of small town Texas.
Jeff Who Lives at Home -A beautiful, life affirming movie. Jason Segal's best.
Brett's List:
Games
Skyrim (Xbox 360) *You don't finish Skyrim (But I killed Alduin)
Journey (PS3) *Beat this
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Xbox 360) *Beat this
Sound Shapes (Vita)
Letterpress (iOS)
Music
*Warning!* There is some dubstep, but the list is rather eclectic (Brett's Hypemachine Profile):
http://hypem.com/brett_estabrook
Movies
Dark Knight Rises
Django Unchained
Looper
Avengers
Moonrise Kingdom
Anime I Got Into:
Steins;Gate
Ghost in the Shell
Darker than Black
Black Lagoon
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
Cowboy Bebop