Tag Archives: VA-11 HALL-A

One-Shots

Coffee Talk: It’s A Brewtiful Day

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One of the great things about modern gaming is the sheer diversity of experiences you can have from one moment to the next.

If you’re in the mood for hacking and slashing through hordes of enemies as the cute girl personification of a video games console, gaming has you covered. If you fancy taking photos of spooky scary ghosts in a creepy old mansion, well, there’s a game for that, too — several, in fact.

But what about if you just fancy chilling out in a nice quiet coffee shop, enjoying the company of a few good friends and leaving all the troubles of the world outside for an hour or two? Sure, you could pop down your local Costa if you can face leaving the house… or you could settle in for an evening with Coffee Talk, a thoroughly pleasant story-centric game from Indonesian developer Toge Productions.

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One-Shots

Waifus I Have Loved

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As Valentine’s Day rolls around once again, I find myself keenly aware that not everyone in this world is fortunate enough to be blessed with a partner, lover, spouse or otherwise significant other as understanding, tolerant and patient as my good wife.

At times like this, a man often turns to solace in the arms of a waifu — hell, even if you do have a partner, lover, spouse or otherwise significant other as understanding, tolerant and patient as my good wife, sometimes a man still turns to solace in the arms of a waifu.

But the process of picking a waifu is not a scientific one, nor is it as simple as seeing an attractive woman and feeling a sexual attraction. It is, for many, a deeper sense of connection with a character on an emotional level; a desire for that character to be real and part of one’s life.

Or it might just be a bit of dumb, silly fun. Either way, here are ten waifus I’ve loved over the years.

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One-Shots

VA-11 Hall-A: Mixing Drinks and Changing Lives

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VA-11 Hall-A is a remarkable work in so many ways. Not only is it the work of just two mysterious chaps from Venezuela, it’s one of the most authentically “Japanese-feeling” Western works for quite some time.

On top of all that, it’s simply an extremely well put together package, featuring beautiful pixel art by Christopher Ortiz strongly reminiscent of vintage Japanese computers such as the PC-88 and PC-98; some snappy, witty writing by Fernando Damas; and a cast of characters so memorable they’ll haunt your dreams long after you serve your last Piano Woman.

The cherry on top of all this is, as we previously discussed when we looked at the game’s early Prologue version, the fact that VA-11 Hall-A’s focus and setting are interesting, compelling and, if not completely unique, then certainly very distinctive.

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From the Archives, MoeGamer 1.0

Where Everybody Knows Your Name is “Bartender”

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One of the most powerful — and underexplored — aspects of video games at large is that they allow us to put ourselves in the shoes of other people: to explore lives that are not our own.

In the case of most games, the “lives that are not our own” tend to be power fantasies: we take on the roles of heroic archetypes as they battle their way through epic conflicts via various means: punching things in the face, slicing them up with sharp implements or using a variety of heavy weaponry with which to inflict death and destruction.

That’s all very well and good — power fantasies are fun, which is why we’ve experienced so many of them over the years — but sometimes it’s interesting to explore something a little more… mundane. Like, say, being a bartender.

Enter VA-11 HALL-A, then, an upcoming game from Venezuelan (but heavily Japan-inspired) developer Sukeban Games and publisher Ysbryd Games…

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