i didn't realize this was a sad occasion
This is Steven’s Substack. I believe this will mainly be used as another way of posting my various writings in addition to the Google Docs and Tumblr posts I currently use.
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Why "Troglodytes" in Cairn?
All throughout Aava’s ascent of Kami she comes across remnants of a group who bear the misnomer of troglodyte. I share the same distaste for this term that Jay Castello notes in their writing on Cairn for Unwinnable, “Called only ‘troglodytes’ (literally ‘cave dwellers’ but with an unfortunate association
The Parable of Aava the Mountaineer
There was a certain woman named Aava who desired to scale the highest mountain in the world: Kami. Her father was a renowned mountaineer, and had placed Aava on the rock wall as early as three. She fulfilled her inheritance, making famous climbs of various mountains, but had at last
Player as Puppeteer and Caretaker in Cairn
While climbing in Cairn you control each of Aava’s limbs individually. It can be a bit odd at first. The game automatically switches from one limb to the next as you attempt to determine which cracks offer an optimum hold for Aava to grasp onto as you push her
Replaying Hyper Light Drifter
[Today marks 10 years since the release of Hyper Light Drifter. Special thanks to Artemis Octavio for their edits/suggestions on this piece.] I did not play it while I was sick. I did not play it preceding or during or after a death. Playing it did not teach me