THOMAS NICKEL
Journalist - Lecturer - Localizer - Game Designer
An Introduction...
Let's keep this short, okay?
Born in and residing in Germany; Games-journalist, writer, teaching game design & history, also dabbling in localization. And even somewhat making games these days. Regular Tokyo-visitor.
And of course: Fuck nazis, fuck bigots. he/him
Latest works...
In this section I will do my best and share my latest works, articles, appearances and more. Please be aware that the overwhelming majority of these will be in German.
M! Games 384
In M! Games 384, I look back at Capcom's Ghosts'n Goblins and of course review a plethora of new games! Find out more here!
Podcast:
Retronauts 710: Shinobi Mission 2
Together with my co-Retronauts I'm talking about all Shinobi-games from the Ninja's last 16-bit appearance onwards. You can listen to us here!
Review:
Rune Factory 5 - Guardians of Azuma
The latest game in the long-running Rune Factory franchise improves on its direct predecessor in almost every way! Read the whole review here!
Review:
Steam-Heart's & Variable Geo
Oh boy! The Saturn-port of a PC-98 hentai-shooter comes to Switch. With a slighty raunchy fighting game in tow. Read the whole review here!
Direct Contact to Devs...
...is still the best way to learn more about games and how they're made!
Playing games is nice, writing about games is also very nice. But without learning more about the people making such games, their work, their tools, their thoughts and their approach, you can only do so much.
So I think it's a very important thing to meet and talk to actual developers, from AAA-superstars, to smart indies, to ambitious students - they all have something worthwile to say and to share!
In recent years, I made it a habit to visit shows like GamesCom and especially Tokyo Game Show. After all, this is where you can not only see the latest developments and talk to their architects - they're especially great for opening new doors and opportunities. Even if that means once again braving Tokyo's scorching september-heat...
For the love of Classic Games
Enjoying past and present!
As a player who got his start during the 8bit-era, classic games and large pixels will always have a special place in my heart. I still enjoy NES and Master System, I love the 16-bit era, I find crude PlayStation- and Saturn-polygons highly pleasing and think the PS2-era was one of the most amazing time in the whole history of games.
However, tastes change...
THE EARLY YEARS Ah, the masters! Nintendo! Square! Capcom! Make way, philistines, I must conquer the canon!
THE LATER YEARS Yo, a collection of Valis games INCLUDING PC-Engine stuff?! 5 STARS
Eventually the high of mainlining Sega, Konami etc. wears off and you have to go to the harder shit- your Masayas, your Nichibutsus, Wolfteams, etc. But then that high wears off and you must resort to licking toads to get that rush: your SD Valis, your Rastan Saga IIs, your Curses
As someone who's recently ordered a bunch of hellishly expensive Famicom homebrew, I am very much in my "sniffing-glue just to feel something" phase. No hope for me now.
While the previous lines might seem a bit pointed there's quite a bit of truth to them. At some point, games stop simply being good or bad - they all become interesting!
A mediocre platformer might be the first work of a talented composer, a crude shooting game might hint at its developers later greatness! All games are interesting!