The Warm Glow
👋🏻
I haven't been very good at the "real-ish time" part of this newsletter. I am leaning heavy on the "-ish." But progress is being made! We have a good looking timeline!
We have a much better CRT effect!
And I have finally shot my Psycho Mantis footage.
I want to focus on the Metal Gear Solid bit one more time. You may remember that I found a speedrunning save for the Integral version of MGS. That was requiring me to play off my MiSTer. When I sat down to record the footage, I was having quite a bit of trouble getting my SNAC adapter, switch controller ports—basically the whole crux of the boss fight. So I went out and found a new save.
First I tried converting the Integral save, but that came to a dead end. With this new save, I was able to load it on a real PS1 memory card with my Symphony of the Night save. My original plan for the shot above was with my PS1, but as it turns out, my PS1 is not reading discs all too well. Seems I may need to give it some TLC down the line. I moved over to my PS2 and just soaked up the warm glow of my tube tv. It was delightful to bask in the 1998 Kojima masterpiece.
I've been feeling great about my essay work recently. Alongside the edit for Astro Bot and the Fourth Wall, I've been chipping away at a new idea that has taken over my brain about a unique similarity between Christopher Nolan and The Last of Us Part II. It's nice to be in a pre-production/research phase on one project, while wrapping up another. There's good separation there. Gives me the good kind of feeling that there is always something to do.
Thanks for your patience with this slump in the work. I am excited about the projects ahead. I hope you are too.
Until next time...
This letter is one block from the newsletter Memory Card by Max Roberts. Thoughts? Send me an email at max@maxfrequency.net.
Max is the writer and producer behind Max Frequency. cultivate and curate curiosity—both for himself and for others—by delighting in the details and growing greatness from small beginnings.
He's written a rich history and dive on the making of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II, celebrated the 15th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the voice behind its hype, and examined how Zelda "stole" Fortnite's best mechanic.
Memory Card is a real-ish time, raw, drip feed newsletter of his creative process for telling these stories. It’s how The Thing™ gets made.
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