Brandon Sanderson is a fantasy author known for writing high-quality series at a dizzying pace: Mistborn, The Stormlight Arhive, Elantris...no one else in the genre produces work as quickly and consistently as Sanderson.
Somehow, the author still finds time for hobbies like video games. In fact, based on a list of his 10 favorite games that went up on his blog, the longer and bigger they are, the more he likes them! Check out his list of favs below:
- 10. Katamari Damacy — “I love games that make me look at the world in a new way,” Sanderson said. Katamari Damacy, a game where you roll up things into a ball until you're big enough to roll up the entire world, definitely qualifies. Sanderson thinks playing it might be “the closest [he’ll] ever get to understanding what it’s like to do drugs,” which tells you a couple things.
- 9. Undertale — Sanderson fell in love with this indie RPG thanks to sharp writing, rich world-building, and plentiful personality. “The humor was just my kind of wonderful/terrible, and I was instantly enamored with the characters,” he said.
- 8. Fallout: New Vegas — New Vegas remains one of the most popular Fallout games to this day and Sanderson is right there with the rest of the fans.
- 7. Super Mario World — Most of the games on Sanderson's list have a heavy component, but
- 6. The Curse of Monkey Island — This classic adventure game is brimming with style and humor. “I don’t know if anyone ever got it as right as they did with [The Curse of Monkey Island],” Sanderson said.
- 5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Sanderson loves the nonlinear narrative, clever flashbacks, and lush open world of this modern Nintendo classic. He also thinks it has his "kind of humor."
- 4. Halo 2 — Although they're known for their multiplayer modes, Sanderson prefers to play the Halo games alone, and likes the second entry for the story. “Just dumping a bunch of story at me isn’t enough. It has to be suited to the game play and the feel of the game. In that context, I’ve rarely encountered writing as good as Halo 2.”
- 3. Final Fantasy X — Do the magic systems in the Final Fantasy games contribute to Sanderson's own magic systems? “All I can say is that I’ve played them since the first one, so they’re bound to have had an influence.” Sanderson likes Final Fantasty X in particular because of the world-building. He also relates to protagonist Tidus, who instead of being a moody teenager is a “stable, happy-go-lucky jock.” I can't tell if that's supposed to be a joke.
- 2. Bloodborne — “You have to construct the story like an archeologist, using dialogue and lore from descriptions of in-game objects.”
- 1. Civilization VI — "It’s the 'sheer weight of gameplay time' that crowns the Civilization franchise the winner."
“[o]ne makes an exception for Mario.”
Do any of Sanderson's pics say anything his writing? Well, he mentions how much he loves world-building a lot, which is a hugely important part of a lot of his books and a big part of the reason why they've caught on with so many fans. I also note that the biggest reason he loves Civilization VI so much is because of the "sheer weight of gameplay time." Anyone who's cracked one of Sanderson's door-stopping book series can probably relate to that.
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