Even without knowing the term "isekai", you have probably at some point encountered a story or piece of media that follows its basic framework. A Japanese term meaning "another world", isekai stories deal with the notion of being adrift in a setting quite unlike one's own; they follow protagonists who are ripped away from a world much like ours and dropped into an unfamiliar place or time. Be it Edgar Rice Burroughs's depiction of Mars as a futuristic kingdom in the Barsoom books or the fantastical realm of Oz, the specifics matter less than the intent - to challenge the protagonist's preconceived notions and lead them to personal growth in the face of unexpected conflict. I lay all of this out for you because I think the intent with Heir to the Queen, a small-scale adventure game, was to hit the basic points of the isekai journey under the constraints of a threadbare budget and no larger media presence. That's speculation on my part, though, sinc...
Ah, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the game industry's yearly tradition of indulgence in lengthy conferences, flashy trailers that might not be representative of the final games, and awkward pauses... lots of awkward pauses. If nothing else, it gives Internet writers like yours truly the opportunity to snark and gape in equal measure, while cherishing those rare moments where something genuinely good happens. I'm going to take a slightly different approach than my peers, though - rather than handing out "Best X" awards to specific games or talking about each conference in turn, we're instead going to celebrate the highs and lows of E3 as a whole ... byyyyyyyyy handing out "Best" and "Worst" awards. Same difference. BEST PRESENTER Winner: Janina Gavankar Electronic Arts' conference was defined in large part by discomfort and lack of effort. If the fixation on EA's new Game Changers program didn't strike you as we...