My new book is out today!
A love letter to a life-changing video game.
Two years. That’s a long time to write a book. But it’s nothing when the book in question is so very, very important.
Of all the books I’ve written (many), this is my most important. I’m a life-long gamer and a devoted thinker, and this book is the culmination of a life spent writing about video games both as essays & blog posts and as hundreds of visual essays, editorials, and comedy videos on YouTube. With Suddenly I was a Shark!: My Time with What Remains of Edith Finch, I feel like I’ve finally made a valid contribution to this world of video games that I love so much.
About Suddenly I was a Shark! My Time with What Remains of Edith Finch.
What Remains of Edith Finch was released in 2017 amid a gaming public that had largely already dismissed the game’s genre. A walking simulator game exchanges the traditional ‘shoot, jump, run’ mechanics of most popular video games for a passive ‘walk, investigate a thing, walk some more’ set of mechanics. With no points, no combat, no puzzles, and no goal other than narrative progression, What Remains of Edith Finch’s success came as a surprise to most. But for those few who appreciated the power of a combat-less, story-driven video game, What Remains of Edith Finch would become a beacon for an emerging trend of games that aim to change the gamer themself. Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live alumnus and host of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, says of the game, “it’s one of my favorite things… it’s gonna change your life.”
In Suddenly I was a Shark!: My Time with What Remains of Edith Finch, author, and lifelong video game enthusiast, Caleb J. Ross explores the life-changing impact of this unassuming video game about a young woman’s attempt to understand a curse that has killed every member of her family. By mixing developer interviews, personal stories, and examinations of the game’s many literary inspirations, Caleb delivers a powerful story of personal change via one of the most important walking simulator video games ever made.
