Wednesday, March 30, 2016

EXP Podcast #371: The Streaming Dilemma

Ryan Green, one of the creators behind the heartbreaking and stunning That Dragon, Cancer recently published a blog post that discussed the use Let's Plays from the perspective of a game developer struggling to recoup development expenses. It's a complex morass of fair-use, exploitation, and the struggle to make ends meet as an indie game designer. Nevertheless, it's time we wade in...

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.




Show Notes:

- Runtime: 39 mins 24 secs
- Music by Brad Sucks

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Thursday, March 24, 2016

The Politics of Pandemic: Legacy

Suprise, you're dead now! (Dead of Winter)
In my latest PopMatters piece, I make the whole world sick.

In other words, I find a way to connect a board game to Donald Trump's fear/hate fueled presidential campaign. No, really.

This past week, Pandemic: Legacy earned four Board Game Geek awards, including Game of the Year, Best Strategy Game, Best Thematic Game, Best Strategy Game, and Most Innovative. The game deserves all the accolades it receives, and for good reason. Pandemic: Legacy completely upsets common assumptions about what board games can be.  The oft-discussed element of permanence is what first grabs people attention. It's strange to take a sharpie to a board game for the first time. When you rip up your first card in entirely it feels blasphemous, which comes with its own feeling of illicit excitement.

It's thematic strength though isn't just found in leaving your mark on the game. Rather, I think its strength comes in the compartments that hide sudden changes in rules and context. A sense of surprise is something few board games create. Randomness can help if, say, a certain card is drawn only once in a hundred games. That one game can feel surprising.

Other board games like Betrayal at House on the Hill or Dead of Winter create surprise by including scenarios or rule changes when certain conditions are met. For example, an event card in Dead of Winter might only trigger if a specific character travels to a specific location, like the school or the gas station. These context-specific mechanics let designers create narrative moments bound to gameplay decisions. They're not always the most interesting or complex stories, but clearly surprises can be powerful.

Pandemic: Legacy is an extreme case, but I hope its design lessons spread far and wide, especially if they lead to more politically charged board games.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

EXP Podcast #370: Dabbling with The Division

"Just doing my part to keep the city clean!"
It's true: Jorge and I have been sleeper agents of a para-military organization all this time.  We've been activated and have taken our posts in The Division.  However, our role is limited exclusively to playing video games and making videos and podcasts about them.  Hey, someone has to keep everyone occupied while roving bands of pyromaniacs fight with spec ops teams right?  This week we head into the dark zone and talk about the The Division.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.




Show Notes:

- Runtime: 41 mins 30 secs
- Music by Brad Sucks

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Spelunky: The Thrill of Victory

No sense in burying the lead: after dozens of hours, countless mishaps, and much heartache, we both faced Olmec and lived to tell the tale.  Next up: Hell run?


Wednesday, March 16, 2016

EXP Podcast #369: The Farm Life

Why doesn't mine look like that!?
Grab your shovel and put on your work boots, it's time to dig into farm games. This week on the podcast, we ponder the allure of Stardew Valley, the smoking habits of rural towns, and how to make mundane games a little more adult. Show notes: Length: 32 mins 37 secs

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.




Show Notes:

- Runtime: 30 mins 45 secs
- Music by Brad Sucks

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

4th Annual Journey Anniversary Playthrough

Playing Journey every year on the anniversary of its release has become a bit of a ritual for Scott and I. This year, we captured the experience on YouTube. Check it out below!


Thursday, March 10, 2016

The Barkley Marathon and Incomprehensible Game Design

License plate offerings from marathon runners.
In my latest PopMatters article, I get lost in incomprehensible game design.

It's appropriate that I had actually written an entirely different article about professionalization in esports when I couldn't quite shake the Barkley Marathon documentary. The strangeness of it all, from the unannounced start times to the weird application process, beg to be investigated. I think part of the reason the runners apply to the Barkley Marathon in the first place is to see if the stories are true. Is it really the hardest marathon in the world?

I don't know. I'll never run it. I'm not a crazy person after all. Even so, I'm fascinated by the way people can appreciate the design of something intentionally difficult to understand. I mention it in the article, but I think part of the pleasure is experiencing clarity through the lens of a local. To overcome even one loop of the Barkley is to personalize the course, make it your own.

I've started thinking of my time in The Division like that in a way. The open world streets of Manhattan are cluttered, chock full of cover opportunities, and I easily get lost if I'm not following the bright orange line that points to my next objective. But when I wander, it feels like I could get accustomed to the city if I tried. I don't know if it's possible, but I'm tempted to turn off the UI as much as possible and see how I'd fare.

I don't think many people would play an open world game that thoroughly confuses players and challenges them (not since Far Cry 2 at least), but I'd like to see what value players could take from a grueling and abusive world.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

EXP Podcast #368: E3 Exodus

Check out our booth; it's near the tree!
A dark shadow passes over you.  Not a cloud, but a vulture.  A tumbleweed rolls by and you watch it spin into the distance.  You keep waiting for it to go out of site, but the barren desolation means you can watch it for miles.  What happened here?  This place was the site of true opulence, but now you'd have a hard time convincing someone that it ever existed.  For a moment you think you can hear the echoes of a sick dubstep drop, but you know it's just your ears playing tricks on you.

Ok maybe it's not that extreme, but there have been some notable companies pulling out of this year's E3.  This week it's time to talk about the implications and the future the video game trade show.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.





Show Notes:

- Runtime: 30 mins 45 secs
- Music by Brad Sucks

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Super Hot: Super Secret Fish

Alright cyber punks: it's time to move.  Seriously, time is going to be at a standstill unless you start moving.  Time to get Super Hot.  Hey...is that a floating fish?

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

EXP Podcast #367: In-Game Injuries

"This huge suppository is the only cure."
We've all earned our fair share of bumps, scrapes, and bruises in real life. Some of us have persistent aches and pains, some of us have suffered all sorts of injuries, big and small. It's a common occurrence, but how well do games actually model injury? This week on the EXP Podcast, we discuss how it feels to be "unwell" and whether or not games are any good at modeling the strange experience of being in an unhealthy body.

- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format, or click play below.





Show Notes:

- Runtime: 32 mins 44 secs
- Music by Brad Sucks

Tuesday, March 1, 2016