Wednesday 28 August 2013

Episode 3 - Mariotype Stereotype

In this episode of our meandering discussion podcast we have to talk about video games, meanderingly.

Topics include:


Please let us know what you think in the comments!

Download here: 
Jim-PacBilly-003.mp3

or stream here:

6 comments:

  1. This was amazing episode. I wish I could say something about it, but so many things have been said that I really need to listen it for the second time. Well I like when established game characters don't get voices on new generation of consoles or newer computers, because it will seem off to all of us who love them they way they are. Link is perfect example, he is perfect as eternally silent type, although I think he had voice in CDi games, but I also think they've never acknowledged by Nintendo.
    About stereotypes...well they make me laugh because how grotesque they can be sometimes. Same with gore movies for example. Well, there is that Slavic stereotype going around (I'm Slavic heh) about squatting Slavs wearing usually tracksuits. We are apparently not that bright either. It made me laugh :) I guess they serve their purpose, be it for crude jokes or even for something that is easily recognizable on the other hand. Same with cliches.
    Once again I enjoyed this a lot and thank you for the link. I wasn't even aware of many of those remakes. Got to check them out now.

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  2. Ghosts and Goblins, for the NES.
    Two hits, you die, but it starts you at the level's checkpoint.

    It's extremely fair in that respect, but it's hard as fuck.

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  3. Another great episode, guys.

    I look forward to your upcoming Piranha versus Giant Sheep 3D.

    One of the things (in my humble opinion) that has changed the nature of games, is that the industry is a lot more profit-driven now than say 15 years ago. It's not that this is a bad thing, and I do think that a lot of people who go into game-making do it because they love gaming. But there are a lot of really big money-makers out there (gambling games, almost all the Facebook games) that don't have a lot of creativity and cater only to casual gamers who aren't going to be particularly critical. When it comes to non-browser games the same thing is happening to a degree - it's more about a studio putting out a game a year to sell to a maximum possible market, and quality does suffer sometimes because of it. There are exceptions to this, and I guess there is room for the play-once-and-never-again type of game.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah it's definitely become a huge cash cow for some companies. I generally don't play many AAA games any more, preferring the experience offered by indie games which have less to risk and more chances to take. I understand why big companies have to avoid taking chances, but the necessity doesn't make it any more appealing. As long as the indie games can co-exist with AAA, I have no problem with it really. It's not like TV where new ideas are squashed while they make yet another crime drama.

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  4. 4 years later.....
    Along the lines of story in games like Civ. The spiritual successor, Alpha Centauri, had text based 'Scenes' where you were given story as to what was happening in your military (Your friend gets drafted, becomes successful, or she dies. And you get revenge by destroying the power that her unit was killed by)
    It was a bit odd, but it worked. Added a nice angle to the game.
    (Definitely worth a purchase, probably get the disc now really cheap, or its like $1 on GOG)

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  5. Is that the story dialogue where your assistant becomes a Mind Worm handler? I played Alpha Centauri quite a bit and that's the only thing I can think of. Yeah those were well done since, as the guys were discussing, they didn't distract from gameplay. I think you could also toggle them off if preferred. Nice podcast guys (also I second the suggestion above if you haven't played AC).

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