Having played some “deck-builder” games, Tim and Joel break down the mechanics and aesthetics of card games. We look primarily at Inscryption and Fights in Tight Spaces, and go on to discuss UI and combat strategy mechanics. Games mentioned: Inscryption Fights in tight places Banner Saga Into the Breach Nantucket Battle Brothers
Read More
Tim and Joel take apart Hardspace: Shipbreaker, space-junking game with an anti-capitalist spirit. We examine the ways in which narrative is subtly threaded through gameplay. Games mentioned: Hardspace: Shipbreaker Norco Dead Space
Read More
Tim gives his first impressions of the trailblazing Steam Deck – which brings PC computing power to the handheld gaming experience. Having sampled several games on the platform, he has settled on Workers and Resources: Soviet Republic (aka Soviet Concrete Simulator). What differentiates it from other city-builders? Games mentioned: Microsoft Flight Simulator Witcher 3 Battletech…
Read More
In part two of our look at Norco we expand on some of the first episode’s observations, discussing specific plot points. CONTAINS SPOILERS! Mentioned: Musée des Beaux Arts (poem) – WH Auden
Read More
Norco is a real achievement in video game storytelling – beautifully written and scored. It is a game we will both remember for a long time. In this episode we talk (spoiler-free) about the game and its relationship to the cyberpunk genre. Next week we go into greater depth, with spoilers. Games mentioned: Norco Monkey…
Read More
Following last week’s music episode, this week we talk with our guests Phil Tucker and Damian Gibson about our more personal experiences with music in video games, from childlike glee to more complicated adult emotions. We discuss some of the earlier music-producing technologies, composition techniques, and memorable examples from the best of the medium. Games…
Read More
A very special episode this week: friends of the show Phil Tucker and Damian Gibson – Joel’s former radio-show co-hosts – join us to talk about music in games. Damian is the host of the podcasts WrestleWolf and Agents of Narrative. Phil – who made the music for the pod – was a touring musician…
Read More
Tim’s been reading Alexis Kennedy, which springboards this week’s titular discussion. Many games are enjoyable at the time of playing – which games are we glad to have played once we’ve put them down? And why? Games mentioned: Fallen London Sunken Sea Cultist Simulator Assassin’s Creed Far Cry Sagebrush Paratopic What Remains of Edith Finch…
Read More
We wanted to wait until we finished Norco before we talked about it, but it made such an impression that we have to talk about it here. But the bulk of the episode concerns the recent title Weird West, the extent to which it did and didn’t live up to our (admittedly unrealistic) expectations, and…
Read More
Inspired by Tim’s adventures in Microsoft Flight Simulator, we talk about gameplay mechanisms which make simulations compelling: the dramatic loop of player agency, planning, mission choice, the minutiae of the mechanical gameplay, and the way these elements cohere. We juxtapose this with games like far Cry 5 – whose gameplay, while satisfying in isolation, doesn’t…
Read More