UltimateHurl

Yeah, Unity is pretty great, but in some cases can feel like overkill. It's got a 2D framework coming out soon and it'd be fun to try that, but for 2D I hear Game Maker recommended consistently, and it's a good way to start (one less dimension!). For my own learning I had in my head that I'd recreate some common games in Unity or similar to get a feel for the tools, which basically means I have about 30 years worth of gaming to pull from for project ideas

I really enjoyed the cast, and I think it was for the perspectives it gave me on how game design is distinct as a discipline from other skillsets it involves. The best parts for example were talking about how to solve a problem in Monkey Island that made sense in the world, and the difference between a Day of the Tentacle style solution and a Monkey Island one, both of which were concerned with being a fun puzzle to solve. Look forward to hearing more!

Suddenly the memory of a thousand hours sunk in order to achieve the perfect jump-killing technique come rushing back.

Fan interaction is always interesting, as is dealing with trolls. It's lead to a situation where people are hesitant to voice opinions, for fear of having to deal with extreme negative reactions, but also want to contribute to the community. Would love to see bluffing as a bigger game mechanic, like a prison-escape where you dress in a fake uniform and have to pass inspection through bluffing.

I tend to be somewhat slow with my work, but I use Manga Studio (used to use Photoshop, but MS's brush engine is much better). I sketch out a drawing, then ink it. With the linework in place I block in colours, then shade. I guess that's an explanation, I did a Youtube video of my process a while ago, which is at :

Spelunky! (Love the contributions so far, that FTL is great!)

Jetlag hits bad going from the US to Europe, the other way around (assuming she could sleep on the plane) would have Katie feeling like it was the middle of the day while it was the middle of the night. Hadn't thought about this, but it holds up

He was great as Eddie, and I really enjoyed Brutal Legend, but I suppose the others are "Look at how much more Video game nostalgia we have!" which hit me more or less in the vein of the kickstarter. Happy they have such talent, including Jack Black.

Glad to hear Sean is recovering, fun episode. I'd love to hear about Natural Selection 2 casting, always intrigued about games that I play casually and how they are played at their optimal competitive best. I think that's one of the great things about the International.

Biff Vs. In-App Purchases! The second BTTF was always my favourite, because of the future stuff, but I have a bad habit of misremembering the first film in a trilogy (Stars Wars for example had the destruction of the Death Star as Act 1 of Empire Strikes Back in my head, making it even better). The first BTTF is so much better than I remembered it. Great episode. I wasn't really sure how to feel as an Irishman, that the ruler (or half-ruler, Spartan king if you will) of Ireland, Chris Remo, was awarded an English lordship, given the troubled history between our two isles. I think I can only really see it as a compliment from the English, who in your new timeline aren't doing so hot and clearly now admire how you rule from behind the Joffery-based scenes. Newfound friendship is always a great thing I'm just so happy to see people share Limmy's Show, such great comedy.

That's an amazing voice cast, Dr. Fred! All the actors are great, Marek's voice fits perfectly. I really feel like the updates have run away from me and I've lost track of where this is. Probably just my fault for not spending more time on the forums, but the mail updates have definitely decreased a lot. Am I a nerd for watching the video and reacting "Jennifer Hale?! DR.FRED? RAZ! .... oh and Jack Black, well that's cool"?

The Steam things are good here, I like em trying to be better about painting myself, trying to have regular updates. tegan that looks great, love the line colouring.

Kerbal Space Program

I don't think we ever get to see Gordon pre-HEV, but I'd suspect lab gear like the scientists. Thrik I like what you've done with it, reminds us that Gordon is a scientist I like the idea of a Half Life 3 with Gordon back trying to do science, distracted by headcrabs. Half Life 3: Publish or Perish.

I bet they were thinking "Erm.... Gordon in a lab jacket being attacked by a headcrab? Clearly post-incident, which would _require_ that he has his HEV suit, therefore non-canon *snort*". I for one love it, and hope more of this completely whimsical Half-lifing continues to be made!

I was about 5 hours in, I'm actually considering watching a Let's Play or something, but that could work too.

Haha, I love these! I'm on holiday in Berlin right now so I can't join in D: soon though, soon!

I'd say I can remember a time when I felt like the mechanical and plot-driven elements of a work were the most important, and if it wasn't consistent then it was less valid. I feel like as I've developed a better understanding of art generally (especially things like Bauhaus and abstract work) I've learned to appreciate things more. I like how David Foster Wallace phrases his experience of David Lynch's work (which I considered nonsense for the reasons we are discussing), that it was Lynch putting his own mark on the world in a way only he could, so the expression of surrealism was uniquely his own. I think thinking in these terms with video games would really help open them up, as in "This is Steve Gaynor and friends' expression of a story in which X and Y happen". But I think the relationship between author and player, and player interpretation of the work is different and complex with video games anyway, given the fact that comparably few games are treated as works by a coherent author, the only big ones I can think of are for example Ken Levine's Bioshock series, which was a bit heavy-handed, but exists with plot holes and more evolved analysis. I'd agree with Chris when it comes to the function of criticism, and I'd say game criticism doesn't touch on evolved analysis as much as it could (I mean, I've seen amazing journalistic work, but I'm talking about reviews, where 'is this worth my money?' is rarely answered with some respect to the thought, emotion and impact a game has, rather than just the playtime, mechanics and genre-savviness of the work). I guess I sound like a jerk saying that, but when I used to review games I tried, in whatever small 'don't spoil this for anyone' way to at least touch on the impact a game had.

Well done tegan, well deserved too Thestalkinghead: I don't suggest it lightly, I am a sucker for the Steam sales and have way too many games. Jon's success with pointandclicking.com is inspiring me though!

Gone Home Loved it, really interesting way to present a story in game format.

Love the zine art! That Pokemon one looks great Jon: I think we need to start a collective art tumblr. The topic: paintings of every one of our Steam games!

I got the game recently and loved it to pieces. Of course I can see why reviews would maybe not be sensitive to the things it's trying to do (reviewers these days just aren't used to cool ghosts), I might actually say it's in part because the language of game reviewing, not just the psyche of people playing the game that seems to have hindered discussion somewhat. An incredibly affecting experience that succeeded in a number of ways, loved it.

I'll have to admit I gave up on The Witcher. Seems like a lot of people here are saying what I felt: I don't like a 40-50 hour experience that just grinds. I've been told The Witcher 2 fixes a lot of problems and 3 looks amazing, but I hate to skip a game, even if I know the story isn't _too_ important.

Jake: Totally great and useful advice, half of 'art' is finding an audience who care, which I guess is why I post things on the Internet at all. Anyway, before I become sappy, here's a Raz I drew ages ago and almost forgot about:

Love that Raz! matubula the document-sketching stuff is really interested, would love to see more