Zukalous

I really like the discussion about these smaller "walking simulator" games like Dr. Langeskov. I feel like indie games lately have grown too fussy and concerned with high-fidelity (such as the Witness and Mushroom 11). I kind of like games that don't have a long development time, are half-baked and are just ready for download. The whole draw of indie is to be risky, kinda rough around the edges and avant garde.

Arachnophobia is really interesting in gaming. That ios game Spider has a non-spider mode funny enough. I have also read of skyrim mods that swap out all spider models. If you are a game dev, don't add spiders.

Ok I know this is going to be a hard sell but stick with me... This is one of the most eye opening, enlightening talks I have ever watched. It is all about how to develop games for casual gamers. What is cool is it treats those players (mostly women) with respect and complexity. You see the motivations and what drives casual gamers. What you realize is that they are not just mindless people who buy whatever, they are really discerning, spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on games. Also they really keep an eye out for games with the best graphics. It is a real interesting look at the other side. Most interesting fact is how much whether or not spiders are in the game affect its popularity. I though it was so funny I browsed the big fish forums and there are whole threads dedicated to which games do or do not have spiders. Also look at app-store reviews of hidden object games with spiders in them - they instantly get 1 star reviews with people complaining about them.

Wow sounds like a great variant. It's like game mods but programmed through gentleman's (or women's) agreements.

About making up your own rules to games... my friend and I played so much SNES Mario Kart that we made variants. You could only move clockwise around the battle arena. You could only fire green shells. Eventually we figured out that if you stand still and your friend shoots a red shell while moving at full speed, you can get the red shell to orbit the standing-still guy. Man we had a lot of free time.

I think this is across media. If you look at indie book publishing they often use the same tactic. I am actually going to try it in some games that I have in the works for mobile and steam.

Did you see Dan Cook talk about Road Not Taken during Beat the Dev: http://www.twitch.tv/beatthedev/v/27715286 It was kind of a downer. Like as he was playing he realized none of the game made much sense. I feel like he put too much emphasis on trying to get game design principles to tell this story and nobody got it and it was too hard to play. Really love the Spryfox guys but sometimes I feel they overthink things

Back when I was 13 I played soo much of the Wolfenstein 3D demo I finally said I am going to buy the full version. So I mailed in my money ($20-$30 I think) and got the disks shipped to me. I played through Episode 2 of the game and then my friend brought over the Doom shareware demo disk. I never played Wofenstein again.

I am working on a game-a-month project. I would really like to get your feedback on my March Game. You can play it here: http://returntoadventuremountain.itch.io/pixelartshooter The game is a picross-style make-a-picture as fast as possible game.

City Tuesday By: Me! (Chris Zukowski) Available: Xbox Live Indie games Synopsis: 2D platforming game where you relive the last 5 minutes before a terrorist attack (Groundhog Day style) http://www.youtube.c...ed/Zi3TnXqXbj8

I just booked tickets to go to my first GDC. Are any other Idles out there who want to meetup and talk about Far Cry 2?

With every ARG, I always wonder how many ARGs have actually failed. What happens when a game's fans aren't smart enough to decode the clues or no one cares. If an ARG fails does the company responsible just pretend it didn't exist and just do a traditional press release? Or would they just try and drop obvious hints?

I agree, I played so much PJ Monsters that Pixel Junk Logo burned in to the bottom of my screen.

Ya this game is worse than Banjo-kazooie 64 on the collectibles. At least in B-K each gadget and gizmo didn't have a weight. I noticed you put the collectible in spoiler tags. I wouldn't have minded having a list when I started this game that said "FYI: Save all pre-war books, scrap meta, etc... for later you will need them."

What do you all collect that is not necessary to any game quest? I have at least 75 baseballs and 25 toy cars stored back at the house that I will probably assemble into some virtual art installation.

13:38

So Eurogamer said the Alaska expansion was stripped down. Is this expansion considered Oblivion-with-guns but Fallout-without-stuff?

Wait I just had a thought on my own last post. I guess the plot, overall, does place humanity's best hope for salvation in the development of new technology that is crafted by scientists. I guess Bathesda just likes making its scientists a bunch of a-holes

But isn't that just a sign that

Hey sorry about the spoiler up there. I thought your dad's motivation was established in the opening sequence. To this point If you beat THOSE! and talk to the scientist in question about the boy who gave you the quest in the first place he... My only real hangup about the Oblivion/Fallout games is that they always feel cold and emotionless. I think it is because all the characters are generalized stereotypes that have a sort of uncanny valley of emotion. You could say "well this is the apocalypse and everyone is deadpan because of it" but that would just be letting them off the hook.

Anyone get a real anti-science vibe out of fallout. - The fire ant mission is all about cleaning up after a mad geneticist. - Doctor Lee is a cold and calculating. - Your dad abandoned you for the sake of science. For a game that runs on such high tech equipment I don't know why this game takes such an anti-technology slant. You ever notice how games always portray scientists as an ethically challenged, emotionally stunted stereo-type?

Other than sampling space invaders, Beyonce's other gaming connection: Good show by the way.

Well, since this is getting counted as a letter to the editor anyway I might as well say that I thought that one of the best podcasts I have ever heard was the one from December 23, 2008 because it was nothing but recommendations of games and blogs I would have never known about. Really, Hitman? But based on how you sold it, I am interested. Also, your mention of that guy writing up the Stanford Game collection, that is great. The next time you are preparing a podcast and are considering either having an extended "What you been playing" section or having a segment on interesting things that you have found, go for the later. That is what makes this podcast better than the others.

I really don't do forums. I always considered forum posting on par with writing letters to the editor of a gaming magazine or geocaching. But this podcast is really good and I knew that there would be better people here. I was right.