Twig

But he also theorized they'd FINISH what's left of HL2 and then MOVE ON to HL3 via G-Man Jump™.

I'd rather have the real Ricochet 2. ): Also: pretty sure everyone realizes HL2/Ep1/Ep2 are all exactly connected. Ben X was referring to the jump between HL1 and HL2, and expressing his theory that Valve will make the jump to HL3 in a very similar manner.

Ripping Gordon from one time to another, fast-forwarding the story of the Half-Life universe sounds pretty awesome to me. It would allow for completely different settings and feelings of atmosphere from one time to another, which is something I wish more developers would do with the worlds they create. Lots of people would hate it, though. "IT'S NOT WHAT I WANTED FROM A SEQUEL." Also, in all fairness, this kind of thing is essentially building a new world every time, so it doesn't really fit what I was saying, anyway. I dunno!! Oh, video games.

I wish I could play Meepo. I know I'd fucking love the shit out of it if I could. But goddamn - Micro So Hard.

Says who? Dota 2 wasn't really their "style" until they did it. They'd only ever made first-person perspective games prior to it.

I believe they stated, shortly after Portal 2 was released, that their next big goal for the Source Engine is to get proper level streaming in there, instead of this ages-old, completely awful level loading we've had to live with for ages. It could just be that they want to get rid of those hiccups in gameplay, but it could also be that their goals are much bigger.

My two favorite Open World Games in the vein of or at least inspired by GTA are Saints Row: The Third and Red Faction: Guerilla. Both from Volition, I suddenly realize. Saints Row: The Third + Red Faction: Guerilla + 0.5 * Crackdown = My Ideal Open-World Game-Game. This is completely ignoring story (but not world). For GTA, I definitely preferred GTA:VC to anything else I've played in the series. I never played San Andreas. But GTAIV's world was amazingly realized. I wouldn't be opposed to further progress in that regard. SR is a completely nonserious venture. Its world is nowhere near as, um, believable, even though everything makes "sense" in the context of the gameplay.

Well, with some of the Big Names they've hired recently, I don't think it's entirely out of the question. Thief Guy (Doug Church) and Far Cry 2 Guy (Clint Hocking) definitely would seem to lend themselves to this type of game, at least just from awareness of their respective pedigrees. I'm all for it! The HL2 world, in particular, is one of the most interesting video game worlds, for me. Not least because of the art. That's huge for me. But also the atmosphere, the feeling of being in an oppressive environment. That's something it did pretty well. Opening that up to be more than a rollercoaster with a few choices between loops and spirals certainly appeals to me. Whether or not it's possible to have that same feeling - or even if they'd WANT that same feeling - is another matter entirely. Well, I'm sure it's possible. But it's definitely gonna be way harder. And that's about all the postulating I'm willing to do about a Half-Life 3 rumor. U: U:

It still had its moments, though. That second drop. So good!

I dunno that was super disappointing. ): Mashups are supposed to blend the different pieces of music together, not just overlay one on top of the other. Had so much potential, too!

We're not on iTunes! I'd have no idea how to go about that and to be honest the thought never crossed my mind. X: I suppose I can look into it!

It's just a paper model, I'm pretty sure.

I will second Ano blah blah blah. It's great!

Haha, to be honest, we usually bumble for like half an hour before we get into anything worthwhile. We try to cut the crap out of the final product during editing. Eventually we'd definitely like to be able to just record and ship it mostly raw, 'cause none of us really have the skill - or, more accurately, the time - to edit it to anything really coherent. Long ways off from there! The other dudes in this podcast (fallout/Brenden, n0b/David) are also members here, although they never post. U: Oh, except Dwight (who wasn't in the latest episode). I don't think he's got an account here. Thanks for the support!

I have spent like an hour today ogling the Axe statue. http://www.wetanz.com/axe/ I don't even really like Axe. I mean, I do, but he's nowhere near my top ten (if I were to ever rank my favorites). WHY DO I WANT THIS?! I don't even normally want this kind of shit anymore. Swear to God, though, if they release a Tiny statue? IN AN INSTANT. I'm not sure if I'd want tiny Tiny or big Tiny, though. Definitely want him with Agh's, at the very least. UGH. I am the worst. (I'd probably also go for Dazzle or Leshrac.)

Man, I was sitting at my desk at work, programming, not really listening at the time. At first I thought I was hearing things? Then it starts getting louder. Louder. Louder! I fucking lost it.

BAWN APP-IH-TITE

I'm gonna go ahead and replug my podcast which is awful (and is about video games (shock) and sometimes other stuff), since we just did a new episode (with another on the way shortly!). http://www.monopodcast.com/ As I said the first time, we do it because we like doing it, and not necessarily because we're good at it or really care about people hearing us. It's just kind of fun to Pretend To Matter sometimes. But I do think we are getting better. If only we would just start doing it more consistently! U: @I_smell: I like your exploding planet! My only real criticism so far is that the perspective on the bits and bobs is a bit weird, but maybe that was a stylistic choice?

A few months ago, I would've wondered how you expect to survive Dota if you find LoL's community too serious. Then I played LoL again. Holy shit is the Dota community laid back in comparison. People yelling at me literally every single game. Maybe it's Valve's influence on the game, I dunno, but Dota 2 is so much more friendly for some reason. It makes no sense. Maybe it's all just a weird coincidence.

I don't even.

NOPE YOUR POINTS ARE NO LONGER VALID. That's how spam works!

I know Slenderman! I've been watching MarbleHornets for as long as it's existed. Although I don't like it nearly as much as I used to. Funnily enough, I have yet to try any of the Slender games. My number one annoyance with Greenlight is the people commenting. "This game is clearly an alpha, don't bother posting until it's further along. Voting NO." Valve explicitly stated that alphas would be acceptable submissions. Greenlight is meant to be both a tool to get on Steam and a tool to get more feedback for your project. The best solution (and I don't know why they haven't done it, yet) is to allow developers to submit as an alpha, so there's no confusion. Even separate the alphas from the betas from the finished products.

I just wanted to say that JP and Evan are great additions to the 'cast/streamin' and I'm glad their participation isn't being limited to one or two instances every few months. (I think I remember at least JP participating in the longpast, but it seems a more regular occurrence now. Which is rad.) THUMBS. UP. Now I will finish listening to this episode. U:

what the fuck Anyway that was neat. I spent a half-hour scrolling around that shit this morning before someone linked me the map. I would love to see a very similar Huge-Ass World by David Troupes* of Buttercup Festival. He does the black-and-white landscape thing a lot better. (Which is fair, since xkcd was never really about the art. For the most part.) *Can't believe I got his name right on the first try! Goes to show how much I fucking love Buttercup Festival. U: U: U: EDIT: Linking BF here, even though I linked it in the Just Plain Ol' Comics thread a month or so back. http://www.buttercupfestival.com/ I read literally over a hundred webcomics. It is a great shame of mine. I keep meaning to cut many of them (on account of they're awful). For some reason I have this idea in my head that I want to write a semi-review of all of them, and so I won't stop reading any until I get around to writing those reviews. But the problem is, I keep adding more?! I'm adding Hobo Lobo, now. U: I'm a very bad influence on myself.