Rob Zacny Posted June 23, 2018 Three Moves Ahead 438: Procedural Content and Strategy Layers in Games It used to be enough for mainstream games to claim they had "RPG elements". Now we see games with base-building and "strategic layers" - what does that mean? Can one truly take two disparate genres and combine them in a meaningful way? And does procedural generation of content ever live up to its promises? State of Decay 2 ends up being the whipping boy as Rob, Steven Strom, Rowan, and Fraser discuss all of the above. State of Decay 2, Ni No Kuni 2, Little King's Story, Suikoden, Stronghold, Shadow of War, Pillars of Eternity 2, Yakuza 6, Fire Emblem Warriors, Bladestorm? Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andrewdoull Posted June 23, 2018 “Sure it sucks having the wrong parts of your genre adopted by more popular games, but at least they didn’t take the name as well.” - the roguelike community. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoubleCakes Posted June 24, 2018 A strategy layer is something that I'll almost always like in a game. There's something about a strategy layer that makes a game feel bigger than it is, even very simplistic ones like the one from Mass Effect 2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spacerumsfeld Posted June 25, 2018 Strategy is unrealistic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deena Posted July 16, 2018 Don't know if this is the right place to ask but is 3MA on a break, too? Been a while since the last ep and I miss it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Posted July 16, 2018 Yes, I (we) apologize that there has been a gap. We try very hard to avoid missing a single week - much less several - but some personal-life issues have come up and it caused a hiccup in our schedule. Sometimes real life gets nasty and in the way. We have several shows planned and will be back on track very soon. Sorry for the wait. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cornchip Posted July 17, 2018 No worries, Michael. I hope that you all see inquiries from us in the audience as concern for well-being rather than a demand to push through personal life issues and get that episode out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deena Posted July 19, 2018 Yeah, no need to apologize obviously -- was just wondering because the entirety of Idle Thumbs feels so quiet at the moment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
