Chris

Idle Thumbs 1: Let the Games Begin

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the "casual hardcore" gamers

Given that these people only buy games they know, fundamentally, their going to play to obsession and then walk away again, I was thinking maybe "smart casual" would be apt..?

/me ducks the tomatoes and makes for the exit

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For completion's sake, Westwood also made the Lands of Lore series of RPG's. That sort of rounds out everything they did and was discussed in the podcasts.

Kyrandia rocks.

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Kyrandia rocks.

Guh. You know, I was never a big PC gamer and never played too many Adventure games, but I did play Legend of Kyrandia and that fucking cave section with the glowing bushes can go fuck right off. It didn't help that my monitor at the time was lousy with poor gamma so I couldn't see the rocks that you had to find properly and I never managed to open that damned door with that weight scale. Yes, I remember this 100% because I made a fucking map on grid paper to get through that section. I quit in frustration and never touched adventure games again*

* ok, I did play Discworld on the PS1 later and a few other things, but fuck Kyrandia.

Edited by n0wak

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Great Thumbcast! Thank you.

(are there any plans to include other thumbeteers [marek, spaff...] as hosts?)

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Guh. You know, I was never a big PC gamer and never played too many Adventure games, but I did play Legend of Kyrandia and that fucking cave section with the glowing bushes can go fuck right off. It didn't help that my monitor at the time was lousy with poor alpha so I couldn't see the rocks that you had to find properly and I never managed to open that damned door with that weight scale. Yes, I remember this 100% because I made a fucking map on grid paper to get through that section. I quit in frustration and never touched adventure games again*

* ok, I did play Discworld on the PS1 later and a few other things, but fuck Kyrandia.

Oh, that's a pity. I had to map that maze out as well, but remember it being quite doable as long as you mapped out the bushes with glowing berries properly. But really, Kyrandia gets progressively more awesome as the series continues. The Hand of Fate was absolutely classic, and Malcolm's Revenge is simply hilarious.

I often quote it in daily life to this day. What other game gives you 'McGyver points' when you construct some random object? Or the fake laughing track when you trip over a branch. I adore it. Along with Lands of Lore 1 it's the best thing Westwood ever made.

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(are there any plans to include other thumbeteers [marek, spaff...] as hosts?)

As this podcast is meant to be Skype-free I don't think any of us European thumbers will be joining in, unless maybe we happen to be in San Francisco for GDC or something. This is totally 100% Jake/Chris/Nick's thing.

There may be a separate UK edition at some point though.

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As this podcast is meant to be Skype-free I don't think any of us European thumbers will be joining in, unless maybe we happen to be in San Francisco for GDC or something. This is totally 100% Jake/Chris/Nick's thing.

There may be a separate UK edition at some point though.

Please see my previous post in regards to getting good quality out of Skype (hint: record a separate audio track at the source)

http://hivelogic.com/articles/2008/10/how-to-record-a-multi-person-podcast

(though it does mean more editing work.)

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Please see my previous post in regards to getting good quality out of Skype (hint: record a separate audio track at the source)

http://hivelogic.com/articles/2008/10/how-to-record-a-multi-person-podcast

(though it does mean more editing work.)

Audio quality actually isn't the factor--certainly not the main factor, anyway. The in-person goal is pretty much entirely based around having the kind of personal chemistry and presence you can only really achieve by sitting around a table together face to face. That's not to say there aren't people who pull that off over Skype, but I think it's a lot harder and it was definitely something we wanted to address with our format.

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Those are all my games.

That would be an interesting question for the next thumbcast: What happened to the good old enormous game boxes and the various stuff they contained besides the disc and manual? And maybe... love/hate 'em? want them back?

For example my Crusader No Remorse/Regret came with a large collection of other stuff like company news letters (from the virtual ingame company), or Stonekeep came with a small novel. Or foam darwinians.

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As this podcast is meant to be Skype-free I don't think any of us European thumbers will be joining in, unless maybe we happen to be in San Francisco for GDC or something. This is totally 100% Jake/Chris/Nick's thing.
Thanks for clearing that up.
There may be a separate UK edition at some point though.
I would listen.

Not nitpicking - the existing thumbcast is, as said, great

[i just favour british accent]

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FUCKIN RACIST

Talking of Abu ad Halzred, anyone else seen this?

It's the goddamn Mountains of Madness! The fools! They'll awake the shoggoth!

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It's the goddamn Mountains of Madness! The fools! They'll awake the shoggoth!

Del Toro has apparently written a screenplay for this...but Warner Bros. are cagey about funding it, as there's no love interest and no happy ending. :fart:

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Del Toro has apparently written a screenplay for this...but Warner Bros. are cagey about funding it, as there's no love interest and no happy ending. :fart:

Time to "sack up" I think. Look at how difficult to watch and come away from The Dark Knight was, then consider the massive critical acclaim and box office millions it's raked in.

People clearly want maudlin and are prepared to pay in their thousands to see it.

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There's a Cthulhu movie coming as well. It seemed a bit low budget, but maybe that's just what's needed for a Lovecraft flick. I mean, it's not like there are lotsa explosions. Though you could break a fortune meticulously constructing Innsmouth in a studio, of course. I loved the look of the town in Dark Corners of the Earth, so anything more mundane than that will be a disappointment.

I think I'm in for a disappointment.

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FUCKIN RACIST

yeah? YOU FUCKING...mh, so, what's your origin again? Oh, and while you're at it, could you please tell me the appropriate derogatory term for your nationality?

I'm new at this whole racist-thing, sorry!

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Del Toro has apparently written a screenplay for this...but Warner Bros. are cagey about funding it, as there's no love interest and no happy ending. :fart:

It occurs to me that Lovecraft fandom is one of those strange underground affairs (how appropriate) that is completely invisible to movie studios (despite influencing a huge chunk of modern horror and fantasy).

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There's a Cthulhu movie coming as well. It seemed a bit low budget, but maybe that's just what's needed for a Lovecraft flick.

I think I'm in for a disappointment.

I dunno...

On second viewing, it looks promising.

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I dunno...

On second viewing, it looks promising.

Tori Spelling :fart:

But it IS an award winner! That's promising. A Cthulu film winning the H.P. Lovecraft film festival is a total triumph :shifty: I'll shut up now.

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It's called Cthulu, but from the trailer looks more like Shadow over Innsmouth.

TBH calling your movie just "Cthulu" (not even Call of Cthulu or something) is a bit pretentious and asking for trouble ... ie if Cthulu is in it, he/it will be dissapointing, if it's not then why use the name?

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This one is obvious: because Cthulhu is a very established name, much more so than Shadow over Innsmouth. If it has the ability to better reach even a fraction of the non-Lovecraft-fans it is a step well worth taking. If I were the maker/producer, I might have done the same. Outer appearance is everything when selling your movie. And if you make your film good enough, it'll redeem itself.

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