Chris

Idle Thumbs 27: What is Game?

Recommended Posts

Alternate title: What is Gaem?

"What is Game?"

This week you, the readers, take control, as we spend the entire episode with our grubby mitts elbow deep in the Idle Thumbs mailbag. With special guests Steve Gaynor of 2K Marin, and each and every one of you readers listening along at home.

Games Discussed: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Zeno Clash, Dante's Inferno, Mario 64, American McGee's Alice, Idle Thumbs: The Game

minipod_itunes.png

minipod_rss.png

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Unreal 2k4 special edition had those hours of tutorial videos complete with a version of maya. It also came with a flimsy headset! I bought it especially for the tutorials in the hope of making a cool map.But I never finished watching any of it or even produce a single level for ut2k4 :blink:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was going to add the answer text with game put in place of key words in my e-mail, but I figured it would have just been this long, nonsensical, misspelled thing as opposed to a short, nonsensical, misspelled thing.

Either way, I have my answer!

I would like to listen to this but I actually have to work, as opposed to just pretending to do so :(

Multitask maaaaaaaaaaaan.

Anyways, I'm sincerely interested in Zeno Clash now. Thanks guys, expect me to play it in 2011.

Looking videos and screenshots of it, it looks like a Coktel Vision game in a way, which is great, but I don't remember adventure games looking like that being released in the late 90s, but there are still a ton of adventure games I haven't played, and generally refuse to play them these days.

Although Telltale games are great and do indeed have the best collector's editions around.

Edited by syntheticgerbil

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Looking videos and screenshots of it, it looks like a Coktel Vision game in a way, which is great, but I don't remember adventure games looking like that being released in the late 90s, but there are still a ton of adventure games I haven't played, and generally refuse to play them these day.

It does remind of Outcast a little bit, but I don't think that's what they meant.

I just started playing this last week but I have played less than an hour so far.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So the next game boxart challenge should definitely be the for the Idle Thumbs game. I wanna see Gandalfs and pullquotes and blue lava all over the place.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Bum bum ba-bum-bum

"What is Game?

Baby don't hurt me.

Oh no!"

Remo, can you make this happen? It'll be the only track on the 'Night at the Thumb' soundtrack. You guys haven't done a song in sooo long.:woohoo:

I would like to listen to this but I actually have to work, as opposed to just pretending to do so :(
Multitask maaaaaaaaaaaan.

Yeah, when I have a podcast going I'm actually most productive. Otherwise I tend to get bored and wander over to my web browser.

I wanted to share my opinion about swimming in games. I never realized I had one until this podcast, but I do also despise swimming levels. The swimming parts in Super Mario Fucking Galaxy are my least favorite and this remains true in Super Mario 64. I think its something to do with navigating true 3D space as opposed to navigating on a 2D plane in a 3D space. Its like descent, a game of which I am not a fan. The swimming in Quake. Now there's something I found bearable. I don't understand why. Maybe its the first person nature. I guess it simplified the control and made it less disorienting. 2D swimming I'm fine with.

Edited by Chuckpebble

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I wanted to respond specifically to the discussion about Rockstar's portrayal of America in Grand Theft Auto IV.

I felt like you all missed the point (at least during this recording, you may all have it tucked away somewhere in your minds) regarding the skewering of American culture with the radio stations, advertisements, fast food restaurants, etc. etc.

All that stuff is kept incredibly lowbrow in the game simply because...it's incredibly lowbrow in actuality. Fast food restaurants that serve ground dairy cows and conservative talk radio stations with vapid hosts serve no real purpose in our society. They have no redeeming value in our culture and Rockstar does a good job of demonstrating that in the game.

Understandably, that's not the America Rockstar really cares about in GTA IV. The real reason why that stuff is so effective is because it actually helps strengthen the more significant "American" themes in GTA IV. All that ancillary shit just serves to obfuscate what the so-called "American Dream" is all about: hard work and sacrifice will allow for a more satisfying and free life. That's what the "American culture" in GTA IV is really all about. That's the story Rockstar wants to tell us.

Of course, it's debatable whether or not Rockstar actually believes that to be true in today's day and age. And that, in a sense, is why I enjoyed GTA IV so much more than past GTA games: Niko's story begins with hardship and suffering and ends with not much more than that.

He doesn't finish the game with a string of mansions and fleet of cars and boats. Maybe that worked within the confines of 1980s Vice City for Tommy Vercetti, but those days are long behind us. The America that Niko Bellic lives in is very different than that. He ends in that same dingy apartment that he started with, no better off than at the game's inception.

Maybe for him, the American Dream is a lie. But that doesn't make it any less true. And it doesn't make it any less American.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The video tutorials of UT3 were made by the guys from 3DBuzz. They also made 60 hours worth of stuff for UT2004, which wasn't all included with the UT2004 special edition.

I'm also a sucker for special editions. But it has to be worth the extra money. Not like some of the recent EA special editions which costs a shit load more and don't contain any shit. My favorite special edition is probably the Darwinia/Multiwinia tin box thingy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I wanted to respond specifically to the discussion about Rockstar's portrayal of America in Grand Theft Auto IV.

I felt like you all missed the point (at least during this recording, you may all have it tucked away somewhere in your minds) regarding the skewering of American culture with the radio stations, advertisements, fast food restaurants, etc. etc.

All that stuff is kept incredibly lowbrow in the game simply because...it's incredibly lowbrow in actuality. Fast food restaurants that serve ground dairy cows and conservative talk radio stations with vapid hosts serve no real purpose in our society. They have no redeeming value in our culture and Rockstar does a good job of demonstrating that in the game.

Understandably, that's not the America Rockstar really cares about in GTA IV. The real reason why that stuff is so effective is because it actually helps strengthen the more significant "American" themes in GTA IV. All that ancillary shit just serves to obfuscate what the so-called "American Dream" is all about: hard work and sacrifice will allow for a more satisfying and free life. That's what the "American culture" in GTA IV is really all about. That's the story Rockstar wants to tell us.

Of course, it's debatable whether or not Rockstar actually believes that to be true in today's day and age. And that, in a sense, is why I enjoyed GTA IV so much more than past GTA games: Niko's story begins with hardship and suffering and ends with not much more than that.

He doesn't finish the game with a string of mansions and fleet of cars and boats. Maybe that worked within the confines of 1980s Vice City for Tommy Vercetti, but those days are long behind us. The America that Niko Bellic lives in is very different than that. He ends in that same dingy apartment that he started with, no better off than at the game's inception.

Maybe for him, the American Dream is a lie. But that doesn't make it any less true. And it doesn't make it any less American.

I understand that and appreciate it, particularly about GTA4, and I've spoken about it a great deal on the podcast before. But that observation of America is still not one that's particularly uncommon or unobserved elsewhere. I'm not saying it isn't good and fun, but I definitely maintain that the hyperbolic praise of Rockstar's keen social commentary is frequently overstated.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I understand that and appreciate it, particularly about GTA4, and I've spoken about it a great deal on the podcast before. But that observation of America is still not one that's particularly uncommon or unobserved elsewhere. I'm not saying it isn't good and fun, but I definitely maintain that the hyperbolic praise of Rockstar's keen social commentary is frequently overstated.

Okay, agreed, especially since the vast majority of that praise seems to be for the stuff like the radio talk shows and advertisements and not for the overarching themes and character motivations.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Okay, agreed, especially since the vast majority of that praise seems to be for the stuff like the radio talk shows and advertisements and not for the overarching themes and character motivations.

Weren't the radio stations all written by the guy who voiced the Laslow dude, who is some sort of an American and some sort of radio personality? I recall a story wherein one of the designers met him somewhere once while body surfing or god knows what, they had a nice interesting long chat about whatever and then later he was tapped to write and perform the radio bits.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Weren't the radio stations all written by the guy who voiced the Laslow dude, who is some sort of an American and some sort of radio personality? I recall a story wherein one of the designers met him somewhere once while body surfing or god knows what, they had a nice interesting long chat about whatever and then later he was tapped to write and perform the radio bits.

I think Lazlow and Dan Houser wrote them together in the previous games, don't know about GTAIV.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Have you folks ever watched the Jace Hall show? Did you see the one with Jack Thompson? The one at id, with the flashlight taped to a shotgun for DOOM 4? Or the Paul Steed vs. Jason Hall hot sauce macho-off? It's stupid, clearly, but it's not a 'typical' Video game show like Gametrailers.

I'm not really looking to defend Dante's Inferno but the show is very much about straight-faced self-deprecation. And since you've already made up your minds on the game it's very likely that everything you see about the game will be absolutely terrible.

Edited by obonicus

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm not really looking to defend Dante's Inferno but the show is very much about straight-faced self-deprecation. And since you've already made up your minds on the game it's very likely that everything you see about the game will be absolutely terrible.

I think we said on the show that maybe it was a joke but it didn't feel like it. As said on the show, if we were just taken by a really well pulled off ruse, then good on them, because if so it was on a different level than running around id with a flashlight taped to the gun.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I think we said on the show that maybe it was a joke but it didn't feel like it. As said on the show, if we were just taken by a really well pulled off ruse, then good on them, because if so it was on a different level than running around id with a flashlight taped to the gun.

And what I'm saying is that if you haven't watched the show before (which you clearly haven't, from your comment), how can you measure intent? It seems to me that the only reason you even watched this show was for fodder so you could continue hating on Dante's Inferno.

I'm not saying that the Jace Hall Show is the Waiting for Guffman of Video game shows, but it generally is about game personalities saying or doing outrageous things -- very often playing to internet prejudices.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
And what I'm saying is that if you haven't watched the show before (which you clearly haven't, from your comment), how can you measure intent? It seems to me that the only reason you even watched this show was for fodder so you could continue hating on Dante's Inferno.

I'm not saying that the Jace Hall Show is the Waiting for Guffman of Video game shows, but it generally is about game personalities saying or doing outrageous things -- very often playing to internet prejudices.

I've watched a number of episodes, and the show definitely is about that, but usually the interviewees involved still actually end up getting the message of their game across, be it through direct or implied means. I don't really see any reason to believe Dante's Inferno ISN'T predicated on the mentality the lead designer acted like it was -- it's really not too far off from a lot of the previews and marketing we've already seen for the game, just more blatant and loud.

And it did seem like the "lustminion" is pretty much in there.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My googabilities fail me today, as I can't find a watchable version of the Jace Hall - Dante's Inferno video you guys are talking about. I do find a lot of 'Katee Sackhoff & Dante's Inferno', which seems to be the right one, but always get the message 'You are not from the US, so fuck off'. Has anyone found a european-allowed version?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I gave up, too, wishing that the people who decide to block content based on region should be burned with flames.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now