Terminal7 15: That Mechanical Meat

[Nelsormensch]

Terminal7 15: 

 

That Mechanical Meat

Nels & Jesse are joined by a very special guest this week- Android: Netrunner co-designer Damon Stone. We discuss design process, how theme and mechanics get wedded together in Netrunner and Damon moonlighting as a jet-setting dance instructor.

Games Discussed: Android: Netrunner

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[Geh!]

Really disapointing interview. Nothing about how Andromida rolled last year, or how Anarch lacks any decent card draw, economy or tutors without spending influence, or what account siphon recurson is doing to the game, or how current FA countermeasures that are not Account Siphon do very little against it.

 

I mean, I don't expect you guys to go Spanish Inquisition on him but there are problems with the game that have been there since its inception. Bringing up a few of them would be on topic, and you can do it without being accusitory or hostile. You can ask about how past problems arose and how they dealt with it, and what faction weaknesses are considered sacrocant rather than from just not being currently addressed by the card pool. You could have tried to fish for a few spoilers, at least.

 

The story about Exploritory Romp was interesting, and the whole dancing thing too, but the rest was mostly dull. I hope you guys do a bit more digging next time you get someone from FFG on.

[Nelsormensch]

Really disapointing interview. Nothing about how Andromida rolled last year, or how Anarch lacks any decent card draw, economy or tutors without spending influence, or what account siphon recurson is doing to the game, or how current FA countermeasures that are not Account Siphon do very little against it.

 

I mean, I don't expect you guys to go Spanish Inquisition on him but there are problems with the game that have been there since its inception. Bringing up a few of them would be on topic, and you can do it without being accusitory or hostile. You can ask about how past problems arose and how they dealt with it, and what faction weaknesses are considered sacrocant rather than from just not being currently addressed by the card pool. You could have tried to fish for a few spoilers, at least.

 

The story about Exploritory Romp was interesting, and the whole dancing thing too, but the rest was mostly dull. I hope you guys do a bit more digging next time you get someone from FFG on.

 

Sorry this cast wasn't your bag! But maybe you haven't listened to many of our other episodes, but that kind of really crunchy analysis isn't really what Terminal7 is about. There are a number of other casts that make that their wheelhouse, but Jesse and I started Terminal7 to talk about what we find interesting about the game, how its design interacts with its theme, what the process of making the game looks like, etc. Since Jesse and I both also make games for a living, we looked at the conservation with Damon as a chance to talk shop with a peer, not a time to do investigative digging or anything like that.

 

Banging on about Account Siphon or some other concern du jour is just ain't really what we want to do with the cast, you know?

 

Shame it wasn't what you were looking for, but one person's "dull" is another person's "fascinating." I imagine there might some more interviews and such that go on around GenCon from other folks that might be more what you're looking for!

[Reyturner]

One thing I found fascinating was how far ahead of the release cycle the designers are working. You get used to the reactionary balance patch when you play competitive video games. Of course you can't do that with an analog game like Netrunner and luckily they haven't broken anything so far (tho Geh! may disagree).

It'll be interesting to see how FFG approach this as the card pool grows, or if a horrendous combo sneaks through play testing.

[Calamitous]

My, what a rich soundscape Mr. Stone has.

Nels and Jesse deserve medals I think for maintaining a straight (or at least silent) face against what sounded to be the saddest dog in the world.
As for myself, I could hardly keep from giggling every time Damon would seem to walk around his room or try to talk about the philosophy of the Anarchs over what I can only guess must be his criminally neglected and mistreated pet.

 

In all seriousness though, thanks for another great episode. If you and the rest of the Idle Thumbs Network didn't set such a darn high audio quality bar I wouldn't be (jokingly) complaining.

[clyde]

I especially enjoyed the part about how the runner-factions are grouped by motive. I already suspected as much due to the extraordinary theme/mechanics synergy of the game, but hearing it stated clearly and confidently allowed me to enjoy it even more. I feel like you could write cyberpunk-novels by playing rounds of Netrunner similar to the way Dungeons & Dragons campaigns have been used to for fantasy-novels.

I'd enjoy it if another member of the Netrunner team ever decides to come on the show to complement Damon's perspectives on the design philosophies used to create the game. I would love to hear even more specific anecdotes of how the theme has informed the mechanics and vice-versa.

[HappyCerberus]

I wish the sound quality was better. With english not being my native language I really had huge trouble distinguishing was said (the tortured dog in the background definitely didn't help).