"Rock solid"

Clearly this was recorded before the authentication servers went down

*edit*
listening as I go here... I totally agree with Certis on how the playerbase definitely defines the WOW experience. I had to log out of the general chat because of a 12, 14, and 15 year-old discussing US politics, and how they have many "factions".

More later, but I'm giving Uru the nod for this distinction at the moment.

Why is all the WoW:BC talk making me picture this?

If I hear the word 'episodic' again....
Well... I've played a lot of hitman...
Let's say I'll make preparations to use those skills.

List:
Ratboy,
wordsmythe,
Mr Eko,
Mex

Thanks for the nod guys. It is a funny coincidence that my wife chose to buy pudding for us for a snack while we watched Heroes.

I am encouraged by the compatibility between my thoughts and the upcoming Conan MMO. However, I seem to recall Funcom having some forward thinking and unique features in AO that were... (shall I be nice here? no) attrociously implemented. Lag and pathing problems stand out in my memory and my experiences came a year and a half after the horrid launch.

*Here is your thread of the next week.
*Dibs on Elysium's seat since he is leaving to play WoW full time.
*Heavy Weapons = astroids on crack? Come on this is more like Metal Slug, R-Type, or Gradius.
*Marvel Ultimate Alliance is dungeon crawler with tights. It's more akin to Baulder's Gate Dark Alliance. Don't forget there is a group of Goodjers who play.
*Aquaman is like a Y-list. I hope he slips and falls in the bathtub making him drown. But he is DC.
*"I'm done rambling who's next?" *music starts playing*. For some reason I just laughed at that.
*Topics: Developer shuffle for Guitar Hero. More tech stuff.

My quick take on "episodic" games:

Episodes mean there's something that makes you want to keep going. That isn't going to mean much for games that thrive on MP popularity, so it's going to have to have to have a big SP draw. As far as I can tell, there's SP games that people would like add-ons for (e.g. Lumines and maybe some games with more maps, perhaps unlockables) and there's games that have a story going and you are invested enough in the characters to want to be part of more of their lives. This latter category seems like it would work for episodes. Think of, for example, the add-ons to Ultima 7. I'd have paid a few bucks for another reason to keep playing that game.

Another caveat: Since it needs to be on the same basic game engine, you can't be selling based on pretty graphics, either.

I like what Valve is doing. I just like the idea of shorter cheaper games to start with.

Episodes and cliffhangers have little appeal because I don't game for the story. I'd rather watch a 2 hour movie to get my story then play a 15 hr game for one. The biggest reason is time or the lack of time. If the gameplay ain't there then just give me the movie version of the story. If the gameplay is there then I don't much care about the story.

Good show.

One aspect of episodic content that was touched upon, but deserves more attention was the social aspect. As mentioned in the podcast, one of the benefits of watching TV shows on DVD is that you can watch episodes at your convenience rather than when the networks release them. So one question is, "Are there benefits to watching TV episodes at the times that they are released?"

For some people, there's value in seeing the latest episode at as soon as possible, and the gratification is immediate. But there's another, less talked about, but highly valued aspect, and that is the social ritual that is predicated on a rigid TV schedule. It could be the next day's water cooler chatter, or deep analysis and debate in online forums (and by extension, podcasts). These are social rituals that have value, and that value is largely dependent on people watching the show at the same time.

Bringing this back to gaming, it's reasonable to expect that if a given cohort of players is exposed to the same game content at the same time, they'll be more able and eager to discuss what just happened knowing that the other players had roughly similar experiences. In multiplayer games, we actually share experiences that we help to create together. Certis pointed to this in the podcast, and I would take it a step further.

Multiplayer episodic content could have its greatest impact on casual gamers. As medium-to-hard-core gamers, many of us we make an effort to get together to play multiplayer games regularly. I say effort, because to those who are less committed it would appear to be a hassle to coordinate. For many of us, it's well worth it. But if a schedule is prescribed and presented (let's say by the publisher), it could turn out to be the simple structure that casual gamers need to anchor their social ritual. That's where I think the greatest potential lies in bringing casual gamers into multiplayer games.

I, too like Test Drive. They added a lot of new and very cool features to the console racing game. It's by no means perfect, but definitely a fun game.

Excellent show, as always. I sort of droned out through the Burning Crusade stuff, but that's because I am not addicted to drugs like 8 million gamers are.

The new phrase for the community is "GWJ: Disturbed, yet tantalized." Or something like that. Ely can fiddle with the form.

Good show guys, good job Demi. I'm feeling the same about Burning Crusade. Enjoying the ride now, while it lasts, because I doubt I will enjoy it as much when the "newess" wears off and the grind hits, around the mid thirties. Having the great group of goodgers we have on Baelgun Horde, certainly helps though. We had 16 goodgers online last night, mostly all under lvl 30 and in grouping ranges.

As for episodic video games, I guess until I atually play one and enjoy it, I really can't get excited about the idea. I enjoy episodic TV shows, but that's probably because it's the standard format for TV. If given a choice I'd probably consume it differently, like I can do when I buy a whole season on DVD, or record a show on the DVR and watch it whenever I want, often in larget chunks.

I do this at the risk of sounding like even more of a Telltale fan boy, but have you Episodic Game detractors tried Sam & Max yet? It's perfectly suited for this model, really.