GWJ Conference Call Episode 23
God of War 2 ... Free?, Sphere, The Demise of Computer Games Magazine, Piracy in PC Gaming, Your Emails, Our Contest Winner and more!
(A developing 37 megs, 1:21)
Today on the Conference Call we we gain some insight on the demise of Computer Games Magazine. Will we ever see rabbit's Bioshock cover? We also delve into the health of the PC games industry, God of War 2 and some excellent emails. We also announce the winner of the Liongames.com contest! Finally, you people can quit bugging us about including more poetry in the show.
Want to support the show? Hit the Digg link just above (it's fast and easy to register) or review us on iTunes! Read on for show notes.
To contact us, email ! Send us your thoughts on the show, pressing issues you want to talk about or whatever else is on your mind. You can even send a 30 second audio question or comment (MP3 format please) if you're so inclined.
Sponsor
Liongames.com
The Links
Sphere
God of War 2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Line Rider
Thread of the Week 1: Spirited Debate On Game Piracy - Parallax Abstraction
Thread of the Week 2: Penny Arcade Game Episode 1 Trailer - McChuck
Music Credits:
Intro/Outro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks
"One Big Holiday" My Morning Jacket The Wired CD - 0:07:35
"Dc 3000" Thievery Corporation The Wired CD - 0:29:49
"Terra" - Chico Correa & Electronic Band - 0:46:57
"Impeller" Ian Dorsch - 1:12:00
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Hey, Liongames sponsored.
MaxShrek .. Do it first, do it yourself, and keep on doing it.
Horror Vacui
For the past three episodes.
XBox Live|Tshirts|xfire | Last.fm
Let's be nice.
(Edit) Here's the full thing:
"Subject: Question!
Body: Which one of you is sexier? Edwin told me to ask. Seriously.
Sooooooo not me being curious. Nope.
-Vrikk"
Yet even then we ran like the wind,
whilst our laughter echoed under cerulean skies...
Regarding the Gears of War EB special. I thought I misheard my EB guy, but no, you do get ALL your cash back on it. I think I'll be doing this, as I really can't afford some of the other awsome stuff this month.
You can't do this!
Of course I can, I'm Will Wright, bitch! - The Simpsons Game
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Xfire/Xbox Live: StylezXP
Yeah, so I forgot to put my handle on the mail, but to my defense, my mail is DreadAle@gmail.com. You didn't quite go in the direction I had anticipated, in fact, you didn't even mention the game I thought I had put the most weight - Indigo Prophecy.
I think the problem was that I was actually aiming for both intuitive and functional interfaces - you'll notice that I added little quos in parentheses for the individual games, which apparently didn't serve their purpose.
In EVE and Supreme commander, the things which make the interfaces unique are functional aspects - I was thinking of the uncanny zoom out which supreme commander utilizes, which have pretty much diminish my interest for any RTS which requires micromanagement rather than strategy.
EVE is more akin to the second nature described in the podcast. Having played EVE for a substantial amount of time, I can utilize the interface pretty well, which in turn means that I can do what I want fast and efficiently (assuming that it isn't bugged).
Indigo Prophecy and God of War, on the other hand, are intuitive. The interface seems logical and arbitrarily reminiscent of real life - it is engaging and really bolsters the emersion.
If you think of genres with really established interfaces, like racing games or point and click adventures, how noticeable do they seem? When was the last time you were really raving about a game which didn't have a unique way of interacting with the player? I look at the past ten games which have dominated my gaming time and I can only conclude that interface is the closes to a common factor there is.
I haven't had time to listen through the whole podcast yet, so if you address any of the things I've mentioned later on, I do not know yet.
Poor rabbit confused
Reading, not comprehending
Let me chainsaw you
I'm now through with poetry. You're dead to me haiku, dead!
sh*t, now I have to buy GRAW 2.
Xbox Live | Steam | Last.fm
Hmm, I don't think I ended up sending in my haiku. Like any good writer, I have a real skill for completely ignoring deadlines. I will consider this your loss.
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
Dwarf Fortress does have some mouse support, but only for some specific functions. Such as designating where to mine.
For a keyboard-only game, the interface isn't awful. Definitely could use some work in some spots though.
Battlefield 2142 has a much friendlier remap interface than BF2 did.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
Woohoo! *grins* Also, the second line of my Haiku was a Karate Kid "Miyagi-san" reference, but that might have been a bit too obscure.
I would like to thank
very much of a cliche
the academy
My 360 is now back from being refurbished to the tune of $139. *sighs* I look forward to getting back online with everyone!
"War, it's gods way of teaching Americans Geography.." -Jon Stewart
"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents." - Howard Philips Lovecraft
Woot, my haiku got second place.
No prize for runner up?
NOTE: This is not a doodle bug.
Spore
You get to stab Swampy.
"Even though that place should only be fifteen or twenty minutes away geographically, in actual practice - between the hours of four and seven - Redmond might as well orbit the Earth." - Tycho, Penny Arcade
...
YAY!
NOTE: This is not a doodle bug.
Spore
Yes! Bring on the outtakes, gaffs and bloopers at the end. That was often my favorite part of the original podcast with Certis and Fletcher.
I didn't send in a haiku since I don't own a 360.
New reign of terror
The six axis of evil
Force feedback? Payback!
Rat Boy on Newlywed Ackbar wrote:
For all you late to party Haiku people, save your ideas because the next contest is going to be a doozy!
"Can I have a job? I donut have much experiences, butt I always use an spellchecker spellchecker on my articles." - Sway
Using Prayer To Microevolve Latent Antibiotic Resistance In Bacteria since 2005!
Spoiler Fanatic!
WTF? I never sent you an email.
XBox Live|Tshirts|xfire | Last.fm
Maybe it was like that Spongebob episode where SB, Patrick and Gary all imitate being Squidward simulatenously.
I'm Edwin, You're Ediwn... We're all Edwin!
Xbox Live: Irongut | Playstation ID: Irongut_GWJ
Vrikk said you made him, and he's no liar. No sir.
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
I think he meant Chumpy's newborn kid whose nickname is Edwin, 'cause I never told him to.
XBox Live|Tshirts|xfire | Last.fm
I was too distraught to send in a Haiku.
If I use art as an outlet for guild emotions at the time, it would be:
Karmajay quit WoW,
Weakened friends fall in battle,
Monsters teabag them
And for the record, the Vanguard bloodoath is long done.
Ya'all come back now, ya hear
Xbox Live: Irongut | Playstation ID: Irongut_GWJ
Hey Gaald did I hear you are coming back out this way soon? I'd be more than happy to accomodate a day of drinking and Mario Party should that be the case.
You can't do this!
Of course I can, I'm Will Wright, bitch! - The Simpsons Game
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Xfire/Xbox Live: StylezXP
Re: Games you can't play right now.
XBox Live|Tshirts|xfire | Last.fm
Yes, for a couple of days. I am not sure what my schedule will be like when I get out there though so I will let you guys know when I do. Mario Party sounds great if I can manage it though.
"Can I have a job? I donut have much experiences, butt I always use an spellchecker spellchecker on my articles." - Sway
Using Prayer To Microevolve Latent Antibiotic Resistance In Bacteria since 2005!
Spoiler Fanatic!
Sure, sure.
Gaald is single, by the way.
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
Cause I'm too dam sexy.
"Can I have a job? I donut have much experiences, butt I always use an spellchecker spellchecker on my articles." - Sway
Using Prayer To Microevolve Latent Antibiotic Resistance In Bacteria since 2005!
Spoiler Fanatic!
Penny Arcade Game:
I'm surprised someone hasn't already pointed out with predjudice that the Penny Arcade game is going to be cel-shaded. Check Gabe's newspost on March 19th.
And as for the voicing, you bring up PvP's animated shows as an example. Which it is, just not of what you hope. Apparently you all missed the ugly kerfubble about Skull's voice when they first started out. I would imagine it's that very flap they're trying to avoid. Someone on the PA forums actually suggested Michael Dorn as a voice for Gabe. Can you imagine?
An Off-contest Senryu:
Time slips away here
Daily Planet job pays bills
Writing poems does not
Duoae wrote:
I enjoyed the discussion on game piracy. A possible solution to the problem of having to log in every time to validate your copy of the game prior to playing it would be to require the player to log in and validate the copy once every, say, 2 to 3 weeks. After validating the game, he/she would have X amount of time to play it without validating again. Whenever an internet connection was active, the game could always validate on startup, then if you lost your internet connection or were traveling you would have a period of time to be able to play.
This is similar to how the Rhapsody music service works. Each month, your music is authorized for 1 month. If you load your music on a portable device, like I do, then if you let the month pass, you can't play your music again until you log on to Rhapsody servers and they verify your account is still active.
Steam does this everytime you want to play and that was bypassed almost immediatly, so no, that wouldn't work.
XBox Live|Tshirts|xfire | Last.fm
So Steam used to do something similar to what I suggested but it was hacked? Or Steam still does this and it was/is hacked?
Everytime you want to play steam connects to login in and validate. Steam was bypassed almost instantly.
XBox Live|Tshirts|xfire | Last.fm
Hmmm. Poor implementation, obviously.