Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 67

Catching Up On Games, The Triumphant Return Of Ken Levine, The Spike TV Awards Incident, RPG Games, Valve Is Awesome, Six Axis Silliness, Multiplayer Value, Your (audio) Emails and more!

We are delighted to once again welcome 2K Boston's Ken Levine for the entire show! You remember Ken, right? The Bioshock guy? System Shock 2? Boston Beard Growing Champion 2004? We range far and wide over gaming industry issues, playing Rock Band in a robe, what happened at the Spike TV awards, your audio emails and more than I could possibly list here!

To contact us, email [email protected]! 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.

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Show credits

Music credits: 

Intro/Outro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree
Audioworks

"Nocturne for Rapture" Ian Dorsch - 0:45:05
"Impeller" Ian Dorsch - 1:19:13

Comments

Yay Ken!

Can't wait to listen to this at work!

I came out of lurking just to tell you that I do read that part. It's the best part of all of GWJ!

I, Too, read that part. While it's not my favorite, it's in my top 10.

Wait...what part?

Careful listening at work, obirano. Rabbit is dropping F-bombs all over the place.

Another Yay for Ken being on the show!

I anxiously await listening to this at work tomorrow.

Vespers(?) was mentioned, What is this?

Thoroughly enjoyed this episode, fellas. Jrpg commentary made me laugh, with realization of all the common things that drive me nuts about this genre.

Hopefully Corey is having more luck fishing than I am.

This week's show is up there with some of the most completely entertaining ones you guys have done so far. And it's always good (and interesting!) to hear the opinions of someone on the other side of the industry.

It's amazing just how much more fun the show has gotten over time. Good stuff all around.

Dr_Awkward wrote:

Careful listening at work, obirano. Rabbit is dropping F-bombs all over the place.

He also said something about "putting his dick in a vice."

It's amazing just how much more fun the show has gotten over time. Good stuff all around.

I certainly thought it was fun. I was so mesmerized by the conversation I barely said said anything the whole show! Man my brain has just totally gone on vacation the last week or so.

So is Ken like the 6th member of the show now?

My apologies for a tiny bit of colorful language. You have to admit long time listeners, I HAVE gotten better. I used to swear like CRAZY until I got slapped around a bit for it.

Gaald wrote:

I certainly thought it was fun. I was so mesmerized by the conversation I barely said said anything the whole show! Man my brain has just totally gone on vacation the last week or so.

And yet you still found time to complain about something! At least it (Toy Home) was completely worthy of the complaining. You're like my canary in a coal mine, sussing out all the badness in gamerville so I don't have to!

Purple_Haze wrote:

So is Ken like the 6th member of the show now?

I think we've garnered a reputation as a place where guys like the Right Reverend Levine and Mr. Jeff Green can come on and vent about things, knowing that they'll be greeted with nothing but unthinking adulation by the hosts and backed up by a producer who knows both how to edit and how to make us all sound so good. I actually have a lisp, stutter, and haven't had my voice change yet. The man's a master I tell you.

Vespers is covered in this old post from the dawn of time (July).

Yay for 3 hour drives! I'll listen this afternoon as I'm driving back to Houston.

rabbit wrote:

My apologies for a tiny bit of colorful language. You have to admit long time listeners, I HAVE gotten better. I used to swear like CRAZY until I got slapped around a bit for it.

Let me drag up a recent Live message you sent me.

Anxiously awaiting the end of the workday today so I can listen to it. I've actually got my wife listening on our 1.5 hour commute from downtown Houston to the suburbs. We were looking at the Witcher in Best Buy last week after listening to the podcast and she even said, "Oh, you don't want that one though...no oogaba."

I TOTALLY want to play Smash Bros. with Ken. Can I have his friend code?

Also, Certis is right, of course Zelda isn't an RPG. What WOULD make it an RPG? That there are swords in it?

RE: Random combat, Skies of Arcadia comes up a lot as one of the worst offenders and given the developers agreed as they're less likely in the GameCube version, but late in the game you actually gain the ability to fly your ship above the clouds. There are no random encounters there though there are some optional bosses flying around that you can choose to fight.

Certis, there are two blue girls you can have sex with -- one much earlier in the game that is essentially a booty call, and then one later that follows the general pattern of the other romance sub-quests and is much more gratifying.

Really? I don't think I managed that on the first one, maybe it's because I played a girl. Geez rabbit, you haven't truly played the game yet after all. More blue girl sex ahead, keep playing!

Excellent show, but where is Elysium?

Ken has some very interesting viewpoints, smart dude.

You guys sound like you're having fun doing the show, and I think that makes it better.

Soon to be available in t-shirts, wrist bands, and hand-held screen cleaning spongies:

IMAGE(http://www.mts.net/~skeeve/wwrd.jpg)

Certis wrote:

Really? I don't think I managed that on the first one, maybe it's because I played a girl.

You don't need to have a dick to get it on with her, but you do have to be a dick, if you catch my meaning.

Certis wrote:

Really? I don't think I managed that on the first one, maybe it's because I played a girl. Geez rabbit, you haven't truly played the game yet after all. More blue girl sex ahead, keep playing!

Nope, you can interact with the first one as a female too -- I did. The key is to choose "renegade" flavored responses when you go to tell her that you finished the job that she wanted you to do.

Edit: Yeah, what Rat Boy said.

Nice guys playing as girls always finish last. Story of my life.

Trachalio wrote:

Soon to be available in t-shirts, wrist bands, and hand-held screen cleaning spongies:

IMAGE(http://www.mts.net/~skeeve/wwrd.jpg)

Hilarious.

First Bioshock, now Portal, what's next? Puppy backlash?

Nice guys playing as girls always finish last. Story of my life.

I'm playing a similar character. Guess I'll keep hitting on blue chickie.

Rabbit, that false dialog thing is not so much a conceit of JRPGs as it is a technique common to many Japanese games from the PS1/N64 era, and most commonly Nintendo games, and honestly Nintendo is the only company that has really continued to do it since then. I think they did it in Okami mostly because they were very obviously trying to follow the Zelda gameplay template, and for better or for worse, that kind of gibberish chattering sound effect is a staple in Zelda games.

In any case, I haven't seen it in a JRPG in a very long time (Okami and Zelda are really not RPGs).

gibberish chattering sound effect

Two words, Animal Crossing.

Good game but my god. Even the dog sang in the gibberish.

Sivok wrote:
gibberish chattering sound effect

Two words, Animal Crossing.

Good game but my god. Even the dog sang in the gibberish.

Chibi-Robo was just as bad. I don't think you could speed up or skip the text either. *shudder*