Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 131

theHunter, Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, Aqua Art Styles, The DSi, Elven Legacy, Crowd Sourced Questions, Your Emails and more!

This week, in a desperate effort to remain relevant in these changing times, we turn to Twitter for our inspiration. All kinds of user submitted questions up in this ... hizzy? Hizzous? I'm sorry. If you want to submit a question or comment call in to our voicemail line at (612) 284-4563.

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. You can also submit a question or comment call in to our voicemail line at (612) 284-4563!

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Show credits

Music credits: 

Intro/Outtro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks

"Luna Machine" (Benoit Casey) - http://www.cerebrimusic.com - 0:30:16
"George" (Benoit Casey) - http://www.cerebrimusic.com - 0:59:57

Comments

Minarchist wrote:

This is well worth the miniscule investment, not just for VI but V and the rest of the great series. The skeleton scene was so amusing, in part because it was interesting to actually arrive at that location. I don't know about you, but by the time I got there I'd already seen that screen about a hundred times by throwing a rotten tomato at the minotaur or whatever other stupid idea I had...the realization of "hey, that's a real location!" was very cool.

Great observation about the skeleton scene. I had forgotten that you went there when you died, but I recall now being thrilled that it was a location you could visit.

Does that King's Quest collection include VI and VII? The product details section of that Amazon page only lists I through V, but it looks like there's a logo on the box advertising seven games. Also, does that include the multimedia versions of the games with voice acting or the plain-text versions?

I don't own it, I actually own the previous version that was made for Windows 98, but from my understanding it contains all 7 (the previous one did, I have a hard time believing they went backwards). IIRC, my version had two editions of the fifth episode, one multi-media and one without, but everything else was the "full" CD-rom version where applicable.

Just watch out for III, if you've never played it. That one is brutal.

adam.greenbrier wrote:
Minarchist wrote:

This is well worth the miniscule investment, not just for VI but V and the rest of the great series. The skeleton scene was so amusing, in part because it was interesting to actually arrive at that location. I don't know about you, but by the time I got there I'd already seen that screen about a hundred times by throwing a rotten tomato at the minotaur or whatever other stupid idea I had...the realization of "hey, that's a real location!" was very cool.

Great observation about the skeleton scene. I had forgotten that you went there when you died, but I recall now being thrilled that it was a location you could visit.

Does that King's Quest collection include VI and VII? The product details section of that Amazon page only lists I through V, but it looks like there's a logo on the box advertising seven games. Also, does that include the multimedia versions of the games with voice acting or the plain-text versions?

It includes all 7 games but I read that it's missing the talking version for VI which is a shame.
I have the Windows 3.1 version of VI and the voice actors were awesome. I'm not really sure where you can find the original talking version of VI anymore.

More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King's_Quest

Btw, I'm glad to see a lot of KQVI fans here. That game made a big impression on me when I was a kid. It's still one of my fave games of all time.

Agreed; that game would be lacking without the pawn shop keeper, the drunken genie, and the stick in the mud/bump on a log.

I'd also be surprised if it didn't include voices, since the earlier pack did, but if it didn't I'd feel fairly justified in either finding a patch for it that included voices or hitting the ol' bittorrent, since you already own the game.

There's a version of the King's Quest collection on Direct2Drive with the publisher listed as Sierra. I don't know if this is the same Vivendi collection or not. It would be a shame to play King's Quest VI without voice acting.

Edit: Doing a bit more reading, it looks like it is. Too bad.

adam.greenbrier wrote:

There's a version of the King's Quest collection on Direct2Drive with the publisher listed as Sierra. I don't know if this is the same Vivendi collection or not. It would be a shame to play King's Quest VI without voice acting.

Edit: Doing a bit more reading, it looks like it is. Too bad.

Ah, that sucks. You can probably look for the older compilations but they're rare and are quite expensive on eBay.

Minarchist wrote:
adam.greenbrier wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
LiK wrote:

oh yea, for musical in games, i think you guys forgot about King's Quest VI. when you were in the Underworld, the skeletons suddenly did a full dance sequence which was awesome~!

That was a great scene in a wonderful game.

I love that game. I miss that one and will have to find a way to play it again. Hopefully, I can still remember the items to give to the dwarves on the beach.

This is well worth the miniscule investment, not just for VI but V and the rest of the great series. The skeleton scene was so amusing, in part because it was interesting to actually arrive at that location. I don't know about you, but by the time I got there I'd already seen that screen about a hundred times by throwing a rotten tomato at the minotaur or whatever other stupid idea I had...the realization of "hey, that's a real location!" was very cool.

I agree on that purchase, even if it leaves a handful of King's Quests on my pile.

But man, I miss the days of humorous and enlightening death scenes.

I haven't listened to the show yet, so can someone tell me if they mention the Saturday Night Fever-style dance-off boss fight in Stubbs the Zombie? Because that was awesome.

Podunk wrote:

I haven't listened to the show yet, so can someone tell me if they mention the Saturday Night Fever-style dance-off boss fight in Stubbs the Zombie? Because that was awesome.

No we didn't. I personally didn't even know it existed as I didn't play that game very much.

What about narrative-driven games where the gameplay is based on music? As ridiculous as the narrative is, Gitaroo-Man is nevertheless one of my favorite PS2 games partly because the gameplay is so fun but also because of the level where you play the lilting romantic guitar solo in the hopes of charming the girl.

The CD version of Kings Quest VI also had this really sappy duet on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99uPg...

Wow, it's much much worse than I remember it.

Wasn't there a Bard's Tale published in 2004 or 2005 (not the original, a humourous knock-off) that was basically silly with a lot of singing; much as most on-stage musicals?

Rat Boy wrote:

I have naval lint!

Did you make it into a battleship or a submarine?

Latrine wrote:

The CD version of Kings Quest VI also had this really sappy duet on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99uPg...

Wow, it's much much worse than I remember it.

LOL, I loved it when I was a kid just because it ended the game so perfectly. I guess it really does look pretty cheesy today. XD

LiK wrote:
Latrine wrote:

The CD version of Kings Quest VI also had this really sappy duet on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99uPg...

Wow, it's much much worse than I remember it.

LOL, I loved it when I was a kid just because it ended the game so perfectly. I guess it really does look pretty cheesy today. XD

I ate it up, too. I even suggested it over in this thread, albeit rather tongue-in-cheek.

At the end of Star Control 2, while the credits rolled, the Talking Pet said that he'd have done the whole game as a musical.
Man I loved that game. I may have go a little Andy Dufresne and email it as a CGOTW suggestion. For a third time.

What about Loom? That would be more of an opera than a musical though.

Rock Band Group that needs to get on there: Led Zep - they have it all, guitar, bass, voice, and the drums, the awesome awesome drums... probably never happen though

And Certis - you can't call yourself old for another decade and a half or so. At least.

Wait no longer, the Matlock of video games is Flower.

Great podcast and I got's first question in W00t! I shall model my parenting on Elysium. Or rather I already do. I played it for my wife and she took great comfort in the thought that someone else resorts the equivalent to putting Mister 5 in front of Spore to get a little moment of peace.

I do feel guilty doing it but I think the key is balance. A trip to the park and kicking the footy around are just as much part of the formula.

My missing Rock band tunes are mostly Australian. I'd love to see some Midnight Oil (Power & the Passion, Read About It or so highly improbabale Jimmy Sharman's Boxers) just so I could play at being Rob Hirst on the drums. Some Angels, Spiderbait and Saints wouldn't go astray either.

OK, here's what everyone forgot re: games as musicals. Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure is a true game musical. Recently republished on DS. Sung in Japanese. It's a girlie RPG. It's a niche of a niche of a niche. The DS version is laughably easy for an RPG, but it's still fun. And it's Nippon Ichi.

Don't forget the music numbers in Sam & Max. "You and Me and Ted E. Bear" gets regular play from me. No mafia here, we're mafia free...

Have we reached the point where a game that's not fun can be successful? I suppose it depends on your definition of 'fun', and for that matter 'successful'. Is Ico fun? Shadow of the Colossus? The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay? Silent Hill 2? ManHunt? Not in the 'wheee!' sense, certainly. I think an argument can be made that these games are more engrossing than they are fun - that the attraction of them is not joy but other emotional responses.

Ico tugs at the heart. Shadow of the Colossus evokes guilt, sadness, loss, and a grim sense of purpose. Riddick's world is dark, violent and ugly, with a certain satisfaction to be had from dispatching those who are as bad or worse than the player. Silent Hill 2 engenders feelings of apprehension, fear, and ultimately sadness. ManHunt provides disgust, and ultimately anger. Finding that fun is like finding a fatal traffic accident amusing.

Have we had our Blue Velvet yet? Our Fight Club? Lolita? The Children's Hour? Saving Private Ryan? Perhaps not, but an argument can be made that there are interactives which treat their subject matter with appropriate maturity, and which have sold well, if not spectacularly. Sales are hardly a measure of a medium's maturity, after all. Star Wars sells much better than One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and L'Amour sells better than Nabokov, yet few would argue that films and novels are not mature art forms.

Hans

Will be really nice having a Singstar-like game done in a musical fashion, as a musical game, the one that cames to my mind is the Elite Beat Agents game on the DS, and the Japanese ones, Osu Tatakae Ouendan, wich are games in wich someone has a problem, and you solve that part of the story just dancing

Nijhazer wrote:

What about narrative-driven games where the gameplay is based on music? As ridiculous as the narrative is, Gitaroo-Man is nevertheless one of my favorite PS2 games partly because the gameplay is so fun but also because of the level where you play the lilting romantic guitar solo in the hopes of charming the girl.

Ephemeral Fantasia, then.

Minarchist wrote:
LiK wrote:
Latrine wrote:

The CD version of Kings Quest VI also had this really sappy duet on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99uPg...

Wow, it's much much worse than I remember it.

LOL, I loved it when I was a kid just because it ended the game so perfectly. I guess it really does look pretty cheesy today. XD

I ate it up, too. I even suggested it over in this thread, albeit rather tongue-in-cheek.

I must have had the floppy version, because that's the first I've seen of it. Wow.

Step off. After hitting a dead end the first time around, it took a good amount of work during my childhood to complete that game and "Girl in the Tower" was my reward. I won't have you ruin that.

kuddles wrote:

Step off. After hitting a dead end the first time around, it took a good amount of work during my childhood to complete that game and "Girl in the Tower" was my reward. I won't have you ruin that.

For some of us, the journey was its own reward.

wordsmythe wrote:
kuddles wrote:

Step off. After hitting a dead end the first time around, it took a good amount of work during my childhood to complete that game and "Girl in the Tower" was my reward. I won't have you ruin that.

For some of us, the journey was its own reward.

Except for getting cooked alive by the druids. That wasn't very rewarding...

I can't believe the conversation on games as musicals has passed without a mention of the opera in Final Fantasy VI, digitized vocal warble and all.

If you've never played the game, you might think that this scene is pretentious and overwrought, but consider the context: the singer is actually Celes (a former Imperial general and one of the heroines in your party), who is masquerading as Maria in the opera in hopes that she will be kidnapped by the owner of the world's only airship, who she would then convince to join the rebel alliance. The situation is absolutely ridiculous and, not only does the game know it, it completely trumps it up by playing it straight, unapologetically gushing through a remarkable Uematsu score all the way up to the end, where the show is crashed by a giant squid named Ultros. Awesome.

One of the defining moments of the game and, in my opinion, evidence of how Square's games were better back when they allowed a sense of humor about themselves.

What's missing from Rock Band? Van Halen.

Dude.

(Also I'd like some Crowded House, Counting Crows, The Tubes, Elbow, and Yes. Please.)

On the subject of re-releasing, repurposing old games. Paul Barnett spoke very eloquently on the subject. For his son, Pac-man is an art style, it is not old. There are older games, style of play that a young kid can play.

When we stop looking at them as a sad nostalgia spank, for us, and look at it as a remastering for a younger generation, the perspective changes. There are concepts, stories, still very viable today, even in 20 year old games. Black Isle RPGs, corridor shooters, text adventures can still have a place today. And a whole slew of people can still have fun with them. It is rather like how Episodes 1-3 were designed for today's 10 year old, not the adults who say the trilogy 30 years ago.