Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 134

Plants Vs. Zombies, Wolverine, Bionic Commando Multiplayer, Free Realms, Demigod Half Cooked, A Special Interview With Penny Arcade's Jerry "Tycho" Holkins , A Chance to Win The World Ends With You, Your Emails and more!

This week, Penny Arcade's Jerry "Tycho" Holkins sits down with Cory for some coffee and conversation about a wide range of gaming topics. Sean Sands also reveals his deep shame and offers you a way to benefit from it in the form of a new contest! 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!

  • Subscribe with iTunes
  • Subscribe with RSS
  • Subscribe with Yahoo!
Download the official apps
  • Download the GWJ Conference Call app for Android
  • Download the GWJ Conference Call app for Android

Show credits

Music credits: 

Intro/Outtro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks

"Lo-Fi Attitude" (SGX) - sgxmusic.com - 0:18:51
"Twilight Bay" (James 106) - 1:12:22

Comments

Going to listen to it while working tomorrow. Thanks again! I'm loving Plants vs Zombies, I'll see what you guys thought soon.

Wow, I'm pretty sure I recommended getting the Penny Arcade guys in for an interview in my survey. Sure, you only got one half, but nice work anyway.

This seems like as good a place for a first post to show some love as any, so here we go. You guys seem really down to earth, and my opinion seems to be represented in almost every discussion you have, which is something valued by everybody, I think. The fact that you guys namedropped Warren Spector in the first podcast I listened to didn't hurt in the least, either - that man seems like he has a Midas touch, and I think he's pretty underappreciated these days.

Anyway, this podcast was good; the Tycho interview was interesting, I'm a little surprised he didn't have much of an opinion of the real Tycho Brahe past his being some interesting guy from history, but he can still write a solid comic. Keep up the good work.

Congrats to the contest winner Glad to see the key going to a fellow Eric

Does anyone have trouble keeping this subscribed in Itunes? For some reason Itunes keeps dropping it and I have to resubscribe.

Baron Of Hell wrote:

Does anyone have trouble keeping this subscribed in Itunes? For some reason Itunes keeps dropping it and I have to resubscribe.

I've been subscribed for a year and a half with no issues.

TheCounselor wrote:
Baron Of Hell wrote:

Does anyone have trouble keeping this subscribed in Itunes? For some reason Itunes keeps dropping it and I have to resubscribe.

I've been subscribed for a year and a half with no issues.

Ditto...

I really really enjoyed the interview with Tycho.

Great questions, great chat and I just find him a very interesting person to listen to.

One of the best episodes in a while!

I'm fairly sure i mentioned Penny Arcade in my survey too. My only comment as yet is : squeee :

This is just my opinion, but the Tycho segment, while interesting, ran a little too long. I ended up skipping the last 10 or so minutes of it.

Overall, a good show. I was glad that Elysium returned. His example limerick was hilarious and will be very hard to beat.

Interview with Tycho filled your f-bomb quota for the year. Nice.

LobsterMobster wrote:

Interview with Tycho filled your f-bomb quota for the year. Nice.

I dunno. I've got a few left in me.

LobsterMobster wrote:

Interview with Tycho filled your f-bomb quota for the year. Nice.

If you listen to the Penny-Arcade podcast, this actually seems tame compared to that.

Quick preface: I'm not really a fan of Penny Arcade. Sure, I think they're incredibly cool guys for what they do with Child's Play and PAX. But, as much as I respect what they've been able to accomplish with the comic strip, I'm completely ambivalent to it.

The Rock Band: Nirvana strip that was mentioned on the podcast seems to be as good an example as any: I buy into the general premise that music game peripherals are quickly approaching a level of absurdity, but I get off the train once that statement is punctuated with Yet Another Kurt Cobain Suicide Joke.

Maybe it's because I'm a Nirvana fan that gets tired of seeing that band get marginalized (and deified, to be fair) because the lead singer shot himself. Maybe it's because I'm a father with a three year old daughter that remembers that Cobain left behind a daughter of his own. Maybe I have a stick up my @$$. Whatever the reasons - and all three are certainly in play - the "shock value" often leaves me cold, no matter how incisive the overall commentary may be.

So, with that in mind, please understand that I'm trying to be constructive when I say that the Tycho interview meandered a lot and, ultimately, didn't really yield anything interesting for me until the discussions about CCGs and D&D at the very end.

I could probably dig it as a quick b-side to the show, like Robert Ashley's full interview with Henry Lowood for A Life Well Wasted. Or perhaps you could have cut around the discussion of Tycho's D&D exploits and used that snippet as a jumping point for further discussion on the podcast about funny or interesting "in-person social gaming moments" (not just to limit it to D&D). As an uncut lunch conversation about random stuff, though, the interview just seemed out of place with the usual tightly-edited tone of the conference call.

As for the overall show goes, I enjoyed the email segment, as always, and hearing Elysium's struggle with The World Ends With You was hilarious, but I don't see this episode as one of your best. Then again, maybe it's just not for me.

Sorry you didn't enjoy it, Ozy, but I enjoyed making it.

I think I learned more about Cory than I did about Jerry.

Demiurge wrote:

Sorry you didn't enjoy it, Ozy, but I enjoyed making it.

I imagine it must be hard to try to do an interview with Jerry. He has a habit of seeing where a line of question, or even a casual comment, is going, and he is likely to try to cut you off so that he can answer. That said, this was much more of a conversation than an interview, but it was a really fun listen. I have to wonder how many people who are famous in gaming circles are lurkers here. I certainly got the impression that Jerry peeks in here from time to time.

On Plants vs Zombies - I'm not getting it. I played the demo, got far enough to have two kinds of mushrooms and buy a 7th card slot, and the game is monotonous. I love the style, I like the audio, but the gameplay is lacking.

but I enjoyed making it.

Which is essentially our mission statement.

Elysium wrote:
but I enjoyed making it.

Which is essentially our mission statement.

What is writing about games but masturbation on masturbation?

I thought Jerry had a good point when he mentioned co-op and level of familiarity. I jumped into L4D the other night after having bought it last week; I piggybacked on a mission WizKid was in, on normal, with a couple other people. They were all very gracious with my obvious newbness, and I appreciate them letting me tag along, but it was clear that three people knew what the heck they were doing and one didn't. That game seems like such an event, that could actually suck you in, I felt very out-of-place, and it broke immersion for me. So I was glad someone else felt the same way.

Also, thanks to Sean for pointing out that, in fact, a plot twist is not always necessary or even desirable to a narrative experience. In the literary world it's considered pretty hackney. (With the exception of the mystery novel, I guess, in which case it's just cliché.) I could stand for less plot twists in my games.

MeatMan wrote:

This is just my opinion, but the Tycho segment, while interesting, ran a little too long. I ended up skipping the last 10 or so minutes of it.

I was fine with the length and normally I'm clamoring for proper editing (not on this site). I think the fact it was a conversation and not an interview that helped the time just fly.

Anyway, great show, I enjoyed the change of pace from the norm.

Elysium wrote:
but I enjoyed making it.

Which is essentially our mission statement.

And that is cool. Just wanted to pass along my initial impressions from the episode, which was still pretty good.

I have to disagree with the statement that if you've got to the dramatic midpoint of Bioshock then you've got everything out of the game. Yes, the later parts of the game were mishandled but one of the best levels in the game is in the later part: The Little Wonders Educational Facility. (The Little Sister factory basically.) I just thought that section of the level is an amazing bit of storytelling through environment and is by far my favorite "level" of the game. (Although I admit Fort Frolic was quite good too.)

And that is cool. Just wanted to pass along my initial impressions from the episode, which was still pretty good.

No, I don't want to disagree or be disagreeable. I get where you're coming from. I just like reinforcing where we come from occasionally.

I actually enjoyed listening to Cory in this interview/conversation. Although the topics weren't particularly that interesting to me personally, overall it was entertaining.

I haven't been listening to the podcast for most of the past year. I can't listen to it and work at the same time, because the work part doesn't happen.

For Easter, I drove, alone, 5 hours each way to visit family and listened to 3 or 4 episodes in the car. I had forgotten how much I love the show. This past weekend, I got around to putting some of the newer episodes on my ipod and listened to them during my commute and running random errands. Sooooo much better than sports talk radio.

I haven't gotten a chance to listen to this week's episode yet, but I, once again, eagerly await a new conference call (and with Jerry!)

Keep up the awesome, AWESOME work!

The e-mails section was horribly short this week.
This makes me sad. =(

BTW, is there an entry date, or maximum submission count? I have more than one that I'm working on.

The e-mails section was horribly short this week.
This makes me sad. =(

This week's episode was a little short for some highly technical and boring reasons that even I fell asleep hearing about. Don't fret.

As for the contest, I'll announce the winner during a pretty cool upcoming show. It may seem a little long, but let's call May 20 the deadline.

I like how Rabbit has pre-warned his children against internet kooks. This whole live-free sony card game thing sounds cool. I have been a fan of the online Everquest cardgame. Great interview with the Pennyarcade guy. No offence, but sometimes it was like he was interviewing you, Demiurge! Really liked the interview, keep 'em coming guys!

Demiurge, you did a really good job with the Tycho "interview". I use the quotes because it was barely an interview, more just an awesome discussion. Nice work!

Also, Elysium, I think you got a bit far ahead of yourself choosing the World Ends With You. You would've made everyone happier if you tried something like Tales of Vesperia or Persona, rather than jumping into something so ridiculously, um ... Japanese? At least you would've been on a console you liked.