Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 194

Crackdown 2 Demo, Transformers: War For Cybertron, Risk Factions, iPhone Games, A Little More E3, Free to Play Follow Up, Lots of Your Emails and more!

This week Allen, Shawn, Julian and Sean Sands catch up on what feels like our first regular show in forever. Bonus content continues on a hiatus as we enjoy the summer and ramp up to our 200th show. Expect the old bonus content episode to be available for download soon! 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

Epilogue I - (Zoo) - workbench-music.com - 0:37:38
cosmos - (b-sides) - workbench-music.com - 0:49:52

Comments

Is the tether thing you were thinking of from Bulletstorm?

Hmm, when I right click the link and choose Save As... nothing happens. Clicking the link directly says the file isn't found. Is this the right URL?

http://traffic.libsyn.com/gwjcc/GWJ_...

I miss SEGA channel; it was through that service that I found a lot of my favorite games on the Genesis.

Poor Dietrich...

I know you Americans/Canadian got a problem with the "ch". Think of the sound an angry cat makes. But if you need to pronounce it wrongly, go for a "sh", that way it sounds "hessisch". Oh, and its pronounced "Volfenshtine", just saying.

Edit: On the 200th show, I want Ken Levine to talk about the game he's working on.

Think of the sound an angry cat makes.

Dietr--rrreeeeoooooooowwwww?

Arclite wrote:

Hmm, when I right click the link and choose Save As... nothing happens. Clicking the link directly says the file isn't found. Is this the right URL?

http://traffic.libsyn.com/gwjcc/GWJ_...

Seems to be working ok for me. Still down?

Thanks guys for this great podcast, I nearly spewed my coffee all over my keyboard when you started talking about "The Kama Sutra: Kinect Edition". That alone would make Kinect a hit, but throw in those trophies, and I think MS can seriously challenge Wii.

Reverse Tiger Donkey indeed sir!

~Z

Except the Mac has games. Nailed it!

This made me laugh so hard I snorted.

Elysium wrote:
Think of the sound an angry cat makes.

Dietr--rrreeeeoooooooowwwww?

I'm not emailing in anymore. The response to my question on the possible validity on Kinect started with Julian making my name sound like an expatriate Nazi trying out for a walk on role in A Streetcar Named Desire, and ended with Certis talking about posting pictures of a reverse tiger lotus sex position on Facebook.

Actually, strike that. That's a pretty awesome answer to the email.

trichy wrote:
Elysium wrote:
Think of the sound an angry cat makes.

Dietr--rrreeeeoooooooowwwww?

I'm not emailing in anymore. The response to my question on the possible validity on Kinect started with Julian making my name sound like an expatriate Nazi trying out for a walk on role in A Streetcar Named Desire, and ended with Certis talking about posting pictures of a reverse tiger lotus sex position on Facebook.

Actually, strike that. That's a pretty awesome answer to the email.

Exactly - for god's sake, keep emailing!

On the phone games discussion, I think it will be interesting to see how Win Phone 7 adds into the equation. With achievements, Live, and XNA porting and dev tools, it seems like it could be a strength for MS. With them locking down hardware specs pretty firmly, it will also offer a bit easier target to develop for than Android with it's wildly varying hardware and interfaces.

By this time next year, it could be a three year race for best gaming phone platform. Should be interesting.

Great to see the love for Sam and Max Season 3. It's definitely the best thing Telltale has done so far.

Also, Pyroman come play LoL with us on vent. You'll have a much better experience.

Yay for the Rabbitcast!

Minor correction for something Certis said - According to Kotaku, the devs for Global Agenda didn't plan to start charging the monthly fee until after an upcoming game update, so no one has actually been charged a monthly fee.

Tanglebones wrote:
trichy wrote:
Elysium wrote:
Think of the sound an angry cat makes.

Dietr--rrreeeeoooooooowwwww?

I'm not emailing in anymore. The response to my question on the possible validity on Kinect started with Julian making my name sound like an expatriate Nazi trying out for a walk on role in A Streetcar Named Desire, and ended with Certis talking about posting pictures of a reverse tiger lotus sex position on Facebook.

Actually, strike that. That's a pretty awesome answer to the email.

Exactly - for god's sake, keep emailing!

This x 100! Best. Email. Answer. Ever.

EDIT TO ADD: Whatever you decide to do for the 200th episode, it must be live!

Stupid Elysium selling me on Transformers. I WAS TRYING TO RESIST!

Edit: The Kama Sutra for the Kinnect discussion HAS to go into the end-of-the-year highlight show with the Cat Sound bit.

Double Edit: A Plaxico Burress reference!

Triple Edit: You need ideas for the 200th? Is Ken Levine booked somewhere else that weekend?

I love the little outtakes at the end! Hilarity. Is it just me or do the beeps seem louder than rest of the cast?

Amoebic wrote:

I love the little outtakes at the end! Hilarity. Is it just me or do the beeps seem louder than rest of the cast?

That's an editing thing to tell you when each little snippet starts, like when you watch movie outtakes.

Rat Boy wrote:
Amoebic wrote:

I love the little outtakes at the end! Hilarity. Is it just me or do the beeps seem louder than rest of the cast?

That's an editing thing to tell you when each little snippet starts, like when you watch movie outtakes.

I think Amoebic was stating that the audio level of the beeps was higher than the normal audio. I noticed it too. It almost made me have to turn down the volume.

In regards to the LoL community and their "as$ hat-ery".

1st - I estimate about 5% of players fall into that category prior to heros of newerth going pay to play. Post it seems closer to 25-30%.

2nd - looks like a good weekend to play LoL. "Heroes of Newerth will be FREE TO PLAY this weekend for anyone who had a beta account!"

So if you are looking to check out League of Legends - this weekend would be a good time to get in and play as most of the as$-hats will be back playing HoN I believe.

Great episode! Also, I like the style of the outtakes now, makes me feel like I'm watching a Pixar movie's credits with my ears!

Re: Steep learning curve, difficulty and Demon Souls.

Stating that games are immediately flawed if they have a steep learning curve is too narrow a critical short cut, and rules out a lot of my favorite game experiences.

A few come to mind:

1. Demon's Souls. Yeah, it's tough. But it also infuses the game experience with a sense of real danger. What's more, it rewards committed attention. It's not button, button cut scene. There's a wonderful sense of accomplishment and wonder when you master an area that is only matched by the tense (am I gonna die?) exploration. BTW. Demon's Souls was my game of 2009 too.

2. Poker. Yes... poker. When I started playing this game years ago, it handed my ass to me. I don't like to lose. I particularly don't like to loose money. Years later. Hours upon hours of book learning later, and I'm a winning player who loves the game. Poker (or other great games like Backgammon, or chess) don't reveal all their secrets without a serious sacrifice of time and effort from the player. Honestly, I still feel chess to be boring because I haven't put in the time to understand artful mental dance that underlies the strategy. One day I will.

3. Morrowind. God that game was dry to start. And obtuse, and a little hard. But once you invested some time into it, you were gifted with a broad, immersive experience that you don't find in most games. I still fall back into that world on occasion. Now that's its mysteries are revealed; it's barrier of entry bludgeoned into submission.

4. End game raiding in WOW. Honestly, the early stages (1-80 level grind) of WOW which more casual players like Rabbit eat up like candy is duller than... oh, I don't know, something dull (like this sentence, maybe). Its only when I hit the end game and can min-max my gear, spec, spatial awareness and rotation that the game becomes engaging. Reading class strats on Elitist Jerks is part of the fun.

So what I'm saying (long winded like a hurricane) is that steep learning curves sometimes help create deeper game experiences for me-- which is what I usually want. I think Rabbit might just like different types of games than me: Iphone games, shorter narrative-based games, linear games. That's not me, and I don't want developers to believe that all gamers are like that. I want challenge, and depth that isn't always possible in a completely transparent set of game mechanics.

Fun is subjective; like art is subjective. Simple one-line rules should not be clung to as if they held any validity.

I love Demon's Souls, but copy-protecting the saves is harsh. Losing my souls when I die is bad enough; losing everything because my PS3 dies? That's just cruel.

MeatMan wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:
Amoebic wrote:

I love the little outtakes at the end! Hilarity. Is it just me or do the beeps seem louder than rest of the cast?

That's an editing thing to tell you when each little snippet starts, like when you watch movie outtakes.

I think Amoebic was stating that the audio level of the beeps was higher than the normal audio. I noticed it too. It almost made me have to turn down the volume.

You're spot on in your clarification, thanks. Glad it wasn't just in my head...this time!

Can pyroman be temporarily retagged "The Sally Struthers Of Video Games"?

McChuck wrote:

Can pyroman be temporarily retagged "The Sally Struthers Of Video Games"?

I'll even run a chairty* for the poor and needy!

*As long as it's crooked

I'd like to hear a few minutes with Fletcher and Sanjuro for the 200th episode. I'd gladly listen to a whole show with them, but a few minutes would be fine as well.

Also once you get your summoner level up above 10 or so I found that you leave a lot of the bad side of the community behind you, certainly with regards to terrible players and leavers.

Edxactly wrote:

In regards to the LoL community and their "as$ hat-ery".

1st - I estimate about 5% of players fall into that category prior to heros of newerth going pay to play. Post it seems closer to 25-30%.

2nd - looks like a good weekend to play LoL. "Heroes of Newerth will be FREE TO PLAY this weekend for anyone who had a beta account!"

So if you are looking to check out League of Legends - this weekend would be a good time to get in and play as most of the as$-hats will be back playing HoN I believe.

Props for recognizing the superiority of Risk 2210 over other Risk variants and, indeed, most other board games in general.

I feel sorry for the child of the dude who wrote in asking for advice on introducing toddlers to video games. Let the poor kid develop his own interests! Just because you spawned him doesn't mean he's going to be into whatever you're into, and pushing your own interests too hard on him too early almost guarantees that he won't be into them. Brings up bad flashbacks of my old dad trying to get me into golf....

Loved the pod cast but really need to comment on the Info you guys gave about PINCH the ipod game... you asked if it had a colour blind mode and it was implied that it didnt ... in fact this game does have a really really good colour blind mode which makes the game just as easy for those who cant see the colours.

The game also does have a Lite download for people to try it out but while its on special offer of 99c i would definatly recommend people grab it before it goes up.

The game starts with a played tutorial in which the whole game is clearly explained better than in the podcast lol and it then progresses onto a number of easy, Medium then hard levels. The easy levels are perfect for those im bored sat waiting for someone moments and take under a minute to complete each one but they progress fairly quickly onto levels which really make your brain work.

I must say though the developers of this game are ace not only are they open to critisism and ideas but they also actually act on it!! They have been making regular updates which are free for those that have purchased the game which update and add new and harder levels.

All in all this is a 10/10 game for the price and quality i would definatly reccomend to friends

Loved the pod cast but really need to comment on the Info you guys gave about PINCH the ipod game... you asked if it had a colour blind mode and it was implied that it didnt ... in fact this game does have a really really good colour blind mode which makes the game just as easy for those who cant see the colours.

Yup, after talking with one of the guys who made Pinch, I discovered my error as well.

I'm still enjoying it, though it's starting to hit the much more difficult levels.