GWJ Conference Call Episode 498

Dark Souls III, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, King's Quest, PAX East 2016, The Journey of Offworld Trading Company With Soren Johnson, Your Emails and More!

Click here to download!

(We are aware direct downloads are a bit weird for some folks. Working on it! Try a different browser for now.)

This week Sean, Julian and Allen rediscover their survival instincts.

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.

  • 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: 

Like Swimming - Broke for Free - http://brokeforfree.com/ - 28:30

f*ck It - Broke for Free - http://brokeforfree.com/ - 1:02:56

Comments

Can confirm, Amoebic was showing in my steam list as playing Offworld for so long I was sure she'd either left it running or died at her computer.
I'm likely to buy the game tomorrow, it sounds like just what I need right now. Also, hoping to get it into rotation for play at the semi-regular LAN meetups I have with old high school friends. I normally get thumped in whatever RTS we pull out, this time might be different.

Edit: Also, re: Twilight Struggle, if I've never played the table top version but am interested, should I pick up the app?

00:02:26 Dark Souls III
00:03:35 PAX East
00:18:16 Mirror's Edge Catalyst
00:23:12 King's Quest
00:28:30 Offworld Trading Company
01:02:56 Your Emails

I think it's telling that the three fields for getting into development are code, art, and audio.

Unless "writing" is part of art, then, well, explains a lot about the priority of that in games (and further, just how opaque the process of getting into games if that's what you'd like to do).

Which reminds me, I got some research to do about Japanese game development and how it differs from Western development.

ccesarano wrote:

I think it's telling that the three fields for getting into development are code, art, and audio.

Unless "writing" is part of art, then, well, explains a lot about the priority of that in games (and further, just how opaque the process of getting into games if that's what you'd like to do).

Soren did qualify his statement as saying those were the three fields that were most in demand. Like, how many coders are there on a dev team? 5-500 depending on size? How many writers? 0-1, depending on size?

True, and I must confess I took a much larger, more thoughtful post and condensed it down because I figured people didn't want to read my whole diatribe, so in the end I look like more of a fool. But I do think it's a real shame that getting into games as a writer is such a matter of luck.

And truth told, just one guy for a big AAA project is probably not enough itself, considering how many pages of script are in demand. Cracked actually had a really good article where they spoke with the writer of Spec Ops and one of the writers of the earlier Assassin's Creed games and the trials that AAA games writers face. It's quite a mess.

I had scribed a reply to ccesarano earlier when my login reset on the site. Deflated, I abandoned the discussion before every joining it (and I had not finished listening to this week's episode).

It's true though, there's no clear pathway to writing in games, even now when our collective appreciation for game narratives has gone up significantly in the last decade or so. Even if Soren only highlighted the Big Three, let's not forget the less glamourous three: QA, PX and Community. These are very legitimate doors to stick one's foot in as a pathway towards other disciplines or just staying put as the demand in those fields is also solid.

Games writers come in through the side door. Or studios go looking for a credible writer from established mediums like lit, TV or film. If the writer has a love or understanding of video games, that's a nice bonus.

Is it just me, or does Soren sound like Henchman 24?

Zudz wrote:

Is it just me, or does Soren sound like Henchman 24?

Oh my god, that's it!!! I was wondering why I thought I recognized his voice.

This podcast brought to you by the word "right".

Jonman wrote:

Soren did qualify his statement as saying those were the three fields that were most in demand. Like, how many coders are there on a dev team? 5-500 depending on size? How many writers? 0-1, depending on size?

Programmers I think are usually in the range of 5-30. The largest part of a team is typically artists and level designers. Asset creation is where a lot of the budget goes, which was one of the things Will Wright was trying to "solve" with Spore.

I keep looking at Offworld Trading Company, and almost buying it, and then remembering that I really don't like RTS games.

It seems like the kind of game that I would totally understand why other people like it, but that I would bounce off of like a super ball.

Maclintok wrote:

Games writers come in through the side door. Or studios go looking for a credible writer from established mediums like lit, TV or film. If the writer has a love or understanding of video games, that's a nice bonus.

Writers also have a supply problem. There are a lot of people who want to get into games and don't have coding or art skills, and most of those kids believe they have the skills necessary to write or design games. That's why having things that set you apart from the throng, like credits in other commercial works, become so important.

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

I keep looking at Offworld Trading Company, and almost buying it, and then remembering that I really don't like RTS games.

It seems like the kind of game that I would totally understand why other people like it, but that I would bounce off of like a super ball.

It's right up my alley, but I'm too squicked out by the Stardock/Wardell involvement.

Someday maybe I'll talk about the temper-tantrum a certain publisher threw at an editor of mine when I only kinda liked their game.

Elysium wrote:

Someday maybe I'll talk about the temper-tantrum a certain publisher threw at an editor of mine when I only kinda liked their game.

Sounds like a topic for Saturdays show!

Elysium wrote:

Someday maybe I'll talk about the temper-tantrum a certain publisher threw at an editor of mine when I only kinda liked their game.

Ha!