GWJ Conference Call Episode 521

Forza Horizon 3, Rogue Wizards, Zombie Night Terror, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, Deus Ex: MD, Marvel Heroes 2016, If You Could Play a Game From Any Time Period, What Time Would It Be?, Your Emails and More!

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This week Shawn, Elysium, Allen and Cory talk about their ideal time period for playing games.

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00:02:41 GWJ Donation Drive
00:05:36 Forza Horizon 3
00:12:28 Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
00:14:50 Marvel Heroes 2016
00:17:58 Zombie Night Terror
00:23:15 Slayaway Camp
00:25:58 Rogue Wizards
00:31:00 Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
00:34:40 Streamline
00:36:20 Clustertruck
00:39:29 If You Could Play a Game From Any Time Period, What Time Would It Be?
00:53:17 A Reading by Graham Rowat
01:00:15 Your Emails

This week Shawn Andrich, Allen Cook, Amanda Knowlton, and special guest Greg Decker!

Miiiiiiiight wanna update this.

Look at me. I'm the Greg Decker now!

So fully listened now. I like the idea of a game set in non-typical regions or eras. Ancient Egypt is definitely one, but even eras like the Westernization of Japan, or when slavers were taking Africans to America. Or we keep having Western-inspired fantasy, how about a fantasy story involving the Egyptian Gods, or Indian Gods? Get some Epic of Gilgamesh going. Or even exploring Mongolia instead of Japan or another iteration on Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There's a whole lot out there to explore.

In response to the guilty pleasures e-mail, I still haven't watched beyond season five of Supernatural. What you guys have discussed lines up with what I've basically heard about the rest of the show. I'm curious how long it'll run?

As for you, Shawn, I am disappoint. Do not be afraid to check in with us in Let's Talk Anime, for we know of both good adventure/genre stories and good/amusing dramas. Imagine! You could have watched Log Horizon instead of Sword Art Online, where the only true guilty pleasure is in the theme song (unless you're like me, and totally Allen Cook the guilt away because that theme song is fun).

Actually, that reminds me, Allen, thanks for the info on Off the Record. I started Dead Rising 2 two years ago during Extra Life, but I wasn't overly fond of having to keep going back to give the daughter medicine. On its own, it's not a bad mechanic, but the game is a race against the clock by default, and now you're only adding another layer to it. Seeing as the first Dead Rising was built off of replayability, that was not an added layer of stress I wanted to deal with repeatedly. Sounds like Off the Record might be more for me, though I would like to see the more serious story of 2 at some point.

You could have watched Log Horizon instead of Sword Art Online, where the only true guilty pleasure is in the theme song (unless you're like me, and totally Allen Cook the guilt away because that theme song is fun).

Oh, I've watched all of Log Horizon, thank you. I was blanking on the name at the time! It was less guilty of a pleasure than Sword Art, though.

I consider Log Horizon one of my comfort foods.

Oh yeah, speaking of comfort foods! Also, in regards to Food Wars, I wrote a blog piece on it for those interested. It can definitely fall into the "guilty pleasure" camp, but thus far it's been a lot of fun. I can also see it being too much or too formulaic for some, so Your Mileage May Vary.

I want someone to make Corey's game idea.

Just dropping by to say the reading near the end made my wife cry. You bastard.

I now want a telltale style Quantum Leap episodic game really bad.

I'm with Allen: I don't really have guilty pleasures.

Unless you use the more widespread definition which actually means "things other people think I shouldn't like," in which case my list grows quite substantially.

Elysium wrote:

Look at me. I'm the Greg Decker now!

In light of the Quantum Leap discussion, all I can add to this is "Oh Boy!"

Did Alan mention the book he was reading about the 30 Years War? It sounded interesting.

RG Ninja wrote:

I now want a telltale style Quantum Leap episodic game really bad.

Right? Even that off the cuff - apex of the temple - flint knife in hand - what do you do? - scenario was inspired. I have no idea what split second choice I would make there but when I did it would be one of the most memorable moments of my lifelong gaming experience. "No Russian" has nothing on that.

Also, the piece written by Sean and read by Graham really resonated with me. My boys are 5 now and I totally see it. I'm so glad that we can still share a bunch without them flying too far under the radar as of yet. We've been watching Gravity Falls recently and I swear I want to see the next episode more than they do. We will learn how Weirdmageddon ends together.

The quintessential scene from Highschool of the Dead is when the teenage boy uses the comically large breasts of the teenage girl to steady his rifle so he can mow down the zombie hordes.

I'd like to play a Visayan pirate raider on the high South China Seas at the height of the Majapahit Empire. It's interesting because not unlike the British Empire that came after, the Majapahit Empire was a series of land holdings held together by ocean waterways and trade routes - but on a smaller scale. It's like a kingdom, but connected by water rather than separated by water. In these times you could have a sidekick Bajau - a water gypsy, from a people so adapted to life on the open ocean that they only go to land to get wood and lay down their dead.

As for games that broke genre norms, I'd like to nominate Starcraft and Warcraft 3. Yes, they're the genre big guns from Blizzard, but in the sense that these games are inclusive of the Editors and the content they allowed (mods), these games are also Tower Defense and MOBA games respectively, and both of those shook the RTS genre enough that they became their own genre.

I could also nominate ME2 and ME3 (but not ME1). Those who've played a lot of the MP of ME3 properly appreciate, often in retrospect, that ME2 could be played as a third person cover shooter, but that you would be missing most of the gameplay in the game if you did that. It's really a defense/power matching game with a combo game, on a real time tactical squad game (like XCOM in real time), on top of a third person cover shooter. So that's pretty different.

In addition, ME2 and ME3 are one of the few "RPGs" that allowed you to create a true character - not Shepard as the sum of her stats, but Shepard as the sum of her actions! While you have limited authorial control over Shepard, you still have a fair amount of leeway on how you want her to be. Of course, there's All-Paragon and All-Renegade Shepard, but doing only these two gamey pathways through the game misses a great deal of the fun of realizing a true narrative character by choosing the actions that would make sense to the Shepard you have imagined in your mind. There's "Nice Guy but Kind of a Racist" Shepard. There's "Tsundere Shepard." Plays it tough and likes to shoot her gun, but at the end of the day, she can't bring herself to kill in cold blood, or betray a friend. There is a healthy variety of Shepards you can portray within the events of ME2 and ME3 so long as you have a clear idea of who your Shepard is and what she would do in that situation. Sometimes, the option isn't there, but you'll get close enough. Usually.

An infinity engine style Revolutionary War RPG. Throw in some alternate universe magic, tech, or aliens, and I'd be even happier.

RG Ninja wrote:

An infinity engine style Revolutionary War RPG. Throw in some alternate universe magic, tech, or aliens, and I'd be even happier.

But honestly, anything with an "infinity style engine" is gonna appeal to me.

Dr_Awkward wrote:

We will learn how Weirdmageddon ends together.

FYI it was awesome.

My answer to the "If you could live in any time period" type questions are always tempered by one cold reality:

I could never live comfortably in any time period before the invention of toilet paper.

Just want to say that my friend and I already discussed at length our desire for a Quantum Leap like game that takes place in various parts of history. So much potential!!

Alz wrote:

My answer to the "If you could live in any time period" type questions are always tempered by one cold reality:

I could never live comfortably in any time period before the invention of toilet paper.

That's why I'm still awaiting the glorious arrival of the three seashells.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/RHlGWye.png)

Civilization just won't be complete without them.