Podcasts about anachronox

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on 1997's Interstate '76. We set the game a bit in its time, talk about Activision (almost as an afterthought), and then start getting into the characters and the vibe, of which there is much. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Early mission or two Issues covered: a game time forgot, playing a sim game genre, a unique take on the sim genre plus car combat, prepping the sim elements vs the actual play, other games from that year, taking a formula and doing something different with it, modern exploitation-inspired games, exploitation cinema, grindhouse, other potential influences and inspirations, why you pick sparse environments, breakable cacti, a huge variety of games, low-cost film-making and democratization, vigilantes, a bland corporation, text adventures, a business and not a game company, seeing the impact of acquisition or mergers, character introductions, fake actors playing characters, character names, Groove Champion vs Stiletto Anyway, stylized and simplified characters, flat shading and seeing every polygon, connecting to the character in the cockpit and via the radio, naturally cinematic, stylized presence, jitteriness and physics, compounding errors, deterministic physics, preserving this game and finding ways to play it, just shipping a game, dealing with a controller vs keyboard.    Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: TIE Fighter (series), Starfighter, MechWarrior (series), Voltron, Diablo, Resident Evil, The Last Express, Fallout, GoldenEye, Castlevania: SotN, Age of Empires, Outlaws, Curse of Monkey Island, Dark Forces 2, Shadows of the Empire, Wing Commander: Prophecy, Final Fantasy VII, Mario Kart 64, Gran Turismo, PlayStation, Dark Forces, Final Fantasy Tactics, Wet, Kane and Lynch, Suda 51, Grasshopper Interactive, Killer 7, Death Race 2000, Russ Meyers, Death Proof, Mad Max (series), MegaMan 8, Kaeon, Cleopatra Jones, Enter the Dragon, Jim Kelly, Bruce Lee, Game of Death, Quentin Tarantino, Kill Bill, Fist of Fury, Starsky and Hutch, River Raid, Pitfall, David Crane, Atari, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Capcom, Blizzard, id Software, Interplay, Infocom, Zork (series), Witness, Enchanter (series), Ballyhoo, Lurking Horror, Electronic Arts, Bobby Kotick, Nintendo, BattleZone, Pac-Man, Jason Schreier, Play Nice: The Rise and Fall of Blizzard Entertainment, Hearthstone, Marvel Snap, Ultima (series), Bioware, Treyarch, Raven Software, Heretic/Hexen, Quake, Battletech/FASA Entertainment, Anachronox, Pam Grier, Chuck Norris, Dungeon Keeper, Half-Life 2, Indiana Jones and the Internal Machine, Video Game History Foundation, Star Wars: Episode I: Racer, Forza (series), Falcon (series), Dark Souls, Minecraft, LostLake86, Mors, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.   Errata: Lost Treasures of Infocom actually originally came out in 1991. We regret the error.  Next time: More I'76! Twitch Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on 1999's Outcast. We talk a bit about the end of the game, the challenge of plate-spinning, gadgets we missed out on for much of the game, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Finished (Brett)... some more (Tim) Podcast breakdown: 00:47 Discussion 54:07 Break 54:36 Takeaways/Mailbag Issues covered: getting captured and losing your stuff, getting some ammo from your subquests, some of the other weapons, the silenced sniper tranquilizer, not fulfilling stealth, a difficult puzzle in the tree world, the deep sound puzzle of the forest world, getting one key from a complicated puzzle and then a physics puzzle, doing what you think is right for your goals, modest budgets vs today's indie and AAA, the lower development cost and the challenge of readability, making big hard decisions to collapse away a problem, market size, the delusion of ship when it's ready vs making what you can by the deadline, the podcast exposing us to some really great games, plate-spinning and tendrils spreading out, imagining the flowcharts, getting to the end of the Motazaar gauntlet, "your key is in another castle," the F-Link gadget and speeding play, the other gadgets, quest system being per-zone, story bits that cover the length of the game, "rules are meant to guide people, not contain them," narrative niceties, memorable and understandable NPCs, the two fishermen, NPC depth, greater empathy vs snark in Cutter Slade, describing the time shifty stuff, running through the story at the end of the game, a bold world structure, motivating and leveraging the connectivity, the voxel terrain, dynamic systems in play, the depth of the narrative space, legacies.    Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Indiana Jones, Beyond Good and Evil, Anachronox, Unreal, Nintendo Switch, Breath of the Wild, Shadow of the Colossus, Assassin's Creed (series), Tomb Raider (series), Uncharted (series), Team Ico, Fbrccn, Infogrames, Appeal, Blizzard, Warcraft (series), Dwarf Fortress, The Last Express, The Crying Game, John Carter/A Princess of Mars, Delta Force, Anthony Gallegos, Rebel FM, mysterydip, Pong, Belmont, Mark Garcia, Jedi Starfighter, Republic Commando, Castlevania, Dark Souls 2, BioStats, CalamityNolan, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers.  Next time: TBA! Links: The Ghost Racing Article Twitch: timlongojr Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 1999's Outcast. We talk about world structure, world building, concrete vs abstract implementations of mechanics, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up to/through Talanzaar Issues covered: sad news, a digression on Edgar Rice Burroughs and Project Gutenberg, finally "getting" the game, depth of story and environment at the time, the "second" world, moderating your own difficulty, supporting narrative goals, a dynamic "find this person" system, concrete interactions to increase believability of the world, the big impact of the world state change, organic architecture, cheesing the terrain collision, world-building in conversations, Mogi and his history, the crane puzzle, auto-targeting the swinging cube, the brothers competing for the business, the flautist and singer, the adventurous music, world state music, reputation as a concept, enemy states. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Belmont/Jesse Lane Nelson, Defeating Games for Charity, Jedi Starfighter, BioStats, LostLake, Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter/A Princess of Mars, Project Gutenberg, Computer Gaming World, Tomb Raider, Anachronox, LoZ: Ocarina of Time, Total Recall, Grim Fandango, Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Star Wars, Castlevania X: Rondo of Blood, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: Finish (?) Outcast Links: Belmont hosts Tim & Brett on JSF Twitch: timlongojr Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on 1999's Outcast, from Appeal and Infogrames. We first talk about this past weekend's charity event, before setting the game in its time and discussing its early presentation. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through tutorial Issues covered: Defeating Games for Charity, variety of streamers, offerings to the foundation, the speedrun seed, commenting on our own game, more memories of Jedi Starfighter, how a developer sees a game vs a player, a big doodyhead, the crossover of European games, setting the game in its time, not fitting in with others of its time, a weird company in gaming history, not being sure what's in the game, a parody of 1980s action heroes, pop culture origins, proper noun soup and a lexicon, waking up in another place, doling out too much worldbuilding at once, othering non-Western cultures, building on golden era science fiction, exploring the starting area, lots of verbs, discovering by exploring, technically first person, lack of quest markers, manipulating voxel density, using voxels differently, using voxels as rendering and simulation vs rendering only, ray-tracing, advances in hardware and looking back on old research, constructive solid geometry and tessellation, finding limitations, popularity in other regions, big in Japan. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: CalamityNolan, LostLake86, Robotspacer, N01sses, Sierra On-Line, Mystery House, Enchanted Scepters, Video Game History Foundation, Trespasser, Tower Song, Omega Intertainment, RPG Maker, Kerbal Space Program, Sol10, Kaeon, KyleAndError, Might and Magic, AgelessRPG, Minecraft, NES, Spelunky, mysterydip, Belmont, Andrew Kirmse, Chris Corry, SW: Starfighter (series), Daron Stinnett, June, Valheim, Dark Souls, Delta Force, Shenmue, System Shock2, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Planescape: Torment, Homeworld, Johnny "Pockets", Civilization, Populous, Tomb Raider, Nintendo, Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Anachronox, Metal Gear Solid, Atari, GT Interactive, Microprose, Hasbro Interactive, Unreal, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Asteroids, Franck Sauer, Yann Robert, Yves Grolet, Lennie Moore, Beyond Good and Evil, Armageddon, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Sylvester Stallone, The A-Team, Flash Gordon, John Carter of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs, David Lynch, Dune, Mass Effect, Stephen Donaldson, Octavia Butler, Star Wars, DOOM (1993), Morrowind, Stargate, Pat Sirk, Spore, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, Red Faction, TRON, Enshrouded, Unity, Claudiu, Heroes of Might and Magic, LucasArts, Insomniac, Metroid (series), StarCraft, Uncharted 2, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.  Note: The term I was looking for and remembered at 2 in the morning was "metaballs" Next time: More Outcast Twitch: timlongojr Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Подойдет ли игровой индустрии дистрибуция в стиле Netflix и Spotify? На каком этапе следует запускать краудфандинг? К Рафаэлю Колантонио и Петру Сальникову присоединился Том Холл, легендарный разработчик, соавтор Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Commander Keen и Anachronox. 37 лет в индустрии: старые трюки и новые уловки; Немного об Anachronox — одной из самых классных и необычных игр в истории;  Game Pass и потенциальный ущерб для разработчиков от модели дистрибуции Spotify/Netflix; Неоднозначная роль ИИ в настоящем и будущем игровой разработки; Опыт, вынесенный из неудачных краудфандинг-кампаний.  Смотрите первый сезон целиком: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZU6dd_qQ48OqWMwdBEYIa4dghdeyx1rr Или слушайте во всех аудиосервисах: https://podcast.ru/1573401071   

Tom Hall, the co-author of Wolfenstein 3D, Anachronox, Deus Ex and other classics joined Raphael Colantonio and Peter Salnikov to discuss the big matters of game industry.  37 years in the business as a creative & founder. Old tricks vs. new times; Let's talk about Anachronox: one of the coolest games ever made; The damage from possible Netflix/Spotify models in games; The controversial role of AI in the future of game development; Lessons from Kickstarter campaigns. --- Watch Full Season 1: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZU6dd_qQ48OP1NCKGsQPa4nQmlKPJ9JY  Or listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3BRad6ckhGiOZ13VgEISnK 

When you think about the most important RPGs from 2001, what do you think of? Final Fantasy X? Arcanum? Throne of Bhaal? Well, Braden "ArbitraryWater", Chris "ZombiePie", and Adam "Borgmaster" REDACTED covered none of those this week. Instead, they covered Ion Storm's Anachronox. Did Tom Hall's contribution to the ill-fated development studio avoid Daikatana's fate? How much did our intrepid hosts laugh at the game's *very funny* jokes? Why not tune in and find out? There's even a tangent about Rise of the Triad in there, as a treat. Please consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/donate If you've been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/DeepListens If you like our new art and want to commission some of your own, reach out to Tyler at tylerorbin.net

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on Beyond Good and Evil. We talk about the end parts of the game and the variety of the experiences you can have, before turning to our takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Finished the game! Issues covered: the bad guy, the end of game battles, the risk of forgetting when you do a lot of side content, misremembering the game, being delighted, smoke and mirrors, wanting the spaceship to be the lighthouse, the various tricky bits of the slaughterhouse, being taught how to get rid of electricity, one of the most memorable characters of all time, saying yes until the end, the jumping enemies, supporting the inventory, reflection puzzles, an annoying trigger for a cutscene, wanting more time with Pey'j, the Chosen One, many breadcrumbs at the end, diluting narrative, optional content being part of gameplay content, getting all the animals or not, flawed gem, a good looping track section, escalating the General's ship, religion coming in at the end, intriguing questions, nailing the tropes, improving user experience, put a moat around it, less stressful reintroductions of mechanics, the teleporting boss, touching moments, earning the sweet moments, looking at the prequel, the world-building of it all, subtle ways to reinforce the world-building, don't underestimate the camera, saying yes maybe too much, being uncategorizable, keeping the surprises coming, standing apart in its era, "it's the way to Gao, anyway." Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Apocalypse Now, Nintendo, Ocarina of Time, Michel Ancel, Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, Tim Schafer, Uncharted (series), Star Wars, Metal Gear (series), Assassin's Creed, Ghost of Tushima, Far Cry, Anachronox, Final Fantasy IX, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Final Fantasy VI, Biostats, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.  Next time: ??! Notes: It's General Kehck Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub Discord https://t.co/h7jnG9J9lz DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on 1997's Final Fantasy Tactics, which took the series into a new genre. We talk about the game's presentation, basics, and technology as well as how the game begins. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: First few battles Issues covered: finals fantasies, 1997 in games, testing various games, placing us in that time, a surprising departure in the series, TTRPGs and being "like chess," translating a genre to the PS1, closer combat/smaller spaces, opacity, not remembering the game well, the Zodiac, some other series, a niche genre, limited input options and menus, Ivalice and medieval setting, a deeper simulated system than FF combat generally has, translating well to the genre, the opening cinematics, preferring alignment of story with general engine use, developing technology to stream video, in-game stuff holding up better, getting the leverage from sprites, the diorama look, merging gameplay with non-interactive content, pre-rendered rewards, terrain rendering and spinning the camera, the close-in space vs larger areas and fog of war, elevation and abilities, map differentiation for visuals and challenge, the game over screen, modern engagement. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy (series), Johnny "Pockets", GoldenEye, Diablo, Fallout, Castlevania: SotN, The Last Express, FF 7, Curse of Monkey Island, Grand Theft Auto, JK: Dark Forces 2, Myth: The Fallen Lords, Ultima Online, Outlaws, XvT, Starfox 64, Quake 2, Blade Runner, Dungeon Keeper, Age of Empires, Riven, Gran Turismo, Interstate '76, Populous, LucasArts, MechWarrior, Ogre Battles (series), SNES, Quest Corporation, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Chris Hockabout, Chris Corry, X-COM (series), Mario/Rabbids (series), Fire Emblem (series), Mark Garcia, Disgaea (series), Anachronox, Front Mission (series), Shining Force (series), Vandal Hearts (series), Valkyria Chronicles, Mass Effect (series), Star Wars, Blizzard, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon: Forbidden West, God of War, The Sims, Vagrant Story, Metal Gear Solid, Axis and Allies, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers. Next time: More battles! Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Beyond Good & Evil. We talk about a number of the game's systems, compare it with Zelda, and engage with the level design and characters. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Past the Factory Issues covered: who said that line, characterization and Frenchness, aesthetics, cosmic horror and the Domz, Hub, lacking symmetry to promote alienness, diagetic design in its systems, the first trailer, a world you want to hang out in, quirky aesthetic, the camera and when you get control, night and day between two camera systems, the PC port, the "Zelda bucket," modularity and object-orientedness in Zelda games, clockwork, the photojournalism of it, doing things because the narrative demands it and not systematically, stealth vs combat, giving your companions power-ups, companions in combat, two-heart buddies, lock and key enemies, being able to bolt on mechanics, air hockey, keys that aren't keys through the characters, committing to the characters, The Myth of Zelda, making real statements, forgiving and fail-forward stealth, great camera framing, photojournalism as heroic act, the themes of information control and propaganda, what's with Alpha Section, keys that you can use in the inventory, Ubisoft and politics (Cuba, Myanmar and... Montana), tackling universal themes with story specifics to avoid preachiness. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: The City of Lost Children, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Zootopia, Star Wars, Rayman, Jean-Luc Godard, Jerry Lewis, Artimage, Starfield, No Man's Sky, Spider-Man 2, Double Fine, Mario 64, Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Remi Lacoste, Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, Final Fantasy IX, Psychonauts, Tim Schafer, Mortal Kombat, Grim Fandango, Shufflepuck, Anachronox, George Orwell, 1984, The Last Express, Omikron: The Nomad Soul, David Cage, Metal Gear (series), Aleksandr Solzhenitzen, Andrei Sakharov, Final Fantasy VI, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Note: Mark HH's (Agent HH!) camera book did not debut until 2009 Next time: Past the Slaughterhouse Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on 2003's Beyond Good and Evil. We talk a little bit about this kind of game, these story-based games that don't have a ton of focus but do have a lot of charm. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through first dungeon Issues covered: UbiSoft's best year, revisiting the game, setting the game in its time, just making ends make, appreciating Nintendo as a business model, the prequel still in development, enemy design and the 2D plane, getting straight into combat, tutorializing in the game, the connection with the weird alien, the vibe, lots of custom implementation, the very many things you do in the first half hour or hour, a time capsule of mixing adventure into everything, a one-use engine, hardware convergence post PS3, the broader experience games to tell ranging stories, competing with the movies, multiple types of cameras, the quirky snail, making you find everything, unique characters and special, time to build content, the precambrian explosion, what is the sequel/prequel, focus vs many games in one, being okay with the jank, using procedural solutions, personal taste, specific sequences for the one use, more games with jank, the voice acting being quite good, the modern examples, looking forward to lots of pearls, the wild world of randomizers.  Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Nietzsche, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Michel Ancel, Rayman (series), Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation, Okami, Knights of the Old Republic, Call of Duty, Simpsons Hit and Run, GTA, Freedom Fighters, WarioWare: Mega Microgames, Ikaruga, Jak 2, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Mario Kart: Double Dash, XIII, Manhunt, Final Fantasy X-2, Tony Hawk's Underground, Silent Hill 3, Legacy of Kain: Defiance, LotR: The Return of the King, Max Payne 2, Far Cry, Assassin's Creed, Rabbids (series), Nintendo, Jerry Lewis, Rainbow Six, Tom Clancy, Sonic the Hedgehog, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy IX, Anachronox, Valiant Hearts: The Great War, Breath of the Wild, Shenmue, GoldenEye, Jack Mathews, Metroid Prime, Galleon, Sly Cooper, Wolfenstein, DOOM (1993), Quake, Wil Wright, Nightfire, Everything or Nothing, No Man's Sky, Valhaim, Lethal Company, Half-Life (series), Mr Mosquito, Dragon's Dogma (series), Jodi Forrest, David Gasman, Dark Souls, Remnant: From the Ashes, Dr McEvilly, Archipelago, John and Brenda Romero, Calamity Nolan, mysterydip, Johnny Pockets, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.  Next time: More of this game! Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on 1999's Homeworld, the 3D space RTS from Relic Entertainment. We talk a bit more about dynamic difficulty, address the final missions, and turn to our takeaways before a couple of mails. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Finished (B) and almost (T) Podcast breakdown: 0:00:47 Discussion 1:05:45 Break 1:06:14 Email Issues covered: Defeating Games for Charity, Video Game History Foundation, watching someone blast Mother Brain, Tim streaming, streaming and getting paid, a chill Dark Souls player, enjoying playing with people, joyful weekend, not finishing a game, how to make the game interesting over and over again, carriers and docking, learning skills for one use, RTSes using the campaign to prepare for multiplayer, micromanaging, managing the brutal rescue of the trading ship, freeing up everything for the final assault, watching ships crawl through space, trial and error, punishment of failure, the appropriate story depth, avoiding elaborate storytelling, feeling like legend and myth, twice as many shorter missions, flexibility through resources, stately capital ships, early vs late game failure, ship control layout, satisfyingly destroying the enemy, cinematic presentation, high-stakes final mission, a human point of connection, naval/military chatter, doubling down on a thing, purity of spaceship focus, ship design, designing across civilizations, consistency of armament, the usefulness of salvage corvettes, being careful with dynamic difficulty, having options, turtle strategies, watching players use and discover tactics streaming, committing to 3D, having to relearn controls, having a light touch with the story, whether we should do a TTRPG primer, real space physics vs WWII space flight,  Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Kingdom Hearts III, Kaeon, Contra, Metroid, X-COM, Kyle, Dark Souls, LostLake, Bvron, Belmont, mysterydip, Artimage, Mark Garcia, BioStats, Calamity Nolan, D&D, Resident Evil Village, Phil Salvador, Rogue, Starcraft (series), Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Blizzard, Halo, Warcraft (series), Robocop, Avalon Hill, Civilization, Johnny Pockets, Eye of the Beholder, Baldur's Gate, Go, Senet, Mancala, John Woo, Andrew Enright, Anachronox, Final Fantasy VI, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers.  Next time: ??? Links: Defeating Games for Charity (a real website) Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

In which we are our joined by a special guest, and we discuss ANACHRONOX. This week's quiz: Video Game Adaptations of Movies News of the week: Whither Dolphin emulator? and ConcernedApe is too good to us. Topics also included:  MEDIEVAL DYNASTY, VIEWFINDER, and SUPER MARIO RPG. Theme music: "Credits" by Stevia Sphere (steviasphere.bandcamp.com) thesavestatepodcast@gmail.com @thesavestatepod

هذه الحلقة منتجت وسجلت بالإشتراك مع بودكاست ستيل شاوت (Steel Shout) أدب السايبربنك يعتبر من أهم الفروع التي ولدت من أدب الخيال العلمي في القرن العشرينما هو الـ(cyberpunk)  في الأدب.يمثل الـ (cyberpunk) نوعًا من أدب الخيال العلمي الذي يتميز بتمحوره حول العالم الافتراضي والتكنولوجيا المتقدمة، كما يتضمن العديد من العناصر الأخرى مثل الجريمة والفساد والتحرر والتمرد، ونوع من القصص الغامضة. يعود أصل الـ (cyberpunk)  إلى الأدب الخيال العلمي الذي ظهر في الستينات والسبعينات من القرن الماضي، ولكنه انتشر وازدهر في الثمانينات والتسعينات، وذلك بفضل العديد من الأعمال الشهيرة التي تناولت هذا الموضوع، مثل رواية "نيرومانسر" للكاتب وليام جيبسون التي صدرت في عام 1984.تعريف (cyberpunk)تأتي كلمة "سايبربانك" أو "سايبربونك" (Cyberpunk) من مزيج بين كلمتين:الأولى هي "سايبرنيتيكس" (Cybernetics) وهي تعني دراسة النظم الآلية والحيوية والتفاعل بينها.يشير مصطلح "سايبرنيتيكس" (Cybernetics) إلى دراسة النظم والآليات والتفاعلات بين الأجزاء المختلفة في الأنظمة الحيوية والآلية. ويتضمن هذا المصطلح فهم العلاقات المتبادلة بين الجزء والكل في النظام، وكيفية تغيير وتحكم الأنظمة في أنفسها.وتشمل مجالات الدراسة في السايبرنيتيكس مثل هذه النظم المختلفة كالأعصاب والغدد، والآليات المتحكمة في الصناعة والتحكم في المرور والملاحة والطيران، والتكنولوجيا الحيوية والطبية، والذكاء الاصطناعي والروبوتات.يعود أصل مصطلح "سايبرنيتيكس" (Cybernetics) إلى اللغة اليونانية، حيث تعني "kybernetes" باللغة اليونانية "الملاح" أو "القائد" أو "المدير". ولقد استخدم هذا المصطلح في اليونان القديمة للإشارة إلى الشخص الذي يدير السفينة ويتحكم في اتجاهها وحركتها. وفي القرن العشرين، أطلق عالم الرياضيات الأمريكي نوربرت وينر (Norbert Wiener) مصطلح "cybernetics" لوصف الدراسة العلمية للتحكم والتواصل في الآلات والأنظمة المعقدة. وقد استخدم وينر هذا المصطلح للإشارة إلى دراسة العمليات التي تحكم الأنظمة المعقدة، سواء كانت هذه الأنظمة آلية أو حية. ومنذ ذلك الحين، انتشر استخدام مصطلح "سايبرنيتيكس" لوصف دراسة نظم التحكم الآلية والحية، وأصبح مصطلحًا شائعًا في العديد من المجالات العلمية والتقنية المختلفة.ومن المهم أن نلاحظ أن السايبرنيتيكس لا تقتصر فقط على النظم الحيوية، بل تشمل أيضًا النظم الآلية والتكنولوجية، وهذا ما يجعلها مفهومًا مهمًا في العديد من المجالات المختلفة، بما في ذلك العلوم الحاسوبية والهندسة والفلسفة والاقتصاد والعلوم الاجتماعية.  والثانية هي "بانك" (Punk) وهي تعني نوعًا من الموسيقى الروك المتمردة والمناهضة للنظام والسلطة وبالتالي، فإن الـ(cyberpunk)  يجمع بين عنصرين رئيسيين: العالم التكنولوجي المتقدم والمتمردة والمناهضة للنظام والسلطة. ويتناول هذا النوع من الأدب عادة العالم الافتراضي والتقنية المتطورة بطريقة متمردة ومناهضة للنظام، ويتضمن الكثير من العناصر الاجتماعية والسياسية والثقافية المعاصرة.يُعرف مصطلح "بانك" (Punk) بشكل لغوي على أنه نوع من الموسيقى الروك المتمردة والمعارضة للنظام والسلطة، والتي ظهرت في السبعينيات من القرن الماضي. ويشار في قاموس أكسفورد الإنجليزي إلى أن كلمة "بانك" تعني بشكل عام شخصاً أو شيئاً يتمتع بالقوة والعنف والتمرد والانفصال عن النظام السائد. ويمكن أن يُستخدم مصطلح "بانك" لوصف أي شيء يتميز بالتمرد والمعارضة للسلطة والنظام، وليس فقط في عالم الموسيقى الروك. وعلى سبيل المثال، يمكن استخدام هذا المصطلح لوصف حركات اجتماعية وثقافية وفنية أخرى، مثل حركات الشباب المتمردة وحركات المقاومة السياسية والفنانين الذين يسعون لتحدي النظام السائد.بروس بيثكي (Bruce Bethke) هو كاتب أمريكي ولد في عام 1955، وهو معتبر أحد رواد الأدب السايبربانكي. وقد نشر بيثكي في عام 1980 قصة قصيرة بعنوان "Cyberpunk" في مجلة "Amazing Science Fiction". وقد تم استخدام هذه القصة لاحقًا كدليل لتحديد الأدب السايبربانكي. تتناول قصة بيثكي العالم الخيالي والمستقبلي والذي يتميز بتكنولوجيا متقدمة وتمحوره حول شخصية مخترق حاسوبي يقوم بسرقة بيانات مهمة. وقد اشتهرت هذه القصة بسبب استخدام كلمة "سايبربانك" في عنوانها، والتي أصبحت بعد ذلك مصطلحاً مشهوراً في الأدب والثقافة الشعبية. وقد كتب بيثكي العديد من القصص الخيالية والروايات، وأصبحت له بعض الأعمال الأخرى مثل "Headcrash" و "Wild Wild West" و "Redbeard" و "Rebel Moon"، وقد تم ترشيح روايته "Headcrash" لجائزة نيبولا في عام 1995. وبالإضافة إلى كونه كاتباً، فإن بيثكي يعمل أيضاً في مجال تكنولوجيا المعلومات والحوسبة، ويشغل حالياً منصب مدير تقنية المعلومات في إحدى الشركات الأمريكية.تصريح بروس ستيرلينغ "combination of lowlife and high tech" ليس تعريفًا محددًا للسايبربنك، وإنما هو وصف للجو العام الذي يمكن أن يتميز به عالم السايبربنك. ففي هذا الوصف، يركز ستيرلينغ على تحدُّث السايبربنك عن النزلاء الرَّخاء والمتعطشين للمتع الجسدية والأمور غير المشروعة، والتكنولوجيا العالية والحديثة التي تستخدمها هؤلاء الأشخاص في تحقيق ما يريدونه. ويتناول ستيرلينغ هذا المفهوم في روايته الشهيرة "المرآة الشعورية" (Mirrorshades)، وهي مجموعة من القصص القصيرة التي تعتبر أحد الأعمال الأساسية في أدب السايبربنك.ومع ذلك، يمكن القول أن هذا الوصف ينطبق بشكل عام على أعمال السايبربنك، حيث يتميز هذا النوع الأدبي بتحقيق التوازن بين الجوانب العالية التكنولوجية والجوانب الأكثر شعبية والمرتبطة بالعالم السفلي والجريمة المنظمة. وتنتمي روايات وليام جيبسون وبروس يرلينغ وغيرهما من الكتَّاب إلى هذا النوع الأدبي، ويتعاملون في أعمالهم مع قضايا تتعلق بالتكنولوجيا المتقدمة والحياة الافتراضية والتحديات الاجتماعية والثقافية التي تنشأ بسببها. وتجمع هذه الأعمال بين الجوانب العالية التكنولوجية والجوانب الأكثر شعبية والمرتبطة بالعالم السفلي، وتتميز بأسلوب سريع الإيقاع وشخصيات مثيرة للاهتمام، كما تستخدم لغة فيها الكثير من المصطلحات التقنية والحاسوبية.وبشكل عام، يجمع وصف بروس ستيرلينغ "combination of lowlife and high tech" بين هذه الجوانب، ويعكس الجانب الغامض والمثير للاهتمام في أدب السايبربنك، الذي يتميز بتحقيق التوازن بين العالم الافتراضي والعالم الحقيقي وبين الجوانب الفنية والتكنولوجية والجوانب الاجتماعية والثقافية.عناصر السايبربنك الأدبي:·       الجوالـ (Dystopian):o      تحكم وتملك المنظمات والشركات للمجتمع.o      طبقية الرأسماليةo      حياة وضيعة.o      تمرد الأفراد على الشركات والمنظمات.o      انغماس الأفراد في الجريمة والملذات والشهوات.o      غلاء المعيشة ·       التقنية العالية:o      الذكاء الصناعي.o      الواقع الافتراضي .o      تطورعلم الأطراف الصناعيةo      المستنسخين والرجال الآليين.o      الاتصالات والتقنيةo      الهاكرز او محرك الشبكة  (Netrunner)·       الثقافة:o      موسيقى الـ  Punk Rock والـVaporwaveo      الازياء o      العمران والأضواء (اليابان في الثمانينات ونموها اقتصاديا في العالم الإلكتروني)o      المتحري والمحقق الظلامي (Noir)o      الرياضات والترفيه  أهم الأعمال الأدبية:·       رواية نوفا لـ (Samuel Delany) في عام 1968:o      نوفا هي رواية خيال علمي من تأليف الكاتب الأمريكي صموئيل ديلاني ونشرت في عام 1968. تستكشف الرواية، التي تصنف رسميًا كعمل فضائي، السياسة والثقافة في مستقبل يتسم بانتشار تقنية السايبورج بشكل شامل (والرواية واحدة من سلفيات السايبربانك)، ولكن يمكن أن تنطوي صناعة القرارات الكبرى على استخدام بطاقات التاروت. تحمل الرواية نغمات أسطورية قوية، وترتبط على حد سواء بمسألة البحث عن الكأس المقدسة وبقصة جايسون والأرجونوتيكا والسعي للحصول على الصوف الذهبي. تم ترشيح نوفا لجائزة هيوغو لأفضل رواية في عام 1969. في عام 1984، قام ديفيد برينجل بإدراجها ضمن قائمته لأفضل 100 رواية خيال علمي كتبت منذ عام 1949. ملخص القصةفي عام 3172، تنقسم السلطة السياسية في المجرة إلى فصيلين: فصيل دراكو الموجود على الأرض وفصيل الاتحاد الثريد الذي ظهر في وقت لاحق. كلاهما لديه اهتمامات في المستعمرات الخارجية الأحدث، حيث تنتج المناجم كميات قليلة من المصدر القيم إليريون، وهو مادة فائقة الثقل ضرورية للسفر الفضائي وتغيير مناخ الكواكب.يتورط قائد مهووس ومشوه من الاتحاد الثريد، لورك فون راي، في صراع بين العائلات الأرستقراطية والاقتصادية القوية، فيجند فريقًا متنوعًا من المختلفين لمساعدته في السباق مع عدوه اللدود، الأمير ريد من شركة ريد شيفت المرتبطة بفصيل دراكو، للحصول على الزعامة الاقتصادية عن طريق تأمين كمية هائلة من إليريون مباشرة من قلب نجم نوفا. وبذلك، سيحدث فون راي تحولًا في توازن القوى في النظام الكوني الحالي، مما سيؤدي إلى سقوط العائلة الحمراء ونهاية سيطرة الأرض على السياسة الفضائية بين النجوم.تتبع الرواية مغامرات فريق فون راي في محاولة الحصول على إليريون من نوفا، حيث يتعرضون للعديد من المصاعب والتحديات، بما في ذلك مواجهة العدو، والتعامل مع الأسرار الغامضة المرتبطة بنوفا نفسها، وكذلك الاستكشاف العميق لشخصيات الأعضاء المختلفين في الفريق.في نهاية المطاف، يتمكن فون راي وفريقه من الحصول على الإليريون من نوفا، ويتغلبون على الأمير ريد وشركته، مما يؤدي إلى تحويل التوازن في السياسة الفضائية بين الفصيلين. وبالتالي، ينتهي السيطرة الأرضية على السياسة الفضائية، وتبدأ مرحلة جديدة في تاريخ المجرة. ·       رواية (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) لـ (Philip K. Dick) عام 1968:o      هي رواية خيال علمي كتبها الكاتب الأمريكي فيليب ك. ديك، وصدرت عام 1968. تدور أحداث الرواية في المستقبل البعيد بعد أن تعرضت الأرض لحرب نووية دمرت جزءا كبيرا منها وأدت إلى إنقراض الحيوانات وتحكي قصة ريك ديكارد، الذي يعمل كصائد للروبوتات المتمردة التي تشبه البشر، ويتم تكليفه بمهمة القضاء على ستة من هذه الروبوتات المتمردة. هذه الرواية تشتمل على بعض العناصر التي يمكن وصفها بالسايبرنك، مثل الروبوتات والذكاء الاصطناعي، يمكن اعتبار هذه الرواية الأم لفيلم "Blade Runner" الذي صدر في عام 1982 والذي يعتبر من أهم الأعمال في فن السايبرنك.تدور قصة الحيوانات في الرواية حول شخصية ريك ديك، الذي يعمل كصائد للحيوانات النادرة، وذلك لكسب نقاط مادية تتيح له شراء حيوان حقيقي بدلاً من حيوان اصطناعي. ويحلم ريك بامتلاك حيوان طائر "البطريق الإمبراطوري"، وهو الحيوان النادر الذي يساعده على التفرد والتميز في مجتمع موحد.تعتبر قصة الحيوانات والتركيز على الرغبة في امتلاك حيوانات حقيقية، رمزًا للحاجة إلى التميز والاهتمام بالطبيعة والحيوانات، وكذلك للعلاقة بين الإنسان والطبيعة في عالم مستقبلي متغير. وتعد هذه القصة أحد المحاور الرئيسية في الرواية التي تتناول موضوعات أخرى مثل الهوية الإنسانية الواقعية والذاتية والمجتمعية والروبوتات والذكاء الاصطناعي، والتي تركز على القضايا الأخلاقية والفلسفية المتعلقة بالحياة والوجود والتعايش في عالم متغير ومعقد.رواية (Neuromancer) للكاتب الأمريكي ويليام جيبسون عام 1984 م:تعد من أولى روايات السايبربانك. تعتبر من أهم الأعمال الأدبية في هذا النوع، حيث أنها قدمت للقراء نموذجاً جديداً للأدب العلمي والخيال العلمي، يستخدم فيه (جيبسون) تقنيات ومفاهيم حديثة كالحوسبة والشبكات والذكاء الاصطناعي والروبوتات والتجارة الإلكترونية، وجعل منها عناصر رئيسية في قالب قصته المثيرة والمشوقة. وقد فازت هذه الرواية بجائزة نيبولا لأفضل رواية علمية خيالية في عام 1984.بطلها كيس، وهو هاكر حاسوب عاطل عن العمل يتم استئجاره من قبل صاحب عمل جديد غامض يدعى أرميتاج. يتم تشكيل فريق مع مولي، السايبورغ، وبيتر ريفيرا، اللص والخادع، لتنفيذ سلسلة من الجرائم التي تمهد الطريق للهدف النهائي للمجموعة، والذي يتم تنفيذه في محطة الفضاء المدارية المسماة "فريسايد"، موطن عائلة تيسييه-أشبول الثرية. تم إنشاء اثنين من الذكاءات الاصطناعية (AIs)، وينترميوت ونيورومانسر ، التي هي قوية لدرجة أنها يمكن أن تتصل ببعضها البعض في نقطة واحدة فقط. يتعلم كيس وزملاؤه أنهم تم استئجارهم من قبل وينترميوت لكسر الفصل بين الذكاءات الاصطناعية. يتغلب كيس ومولي على التدخلات القانونية السيبرانية ومحاولة خيانة من ريفيرا لدمج وينترميوت مع نيورومانسر، وينتهي الأمر بكيس يعيش في عالم جديد شجاعأفلام:·        Escape from New York (1981)[40][41]·        Burst City (1982)[42]·        Tron (1982)[43]·        Blade Runner (1982)[44]·        Brainstorm (1983)[45]·        Videodrome (1983)[46]·        Repo Man (1984)·        The Terminator (1984)·        Brazil (1985)·        RoboCop (1987)[47]·        The Running Man (1987)·        Gunhed (1989)[48]·        Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)·        Circuitry Man (1990)[49]·        RoboCop 2 (1990)·        Hardware (a.k.a. M.A.R.K. 13) (1990)[50]·        Megaville (1990)[51]·        Total Recall (1990)[52]·        Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)·        964 Pinocchio (1991)[53]·        Until the End of the World (1991)[54]·        Nemesis (1992)·        Freejack (1992)[55]·        The Lawnmower Man (1992)[56]·        Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992)·        Cyborg 2 (1993)[57]·        Demolition Man (1993)[58]·        RoboCop 3 (1993)·        Robot Wars (1993)·        Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II (1994)[59]·        Death Machine (1994)·        Hackers (1995)[60]·        Johnny Mnemonic (1995)[61]·        Judge Dredd (1995)[62]·        Strange Days (1995)[63]·        Virtuosity (1995)·        Escape from L.A. (1996)[64]·        The Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1996)[65]·        Deathline (a.k.a. Redline) (1997)[66]·        The Fifth Element (1997)[67]·        Nirvana (1997)[68]·        Andromedia (1998)[69]·        New Rose Hotel (1998)·        Pi (1998)[70]·        Skyggen (a.k.a. Webmaster) (1998)[71]·        Dark City (1998)[72]·        eXistenZ (1999)[73]·        The Thirteenth Floor (1999)[74]·        Bicentennial Man (1999)[75]·        The Matrix (1999)[76]·        I.K.U. (2000)[77]·        The 6th Day (2000)[78]·        Avalon (2001)[79]·        A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)·        Electric Dragon 80.000 V (2001)[80]·        Cypher (2002)[81]·        Dead or Alive: Final (2002)[82]·        Impostor (2002)[83]·        Minority Report (2002)[84]·        Resurrection of the Little Match Girl (2002)[85][86]·        All Tomorrow's Parties (2003)[87]·        Code 46 (2003)[88]·        The Matrix Reloaded (2003)[89]·        The Matrix Revolutions (2003)[90]·        Natural City (2003)[91]·        Paycheck (2003)[92]·        Avatar (a.k.a. Cyber Wars) (2004)[93]·        Immortal (2004)[94]·        I, Robot (2004)[95]·        Paranoia 1.0 (a.k.a. One Point 0) (2004)[96]·        Æon Flux (2005)[97]·        Children of Men (2006)·        Ultraviolet (2006)[98]·        Chrysalis (2007)[99]·        Eden Log (2007)[100]·        The Gene Generation (2007)[101][102][103]·        Babylon A.D. (2008)[104][105]·        Sleep Dealer (2008)[106]·        Tokyo Gore Police (2008)[107]·        District 9 (2009)·        Hardwired (2009)[108][109]·        Surrogates (2009)[110]·        Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (2009)·        Tron: Legacy (2010)[60]·        Repo Men (2010)[111]·        Priest (2011)[60]·        Dredd (2012)[112][113][114][115][116]·        Total Recall (2012)·        Elysium (2013)[117][118]·        The Zero Theorem (2013)[60]·        Automata (2014)[119]·        Transcendence (2014)[120]·        RoboCop (2014)·        Chappie (2015)[121]·        Ex Machina (2015)[122]·        Hardcore Henry (2015)·        Ghost in the Shell (2017)[123][124]·        Bleeding Steel (2017)·        Blade Runner 2049 (2017)·        Ready Player One (2018)[125][126]·        Upgrade (2018)·        Hotel Artemis (2018)·        Anon (2018)·        Alita: Battle Angel (2019)·        Reminiscence (2021)·        Jung E (2023)القصص المصورة:·        Judge Dredd (1977–) by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra·        The Incal (1981–1989) by Alejandro Jodorowsky·        Akira (1982–1990) by Katsuhiro Ōtomo[33]·        Black Magic (1983) by Masamune Shirow·        Ronin (1983–1984) by Frank Miller·        Shatter (1985–1988) by Peter B. Gillis and Mike Saenz·        Appleseed (1985–1989) by Masamune Shirow·        Dominion (1986) by Masamune Shirow·        Ghost in the Shell (1989–1991) by Masamune Shirow·        Neuromancer (1989) by Tom de Haven and Bruce Jensen[34]·        Battle Angel Alita (1990–1995) by Yukito Kishiro[33]·        Martha Washington (1990–1991) by Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons·        Barb Wire (1994–1995) by Chris Warner·        Transmetropolitan (1997–2002) by Warren Ellis[35]·        Eden: It's an Endless World! (1998–2008) by Hiroki Endo·        Blame! (1998) by Tsutomu Nihei[36]o   NOiSE (2001) – prequel to Blame!o   Biomega (2007)·        Singularity 7 (2004) by Ben Templesmith[37]·        The Surrogates (2005) by Robert Venditti[38]·        The entire Marvel 2099 line is an example of the cyberpunk genre in comics, especially Ghost Rider 2099 and Spider-Man 2099.·        Marvel's Machine Man Vol. 2·        Batman Beyond·        The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (2013-2014) by Gerard Way and Shaun Simon الأنمي:·        Megazone 23 (1985)[127]·        Neo Tokyo (1986)[128]·        Black Magic M-66 (1987)·        Bubblegum Crisis (1987)[129]o   Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 (1998)[130]·        Akira (1988)[131][132]·        RoboCop: The Animated Series (1988)·        Beast Machines: Transformers (1999–2000)·        Dominiono   Dominion (1988–1989)o   New Dominion Tank Police (1993–1994)o   Tank Police Team: Tank S.W.A.T. 01 (2006)·        Appleseedo   Appleseed (1988 film)o   Appleseed (2004 film)o   Appleseed Ex Machina (2007 film)o   Appleseed XIII (2011)o   Appleseed Alpha (2014 film)·        A.D. Police Files (1990)·        Cyber City Oedo 808 (1990)[133]·        Æon Flux (1991–1995)[134]·        Silent Möbius (1991–2003)[135]·        Genocyber (1993)[136]·        Macross Plus (1994)·        Armitage III (1995)·        Ghost in the Shell (anime films)o   Ghost in the Shell (1995 film)[137]o   Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004 film)[138]·        Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (S.A.C.)[139]o   Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (S.A.C.) (2002–2003)o   Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG (2004–2005)o   Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (2006 film)o   Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2045 (2020–2022)·        Ghost in the Shell: Ariseo   Ghost in the Shell: Arise (2013–2015)o   Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (2016 film)·        Spicy City (1997)·        Cowboy Bebop (1998)·        RoboCop: Alpha Commando (1998–1999)·        Serial Experiments Lain (1998)[140]·        Gundress (1999)·        Batman Beyond (1999–2001)·        Metropolis (2001)[141]·        The Animatrix (2003)[142]·        Code Lyoko (2003–2007)·        Heat Guy J (2003)[143]·        Parasite Dolls (2003)[144]·        Texhnolyze (2003)[145]·        Wonderful Days (a.k.a. Sky Blue) (2003)[146][147]·        Burst Angel (2004)[148]·        Fragile Machine (2005)[149]·        Aachi & Ssipak (2006)[150]·        A Scanner Darkly (2006)[151]·        Ergo Proxy (2006)[152]·        Paprika (2006)[153][154]·        Renaissance (2006)[155]·        Dennō Coil (2007)[156]·        Vexille (2007)[157][158]·        Technotise: Edit & I (2009, Serbia)[159]·        Real Drive (2008)·        Mardock Scramble (2010)[160]·        Accel World (2012–2016)·        Psycho-Pass (2012)[161]·        Tron: Uprising (2012)·        Dimension W (2016)·        No Guns Life (2019–2020)·        Altered Carbon: Resleeved (2020)·        Akudama Drive (2020)·        Blade Runner: Black Lotus (2021–2022)·        Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022)مسلسلات·        World on a Wire (1973)[162]·        The Deadly Assassin (1976)[163]·        Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1983)[164]·        Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future (1985), British television movieo   Max Headroom (1987),[165] American television series based on the UK TV movie·        Wild Palms (1993)[166]·        TekWar (1994)[167]·        RoboCop: The Series (1994)·        VR.5 (1996)[citation needed]·        Welcome to Paradox (1998)[168]·        The X-Files, two episodes of the series were written by William Gibson and contain cyberpunk themes:o   Kill Switch (1998)[169]o   First Person Shooter (2000)[170][171]·        Harsh Realm (1999)[172]·        Total Recall 2070 (1999)[173]·        Dark Angel (2000–2002)[174]·        RoboCop: Prime Directives (2001)[175]·        Charlie Jade (2005)[176]·        Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009)·        Power Rangers RPM (2009)·        Kamen Rider Dragon Knight (2009)[citation needed]·        Dollhouse (2009–2010)[177]·        Caprica (2010)·        Person of Interest (2011–2016)·        Black Mirror (2011–2019)·        Continuum (2012–2015), set in the present with a protagonist who has time traveled back from a cyberpunk future in 2077·        H+: The Digital Series (2012)·        Almost Human (2013–2014)·        Die Gstettensaga: The Rise of Echsenfriedl (2014)·        Mr. Robot (2015–2019)·        Humans (2015–2018)·        Westworld (2016–2022)·        Incorporated (2016–2017)·        Altered Carbon (2018–2020)·        S'parta (2018)·        Better Than Us (2018–2019)·        Love, Death & Robots (2019–present)·        Meta Runner (2019–2022)·        Onisciente (2020)·        Upload (2020–present)[178] ألعاب فيديو:·       Exapunk The Screamer (1985)[190] Imitation City (1987)[191] Megami Tensei series (1987–present)[192]  Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (1987)[193][194]   Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (1997)[195]   Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (2004)[196]   Shin Megami Tensei IV (2013)[192]   Soul Hackers 2 (2022)   Metal Gear series (1987–present)  Metal Gear Solid (1998)[197]   Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)[198]   Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)[192]   Metal Gear Rising Revengeance (2013)   Akira (1988–2002)  Akira (1988)[192]   Akira Psycho Ball (2002)   Neuromancer (1988)[199] Snatcher (1988–1996)[200] Genocide (1989)[192] Night Striker (1989) DreamWeb (1992)[201] Flashback (1992)[202] BloodNet (1993)[203] Gadget: Invention, Travel, & Adventure (1993)[204] Shadowrun series  Shadowrun (SNES) (1993)[205]   Shadowrun (Sega Genesis) (1994)[206]   Shadowrun (Sega CD) (1996)[207]   Shadowrun (2007)[208][209]   Shadowrun Returns (2013) [210]   Shadowrun: Dragonfall (2014) [211]   Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown (2015)   Shadowrun: Hong Kong (2015) [212]   Syndicate series  Syndicate (1993)[213]   Syndicate Wars (1996)[214]   Syndicate (2012)[215]   Beneath a Steel Sky (1994)[216] Burn:Cycle (1994)[217] Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller (1994) Delta V (1994)[218] Hagane: The Final Conflict (1994)[192] Live A Live (1994)[192] Rise of the Robots (1994) [219][220] Policenauts (1994)[192] Appleseed series  Appleseed: Oracle of Prometheus (1994)   Appleseed EX (2004)   System Shock series  System Shock (1994)[221]   System Shock 2 (1999)[222]   CyberMage: Darklight Awakening (1995)[223] Johnny Mnemonic: The Interactive Action Movie (1995)[224] Road Rage (1995) Osman (1996)[192] Blade Runner (1997)[225] Final Fantasy VII (1997)[226]  Compilation of Final Fantasy VII (2004–2009)   Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020)[227]   Ghost in the Shell (1997)[192] Einhänder (1998)[192] Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy (1998) Xenogears (1998)[228] The Nomad Soul (1999) Fear Effect series  Fear Effect (2000)   Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix (2001)   Fear Effect Sedna (2018)   Deus Ex series  Deus Ex (2000)[229]   Deus Ex: Invisible War (2003) [230]   Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011) [231]   Deus Ex: The Fall (2013)[232]   Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (2016)   Perfect Dark series  Perfect Dark (2000)   Perfect Dark Zero (2005)   Oni (2001)[233] Anachronox (2001) Mega Man Battle Network series  Mega Man Battle Network (2001)   Mega Man Battle Network 2 (2001)   Mega Man Battle Network 3 (2002)   Mega Man Network Transmission (2003)   Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge (2003)   Mega Man Battle Network 4 (2003)   Mega Man Battle Network 5 (2004)   Mega Man Battle Network 6 (2005)   Uplink (2001)[234][235] Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter (2002)[236] .hack series  .hack//IMOQ (2002–2003)   .hack//G.U. (2006–2007)   .hack//Link (2010)   Neocron (2002)[237] Enter the Matrix (2003)[238] P.N.03 (2003) Cy Girls (2004) Æon Flux (2005) Dystopia (2005)[239] System Rush (2005)[240] Mirror's Edge (2008) Halo 3: ODST (2009) Cyber Knights series:  Cyber Knights (Classic) (2011)[241]   Cyber Knights: Flashpoint (2021)[242]   Gemini Rue (2011)[243] Hard Reset (2011) Cypher (2012)[244] Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead (2013) Remember Me (2013)[245] Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (2013) Alien: Isolation (2014) Jazzpunk (2014) Transistor (2014) Watch Dogs series:  Watch Dogs (2014)[246]   Watch Dogs 2 (2016)   Watch Dogs: Legion (2020)   2064: Read Only Memories (2015) Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015)[247] Dex (2015)[248] Technobabylon (2015) Soma (2015) Satellite Reign (2015) Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth (2015)[249] Invisible, Inc. (2016) Mirror's Edge Catalyst (2016) Superhot (2016) VA-11 HALL-A (2016)[250] Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker's Memory (2017)[249] Observer (2017) Ruiner (2017)[251] The Red Strings Club (2018)[252] Ion Fury (2018) Tales of the Neon Sea (2018)[253] Astral Chain (2019)[254] Katana Zero (2019) Dohna Dohna (2020)[255] Cyberpunk 2077 (2020) Ghostrunner (2020) Incredibox  V8: Dystopia (2020)   Cloudpunk (2020) ENCODYA (2021) The Ascent (2021) Stray (2022) SIGNALIS (2022) The Last Night (TBA)[256]  الالعاب الروائية:·        Cyberpunk (1988)o   Cyberpunk 2020 (1990)o   Cyberpunk V3.0 (2005)o   Cyberpunk Red (2020)·        Shadowrun (1989)·        GURPS Cyberpunk (1990)[257]·        Necromunda (1995)·        Infinity (2005)·        Corporation (2009)[258]·        Deadzone (2013)·        Carbon 2185 A Cyberpunk RPG (2019)

Matt is gone again so Hunter is joined by our dear friend Sun Sanders. Last time Sun was on the show, we talked about Skyrim, and he was robbed an earnest opportunity to rank a western RPG. So this time the two of them discuss Tom Hall's Anachronox and boy you're just going to love their criteria for ranking this game. Mentioned in the show: Anachronox the Move (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9esyOP1oZQ) Music by nightcorey. https://soundcloud.com/nightcorey Consider contributing to our show on Patreon. Email us your thoughts on the ongoing list at oldgamersalmanac(at)gmail(dot)com. Or come talk to us on our Discord. The List So Far Disco Elysium Silent Hill 2 Celeste Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei Super Mario Brothers 3 Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy Katamari Damacy Quake Raw Danger! Metal Gear Solid Hyper Light Drifter Halo: Combat Evolved Yakuza Kiwami Papers, Please Out Run Into the Breach Ocarina of Time Jet Set Radio Final Fantasy 7 Bangai-O Centipede Hitman (2016) Super Monkey Ball Crusader Kings 3 Skyrim Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Portal Soulcalibur Pikmin Secret of Monkey Island Kirby Super Star Mass Effect 3 Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) Halo 3 Journey Inside Journey to Silius Mario Kart 64 Inscryption Mass Effect 2 Max Payne Mirror's Edge Forza Horizon 5 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Grand Theft Auto III Kingdom Hearts Donkey Kong Country 3 Sonic Adventure Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Twisted Metal 2 Solar Ash Mass Effect Aliens vs Predator 2 Metroid Dread Killer Instinct Goldeneye Halo 2 Sonic Adventure 2 War of the Monsters Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

If Blade Runner was funny and had an active time battle system then it would certainly be the game of focus for today's episode, Anachronox (2001) that contemporary lovely gent Nick Park brought on to discuss. On this one Nick talks with Conner about transforming a crawl space into a cool basement, building PCs before it was cool, and secret rooms revealed via faux bookshelves. Show Notes Nick Park - Instagram - Twitter Conner McCabe – Twitter – twitch.tv/conziscool69 Produced by Jeremy Schmidt – Video Games: a Comedy Show - Twitter Call Me By Your Game – Instagram – Twitter – YouTube Super NPC Radio – Patreon – Twitter – Instagram – Twitch

The Best Gaming Podcast Grand Theft Auto 6, Airsoft, Roleplaying, Cyberpunk. Videogame podcast with the folks. This time Cadiz and Denovin meet up with me to discuss life, rpgs, dnd, games, and everything in between --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/acg/support

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series about Halo: Combat Evolved, Bungie's seminal 2001 FPS on the Xbox. We set it in time, discuss its development history, and delve into tutorialization. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up to rescuing Keyes on the Truth & Reconciliation Issues covered: 2001 in games, lull in PC shooters that year, Bungie history, the astonishing development, seeing the migration in the game from the units on the battlefield, betting big, other shooters on consoles, the unexpected internal hit at Microsoft, Oni's complex combat system, the seminal paper on first-person controls, aim acceleration, the big impact of being purchased, the audacity of a PC-focused developer muscling into the market, the library advantage of Sony, lack of distinguishing system sellers, the sole mascot, the enterprise/application/services mentality, the alienation of PC games, DirectX as a unifying force, friends lists and achievements, Xbox Live, politics derailing JSF being the Xbox Live launch title, orthogonal approaches like GamePass, unthawing the Chief, the usability lab, just asking you to look to establish preferences, Technical Requirements Checklist/Technical Checklist of Requirements, being rebellious, a lot of mysteries right at the beginning, sequences for health/shields, giving context, having a motion tracker, Covenant mirroring you vs grunts that don't, low morale pests, clear and different silhouettes, target prioritization, dropping the weapons they carry and enabling different decisions, being able to swap to the old graphics, hating our wokeness, dynamic ability and missability of treasure stuff in RE4, being a bit obscure, survival horror working against scouring an area, possibility of inviting a critic, indie games, the age difference between Leon and Ashley (vs the apparent difference), aging the protagonist towards your own age. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: GTA III, Silent Hill 2, Ico, Civ III, Anachronox, Animal Crossing, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney, Devil May Cry, MGS 2: Sons of Liberty, Super Smash Melee, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, Jak & Daxter, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, Game Boy Advance, Advance Wars, Max Payne, Black & White, Dark Age of Camelot, Baldur's Gate II, Painkiller, DOOM 3, World of Warcraft, Everquest II, Asheron's Call, Bungie, Marathon (series), Myth (series), Mumbo Jumbo, Take Two Interactive, Apple, MacWorld, Microsoft, Ed Fries, Oni, Republic Commando, Starfighter (series), GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Rare, Jason Jones, id Software, Epic Megagames, PlayStation, Forza, Brute Force, MechAssault, George Lucas, Bill Gates, Nintendo, Sega, Dreamcast, Star Wars, Geoff Jones, Medal of Honor, Saber Interactive, 343 Industries, Troy Mashburn, Karl Popper, Resident Evil 4, Zachary Crownover, Nick Miller, Limited Run Games, Indie Game: The Movie, Suikoden 2, Jason Schreier, MinnMax, Rebel FM, Undertale, Braid, Call of Duty (series), This War of Mine, 11bit Studios, Ben Zaugg, Resident Evil VII, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: More! Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @timlongojr and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

This week: We beat the game and resolve no plotlines Next Week: We watch Blade Runner, which is much better. We also announce our next block: Magical Girls! Go vote here. ------------------------------------------------- Discord Twitter Ko-fi Merch Youtube Sailor Eli on YouTube Maddy Grace on Twitch!   Year 3's Intro/Outro Music is "Town" from Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, by Falcom jdk. Copyright © Nihon Falcom Corporation

This week: We reference movies and comics that the writers liked! Next Week: We beat the game! We also announce our next block: Magical Girls! Go vote here. ------------------------------------------------- Discord Twitter Ko-fi Merch Youtube Sailor Eli on YouTube Maddy Grace on Twitch!   Year 3's Intro/Outro Music is "Town" from Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, by Falcom jdk. Copyright © Nihon Falcom Corporation

This week: We do some Sleuthin' Next Week: We do two extended joke sequences, and stop after leaving the Star Wars planet. Anachronox is really good! You should play it! It's 5 dollars on Steam and GoG, and goes on sale ALL the time for less than a buck. ------------------------------------------------- Discord Twitter Ko-fi Merch Youtube Sailor Eli on YouTube Maddy Grace on Twitch!   Year 3's Intro/Outro Music is "Town" from Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, by Falcom jdk. Copyright © Nihon Falcom Corporation

This week: We squash some bugs, and visit several brothels! Next Week: We play the mission on Hephaestus! Anachronox is really good! You should play it! It's 5 dollars on Steam and GoG, and goes on sale ALL the time for less than a buck. ------------------------------------------------- Discord Twitter Ko-fi Merch Youtube Sailor Eli on YouTube Maddy Grace on Twitch!   Year 3's Intro/Outro Music is "Town" from Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, by Falcom jdk. Copyright © Nihon Falcom Corporation

Thanks to everyone who donated on the Ko-Fi to unlock this episode! This week, we discuss the FALL, WINTER, and SPRING sections of the game. Next week, we'll be back to normal in Anachronox. ------------------------------------------------- Discord Twitter Ko-fi Merch Youtube Sailor Eli on YouTube Maddy Grace on Twitch!   Shortcast's Intro/Outro Music is "Dora Doran" from Brandish 2, by Falcom jdk. Copyright © Nihon Falcom Corporation

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 2002's Insomniac action shooter platformer Ratchet & Clank. This week we talk about the weapons systems, watching a game evolve over a few years, level design, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up to Blarg Station Nebula G64 or thereabouts Issues covered: propulsion, stretch and squish, humor along the lines of Warner Bros, comedy and timing, matching comedy style to the game, weapon upgrade systems and the many levels of weapons, contextualizing upgrades and gadgets, the zaniness of weapons, gold bolts, having help with the collectibles, getting a lot of trophies, the ways gadgets improved, improving usability, third-person shooting on consoles, early 3D still, filling in the gaps for Nintendo, collection-focused mechanics vs generosity of bolts, failing forward, channels of reward, skill-based leveling systems, adding behaviors to weapons as they level, the variant gameplay forms, looping back to the beginning of sections in level design, taking over Clank, ordering a small squad of robots, a series that blends together, Ratchet being a little irritating, good enemies, music with zany sci-fi, world-building on the nose in a good way, why Gau is a great character, CRTs vs monitors, picking favorite RPG characters, hidden mechanics, an announcement of Brett and Tim working together again. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Marvin the Martian, Warner Bros., Disney, Hanna Barbera, Jackass (film series), the 1619 Project, Nintendo, Oddworld, Stranger's Wrath, The Mask, Sly Cooper, LucasArts, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, LEGO Star Wars, Elder Scrolls (series), Ready at Dawn, High Impact Games, Full Throttle, Anachronox, Space Quest, The Incredibles, Michael Giacchino, David, Bergeaud, Disruptor, Resistance, mysterydip, Final Fantasy VI, Pokemon, zachary, SNES Classic, Blarg42, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, Dragonball, Sebastian Deken, BioWare, Planescape: Torment, Mass Effect, Dragon Age (series), Ni No Kuni, Freddy Prinze Jr, Baldur's Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, JRR Tolkien, Mikael Danielsson, Gears of War, Starfighter, Republic Commando, Jak & Daxter, Resident Evil (series), Death Stranding, Calamity Nolan, Twin Suns Corp, Harley Baldwin, Greg Knight, Paul Pierce, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: Up through the Bomb Factory! Link: CRT vs Monitor in Pixel Art Hidden Mechanics Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @timlongojr and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on the delightful action platformer shooter thing called Ratchet & Clank. We set it in its time a little bit, and talk a bit about developer Insomniac, and then turn to talk about introductory impressions and continue to catch up on feedback. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up to Novalis Issues covered: destroying your enemies with flame, tone and charm and humor, 2002: a Good Year with a Thick Coat of Peanut Butter, the mascots, playing PlayStation games at the start of the PS2 lifecycle, the Cerny Method, Tim's first time, the war on consoles surrounding mascots and third person action, what Microsoft was up to, Brett projects that Tim will be amazed about with the guns, a little sideline into Resistance, the titles, future streamlining, getting animation to film quality, stretch and squish as a frontier, making a character feel very alive, Brett dives into the hardware, wishing you could take your technical expertise back, seeing lots of characters and structure very early, consistency of tone, enjoyable juvenalia, a series of gags, the surprise of having a map and quests, a variety of enemy types, the tendency of consoles towards PCs, a huge pile of FF6 secrets, a game coming to you at a time where it helped you get through, what we'd want from JRPG combat, taking a week off, thinking you've finished the game, Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Insomniac, PlayStation 2, Disruptor, Spyro (series), Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Kingdom Hearts, Eternal Darkness, Animal Crossing, GameCube, Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, Wind Waker, Republic Commando, Xbox, Sly Cooper, MechAssault, Splinter Cell, BG: Dark Alliance, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4, Phantasy Star Online I & II, Andrew Kirmse, Warcraft III, Jedi Outcast, Freedom Force, Irrational Games, Jonathan Chey, Dungeon Siege, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, No One Lives Forever 2, Neverwinter Nights, Battlefield 1942, Jedi Starfighter, Rez, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Metroid Fusion, Metroid Dread, Sonic (series), GTA III: Vice City, LucasArts, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy Tactics, Sunset Boulevard, Sunset Overdrive, Fuse, Mark Cerny, Game Developer Magazine, Jak & Daxter, Super Mario 64, Nintendo 64, Crash Bandicoot, Rare, Banjo Kazooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Sega, UbiSoft, Rayman, Gex, Crystal Dynamics, Croc, Bonk, Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Frogger, Halo, Max Payne, Brute Force, Psychonauts, Viva Pinata, Perfect Dark Zero, GoldenEye, Sea of Thieves, Resistance, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Agent Carter, Skylanders, Toys for Bob, Star Wars, Space Quest, Anachronox, Warner Bros, Animaniacs, Bugs Bunny, Ryan/Biostats, Top Gun, Ninja Turtles, Ducktales, Chrono Trigger, Mark Garcia, Undertale, Skyrim, Death Stranding, Calamity Nolan, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers. Next time: Play more! How much more? Peep the Twitters. Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @timlongojr and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

This week: We visit 3 very cool and different planets, and go vote! Next Week: We play up until we head for Haphaestus. Anachronox is really good! You should play it! It's 5 dollars on Steam and GoG, and goes on sale ALL the time for less than a buck. ------------------------------------------------- Discord Twitter Ko-fi Merch Youtube Sailor Eli on YouTube Maddy Grace on Twitch!   Year 3's Intro/Outro Music is "Town" from Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, by Falcom jdk. Copyright © Nihon Falcom Corporation

This week: We do a few dungeons, and finally leave Anachronox! Next Week: Deja Vu! We stop after the dramatic events at the council Chamber, before going to the Hive. Anachronox is really good! You should play it! It's 5 dollars on Steam and GoG, and goes on sale ALL the time for less than a buck. ------------------------------------------------- Discord Twitter Ko-fi Merch Youtube Sailor Eli on YouTube Maddy Grace on Twitch!   Year 3's Intro/Outro Music is "Town" from Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, by Falcom jdk. Copyright © Nihon Falcom Corporation

This week: We do a couple tutorials, explore a couple opening areas, getting Grumpos to join our party! Next Week: We stop after the dramatic events at the council Chamber, before going to the Hive. Anachronox is really good! You should play it! It's 5 dollars on Steam and GoG, and goes on sale ALL the time for less than a buck. ------------------------------------------------- Discord Twitter Ko-fi Merch Youtube Sailor Eli on YouTube Maddy Grace on Twitch!   Year 3's Intro/Outro Music is "Town" from Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, by Falcom jdk. Copyright © Nihon Falcom Corporation

This week: Idfk man, it's a real pretty movie that you just have to see to believe. It's not good, but you should watch it anyways. Next week: We play until Grumpo joins the party in Anachronox! If you haven't joined the Discord yet, you should! All of our episodes (except for Bookclub no Kiseki) are recorded live on our Discord Virtual Stage from now on! Anachronox is our next game, and it's frequently on super sale, and you might already have it from an old Humble Bundle. Come play with us! ------------------------------------------------- Discord Twitter Ko-fi Merch Youtube Sailor Eli on YouTube Maddy Grace on Twitch!   Year 3's Intro/Outro Music is "Town" from Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, by Falcom jdk. Copyright © Nihon Falcom Corporation

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we finish our series on 2003's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. We talk about the unfortunate elevator sequence, the final platforming of the game, its circular story and of course, our takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Finished the Game Podcast breakdown: 0:52 Prince of Persia 56:16 Break 56:46 Takeaways and Feedback Issues covered: rewinding time, feeling bad about the elevator section, spending two hours on one combat encounter, leaning on the worst things of the combat system, tight space, companion AI, being unable to see the Prince, being able to render more stuff and having that in tension with what you want to see, the "Kung Fu Circle," using the death blossom and wanting fewer sand bubbles, taking away all the things I enjoyed about the combat, the rewind resource, feeling over-designed, "fun is challenge," the history of challenge in digital game design, tightness and the tension with other goals, being too good at your game at the end, giving a lot of verbs that are fluidly deployed via context, trying to jump away but instead running me up an enemy, help me look cool getting away, not making the lock-on specific, finding the right balance for players, advocating for how to make your enemies/systems look great, the value of a locked camera, Tim looks up the solution to an audio puzzle, more puzzle discussions, misreading a puzzle and having a good moment, long checkpoints for the final exam, flipping the difficulty, really demonstrating how far the Prince has come by holding the blade edge of the dagger, maybe missing some of the transitions, rewinding the whole story back to the beginning so he tells this wild story (tying into the failures), the grand vizier trope, the cobra staff, compressing character development, the right difficulty for the final boss, doing a deep reading of the Prince disrobing through the game, not loving the rewound smooch, Brett's Book Recommendation, those mechanics that are just Great Ideas, allowing for soft failure and experimentation, contextual traversal (and combat), making the player look awesome with gentler difficulty, distilling down/all killer no filler, allowing for games that are shorter, the excellence of the animation blending system to achieve fluidity, the history of that fluidity to the original, the narrative space, trying different things in the narrative, how much we use mods, grief and games, the way games are more fixed in time, playing single player games with friends, getting streaming now, where to add quality of life improvements, asking why and what a game is about, Mister E. Dip, the sweet spot for Animal Crossing quality of life, "would fast travel help this game," being in the natural world, where the interesting friction is. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Star Wars, Brian/dontkickfood, Todd Howard, NES/SNES, Mario (series), UbiSoft, Nintendo, Troy Mashburn, Tomb Raider, Nathan Martz, Republic Commando, John Hancock, God of War, Starfighter, S. A. Chakraborty, Aladdin, Groundhog Day, Zelda (series), Dungeons & Dragons, G. Willow Wilson, Wonder Woman, Ms. Marvel, Alif the Unseen, Gears of War, Ocarina of Time, Uncharted, Shenmue, Assassin's Creed, Baldur's Gate, PixelJunk Eden, Q Games, Rez, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Alien, The Matrix, Jill Murray, Zac Katis, Anachronox, Diablo, Bethesda Game Studios, DOOM (1993), World of Warcraft, Ashton Herrmann, Morrowind, Marcel Proust, mysterydip, Civilization, Animal Crossing, Ultima Underworld, The Witcher 3, Shadow of the Colossus, Minecraft, Death Stranding, Hitman (2016), Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Links: Big World Setup tool for Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition Game Setup Ashton Herrmann on sharing single-player games Next time: TBD! Notes: I call it the "Death Blossom" but the manual calls it the Power of Haste. Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @timlongojr and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

This week: We are joined by none other than The Game Professor from GamesAsLit101 on youtube, and we save after entering the Grindery. Next Week: We beat the whole game! If you'd like to be in control of the game we play next, you can vote between Septerra Core and Anachronox on our Ko-fi at www.rpgbook.club ------------------------------------------------- Discord Twitter Ko-fi Merch Youtube Sailor Eli on YouTube Maddy Grace on Twitch!   Year 3's Intro/Outro Music is "Town" from Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, by Falcom jdk. Copyright © Nihon Falcom Corporation

Running from 2007 to 2016, ChangYou's Dragon Oath is probably one of those MMORPGs you've never heard of, nevermind actually played. Yet when Syl stumbled upon it on YouTube, she knew it was a soundtrack for the Battle Bards to highlight. Take a journey with the team today as they visit this Bhuddist-inspired MMO and hear the sounds of this Chinese soundtrack. Episode 174 show notes Intro ("Da Li," "Horse Farm," and "Voodoo Sea") "Main Theme" "Wild Plains" "Fire Palace" "Malefics" "Stone Forest/Jade Valley" "Mt. Emei" "Mt. Infinity" Which one did we like best? Jukebox picks: "Character Creation" from Moonlight Blade, "Tensil Theme" from Anachronox, and "Cacti Canyon" from Minecraft Dungeons Outro (feat. "South Rainforest") Talk to the Battle Bards on Twitter! Follow Battle Bards on iTunes, Stitcher, Player.FM, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Pocket Casts! This podcast is produced using copyrighted material according to Fair Use practices as stated under Section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act.

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we welcome another interview, this time with industry veteran and current VP of Design at Schell Games, Harley Baldwin. Harley talks about her path through the industry and about her time especially at LucasArts and Republic Commando, on which she served as a level designer. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Podcast breakdown: 0:45 Interview 1:25:23 Break 1:25:51 Feedback Issues covered: how Harley got her start, planning to get into photographic printing, crashing a friend's interview, knowing a tuck-in top from a hang-over top, figuring out technical art challenges, getting a programmer to do some interpolation, emergence of digital cameras, the unsung heroism of technical art, making one kind of data into another kind of data, overlapping art and engineering, figuring out how to blend animations for locomotion, learning from designers via over-the-shoulder watching, the three-point slice, trying to figure out how to build stuff, moving to design, not having to worry about both the architecture and the gameplay at the same time, getting designers to play and talk, becoming a lead systems designer, communicating the use of systems, advocating for designs, VR and location-based entertainment, hard and interesting problems, encouraging design skill overlap, getting the design document on day one, LucasArts using proprietary technology and the internal controversy, believing you need the author of the engine in-house, the conversations between level designers, talking about how to make the bridge moment, building momentum, speaking level designers' language, coming on late and fixing cover bugs and optimizing spaces, figuring out how and whether to do jungle, arguing over the spotlights, trying to find solutions together, level ownership, getting enough distance to see what needs to be real or what needs to be smoke and mirrors, the creepiness of the Prosecutor, giving the designer you once were a talking to, getting stuck on Troy's level, designing to the peak experience, the story of what a designer is trying to say, finishing your own level on hard... over a few hours, QA beating it eventually, lacking storytelling tools and using design tools like difficulty, door breaches and hints, the "doors and hallways engine," how to tackle a dwarf spider droid, still figuring things out as you ship, building to a character moment, being in the perfect spot, the old home tour of enemies, "hey player, you can handle this now," "Brett's favorite room," the energy and communication of that team, "Nobody reads your docs," designers and difficulty, "when do you turn off god mode," watching people play, your applicant pool of user testing players, three things you'd change about project/process, fumbling towards scrum/agile, how seeing where the squad was going changed the game dramatically, VR and its problems to solve, meeting Harley for the first time, the Starfighter pie meeting, Pi Day, Tim delivers a pie to Brett's apartment, "I might worry about a random pie," East Coast geography, the team helping get you through the making of the game, the special atmosphere of LucasArts, good people working with good people, defending Tim's honor, difficulty and Constraint Satisfaction Problems, Boss Keys series, Longo Calrisian, positioning and leadership, lowering ammo and tuning towards the focus fire mechanic, the hot targets, differences between PC and Xbox, difficulty codes, marketing, Starfighter III: Jedi Starfighter II: Starfighter Outcast or Reti Player One, a plea for orbital strikes in more video games. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: American Laser Games/Her Interactive, LucasArts, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, Starfighter (series), RTX Red Rock, Crystal Dynamics, Tomb Raider (series), Demiurge, Nihilistic Software, Rock Band, Resistance, Call of Duty, Schell Games, PhotoStyler, McKenzie & Company, Mad Dog McCree, Drug Wars, 3D0, Vampire Diaries, Nancy Drew (series), Debabelizer, Jedi Knight, Reed Knight, X-COM: The Bureau, Jesse Schell, Disney VR, Unreal, Galactic Battlegrounds, Age of Empires, Outlaws, Troy Mashburn, Pat Sirk, Jesse Moore, Juli Logemann, Uncharted, Kevin "Schmitty" Schmitt, Xbox, Microsoft, Jeffrey "Pinecone" Sondin-Kung, I Expect You to Die, Until You Fall, PlayStation VR, GDC, David Collins, Blarg42, Anachronox, Violet B. Trudel, Pokemon, Oliver Uvman, Sokoban, Super Mario Bros 3, Stephen's Sausage Roll, Final Fantasy XIII-2, King's Quest, Gothic Chocobo, Game Maker's Toolkit, Mark Brown, Zelda (series), Leon Buckel, Greg Knight, Sam Thomas, June, Jocko Willink, Leif Babin, Dark Forces, GameSpot, Billy/The2ndQuest, Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Forza, Tetris99, Animal Crossing, Charlie Rocket, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Epic Mickey, Final Fantasy VI, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers. Next time: Another Interview? Twitch: brettdouville, instagram:timlongojr, @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on the unique series Animal Crossing. We situate the game briefly in time before turning to some of the ways the game introduces itself and its mechanics, before turning to feedback. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: An hour a day! Podcast breakdown: 0:50 Animal Crossing 1:08:09 Break 1:08:43 Feedback Issues covered: "this is one of my favorite Nintendo series, actually," Tim uses the 'cast to his advantage, trying to think of forerunners, Daddy, an explosive era of design, the variety of games and the PC/console divide, thinking outside the box, a weird kind of buzz, the Nintendo spin on some genres, having a chillout time, being able to meditatively play, the weird concepts at work and conveying that to a potential audience, Nintendo going its own way, having a lot going on in even this first game, daily routine and tranquility obscuring the systems, heading off player aggression, meeting up with KK Slider, setting and subverting player expectations, listening to KK Slider play guitar, that Nintendo touch, hopping the train to town and meeting Rover, the important Rover connection, committing to characters and making them iconic, social propriety and cell phones, contrasting this with character creation, representing everything in the game (with an inventory as well), chibi/big head character design, attitude with their voicing, character design and presentation being economic but expressive, timing phonemes against the spaces between words, spending a lot of time on the speech system, Nintendo's habit of having everyone in the company try the games, anime/manga idioms for expression/emotion, developing an internal language and sticking with it, Rover the cat, we reveal our town and player names, getting a mortgage and job from Tom Nook right away, establishing verbs early, passing by the dump and into the store, learning how to put on clothes, gating progress on activity, being naturally pushed to explore what the game has, atypical goals and tricking you into addiction, talking to the animals, establishing something like a main loop gently, coming up with your own "quests," random towns (a discovery for Brett), shared characters between towns, we introduce our characters and NPCs, review from Finland, some design choices that a 25-year-old game overcame, leaning on the RNG to some degree, remembering getting into Animal Crossing and the draw of NES games, the acquisition loop and its evolution, Tim having not really analyzed this game before, gyroids. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: The Sims, Little Computer People, Tamagotchi, Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, Alex Neuse, Silent Hill 2, Anachronox, Ico, GTA III, Civilization III, Devil May Cry, Soul Reaver, Star Wars: Starfighter, Jak & Daxter, Final Fantasy X, Halo, Xbox, Metal Gear Solid 2, Advance Wars, Pikmin, Black & White, Max Payne, World of Warcraft, Dark Age of Camelot, PS2, Luigi's Mansion, Peter Molyneux, LucasArts, Starcraft 64, Halo Wars, Resident Evil, Spider-man 2, Satoru Iwata, Wii, Viva Pinata, Pokemon, Happy Home Designer, Amiibo Festival, Mario series (obliquely), Sonic series (obliquely), Final Fantasy (series), Zelda (series), Sailor Moon, Madman, _Dupre/Petri, Commodore 64, Ultima IV, Bitmap Books, Derek from Spokane, Chrono Trigger, Octopath Traveler, Chrono Cross, Sea of Stars, Sabotage Studios, Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, SNES Classic, Final Fantasy VI, Ni No Kuni, Dragon Quest (series), Level 5, Dark Cloud (series), Square Enix, Reed Knight, Metal Gear Solid 4, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers. Next time: An hour a day! Twitch: brettdouville, instagram:timlongojr, @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 1999's Sega cult classic Shenmue. We talk about waiting for time to pass, delve into similarities with other auteurist life simulation games, and get caught by guards ten times apiece. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up until we're getting a job Issues covered: getting on the bus, missing the bus, watching the wheels on the bus go round and round, having that awkward moment trying to figure out how to get on the bus, imagining the design meeting, making concessions to the player with fast travel, a removed economic mechanic in Skyrim, always having to follow the schedules, looking at things on shelves in markets, the many mechanics around the focus, finding and having to put down the elixir of life, selling the father's back story, making things make sense in the fiction, picking up and buying stuff in the store, feeding the kitten, the cat disappears and can be found, Brett's issue with Nozomi, running up against the boundaries of the sim and caring, having a sense of things, it becoming Christmastime and the town, meeting Santa, why can't I thank Nozomi, mysticism maybe slipping in, bringing in wire movement from kung fu cinema, having a cool moment in the dojo, pocketing a family heirloom, an infinite inventory, using the flashlight again, how to get the scene with the father's memory over breakfast, missing things, systems vs spaghetti scripts, what David Cage owes to Yu Suzuki, building scenes vs world building, in theater: why is this the day or period of this character's life, choosing the most important day in Hamlet's life, padding a game and not fully motivating it, providing contrast, the map of the old warehouse district updating, filling in the homeless man's map, adding in the guard patrol paths, the forklift meme, trying to get into a warehouse and thinking you need a forklift, Quick Time(r) Events, a brief digression on laserdisc games, having a soccer ball kicked at you, lots of mini-moments, mapping QTEs to natural motions, using direction vs button presses, having the right player logic. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Seaman, Phantasy Star Online, Sega Pro Bass Fishing, World of Warcraft, Yu Suzuki, Skyrim, Big Trouble in Little China, Rockstar, David Cage, Heavy Rain, Omikron: The Nomad Soul, Anachronox, Fahrenheit/The Indigo Prophecy, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, LA Noire, Chekhov, Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, Cliffhanger, Badlands, Don Bluth, Game Boy Advance, God of War (2005), Tomb Raider (2013), Metal Gear Solid 4, God of War (2018), Persona 5. Next time: End of year bonus! https://twitch.tv/brettdouville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Following on from our DGC series on 1993's DOOM, we've been lucky enough to get connected with John Romero to talk about his early career and how id and DOOM came to be. We hear all sorts of stories about those early days, and we hope you enjoy it. Podcast breakdown: 0:42 Interview segment 1:40:30 Break 1:41:00 Next time Issues covered: a brief history of John Romero, playing games at the arcade and on a mainframe, programming without being able to save them, living with hyperthymesia, learning BASIC and 6502, hand-assembling without a computer, bailing from college, selling games to a bartender, meeting a fellow programmer for the first time, zeroing in on Origin Systems, co-opting a demo PC, Origin in New Hampshire, overlapping between John and Brett, being up against other Commodore programmers, killing the interviews, making every life change at once, making your own hardware and writing your own protocol, getting your first raise, the death of 8 bit, learning PC and moving house, missing out on your chance to make a great 8-bit game, wanting to make games all day, hiring an artist based on musical taste, knowing a coder from the game, Carmack renting a PC to port his own RPGs, getting your own room and making your own games, two games in a month, becoming the game everyone in Pakistan and India played, dividing up the work, vertical scrolling vs smooth horizontal scrolling, getting stuff done in a night, knowing when it's time to move on, pitching a game to Nintendo, mistaking fan mail, making deals through the mail, making bank and cutting a deal to avoid a lawsuit, nearly selling the company, shareware just taking off, moving into the black cube, writing a... strong press release, riding the rocket, being fluent in code and creativity at the same time, multi-user editing, breaking out of a rectilinear world, getting out of the intellectual model, no room could have been made in the prior game, having to solve unknown problems, coding everything into the editor and coming up with the needs, programming all sorts of wild secrets, goals for SIGIL, coming up with new ideas that are reasonable extensions, someone stealing your thunder, flipping switches to get from multiplayer to single player, loving designing stuff, the Empire RPG, dream game with the dream team, spending time with John Romero, working on 90 games, working solo, the history of games in one man's head, June calls out, we talk our next game, SWotH. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Sigil, Origin Systems, Softdisk, John Carmack, Adrian Carmack, Tom Hall, id Software, Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Quake, ION Storm, Daikatana, Deus Ex, Anachronox, Monkeystone Games, Midway, Slipgate Ironworks, Gazillion, Loot Drop, Brenda Romero, Romero Games, Empire of Sin, Poison Cookie, Hunt the Wumpus, Nim, Adventure, Robert Lavelock, Will Wright, Dr. Cat (David Shapiro), David Crane, Capital Ideas Software, Apple ][, Nibble Magazine, Scout Search, InCider Magazine, AppleFest 1987, UpTime, Jay Wilbur, Cocktail, Epic Software, Lane Roathe, Ultima I, ManPower, John Fachini, Denis Loubet, Robert Garriott, Ultima Underworld, Mapping the Commodore 64, Inside Out Software, Might & Magic 2, Tower Toppler/Nebulous, Epyx, Lynx, Crush Crumble Chomp, Temple of Apshai, Alien, Dark Castle, Ideas from the Deep, Al Vekovius, Karateka, LodeRunner, Choplifter, PlayStation 2, LucasArts, Gamer's Edge, Sub Stalker, Tennis, Mark Crowe, Paul Lutus, GraFORTH, Catacomb, SuperNES, Mario, Zelda, Dangerous Dave, Solitaire, Minesweeper, Slordax, Michael Abrash, Captain Cosmic, Nintendo, Scott Miller, Kingdom of Kroz, Commander Keen, Aliens Ate My Babysitter, FormGen, Sierra, Ken and Roberta Williams, Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny, Kevin Cloud, NextSTEP, Wizardry, REKKR, Civilization, Paradox, The Irishman, Martin Scorcese, Francis Ford Coppola, Skyrim, World of Warcraft Classic. Next time: World of Warcraft Classic (up to level 5) Links: Making of SIGIL https://twitch.tv/brettdouville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Rumination Analysis on Anachronox

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we this week we continue our series on 1993's seminal FPS DOOM. We spend some time especially on level design and the environments and specifically how they feel different from the first, as well as other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Episode two! Issues covered: figuring out where we actually are, Hell bleeding through, chaotic and asymmetric geometry, non-critical path key use, additional exploration, pace of play then and now, Tim uses the "I-word" on a non-explicit podcast, immersion then and now, speed of play in the 2016 sequel, cover and higher lethality in modern shooters, reasons shooters slowed down, getting use out of smaller amounts of play-time, the authoring of levels then and now, expectations of differing business models, wanting to live in the space for longer, using the keys to get weapons rather than just to get to the exit, communicating change to the player, setting and rules surprises, cosmic horror influence, specialization of level design, holistic differences, teleporter and stair and platform use, where you got your shareware in 1993, Steam collecting data on cards and such vs Quake_Test, simple puzzle, dungeon master influence, using lighting for effect, AI rules, emergent behavior, escalation of clutter from human body parts to demon body parts, knockback, having additional sprites/frames, communicating AI state visually, closing the Pokemon Pandora's Box, diving deep on EVs and IVs and fans finding a way, high degrees of systems plus social equals success?, slimness of Nintendo UI, Nintendo patching glitches out, Marathon on modern systems, pitch-counting your Pokemon battles, areas to run through in games that are okay. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: John Romero, Sandy Petersen, Wolfenstein 3D, Call of Cthulhu, Quake, Half-Life, Tomb of Horrors, Tom Hall, Anachronox, Predator, Splinter Cell, Nintendo, fulltilted, Bard's Tale Remastered, Prey, System Shock 2, Deus Ex, Eye of the Beholder, King's Quest, Wizard and the Princess, Pokemon, Gothic Chocobo, Mario Maker 2, Patrick Klepek, Waypoint, Smash Bros, Marathon, Alelph One, Ultima Underworld, System Shock, Daggerfall, Chris Mead, Ben Zaugg, minatorrent, Tomb Raider, Metroid: Samus Returns. Next time: The final episode! https://twitch.tv/brettdouville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on 2001's Devil May Cry, an action beat-'em-up from Capcom. We situate the game in its time and talk about its evolution from the Resident Evil series with its action. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: First four missions Issues covered: gaming in 2001, the origins of the title as Resident Evil 4 and making it into a new franchise, leaning into the tone, the beginning of the Clover legacy, distilling down to God of War, camera changes, we riff on the ranks, evolving the camera from Resident Evil, branching off the controls, dealing with the stick when moving from screen to screen, the Capcom 5, many takes on Dante's Inferno, "Devil May Care," dripping with style, style *is* substance, a game that wants you to dive in and get good, switching to be more aggressive to fight the first boss, where you can run from the return of that boss, the presentation of easy mode, learning to read a hard game, trying different third-person cameras at this time, facing difficulty and having to figure it out, change in game tastes in the last two decades: repetition vs continuing spectacle, physical limitations, grinding for consumables and the store, how does scoring work, taking a weird detour into watery skulls, how this series evolved to present day and greater generosity, procedurally generated emails, Diablo's shrines, the strategy of allowing a shared copy of the game actually driving sales, virality, generosity driving sales, hacks and cheats and the difficulty of preventing them. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Capcom, Jedi Starfighter, Ico, Grand Theft Auto III, Anachronox, Silent Hill 2, Resident Evil (series), Halo: Combat Evolved, Metal Gear Solid 2, Max Payne, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance, Diablo, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Onimusha: Warlords, Nintendo GameCube, Super Smash Bros. Melee, 007: Agent Under Fire, PlayStation 2, Jak & Daxter, Twisted Metal Black, Andrew Kirmse, Pikmin, Luigi's Mansion, Hideki Kamiya, Shinji Mikami, Clover Studio, Platinum Games, Viewtiful Joe, Okami, Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Dark Souls (series), God of War, PN 03, Killer 7, Dead Phoenix, Dante's Inferno, Patrick Klepek, Kingdom Hearts, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Full Throttle 2, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, Mr. Beast, DOOM (1993), Eric Fox, David Brevik, Quake, GOG, Alpha Protocol. Next time: Through Mission 10 https://twitch.tv/brettdouville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our discussion of Kingdom Hearts. We talk about some memorable moments, some about character design, a bit about AI... a whole hodge-podge. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up to the Hollow Bastion Issues covered: Brett playing simultaneously on PS4, televisions, being stuck on the boss, grinding and action combat, navigating in 3D, slow leveling, assigning items to party members and changing their strategies, leaning into tech points and the way the camera and enemy AI fights that, parrying the boss, games that require grinding versus those that don't, leveling via critical path in Pokémon, the Trinity symbols, character design in Atlantica, new Heartless visual and enemy design in different worlds, camera controls in the PS4 version, combination of 3D camera design and level design, difficulty navigating with few landmarks, designing one's house, logical flow colliding with geometric flow, camera relativity and movement, designing your areas and cinematography around what your camera does well, level length with Halloweentown, visual beats from the films, wishing you were the movie character, letting a moment be a moment, the Hundred Acre Wood, minigames in the Hundred Acre Wood, summons, item synthesis, pro-tips for combat and leveling, lock-on and enemy AI design, strategies for using space in combat, camera design for combat, running different programs, Game Dev Club, Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Peter Pan, Pinocchio, The Little Mermaid, The Wrath of Khan, Final Fantasy IX, Pokémon Red/Blue, Anachronox, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Square Soft, Soul Reaver, Doom, Quake, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Resident Evil 4, Winnie the Pooh, Bambi, The Lion King, Aladdin, Dumbo, Dagur Danielsson, Arkham (series), Ben Zaugg, PlayStation, XBOX, ENIAC, EarthBound. Next time: Finish the game! Link: Brett talks about the end of EarthBound https://twitch.tv/brettdouville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com  

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we finish our series on 1996 Game Boy classic Pokémon Red/Blue. We talk about the tension of the final battles and then of course chat about our lessons and takeaways from the game. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Finishing the Game! Podcast breakdown: 1:15 Pokémon discussion 50:04 Break 50:35 Takeaways and Feedback Issues covered: renaming your rival and Professor Oak chiding him, being less precious about what things are named and such, separating out boxes and pure memory limits, the punk rival, coming full circle, naming your Pokémon, finding the legendaries, our final six, Brett's end-game, whether or not you can buy the elixirs, Tim's Frankensteined Pokémon team, how Brett leveled his top Pokémon, Tim coming down to running out of PP and items to take on the Elite Four, save states in the middle of the Elite Four battles, charging your adrenaline, four color palette, having very tight hardware limitations, squeezing more out of consoles late in hardware lifecycle, dungeons as puzzles, dungeon as palate cleanser and tuning/balancing pinch points, dungeon variety, trainers as gates and auto-grinds and tests of where you should be, map as revealing the order in which you will encounter stuff, the collection mechanics, evolution and collection, unique Pokémon, designing to your hardware constraints, music constraints, the depth of the roshambo, flexibility in supported approaches and player goals, emergent story in individual Pokémon, zany aesthetics of the Pokémon, collecting game play depth, whether playing Pokémon on release would have impacted our design or hardware thinking, most huggable Pokémon. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Metal Gear (series), Ultima Underworld, Final Fantasy IX, God of War, Anachronox, Chrono Trigger, Junichi Masuda, Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, Raymond, Ester Olsen. Next time: Play some Pokémon Let's Go! https://twitch.tv/brettdouville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we are beginning a new series about Grand Theft Auto III. As always, we spend the first episode situating the title in its release time frame and talk a bit about the history of the studio and creators associated with it before turning to the game proper. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through "The Fuzz Ball" Podcast breakdown: 0:37 GTA III discussion 58:48 Break 59:16 Feedback Issues covered: perspectives from Lulu about production, games of 2001, bringing the mafia back into popular entertainment, grabbing the zeitgeist, how to deal with the anti-hero, commercial plays with the gritty follow-up, freshening up a franchise by going dark, not being sold on playing this game, mature with a capital M, still being under the shadow, starting and abandoning GTA IV and skipping GTA V altogether, DMA Design founders, programming-centric company, the top-down camera view, introduction of the Houser brothers, British gangster cinema, writing style and tone changes, film-style credit sequence, iconic characterization and key art, having a gritty New York of the 70s and 80s genre films, blaxploitation, the New Hollywood, leaning into character archetypes, impressive voice cast, using Hollywood-level talent, not needing to use them, unsung high-quality voice talent, cinematic representation of the credits, ambition vs genius, going big and not apologizing, putting the developers forward rather than the actors, making their own myth, a voiceless main character (Claude), voiceless being better in first-person, empty vessel to fill, limited representation, defining characters more as time goes on, the risk of changing the character out from under the player, undirected game, tension between genre and character and story, playing a low-level thug in The Godfather, playing your own sort of character, do players care about the tension, do you have to like the character, the chaos engine and the strong cinematic style, player exploration of the possibility space, separating the chaos and the nihilistic stories, dehumanizing women, punching every which way vs punching down, Brett messes up his punching directions, creative decisions, choosing the ones you put in and don't, presenting a boundary that is itself commentary, choices players can't make due to lack of systems, prostitution in multiple media, the crassest flattest two-dimensional representation of sex work, being a target in the industry, disposable human beings, hope for humanity, craftmanship and talent and lack of responsibility, representing themselves, pushing the player to a nihilistic viewpoint, pushing the player to psychopathic driving, spawning cars to gum up the works, diametrically opposing success and responsible citizenship, not overcrediting them with thinking it through, tongue-in-cheek or not, what if it were visually amazing but everything else was the same, how you get the talent, Brett and Tim the ASMR guys, first-person camera, console-centric development, head bobbing, couch vs monitor, motion sickness and movement and FOV, more complicated than you think, stick movement and aim assist, what's the walkin' around like, frame-dependency, noticing something and being able to describe it, reticle, GTA III memories, returning to GTA III, corrupting the youth, killing jaywalking pedestrians, unexamined biases, kitsch, the first draft and tropes, editing a story due to current events. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Lulu LaMer, Thief, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, System Shock 2, Ico, Silent Hill 2, Anachronox, PlayStation 2, Metal Gear Solid 2, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, SSX Tricky, GameCube, Super Smash Bros, Luigi's Mansion, Pikmin, Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy X, Max Payne, Black & White, Diablo 2, Xbox, Halo, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Rare, Jak & Daxter, Game Boy Advance, Castlevania, Oni, Bungie, The Sopranos, Scorcese, Coppola, Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, Prince of Persia, Jedi Starfighter, Republic Commando, Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA V, Rockstar North/DMA Design, Acme Software, David Jones, Russell Kay, Steve Hammond, Mike Dailly, Crackdown, Lemmings, Take Two, PS1 Classic, Reagent Games, Cloudgine, Epic, the Houser brothers, The Krays, Bob Hoskins, Ian McQue, GTA: Vice City, Robert Loggia, Frank Vincent, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Rapaport, True Romance, Debi Mazar, Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Nolan North, Leslie Benzies, The Godfather: The Game, GTA Online, Eve Online, South Park, Klute, Jane Fonda, Michel Faber, The Crimson Petal and the White, Jean-Paul Sartre, Dungeon Keeper, Jigsaw/Saw, Michael Madsen, Lars from Hamburg, Hitman, Giant Beastcast, Tacoma, Steve Gaynor, The Stanley Parable, Nels Anderson, The Witness, David "Heavens To" Murgatroyd, Fallout, Ray Liotta, Brian Moriarty. Next time: Through "Last Requests" @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we have finally turned our attention to 2000's Deus Ex. In our third episode in the series, we talk about the RPG aspects as far as story goes as well as some obvious influences. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up through the Paris Cathedral Issues covered: mispronouncing the title of the game, bringing in all the story as you get to Hong Kong, level geometry in Hong Kong and getting lost the first time you played it, hearing the proper nouns, the gigantic conspiracy smoothie, pushing conspiracy theories 75 years forward, not being sure who you can trust, can you even trust Tracer Tong, hitting all the technology paranoia (clones, nanomachines, viruses and cures), having time still running while you're hacking/lockpicking, the final destiny of Maggie Chow, cutscenes and enemy AI, mini-games in hacking and lockpicking, player vs character skill in mini-games in BGS games, when mini-games pull you out of the game and when they don't, making hard decisions thematic resonance with hacking/lockpicking, "knucklehead stealth," giving the player lots of options even just to hack and player agency, getting captured by MJ12 in Brett's version and in Tim's, Anna Navarre and "I can see you," forced greets, procedural camera placement, dialog cutscenes in Mass Effect, revealing that you've been in the UNATCO base the whole time, forking level assets, how Alex and Jaime join back up with you if you choose to have them, finding killswitch codes for others, avoiding lethality, reuse of space, having to propagate fixes to multiple spaces, placing your RPG in the real world, connecting the world, globalization and fear and paranoia, naming post-apocalyptic cities, Tim outs my film choices on the podcast, contextualizing the make-up of the world, replaying games and length, engaging with backstory, what we're on about here. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Harry Truman, The X-Files, Millennium, Deus Ex (rest of series), Assassin's Creed (series), Leonardo da Vinci, The Matrix, Cyberpunk 2020, Shadowrun, Thief, Bioshock, Fallout 3/4, Skyrim, Dark Souls, Pipe Dream, LucasArts, Anthony Gallegos, RebelFM, Mass Effect, Anachronox, ION Storm, Eidos, Dishonored 2, Tomb Raider, Fallout 1 & 2, Lord of the Rings (films), Obsidian Entertainment, Alpha Protocol, Metal Gear Solid 2, Darren, Konrad the Canadian. Next time: Finish the game! @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we are finally turning our attention to 2000's Deus Ex. In our first episode in the series, we set the game in its time but also talk about its many connections to other games we've played here on the 'cast. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up to the Airfield Issues covered: ten hours of driving, convergent point in games, early indie dev mentality, formative early career game, a game that became a verb, commitment to multiple paths, merging RPG and action and other systems, branching skill trees, lack of classes, connecting to a more grokkable understanding, creating a subgenre, listening to E3 recaps, setting the game in time, a bunch of engine discussion, multi-route play and accommodating play styles, narrative beats that you can influence, supporting player choice, going super-lethal and being disincentivized, RPGs not tying choices together/mere mechanics, knucklehead stealth, linear tutorial, putting all the plants in the tutorial rooms, bulletproofing a level, blowing off your legs, supporting all the various possibilities, GDC post-Deus Ex, emergent gameplay, supporting a wide variety of player stories in emergent design, engineering around sources generally instead of specific things. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Ion Storm, Ultima (series), Irrational Games, Looking Glass Studios, Warren Spector, Harvey Smith, Anachronox, System Shock, Arkane Studios, Ricardo Bare, Prey, Dishonored II, Austin Grossman, Reed Knight, System Shock 2, Mass Effect (series), Junction Point, Origin Systems, Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher, CD Project Red, Diablo II, Baldur's Gate II, Infinity Engine, Icewind Dale, The Sims, Hitman: Codename 47, Final Fantasy IX, Rainbow Six, Quake III Arena (DreamCast), Daikatana, PS2, Dark Cloud, SSX, Nintendo 64, Perfect Dark, Majora's Mask, Shenmue, Timesplitters, Soldier of Fortune, Elite Force, Bioshock, Escape from Monkey Island, Thief II, Unreal, Half-Life, id Software, Eidos, other Deus Ex titles, GO series, Planescape: Torment, Chris Avellone, Grand Theft Auto 3, Breath of the Wild, Oblivion, Dabominic, The2ndQuest, Link to the Past, Super Mario 64. Next time: Check Twitter for details @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we are beginning a new series about 1995's Star Wars: Dark Forces. We situate the game in its time a bit and then turn to the first three levels of the game, specifically talking about its level design and a bit about squeezing Star Wars into games. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through The Subterranean Hideout Podcast breakdown: 0:46    Segment 1: Dark Forces 49:50  Break 50:25  Segment 2: Feedback Issues covered: Star Wars character class, Bothan spies, Tim as Dark Forces tester, PlayStation version, credits up front, lots of adventure games in 1995, fond memories of DF, faking co-op by phone, project leader Daron Stinnett, prior Star Wars games, level design, not a discipline, innovating beyond DOOM, grounding the level design in architecture, creating a sense of place, increased complexity, verticality, auto-aim, ducking and jumping, lighting, scale of rooms and levels, grounded vs abstract levels, Star Wars economics, using more detail in rooms being visited multiple times, characters and story lines fitting into Star Wars, hunger for new Star Wars stories, loving and respecting Star Wars, building characters on Star Wars archetypes, bringing in Star Wars elements and fitting them into the game, Crix Madine, flexibility with using a new character, mechanics, vertex lighting, enemies who aren't facing your way, reimagining the Williams aesthetic, seeing Star Wars a bunch of times, controls, differences between GOG and Steam versions, Brett's weird keyboard configuration, sliding movement, pace of play, cover shooters, seeing canonical characters in mission briefings, seeing the hive of scum and villainy side of things, leaning on the existing world-building of Star Wars, polygonal Moldy Crow, fixed point and floating point math, seeing a thing in a cutscene and then in-game, levels getting bigger, resources carrying between levels, Brett delivers a punk serenade to the audience, Tim mispronounces "proliferation," pitch docs, DVD-style commentary on Jedi Starfighter, surfacing unreleased content, lack of bang for buck, not showing things that aren't complete, saving stuff for a sequel. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: George Lucas, X-Wing vs TIE Fighter, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, Sierra, The Dig, Phantasmagoria, The Beast Within, The 11th Hour, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, Warcraft 2, Blizzard Entertainment, TIE Fighter, Command and Conquer, Flight Unlimited, Looking Glass Studios, Chrono Trigger, Square, Enix, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice, Descent, Marathon 2, Hexen, DOOM, Daron Stinnett, Starfighter (series), Republic Commando, Outlaws, Jedi Knight, Bioforge, D, Super Star Wars, Rebel Assault I & II, Myst, Reed Knight, Darren Johnson, Kevin Schmidt, Ingar Shu, Matt Tateishi, Ultima Underworld, Anachronox, Mysteries of the Sith, Empire Strikes Back, Clint Bajakian, Half-Life, Amy Hennig, DOOM 3, Wolfenstein, Quake, id Software, Unreal, Descent, Brian Taylor, Buttercup Scratchnsniff, The Ramones, The Platters, Bing Crosby, God of War, Daniel C, Andrew Kirmse, Nathan Martz, Doug Modie, Troy Mashburn, Rich Davis, Halo 5, Arkham (series), Fallout 3. Next time: Through The Death Mark @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we complete our discussion of a pair of very early Sierra adventure games with Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter. We finally hear Tim's story about getting stuck on a game so long it drove him to drink and also get to our takeaways before hitting feedback. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Finished SQ1 Podcast breakdown: 0:43   Segment 1: SQ1 35:35 Break 36:08 Segment 2: Takeaways and Feedback Issues covered: music theft, the Do Not Press button and a return to Daventry, talking to the guards, cross promotion, learning to use your seat belt, the influence of the real world, making jokes out of the topical, Tim's inadvertent hint, inventory objects inside other objects, the importance of looking at things at the right time, getting a hint from the parser, the origin of the pizza orgy, killing Orat with a spider droid, random walk mechanics, hating on the skimmer, Brett gives Tim a pro tip, critical path gambling mini-game, adding in new mechanics, Brett's early skiing game, game play variety, using money in adventure game puzzles, Tim gets stuck, Tim doesn't get a fart joke, being driven to drink, the new verb with the grate, player perspective and the sense of exploration, dramatic/cinematic moments, ignoring the first offer for the skimmer, looking everywhere for a coupon, gadgets and copy protection in the box, story arc and adventure and fantasy fulfillment, aligning the player and the character as far as world knowledge, cognitive dissonance vs ludonarrative dissonance, cinematic presentation, buckazoids in the Longo family, splitting screen spaces as a push for exploration and sense of adventure, where could adventure games go, visual novels and systemic depth, underserved genres, what game would you claim for yourself, games that are hard to get and their influence, buying consoles, has something been lost in change of difficulty, opacity and discovery, finding players who won't look on the Internet, on-demand culture and chasing the next thing, putting the onus back on the game (to keep you enthralled and not searching for answers), creators asking you to not get hints, supporting the right team size. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: ZZ Top/Sharp Dressed Man, Styx, Peter Gunn/The Blues Brothers, Madonna, King's Quest 1, Ken Williams, LucasArts, Secret of Monkey Island, Loom, Grim Fandango, Curse of Monkey Island, Tim Schafer, Dave Grossman, George Lucas, Anachronox, Star Trek, The Corbomite Maneuver, Sierra, Police Quest, Star Wars, Grimm Fairy Tales, Skyrim, StarGate, The City on the Edge of Forever, Joan Collins, Jar-Jar Binks, Derek Achoy, Broken Age, Thimbleweed Park, Machinarium, Ron Gilbert, Telltale Games, Samorost, Amanita Design, Chuchl, X-Files, Wadjet Eye Games, Dave Gilbert, Year Walk, Simogo, Device 6, Sailor's Dream, Aaron Evers, Souls series, Tom Hall, Ultima, Civilization, Zork, Pitfall, Adventure, Atari 2600, Half-Life, Dark Forces, Daron Stinnett, Jeff Buttaccio, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Sega Saturn, Ico, Mario 64, NOLF, Warcraft, Steinar Nedreboe, Jonathan Blow, Braid, The Witness, GDC, Jeff Vogel. Links: Sierra Death Generator Space Quest 3 Promo Space Quest 1 VGA Remake Commercial SQ Docucomedy Panzer Dragoon Saga Next time: Keep an eye on our Twitter as we figure it out! @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we continue to discuss a pair of very early Sierra adventure games, now turning to Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter. We talk a little bit more about adventure games and general and talk about some specific ways this game differs from King's Quest, including its use of space. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up to Planet Kerona Podcast breakdown: 0:45   Segment 1: SQ1 37:19 Break 37:43 Segment 2: Feedback Issues covered: humor in adventure games, obvious influences, nostalgia for Tim, playing adventure games as a shared experience, getting stuck, linear vs open structure/points of no return, not getting the cartridge, stealth game play, fearing death and rushing through the game, quick beginning to the game, how you measure play time, designing around player death, embracing shorter game length, frustration points, inability to predict puzzle pain points, prodding the edges out of frustration, how you QA or player test a game like this, how to innovate or adjust in light of success, knowing whether you can fail, the market at the time, extending a specific audience rather than trying to grow the whole audience, attention to detail and commitment to a consistency of the world, requiring less knowledge from the player, discovery at the same pace as the character, Guybrush Threepwood, from Space Zero to Space Hero, characters who change or that don't, character development over a series, humor, fish out of water, Tim gives Brett a hint (survival kit), use of screen space, explorable spaces, payoff on finding nothing vs keycard, using splitscreen, economical screen use, text adventure structure, dramatic tension, having fun with death and exploring that, double whammy of enemies you can't kill and a timer, the daily chase of the most recent releases, learning as much if not more from an old game, doing a lot with a small team, legendary games we missed out on, picking between systems, classic strategy wargames, getting a survey vs playing in depth, games history and film history, playing the history at LucasArts, the tip line, ickiness of 1-900 numbers. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Sierra, LucasArts, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Star Wars, Tacoma, The Walking Dead, Telltale, Deadline, Republic Commando, Monkey Island, Leisure Suit Larry, Gabriel Knight, Phantasmagoria, Quest for Glory, Al Lowe, Anachronox, Tom Hall, Outlaws, Daron Stinnett, Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, Super Metroid, Out of this World/Another World, Planescape: Torment, Dan Hunter, Guernsey College, Fallout, Skyrim, Zachary Crownover, Unity, Unreal, Derek Achoy, Aaron Evers, Raphael Cornford, Mikkel Lodahl, Dungeons and Dragons, Temple of Elemental Evil, Keep on the Borderlands, Ultima Underworld, M.U.L.E., Commodore 64, Mario (series), Megaman, Bomberman, NES/SNES, Sega Genesis, Flashback, PS2, Atari, IntelliVision, Vectrex, Chuck E. Cheese, Avalon Hill, Art of War, Panzer (series), Larry Holland, HMS Pegasus, Will Wright, Raid on Bungeling Bay, SimCity, SimEarth, SimAnt, Guy Morgan, XCOM, Soul Reaver, Game Boy Pocket, Link's Awakening, Discworld, Psygnosis, Activision, Infocom, Vivendi. Next time: Finish Space Quest! @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

This week the gang are talking JRPGs, or Japanese role-playing games to use words. Does a game have to be made in Japan to be a JRPG? Or does it just need bright colours and turn-based battles? We seek to understand the true meaning of the genre by stumbling over dozens of games and deciding whether or not they’re allowed into the JRPG treehouse. Katharine reckons if it isn’t made in Japan, it can get out. Adam thinks the US-made Anachronox counts. And Brendan is happy to apply the label to Undertale, or anything with lots of townspeople to speak to. Links: Spawn point - The best JRPGs for beginners: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/02/16/spawn-point-the-best-jrpgs-for-total-beginners/ Have you played... Anachronox? https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/09/30/anachranox-retro/ It’s on GOG if not! https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/03/15/the-wait-is-over-anachronox-is-on-gog-com/ Final Fantasy XV is coming to PC soon: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/01/16/final-fantasy-xv-pc-release-date/ Katharine’s Final Fantasy XV interview: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/02/20/final-fantasy-15-mod-support-essential/ The trailer for Kingsglaive, the film you need to watch to understand FFXV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htnkOpknGok Final Fantasy XV will have co-op multiplayer: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/02/20/final-fantasy-xvs-co-op-expands-with-its-pc-launch/ Have you played… Final Fantasy VII? https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/06/29/have-you-played-final-fantasy-vii/ Kotaku’s Found in Translation for Final Fantasy VII: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZefYEaNUJ7w&list=PLsiJPoHlPqEEA07AKMQ2Hm2oRLiGkR_uJ Space Funeral is the best IJRPG ever: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/10/31/the-50-best-free-games-on-pc/42/ What’s Hyperdimension Neptunia? https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/11/03/hyperdimension-neptunia-rebirth3-v-generation-pc/ Recettear (it’s pronounced racketeer) review: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/09/11/wot-i-think-recettear-an-item-shops-tale/ The Secret of Mana remake is out: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/02/15/secret-of-manas-3d-remake-is-out-now-on-steam/ Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 is definitely a JRPG: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/08/05/the-legend-of-heroes-trails-of-cold-steel-released-on-pc/

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we are are just finishing our series on 1998's Japanese stealth classic Metal Gear Solid. We talk about the end of the game and some narrative choices there that we like and then discuss our pillars for the game. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: To the end! Podcast breakdown: 0:41 End of MGS 1:00:48 Break 1:01:22 Pillars and feedback Issues covered: 100 episodes, Tim moving out, extravagant endings in the series, intercutting action scenes, turning codecs into cutscenes later, economic storytelling through codecs and audio diaries, conversational audio diaries, utilizing VO in interesting ways, Brett's new keyboard, the interesting dynamics of the Vulcan Raven battle, cat and mouse, Brett forgets the word "claymore," multiple ways of defeating Raven, using the AI's rules against them, boss/level design/camera synergy, Brett skips a cutscene and has to redo the battle, backtracking and stretching time, cool alloys, keeping a balance between being cool and usability, camera shot of Revolver noticing that Solid is outside the room (sort of a double reversal on the player), hanging out in the cold or hot rooms, Master Miller and throwing Naomi under the bus and yet still being Liquid, Tim recants his feeling that there should be a MGSVI, small universe problem, Chewbacca effect, Naomi and Gray Fox, the Ocelot effect, Ocelot and Liquid reunited, Liquid monologuing outside of Rex, going toe-to-toe with Rex, RoboCop vs ED 209, forcing you to be bold, Liquid as the boss who never dies, Gray Fox confessing his sins, hand-to-hand fighting with Liquid on top of Rex and the uncertain fate of Meryl, the reveal about FoxDie, cloning and the relationship between multiple characters, Dolly the cloned sheep, being the soldier of the century, James Bond themes, Snake Eater, The Man Who Saved The World, two more monkeys jumping on the bed, differences in the endings, jeep battle, low turn rate, tracers, having a third big battle, end-game balance for normal difficulty, Jim Harrison (the politician behind it all), Meryl and Snake riding off into the sunset on their snowmobile, wrapping up themes of love blooming on the battlefield, different endings, juxtaposing the scientific/techy stuff with the philosophical talk, Hal and Dave (joking at the end), post-credits sequence and the Iditarod, writing yourself into corners and cliffhangers, retconning to fit story stuff together, comic book writing and story structure for serialization, commitment to narrative and cinematic presentation, in-engine cutscenes, hardware-acceleration on the PS1, bilinear filtering, best B movies, letting your freak flag fly, all of ones loves and fears being in a game, being generous as an artist, committing to stealth gameplay, high lethality, voice acting, fictional context, experimentation with mechanics, bringing you back through the evolution of mechanics, adding mechanics from a competing or more recent game into a remake, upsetting the balance, new game plus mechanics, new game plus plus and a tuxedo, immersive sims. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: System Shock 2, Metal Gear (series), James Bond, Star Trek, Ron Gilbert, Star Wars, RoboCop, Halloween (Michael Myers), Spy Who Loved Me, The Last Samurai, 2001: A Space Odyssey, George Lucas, Indiana Jones (series), Empires Strikes Back, Final Fantasy VII, Voodoo hardware, Anachronox, Thief, Death Stranding, Guillermo del Toro, Silent Hills, Silent Hill 2, P.T., LeraAtwater, Michael Baker, Silicon Knights, Shigeru Miyamoto, Denis Dyack, Ben "from Iowa" Zaugg, Christian, Travis, Michael, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, Looking Glass, Origin Systems, Warren Spector, Doug Church, Ultima VII, Good Old Games, Prey, The Elder Scrolls: Arena. Next time: Ultima Underworld Level 1 @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

We're talking about remakes, remasters and recurrent nightmares. What would we like to see remade? Katharine wouldn’t mind a spruced up Deus Ex. Brendan thinks a rejigged Assassin’s Creed could work (how perverse). While Adam doesn’t want any of his loves remade, lest they pollute his fond memories (OK, maybe Pathologic 2). However, the real question is what games from today will be remade in the distant future? Links: Remaking old adventure games is bad, says Ron Gilbert: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/11/22/when-is-it-ok-to-remake-a-classic-game/ Okami HD review: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/12/18/okami-hd-review-pc/ Pathologic remake confusingly renamed Pathologic 2: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/08/31/pathologic-remake-renamed-pathologic-2/ Have you played… Doom II? https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/05/24/have-you-played-doom-ii-hell-on-earth/ How Doom’s Glory Kills maintain momentum: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/07/15/doom-glory-kills-mechanic/ Everything you need to know about Final Fantasy XII: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/01/29/spawn-point-what-to-know-about-final-fantasy-xii/ Underworld Ascendant is a bit of an Ultima Underworld remake: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/10/14/underworld-ascendant/ Prey review: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/05/09/prey-review/ Resident Evil 2 remake is in the works at Capcom: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/08/16/resident-evil-2-remake/ Can you SURVIVE the evil!? https://youtu.be/lgAJB9Q2LzM?t=13s Grow Home’s flailing hero is a good robot: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/09/23/how-grow-home-uses-maths-to-generate-a-personality/ Adam talks to a nice man in Budapest: https://twitter.com/noneconomical/status/958381777155969029 Assassin’s Creed’s post-murder chatting: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/06/05/have-you-played-assassins-creed/ Have you played… Anachronox? https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/09/30/anachranox-retro/ The god game From Dust: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/07/27/from-dust-review/ Have you played… Startopia? https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/03/22/startopia-retrospective/ Psst! You can play No One Lives Forever for free: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/07/05/no-one-will-sell-no-one-lives-forever-so-lets-download-it/ The cancelled Legacy of Kain game, Dead Sun: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/02/24/legacy-of-kain-dead-sun-cancelled/ The long road to Timesplitters Rewind: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/06/06/timesplitters-rewind-pc/

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we are midway through our series on 1998's Japanese stealth classic Metal Gear Solid. We talk about frustration, the various bosses, and a bit about one-offs. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up through the torture scene Podcast breakdown: 0:40      MGS 1:03:10 Break 1:03:45 Feedback Issues covered: the history of "snake style," sources of frustration, Brett's psychological makeup, frustration in boss battles, the point of no return, finding the mine detector, using the cardboard box, getting through the lasers, using first person, smoking to reveal beams, gadget use in espionage movies, suddenly encountering a tank, stealth mechanics and the tank, tropes and cultural appropriation, 80s movies, elevating a bad B movie into a good B movie, committing to your melodrama, geopolitical themes and the military-industrial complex, subtext about game development, difficulty and frustration with Cyber Ninja, wall boss, human-sized bosses, grounding the game even in its strangeness, bosses can be characters, breaking the fourth wall with Psycho Mantis, reading the memory card, psychological warfare, cutscene leading up to his face reveal, ridiculous backtracking for the sniper rifle, beating Sniper Wolf and getting captured anyway, limited control in the cinematic, Revolver taunting you, focusing on scenes, voice acting video (link in the notes), briefing cutscene, taking joy in our lives despite their problematic elements, assuaging our guilt, carpal tunnel issues, posture issues. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: LucasArts, Star Wars: Starfighter, Chris McGee, Andrew Kirmse, Matty Alan Estock, Portal, Day of the Tentacle, Dave Grossman, Tim Schafer, Samus Returns, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, The Wrong Trousers, Nick Park, Metal Gear (NES), Hideo Kojima, James Bond, Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Batman, Escape from New York, The Great Santini, Brawl in Cell Block 99, S. Craig Zahler, Bone Tomahawk, Kurt Russell, Death Stranding, Eternal Darkness, Magneto, Hellboy, Darth Vader, The Incredibles, GoldenEye, Mark Garcia, Ben Hanson, Game Informer, Uncharted, The Last of Us, Drew/Tim Homan, Jeremy Blaustein, Silent Hill 2/3, Anachronox, Björn Johansson, Peacewalker, William Rance, Bleemcast/Dreamcast, Aaron Giles, Revengeance, John Yorke, Pro Evolution Soccer, Phil Yorke, Zone of the Enders, Derek Achoy, Super Mario Odyssey, Nels Anderson, Lyndsey Gallant, Tacoma, Mass Effect 2 & 3, Xbox, COBOL, Thief. Links: GI The Inside Story of Recording Metal Gear Solid MGS Briefing Call Me Snake Errata: Brett was confusing Matt Zoller Seitz with S. Craig Zahler. We regret the error. Aaron Giles was in fact involved with the Connectix software Virtual Game Station. Next time: Finish the game! @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com