Dev Game Club

Latest Episodes:

DGC Ep 403: Heroes of Might and Magic (part three) Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we conclude our series on Heroes of Might and Magic. We confess that we should have learned more about this game before we tried it, and then turn to takeaways and email. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played: Some... more?

Issues covered: games we've fallen down on, the commitment, why we don't play certain genres, falling short, the possibility of finding guest hosts, game selection moving forward, having a tech tree in the manual but things we missed, board games and picking up strategy, hot seat multiplayer, modernizing the series, the limits of the audience, adding narrative, the heroes off the battlefield, June alert, whether you should do something, thinking about the computer audience, clarity and taste, how you present the information to the player in the manual, ramping up the campaign, "board games can be fun," creating your own space, learning design from board games, enjoying the tactical map, coming up with the names for things, not overthinking it, deepening and alienating people, machinima, stories from The Sims, boxes from the past.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Waypoint, Austin Walker, Patrick Klepek, Danielle Riendeau, MegaMan, GTA III, Final Fantasy Tactics, Kaeon, Dwarf Fortress, Artimage, The Sims, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Smash Brothers, NES/SNES, Apple ][, Lode Runner, Wizardry, Final Fantasy VI, Ubisoft, Jurassic Park, Jeff Goldblum, Slay the Spire, Civilization, X-COM, Warhammer, Andrew Kirmse, mysterydip, Bethesda Game Studios/Zenimax, Notch, Halo, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Battlefront, Battlezone, Jeffool, Red vs Blue, Quake, Tacoma, PUBG, LucasArts, Father Beast, Margot Robbie, Barbie, Ashton Herrmann, Lords of Magic, Lords of the Realm, Stonekeep, Interplay, Day of the Tentacle, Burn: Cycle, Phantasmagoria, Tony Rowe, Trespasser, Bill Roper, Warcraft, Diablo, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time: TBA!

Note: I think the person Tim was thinking of is Natalie Watson. We regret our lack of memory. Also note: Philip Johnson is the architect Brett was thinking of, with his "Glass House" in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Twitch: timlongojr Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

DGC Ep 402: Heroes of Might and Magic (part two) Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we start a new series on Heroes of Might and Magic. We talk about the boardgame of it all and where the vibes are with this one, among other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played: Some standard, some campaign

Issues covered: hearing the journey and thoughts of our listeners, deep regrets about Megaman, games that scare us, learning the patterns, hearing about the Final Fantasy thoughts, learning about FF15 at two different publishers, a game you can't pick up and play for an hour, seeking out a full game experience, dialing down the map challenge, a more dense map, lots of map options, seeing a new map, considering whether the maps are generated algorithmically, playing a little too disposably, how this game might be played, lack of boardgame clarity, extreme depth, depth of the tactical mode, opacity and complexity, the aesthetics of the time, dormant franchises vs active ones, lacking iteration and interaction on the design and with the players, possible outcomes from opacity, balance in defending the castles, how slowly should I move on the map, getting over the hump, getting services in The Sims, kind words about the 'cast.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Kaeon, Biostats, CalamityNolan, Megaman, Day of the Tentacle/Maniac Mansion, Contra, Cuphead, Andrew Kirmse, Full Throttle, Dark Souls, Belmont, Final Fantasy (series), Jason Schreier, Mark Garcia, LostLake, Metal Gear Solid V, Crystal Dynamics, Tomb Raider (2013), Square Enix, Eidos, Halo Infinite, 343 Industries, The Sims, X-COM, Soren Johnson, Civilization, Jurassic Park, Wizardry, Ubisoft, New World Computing, Infogrammes, Dwarf Fortress, Avalon Hill, Universal Paperclips, Frank Lantz, G, Tristan, Stone Librande, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers.

Next time: More of HOMM!

Twitch: timlongojr Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Discord Game Club Episode 5 Sep 04, 2024

Show notes

Friends from the Discord discussing their recent parallel play of Final Fantasy XV! We return to Heroes of Might and Magic next week.

Next time: Another Discord Game Club

Twitch: timlongojr Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Discord Game Club Episode 4 Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

Friends from the Discord provide some audio from back in December, and we've been dropping it in here from time to time when our schedules get tight. (Tim is traveling this week and next and time is short!) We'll return to Heroes of Might and Magic in two weeks.

Next time: Another Discord Game Club

Twitch: timlongojr Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

DGC Ep 401: Heroes of Might and Magic (part one) Aug 21, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we start a new series on Heroes of Might and Magic. We set the game a little in its time, talk about the way the game creates a divergent path from other tactical turn-based combat games. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played: Some tutorial, some standard, some campaign

Issues covered: the multiverse/divergent evolution, a game that wasn't copied, long games, setting the game in its time, moving more to real-time combat, finite audiences, action became important for larger audiences, the experimentation in the space, the unexpected battle map, an automated complicated board game, tabletop wargaming, wondering how you get from the main series to this, SSI's path, playing the tutorial, the early game, resources and time and other elements, the city view, generating armies and garrisoning, other things that buildings provide, the hero doesn't fight, choosing your heroes and what units you get, retreating and surrendering, leveling your heroes, not being expected to win the first game, the world map, exploring and watching the world map progress, considering multiplayer, metaphors for humanity (computing, industry, alignments, attributes), grinding, wanting cinematography controls in in-game cutscenes, deleting the chip bag, giving the cheats, #PecsAndGlutesForLyfe.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Ubisoft, New World Computing, Jon Van Caneghem, Final Fantasy Tactics, X-COM, Populous, Black & White, Marvel Midnight Suns, Freedom Force, Wildermyth, Civilization, Richard Garriott, Kaeon, NES/SNES, Chrono Trigger, Dark Forces, Full Throttle, Jagged Alliance, Dragon Quest VI, Rayman, Hexen, Suikoden, PlayStation, Warcraft 2, The Dig, Twisted Metal, Kings Field 2, Command & Conquer, Total Annihilation, World of Warcraft, Fallout, Firaxis, Final Fantasy (series), Baldur's Gate, Diablo, David Brevik, Archon, Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Chivalry, Dungeons & Dragons, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, Commandos, SSI, Ultima (series), Eye of the Beholder, Cinemaware, Defender of the Crown, Taylor, The Sims, Majora's Mask, GURPS, Baron, Shadow Tactics, Tacoma, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, Metal Gear Solid (series), Halo, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Braid, Quake, Daron Stinnett, Celeste, Jeffool, Final Fantasy VI, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time: More of HOMM!

Twitch: timlongojr Discord https://t.co/h7jnG9J9lz DevGameClub@gmail.com

DGC Ep 400: Bonus Interview with Tony Rowe Aug 14, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we revisit our series on Trespasser: The Lost World with an interview with Tony Rowe, who did QA on the title. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Podcast breakdown: 00:49 Interview 1:13:20 Break 1:13:55 Outro

Issues covered: time to take out the prehistoric trash, getting in, doubling up the QA team, the clay model of an island, having to rebuild the island, cutting a more open level, the empty plantation house, Microsoft Hiking Simulator, the bowling shirt, how long games took at the time, rising expectations, developing a software renderer, length of time and risk, entirely procedurally driving the critters, using a hill to escape a dinosaur, everything being a box, exploding physics boxes, choosing procedural animation, saying yes to too many things, a richer first person experience, locking the arm, emergent gameplay, a different context, building a separate demo level, overtime/double time/golden time, lack of friction, the floating plants, taking the blame, programming and managing at the same time, video game history and documenting game development, influences later, making it hard for game stores, dinosaur brains and subtlety, cranking up the anger, the importance of preservation, regressing bugs and test plans.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Star Wars, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Jurassic Park, Dreamworks, Electronic Arts, Spark Unlimited, LucasArts, Force Unleashed (series), First Assault, Drexel University, Greg Knight, Interweave, WayForward Technologies, Microshaft: Winblows 98, X-Fools, Star Warped, MYST, PYST, Parroty Interactive, Monopoly, Spielberg, Katzenberg, David Geffen, DOOM, Neverhood, Dark Forces, Skyrim, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, PS3, Microsoft 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, AMD, Quake, 3dfx Voodoo2, Dreamcast, PS2, Seamus Blackly, Looking Glass, Terranova: Strike Force Centauri, Richard Wyckoff, Austin Grossman, Andrew Grant, Tai-Fu, Small Soldiers, Crystal Dynamics, Noah Hughes, Kung Fu Panda, Unreal, Clive Barker's Undying, Fall Guys, 3D Studio MAX, Starfighter, Video Game History Foundation, Phil Salvador, Frank Cifaldi, UNESCO, Dinosaur Train, Terry Izumi, Clint Hocking, Far Cry 2, Half-Life 2, Octodad, Eidos, Spectre, Max Spielberg, Jet Lucas, Assassin's Creed, David Wolinsky, Apple ][, The Sims, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time: TBA!

Links: David Wolinsky's Interview with Steven Horowitz

Twitch: timlongojr Discord https://t.co/h7jnG9J9lz DevGameClub@gmail.com

DGC Ep 399: Interview with Jordan Mechner Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we revisit our series on rotoscoping with a fun chat with Jordan Mechner, of Karateka, Prince of Persia, and The Last Express fame. We also talk about his new graphic memoir: Replay, Memoir of an Uprooted Family. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Podcast breakdown: 00:50 Interview 1:01:50 Break 1:02:03 Outro

Issues covered: his history, train trips, caricatures and making stuff, not living up to the greats, improvising into his games, animation not holding up, filming his mother's karate teacher, his father, and his brother, handcrafting for rotoscoping, taking silent film classes, cross-cutting and wipes, the moment it came to live, the power of abstraction vs the uncanny valley, the impact on what we wanted for animation, caricature and capturing someone, finding the essence of a person, specialization and stepping into direction, drawing ten real people and getting into the graphic memoir, caricature and selling the big moments of small animations, abstraction and universality, adapting to higher resolution, breaking the illusion of interactivity, not being photorealistic but still having the nuance of real actors, highly compressible art and fluidity, uncanny valley of interactivity, picking the right constraints, the train's limitations enabling the possibility of depth, the fascination of interactive theater, holding up better, physical recording separated from voice, allowing for improvisation or variability, being attracted to historical fiction, his family's history, drawing the real things into the memoir, experience, technical nuance and caricature, moments of impactful character interactions, committing to a high bar.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Karateka, Prince of Persia, The Last Express, Smoking Car Productions, Disney, Replay: Memoir of an Uprooted Family, LucasArts, Space Invaders, Apple, Hitchcock, Thief of Baghdad, Sabu, Conrad Veidt, 1001 Nights, MAD Magazine, Al Hirschfeld, Frank Sinatra, Broderbund, Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud, MYST, Dragon's Lair, Buster Keaton, Robyn Miller, The 7th Guest, Rebel Assault, GTA, Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot, Deadline, The Witness, Infocom, Sleep No More, Assassin's Creed, Zoetrope Studios, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Seven Samurai, Fathom, Michael Turner, The Last of Us, Uncharted, Templar, Count of Monte Cristo, Emily, Michel Ancel, Eric Chahi, Ubisoft, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time: TBA!

Links: Jordan Mechner's website

Twitch: timlongojr Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Discord Game Club Episode 3 Aug 01, 2024

Show notes

Taking another tricky scheduling week as an opportunity to run this second interview by BioStats and CalamityNolan, this time of KyleAndError13. See you next week.

Next time: An interview, we hope!

Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

DGC Ep 398: The Sims (part four) Jul 24, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on 2000's The Sims. We give some anecdotes, Tim builds his own from the ground up, and of course, we turn to our takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played: A few more hours

Issues covered: losing the alien, making the middle-of-the-road character, pecs and glutes, not being able to hire, having to have someone work on the house full time, the light bulbs need replacement, building a house from scratch, a one-room apartment, getting to know your Sim by them walking around, the dread setting in, finding a daily schedule, the newspaper, managing one of the Sims, the chaos of several Sims, figuring out the daily morning routine, getting repeatedly burgled, fighting for detente, finding perfect synchrony, a lonely Sim existence, proactive socialization and obligations, preferring the remove of fantasy or science fiction, how you feel about this game at different points in life, finding other demographics, object encapsulation, gravity wells, attaching animation to the objects themselves, the online stories of the Sims, high value UI choices, realism leading to anxiety, finding the right level of abstraction but simulating a lot of life, breadth and depth, a wider range of feelings, progression vs maintenance, exposing the bars all the time, the design choices we make and the commentary that results, astrological signs, the things I thought about, Zen and the importance of weekends, teams make games.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Mr. Rogers, Piet Mondrian, Bob Newhart, Mia Goth, Will Wright, Grand Theft Auto, SimCity, Sid Meier, Animal Crossing, Nintendo Switch, Portal (obliquely), Halo, World of Warcraft, Maxis, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time: ?

Links: Alice and Kev (Sims 3 story)

Animal Crossing Mom

Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

DGC Ep 397: The Sims (part three) Jul 17, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on The Sims. We talk about a dark spiral, read some poetry, the problem of having enough time, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played: A few more hours

Issues covered: alien life, Windows snippet tool vs print screen, not saving, random seeds, introducing a chaos event, theorizing about end games for careers, Tim's persistent chip bag, forums and forever games, games you can play daily, free-to-play mobile games, appointment-based gaming, min/maxing psychology, selling the kids' doll house for food, Dianne being negative, "I'm too depressed to even look at myself," lack of weekends, two Sims having a day off, a podcast first, multiple burners, having to closely manage Bob's fun, the Sims for therapy, externalizing developer feelings of 21st century life, using the room meter to understand what needs to be done, the ultimate plate-spinning game, "did you know that love could be lucrative?," falling in love to increase your net worth, 3D characters and a 2D environment, modding goals and having 3D characters, dimetric vs isometric, revisiting gender normativity, liking problematic things, listening to their audience, how you might approach things the second time around, remastering Final Fantasy VI, a party of side characters, two automated characters healing each other.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: SimCity, Dianne Feinstein, Apple ][, Farmville, Diner Dash, Bejeweled, Animal Crossing, Sims Online, Maxis, Firaxis, Ensemble Studios, Terry Pratchett, Mia Goth, Halo, Kenneth Koch, David Sedaris, Diablo, Quake, Tomb Raider, Super Mario 64, Michael, EA, Wing Commander, Anita Sarkeesian, Northern Exposure, Starfighter, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia, Final Fantasy VI, BioStats, Kaeon, Unity, Final Fantasy Tactics, Cloud Strife, Apocalypse Now.

Next time: A few more hours and maybe finish with The Sims

Links: Here's an audio recording of the poet Kenneth Koch reading his poem

Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

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