Game Theory Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Game Theory 20: Hiatus May 21, 2013

Recorded on May 21, 2013 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

Brian, Jim, and Tom discuss their plans to put the show on hold for a while. Jim is taking a road trip (follow that here) and Brian’s got a new baby in the house.

We intended to publish this right after Episode 19, but the reasons above contributed to extra delay.

We’ll let you know via this website or the podcast feed when we start up again, but we don’t expect to record any episodes this summer.

Game Theory 19: Streamlining May 21, 2013

Recorded on May 21, 2013 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

Streamlining - the way the sequels of a game, or games in a genre are re-worked to be simpler, easier - sometimes even with a dramatically transformed core mechanic - is covered in this live episode.

Brian also adds nostalgia to the discussion list. The group talks about the way we hold old, complicated games in reverence (as well as the resurgence of kickstartered ‘homage’ games). They also discuss what makes a sequel good or bad, and whether, as a rule, you should play the latest game in a series.

Referenced items:

World of Warcraft,
Nerf,
Community Building - Tobold,
How Microsoft Labs Invented a New Science of Play - Wired,
Eve Online,
XCom UFO Defense,
Isometric Game,
Bioshock 2,
Defender,
Stargate,
Halo,
Jaws 2,
Assassin’s Creed,
Grand Theft Auto,
Jason Statham,
Steve McQueen,
Mass Effect,
Desert Bus,
Fallout,
Elder Scrolls,
Madden NFL,
Tiger Woods Golf,
Tony Hawk Pro Skater,
SSX Snowboarding,
San Francisco Rush,
The Walking Dead,
Sam and Max,
Monkey Island,
Harry Potter,
Hunger Games,
Star Wars: Episode 1,
The Matrix: Reloaded,
King’s Quest V,
Space Quest,
Maniac Mansion,
Larry David,
National Public Radio,
Portal,
Killzone,
Gears of War,
Legend of Zelda,
Fallout,
Everquest,
Super Meat Boy,
World of Tanks,
Social Fabric - Tobold,
Red Dead Redemption,
Half Life,
Goldeneye,
Super Mario Bros.,
Doom,
The New SimCity,
Diablo Three.

Game Theory 18: Marketing Mar 26, 2013

Recorded on March 26th, 2013 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

Now that video games are big business - perhaps bigger than movies - they have advertising and promotional budgets to match. It is common to see video games promoted in a way similar to other mass media - billboards and television ads.

The group talks about the way they learn about games, keep up on game news (or at least used to) and the way game reviews and metacritic scores are handled.

They also discuss their game buying strategy, when (if ever) to preorder, and how they track game sales.

Referenced items:

PAX East 2013,
Borderlands Two,
Simcity (new),
A Question of Competence - Tobold,
Square Enix CEO Stepping Down,
Indie Game: The Movie,
Super Meat Boy,
X-Com Enemy Unknown,
Bioshock: Infinite,
Diablo Three,
Guild Wars Two,
World of Warcraft,
Spaceteam,
Rogue WiFi at Super Bowl - Ars,
Elder Scrolls: Skyrim,
Fez,
Minecraft,
The Castle Doctrine,
Steam Greenlight,
Spy Party,
Kickstarter,
Planetary Annihilation,
FTL,
Planescape Torment,
God of War,
Gears of War,
Jerry Bruckheimer,
How Early Reviews Hurt Sales - Ars,
Kill Screen Daily,
GameSpy,
IGN,
Why We Avoid Metacraitic - Ars,
The Verge,
Engadget,
Gizmodo,
Tom Bissell - Grantland,
Catherine,
Daring Fireball,
Joystiq,
Kotaku,
1up,
I’m sorry, Marcus - Quarter to Three,
Steam Mobile,
Humble Indie Bundle,
When TED Lost Control - HBR,
EFF,
Child’s Play,
Gabe Newell Left 4 Dead Sale- Shack News,
Kingdoms of Amalur,
Stephen King,
Chromehounds,
G4 Channel,
e-Sports,
Call of Duty is Making Us Dumb - PAR,
Curling,
PS4 Video Sharing,
Counterstrike,
League of Legends,
Letterpress,
Anno 2070,
Red Dead Redemption,
Why I Played Bioshock on Easy - PAR,
SLI Graphics.

Game Theory 17: (Anti) Social Mar 11, 2013

Recorded on March 11, 2013 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

Online games purportedly exist to bring us together and create memorable communal experiences. Few mainstream games actively cultivate positive interactions among their players. Players, particuarly when they are fired up and competitive, can get pretty rough.

Tom reminds Brian and Jim that they are all elitist jerks, and Brian discusses his internal conflict when players use certain types of language while they trash talk.

It is good to take a stand and to shift social norms, but it is not clear how to find an effective way to engage players in this context.

Referenced items:

World of Tanks,
Halo,
Skype,
Ventrilo,
Teamspeak,
League of Legends,
PA Report - Riot Games,
World of Warcraft,
Journey,
Little Big Planet 2,
Left For Dead,
Valve Anti Cheating,
EvE online,
4Chan,
Stack Exchange,
Call of Duty,
Modern Warfare,
Not in the Kitchen Anymore (NSFW),
Fat, Ugly or Slutty (NSFW),
Tropes Against Women in Video Games,
Barrens Chat,
Counterstrike,
Street Fighter Two,
Farmville,
Simcity,
Copenhagen Game Collective
Johann Sebastian Joust,
Dark Room Sex Game,
Guitar Hero,
Rock Band.

Game Theory 16: Sex and Violence Feb 20, 2013

Recorded on February 20th, 2013 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

Examples of sex and violence in video games are often trotted out as the root cause of many of society’s ills. Stepping away from the drama, are video games materially different than, say, movies?

Brian laments the fact that we don’t have many interesting examples of love and romance in video games. Jim’s been playing available interpretations as they are released, and Tom optimistically reminds us that we’re still in early days as far as the medium is concerned.

Referenced items:

Thoughts About App Store Curation,
Video Games and the Human Condition,
Fifty Shades of Grey,
Postal,
Manhunt,
Call of Duty,
Top 10 Movies,
Top 10 Games,
Just Dance 4,
NBA Jam,
Madden NFL,
Lego Batman,
Call of Duty,
Halo,
Grantland - Spec Ops the Line,
Sexposition,
Mass Effect,
Grantland - Mass Effect Three,
Fable,
Skyrim,
Catherine,
Karateka,
Spec Ops the Line,
Natural Born Killers,
Bioshock,
Doom,
Cut the Rope,
FarmVille,
Infinity Blade,
Mortal Kombat,
Death Race,
Peggle,
Angry Birds,
Minecraft,
Clear Vision Two,
Skinner Box,
No Violence Please, We’re Gamers,
Rethinking Mass Murder,
Gears of War,
Killzone,
Mirror’s Edge,
Heat,
Kill Bill,
Let The Right One In,
Portal,
Dating Sim,
Leisure Suit Larry,
Scenes From a Marriage,
Heavy Rain,
The Witcher,
God of War,
Duke Nukem,
The Player,
The Mummy,
G.I. Joe,
Girls Gone Wild,
Two and a Half Men,
Anna Anthropy,
Proteus,
Dear Esther,
Thirty Flights of Loving.

Game Theory 15: Design Innovation Feb 11, 2013

Recorded on February 11th with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

This is not the oft-promised indie episode - it is something much better! When thinking about what he liked about indie games, Jim realized the aspect that he wanted to discuss was the innovative design elements in many of his favorite games.

Innovative games often represent a thought experiment or a deliberate isolation or exaggeration of a specific game mechanic or component. This means that often, short form and indie games are the right format for this investigation.

Brian also finally gets to complain about pixel art, and Tom startles the group with a shocking (ok, mildly interesting) confession.

Referenced items:

Match Three Game,
Portal,
Pong,
Doom,
Outsider Art,
Legend of Zelda,
Super Mario Bros.,
Dune Two,
Literature of Exhaustion,
Memento,
Tower Defense,
Bejeweled,
Limbo,
Fl0w,
Osmos,
Ingmar Bergman,
Stephen Merchant,
Electroplankton,
Biophilia,
Sonic the Hedgehog,
Alien vs. Predator (FPS),
Journey,
Left 4 Dead,
Halo,
Hundreds,
Galcon,
ToeJam and Earl,
Earthworm Jim,
Battletoads,
World of Goo,
Shadow of the Colossus,
Ico,
Kinectimals,
Kinect Party,
Mario Party,
WarioWare,
Kongregate,
Raving Rabbids,
Mirror’s Edge,
Dungeon Keeper,
Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman,
Hoard,
Starcraft,
Sim Life,
Spore,
Eve Online,
Red Dead Redemption,
World of Tanks,
Half Life,
Counter-Strike,
X-Com: UFO Defense,
X-Com: Enemy Unknown,
10,000,000,
PixelJunk,
Ni No Kuni,
Studio Ghibli,
Dishonored,
Mass Effect,
Dungeon Raid,
Pinball Arcade,
Medieval Madness,
Cirqus Voltaire,
Pin*Bot,
Black Knight 2000,
Waking Mars,
Sid Meier’s Pirates!,
Lili,
Letterpress.

Game Theory 14: Distribution Jan 21, 2013

Recorded on January 21st, 2013 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

Tom runs through a brief history of video game distribution, starting with arcade consoles and ending with digital distribution stores. A number of trends are identified: transition from physical (resellable) objects to software licenses, certification programs driven by the game distributors and the gradually lowering bar for distribution that now supports ‘indie’ game development.

Links to referenced items:

Super Missile Attack,
Missile Command,
Atari,
Nolan Bushnell,
Sente Technologies,
Pac-Man,
Ms. Pac-Man,
Midway Games,
Namco,
Burning Wheel,
Atari 2600,
Activision,
Imagic,
Nintendo,
Sony,
Microsoft,
Gamestop,
EA,
Deadly Towers,
Floppy Disk,
CD-ROM,
Copy Protection,
Infocom,
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego,
Blizzard,
Diablo Three,
Sim City,
Final Fantasy,
Blockbuster,
iOS App Store,
Stardock Central,
Steam,
Amazon Kindle,
Wal-Mart,
Humble Indie Bundle,
Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates,
World of Tanks,
XBox Live,
PSN,
Nintendo eShop,
Geometry Wars,
Sega Channel,
Atari Gameline,
Temple Run,
Square,
Chaos Rings,
Nintendo DS,
PS Vita,
How long should a game be? - Tobold
Google Play,
Sideload,
Androminion,
Ingress,
Endgame: Syria
Elder Scrolls Online,
App Store Curation - Jonathan Blow,
Angry Birds,
Fifty Shades of Grey,
The Smurfberry Affair - GigaOM,
Zynga,
Farmville,
Popcap,
Mafia Wars,
Rovio,
Cow Clicker,
X-Com: Enemy Unknown,
Ten Million,
Dungeon Raid,
Puzzle Quest,
Letterpress,
The Walking Dead,
Mass Effect,
Halo Four,
Assassin’s Creed Three,
Dishonored,
Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Game Theory 13: Game of the Year Jan 07, 2013

Recorded on January 7th, 2013 with Brian Fife, James Fingal, and Thomas Westberg.

Jim, Brian and Tom start the new year with new audio equipment, a stack of new games to play and a summary of the top/memorable games of 2012.

When forced to summarize the year in gaming, the group talks about the development of conceptual / experimental indie games in the vein of Journey and Unfinished Swan, as well as a rash of kickstarter games and retro-remakes.

Links to referenced items:

Assassin’s Creed Three,
X:Com: Enemy Unknown,
Halo Four,
Dishonored,
The Walking Dead (Video Game),
The Walking Dead (Hardcover),
Dog Slippers,
Comet’s Tale,
Gotye,
PAR’s Gaming Canon,
Ars’ Games of the Year,
Beverly Hillbillies,
Journey,
thatgamecompany,
World of Tanks,
Diablo Three,
Super Hexagon,
Fez,
Mark of the Ninja,
Letterpress,
Words with Friends,
Killzone Three,
Kinect Party,
Just Dance Four,
Waking Mars,
Pikmin,
Nihilumbra,
Indie Game: The Movie,
The Unfinished Swan,
Narbacular Drop,
Nvidia Shield,
Nintendo Land,
ZombiU,
Big Picture,
FTL,
Fever,
Mega Mano-a-Mega Mano,
Reeder,
Sony RFID - Ars,
New Siracusa County Bros. U.

Game Theory 12: Museum Piece Dec 10, 2012

Recorded on December 10th, 2012 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

Recently, MoMA announced their plans to show a collection of video games in 2013.

The challenges of collecting and showing video games are discussed, and Jim, Brian and Tom talk about thier reactions to the games that were selected - this list is very different from what we would expect to see on any serious gamer’s top ten list.

This will be that last podcast of 2012 - but we’ll be back in early 2013 with more episodes.

Referenced Links:

Letterpress,
Passage,
MoMA - Game Collection,
Pac-Man,
Tetris,
Another World,
Myst,
SimCity 2000,
vib-ribbon,
Katamari Damacy,
EVE Online,
Dwarf Fortress,
Portal,
flOw,
Canabalt,
This Gaming Life,
Space Invaders,
Asteroids,
Donkey Kong,
Super Mario Brothers,
Legend of Zelda,
Nethack,
Street Fighter Two,
Mario 64,
Chrono Trigger,
Kill Screen Magazine,
Okami,
Counterstrike,
Halo,
Starcraft,
Flixel,
Indie Game: The Movie,
Warlords,
Mortal Kombat,
Dotlan,
Super Mario Land,
Tengen Tetris,
Space Quest,
Monkey Island,
It All Began With a Strange Email,
Journey,
Nihil Umbra,
Waking Mars,
Peaceful Games - Tobold,
Proof of Concept - Tobold,
Terraria,
Minecraft,
World of Tanks,
Baldur’s Gate.

Game Theory 11: Wikification Nov 21, 2012

Recorded on November 21st, 2012 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

We’ve seen a dramatic shift in the way games are supported on the internet. Early on, gaming guides and magazines, as well as the occasional online FAQ or spoiler guide, were available, but now it’s almost a given that any game with a reasonable fan base has one or more dedicated websites around tricks, tips and strategies.

Two of the biggest changes are that site platforms like wikia make it very easy to create these player-supported websites, and it is now common, particularly for large MMOs, to have the data files for the game reverse engineered. So-called “database” websites can provide a comprehensive list of all the items that could appear in the game, before players have discovered them.

Jim, Brian and Tom talk about how these changes have impacted the way we play and interact with games. There’s certainly an opportunity for “help sites” to smooth over a rough patch in an otherwise well-designed game, but jumping directly to the loot tables has the ability to take a lot of the discovery and mystery out of a game… is it even possible to design a game with ‘secrets’ anymore?

Links to referenced items:

World of Warcraft,
Quest Tracker,
Nintendo Power Magazine,
Final Fantasy Three,
gameFAQs.com,
Monkey Island,
Nethack,
Dead Rising,
Dark Souls,
Fallout Two,
Skyrim,
X-Com: Enemy Unknown,
The Witcher,
King’s Quest Four,
Deus Ex: Human Revolution,
World of Tanks,
Starcraft,
Tetris,
EvE Online,
Grocery List Strategy - Tobolds
Half Life Two,
[Portal,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_(video_game)
Fez,
Jonathan Blow,
Secret World - Tom Chick,
Star Wars: The Old Republic,
Mario Kart,
Letterpress,
Spell Tower,
Lose/Lose - Zach Gage,
Bit Pilot,
Eufloria,
On the Wind,
The Last Rocket,
Pulse,
Blind World,
Infinity Blade,
Eliss,
Guitar Hero,
Torchlight,
Dead Trigger,
Zombi U,
Knights of Pen and Paper,
Windosill,
Super Crate Box,
Jetpack Joyride.

Game Theory 10: Hardware Nov 07, 2012

Recorded on November 7th, 2012 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

Incremental improvements in game hardware (faster processing speed, more colors/pixels, etc.) are inevitable each generation, but generally don’t enable new game concepts. Tom covers a history of transformative hardware/platform features, including advanced sound, mass optical storage and network connectivity.

Jim reviews middleware platforms and the group discusses how third-party libraries and game platforms like Game Maker influence how games are built today.

Links to referenced items:

Pong,
Computer Space,
Gun Fight,
Atari 2600,
Fairchild Channel F,
Breakout,
Nintendo Entertainment System,
Chiptune,
Intellivison,
Super Mario Bros.,
Legend of Zelda,
Atari 7800,
Ballblazer,
Sierra,
Pro Audio Spectrum 16,
MIDI,
Pinball Construction Set,
Hard Drivin’,
Battlezone,
I, Robot,
Doom,
3dfx,
OpenGL,
Wolfenstein 3D,
Math co-processor,
Ultima Eight,
Goldeneye,
Halo,
Playstation One,
Texture Mapping,
Sega Genesis,
Final Fantasy Seven,
EEPROM,
SRAM,
Defender,
R3000,
Playstation Two,
Emotion Engine,
Middleware,
Unreal Engine,
id Tech,
XBox,
XBox Live,
XBox 360,
Playstation Three,
Killer App,
Jaguar,
ColecoVision,
Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel’s Castle,
Analog Stick,
Nintendo 64,
Haptic Feedback,
Audio Game,
Pinching the Harmonica - Hypercritical
Playstation Controller,
“The Duke”,
Wii,
Power Glove,
Wii Sports,
Guitar Hero,
Madden,
Kinect,
Mass Effect Three,
Steel Battalion - Heavy Armor,
Steel Battalion Controller,
Kinectimals,
The Gunstringer,
Dance Central,
Capacitive Touchscreen,
App Store,
Indie Game,
Steam,
Havok,
Bink,
PhysX,
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Ragdoll Physics,
Mirror’s Edge,
Half Life Two,
F.E.A.R.,
Oblivion,
Dead Rising,
Bioshock,
Assassin’s Creed,
Killzone,
Red Faction,
Heavy Rain,
Rise of the Videogame Zinesters,
GameMaker,
Unity3D,
A Slower Speed of Light,
Unity Asset Store,
Area 51,
Return to Castle Wolfenstein,
Unfinished Swan,
Okami HD,
The Basement Collection,
Halo Four,
Catherine,
Mists of Pandaria,
World of Tanks,
Playstation Network,
Letterpress,
Game Center,
X-Com: Enemy Unknown,
Messing with the Aliens - Tobolds,
Dawn of War Two,
Super Hexagon,
The Moron Test,
Wario Ware.

Game Theory 9: Loot Oct 11, 2012

Recorded on October 11, 2012 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

Many games treat loot as another facet of levelling with different mechanics. Jim, Brian and Tom all have issues with the way that loot mechanics appear to be evolving in current games. Jim also has a principled objection to the way that loot reinforces materialism/consumerism. Many themes from Episode 5 - Grind are invoked.

Loot can be a great cause of stress. First, rapidly-levelling players often “grow out” of their loot and gear needs to be constantly refreshed for a player to remain competitive. Games like Torchlight or Borderlands also throw a great volume of loot drops at players, which requires effort to sort and sell.

Still, loot - particularly interesting and creative loot, has the ability to tug at our heartstrings. Brian, Jim and Tom discuss the Gameological Society’s ‘best treasure ever’ bracket and their own favorite in-game items.

Links to referenced items:

Starcraft,
Limbo,
Passage,
Domesticated Foxes,
Material World,
Dead Space,
God of War,
Legend of Zelda,
Dungeons and Dragons,
Elder Scrolls,
Borderlands,
Deus Ex: Human Revolution,
Torchlight Two,
Diablo,
Bastion,
Boxinalia,
Inner Wealth,
Dungeon Defenders,
World of Warcraft,
Wowhead,
Dragon Kill Points,
Best Treasure Ever,
Wabbajack,
Fallout 2,
Alien Blaster,
Steam Tonk,
Nethack,
Mjollnir.

Game Theory 8: Levels Sep 20, 2012

Recorded on September 29, 2012 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

In the post MMO-RPG world, we tend to make a lot of assumptions about what leveling is and how characters develop as they level, but there’s a lot of diversity in how leveling mechanics are managed. Jim, Brian and Tom discuss how leveling has evolved over the years.

Many games purport to have multiple leveling paths that result in differentiated gameplay experiences, but often due to balance or complexity/cost reasons this ideal is not realized. Additionally, social pressure in online games tends to homogenize the character “builds”.

Tom loathes auto-scaling zones in open-world games. Jim develops an unhealthy obsession with the TV Tropes website while researching this topic (you have been warned). Everyone agrees that the prospect of losing a level or having XP stolen is terrifying.

Links to referenced items:

Pac-Man,
Defender,
Bioshock,
Robotron 2084,
World of Warcraft,
Halo,
Diablo,
CounterStrike,
1942,
Bullet Hell,
Final Fantasy,
Esper,
Dungeons and Dragons,
Deus Ex: Human Revolution,
Dark Souls,
Journey,
Amalur:Reckoning,
Torchlight,
Diablo III,
Elder Scrolls,
The Saga of Olaf,
EvE Online,
Guild Wars,
Anti-Grinding - TV Tropes,
Palladium Books,
[Rifts,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifts_(role-playing_game)
Bushido Blade,
Fable,
Day Z,
A Being of Indescribable Power,
Killzone Three,
Doom,
Half Life Two,
World of Commanders.

Game Theory 7: Fairness Sep 12, 2012

Recorded on September 12, 2012 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

Fairness is slippery and it can be hard to find a definition that most players in a game share. Brian, Tom and Jim all agree that the perception of unfairness does tend to ruin fun in a game.

It can often be hard to differentiate between lack of balance and a gap in player skill. Often what a player might call unfair is just poor game design or balance.

Brian worries about players who apply arbitrary limitations or restrictions to a game in single player mode and get crushed when they try multiplayer. Tom thinks these people are crybaby losers.

For multiplayer games, open communication about exploits is just as important as how fast they are resolved. We talked about what it means for a single player game to be unfair, but didn’t come to firm conclusions. If a game’s AI “cheats”, is it unfair?

Links to referenced items:

My First Cow Clicker,
Cow Clicker,
Internet [Jerk]wad Theory,
World of Tanks,
Backgammon,
Supreme Commander Two,
Halo,
Military Madness,
Secret World - Tom Chick,
World of Warcraft,
Dungeons and Dragons Minion,
WoT is Rigged - Greedy Goblin,
League of Legends,
Street Fighter Two,
Wimbledon,
You Will Die Instantly! - Hypercitical,
Playing to Win in Badminton - Sirlin,
Sumo Wrestling Collusion - Freakonomics,
Blood Doping,
Warsong Gulch,
Insider Trading,
Red Weenie,
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock,
Big Bang Theory,
Eve Exploit Notice,
Hacking Scrabble,
Qwordy,
Eternal Darkness,
Gaslighting,
Team Fortress Two,
Rocket Jumping,
Artemis,
Killzone Three,
Catherine,
Dark Souls,
Scroll of Resurrection,
Guild Wars Two,
EvE Online,
Champions Online,
Guild Wars,
Left 4 Dead,
Kill Screen,
Gameological Society,
Sawbuck Gamer.

Game Theory 6: Free to Play Aug 28, 2012

Recorded on August 28, 2012 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

The group tries to avoid talking about Farmville-type games unsuccessfully, and eventually pulls the focus around to the new wave of F2P games, converted MMOs like DDO, free to play monetization models, the “whales” that support them, and the impact these models have on gameplay and experience.

Tom argues that future MMOs must be free to play, and unless Blizzard has another rabbit in their hat WoW is likely to be the last smash-hit subscription-supported MMO. Brian sings the praises of World of Tanks as an ‘almost perfect’ free to play design.

The group wraps up with some discussion on the major technology platforms, PC, iOS, Android, Xbox, PS3 and how they support F2P.

Links to referenced items:

Starship Artemis,
PAX Prime,
Free to Play,
Smurfs Village,
Zynga’s Quest for Big-Spending Whales,
Zynga,
Claw Games,
Cow Clicker,
Popcap Games,
Lord of Ultima,
Pox Nora,
League of Legends,
World of Tanks,
Tribes: Ascension,
Team Fortress Two,
Lord of the Rings Online,
Dungeons and Dragons Online,
Airmech,
World of Warcraft,
Harry Potter,
Star Wars: The Old Republic,
Magic: The Gathering,
Evony,
Street Fighter,
Guild Wars,
Diablo 3,
Downloadable Content,
Dungeon Defenders,
Assassin’s Creed,
Braid,
Fez,
Counter Strike,
EA ‘allplay’ mode,
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning,
Journey - Collector Edition,
Skyrim,
Pong.

Game Theory 5: Grind Aug 08, 2012

Recorded on August 8th with Brian Fife, James Fingal, Thomas Westberg and the crickets in Brian’s basement.

Brian, Jim and Tom talk about grind. Grind is eventually defined as time or effort that isn’t enjoyable, that must be spent in a game reach an objective, gain an item, or an achievement.

Some may look fondly (in retrospect) on past labors that led to high achievement in a game - but often we look back at time we spend grinding and wish we had done something different.

Grind doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. It’s sometimes nice to be able to kill time with a game – just like junk television. Persistent/MMO games also allow you to upgrade your character status while you do this.

Links to referenced items:

Carrot-Stick Forum Article,
World of Warcraft,
Final Fantasy,
Halo Skulls,
Braid Stars,
Banjo-Kazooie,
Super Mario,
Beyond Skill - Tobolds,
Sonic,
Left 4 Dead,
Angband,
Akimbo Assassin Achievement,
World of Tanks,
Workification,
Runecloth,
Winterspring Furbolgs,
Chess,
Starcraft,
Counterstrike,
Borderlands,
Torchlight,
Angry Birds,
Comfort Grind,
Jetpack Joyride,
Call of Duty,
Captured Firefly,
Captuar - Final Fantasy 3,
Dawn of War,
God of War,
Turtling,
Diablo 3,
Civilization,
Grand Theft Auto 3,
Pigeon,
BFG,
Morrowind,
Umbra,
Half Life 2.

Game Theory 4: Early Arcade Games Jul 25, 2012

Recorded on July 25th with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

Tom talks about early arcade games, starting with Spacewar! and ending with Donkey Kong. Jim describes his present-day arcade experiences.

Brian asks the group about game development, and they briefly discuss game development frameworks.

World of Tanks,
38 Studios - Boston Magazine,
Scott Jennings - Broken Toys,
Copernicus - MMO,
Todd McFarlane,
R.A. Salvatore,
Portal 2 Book,
Bastion,
Penny Arcade Expo,
Fieldrunners 2,
Subatomic Studios,
Madfinger Zombie Game,
King of Dragon Pass,
Final Fantasy 3 - Google Play,
Space Pirates and Zombies,
Subspace,
Spec Ops: The Line,
Max Payne 3,
Fake Sponsor - Cardboard Council,
Metal Gear Solid,
Alien vs. Predator,
Midway Games,
Gauntlet: Dark Legacy,
Computer Space,
Electro-Mechanical Game,
Vertical Sync,
Gun Fight,
Space Invaders,
Battlezone,
Tempest,
Xybots,
Mortal Kombat,
Street Fighter,
3DFX,
Dance Dance Revolution,
Kinect,
Dance Maniax,
Guitar Hero Arcade,
Fruit Ninja,
Chuck E Cheese’s,
Big Buck Hunter,
Golden Tee,
Brady Bunch Movie,
Pong,
Galaga,
Galaxian,
Centipede,
Missile Command,
Atari,
The Sopranos,
Little Big Planet 2,
Pac-Man,
Asteroids,
Lunar Lander,
Spacewar!,
Galaxy Game,
Digital PDP–11,
Donkey Kong,
ECL Logic,
General Computer Corp,
Racing the Beam,
Atari 2600,
Breakout,
Tank,
Warlords,
Boom Blox,
Smash TV,
Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery,
Unity3D Engine,
Kongregate,
PyGame,
Löve2d,
Crafty,
Geometry Wars,
Particle Effects,
Flixel,
Remember the Milk,
Turbografix 16,
Bonk’s Adventure,
Millitary Madness.

Game Theory 3: Quality and Value Jul 16, 2012

Recorded on July 16th, 2012 with Brian Fife, James Fingal, and Thomas Westberg.

Tom, Brian and Jim talk about the Steam Summer Sale and how the Hunger games is similar to Special Ops: The Line.

Jim drove the main topic for discussion - Quality and Value in games. Is cost per hour of attention a valid way to talk about entertainment value? This doesn’t seem to be a factor with printed material, but it often comes up with video or video games.

Games as Art are great, but junk games and junk food both have their place (just ask the deep fried Twinkie guy at the county fair).

Links to Referenced Items:

Tribes: Ascend,
World of Tanks,
Majesty,
Evil Genius,
Steam Summer Sale,
Harvest: Massive Encounter,
Serious Sam,
Starcraft,
S.P.A.Z.,
Eve Online,
The Ur-Quan Masters,
Skyrim,
The Witcher 2,
From Dust,
Splice,
Scoregasm,
Dear Esther,
Offspring Fling,
Wine,
Cider,
Borderlands 2,
Special Ops 2: The Line,
White Phosphorus,
NHS - The Line,
Heart of Darkness,
Binding of Isaac,
Procedural Generation,
Zelda,
Max Payne 3,
Gladiator,
Hunger Games,
Fake: Sponsor: Tanooki Tailors,
Journey,
Ars - Diablo is a game that ends,
Hurricane Irene,
The Sopranos,
Starsky and Hutch,
Murphy Brown,
The Sims,
Halo,
Angry Birds: Seasons,
Harry Potter,
Words with Friends,
Twilight,
Marauder Map,
The Wire,
Road Rules,
Jersey Shore,
Saved by the Bell,
Modern Warfare,
Madden NFL,
Crytek,
M*A*S*H*,
Kindoms of Amalur: Reckoning,
Planescape: Torment,
Darklands,
X-Com: UFO Defense,
Super Meat Boy,
Nintendo Hard,
Bioshock.

Game Theory 2: Suspension of Disbelief Jul 05, 2012

Recorded on July 5th, 2012 with Brian Fife, James Fingal, and Thomas Westberg.

Story-driven games and degrees of freedom in games are covered. Is a choose your own adventure interactive story really a “game”? How about puzzle games that are heavily biased towards a cutscene-based story?

Is there a good way to classify or categorize games? Our hosts start to talk about this but do not come to any conclusions.

The way games deal with suspension of disbelief, either elegantly or poorly, is reviewed and the team wraps up with a summary of EvE Online for Jim.

Links to Referenced Items:

Jurassic Park,
Casablanca,
Jaws,
Halo: CEA,
Pac-Man,
Dark Side of the Moon,
F.E.A.R. 3,
Bullet Time,
Modern Warfare,
Half-Life 2,
Bioshock,
Civilization,
Settlers of Catan,
Catan - AI Formulas,
Velociraptor,
Whimsy Land - Diablo 3,
World of Warcraft,
Borderlands,
Dungeon Defenders,
Iron Brigade,
Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War,
Resident Evil,
Metal Gear,
God of War,
King’s Quest V,
The Act,
Dragon’s Lair,
No High Scores: 100k Xbox Points,
Tribes: Ascend,
Jetpack Joyride,
Journey,
Fake Sponsor:Grog,
Nethack,
I Love Lucy,
Choose Your Own Adventure,
Metal Gear,
Catherine,
Final Fantasy,
Elder Scrolls,
Uncharted 3,
Mario 64,
Assassin’s Creed,
Mirror’s Edge,
Strategery,
Risk,
Tetris,
Helvetica Clock,
Superbrothers: Swords and Sworcery,
Pixeljunk,
Voxel,
Uncanny Valley,
Elder Scrolls: Morrowind,
Wolfram Alpha Critique,
Super Meat Boy,
Grand Theft Auto 3,
Air traffic controllers: Flight Simulator,
Crossword Puzzle,
Scrabble,
Eve Online,
Cow Clicker,
Winterspring Frostsaber,
Angelic Horse Mount,
Tie Fighter,
X11,
PLEX,
Counterstrike,
Unfairness in PvP - Tobolds,
Halo,
Level 19 PvP - WoW,
Ten Ton Hammer - EvE Tips,
Unique Ships in EvE,
Time Dilation in EvE.

Game Theory 1: Introductions Jun 26, 2012

Recorded on June 26th, 2012 with Brian Fife, James Fingal, and Thomas Westberg.

Brian, Jim and Tom talk about beloved games and give some general background on their goals and interests regarding games. They each provide the following background info:

Five games you love
A game you wish you loved, but you can’t
Your most memorable gaming experience
A pet peeve in gaming (something that is easy to fix or avoid)
A wish or dream (something that is hard to fix or do)
What games you are playing now

[Editor’s Note] There was a technical error with this recording and some of Jim’s discussion right at the beginning was lost.

Links to Referenced Items:

Planescape: Torment,
Fallout 1,
Mirror’s Edge,
Assassin’s Creed,
Shadow of the Colossus,
Ico,
The Last Guardian,
Red Faction: Guerilla,
Homefront,
Robotron:2084,
Eugene Jarvis,
Larry DeMar,
World of Warcraft,
ToeJam and Earl,
Geometry Wars,
Inferno,
Portal,
Tempest,
Space Invaders,
Vector Graphics,
Battlezone,
Fake Sponsor: Weighted Companion Cube,
Nethack,
Colossal Caves,
Zork,
Roguelike Games,
Rogue,
Angband,
Ancient Domains of Mystery,
X-Com: UFO Defense,
X-Com: Terror From the Deep,
Hunters (iOS),
Masters of Orion 2,
The Ur-Quan Masters,
Twilight Imperium,
Fable,
Peter Molyneux,
Grand Theft Auto 3,
Mass Effect,
Star Wars: The Old Republic,
Penny Arcade: Backstory in The Old Republic,
Natural Selection,
Natural Selection 2,
Tribes,
Unknown Worlds Entertainment,
Duke Nukem Forever,
Left 4 Dead,
Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War,
Rise of Nations,
NBA Jam,
Double Dribble,
Tony Hawk 2,
Tecmo Bowl,
Robo Rally,
Little Big Planet 2,
New Super Mario Bros. Wii,
Journey,
Klax,
Klax Strategies,
Zelda,
Golden Cartridge,
Dwarf Fortress,
Elder Scrolls,
Curses,
Eve Online,
Fake Sponsor: Horse Armor,
AT-AT Greyhound Costume,,
Chicken Wing,
Orisinal Games,
45 minute Baron Run,
World of Warcraft - Karazhan,
DKP,
Halo Reach,
Gears of War,
Team Fortress,
Counterstrike,
No Zombies Allowed,
Draw Something,
Words with Friends,
Super Smash Bros.,
Raving Rabbids,
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning,
Penny Arcade - Priorities,
Red Dead Redemption,
Borderlands,
Skulls in Halo,
Sith Slave: The Old Republic,
Apocalypse Daily,
Real Money Trade,
Black and White,
Sim City Deluxe,
Populous,
Civilization,
The 10 year Civ Game,
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion,
The Witcher,
Elder Scrolls: Skyrim,
The Darkness: 2,
Alan Wake,
Lone Survivor,
Superbrothers: Swords and Sworcery,
Diablo 3,
Torchlight 2,
Tobolds: Workification,
Gauntlet,
World of Tanks,
League of Legends,
Jetpack Joyride,
Carcassonne,
Ascension,
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion.

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