Three Moves Ahead

Latest Episodes:

Three Moves Ahead 58: Phoning it In About Pax Apr 01, 2010

Show notes

With the post con exhaustion, panelists running around like crazy and Julian Murdoch fighting some sort of bug, it’s sort of a wonder we got a show together at all this week. Rob, Julian and I talk about why we loved PAX East. What makes a fan con different from a trade show? Is Microsoft Surface the future of board games? What strategy game was my surprise of the show? Probably one of our shortest and slowest shows, but we promise a stronger one next week. Listen to win a prize. My thoughts on PAX East Julian’s Thoughts Rob’s Thoughts

Three Moves Ahead 57: Supreme Commander 2 and Command & Conquer 4 Mar 23, 2010

Show notes

Troy, Tom and Julian devote the hour to dissecting the surprisingly good Supreme Commander 2 and the disappointing Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight. Why does SupCom 2’s deviation from the franchise formula make the game better? Why is it like Sins of a Solar Empire and Demigod? Do we want to gain experience points in our RTSes? When good design meets bad design in the same package, what wins? And come hear how disorganized we are for PAX! Tom Chick’s review of SupCom 2 Tom Chick’s review of C&C 4 Troy Goodfellow’s review of SupCom 2 Quarter to Three Community podcast on SupCom 2 The Flash of Steel Store

Three Moves Ahead 56: Civ 5, Sid Meier and Farmville Mar 16, 2010

Show notes

We throw together a show on some of the strategy gaming news and ideas coming out of this year’s GDC. What do we know and not know about Civilization 5? Is Sid Meier coddling players in his psychological approach? And why is Julian on the side of evil in the Facebook wars? We announce the winner of the King Arthur steam code and begin planning for PAX East. Fear and Loathing in Farmville Gamasutra on Meier’s Keynote Julian’s article on Facebook games Chris Hecker on the rewarding boring activities A Theory of Fun for Game Design Pre-order Sid Meier’s Civilization V Rob Zacny on the bias against strategy games Match Defense: Toy Soldiers

Three Moves Ahead 55: Starcraft 2 Beta and Napoleon Total War Mar 09, 2010

Show notes

Two games this week. First, Tom Chick and Troy Goodfellow report on their experiences in the Starcraft II beta. It’s an old school RTS that eschews fifteen years of evolution in favor of keeping things as they were in 1998. What do we like so far? What do we not like? Meanwhile, Rob Zacny asks questions about Blizzard’s continued relevance in the genre. Then, Rob leaps to the defense of Napoleon: Total War. Hear why he will be probably be giving it a very positive review and why Tom still thinks Creative Assembly should be embarrassed. Stay tuned to the end for a reminder to enter the game draw for a special prize.

Three Moves Ahead 54: Introversion Mar 04, 2010

Show notes

Troy, Julian and Rob wax rhapsodical about the glories of indie strategy game developer Introversion. What makes Darwinia a “different” RTS? Is Defcon the best multiplayer game ever made? And can you make a game about terrorism? Listen to the end and learn how you can win a prize. Seriously. I have one for you. Gamers With Jobs talks to Chris Delay Introversion’s Tough 2008

Three Moves Ahead 53: The One Year Anniversary Show Feb 23, 2010

Show notes

No agenda this week beyond a few of my favorite clips, some chat about the podcast’s high and low points and what we’d like to see in the coming year of podcasts. Learn about Tom’s other podcasts, Bruce Geryk’s origin story, whether or not Julian is a game reviewer and how Rob makes his girlfriend cry. Lots of self congratulation, too, so if you don’t like that sort of thing, maybe you shouldn’t listen.

Three Moves Ahead 52: Sins of a Solar Empire Diplomacy Feb 16, 2010

Show notes

Troy is joined by Tom, Julian and Rob to talk about the new expansion for Sins of a Solar Empire. How does Diplomacy work in a multiplayer game? Does it add more personality to a game with rather bland sides? Does Tom cheat? How should Rob refer to his significant other? Where does Julian go when the podcast is over? Listen to the final podcast to find out why this is expansion made all of us fall in love with Sins again.

Three Moves Ahead 51: Science and Technology Feb 10, 2010

Show notes

Troy is joined by Tom, Bruce and Rob as they counter December’s religion show with a talk about how strategy games treat science. How do you link technology to other game mechanics? Is there a risk of runaway games if you emphasize science too much? Dead ends, blind research, science of observation and whether you can actually have hard science in a strategy game. And Bruce replies to comments about his thoughts on Hearts of Iron 3’s infantry weapon research model. Heisenberg’s War: The Secret History Of The German Bomb Three Moves Ahead Episode 20 on The Snowball Effect in Game Design Tom and Miriam Sitting in a Tree (Wayback Machine – very slow)

Three Moves Ahead 50: Designing Government and Debating Detail Feb 01, 2010

Show notes

Having not seen each other in weeks, Tom and Bruce giggle like schoolgirls reunited after summer break before getting into their usual sparring. Troy just tries to keep people on topic – futilely. The putative topic: How do you design a game that makes the management of a government as interesting as the issues of war and peace? There’s a side trip into questions about abstraction and the problem of irrelevant detail.

Three Moves Ahead 49: Strategy Games and Story Telling Jan 26, 2010

Show notes

This week, Troy, Julian and Rob talk about the limitations and possibilities of story telling in strategy games. Can you have an authorial perspective in a system driven genre? Is the RTS campaign story irrevocably broken? Is there anything on the horizon that might give us hope? And stay tuned to the end where I ask for feedback for our anniversary show.

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