Author: Steve

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This is our panel from PAX Aus 2015, recorded from our phones because we couldn’t find the right adapter cable to get a feed straight from the venue. Bummer.

“Have you ever sat down to play a game for the first time, and found yourself completely engrossed? Or perhaps completely disinterested? Whether we end up loving them or not, we all experience a game’s beginning; a high expectation is placed on the audience, and first impressions are critical. Join three experienced game developers and educators who started a podcast to delve into these very issues, as they discuss how well games communicate themselves to the player in the first ten minutes.”

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On this week’s show, Steve batverbs his way to success, Aaron clicks many times, and Tony stares at art while failing to speak. And, of course, there is some singing.

0:01:12 – Batman: Arkham Origins
1:14:38 – Flowershop: Winter In Fairbrook
1:45:00 – Portal 2
2:42:48 – The Plugz

Other mentions include: PAX Aus (expo), Indiana Jones (character), H.P. Lovecraft (author), Rocksteady (developer), Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain, Assassin’s Creed (series), Grand Theft Auto (series), Home Alone (film series), Joe Pesci (actor), Shane Black (writer/director), Gregory Day (poet), Just Cause (series), Kevin Conroy (voice actor), Devil May Cry, Zelda (series), Sniper Elite V2, Austin Powers (film series), The Alphabet Song, Simon Says (board game), Bela Lugosi (actor), Guardians Of The Galaxy (film), John Woo (director), Batman: Year One (animated film), Heath Ledger (actor), Jack Nicholson (actor), Mark Hamill (actor), Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, Crysis (game series) Game of Thrones (TV series), Hans Zimmer (composer), James Newton Howard (composer), Unbreakable (film), Earthworm Jim 3D, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (series), The Rules of Attraction (film), Bret Easton Ellis (author), The Blues Brothers (film), Super Puzzle Bobble, Tetris, Monster Bash, Bo Burnham (comedian), Amy Schumer (comedian), Trainwreck (film), Device 6, Portal, The Orange Box, GLaDOS (character), The Stanley Parable, Stephen Merchant (comedian), Ricky Gervais (comedian), Pixar (company), Iain M. Banks (author), Alien: Isolation, Chell (character), Stanley (character), Brazil (film), “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (actor), Saints Row: The Third, Hideo Kojima (developer), Metal Gear Solid 2, Wheatley (character).

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This week, Aaron mops up. Tony sticks it to the man. Steve jumps the queue. And, of course, if you saw us at PAX Aus and this is your first episode, welcome, and we hope you enjoy the show.

0:01:15 – Viscera Cleanup Detail: Santa’s Rampage
1:00:31 – The Stanley Parable
2:13:02 – Skulls Of The Shogun

Other mentions include; PAX AUS (event), 4PM, Futurama (TV series), John Goodman (actor), The Terminator (film), Shadow Warrior, Elf Bowling, Björk (musician), Spike Jonze (director), Tenouttaten! (website), NBA 2K16, Spike Lee (filmmaker), Frozen (film), Toy Story 2 (film), Ticket to Ride, Firefly (TV series), Scary Movie (film), TLC (band), Divine Comedy (poem), Star Wars (film), Spaceballs (film), Smoke on the Water (song), Marty McFly (character), Ghostbusters (film), The Chronic (album), Portal, Saints Row: The Third, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (film?), Robot Chicken (TV show), Halo (video game series), Dead Space (video game series), Desert Bus, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (film), Sisyphus (mythological character), Surgeon Simulator 2013, Twitch.TV (website), Goat Simulator, Radiohead (band), Gone Home, Rock Simulator, QWOP, Jurassic Park: Trespasser, I Wanna Be the Guy, Warioware, Crusader Kings II, John Carmack (developer), id Software (developer), Banjo Kazooie, Banjo Tooie, Metroid (video game series), Castlevania (video game series), The Stanley Parable (game mod), Stanley (city), Stan Lee (writer), Stanley (name), Davey Wreden (developer), William Pugh (developer), Kevan Brighting (voice actor), DOTA 2, Rick And Morty (TV series), Justin Roiland (writer / voice actor), Dan Harmon (writer), Team Fortress 2, Non Je Ne Regrette Rien (song), Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, Walter White (character), Breaking Bad (TV series), Uncharted (video game series), Tomb Raider (video game series), God Of War (video game series), Bayonetta, Mario (video game character), Stranger Than Fiction (film), Stanley Kubrick (director), The Office (TV series), The Shining (film), Aperture Science (fictional company), Killing In The Name (song), Spec Ops: The Line, The Lego Movie (film), Chris Pratt (actor), Will Ferrell (actor), Emma Thompson (actor), Dustin Hoffman (actor), Silent Hill (video game series), Harry Mason (character), Henry Hill (character), Chekhov’s Gun (dramatic principle), The Walking Dead (video game series), Lee Everett (character), Marshall McLuhan (media theorist), Grant Morrison (writer), The Beginner’s Guide, The Hunt For Red October (film), Call Of Duty (video game series), Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Adaptation (film), Citizen Kane (film), Charlie Kaufman (writer), Inception (film), Birdman (film), Blazing Saddles (film), Monty Python And The Holy Grail (film), JCVD (film), Jean-Claude Van Damme (actor), Enter The Matrix, The Matrix (film series), Neo (character), Superman (character), The Wachowskis (directors), Morpheus (character), The Matrix: Path Of Neo, Jada Pinkett Smith (actress), Book Of Skulls (book series), Halo (video game series), I Ran (So Far Away) (song), Email Chess, Yowie (chocolate), Super Mario 3, Kumbaya (song), Mortal Kombat (game series), ‘Papers, Please’, They Live (film), The Joker (song), Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Disgaea, The One (film), Nintendo (company), The Legend Of Zelda (series), Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Shmups (genre), Geometry Wars 3, XCOM (video game series), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (film), Han Solo (character), Brian Blessed (actor), Boss Nass (character).

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On this week’s show, Tony projects orthographically. Steve changes something merely by observing it. Aaron Van Dammes a shot. And, of course, we manage to bring up David Lynch for every game.

0:01:30 – FEZ
0:50:36 – Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
1:50:55 – D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die

Other mentions include: Indie Game: The Movie (film), Phil Fish (developer), Film Crit Hulk (writer), ThinkGeek (website), Arthur C. Clarke (author), 2001: A Space Odyssey (book), Ocean’s N (film series), Crossy Road (video game), Shooty Skies (video game), Minecraft (video game), Lone Star Runner (website), David Lynch (director), Roundabout (video game), Nathan Drake (character), Lara Croft (character), Blame It On The Boogie (song), Tetris (video game), 3ds MAX (software), PAC-MAN 256 (video game), Hideo Kojima (developer), Metal Gear Solid (video game series), Eternal Darkness (video game), Hard Reset (video game), Hanson (band), Snow (musician), Informer (song), Uncharted (video game series), The Longest Journey (game series), The Lord Of The Rings (book series), A Song Of Ice And Fire (book series), Wheel Of Time (book series), Call Of Duty (game series), The Ring (film), Lethal Weapon (film series), Nicolas Cage (actor), Tony Shalhoub (actor), Creepy Watson (internet thing), Scooby Doo (cartoon), Silent Hill (game series), Half-Life 2 (video game), Superman (comic), The Neverending Story (film), Broken Age (video game), Lost Highway (film), Mission To Mars (film), The Last Of Us (video game), The Lego Movie (film), Spin Doctors (band), Guns ‘n’ Roses (band), The Smiths (band), Clueless (film), Mean Girls (film), Lumpy Space Princess (character), Inception (film), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (film), Never Say Never Again (film), The Prestige (film), Stephen Colbert (entertainer), Penn And Teller (magicians), Cloud Atlas (book), The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (video game), Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture (video game), Supernatural (TV series), Hannibal (TV series), Greece (country), Grease (musical), Telltale Games (developer), SWERY (developer), Deadly Premonition (video game), One Way Heroics (video game), Ralph Bakshi (animator), Sherlock Holmes (character), Tex Avery (animator), Don LaFontaine (actor), Telltale Games (developer), Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series (video game series), The Walking Dead: The Game (video game), There’s A Hole At The Bottom Of The Sea (song), There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly (song), Ang Lee (director), Assassin’s Creed (video game), Mahna Mahna (song), Heavy Rain (video game), The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter (video game), Batman (character), Kate Winslet (actress), Jim Carrey (actor), Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (film), Harry Potter (book series), James Bond (character), David Copperfield (magician), Aliens (film), Requiem For A Dream (film), Breaking Bad (TV show), Inception (film), World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (video game), Run-DMC (band), Beastie Boys (band), Uncharted (video game series), Dreamcatcher (film), De La Soul (band), Sesame Street (TV show), Boston Tea Party (event), Lawless (film), The 1st 10 Minutes Other Mentions (meta), P.T. (video game), Seinfeld (TV show), To Kill a Mockingbird (novel), Jean Claude Van Damme (actor), David Lynch (artist), Twin Peaks (TV series), Blue Velvet (film), Extras (TV series), Mad Max: Fury Road (film), George Miller (director), Lost Highway (film), BirthMoviesDeath (website), Dune (film), Tomb Raider (2013 video game), Until Dawn (video game), Guitar Hero (video game), Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture (video game), Mafia (video game), Full Throttle (video game), Apocalypse Now (film), PAX Australia (expo).

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This episode, we have a special guest joining us – James Bowling from FMV Games / Blocky Pixel / Eight And A Half Bit!

On this week’s show, Steve lays down the Laws on some robots, James strikes from the shadows with raw ambivalence, Aaron stacks it with style, Tony fails to vomit in the correct location. And, of course, we forget to plug our PAX Aus panel.

0:03:11 – Hard Reset
0:47:42 – Mark Of The Ninja
1:32:19 – Stacking
2:23:52 – 4PM (TRIGGER WARNING: Alcoholism and Suicide)
3:00:28 – The Plugz

Other mentions include: James Bowling (developer), Bondi Labs, Astro Attack (game), FMV Games (Vodcast), TenOuttaTen (blog), Blocky Pixel (game studio), Eight And A Half Bit (podcast), William Gibson (author), Neal Stephenson (author), Philip K. Dick (author), People Can Fly (studio), CD Projekt Red (studio), City Interactive (studio), Painkiller (video game), Keanu Reeves (actor), A Scanner Darkly (film), Total Recall (film), Blade Runner (film), Cyberpunk (concept), Laws of Robotics, Noir (style), Series Sam (video game series), Red Barrel (concept), Maximum Overdrive (Film), Destiny (video game), Mighty Joe Young (film), Doom 3 (video game), Dead Space (video game), Proof Of Life (film), Russell Crowe (actor), The Fifth Element (film), C-3PO (character), Doom (video game), Heavy Rain (video game), ORION: Prelude (video game), Shank (video game), Shank 2 (video game), Torchlight II (video game), Don’t Starve (video game), Invisible Inc. (video game), Eets Munchies (video game), Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic (video game), Marty McFly (character), Xbox Live Arcade (platform), Super Mario Bros. (video game), Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (video game), Super Metroid (video game), Matt Murdock (character), Batman (video game series), Predator (character), Arnold Schwarzenegger (actor), George Clooney (actor), Burnout Crash! (video game), Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (video game series), Turbo Dismount (video game), The Adventures Of Abney & Teal (TV series), Tim Schafer (writer), Lee Petty (writer), Basil The Great Mouse Detective (film), A Bug’s Life (film), Antz (film), The Secret of NIMH (film), Ghostbusters (film), Breaking Bad (TV series), Arrested Development (TV series), Gunther Lessing And The Walt Disney Studio Strike (event), The Last Supper (painting), Grim Fandango (video game), Broken Age (video game), Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (video game), The Cave (video game), Ron Gilbert (developer), Indiana Jones (film series), Katamari Damacy (video game), Mass Effect (video game series), Groundhog Day (film), Grand Theft Auto IV (video game), Grand Theft Auto V (video game), Red Dead Redemption (video game), World Of Warcraft (video game), Conker’s Bad Fur Day (video game), streamedlive.tv (website), Astro Attack (video game).

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Aaron gets himself into a groovy new spin. Tony endures a briefing that is anything but brief. Steve admires a racing game that has no rubber-banding. And, of course, Shooty Skies creeps in.

0:01:21 – Roundabout
0:52:05 – Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
1:44:16 – TrackMania 2 Canyon
2:31:15 – The Plugz

Other mentions include: Polytron (company), Lost (TV series), Mike + The Mechanics (band), Tron (film), Check It Out! With Dr. Steve Brule (TV series), The Greatest American Hero (TV series), CHiPs (TV series), Miami Heat (sports team), The Naked Gun (film series), Flying High (film), Thirty Flights Of Loving, Shooty Skies, The Sailor’s Dream, Frog Fractions, Goldeneye, Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Judd Apatow (director), Hot Shots (film series), Tropic Thunder (film), Police Academy (film series), Saints Row (series), Crossy Road, Black Mirror (TV series), Call Of Duty (series), SteamBox (hardware), The Binding Of Isaac, Mad Dog McCree, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas (series), Call Of Mini: Double Shot, God Of Fight, Call Of Mini: Zombies, Mad Merx: Nemesis, Aesop Rock (musician), Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon (series), Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six (series), Noah (film), Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Leeroy Jenkins (character), Bo Jenkins (musician), Full Spectrum Warrior, Half-Life (series), Tom Cruise (actor), Edge Of Tomorrow (film), Jake Gyllenhaal (actor), Source Code (film), Looper (film), Bill Murray (actor), Groundhog Day (film), Dark Souls (series), Bloodborne, George Michael (musician), Careless Whisper (song), Chris Isaak (musician), Wicked Game (song), Sherilyn Fenn (actress), Mario Kart, Sesame Street (TV series), The Fast And The Furious (film series), Wet Hot American Summer (TV series), Need For Speed (series), Peter Dinklage (actor), Destiny, Diddy Kong Racing, Super Meat Boy, Test Drive Unlimited, Kenny G (musician), God Of War, PAX Australia (expo).