Pondercast

The first Pondercast of 2010 brings technical difficulties as well as questions about narrative techniques inspired by Uncharted 2. We also discuss Borderlands, the Steam Holiday sale, Evil Genius, Avatar and more.

0:00 – What we’ve been doing during the break

21:30 – Main Topic

- Uncharted 2 and the interactive experience

28:00 – Cutscenes

- Metal Gear Solid

30:00 – Gameplay emulating storytelling and character attributes

37:00 – Half-Life 2 vs. Uncharted 2

43:00 – UC2 being evolutionary or revolutionary - Types of characters in games

48:00 – Tangent. Superman as a movie?

50:30 – We may have been a bit too taken in by Modern Warfare 2

55:00 – Characterization

The music for this episode was Jay-Z’s “Off That”

As always, please send us questions, suggestions and requests at respondercast@Gmail.com and on Twitter @Pondercast

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For the final show of 2009 we recording an extra-long edition of Pondercast and Travis and Garrett guest to talk about 2009 in review, our best of lists and look forward to 2010. We also yell at each other about Brutal Legend, make fun of an old film critic and generally squander away whatever semblance of professionalism we may have had. Thank you all for listening and downloading, and we’ll see you in New Year.

0:00 - Intro

3:40 - We argue about Brutal Legend for longer than necessary

9:00 - Main topic

- Most disappointing games

17:30 - Best Downloadable Games

20:30 - Worst Purchase

24:10 - Limited Editions

27:00 - Best DLC and some unprofessional behavior

28:30 - Top 10’s

42:30 - Top 5’s

51:00 - We’re all upset over Green Day: Rock Band

1:03:00 - Game of the Year

The music for this episode was Girl Talk’s “Touch 2 Feel” and Phoenix’s “1901″

You can reach us at respondercast@gmail.com and subscribe on the iTunes Store.

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WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR MODERN WARFARE 2.

Travis returns triumphantly as the first repeat guest to help Peter and Nishant discuss the depiction of war in video games as well as in movies. Topics include Modern Warfare 1 and 2, Reality vs. Fiction, Assassin’s Creed 2, District 9 and more.

0:00 - Intro

- Assassin’s Creed 2, Dr. Who, District 9, God of War Collection

27:00 - Main Topic: War and its depiction in media

- Modern Warfare 2, the spectacle of war

- No Russian level, questioning video game violence

37:00 - Nukes

45:00 - Semi-reality vs. total fiction

52:00 - The benefits and uses of Reality, Semi-Reality and total fiction

53:00 - World War 2

- Black and white morality in WW2 vs. gray morality in Modern Warfare 2

As always you can subscribe to us on the iTunes store and contact us at respondercast@gmail.com

Follow out twitter at http://twitter.com/Pondercast or @Pondercast

The music for this episode was Bloc Party’s “Helicopter” and Matt and Kim’s “Daylight Outro Remix”

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As I’m sure you’ve all figured out by now, Pondercast is taking a little break for Thanksgiving and mob-mentality, frantic shopping. (That joke is for American listeners. For our international listeners just trust me, it was funny). We shall return next week with an all-new episode. Thanks!

With guest Garrett Breaux in tow, the whole crew is back to talk about Art Direction in games, including graphics, realism vs. stylistic art and perspective. We also talk about mobile and cell phone gaming, Modern Warfare 2, Torchlight, Borderlands, Bioshock, Brutal Legend, Rock Band and more. FYI, Garrett and Nishant LOVE Modern Warfare 2, you’ve been warned.

0:00 - Intro

- Torchlight, Panzer General, Cell Phone gaming

- Borderlands, Beat Hazard

- Deus Ex: The Invisible War, Bionic Commando

- Modern Warfare 2, Arkham Asylum

18:08 - Main Topic: Art Design/Direction in Games

- Modern Warfare 2 and cinematic moments

- Mirror’s Edge, art design and P.O.V.

21:30 - Realism vs. Stylistic Design

- Technology and standing the test of time

- Arkham Asylum and blending realism with stylistic design

- Limitations and downloadable games

- Prototype and graphics taking away from gameplay

29:10 - Realism vs. Attempting to look Realistic

- Zelda series and Borderlands

- Memorable art design

- Bioshock, other elements that inform art design

- Brutal Legend, Rock Band and sound design informing art design

39:00 - Some more Modern Warfare stuff

41:00 - Sound Design

- Brutal Legend and Dead Space

- Sound creating atmosphere

47:00- Oh by the way, Modern Warfare 2 is AMAZING

As always you can reach us at respondercast@gmail.com and subscribe on the iTunes store.

The music for this episode was “It’s Looking Good” by The Rutles and “Withered Hope” by They Might be Giants

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In this slightly longer episode, founder and editor-in-chief of NegativeGamer.com John Kershaw joins us to discuss the games media, journalism and the future of games industry writing. We also discuss Brutal Legend, The Beatles Rock Band, Torchlight and problems with games “journalism”.

- 0:00 – Intro, what we’ve been playing

o Brutal Legend, Abbey Road DLC, The Beatles Rock Band, Machinarium

o Torchlight, Cities XL, Halo ODST

o Netflix, Oldboy, Let The Right One In

- 31:25 – Main Topic: What is the role of games media/journalists?

o Is it an extension of PR departments for games developers?

- 33:00 – How do bloggers fit into roles of journalists?

o Games industry vs. tech industry media

o Money issues and qualifications

- 36:00 – Niche sites, mainstream sites

o Relationships with publishers

o Problems with reviews

- 45:30 – FTC revising rules on product disclosure

o Should bloggers have to disclose what they’ve gotten for free?

- 48:00 – Hypocrites in the games media

o Journalists or bloggers?

o Furthering gamer stereotypes

- 50:00 – Possible solutions

o Is the lack of proper journalists a hopeless situation?

o Proper sites vs. community blogs or consumer feedback

o The role of the reader

o Future blogs, microblogging, Twitter and more

- 1:02:00 – The future of the big sites

o Are they as powerful as we think?

o Hits vs. subscribers

o Bad writing, bad editing

As always, you can reach us at respondercast@gmail.com and subscribe on the iTunes store

The music for this episode was “Media Mind” by The Assemblers and “Abbey Road Medley” by The Punkies

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We’ve reached double digits!! In this episode, we have friend of the show Travis Weadock on to discuss the merits of storytelling in games, how it has failed, worked and how it can be better. SPOILER WARNING: WE DISCUSS GTA4 IN DEPTH AND GIVE AWAY SOME STORY ELEMENTS. We also discuss sea salt ice cream, pets, overpriced Bon Iver posters, game writing, morality choices and much more.

0:00 – Intro

- Tales of Monkey Island, Zelda, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy XIII, Persona

- Uncharted 2, Brutal Legend, Kingdom Hearts and sea salt ice cream, Bowser’s Inside Story

- Madden 10, Brick, Joseph Gordon Levitt, MUA 2, Ben’s 80 dollar Bon Iver poster, living and dead pets

23:45 – Main Topic: Storytelling in Games

- Bioshock, Left 4 Dead, videogame-specific techniques in storytelling

- Shadow of the Colossus, pacing and literary techniques

29:00 – JRPG’s and problems in exposition

- Xenosaga, massive expository cut scenes

- Persona, Chrono Trigger and successful storytelling

32:15 – Morality Stories

- Deus Ex, Fable and morality bars as storytelling technique

- Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain and player impact on plot

34:45 – Videogame Analysis

- Elements of a game vs. Elements of a story

- Adventure games and proper stories

37:00 – Programming vs. Creativity

- Designing the experience vs. Creative Writing

40:10 – A Long Discussion on Grand Theft Auto 4

- Is it a story-driven masterpiece with a sense of morality or more cheap entertainment?

- The Ballad of Gay Tony DLC and Saint’s Row

51:45 – The difficulties of writing for an interactive medium

- Films don’t have to deal with player choices

- How can developers engage the player without taking away control?

- The Godfather. And Peter and Ben make people angry

As always you can reach us at respondercast@gmail.com and subscribe on the iTunes Store.

The music for this episode was Belle and Sebastian’s “Storytelling” and Elliot Smith’s “Son of Sam”

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Fighting through illness and massive amounts of work, the crew discusses the monetary value structure of games, how much we would pay for an experience as well as the future of the payment system, especially the consequences of digital distribution. We also discuss The Beatles: Rock Band as well as The Beatles: the actual band, downloadable content, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, Trine

0:00 - What we’ve been up to

- The Beatles, MUA 2, Trine, Madden, Entourage

18:30 - Main Topic: The videogame value system and how much we are willing to pay for certain experiences

19:00 - The Beatles: Rock Band and DLC controversy

22:15 - Trine

24:00 - Cost vs. Content

- Portal, Sports Games, Mirror’s Edge

26:30 - Do we need a new pricing model?

- Stardock, Steam, Digital Distribution and problems therein

32:00 - Brutal Legend

34:15 - Budgeting vs. Pricing

- How does quality stack up in pricing?

36:30 - The Retail Mindset/DLC extending the value of game

43:00 - Digital Distribution, OnLive and the future of downloadable games

48:30 - Pricing shenanigans and “Special Editions”

50:35 - Bobby Kotick….sigh

The music for this episode was The Beatles’ “You Never Give Me Your Money” and a song called by Shady Bard called “Bobby”, which we dedicate to Bobby Kotick and Activision

Disagree with us? Like what we have to say? Are you named Bobby Kotick and wish to defend yourself on the show? Email us at respondercast@gmail.com

As always you can also subscribe on the iTunes store

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In this episode, the crew previews the Penny Arcade Expo and discusses panels, games, and other things that they’re looking forward too. We also discuss various games, the concept of expos and their value to the gaming community at large, and how PAX stands up to other expos.

0:00 – Intro, what happened to our Shadow Complex episode

-         Trials HD, Monkey Island, the Korg DS synthesizer

-         Mirror’s Edge, The Beatles: Rock Band

-         MLB 09, District 9, Inglorious Basterds, Dead Rising

14:30 – Main Topic, PAX and what it means to Destructoid

18:30 – PAX versus other expos like E3, Gamescom etc.

20:52 – Left 4 Dead 2

22:00 – Do we need expos?

24:35 – Scribblenaughts

30:33 – Preview some of the Panels

35:00 – Eurogamer Expo

As always you can email us at respondercast@gmail.com and subscribe at the iTunes store

The music for this episode was Penny Arcade by Roy Orbison and a cover of The Beatles’ Because done by Peter Silk on the Korg DS-10 synthesizer

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