Gaming Couch

Episode 63 of Gaming Couch! And not exaclty a happy one.

Playing Phoenix Point and getting into Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0 recently got me thinking a bit. Games are a greatway to answer some really tough, hypothetical questions. What if a virus broke out that could kill all humans? What if I was forced to choose who to rescue during a zombie attack? We can ask these questions and give answers. However, what if we had to actually act out these answers, even if it is in a game and not real? I think games give us a chance to be immersed enough in things that have really happened, or could really happen, and find out how we would handle it. This is certainly a conversation we should be having.

Quick little link. The opening talks about WoW's Corrupted Blood outbreak and how it turned into a real life case study. Here is one article about it. If you want more, simply google 'WoW Corrupted Blood' to get plenty of information.

As always, take care. See you next time.

Smartboy

P.S. This suden outbreak of heat has me feeling a shower is in order. You know, a nice relaxing shower.

Episode 62 of Gaming Couch! This first week of school hit me hard. I'm a little sleepy with this recording so bare with me.

Smartboy

P.S......I have nothing creative to add in this time....have a smiley face :)

Episode 61 of Gaming Couch!

Today, we look at PlatinumGames newest title Astral Chain. I gotta say, so far it is a great game. I am enjoying the combat mechanics of it greatly and even some of hte slower parts of investigating a crime scene are done well and build into the story nicely.

Here are my thoughts on the game along side a break down of how everything comes together nicely. Enjoy!

Smartboy

P.S. If you are getting ready to go back to school, good luck. You got this!

Episode 60 of Gaming Couch! And time for another list. Because lists are nice and organized.

It's awhile since we've talked about Dungeons and Dragons. Recently I have been able to play a few more sessions, start up a new campaign, and even get Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0 in there also. I figured, at this point, why not talking about D&D again? 

A game about fantasy and adventure, part of the adventure is slaying great terrible beasts. The world of D&D has so many great and unique monsters already made to be dropped into your world for players to fight. I thought it was high time to come up with a quick list, a top 5, of the best monster I feel the offical published works have to offer. No homebrew stuff here. I'm not knocking homebrew, I've done plenty of it myself. I just want to focus on what the mad lads at Dungeons&Dragons Inc. have to offer us.

Smartboy

P.S. Summer is on its way out and I might cry. Soon it will be back to teaching. Oh, how my life will have structure anda solid schedule again!

Episode 59 of Gaming Couch! Satisfactory is the name of the game and I could not think of a better pun. 10/10 would pun again.

Satisfactory is a factory building sim from the team over at Coffee Stain Studios, who have worked on Goat Simulator, Sanctum 1 and 2, and Deep Rock Galactic. The game is currently in Early Access and can be picked up on Epic Games for 30 bucks. All in all, it's a good deal so far.

In this game you are dropped on an alien with nothing but a crate, a buidling tool, and your wit to create the most efficient factories possible. Now, you aren't graded on it at all. You simple build better factories to improve your production rate so you can reach higher tiers in the game quicker. It uses a simple reward system. You find a new mineral to use and used it to better your factories? Well, now you have access to Oil to better your power grid. You found enough oil to complete a milestone? Now you get trains to transport materials access long distances quicker. You Don't NEED to make all these things to complete the game. It just helps reach the end goal faster and it feels so satisfying to make better and better factories. The same says it all. 'Satisfactory'.

Correction: I said Coal Generators give 150 for power. I meant a FUEL Generator does that. Coal is only 50.

Smartboy

P.S. This is a game that has me staying up until 3am once again. To me, that's a good sign.

The long awaited (really 24 hours) part 2 of the Play NYC event this year! This is the recap and time is spent talking about all the different games I had a chance to play and interact with the devs. It was an amazing time. All the details are in the episode. Below will be links to websites/social medias to the various games/studios if I found them online:

Deckfighters:  https://pandahawkgames.com/

And with that, I'm signing off for now. Probably going to take a long nap. It was a long week followed by a great weekend. Take care all!

Smartboy

P.S. I have nothing clever to add this time.... sad face :(

Part 1 of 2 covering Play NYC happening at the Metropolitan Pavilion this weekend hosted by Playcrafting! Hell of a day.

For now I just want to cover some big stuff. No recaps of games (don't worry) or anything, just giving a big shoutout to Playcrafting and Decoy Games. I had the honor of participating in Decoy Games first ever Unleash Cup. It was a great day. Even though I will not be giving a play by play of the tourney, I do have some words to share and feelings to express. It was a great event and I am happy to have a chance to share it today.

Seeing as it is Saturday, we will be having a Part 2 coming out that will be a recap and cover all the games I got to play at Play NYC. I saw some familiar faces and met new ones. All those details coming in Part 2 which, depending on when I finish a script, will be uploaded Sunday Night or Monday. Stay connected on Twitter and FB to hear the news. Next week will be a normal scheduled episode.

Smartboy

P.S, I'm going to finally finish eating my sandwich.

Episode 56 of Gaming Couch! Despite what I said in episode 55 I actually spelled 'episode' currently the first time here! Progress and improvement!

So here's the thing. In real life, people have different skill sets. Some are really good with computers others are excellent public speakers while some are really good with money and finances. However, many games fail to capture that. Video games at least. Within the past few years that have been many board games and card games being released that welcome co-op play where players pick different characters with different stats/abilities. What about video games though? Most 'co-ops' have player 2 being a carbon copy of player 1.

That's why I want to take time and look over the games Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes and Clandestine. These co-op games make players work together to achieve a goal yet each player must complete different tasks and fulfill widely different roles to succeed. I highly, highly recommand both these games. It can be hard explaining them since the real fun and experience from them comes from playing with others so I will do what I can to descirbe it to you lovely people.

BTWs, link to a round of Keep Talking Nobody Explodes with two actual bomb squad guys. There's two parts, heres part 1:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYunaBkn9Ng 

Smartboy

P.S: Next weekend is Play NYC and there will be a re-cap each day but late at night. I will post on Twitter and FB when each episode goes up!

Episode 55 of Gaming Couch! I swear everytime I go to write 'epsiode' at the start of the description I end up spelling it wrong somehow. The human mind is an amazing thing isn't it?

We all love music. Whether it's just a few songs or a whole library of various genres everyone has their taste in those sweet beats and rythms. As video games have become a major piece of media with millions of people into the hobby game music has become it's own genre.  Many games that get a lot of praise give some credit to their soundtrack. You can set the scene for the game or movie all you want. Without the music and sounds to accompy it the real emotion you want people to feel will be missed.

So here is my first attempt at my own internet guilty pleasure and making a 'Top 5' list. There will probably be more to come so enjoy this first one about the greatest, and most impactful, pieces of music in video games.

Smartboy

P.S. This is the episode that I had planned to got up last Sunday, but gave the slot to the Game Devs of Color re-cap. So this weekend you will get this episode today, Saturday, and a regularly scheduled episode on Sunday 5pm, as always.

Episode 54 of Caming Couch! (Heads up, the walls in my apartment are a bit thin. So when my neighbor decided to take a shower when I was already deep in recording...yeah. If you hear a slight hiss/hum while I am talking that was it. I tried to talk a little louder to keep myself clear during that time). I am tired and going completely unscripted today, even though I made the change after episode 50. Remember, the rules don't matter, and this is something important I want to talk about while it is still 100% fresh in my mind.

Anyway....you know how I had this idea and plan to do this list episode today? You also know how there are no rules for the podcast? Yeah...we aren't doing that today. I had a chance to go to the Game Devs of Color Expo and there was a great message I get there that just needed to be shared. So that's today's episode. Talking about being the creator you want to be. If there is a game you want to have and story you want to tell just do it. We'll talk about some games that I had to chance to play and also share some stories from the developers about them. If you like anything you hear in the games check out their socail media and websites:

Super Space Club:  https://grahamoflegend.com/superspaceclub/

As always some love for Team Decoy Games and Swimsanity! They are the ones who put this expo on my radar and are always friendly to everyone who comes by and says high. Give them a shout at  https://www.facebook.com/decoygames and @DecoyGames

Lastly, Playcrafting heads many of these events that go on in NYC and other areas. Check them out online. The next Play NYC is coming up August 10th-11th and I highly recommend going. The experience is great.   https://playcrafting.com/ 

This is Smartboy signing off for now. And seriously, in case I managed to horribly ruin the message in the episode, I want to make it clear. Don't be afraid to make something. If you want to create something, do it. Make it. Be ready to change it, tweak, even fail at it the first time just to do a second take. Just make and know that you can always continue it and make it better.

Smartboy