Gaming Under The Influence

Xbox's planned, then abandoned, price hike for online membership has irritated the internet, but not for the right reasons. No one will ever enjoy a price increase. But the real problem on the part of Microsoft is the consistent lack of worthwhile things on offer in exchange for any quantity of our money, having cannibalized their core brands and refused to invest in ambitious or noteworthy new IPs. Join us at GreenDragonCVR for a discussion of what a healthy relationship of video games and business might look like. Also featuring the fantastic Resident Evil VIII Maiden demo (Resident Evil makes an interesting counterexample to MS franchises: still made by the same people making a very different sort of game, while Halo is made by different people making the same!)

What makes video games different (or better) than other artistic mediums at expressing a given subject matter? This week, Mike & Alex discuss the special qualities of video games over text, film etc in the context of Red Dead Redemption 2’s epilogue.

What makes video games different (or better) than other artistic mediums at expressing a given subject matter? This week, Mike & Alex discuss the special qualities of video games over text, film etc in the context of Red Dead Redemption 2’s epilogue.

The video game medium is full of amusing and insightful depictions of intoxication. As a literary trope distinct from mere "drunkenness", intoxication refers to a "half-death and resurrection", induced by chemical substances in order to strip away contingent meaning & attain some metaphysical insight. Join us this week for a guided tour of the very best depictions of intoxication in recent years. Includes a description of the trope & a discussion of intoxication in Dune, Disco Elysium, Cyberpunk, AC Valhalla, The Witcher 3.

If you've followed our December coverage, you'll know we are big fans of Cyberpunk 2077 and the dystopian vision it conveys. It is a delight to explore the impact of technocommodification on human nature and consciousness, through a narrative packed with interesting concepts: digital ghosts, reincarnated CEOs, AI superminds & cybermadness. There is some significant conceptual overlap: both games take as a primary concern the total effacement of human identity, dissolution of the subject position as the Real encroaches (due to technosingularity or alchoholism). But Cyberpunk wraps all this in conventional AAA open world package that can detract from the very worldbuilding that makes the game special. Disco Elysium is an enlightening counter-experience, demonstrating that the same caliber of worldbuilding is possible with mechanically-streamlined, experimental gameplay inspired by tabletop RPGs.

 

Thanks to @Kybitzed (on YouTube) for the following incredible video, which inspired the train of thought we pursue in this episode https://youtu.be/1YNYVfES7BA

Cyberpunk2077 hits like a truck. Mike & Alex are here to talk about the unparalleled achievement of world & character building that is Cyberpunk2077, including definitions of such terms as ‘Mikoshi’, ‘engram’ & ‘digital matter’. What does it mean for two minds to inhabit a single body? For technology to dissolve the boundaries of ‘mind’ altogether?

2020 is winding down. Mike & Alex are here to talk about all the highlights of the past year. In 2019 major publishers marketed their return to single-player with Jedi Fallen Order & Sekiro. this year, the quantity of excellent games was no less substantial. Featuring a discussion of games as an instrument for world-building, recent indie soulslikes and the greatest hits of the year, including Cyberpunk 2077, Maneater, Demon's souls Remake & Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Mike & Alex have spent a week navigating the controversy surrounding Cyberpunk. While the overwhelming majority of commentators remain fixated on consumerist pet causes, the quality and content of the game (in its optimal state) has largely been forgotten. This episode features a continued discussion of why this approach is misguided… at least for people who care about video games. Also treating the greasy post-launch addition of a paid EXP boost to AC Valhalla.

Cyberpunk 2077 is everything we could have hoped for. Mike & Alex are here to describe their ~20hr impressions, as well as discuss the controversy surrounding CDPR & glitches in early builds of the game.

Are you starved for a next gen game to play? Are you wondering if Assassins Creed Valhalla is worth your time? Do you think Ubisoft gave up making good games a hundred years ago? Alex has finished Demon's Souls and Mike is here to convince him ACV deserves attention. Featuring a) a discussion of the multilayered world-building, which descends from gods and secret history down to the physical properties of wood; b) the clever measurement of open-world progression by story and c) the "best case scenario" implementation of MTX in ACV