Hitpoint Pals

Episode 36: Travis has been enjoying the satisfaction of positive feedback and repetitive tasks in Death Stranding, which we only discuss in vague terms since Will is eagerly awaiting the 2020 PC release, and doesn't want the game spoiled. But we fully discuss Caleb's time in Luigi's Mansion, where apparently Luigi looks really, really good. Also, Will has been playing narrative adventure The Council, a mystery game set in the Victorian era that gets real occult real fast. And we can't resist determining our Kojima names with Polygon's handy 11-page Kojima Name Generator, which raises questions about our current states of being as well as our childhoods. 

Discussed: Figure out your Kojima name with my simple, 11-page worksheet (Polygon)

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Discussed: Death Stranding, Luigi's Mansion 3, The Council, Kojima Name Generator, Dubhacks, The Mandalorian, Red Dead Redemption 2

Episode 35: The divisive auteur theory changed the way we critique films, and could go on to impact the way we talk about video games as well. There are many figures known for their collective works as video game directors and producers, but is Hideo Kojima spearheading a new brand of gaming auteur, for better or for worse? That's our topic this week, which explores auteur theory and how it could apply to video game creators as much as filmmakers. But first, regular check-ins: Travis who has been playing Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Outer Worlds. Rebekah fills us in on becoming a professional dungeon master! And William discusses polygonal architecture. At the end of the episode, linguistics of the internet, and why boomers use so many ellipses.

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Discussed: Red Dead Redemption 2, The Outer Worlds, Unity, The Internet, Hideo Kojima

Episode 34: What do you do when your service corgi gets swept down a storm drain and into the creepy tunnels beneath the city? Will fills us in on that journey in the lo-fi horror game Lost in Vivo, which he enjoyed a lot. We then try to determine whether or not ghosts are real and share some paranormal or just plain odd encounters we've all had. Rebekah might have seen a ghost running at her, and Will once encountered a scene straight out of The X-Files. Travis also recalls his history of jobs in supposedly haunted workplaces. Then we discuss the co-op horror story Man of Medan before diving into all things jump scares, soundscapes, and sanity levels. What's the difference between survival horror and psychological horror? Which types of horror do we respond best to? Why do any of us subject ourselves to horror in the first place? Finally, we close with Rebekah's update on her Zines and Things tour, and then ruminate on the Crusader Kings III announcement, new Crusader Kings II features, and signs that sure look like a Paradox push to centralize their games within their own launcher, and probably sell micro-transaction mustaches.

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Discussed: Lost in Vivo, Man of Medan, Call of Cthulhu, Resident Evil series, various horror concepts, Zines and Things

Episode 33:  Sony's Playstation 5 is a year away, and we just... aren't very excited about it. We get into the evolution of games hardware and the shrinking gap in technology leaps between major console generations. With the PS5 expected to be backwards-compatible with the PS4, we also touch on hardware architecture and compatibility, where the lack of the latter creates a need for remasters and remakes of aging games. Also discussed are the worlds of Red Dead Redemption and Dark Souls II, monetizing D&D, and whether or not polls are good?

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Discussed: Red Dead Redemption, UNCAGED Anthology, Dark Souls II, PS5, Remasters, Democratic Debates

Episode 32:  Will reads us a Steam review critical solely of gameplay time, and presents us with an open-ended question. How do we value games in relation to money spent and "content" time received? And how dependent are our opinions on an economic system where time is money? We discuss the "$1 = 1 hr. of gameplay" line of thinking, the stagnant $60 price tag, wages, physical discs, and the perceptions of studio prestige. We also do our weekly game check-ins, where Travis and Caleb have been exploring Destiny 2, Rebekah is prepping to run the Sunless Citadel, and Will is struggling with the realities of imperialism and classism in good ol' Victoria II.

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Discussed: Destiny 2, Victoria II, Dungeons & Dragons, data caps

Episode 31: Are subscription services the future? Does it make any sense to spend $60 on a game anymore? We're back from our hiatus to talk all things monthly payments, including Apple Arcade, which launched with a strong catalog of exclusives. Rebekah asks for advice on romance options in Stardew Valley, while Travis has enjoyed exploring The Oldest House in Control. Meanwhile, William is engrossed with the thick atmosphere in Metro 2033. In our thoughts and prayers, Rebekah gives us her thoughts on the film Hustlers, Travis is searching for this year's League of Legends Worlds theme, and William discovers autonomous horses in 80 Days.

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Discussed: Sayonara Wild Hearts, Mini Motorways, Control, Stardew Valley, 80 Days

Episode 30: How can a single player RPG be "dead?" We take a look at the tumultuous evolution of player-developer interaction over time, and the expectation players have grown to have for not just technical patches, but free content updates. A new culture has formed around reworking games that had less than stellar releases a la No Man's Sky, and the way players expect studios to fix bad games they paid for rather than move on to something new. We're calling out backseat developers and pondering over what our expectations should be when we buy a game.

Discussed: Remnant: From the Ashes, No Man's Sky, Minecraft, Fortnite, Overwatch, Rimworld

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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.

Episode 29: William and Travis have been enjoying the surprise hit Remnant: From the Ashes, while Rebekah experiences an over the table dilemma in her D&D game. Mount & Blade II finally gets a tantalizing early access date, and megacorporations continue to reign unchecked. Also, thoughts on Life is Strange 2 - Episode 4, and the Popeye's chicken sandwich. Spoilers for Remnant: From the Ashes from 24:48 - 30:02 and Life is Strange 2 - Episode 4 from 30:02 - 34:40.

Discussed: Remnant: From the Ashes, Death Stranding, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, Life is Strange 2

Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter!

Hitpoint Pals features the voices of William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.

Episode 28: Examining the work of Amanda Phillips in Shooting to Kill: Headshots, Twitch Reflexes, and the Mechropolitics of Video Games, the valorization of the headshot from multiplayer lobbies to the esports stage, and the media propaganda that rationalizes police brutality with the narrative of split-second decision making. How does our interpretation of game mechanics color our attitude towards police violence? And with corporate greed allowing hate groups to flourish, how should the gaming community combat its most dangerous groups that celebrate police and white nationalist violence? We also look to the future, asking if motion controls and VR tech make shooters inherently more unsettling, and whether or not we'll all be uploaded to the cloud one day.

Discussed: 

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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien. 

Episode 27: The idea that video games are responsible for mass murders is still pushed by political figures and fans of the guns industry. On this episode we take a look at systemic violence in the United States and the intersection between capitalism, hatred, gun control, and yes, video games. If that sounds messy, well, it is. But we know that games are about much more than violence, and can have positive impacts on the world. We touch on the camaraderie and global sportsmanship of esports, the power of comfort games in times of crisis, and the social bonds online games forge between people around the world.

Discussed: 

Gamers Outreach Foundation

Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter! Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.