Idle Thumbs

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Chet Faliszek, who co-founded Stray Bombay and is best known for his work at Valve on games such as Left 4 Dead and Portal 2. They discuss what shampoo sales have to do with Old Man Murray, why he tests his games in a foreign language, and why game design is easier for co-op games. This episode was recorded August 17, 2021.

Games discussed: Pong, Tecmo Bowl, Civilization series, Archon, M.U.L.E., Racing Destruction Set, Gin, Hearts, Doom, Quake, Tribes, Myth, Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, Old World, Left 4 Dead 2, Portal 1, Portal 2, Counterstrike, Half-Life: Alyx, Crusader Kings series, The Anacrusis, Deep Rock Galactic, Killing Floor 2, Risk of Rain 2, Payday 2, GTFO, Hades

Rowan, Jon, and Ian Boudreau talk about Against the Storm, an early access city-builder that forces you to abandon your cities after a set amount of time. How do these shorter runs affect how we approach the genre? What does a beaver need, on a deeper level, to be happy? And why were we so eager to do an episode on this when early access city-builders are thick on the ground these days?

Rowan recruits Fanbyte's Steven Strom and long-lost guest Jason Wilson to take a look at Darkest Dungeon II in early access. That's right, five years later we finally put out an episode with Darkest Dungeon in the title. How does it differ from its predecessor? And which of the changes do we actually like? How do we feel about the fact that they can kiss now? How do we feel about a sequel that is deliberately smaller in scope than the original?

In this episode, we put the art back into ARTS on Day 4 of the International Dota 2 Championship. First Yang Jing will tour UnArt Center, a media art gallery that doubles as an esports venue, then Peter will exhibit AutoSave: Redoubt, a Counter-Strike map reconstructing the scene where Japanese and the English first encountered one another in the Battle of Hong Kong during World War Two. But is Dota an ARTS or an art?

Len and Ian Boudreau discuss Age of Empires 4, the long-awaited return of one of the RTS genre's defining franchises. What's new and what's been kept the same? And where would we like to see it go in the future? Okay, okay, I'll say the thing: wololo. Get it? It's funny because I said a thing you remember. Humor is when someone says a thing you remember.

Len, Rowan, and Mike are joined by Dr. Bret Devereaux (@BretDevereaux), Visiting Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of the blog A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry (https://acoup.blog). The topic is The State in strategy games. What is a state? What are the advantages and disadvantages of making a game about states, and seeing history through a lens of state action? We talk in particular about how this question applies to Europa Universalis IV.

It’s Day 3 of the International Dota Championships in Shanghai and the whole cast is back in one room to talk about how we’ve been playing Dota. From the Mercedes Benz Arena and the Super Brand Mall to laptops in our apartment and the night cafe across the street, everyone has their own way of playing. And after catching up with the cast, we’ll interview Murielle "Kips" Huisman, a Dota 2 analyst and the former coach of TNC Predator, Vega Squadron, and Complexity Gaming.

Len and Rowan discuss the concept of "games as a service" as it relates to the strategy space. Is it a good thing? Has it always been around and we just called it something different? Can you ever really trust a game studio? Are the post-Kripke seasons of Supernatural actually worth your time? Listen to the episode, then check out the Season Pass over on Patreon.com/3ma

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Andy Schatz, who founded Pocketwatch Games and is best known for his work on Monaco and Tooth and Tail. This episode was recorded March 23, 2018. They discuss what Monaco and Rashomon have in common, how familiarity with your best players can be more valuable than metrics, and why the flag bearer in Tooth and Tail can’t attack.

Games discussed: Monaco, Spore, Tooth and Tail, Whacked!, Payday, Hotline Miami, Minecraft, Terraria, Pikmin, Offworld Trading Company

In our last episode Shang Lun was about to narrate his long night at The Late Game, a Dota 2 talk show where he got to interview the cast and crew of the International Dota 2 Championships in Shanghai. So this time we’ll tune in and hear about his adventures with shout casters, camera operators, Chinese translators, TV producers, and a certain buffoonish dad who seems to hate pizza rolls!