Idle Thumbs

Troy, Len, and Jon sit down to discuss the Civilization 6 New Frontiers DLC pass and where the king of 4X stands in 2021. How does Civ 6 now compare to launch five years ago? How have its modern competitors changed our perception of and relationship with it? Is Sid still the gold standard to beat?

24 Histories, 4 Arts, 1 Dota. In this episode we meet our final cast member, Felania Mengfei Liu, who takes us on a tour of Chinese Game Studies, including a deep dive into the etymology of gaming and gambling, sport and esport in China. Then Stephanie, Patrick, and Will tell us about the long history of Dota, from Aeon of Strife to DotA: Allstars and beyond. Finally, the cast recounts a series of adventures around the stadium on Day 2 of the International Dota 2 Championships in Shanghai!

Phil Daccord is the legendary trailer editor of The Matrix Trilogy (amongst many many more!) and in this episode we talk about his start as an assistant searching for frames of film in literal bins all the way through being senior editor at Giaronomo Productions and now Creative Director at Ignition Creative. Derek and Ric also discuss the website and trailer for The Matrix Resurrections!

Trailers Discussed: The Matrix Resurrections Trailer 1, The Matrix Teaser, The Matrix Trailer, The Matrix Reloaded Teaser, The Matrix Reloaded Trailer, The Matrix Revolutions International Trailer, The Matrix Revolutions Enter the Matrix Trailer, The Matrix Revolutions Trailer, Alice Through the Looking Glass Trailer #2.

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Jon and Ian Boudreau talk Conquest of Elysium 5, a lo-fi fantasy tactics game with Dwarf Fortress-like procedural world generation. Lead armies of moose, visit other planes of existence that are doing their own thing while you're not looking, and try to make it as a Senator in an era with no Senate. Do you like to control archers with your numpad? We know you do!

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 how he tried to live out Ultima’s virtues, why no one was ever able to rip-off The Sims, and why we both hate click-the-stick.

Games discussed: Ultima series, Minecraft, Halo, X-COM, Star Trek: Hidden Evil, Whacked!, The Sims, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa, Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Arctic, Monaco, Geometry Wars

From our local police station to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, we finally watch our first match together at the International Dota 2 Championships...and it's a doozy! After unpacking the hour-long contest between Vici Gaming and TNC Predator, Alex, Shang Lun, Peter, and Yang Jing teach us a little about what they learned on Day 1 before before we take a deep dive into the Dota 2 ecosystem with our first special guest: CEO of Chaos Esports Club, Greg Laird!

This week Rob is joined by Ranged Touch's Cameron Kunzelman and PCGamesN's Ian Boudreau to discuss an unusual World War II military shooter that feels more like a tactics game: Hell Let Loose. Hear the stirring tale of trying to explain how to drive a manual transmission to someone who has only ever been in his 2006 Honda Civic during the middle of a war. Find out which war movie officer Rob would be. And by the end, probably have a pretty good idea of whether or not this would be your thing or not.

The battle begins! In the first full episode of Every Game in This City Season 2, the team gathers at the top of a penthouse in Huangpu, Shanghai the day before the International Dota 2 Championships in 2019 to talk about our Dota pasts, Dota predictions, and the case of the missing tickets! In the interlude Will, Stephanie, and Patrick try to explain the ins and outs of Dota 2 (with sound effects!) before the group reveals the thorny reality of actually getting tickets for a Dota tournament.

We're back! In Season 2 of Every Game in This City eight game designers, researchers, journalists, and curators meet up in Shanghai to try and watch every game in the 2019 International Dota 2 Championships. In this short introduction, Stephanie, Patrick, and Will try to connect the dots between escape rooms and esports: What are we doing? What aren't we doing? And what do we hope to learn as we jump into a new game in a new city with a new cast?

Len, Rowan, and Fraser gather to discuss Amplitude's Humankind, the Civ competitor that has been looming large over our release radar for the past couple years. How does it compare to Sid Meier's finest work, and even this studio's previous 4X forays? Will it reignite the spark for those who have lost their love for the turn-based march through history? And aside from all that, is this game even done?