Immortal Machines » Podcast Feed

You might have noticed, dear listener, that the first cast of 2015 was also the last cast of 2015. We’re sorry about that. I won’t pretend that I can make amends, but we wanted to talk about games, because it has been a long time. So we talked about games. Well, Steve and I talked about games. Would you like to listen? We would love to have you listen.

What did we talk about? A bunch of stuff. It’s Steve’s turn to be bummed out about gaming this episode, so I tried to drag him back from the brink. He’s been playing too much Far Cry, is the problem. You might remember, if you have a long memory, that in the last episode we asked about the various Far Cry themes that were on the table; they didn’t take our old Far Cry On The Moon idea, which is a shame, but we did almost get Far Cry With Dinosaurs out of it, so there’s that. Some series have too many games in them, and you don’t need to play them all, is the moral of this story.

We summarize 2015 a bit, and briefly discuss its most memorable game. (What was it? Find out inside!) We look forward to the year ahead, and speculate about VR and remote play and whether the next Resident Evil game will be any good. (No.) There’s lots of other random tidbits in there too, because we are a wordy duo. We hope you’ll enjoy it.

A brief note – at time of recording, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 did not include microtransactions. Now it does. Thanks for making me a dirty liar, EA. Still a good game, though.

OH! And you should get SUPERHOT. (Super. Hot. Super. Hot.) Everybody should do that.

Who knows what the future holds, but here we are, friends. Please, get cozy for the first? last? Immortal Machines 2016 Edition.

Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock]

Participants are Steve [Dukefrukem] and the ghosts of James, Robert and Clayton. Listen, you can hear them in the background. (I kid! They’re fine! Probably.)

Produced by Eric [Ravenlock] (sorry in advance)

(Don’t forget to follow our Twitter feed, and if you want to join the discussion, come visit the forum thread over at Colony of Gamers.)

The first cast of 2015 brings to the table a new host with a new format. We are calling this “King of Immortal Machines – Episode 1” – We don’t know how many of these we will do, but certainly if we get good feedback from our listeners, it may spur us to continue this format throughout the year. The format is simple; think of it as a take of ESPN’s ‘Around the Horn’ with gaming news and topics. We go through 9 topics coming from the news and questions from our audience (if you want to submit a question see our contact links below). Each caster will discuss the topics and the host gets to choose which person makes the best argument based on passion, creativity, and ‘correctness’. We’ll tally up the points at the end of the show and whoever has the most points will hold the title ‘King of Immortal Machines’ (until next time).

The 9 topics for this show are:

1. What game should we be most excited for in 2015?

2. Is it a good decision for Valve to enter broadcasting market?

3. Far Cry 5: Dinosaurs & Vampires… are these themes a good idea?

4. What franchise/gaming trend are we tired of?

5. Are we excited to see an Assassin’s Creed movie starring Michael Fassbender?

6. Playing off this bit of news, what is the best video game movie adaptation to date?

7. What game do we want to see adapted into a movie?

8. Best boss battle ever?

9. Most disappointing boss battle?

So please PLEASE, give us feedback on the show – what you liked, what you didn’t like, whether you’d be interested in more shows like this. Whatever the feedback may be, we’ll take it, analyze it and continue to try to make the show more interesting and fun. Thanks for listening!

Hosted and Summarized by Steve [Dukefrukem]

Participants are James [Vigil80], Eric [Ravenlock] and Clayton [Voodoo]

Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

(Don’t forget to follow our Twitter feed, and if you want to join the discussion, come visit the forum thread over at Colony of Gamers.)

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

2014 was a weird year. There were definitely parts that were not super great. Or even kinda great. There were parts that were downright shitty. But as we draw December to a close and look forward to 2015, it certainly hasn’t been all bad. Before it’s over, let’s spend some time talking about the year that was.

Almost everybody’s here for this one – Steve had to sit out, but I’m thrilled to be able to welcome James back to close out 2014. Per usual, the IMmies has no set format, and despite the name we’re not giving out awards. But there were some trends this year that deserved attention, and we dive into those within. We’ll talk about the never-ending onslaught of open-world games with progression mechanics, and the never-ending onslaught of Kickstarter releases (and, to a lesser extent, Early Access ones), and the never-ending onslaught of broken shit from Ubisoft. Lots of never-ending onslaughts, basically. Oh, and one never-ending onslaught that did end (where’d you go, digboxers?).

Some links of interest from the discussion: Space Engineers; DCS World Downloadable Modules (also on Steam, and you might enjoy this video showing off the MIG-21); the new King’s Quest trailer from the Game Awards.

We still didn’t talk about Steam Broadcasting. And I realized as soon as we disconnected that we didn’t even mention Transistor, which is crazy because Bastion was one of my favorite games ever. Maybe we’ll delve into why next time.

For now, sit back and get cozy with a glass of something nice, and let’s bid a fond(?) farewell to the year with The 2014 IMmies!

Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock]

Participants are James [Vigil80], Robert [Trebor] and Clayton [Voodoo]

Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

(Don’t forget to follow our Twitter feed, and if you want to join the discussion, come visit the forum thread over at Colony of Gamers.)

Told you we’d be back soon this time. Is this soon? This feels soon. By comparison it’s totally soon.

But it’s also too soon to talk about our favorite games of 2014 in the IMmies, so we’re flipping the script and instead of looking back, we’re looking forward, jumping the gun entirely and talking about the games we’re looking forward to in 2015.

So which games are those? It’d be spoiling things to tell you, obviously, but to be honest we’re not totally agreed on the subject amongst ourselves. The spate of Kickstarter successes and failures and Steam Early Access dominance that 2014 brought has some of us feeling a little wary. But there are still some bright spots on the horizon, though some of us are more optimistic than others.

Meantime, of course, we’re also playing today’s games. I can tell you that when Assassin’s Creed: Rogue hits the PC next year, fans of that series ought to take notice, because it’s much better news than the absurdly botched Unity release. Robert has been playing a lot of DCS World, and it’s worth visiting their website in addition to the Steam page to get the most out of this impressive free title. Steve’s crippling addiction to Candy Crush Saga continues unabashed, and I’d rather not talk about it if that’s alright with you.

Steam Broadcasting was not a Thing yet when we recorded – we’ll probably talk about that next time.

So come on in. Loosen that belt, take a spot on the couch, try to forget how much you ate at the Thanksgiving table, and join us for the Immortal Machines Post-Tryptophan Edition.

Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock]

Participants are Robert [Trebor], Steve [Dukefrukem] and Clayton [Voodoo]

Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

(Don’t forget to follow our Twitter feed, and if you want to join the discussion, come visit the forum thread over at Colony of Gamers.)

Hey we’re back! Sort of. Some of us are back. Not all of us. We’re partially back!

Look, I’m rusty at this, give me a break.

There are lots of reasons for the lack of episodes this time around, and we talk about some of that within – basically, a big part of it is that in addition to being busy with other stuff, I’ve been feeling kinda crappy about gaming for a little while, because in a lot of ways it’s been crappy. If it could stop that, it’d be swell. It seems to be getting better, but clearly there are bumps in the road we’re traveling.

But we still love playing games and talking about games, and focusing on the good helps, so we do a lot of that. We don’t just focus on the crappy stuff, don’t worry. There’ve been some sweet games out there lately – Clayton walks us through the surprisingly high-quality Wolfenstein: The New Order, for instance, and I gush unreservedly over Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. And Steam curation! And Blizzard canceling Titan! And Notch getting unfathomably rich! There’s lots of stuff, give it a listen and hear for yourself.

Small crew this time around, but we’ll try to up the player count next time around. If anybody’s around, that is. I mean, I hear Gamer Is Dead! Maybe. Probably Not.

Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock]

Participants are Robert [Trebor] and Clayton [Voodoo]

Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

(Don’t forget to follow our Twitter feed, and if you want to join the discussion, come visit the forum thread over at Colony of Gamers.)

I just don’t even know, you guys. I don’t.

We tried to schedule and record this episode what felt like 24 times. It was more like 4 times, but that’s still a lot. Many e-mails were passed around, many schedules were uncooperative. But finally, we managed to get ourselves around the microphones, and then we just couldn’t stop talking. Not everybody makes it to the end, because this one goes real long. I hope you’re into that.

Just about everybody’s back on board for this episode other than Twitch Media Mogul Dennis, who’s got mad bank to make (go check that guy out!), but we were pleased to welcome Colony of Gamers regular Jeremy (Ghostbear, in those parts) to our ranks for this outing.

What did we talk about? What didn’t we talk about? A whole lot of games we’ve been playing. PAX East, which was something of a letdown for Steve but provided lots of discussion regardless. The Ars Technica Steam Gauge project. Not Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea, even though I really wanted to. Soon, though. Other stuff, too – I can’t remember it all, it was like 17 hours long. Go listen and find out!

I would claim that the next episode will be shorter, or sooner, but I can’t lie to you like that. We’ll see you when we see you, and I hope it’s soon. For now, join us for Another Overdue Reunion.

Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock]

Participants are James [Vigil80], Robert [Trebor], Steve [Dukefrukem], and Jeremy [Ghostbear]

Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

(Don’t forget to follow our Twitter feed, and if you want to join the discussion, come visit the forum thread over at Colony of Gamers.)

Eric was the elegant host, Dennis was DJ, and I was ready to party. Robert agreed to let us all tell our parents we were staying at his place. Steve brought his hot new date, Assassin’s Creed, but the rest of us were worried about her reputation for being an angry drunk after the third round. And then the power went out. I think Dennis’s voice-activated turntable tripped the breaker, but we’ll never know for sure. By the time we got the lights back on, Eric had to leave on a beer run. But he did leave me with clear instructions not to burn the place down.

We eventually manage to pore over an eclectic selection of the year’s finest games. If it was interesting, affecting, or merely very fun, chances are good that one of us noticed. If it was ridiculous or shameful, we noticed that too, but we don’t let it get us down.

If you aren’t surprised by some of the crew’s favorites, I’ll eat the leftover collard greens from New Year’s Day dinner. Cold.

Grab a cold one and raise a toast to the best games of 2013.

Hosted by Eric [Ravenlock] and James [Vigil80]

Participants are Robert [Trebor], Steve [Dukefrukem], and Dennis [OP Nerd]

Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

Enjoy the tradition of Game of the Year debate at our Twitter feed and the Colony of Gamers discussion thread.

See what I did there? Because it’s our sixty-ninth episode and we didn’t record all Autumn– and the song title — …Sorry, I’ll go sit in the corner.

We’ve been away awhile, but the good news is, that means we came back with all sorts of games to talk about. It’s been an eventful Autumn and this is a lengthy show with a full-sized cast… minus James, whose absence was keenly felt. The rest of us are a little rusty, but we pulled it out in the end! In terms of topic, it was honestly mostly just games (fancy that), though the Steam sale and the iBuyPower Steam Machine and Steam Greenlight and the Just Cause 2 multiplayer mod on Steam all got mentioned. …So, Steam Steam Steam Steam. Shocking, I know.

Here’s a few of the games that got discussed, with links to ones you might not know: Assassin’s Creed IV: I Was Wrong And I’m Sorry, Batman: Arkham Origins, Eldritch, Risk of Rain, Delver, Nuclear Throne, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Frozen Endzone, Bugbear Games’ Next Car Game, Starbound, Steamworld: Dig, Skyrim, Typing of the Dead: Overkill (and the Shakespeare DLC!) Saints Row III and IV, Hexcells, Borderlands 2, the Dishonored DLC, Path of Exile, War Thunder (and some Youtube videos about the same), Alien Breed.

Also, we were happy to be joined by Dennis (OP Nerd on CoG) for this episode, and we talked about his Twitch channel a bit, which you should absolutely check out. He’s also started a streaming community website. He’s an ambitious guy. We hope to have Dennis back for our end-of-year wrap up, which will almost certainly happen sooner in relation to this episode than this one did to the last.

Oh! Steve has a Twitch.TV channel too.

Okay, I’m gonna stop yappin’. You’ve got a long episode to listen to. Let’s talk about the Autumn of 69.

Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock]

Participants are Robert [Trebor], Steve [Dukefrukem], and Dennis [OP Nerd]

Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

(Don’t forget to follow our Twitter feed, and if you want to join the discussion, come visit the forum thread over at Colony of Gamers.)

It’s a he-said-she-said kind of show as we start things off with Steam summer sale chatter, anecdotes from Clay and Silent Rob go to QuakeCon, and a healthy dose of current events.

Then, listeners answer the cry for help from last episode with a couple of juicy emails that make up the bulk of our discussion. Per their missives, we touch on the subject of gameplay streaming and commentary – which is sure to come up in greater detail in future shows – whether Steam is becoming more evil, and the merits of The Walking Dead: 400 Days.

Hosted by James [Vigil80]

Participants are Eric [Ravenlock] and Robert [Trebor]

Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

Follow the trendsetters by posting in the Colony of Gamers discussion thread and following us on Twitter.

Links from this Episode: Mercenary Kings, Game of Thrones mod for Mount & Blade, Teleglitch: Die More Edition, Rogue Legacy, Shadowrun Returns, Leisure Suit Larry Reloaded, BeamNG’s Drive! and its crazy vehicle physics, the Left 4 Dead 2 “leak”, and Dennis’ Twitch.TV channel.

We throw the book away for this punchy episode, and focus on the new consoles, of all things. But don’t worry, the discussion centers around what the new generation means for PC players (if anything). LiquidRain, contributor to the show and Colony of Gamers hardware guru, gave us food for thought on the consoles’ tech and how it measures up.

If that doesn’t grab you, you can still listen in for the delight of Gunpoint, the surprise of Call of Juarez Gunslinger, the anticipation of State of Decay‘s PC port, and the legend of Clayton.

And for an encore, we have just enough time before the host’s mental break to get moony about the Oculus Rift.

Hosted by James [Vigil80]

Participants are Eric [Ravenlock] and Robert [Trebor]

Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

Throw us a bone, and find the full text of LiquidRain’s answers, at the Colony of Gamers discussion thread, or follow us on Twitter.