INT-Game Podcast

Rogue Space is back in action as we call a close on our first full year of the podcast. Join host Jango, along with old favourites John, Debbie and Luke for a recap on some of our top picks from the previous year, including zany moments, arguments and the rise of a new threat to all mankind. Help us celebrate a year of Rogue Space as well as Halloween as we talk about some of our favorite moments in horror games to boot.

Hosted By: Jango

Produced By: Jango

Edited By: Jango

Show Notes By: Debbie and Jango

Discussed in this Episode

Pan’s Labyrinth – A 2006 Spanish-Mexican by director Guillermo del Toro. The infamous Pale Man described in the podcast plays a short but nightmare-inducing role. Jango, know for not being one for scares and horror says the Pale Man is the limit. Luke’s says he pulled scarier things out of the shower drain… we believe him.

Ju-On – Originally a 2002 Japanese film, the 2004 American remake starred Sarah Michelle Geller, and apparently distressed a young Jango. John however sat through the whole movie in the theatre before they pulled it from public release in Australia. Professor Chaos may have his origin story.

Resident Evil – The original survival-horror franchise that combines horror, action and puzzle solving. The specific games mentioned, RE 4, 5, and 6, were released in 2005, 2009, and 2012, respectively. Resident Evil is developed and produced Capcom. We’ve all had our fair share of fun and fear with the RE games. Whether Luke is being terrorised by Dogs in RE4, John fumbling with Quick Time Events in RE5, Jango laughing off the silliness of RE6 or Debbie being tormented by pointless items in RE7’s trailer, we all love it.

F.E.A.R. –  Another survivor horror franchise, but instead of the stop-and-shoot third person mechanics of Resident Evil, the F.E.A.R. series is an action heavy first person shooter. F.E.A.R. is developed by Monolith Productions and produced by Sierra Games. The suspense and fear of “what might be coming” is main draw for John in this game. The series is not for everyone but we sure did like the original game.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem –  An action-adventure horror game released on the Gamecube. The game’s sanity effects revolutionized screwing with the player’s head. It was developed by Silicon Knights and produced by Nintendo. We touched on this in last years October episode and a year later we are still thinking about it. Even those who haven’t played it are recalling it fondly.

Shadow/Shrek Ship – Luke’s bizarre fascination that leaves everyone else on the podcast (mostly) speechless. Plans to base the concept art for “Harry Bomber’s Bombastic Adventure“ and the “The Dubious Exploits of Professor Chaos” on this thread of pictures need to be stopped right now. Please help us keep Luke’s concepts INT related…. please. Click at your own risk.

Harry Bomber – Both Luke and Jango chose the Harry Bomber incident from way back in “Episode 4: Lore Never Changes”. It’s easy to see how that revelation capture the hearts of the team and why the Panel never miss a chance to remind the world of it existence. Thanks Luke for being a good sport about it.

Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte’s infamous novel. It’s filled with ghosts,

Rogue Space returns with episode 10

Rogue Space returns with episode 9, and the second installment of the “Summer of INT” series. In this episode, Jango, John and Debbie are joined by Secret Reality’s Eric Chou and Matt Ross to discuss their own personal “500 Days of Summer” aspirations. What would you do if given 500 consecutive days to pursue your every frivolous want. What are those things you’d do if only you had the time? Find out what the team came up with (Hint: it includes Drums, Dentistry and World Domination) in this endearing and zany issue of Rogue Space!

Discussed in this Episode

Great America – Great America is one of California’s biggest and best known amusement parks. It’s been featured in Beverly Hills Cop 3 among other films and it’s got plenty of rides to keep Debbie busy while everyone else chows down at the food stands. Home to the Gold Striker, one of the top ranked wooden roller coasters, it’s sure to give Debbie that near death rush she lives for.

Trebuchet – John tells us his number one “if I only hand the time” dream, to build a medieval weapon of destruction and besiegement. I guess it’s better than doing nothing. An interesting insight to what may be humanity’s downfall, but a great and inventive use of your 500 days. Smashing…

Chick Poop Catapult – A mistake on Jango’s part, there is actually a catapult that fires chicken poop at trespassers rather than cow poop. Still really crazy. It also fires massive railway sleepers tipped with rubber at them too. It has been alleged it once fired cows (other than the man’s wife…) but we couldn’t find the backing for that in our follow up research unfortunately.

Transportation Catapult – Unfortunately not a real catapult this time I’m afraid. If you have any transport related innovations in the UK you can go to this agency for grant funding. They have famously invested in the UK’s first self driving car. They could be ready to hit the streets by 2018 and a pedestrian a few seconds later… A self driving smart car, now that is something I’d like to see John’s trebuchet fire.

Franz Reichelt’s Body Parachute  – In a lighthearted look at the confidence of people being foolish, we discussed the 1912 jump of Franz Reichelt and his invention, the wearable parachute. We had a good laugh at his expense, given he tried to jump from a height of 57m / 187 ft expecting a parachute to save him, but in the end it was a tragedy. The whole event, including the landing, was filmed and is available on youtube but fair warning, it can be a little hard to watch the happy man smile while knowing his inevitable fate. Alas, maybe there is a kernel of a memorable encounter in this tale for INT? Who knows?

“Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs – A great song for all music fans. Interestingly the word “Maps” doesn’t appear in the actual lyrics. A real treat for those who like their drum and their rhythm, we can see why Jango would want to learn to break out the drum’s intro whenever the mood struck. YYZ will most definitely have to wait though.

Eldritch Horror / Dead of Winter – Two of the biggest, baddest and best of the board game genre not to make our lists back in Rogue Space # 7: “The Big Deal.“ Debbie pledges to make her 500 days about winning every board game she knows at least once (and also stopping the fall of humanity).

Another great installment of Rogue Space. In this episode, Jango, John, Debbie and Panda discuss the travails of travel. The team reminisce about some of their favorite and not so favorite memories of holidays and vacations past. Some stories are loony, some are hilarious, some are even fraught with danger, but all of them are classic. In the second half, join us for a round table discussion on “Games as Interactive Cinema” and see if player’s really do have a say in how a game turns out. All this awaits you here, come see us in Rogue Space!

Discussed in this Episode

Lights Will Guide You Home – Debbie kicks off the storytelling with a gem of a tale. Returning to Dallas, the area her family originally hails from for New Year’s, she was taken to Dallas’ famous “Lights All Night” festival. From being separated from her cousin to trying to hail a cab near sunrise with a clearly non-lucid companion, it was an experience to say the least.

The Adventures of Mr. X on the Gold Coast – John follows up on Debbie’s story of youthful antics with some of his own. Telling the story of an old friend of his, referred to as Mr. X for his own good, during a college trip to the Australian Gold Coast and his passionate (if unrequited) pursuit of a professional dancer.

Never Trust a Map in Greece – Panda give us our first tale of overseas voyages with a trip the the Greek mainland. Deciding to take a train up to the city of Athens, if you’re well prepared and have a map, what could go wrong? Exactly as you would expect, a lost Panda. With all the winding streets and distracting shopfronts, how will Panda make it back to Piraeus in time? And what will become of the flock of cats she met there?

Life, Death and the Greek Islands – Jango follows up on Panda’s Grecian story with one of his own. The last time he was in Greece, on the small Island of Santorini, he faced death on more than one occasion at the behest of his parents, including a trip to the crater of an active volcano, a swim in the muddy waters above Atlantis (to be confirmed) and a snapping beach chair.

Panda the Missionary – A more serious tale of travel to the Cradle of Humanity but still a great one. Panda tell us of her missionary work with her father in Senegal as they distributed Malaria medications to the town’s people. The local health authorities did not see it the same way which caused a lot of conflict. We’re just glad everyone got out okay and we got to hear the tale.

The Most Surreal Day of My Life – Jango tell the story of the most surreal day in his life, a day at the Life Science Baltic 2014 expo. Included in the story is a big sausage breakfast, presentation nerves, the inventor of DNA testing, the economics minister of Shanghai, Lithuania’s 2008 Eurovision entry, Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” Music Video and a 7am Flight Home. The worst part? It’s all completely true…

Round Table Discussion Topics

Games as Interactive Cinema

Are AAA Games Becoming More Cinematically Orientated? – The Round Table starts of with discussion of the premise, are games becoming more focused on telling a set story and giving less regard to the player’s input. Is the player becoming more and more of an observer than a part of the game.

Games like the Metal Gear Solid series, Quantum Break, the Resident Evil series, the Tomb Raider series, the Uncharted series and The Order 1886 all are put under the microscope in this debate.

In this episode of Rogue Space, Jango sits in the host chair and joined by Dave, Luke, John Shen and Special Guest Margaret “Panda” Ralston – Starboard Games LLC’s Tabletop Development Lead – , all games non-video are up for discussion. The gang chat about some of their favourite card, board and tabletop games as well as what it’s like to develop a card game of your own from scratch, as Panda has done for the upcoming INT card game. Join us for all this and more in this episode of Rogue Space!

Discussed in this Episode

Anima: Beyond Fantasy Card Game – Inspired by traditional Japanese RPGs, this card game spun off from it’s parent board game Anima: Beyond Fantasy. In this game, the player’s hand acts as a party of adventurers from the series as players co-operate or try to out position each other in order to take down the final boss. A rich back story and universe permeates the franchise, leading to novels, videogames and even a world championship tournament for the game and its 4 expansions. If you are into worlds of high fantasy this is one not to miss.

Story War – This ingenious card game jumped straight out of KickStarter back in 2013, brought to us by Cantrip Games.Tthe game pits various characters from across mythology, fables and real life into a story telling battle royale. The goal is to tell the most compelling story as to how your character defeats the others. Throw in all sorts of locations, traps, items and abilities and let your imagination run wild. To top it all off, a print and play version is available free and the game is ripe for modding.

Yu-Gi-Oh / Magic the Gathering – These classic games of myth and magic have been with us from childhood right through to college (and even beyond). Whether or not you’re into the zany anime or the intense back and forth of card-on-card action, everyone can appreciate the awesome artworks of both card games.

Cards Against Humanity – “The Party Game for Horrible People” and basically everyone else too. I’ve yet to meet a single person who has not enjoyed playing this game. A must play for fans of randomness, nonsense and down right non-politically correct things. I wouldn’t be surprised if INTplaysCAH become a regular event in the Starboard Games calendar.

Shephy – A rare treat, a single player card game themed around animals and the apocalypse. “The goal of the game is to turn one sheep into 1,000.” “We are all the same. We have no individuality. When humans looked upon us, they believed the world had one ultimate cause. We had nothing to say to them, so we kept silent.‘When humans are gone, you’ll soon follow,’ they said to us.” This game was a big inspiration in the building of the INT card game. The only issue we have with it is it’s not based on Llamas. It even has a sheepy Cthulhu, that’ll satisfy Dave.

Gloom – “The Game of Inauspicious Incidents and Grave Consequences. In the Gloom card game, you assume control of the fate of an eccentric family of misfits and misanthropes. The goal of the game is sad, but simple: you want your characters to suffer the greatest tragedies possible before passing on to the well-deserved respite of death.” Another innovative game, in both theme and gameplay, if dark humor and the macabre is your thing then Gloom is the game for you.

Hanabi Card Game &#...

We’re back and settled in after a long, wonderful weekend at Ravencon. The team had a blast meeting new fans and other creators, and we even had some time to record an episode of Rogue Space while we were there.

In this very special episode, Mark Roenfeldt (animation lead), David Horwitz (writing lead), Kellen Waugh (2D concept artist), Paul Taylor (2D concept artist), and Jango (coding lead), join host Justin Bise (project lead) to talk about our experiences at the convention and the most recent playable build. Oh, did I mention that we were showing off our first ever public build of the game?

Check out our second special to hear the feedback we received, as well as a live recording of a young gentleman playing our game. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and met with us, and thanks to all of the developers on the Starboard team who could make it and help out. Cheers!

Debbie, Jango, and Jacob are joined by Brian Olszewski – Starboard Games LLC’s Creative Development Lead – as they come together to discuss comic books, science-fiction, and ultimately delve into what it is like to write comics and novels set within the universe of INT. Find these topics and so much more in this extremely well-read episode of the Rogue Space Podcast!

|| Discussed in this Episode ||

Women in Refrigerators: A popular website created by popular comic book writer, Gail Simone, which lists all of the female characters in comics who have been unceremoniously killed off, maimed, or traumatized as a means to forward or complicate the plot of a male character. The site itself is somewhat old, but it is an interesting read. Definitely worth reading through if you have the time.

Wytches: Written by Scott Snyder, Wytches follows Sailor of the Rook family after a bully of hers suddenly goes missing after an attack. Confronting the terrifying power of rumors whilst mixing in elements of supernatural horror, this comic series looks as excellent as it is dark. This is definitely a horror series that you do not want to miss out on.

The Wake: Also written by Scott Snyder, I am fairly certain that this is the comic series that Brian was having trouble recalling the name of during the podcast. The Wake follows Lee Archer, a marine biologist who is approached by the Department of Homeland Security to venture deep into the Arctic Circle to join an underwater oil rig known as the “Ghost Rig.” Space may be the final frontier for horror, but the deep sea can be just as terrifying in its isolation. As with all the comics listed here, this one also looks like it is definitely worth picking up.

Bitch Planet: Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, this series is a feminist send-up of the exploitation film genre that takes place in a dystopian reality where non-compliant women are sent to an off-planet prison. While I have not yet picked up this series, it seems fascinating. Debbie gives it high-praise as well.

Sex Criminals: Written by Matt Fraction, Sex Criminals follows a librarian and an actor who discover after sleeping with each other that they both can freeze time upon orgasming. This series looks as crazy as it sounds and that honestly intrigues me. I want to see how such a mad-cap concept can get nominated for two Eisner Awards.

The Wicked and The Divine: Written by Kieron Gillen, this series follows a young teenage girl by the name of Laura as she interacts with a group of twelve people who happen to be reincarnated deities. They have fame and power, but only two years to live. Another of Debbie’s recommendations.

The Sandman: Written by Neil Gaiman and published by Vertigo, The Sandman follows the character of Morpheus who is the personification of Dream as he is captured, escapes, and travels through a wide variety of alternate planes of reality. This is one of the few graphic novels to ever make it onto the New York Times Best Seller list and it honestly deserves to be there. It is an amazing series. Read it all.

Fables: Written by Bill Willingham, Fables is about a collection of popular characters from fairy tales and folklore who are forced to flee to New York City after their homelands have come under attack by a powerful force known only as “The Adversary.” One part noire and two parts modern fantasy, this is a series I recommend all who enjoy modern twists on old classics take a look into.

Luke, Jango, and Starboard Games LLC’s Writing Lead – David Horwitz – are confronted with their greatest challenge on the podcast to date… A lore-based quiz show in which Jacob is asking all of the questions. After the questions and embarrassment have passed, the Rogue Space team then interviews their companion on what it is like to write for INT and what got him started down the wordy path of writing.

Words of Warning! The lore discussed in this episode, like all things, might be changed/altered/scrubbed as development continues. We will do our best to keep you all updated if changes are made though.

|| Discussed in this Episode ||

The Order of Anabasis: Combining the hierarchy of the old Roman Catholic Church with the pragmatism and neutrality of organizations such as the Red Cross, the Order had a new, unapologetic take on religion. The only thing that mattered was the Greater Good – an impossible goal of constant improvement. The Order worked to relieve suffering, advance scientific knowledge, and promote the general betterment of all men and women. Evil was only that which stood in the way of progress. Good was only that which advanced the condition of man.

Prometh Syndicate: After the war, Helios Consolidated sold its patents for the suit to a group of chemists looking to form a startup. The chemists, however, actually represented various criminal interests from Earth and Sol whose members hoped to overtake the growing and unchallenged power of the Bakunin Bravta. Led by the former Yakuza, Rika Nowada, whose cousin, Daichi Onishi led Helios’s R&D, a powerful conglomerate soon coalesced and expanded around the vapor-based drug they created.

The Isarni: Not much is known about the Isarni.Professor Icaria Isarni of Apotheosis Design, the most celebrated scholar of Isarni biology and sociology, was killed by a group of the mammalians she was observing out in the swampy marshes outside of the UCE prison’s temporary perimeter, on Taros, during the later stages of its construction. She was the first to identify that the three known evolutionary lines of Isarni were actually genetically related: Rillians, Feraxils, and Veniders. They are currently being used by the UCE in the war against the ACP so, despite what we mention in this episode, they can technically be found elsewhere in the galaxy.

Polix: The capital city of New Terra is home to the UCE’s governing facilities and is the center of the planet’s legal operations. As a gesture to governing with transparency, all the buildings in these adjacent districts were designed and built with reinforced glass that exposes the chamber and offices of, which can withstand rounds of small artillery, although as with any building, it is helpless against heavy munitions. First-time visitors taking any of the multiple walking tours through these downtown districts, or Glass City, are often astounded at the structures that reveal the inner workings of offices and chambers to the passers-by and general public. Critics, however, point out that the entire operation is more a performance than anything else, as the major cities on New Terra are self-sufficient, and the omnipresence of the UCE suggests that the J10’s imprint is all-too obvious in the planet’s governance.

Neptune: Neptune is the outsiders’ world. Smaller corporations, or corporations forced out of the Jovian sphere of influence due to politicking, have found a small niche here. Able to produce Interstellar Drives with none of Uranus’ issues, it stands as the last chance for some, and the first hope of others. Apotheosis Design’s move to join the J10 is one of the few success stories of this Sol System gas giant.

Tresst: Tresst is the largest mining settlement on Hyaline, home to over 30,000 miners and their families; over 500 residents work at the transport hub and an additional 1,000 techs, engineers,

On this episode of the Rogue Space podcast, Jacob and Dave are joined by Starboard Games LLC’s very own Programming Lead, Hugh “Jango” Thornton, as they discuss their favorite movies, books, and games that they experienced in 2015 as well as what it is like to program for a game like INT.

Heads Up! When we are talking about our “bests” of 2015, we are talking more specifically about those games, movies, and books we played, watched, and read this year. They are not all from 2015.

|| Discussed in this Episode ||

Chappie (2015): From the writer/director who brought you District 9 back in 2009, Chappie follows a police droid who is stolen and reprogrammed to become the first free-thinking robot capable of emotion. While I have not yet seen this film and it has garnered mixed reviews, Jango seemed to like it quite a lot and so I would say that it is definitely worth a watch.

Ex Machina (2015): From the writer of 28 Days Later and Sunshine, Ex Machina follows the story of a young programmer who is chosen to evaluate the human qualities of a female A.I. so as to determine whether or not it is truly capable of emotion or free thought. This is a great and very intense film. Give it a watch.

The Hateful Eight (2015): Quentin Tarantino works his unique and brutal brand of movie magic once again in this his eighth film to date which tells the story of a famous bounty hunter and his prisoner as they find themselves taking shelter in a cabin housing a group of wicked characters. If you can see it in 70mm, I would highly recommend this film. Be warned, however, this film is long and the second half is quite a departure from the first in tone.

Fahrenheit 451 (1953): A dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury in which books are outlawed and a group known as the “firemen” burn any that they come across. It is a wonderful study of the necessity of free speech and the power that books hold within their pages. I have no idea how Dave has not read this book yet since it is oftentimes assigned as required reading in high school.

Redwall (1986): I know a lot of folks who have read this and really enjoyed it, but have never actually read it myself. Redwall is a fantasy novel/series about an abbey inhabited by anthropomorphic mice as they fight against a one-eyed, evil rat overlord who is trying to take over Redwall.

You Are Not So Smart (2011): A book by journalist David McRaney which teaches you all about how your brain is fooling you into thinking you are smarter than you really are. Yet another book that I have not yet read, but I think I will definitely pick it up since it is always a blast to learn about how my brain is working against me so as to work with me.

Dan Simmons Novels: Dan Simmons is a science-fiction and horror writer whose novels I have never stopped enjoying. My personal favorites are his horror novels, especially Summer of Night, The Terror, and The Abominable.

This War of Mine (2014): An independent game by 11 Bit Studios that allows players to experience the horrors of war from the perspective of those civilians caught up in the middle of a war zone. From what Dave has explained, this is a very challenging game emotionally and mechanically.

On this, the second episode of the Rogue Space podcast, Starboard Games LLC’s Artistic Director, Matt Parkin, joins the crew as we discuss Thanksgiving, the newest INT teaser trailer, an upcoming mod for Command and Conquer 3, and what is quite possibly the biggest game release of the Autumn season.

||Discussed in This Episode||

Fallout 4: Everyone’s favorite Bethesda-Made, Post-Apocalyptic, FPS/RPG got a sequel this month and almost every single gamer is talking about it. We are no different. We talk about it quite a bit in this episode. It is a black hole of a topic that is nearly impossible to escape from. It has an HD dog in it.

Dragon Age: As much as we joke about this game, I actually really like the Dragon Age series and so too does Debbie apparently. She especially seems to like the character of Cullen since she has a shirt with him on it. It is a solid Fantasy RPG series made by the great game developer, BioWare. The first game had a fairly HD dog in it as well.

Metal Gear Solid V: Hideo Kojima’s epic continuation to a series whose complex plot about nukes, robots, men code-named snake, and nano-machines continues to confuse me to this day. That being said, I still love playing the games in this series and V is an excellent addition. This game ALSO has an HD dog in it… I am sensing a pattern here…

Tiberium Secrets: An epic scale mod for the game Command and Conquer 3 that is being developed by the Secret Reality team. It will add three entirely new factions to the game that will have their own unique models, lore, traits, and play-styles.

Thanksgiving: The holiday where families in North America gather around a table, eat a massive turkey feast, express how thankful they are, and then quickly hop in their cars at midnight so they can join in the adrenaline rush that is shopping for holiday deals on Black Friday. There is a dog show every Thanksgiving that can now be watched in HD… Make of that what you will.

Llama-Dog (The Llamog): A strange mixture between a llama and a dog that we somehow managed to get on the topic of. Luckily it is not actually a real thing. Not yet, at least.

INT Teaser #2: The epic new trailer for INT that shows off the UCE’s Scorpion fighter ship as well as the hangar level players will run across in the demo.

||Intro/Outro Music||

Rhinoceros – Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/