New Level Cap Podcast

Episode 19 (Recorded on May 13)OFFICIAL Newsletter: https://lvl99games.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=04f7e7faf4142bab287bb1d50&id=089a873e3aDISCORD LINK (ORGANIZED PLAY): https://discord.gg/XKY2aYj

“Pixel Tactics Development”

Summary:

Marco and Brad talk about a game we don't talk about often enough: Pixel Tactics! Find out about its history, how it developed from a "one-off" mini-game to one of our longest-running series. We discuss the challenges of this transition and some of the development thoughts that go into the game's balance.

Pixel Tactics was originally a stand-alone game in our mini-game library. It has since become a long-running series with at least 5 games and more to come in the future!

This led to a few "growing pains" that have colored the game's development. The first game introduced a variety of powerful effects that were hard to build-on. This is compounded by the lack of an internal balancing mechanism (like Mana in typical card games).

In the end, the way Pixel Tactics developed meant that we had to get creative with how we solved problems, resulting in a game system filled to the brim with fun combos and an emphasis on card advantage and tempo.

This blog supports an RSS Feed which you can add to your podcast app of choice to automatically get each episode as it releases! Here's a link to the feed!

You can also just visit our page on some popular podcasting apps: Apple Music, Google Play, and Spotify.

Music provided by Wesley Slover

Episode 18 (Recorded on May 8)OFFICIAL Newsletter: https://lvl99games.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=04f7e7faf4142bab287bb1d50&id=089a873e3aDISCORD LINK (ORGANIZED PLAY): https://discord.gg/XKY2aYj

“BattleCON Balance”

Summary:

Marco enlists the help of lead balancer Daniel to talk about balancing BattleCON. What is our goal when adjusting a character? Is it important that they're all S tier tournament viable? What do we usually look at when balancing? Find out the answers in this episode!

The goal of balance is to make everyone viable; not exactly tournament viable. Some match-ups may be 40-60's or 30-70's, but your player skill can still influence the final outcome.

Generally, BattleCON balance falls in the middle of "have a kit that can deal with anything" and "have a kit that emphasizes your strong gimmick."

Characters like Kaitlyn, Arec, and Ottavia have been fixed and are looking balanced, while certain characters like Sagas continue to present a problem in terms of balance and clarity.

This blog supports an RSS Feed which you can add to your podcast app of choice to automatically get each episode as it releases! Here's a link to the feed!

You can also just visit our page on some popular podcasting apps: Apple Music, Google Play, and Spotify.

Music provided by Wesley Slover

Episode 17 (Recorded on April 30)OFFICIAL Newsletter: https://lvl99games.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=04f7e7faf4142bab287bb1d50&id=089a873e3aDISCORD LINK (ORGANIZED PLAY): https://discord.gg/XKY2aYj

Branching Paths (Seventh Cross Narrative Episode): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdgaXNXZZ0U

“Delivering Experiences”

Summary:

Your good good design boys, Brad and Marco, talk about crafting and delivering a good gaming experience. How important is it to a successful game? Is trying to provide the widest experience the best way to go? Find out by listening to this episode!

The experience IS the game. If you do not nail it down just right, it will be hard to say that you've made a good game.

Be focused. Understand the experience you want to provide and trim anything that doesn't contribute to it.

In the end, remember the following: it's about providing the experience; not an emulation. You create a game that gives people the joy of playing Dark Souls. You don't make a game that tries to exactly replicate every piece of minutia that Dark Souls has.

This blog supports an RSS Feed which you can add to your podcast app of choice to automatically get each episode as it releases! Here's a link to the feed!

You can also just visit our page on some popular podcasting apps: Apple Music, Google Play, and Spotify.

Music provided by Wesley Slover

Episode 16 (Recorded on April 23)OFFICIAL Newsletter: https://lvl99games.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=04f7e7faf4142bab287bb1d50&id=089a873e3aDISCORD LINK (ORGANIZED PLAY): https://discord.gg/XKY2aYj

“Branding & Licensing”

Summary:

Brad and Marco talk about creating a good Brand that you can feel good about Licensing to others. Learn all about how a good, consistent set of guidelines can ensure that your IP remains faithful to its source material. All this and MORE in this episode!

A good IP starts with something cool that "explodes" into something that fans love and want to make part of their lives.

A solid and consistent set of guidelines means that you don't lose sight of the image you want to be associate with your brand. It also means that merchandisers and the people you license to will keep your image intact.

Licensing your IP means that you're extending your reach. Needless to say, make sure you license to partners that make sense. Mortal Kombat featuring Elsa from Frozen wouldn't make anyone particularly happy outside of the laugh you'll have from the sheer absurdity.

This blog supports an RSS Feed which you can add to your podcast app of choice to automatically get each episode as it releases! Here's a link to the feed!

You can also just visit our page on some popular podcasting apps: Apple Music, Google Play, and Spotify.

Music provided by Wesley Slover

Episode 15 (Recorded on April 15)OFFICIAL Newsletter: https://lvl99games.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=04f7e7faf4142bab287bb1d50&id=089a873e3aDISCORD LINK (ORGANIZED PLAY): https://discord.gg/XKY2aYj

“Games as a Platform”

Summary:

Brad is back! He and Marco talk about games as a platform. If you're a fan of a "game series" like Pokemon or Dark Souls, then you'll definitely know what we're talking about. What makes a game a good platform? What are the advantages and pitfalls? All that and more on this episode!

A game is a platform when it continuously builds content on top of a pre-laid-out system (think of Pokemon or BattleCON).

A game must first be a platform before it can become a service. A game that is not mutable, updateable, or extendable is usually hard to turn into a service.

One must remember that there is a certain expectation to be met, but this must be balanced with a healthy dose of innovation to keep a platform fresh.

This blog supports an RSS Feed which you can add to your podcast app of choice to automatically get each episode as it releases! Here's a link to the feed!

You can also just visit our page on some popular podcasting apps: Apple Music, Google Play, and Spotify.

Music provided by Wesley Slover

Episode 14 (Recorded on April 2)EXCEED Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Exceed/DISCORD LINK (ORGANIZED PLAY): https://discord.gg/XKY2aYj

“Community in Games”

Summary:

In this episode, Marco has Jackie guest for an episode all about Community! How can a community enhance the game experience you provide? How can you build and design your game to help it form a Community? All this and more on this episode!

A Community is a group of individuals who share a common interest. For this podcast, let's say that it's games or gaming!

A great Community can extend the life and "content" of your game through a variety of means: guides, discussions, fan art, and more!

Designing your games to have a "low barrier of entry" is crucial to forming larger Communities. Be inclusive with your design.

This blog supports an RSS Feed which you can add to your podcast app of choice to automatically get each episode as it releases! Here's a link to the feed!

You can also just visit our page on some popular podcasting apps: Apple Music, Google Play, and Spotify.

Music provided by Wesley Slover

Episode 13 (Recorded on March 27)EXCEED Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Exceed/DISCORD LINK (ORGANIZED PLAY): https://discord.gg/XKY2aYj

“Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice”

Summary:

In this episode, we’ll talk about a recent game that came out and how we’re enjoying it. This week, the topic is “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” by From Software, the developer of some of the games we hate to love (AKA Dark Souls)

Sekiro is a character action game that blends the "stealth creative takedown" system of the Arkham games with Bloodborne-esque samurai sword combat.

It is most definitely not Dark Souls 4, Bloodborne 2, or Tenchu 2 Electric Boogaloo. It is its own game and should be taken as such.

Sekiro's use of a predetermined protagonist, as opposed to a custom character, give it a few advantages in its story, presentation, and game design.

This blog supports an RSS Feed which you can add to your podcast app of choice to automatically get each episode as it releases! Here's a link to the feed!

You can also just visit our page on some popular podcasting apps: Apple Music, Google Play, and Spotify.

Music provided by Wesley Slover

Episode 12 (Recorded on March 20)DISCORD LINK (ORGANIZED PLAY): https://discord.gg/XKY2aYj

“Games as a Service”

Summary:

Brad and Marco talk about games as a service. If you've ever subscribed to an MMO or bought into a Season Pass, you'll know what we're talking about. Are these as bad as people say they are? Listen to find out!

Games as a Service may be looked at as a modern way of developer-customer relationship where players pay for the "service" of being able to play the game.

Ideally, this set-up is ideal for everyone. Players keep getting more content for their favorite games and developers have a continuous revenue stream.

However, things aren't always like this. When developers use this tool to exploit their players, it can result in a lot of the bad things that many modern gamers dislike about games.

This blog supports an RSS Feed which you can add to your podcast app of choice to automatically get each episode as it releases! Here's a link to the feed!

You can also just visit our page on some popular podcasting apps: Apple Music, Google Play, and Spotify.

Music provided by Wesley Slover

Episode 11 (Recorded on March 18)DISCORD LINK (ORGANIZED PLAY): https://discord.gg/XKY2aYj

“Replayability”

Summary:

Brad and Marco talk about making the most of your game's content with replayability. This is a topic near and dear to us at Level 99 Games, so give it a listen!

Replayability is the gap of time between learning a game and mastering it. When you stop learning or experiencing new things when you play, the game is "over".

You can add more replayability by using variable set-ups, differences in play, and post-game content.

Replayability has its down-sides: it doesn't allow for a catered or guided experience, possibly making it hard for newer players to enjoy.

This blog supports an RSS Feed which you can add to your podcast app of choice to automatically get each episode as it releases! Here's a link to the feed!

You can also just visit our page on some popular podcasting apps: Apple Music, Google Play, and Spotify.

Music provided by Wesley Slover

Episode 10 (Recorded on March 7)Millennium Blades Kickstarter: https://goo.gl/fk4VqgDISCORD LINK (ORGANIZED PLAY): https://discord.gg/XKY2aYj

“News @ 99”

Summary:

Marco and Brad give you the Level 99 Games news and all things otherwise! Learn about our current project status and our plans for future games!

Millennium Blades was a smashing success and we want to involve our fans in more design-related aspects during our projects.

Empyreal and BattleCON Unleashed face some delays due to art.

Future projects are coming, including more Pixel Tactics and Seventh Cross!

This blog supports an RSS Feed which you can add to your podcast app of choice to automatically get each episode as it releases! Here's a link to the feed!

You can also just visit our page on some popular podcasting apps: Apple Music, Google Play, and Spotify.

Music provided by Wesley Slover