Tim and Joel finalize their thoughts - for now - about the survival genre.

We are shifting to a new format! In future we will take hiatuses to prepare for genre/thematic groupings. The first hiatus begins now - we will return in a few weeks to talk about colony builder and narrative strategy games.

Games mentioned:

• Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China
• Hollow Knight
• Mark of the Ninja
• Prince of Persia
• Nidhogg
• Hunt Showdown
• Hood: Outlaws and Legends
• Truck Simulator
• Population One
• Halo
• Space Engineers
• Valheim
• Deep Rock Galactic
• The Long Dark
• Dayz
• Scum
• Ark
• The Last of Us
• Spec Ops: The Line
• Red Dead Redemption 2

Last week, Tim and Joel asked: What are we Surviving for? This week we look at a different kind of survival game, Space Engineers. The focus here is less on the immediate human elements of survival and more on resource gathering, building and eventually interplanetary travel. We then look at gameplay dynamics that are fundamental to enjoying a survival game: desperation, tension and release.

Games Mentioned:

• Space Engineers
• Valheim
• The Long Dark
• MineCraft
• DayZ
• Scum

Run, fight, craft, build, eat, survive. Cooperate or kill. But why? Joel and Tim begin to look at games that answer this question satisfactorily, and ones that don't.

Games mentioned:

• Dwarf fortress
• Valheim
• DayZ
• Rust
• Fallout
• Deus Ex
• The Forest
• Ark: Survival Evolved
• Subnautica
• Eco
• Neo Scavenger
• The Long Dark

Tim and Joel introduce some of the fundamentals of the survival genre: environmental pressure, crafting, building, multiplayer. We explore some of the different survival experiences these games are attempting to convey, and the way various games succeed or fail in delivering those experiences.

Games mentioned:

• Roblox
• The Source
• Tropico 6
• Valheim
• Minecraft
• Hunt: Showdown
• Escape from Tarkov
• DayZ
• Assassin's Creed Odyssey
• The Long Dark
• Far Cry
• Ark
• Red Dead redemption 2
• Green Hell
• Scum
• Space Engineers

Tim and Joel cover a selection of news items. We begin by looking at some of the corporate moves being made, from streaming and subscription models to acquisitions of smaller companies. This turns into a wider discussion about art and capitalism. Finally we look at the changing demographics of gaming, in light of the news that adult women are now the industry's largest demographic.

Games mentioned:

• Paratopic
• Adios
• Outriders
• Firewatch
• Animal Crossing
• Breath of the Wild
• Pikuniku
• Tonight We Riot

After the recent narrative deep dive, Tim and Joel catch up on what we've been playing. Large doses of Valheim, the dumb fun of Outriders, and some other survival games in preparation for our upcoming look at the genre. Tim goes into the community-based civilizational survival game Eco, and the Mars planet builder Per Aspera.

Games mentioned:

• Valheim
• Outriders
• The Surge 2
• Gears of War
• The Technomancer
• Greedfall
• Hunt: Showdown
• Call of Duty: Warzone
• Genesis Noir
• Per Aspera
• Offworld Trading Company
• Scum
• Dayz
• Deep Rock Galactic
• Eco
• Frostpunk
• Unravel 2
• Pikuniku

In Part One, Tim and Joel looked at how procedural generation can aid or detract from video game narrative. This week, we look at artificial intelligence - a nascent field with immense possibilities. We look at the fundamental difference between AI and traditional systems, and explore the fascinating, dreamlike storytelling experience of AI Dungeon.

Games mentioned:

• Microsoft Flight Simulator.
• No Man's Sky
• Minecraft
• AI Dungeon
• The Sims
• ELIZA

Tim and Joel begin with a discussion of games we recently played. We highlight the problems of returning to grand narrative games like Mafia 3, and the possibilities of player-defined narratives, before looking at procedural generation and its role in game narrative construction, looking at Minecraft and our recent favorite, Valheim.

Games mentioned:

• Mafia 3
• Valheim
• Breath of the Wild
• Signs of the Sojourner
• The Witcher 3
• Slay the Spire
• FTL
• Darkest Dungeon
• Minecraft
• Seedship
• Rogue

The systems a game employs to create a narrative or experience are an expression of the way the developers see the world. After looking in depth at Dwarf Fortress last week, Tim and Joel note the different systems in Stardew Valley and Farming Simulator, both ostensibly games about farming. We then move on to discuss The Sims and Crusader Kings 3, and how they use their systems to illustrate different aspects of human experience.

• Sim City/The Sims
• Banished
• Frostpunk
• Stardew Valley
• Farming Simulator
• Train Simulator
• Europa Universalis
• Victoria
• Hearts of Iron
• Crusader Kings 2
• Crusader Kings 3.
• Civilization
• This War of Mine
• Hardspace Shipbreaker

Tim and Joel look at the way systemic games allow players to create stories. After a brief digression into the mechanics of character creation, we look once again at Dwarf Fortress, and its unique ability to generate story through its systems.

Games mentioned:

• The Witcher 3
• Mass Effect
• ADOM: Ancient Domains of Mystery
• Disco Elysium
• Dwarf Fortress
• Rimworld