The Codec Call

Andy and Stuart discuss their secret love of clicker games and not so secret love of spreadsheets in this week's Cost of a Coffee.

Universal Paperclips is the story of a AI designed to manufacture paperclips, above all else.  We would describe it in greater detail, but that would just be wasting precious time in which you could be making paperclips...

"Release the Hypno Drones."

It's not the most exciting podcast title, but it is straight to the point.  We've sat down as a team and looked at the release schedule of games up to the end of June 2019 and picked out which ones we're most interested in playing.  Turns out there's quite a few coming and we like the sound of most of them!

Listen to this episode of the Codec Moments Podcast to find out:

• Which team member hasn't picked Anthem but spends a lot of time talking about it

This time on Cost of a Coffee, Andy and Stuart giggle because they've consumed too much caffeine and chat about Old Man's Journey.  

It's a simple puzzle game, which tells an emotional tale through a series of vignettes and divided their opinion over the titular old man.  

"He's not Santa."

Unbelievably the first month of 2019 has gone past already.  The 31 days whipped by with no thought to our gaming backlogs and only those keeping an eye on the calendar were savvy enough to know what to play and when.  Those are the people we're celebrating in this month's Codec Momentum update.  Listen to find out:

• What did the team pledge and how did they do

In this episode of Cost of a Coffee, the Year of Shame buddies Andy and Stuart discuss a mobile golf game that will cost about the same as your morning latte.  

Golf Club Wasteland, from Demagog Stud!o, is the topic of conversation this week; a golf game with simple mechanics and not so simple level design, set on a post-apocalyptic planet Earth after everyone's popped off to live on Mars.  The game uses simple story telling linked to your accomplishments, and excellent sound design, to help players overcome any sense of frustration and make this an experience worth having a go at.

They also discuss grand theft Nespresso. 

Occasionally we talk about things that aren't games.  Not often we know, but it does happen and it's come round again.  Matt, Andy and an absent Ali give their views on the headphones they've each received over the last few weeks.  Be prepared to get bored senseless on the Bionik Mantis PSVR headphones, the Razer Thresher's for Xbox One, and a set of indeterminate Bluetooth headphones in a woolly hat. 

Fortunately, to stop you from dozing off the listeners helped out with a couple of interesting questions to answer, and we've got an update on what's happening with our podcast hosting (if that kind of thing floats your boat).

In the first of a new series of Cost of a Coffee, Andy meets with his Year of Shame friend Stuart Neill, to discuss games that cost the same as your cappuccino this morning.  

Will they prove to be more entertaining and engaging than a cup of joe, or will they leave a more bitter taste in your mouth than a scorched espresso?

This week they talk about Florence from Mountains and published by Annapurna Interactive.  

A whole month has passed already and it feels like we've never left 2018... though that might be because we've had a few AAA titles that decided to avoid the Red Dead Redemption II effect and actually pull in a few sales.  But what out of this maelstrom of new and interesting titles have the team been playing?  Listen to our gaming roundup to find out.

Put your best podcast player to use to hear:

• What we've been playing to review

Nothing to see here, just some test audio about cats.