The Experience Points Podcast

I just recently fulfilled a longtime dream of mine to visit Japan, the home place of Mario, Link, and whatever those creepy anime masks things are. It's a place I've visited in anime and games since I was a child, so there's something surreal about visiting a new but familiar landscape. This week on the show, we discuss our gaming ties to Japan and why cultural experiences through gaming are important.

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 39 mins 06 secs

- Music by Brad Sucks

Remember that one game you loved oh so very much? Well have you played it lately? Maybe it's still a classic, but maybe the mists of your memory have obscured a harsher reality? This week, we talk about the games we remember liking, even though they might not be as flawless in the present day's harsh light.

Ryan Green, one of the creators behind the heartbreaking and stunning That Dragon, Cancer recently published a blog post that discussed the use Let's Plays from the perspective of a game developer struggling to recoup development expenses. It's a complex morass of fair-use, exploitation, and the struggle to make ends meet as an indie game designer. Nevertheless, it's time we wade in...

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 39 mins 24 secs- Music by Brad Sucks

It's true: Jorge and I have been sleeper agents of a para-military organization all this time. We've been activated and have taken our posts in The Division. However, our role is limited exclusively to playing video games and making videos and podcasts about them. Hey, someone has to keep everyone occupied while roving bands of pyromaniacs fight with spec ops teams right? This week we head into the dark zone and talk about the The Division.

Grab your shovel and put on your work boots, it's time to dig into farm games. This week on the podcast, we ponder the allure of Stardew Valley, the smoking habits of rural towns, and how to make mundane games a little more adult.

Show notes:

Length: 32 mins 37 secs

Music: Brad Sucks

A dark shadow passes over you. Not a cloud, but a vulture. A tumbleweed rolls by and you watch it spin into the distance. You keep waiting for it to go out of site, but the barren desolation means you can watch it for miles. What happened here? This place was the site of true opulence, but now you'd have a hard time convincing someone that it ever existed. For a moment you think you can hear the echoes of a sick dubstep drop, but you know it's just your ears playing tricks on you.

Ok maybe it's not that extreme, but there have been some notable companies pulling out of this year's E3. This week it's time to talk about the implications and the future the video game trade show.

We've all earned our fair share of bumps, scrapes, and bruises in real life. Some of us have persistent aches and pains, some of us have suffered all sorts of injuries, big and small. It's a common occurrence, but how well do games actually model injury? This week on the EXP Podcast, we discuss how it feels to be "unwell" and whether or not games are any good at modeling the strange experience of being in an unhealthy body.

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 32 mins 44 secs- Music by Brad Sucks

The forest can be a beautiful place. Centuries-old trees shade your path as you walk through a sprawling valley. The river has carved this place out the eons and its serene, yet unyielding presence reminds you that it was here before any human set foot in here and it will remain here long after the last human is gone. The forest can also be a scary place. One missed step and you're just another piece of debris floating through that river. Also: does that shadow look particularly bear-like to you? And of course there are the ever-present personal demons and sense of existential angst that accompany your every step.

You guessed it: this week we're talking about Firewatch!

Quantum Break is coming to PC, which for some reason infuriates some Xbox One owners who feel mislead. Why so sensitive about the console vs PC market? Is something amiss on the world of console gaming? This week on the podcast, we discuss computer gaming, my recent PC build, and more. Join us, won't you?

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 32 mins 27 secs

- Music by Brad Sucks

Activision is facing a lawsuit, probably not uncommon considering their size, this time from the family of Angolan resistance leader Jonas Savimbi. There are a lot of reasons his children might be angry, some of which make for an excellent conversation starter about historical figures in war games and the changing landscape of warfare in games. Oh, and generic moms.

Show Notes:

- Runtime: 34 mins 26 secs

- Music by Brad Sucks