The Experience Points Podcast

Oh David Cage, will you always be a source of contention and fascinating design discussions? If my tea leaves tell me anything, it's that the creative mind behind Heavy Rain and the upcoming Beyond: Two Souls will always be stirring the pot, trying to craft something for the games industry we have never seen before. It might taste terrible, but at least it fuels some interesting conversations.

This week on the EXP Podcast, inspired by an excellent article by James Hawkins, Scott and I revisit Heavy Rain and explore the idea of the unreliable narrator. We touch upon several games in our chat, including our podcast favorite (can you guess what it is?). If you have examples of unreliable narrators in games, share them with us in the comments below and let us know how you felt they pulled off the difficult feat. Also, be sure to check out Hawkins' original article in the show notes as well as the "scene in question" below.

Show notes:

- Runtime: 36 min 48 sec

- "(Not) Seeing Is (Not) Believing", by James Hawkins via Bit Creature

- Music by: Brad Sucks

Bust out your tin foil hats, because you're being watched. Of course, you probably already knew that; achievement logs aren't all that hard to find, are they? There's no doubt that we have more data about how we play games than ever before, but what does this mean for game reviews? Are we due for a New York Times/Tesla controversy? This week, inspired by Sam Machovech's article, we talk about what it means to review a game in an environment where your opinions and your actions can disagree.- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes- Find the show on Stitcher- Here's the show's stand-alone feed- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here. Or, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format.- Subscribe to this podcast and EXP's written content with the RSS link on the right.Show notes:- Runtime: 32 min 22 sec- "The Critic and the Cloud," by Sam Machovech, via Unwinnable- The New York Times' responds to questions about their Tesla review- KnobFeel: Reviews of receiver knobs- Music by: Brad Sucks

The PlayStation 4 was announced! OMG! But hey, the new console is still a long way from release and we have games to play now. This week on the podcast, Scott and I discuss the games currently on our playlist. From the over-the-top Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance to Legendary, Marvel's marvelous deck-building card game, we browse the games a catalog of games. If you have played any of them, do let us know in the comments below and let us know what you have been playing as well!

Show notes:

- Runtime: 39 min 25 sec

- Music by Brad Sucks

When it comes to conversations, especially between three talkative people, Twitter just doesn't cut it. Therefore, when Mattie Brice, Jorge, and I started trading tweets about the merits of difficulty in games, we knew it was time to change venues. This week, we're excited to have Mattie on the show to talk about the meaning behind the challenges games offer. We cover everything from Super Hexagon to Pokemon, and even throw in some parallels to BDSM to spice things up (Pro tip: don't Google BDSM+Pokemon…unless you're into that). As always, thanks for listening, and feel free to jump into the comments with your thoughts!- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes- Find the show on Stitcher- Here's the show's stand-alone feed- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here. Or, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format.- Subscribe to this podcast and EXP's written content with the RSS link on the right.Show notes:- Mattie Brice's website- Runtime: 52 min 39 sec- Music by Brad Sucks

America's most widely celebrated holiday, the Superbowl, has come and gone. While all of us over here in the Bay Area are mourning, Scott and I have our minds tuned to video games - well, sort of. Specifically, inspired by an article from Tim Rogers, we're discussing the similarities between American Football and Final Fantasy Tactics. Is Tom Brady a White Mage or a Black Mage? And what's a safety called in JRPGs? Join us this week on the EXP Podcast while we chat about fandom, e-sports, and more. As always, share your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to check out Tim's original article in the show notes!

Show notes:

- Runtime: 34 mins 13 secs

- "Football: The Review," by Tim Rogers via Kotaku

- "The Chris Johnson Problem," by Chuck Klosterman via Grantland

- The slowest bicycle race you will ever watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cL1lXDNSJQ

- Music by Brad Sucks

There is a sub-genre of point-and-click adventures with a huge fan-base. Escape the Room puzzles, as the name implies, fill confined spaces with puzzles that hold the secrets of escape. Glyphs might be hidden in couches, parts of a clock could be hidden in a potted plant. From cars, to closets, to art spaces in Japan town, Escape the Room puzzles create a unique experience by hiding mystery behind the seemingly mundane, all in close proximity. Join this week on the podcast while Scott, myself, and a few guests, explore the design and appreciation of room escape games.

Show notes:

- Runtime: 1 hour 7 mins 12 secs

- Submachine Series by Mateusz Skutnik.

- Real Escape Game is produced by SCRAP Entertainment

- Music by The Underscore Orkestra, Kevin MacLeod, and Latché Swing.

Scott and I have had "insider conversations" with one Mr. Businessman, which ultimately proved fruitless. Instead, we have our own conversation about the upcoming console cycle. Where is all the hype for the next release? Is there anything we should be excited for? What are you excited for?

Show notes:

- Runtime: 30 mins 59 secs

- Music by Brad Sucks

Remember when we asked you about your favorite things of 2012? Well, you all delivered! This week, we formally give 2012 a stylish send-off by talking with old friends, listening to new voices, and discussing some great reader submissions. We want to give a huge thank you to everyone who contributed by talking with us, sending in an audio clip, or simply dropping us a line via email or in the comments. 2012 may be over, but that doesn't mean it's gone, so feel free to jump into the comments with your favorite things from last year.- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes- Find the show on Stitcher- Here's the show's stand-alone feed- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here. Or, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format.- Subscribe to this podcast and EXP's written content with the RSS link on the right.Show notes:- Runtime: 1 hr 40 min 48 sec- Music by: - Blue Ducks - Broke for Free - Patrick LeeExtra special thanks to:- Christian Fratta- David Carlton- Gus Mastrapa- Jacob Clark- Jeremy Sear- Kris Ligman- Mads Kristensen- Malachi Lakey- Michael Abbott- Michael Chadwick- Mitch Krpata- Patrick Molloy- Phillip Wong

Spec Ops: The Line made a surprisingly large splash in the critical games sphere considering its trouble development and relatively low set of expectations. Critical Distance gathered up a huge collection of the best writings on the game, which you can find right here. Also, Brendan Keogh wrote a book about it! With themes that attempt to deconstruct both American military violence and video game violence, there is plenty of depth to explore in the latest debrief. Of course if you have played the game yourself, do let us know what you think of it in the comments below!

Show notes:

- Runtime: 38 min 53 sec

- Music by The Black Angels and Deep Purple via the Spec Ops: The Line licensed soundtrack.\

I had some extra time during the holiday break, so I decided to take deep dive into my backlog with two of the most popular franchises of this console generation: Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect. As a teaser, I'll say that I'm only planning on finishing one of the two...I'm extremely late to the party, but I just couldn't keep my thoughts to myself. I sprung the topic (as well as the terrible idea of calling it a "Quicktime 'Cast") on Jorge and we ended up talking about both series' legacies. Feel free to jump into the comments with your thoughts!- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes- Find the show on Stitcher- Here's the show's stand-alone feed- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here. Or, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format.- Subscribe to this podcast and EXP's written content with the RSS link on the right.Show notes:- Runtime: 37 min 34 sec- Music by Broke for Free