The Experience Points Podcast

Sometimes when the going gets tough, the less-than-tough just quit. At least that's what Sean "Elysium" Sands did when confronted with some ridiculously skilled players of Demigod. We here at EXP have immense respect for the talented writers of Gamers With Jobs, so we would never ridicule Sands' excellent confession in his Personality Flaws piece. On the contrary, this week Scott and I spring board off of the article to discuss unhealthy competition, victory through attrition, player tantrums and cooperative design in competitive games. As always, your thoughts are welcome in the comments. Some discussion starters: - Has competition ever soured your gaming experience? What about a need to keep up with other players? - Is there competitive meta-gaming in gamer culture? Do you think this is destructive or healthy? - What does a competitive game look like if it's designed to encourage cooperation and mutual learning? To listen to the podcast:- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed.- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking the title. 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:- Run time: 30 min 27 sec- "Personality Flaws," by Sean 'Elysium' Sands of Gamers With Jobs- Music provided by Brad Sucks

With Father's Day coming up this weekend, we decided to dedicate a podcast to exploring the role father characters in video games. Starting with an eclectic list of various game dads, we examine them in terms of their gameplay functions, back-stories, and their narrative importance. A number of surprising patterns crop up that link even the most dissimilar-seeming game fathers. We finish by theorizing about how father characters will continue to develop in forthcoming games. As always, feel free to share your thoughts about anything we mention in the podcast, as well as your analysis of any game dads we passed over.Some discussion starters:- Who are your favorite game dads? - How is fatherhood portrayed in games? What makes dads important to the gaming experience in terms of story and gameplay?- Has your perception of fatherhood in games changed over the years? Will the portrayal of fathers in games change as more gamers have children?To listen to the podcast: - Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed. - Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking the title. 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:- Run time: 31 min 04 sec - The Story of Being Homeless in Sims 3: "http://aliceandkev.wordpress.com/"- "The Absent Dad," by Michael Abbott of The Brainy Gamer- Music provided by Brad Sucks

E3 has come and gone, but the over-the-top presentations of upcoming games lingers. Huge screens depicting carnage and head-ripping made epic enthusiasts from around the world spasm with excitement like an epileptic at ananime convention. Which brings us to an article from last month by Chris Remo, Gamasutra Editor At Large and Idle Thumbs entrepreneur, asking if the videogame industry "over-eggs" the epic. I think we've got enough examples of gun-swords and gut-busting work this discussion into a soapy lather. Join us this week while Scott and I ponder chainsaws, crescendos,back flips and fun with Milo. As always, we encourage you to leave your own thoughts in the comments below. Some discussion starters:- Is the videogame industry producing a glut of epic titles? Is it the brunt of guilt on consumers or designers?- What are games do you think restrain themselves yet remain epic?- Do the titles presented at E3, and motion controls, effect the future of epic?To listen to the podcast:- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed.- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking the title. 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:- Run time: 27 min 44 sec- Do Video Games Over-Egg The epic? by Chris Remo via Gamasutra- Music by Brad Sucks

As we all learned from Uncle Ben, "With great power, comes great responsibility." When Paragon Studios gave players the tools to create their own quests in City of Heroes, it soon became a case study of what happens when people discover a new-found power. Upon gaining the power to design quests, some players began to exploit the system for maximum experience points with the minimum amount of work. This kicked up a storm amongst the City of Heroes players, as well as in the larger video game community. This week, we use Nels Anderson's post on the subject as focal point for discussing the role and regulation of player-created content. As always, we're interested to hear your experiences, so feel free to create some "reader-generated" content in the comments.Some discussion starters:- How should player generated content be regulated? Should it? By whom?- Are games with player-created content fated to be dominated by an elite class of creators? Is democratization necessary or ideal?- Why do players exploit games? Where is the line between optimization and exploitation drawn?To listen to the podcast: - Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed. - Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking the title. 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:- Run time: 26 min 56 sec - Nels Anderson's post, via Above49.ca: "About that Player-Generated Content..."- Nate Ralph's post, via Wired: "Handed Keys to Kingdom, Gamers Race to Bottom"- Music provided by Brad Sucks

Our bags are in the trunk, Teenage Wasteland is playing on the stereo, and our coffee stained road map is on the dash: On this podcast, we're hittin' the road. This week, we draw our discussion from prolific and esteemed games writer/pseudonym L.B. Jeffries and his excellent article on Popmatters. Early last month, Jeffries discussed his thoughts on travel in videogames and raised some interesting questions. This week, Scott and I tag along with our own journey through videogame travel, hitting such topics as basic math, warp tubes, and boredom. As always, we encourage you to share your own tales of navigation in the comments section below.Some discussion starters:- Do you ever use out-of-game distractions during in-game travel?- Are games allowed to be boring? Not just calm, or unexciting, but actually boring?- Do you use landmarks, or any other tricks, to help make sense of space while traveling?- Which games capture your definition of travel best?To listen to the podcast:- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed.- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking the title. 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:-Run time: 25 min and 53 sec- Travel in Video Games, via Popmatters-Music by Brad Sucks

Every week, we add to a massive list of notable news, analysis, and opinion pieces related to video games, knowing full well that most of them will never make the show. We figured it was time to sort through some of the backlog for any gems that may have been passed over and fashion them into an auditory smorgasbord.The topics vary widely, and range from art design, memory and history, dating, and even death. Be sure to check out the show notes for links to the articles. As always, feel free to weigh in on the discussion in the comments with your thoughts on the stories, or with links to some of the stories you've enjoyed over the past months.Some discussion starters:-How do you keep track of your past gaming experiences?-Have you ever learned about history through gaming?-What is the perfect "date game?" Does such a thing exist?-Which games do you admire for their artistry?-Do you have any life/death stories that took place in an on-line space?-Which recent gaming articles have you enjoyed recently?To listen to the podcast:- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed.- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking the title. 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:-Run time: 31 min and 53 sec-"Altars," by Lara "KaterinLHC" Crigger, via Gamers With Jobs-"Can Games Handle History," by Luke Plunkett, via Kotaku-"The Dating Game," by Wendy Despain, via The Escapist-"Artist Wants More Diverse Game Graphics, Says Developers Should 'Believe More in Games,'" by Steven Totilo, via MTV Multiplayer-"Death Leaves Online Lives in Limbo," by Peter Svensson, via The Associated Press, posted on SFGate.com-Music by Brad Sucks

Is this already episode twenty-five? My how time flies! Which is exactly the topic of the day. This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I stumble upon a clever idea from Reid Kimball, Gamasutra Expert Blogger and level designer for Buzz Monkey Software. Taking a cue from cinema, Reid suggests game designers implement the potentially cheesy but versatile tool that is the montage. By creating an interactive montage, the passage of time is expressed without a non-interactive cut scene or jarring jump in time. Join us while we discuss flashbacks, lumberjacks, the mighty Chronos, and how games and gamers play with time itself. Of course you can find Kimball's article in the show notes below. As always, we would love to have you share your own temporal musings in the comments section.Some discussion starters:- What games express the passage of time in satisfactory ways? Does their interactive, or the lack thereof, improve the experience?- Do you enjoy playing games under a time constraint? Does this give greater meaning to the passage of time in-game?- Are there characters or franchises you would like to see age in real-time? Do you think this would add to the immersion?To listen to the podcast:- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed.- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking the title. 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:- Run time: 26 min 48 sec- Reid Kimball's article, via Gamasutra- Music provided by Brad Sucks

This week, Inspired by Daniel Johnson's article about games and culture, we wade in to the fascinating-yet-nebulous realm of culture in video games. After a brief discussion of how to define the term, we think about the cultural influences found in video games. Whether it is a game's content, the way it was produced, or its capacity to illustrate the societies in which it exists, games carry meaning about everyone involved in the process. As this site is largely about examining the culture that both flows through and emanates from games, we found plenty to talk about in this article. We hope to hear your thoughts in the comments!Some discussion starters:- What games have you found particularly interesting in terms of the way they represented a specific culture (either positively or negatively)? Who is most qualified to handle cultural topics in video games?- When does a culture become stifling? How do development techniques, business practices, social mores, and player expectation impact this?- What do video games say about our current societies? What games from the past do you find particularly illustrative of cultural zeitgeists?To listen to the podcast: - Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed. - Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking the title. 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: - Run time: 28 min 50 sec - Daniel Johnson's Article, via GameSetWatch: "'Lingua Franca' – The Place Of Games In Culture" - Music provided by Brad Sucks

Well yippee-kay-yay, this week on the EXP Podcast we focus on big burly men with chainsaw-guns. Developed by Epic Games, the Gears of War franchise has found immense success amongst a variety of gamers. With a collection of books , a movie in the works, and an inevitable third game, Gears of War just seems to stick in our minds for some reason. Earlier this week L.B. Jeffries of Popmatters drew connections between GoW2 and the Iliad , the talented editors/contributors of Critical Distance chatted about GoW2 and ludonarrative dissonnance (which Scott and I discuss briefly on this podcast), and I wrote my own Sensationalist piece on the game Monday.Scott and I finished both games in the series on cooperative mode, much like Resident Evil 5. Though not as controversial as RE5, we still plumb the subterranean depths of Gears of War and find some "sweet" analysis of the coop experience, over-the-top storytelling, and how to make giant worms even more epic. Please share your own thoughts in the comments section, we love to hear them.Some discussion starters:- Do you think the Gears of War franchise is representative of triple-A games at large? Has Gears become cliche?- Do you think Epic is wasting their time incorporating a serious story on top of the tone set by gameplay?- Somewhat referring to last week's podcast, would you show a videogame outsider Gears of War to draw them into the medium? To listen to the podcast:- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed.- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking the title. 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:- Run time: 24 min 59 sec- Music by Brad Sucks

If you read this site, you are probably one of two kinds of people: 1. The kind that loves video games or...2. The kind that is subjected to rants about why we love video games (i.e. non-gamer friends and family).This week, we were inspired by Owen Good's article about explaining the allure of video games to non-gamers. We use his discussion of trying to decide which games to demonstrate for his grandfather as starting point to discuss the tricky business of sharing our favorite games to people that probably have never heard of them. It is a situation in which many of us have found ourselves, so please feel free to share your stories in the comments! Some discussion starters:- Have you ever tried to explain or demonstrate your gaming interests to a non-gamer? How successful were you?- What is the most effective way to draw someone in to gaming? Finding a game that ties in with their interests? Showing them something completely new? Demonstrating graphical realism? Showing them inventive story-telling?- Which games would you show to a non-gamer and why? What would you want to communicate to them?To listen to the podcast: - Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed. - Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking the title. 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: - Run time: 30 min 20 sec - Owen Good's Article, via Kotaku: "What Would You Show to Someone Who's Never Seen a Game" - Music provided by Brad Sucks