It's a new year and new season and we're hit with a new sensation we've called THE ZONE, a reference to Andrei Tarkovsky's film Stalker. It get's strange and lost in discussion, but what better way to explore than to dive right in. 

Let us know what you're thinking as well and join the discussion here at the Midnight Lantern!

https://discord.gg/hp3Uqrk

Shawn and JC discuss listener responses, as well as problems relating to enjoying cooperative gameplay over competitive games. They discuss angst related to worth, competence, human development, and death while contemplating their own experiences with competitive games and elo structures. They also discuss the juxtaposition between the perspective of the game designer and the game player, and try to off perspective to the issue.

With a scuffed intro and iconic off beat metaphors and analogies, The Midnight Lantern returns with an episode discussing the design of difficulty in video games and why we play them. We respond to the youtube video: "Why You Keep Playing Brutally Tough Games" by Daryl Talks Games (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8cavOfbwHw) and break down our own personal perspective and experience when approaching difficult games and how designing challenges for players could be a great tool for art to be experienced.

Catch the stream at https://twitch.tv/SwanStudioTV

Join our discord for discussions and hangouts! https://discord.gg/hp3Uqrk

The Midnight Lantern continues the discussion from various episodes about our learning process and pursuit of performance when it comes to video games and hobbies. JC reflects on his experience with "The Witness", a puzzle adventure indie game, while Shawn reflects on his return to video games for the new year. Topics include game design, competitive nature, psychology of learning, and more!

Catch the stream at https://twitch.tv/SwanStudioTV

Join our discord for discussions and hangouts! https://discord.gg/hp3Uqrk

We're back with a new season to kick off the new year! On this episode we finally discuss our experience playing Hades and its great game design (15:45). Then we dive into a conversation we've been struggling with recently with the connection between hobbies and identity (31:50), and then revisit the ideal of high performance in gaming and life (52:30).

Catch the stream at https://twitch.tv/SwanStudioTV

Join our discord for discussions and hangouts! https://discord.gg/hp3Uqrk

After a short break, we're back at the Midnight Lantern and take a look at the motivation behind designing value in video games (12:15). Based on Game Maker Toolkit's video about the psychology of rewards, we discuss intrinsic vs extrinsic rewards in various games including Super Mario Odyssey, MMORPGs, and Old School Runescape. We also talk about the potential and need for companies like DreamHaven (25:00) and our observations on approaching video games (40:37).

Catch the stream at https://twitch.tv/SwanStudioTV

Join our discord for discussions and hangouts! https://discord.gg/hp3Uqrk

We return to the movie theater to check out Christopher Nolan's TENET and do our best to express our conflicted thoughts and opinion (6:47). JC and Christian dive into Super Mario Odyssey and Shawn takes a trip down memory lane to discuss early childhood memories. (39:08). 

Catch the stream at https://twitch.tv/SwanStudioTV

Join our discord for discussions and hangouts! https://discord.gg/hp3Uqrk

Shawn rejoins JC and Christian to discuss recent movie trailers, Disney's Mulan, our favorite burgers, and a brief overlook to what we've been working creatively and how we approach the process day by day.

Catch the stream at https://twitch.tv/SwanStudioTV

Join our discord for discussions and hangouts! https://discord.gg/hp3Uqrk

Follow us at:

Shawn:

https://instagram.com/shawnjbarlaan/

https://twitter.com/shawnjbarlaan/

JC:

https://instagram.com/j.c._ryan/

https://twitter.com/JcReeno77/

Christian:

https://instagram.com/chrisgt122/

We finally catch up and record an episode to discuss our various approaches to gaming and life which opens up the conversation to the psychological analysis of learning and actualizing progress. We also talk about what missing the podcast has done for us these past few weeks.

Catch the stream at https://twitch.tv/SwanStudioTV

Join our discord for discussions and hangouts! https://discord.gg/hp3Uqrk

Follow us at:

Shawn:

https://www.instagram.com/shawnjbarlaan/

https://twitter.com/shawnjbarlaan/

JC:

https://www.instagram.com/j.c._ryan/

https://twitter.com/JcReeno77/

Serafina joins JC and Christian in place of Shawn to discuss the state of movies, pop culture, and WAP in the age of covid.

Catch the stream at https://twitch.tv/SwanStudioTV

Join our discord for discussions and hangouts! https://discord.gg/hp3Uqrk

Follow us at:

Shawn:

https://instagram.com/shawnjbarlaan/

https://twitter.com/shawnjbarlaan/

JC:

https://instagram.com/j.c._ryan/

https://twitter.com/JcReeno77/

Christian:

https://instagram.com/chrisgt122/