The MindGames Podcast

Surprise! It's that time of year again! The MindGames crew is together discussing our Festive Favourites. So join us as we gush over the games which we loved playing most this year.

Today's Games (in order of appearance):

Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)

Conan Exiles (Funcom)

It Takes Two (EA)

Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)

Death Stranding (Kojima Productions)

My City (Reiner Knizia, KOSMOS)

 

 

Preamble

Hello, and welcome to MindGames! In this month's episode we're activating beast mode: we're talking animals and pets!

What sort of animals are represented in games, and how do games explore human-animal relationships? Why do people feel such a strong affinity for animal companions over human ones?

Join us for a walk on the wild side as we address all these questions and more!

 

Today's Games (in order of appearance):

Pokemon (GameFreak)

Zoo Tycoon (Blue Fang Games)

Planet Zoo (Frontier Developments)

Fallout (Bethesda)

The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt Red)

Fable 2 (Lionhead Studios)

Bioshock: Infinite (2K)

The Last of Us (Naughty Dog)

Mass Effect (Bioware)

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions)

Megaquarium (Twice Circled)

Parkosaurus (Washbear Studio)

Planet Coaster (Frontier Developments)

Temtem (Crema)

Monster Sanctuary (Moi Rai Games)

Monster Hunter (Capcom)

 

The dustbowl hellscape nightmare of rutting warthogs: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/planet-zoo-is-temporarily-a-game-about-mass-producing-knackered-warthogs

 

Did we miss any games that you think we should have discussed? Find us on twitter @mindgamespod

Website: https://mindgamespodcast.libsyn.com/

Pop a comment below, or let us know at [email protected]

Preamble

Hello, and welcome to MindGames! In this month's episode we discuss a topic everyone has some idea of, “Home”.

How do peoples ideas of home bleed into their work? How do games tug on our heartstrings and make us feel at home? And just why is Steve reading about preserved mutton and smoked tongue?

Join us as we address all these questions and more in this months episode

Today's Games (in order of appearance):

Star Dew Valley (ConcernedApe)

Spelunky 2 (Mossmouth, BlitWorks)

Animal Crossing (Nintendo, MORE)

The Sims (Maxis, Electronic Arts)

Spirit Fairer (Thunder Lotus Games)

Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)

Mass Effect (BioWare )

Dragon Age (BioWare, Edge of Reality)

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)

Domestic Economy (Faulkner & Co)

The House Wife (Colossal Wreck)

Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy (Bennett Foddy )

Ticket to Ride Stay at Home (Days of Wonder, Alan R. Moon)

Dungeons & Dragons (Wizards of the Coast)

 

The lovely Domestic Economy art: https://www.wopc.co.uk/uk/faulkner/domestic-economy

 

Did we miss any games that you think we should have discussed? Find us on twitter @mindgamespod

Website: https://mindgamespodcast.libsyn.com/

Pop a comment below, or let us know at [email protected]

 

Preamble

Hello, and welcome to MindGames! In this month's episode, we discuss accessibility in games. How have games responded to the different needs and abilities of their players, and how have they represented these types of people in their worlds?

Join us as we explore issues such as colour blindness, dyslexia and physical interfaces. Encouraging progress has been made across the games industry in recent years, but there is still so much more to be done...

 

Today's Games (in order of appearance):

Among Us (Innersloth)

Warhammer (Games Workshop)

Loop Hero (Four Quarters)

Carcassonne (Klaus-Jürgen Wrede)

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)

Shandalar (Wizards of the Coast)

Hearthstone (Blizzard Entertainment)

Legends of Runeterra (Riot Games)

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)

Dungeons and Dragons (Wizards of the Coast)

Magic: the Gathering (Wizards of the Coast)

Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games)

 

Did we miss any games that you think we should have discussed? Pop a comment below, or let us know at [email protected]

 

**The MindGames Game: 20 Questions*

You have 20 guesses with yes/no answers to guess the game.

Game 1: Spelunky

Game 2: Skyrim

Game 3: Pokémon Blue

Game 4: inFamous

Game 5 (Tie Breaker): Chrono Trigger

 

Check out Meeple Like Us here: https://www.meeplelikeus.co.uk/

Even more reading on this topic:

http://gameaccessibilityguidelines.com/full-list/ https://remptongames.com/2018/06/09/games-for-everyone-accessibility-in-board-games/ https://www.meeplelikeus.co.uk/on-board-game-accessibility/ https://brandonthegamedev.com/how-to-develop-visually-and-physically-accessible-board-games/#:~:text=Accessible%20games%20are%20ones%20where,presents%20a%20barrier%20to%20enjoyment

 

Don't forget to follow us at @mindgamespod for updates whenever new episodes go live, and subscribe on your favourite podcast app.

Preamble

Welcome to this month's MindGames! In this episode, we immerse ourselves in the audio world of games. We ask why soundtracks are such a big part of games, and what role music plays in the games we love.

We are lucky to be joined this month by Rachel, a very special guest who last appeared in Season 1's 'Faith in Games'. This month, she brings her expert insight into songs, singing and acoustics. Ever wondered why your singing sounds so much better in the shower? Rachel has the answer!

Pop your headphones on, sit back, and listen as we explore the ways in which music is in our games, and our DNA.

 

Today's Games (in order of appearance):

Alien: Isolation (Creative Assembly)

Bloodborne (FromSoftware)

F-Zero GX (Amusement Vision)

Escape: The Curse of the Temple (Kristian Amundsen Østby)

Dungeons & Dragons (Wizards of the Coast)

Guitar Hero (Harmonix)

Flower (Nicholas Clark)

Audiosurf  (Dylan Fitterer)

Beat Saber (Beat Games)

Silent Hill 2 (Konami)

Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games)

Lisa: The Painful (Dingaling)

Ni No Kuni 1 & 2 (Level-5)

Street Fighter IV (Capcom)

Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar)

Avernum (Spiderweb Software)

Left for Dead (Turtle Rock Studios)

Dead Space (Visceral Games)

Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)

 

Did we miss any games that you think we should have discussed? Let us know at [email protected]

 

**The MindGames Game: MindGames 'Humbug'*

Tune 1: Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, Saria's Song (Lost Woods)

https://youtu.be/jKrhPHSuy4Q

Tune 2: Stardew Valley, Overture

https://youtu.be/sfATf-aMvbA

Tune 3: Terraria, Day Music

https://youtu.be/x23I8f9PwlI

Tune 4: Europa Universalis IV, The Voyage

https://youtu.be/hGrtN02XTI0

 

Check out Milodice: Music for Board Games here https://melodice.org/

Reading on rhythmic universals
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26124105/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-016-0007#ref-CR1

Don't forget to follow us at @mindgamespod for updates whenever new episodes go live, and subscribe on your favourite podcast app.

Preamble

Welcome, young listener, to the wise and venerable MindGames podcast! In this month's episode, we discuss ageing, both in terms of growth ('coming of age') and decline ('senescence').

This month, we tackle big questions around how games have 'come of age' over the past 40 years; do they age gracefully, or are we perpetually enraptured by the cult of the new? In what ways have games presented the process of getting older and experiencing more about the world and ourselves, and how does this reflect the life journeys of their players and designers?

Sit back and rest those weary bones as we ramble about all these questions - and stick around to the end for a real nail-biter of a MindGames Game!

 

Today's Games (in order of appearance):

GoldenEye 007 (Rare)

King's Quest (Sierra Entertainment)

Passage (Jason Rohrer)

Pokémon (GameFreak)

Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix)

The Last of Us (Naughty Dog)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems, Koei Tecmo)

The Longing (Studio Seufz)

Massive Chalice (Double Fine, Brad Muir)

Crusader Kings 3 (Paradox Interactive)

Wildermyth (Worldwalker Games)

Chronos: Before the Ashes (Gunfire Games)

Did we miss any games that you think we should have discussed? Let us know at [email protected]

 

**This Month's Weird Games**

One Hour One Life (Jason Rohrer)

Paul Matijevic, 'Ah, dang! Mothman won't move out (he said it was just for the weekend)' (Check it out here, and support the creator as much as you can: https://ettin.itch.io/mothman?download)

Agarest: Generations of War (Idea Factory, Red Entertainment and Compile Heart)

 

**The MindGames Game**

MINDGAMES BLACKJACK

Rules: You’ll be asked to provide games that meet a certain criteria. You must give answers that, collectively, are as close to 21 years old as possible. At any point you can ‘stick’, banking your collective years. You will each take turns to give responses until each person has decided to stick. If you exceed 21, you strike out and get no points. If a game has been used, it cannot be used for the remainder of the game. 1 point if you win, 0 points if you lose or 'strike out'.

Oldest player goes first (age before beauty)!

Questions:

Give me games that feature a male main character.

Give me games that have a female main character.

Give me board games.

Give me games that start with a vowel.

 

Special thanks to the following Reddit users, who helped with the research for this episode:
u/DrunkenMonkeyNU
u/ZakAmetyst
u/savaghost
u/fishwithfish
u/King_Allant
u/OneManFreakShow
u/catinterpreter

Don't forget to follow us at @mindgamespod for updates whenever new episodes go live, and subscribe on your favourite podcast app.

Welcome to Season 3 of the MindGames podcast!

War, huh? What is it good for? Turns out it's podcasting! In this month's episode we reflect on how games have tackled the politics, drama and desperation of war. Why does war excite so many works of art, and can an interactive medium truly capture the horror and the atrocity of conflict? Join us as we delve into how we wage miniature warfare, and what that says about our real world.

Content warning: A (brief) discussion of historic genocide.

 

Today's Games (in order of appearance):

Diplomacy (Allan B. Calhamer)

Game of Thrones (Christian T. Petersen)

Western Empires (Flo de Haan, Gerart de Haan, John Rodriguez and Francis Tresham)

Call of Duty (Activision/Treyarch)

Total War (Creative Assembly)

Memories Retold (Digixart)

Through the Darkest of Times (Paintbucket Games)

This War of Mine (11 Bit Studios)

Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)

Twilight Struggle (Ananda Gupta and Jason Matthews)

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar & Warhammer 40k (Games Workshop)

God of War (Santa Monica Studio)

The Division (Ubisoft)

 

**This Month's Weird Game**

Metal Waltz: Anime Tank Girls (Shanghai JingCai Computer Software Development Co., Ltd)

 

**The MindGames Game**

Pass the warhead - Starts with a fuse of 3.

Who gets it 1st is decided at random. Correct answer does not decrease the timer and passes it to the other person. If the weapon is real and featured in a game, the correct answer will be a real weapon because that came first. Wrong answer decreases it by 1.

Real life Weapon of War or video game weapon?

The Tachanka - REAL LIFE

The Blutsauger - GAME

THE DMR - GAME

The Puckle gun - REAL LIFE

The EX grenade - GAME

Zanbatō - REAL LIFE

Who Me? - REAL LIFE

Belle-Magrave 4.46 mm rifle - GAME

M7 Lancer - GAME

The Chicken Powered Nuclear Bomb - REAL LIFE

The Staff of Jordan - GAME

 

Did you enjoy the first episode of season three? Let us know at [email protected]

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter at @mindgamespod for updates whenever new episodes go live, plus all the behind-the-scenes MindGames madness.

Christmas may be cancelled for millions in the UK, but the MindGames team are here for you! In this final bonus episode, we'll be topping off an awful year with some lovely chat about some lovely games. Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

~~~

Our 2020 Festive Favourites:

Steve: Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch) & Final Fantasy XIV Online (Square Enix)

Pix: Disco Elysium (ZA/UM) & Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games)

Milos: Pathologic 2 (Ice-Pick Lodge) & Ultrakill (Arsi 'Hikita' Patala)

Other mentions:

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware)

The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment)

The Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital)

Planescape Torment (Black Isle Studios)

Baldur's Gate (Bioware)

Doom: Eternal (Bethesda)

~~~

MINDGAMES CHRISTMAS GAME ANSWERS

1. Red and orange, yellow and green, the finest veggies Cyseal’s ever seen! (Divinity: Original Sin)

1. A man chooses, a slave obeys. (BioShock)

1. In the grim darkness of the 41st millennium, there is only war. (Warhammer 40,000)

1. Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer. (Darkest Dungeon)

1. I’m a doctor, not a combined creature scientist! (Impossible Creatures)

1. War, war never changes. (Fallout)

1. Strip the flesh, salt the wound. (Borderlands)

1. Thank you, Mario! But our princess is in another castle! (Super Mario Bros)

~~~

Some interesting articles on Pathologic 2:   https://uppercutcrit.com/scars-of-the-risen-god-healing-in-pathologic-2/   https://bulletpointsmonthly.com/2020/06/25/the-world-unsettled-pathologic-2

~~~

Wishing you all a safe and merry Christmas and New Year. Look out for Season 3 launching in January!

Got comments or suggestions for next season? There's still time! Email us at [email protected]

Don't forget to follow the MindGames gang on Twitter at @mindgamespod

Keep yourself warm this November with the soft glow of Nostalgia. Milos and Sophie talk about  Neopets. Its crazy economy, its links to Scientology and the lost plush of a paintbrush for Sophie's pet.

 

For some of Sophie's work: https://www.instagram.com/dragonet_girl/

Email us about your neglected neopets at [email protected]

or send us neocash on twitter @mindgamespod

 

Alex Irpan: Stories From the Neopets Economy

https://www.alexirpan.com/2018/11/10/neopets-economy.html

Sarah Bellman: Neopets was run by Scientologists

https://theoutline.com/post/4190/neopets-was-run-by-scientologists?zd=1&zi=lhfreh4m

The UK isn't the only place to see fireworks this bonfire night, as the Trump v Biden election continues to sizzle and spark with tension. Trump has already tried to falsely claim victory, armed protesters are on the streets, and meanwhile millions of people across the USA are still awaiting the results of Tuesday's poll to determine their next president.

Today, we take another look at last episode's election wargame to see how accurate those takes turned out to be. Though the outlook is cautiously optimistic, the vote still hangs in the balance - and we're right in the thick of it. The visions of the future within this game have never seemed so relevant and important.

email us at [email protected]

or tweet deranged statements in angry capitals at us @mindgamespod