Tim and Phill Talk About Games

What is it like to play a modern game with none of the history and learning that we, as lifelong gamers, have absorbed over the years? Tim's Dad had a crack at Fallout 3 this week, with some surprising questions and comments. We talk about the assumed knowledge and tropes in gaming that are actually kind of weird from an outsider perspective.

The model of games as a service has caught on like wildfire in the just-over-a-year since we last spoke of it. We talk about how the attitudes to the practise have softened and evolved, and where we might see it heading in the future.

With the risk of jinxing ourselves back into inactivity: we're back! This episode we catch up on the games we've been playing since we last spoke, and look forward to bringing you more of that loving TAPTAG feeling.

What happens when you take a popular mod, distil the gameplay down into pure, survival of the fittest fun, and add over a million concurrent players?  We talk about the history and future of the phenomenon that is PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.

After the leap from analogue to digital photography, it couldn't be long until virtual photography became a thing. More and more games include a photography mode, but why? And what can we, as gamers, get out of the framing of our favourite moments

The release strategy of a game used to be simple: go gold, put it on shelves, and start thinking about the next project. But this attitude has changed recently; companies view a release as only the beginning, as more and more players favour paying micro transactions for drip feeds of content. So where will this lead us, and how long can the feed continue?

What makes hit points the standard measure of life force in video games? How have the mechanics of regaining health and staying alive evolved over the years? And won't you help me Doctor Beat? All these questions and more answered as we dive into the slightly gruesome world of healing in games.

Packaging is a huge part of the marketing streams of products everywhere. So what happens when that product is comprised of zeroes and ones? We talk about the (highly nostalgic) history of game boxes and try and imagine what consumers can expect from packing in a digitally-distributed world.

Apologies for the radio silence, Phill was on shift and as soon as he finished, Tim was without Internet while he moved house! The stars always seem to align to...

If you've ever completed a game and thought you knew it pretty well, think again. Speedrunners are gamers that have mastered their chosen games to a degree usually unseen, unlocking every trick, glitch, or skip that they can get their hands on to try and complete them in the shortest time possible. In this episode we discuss the phenomenon of speedrunning, how it's done, and the best places to watch it.