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Total Pebble Knockdown episodes
- 111. Completely Off the Mark
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown:
Should we worry about RPG campaigns that are focused on storytelling? An article shared with one of our long-time friends of the show discussed an experience where plot dominated the agency of the players. We discuss the legitimacy of this concern and also talk about how we disagree with the conclusion.Realm Builder Guy - https://www.realmbuilderguy.com/2023/10/why-storyline-plot-driven-campaigns-are.htmlHey folks, let's go battle a church! No, I mean let's literally fight a church. This was one question from Reddit we had to discuss. What if there's a church that wants to eat your party? And should we try to keep them from getting eaten by the church? What fun would that be.Fighting a Church - https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/1b7flyr/how_could_i_make_my_party_fight_a_church/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/1b7flyr/how_could_i_make_my_party_fight_a_church/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3Fake games have been an ongoing discussion on Steam for many years. In fact, a spate of fake games (poorly made shovelware) was discussed back in 2017 when we got the Steam Explorers program. But now, the problem is games disguising themselves as more popular ones to trick people into buying them. This is our PSA to gamers on why buyers should be aware.Helldivers 2 imposters - https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/several-steam-games-changed-names-to-helldivers-2-and-palworld-to-scam-players/Two indie games in a trenchcoat - https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/two-indie-steam-games-were-disguised-as-helldivers-2-to-scam-players/Steam Explorers - https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/4/15172908/valve-steam-explorers-system-direct-fake-games1 hr 1 min - 110. Wonka’s Chonka Dungeon of Change
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown:
After seeing the end of joy that was Willy's Chocolate Experience in Glasgow, Scotland, Nathan felt inspired to make his own version of a trainwreck with "Super Awesome Dungeon". While it may not have oompa loompa at home or AI image promotion, it may have three goblins in a trenchcoat.The Chocolate Experience that wasn't - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/27/glasgow-willy-wonka-experience-slammed-as-farce-as-tickets-refunded?CMP=twt_b-gdnnewsDelivery of nightmares - https://www.themarysue.com/what-happened-at-the-glasgow-willy-wonka-experience-explained/House of Illuminati - https://houseofilluminati.com/If your players don't like haggling, why do they keep trying to do it. Nathan loses his mind over a Reddit post where a GM tries to figure out why players be like that and we work out ways to mitigate this very odd problem.The lovely post that brought us this gem - https://x.com/gwinglemove/status/1755272258921140572?s=20What would happen if you found an ancient artifact in the pyramids? What if it was a Yu-Gi-Oh card? In all seriousness, a very fun thread on this leads us to discuss lost gaming media, specifically dead games. What are the games we remember playing that are nowhere to be found now?A thread worth remembering - https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1763169557521318337.html?utm_campaign=topunroll#google_vignette57 min - 109. Starry Llama Night
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown:
What if you went to the Van Gogh Museum and came away with a painting of Pikachu? Crazy, right? Anyway, that was an actual possibility in 2023 and is possibly going to happen again. So, let us discuss Pikachu in Grey Felt Hat and brand integration with museums.Pokemon x Van Gogh - https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/about/collaborate/van-gogh-museum-brand-licenses/collaboration-license-partners/van-gogh-museum-x-pokemonPikachu makes a comeback - https://www.forbesindia.com/article/lifes/is-amsterdams-van-gogh-museum-ready-for-a-new-round-of-pokemon-mania/90971/1Museums & Brands - https://www.forbesindia.com/article/lifes/museums-and-brands-is-it-a-marriage-made-in-heaven/88419/1Video games can be high cuisine, but they can also be junk food. However, on this episode we are defending the junk food games, those which may not leave you feeling deeply satisfied but instead leaves you feeling like you successfully killed a few hours with little brain power required. Coincidentally, we talk a bunch about Ship Graveyard Simulator 2.After diving back into survival crafting games with Palworld, Nathan experienced an old problem worth mentioning: the obscene amount of workbenches. Why do we need such specific workbenches? Why do we have to keep crafting new, better versions of the existing ones? Is there a better way?1 hr 3 min - 108. Steam Next Fest
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown:
It’s Steam Next Fest 2024 and KlaytonClaix rejoins us to tell us some fun games he played as the plethora of demos fell upon us. He takes a second look at Folklands, gets his tactics on in Sword of Convallaria, does some resource collecting in Isometria, builds a better skeleton in Necrosmith 2 and makes a sweet gun in NIMRODS.
Alex also played demos during Next Fest and had some titles worth discussing. We find out what Voxlands actually is, automate with Omega Crafter and OddSparks, and scratch our head at Artifact Seeker (subtitle not legible).
Nathan takes you down a rabbit hole of demos he played as we run down a lightning round of 8 titles he played. Then we get into the 3 titles worth explaining in detail: NeverGrave, Pacific Drive and Lonely Space.
2 hr 22 min - 107. 16 Times the Artifacts
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown:
Bethesda had a Developer Direct showcasing 5 games coming out in 2024. We will discuss these as well as talk about how they relate to the leak from September on their roadmap of content and what this means.
Developer_Direct 2024
Microsoft documents leak new Bethesda games, including an Oblivion remaster
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a very good game, but Nathan had a nagging problem 10 hours in that needed to be addressed with the one mod he had to use. So, let’s talk about party composition, number of players and removing party limits.
Party Limit Begone at Baldur's Gate 3 Nexus
Should NPCs be gullible? Like, gullible enough to allow your adventuring party to walk into a stronghold. A hot take from November suggests that they should and we are going to discuss it’s merits.
Radmad on X
53 min - 106. A Very Palworld Special
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown:
KlaytonCalix joins us for a special Palworld episode as we have each played it for more than 50 hours. There must be something great about this game to hold our attention this long. What did we love about this game and what itches did it scratch for us as gamers.
If you take the good, you take the bad. Those are the facts of life. Palworld is not without issues. Some of them are technical, but others are by design. Others still are trappings of the genre. What bothered us about the game and what aspects did not work for us. Also, what are some things we’d like to add to Palworld.
And so we get to the ugly. While Palworld may not be an ugly game, the discussion around it certainly feels that way. Let’s discuss the letter from Nintendo, similarities to existing IPs, accusations of AI usage and threats given to the developers. Like, WTF!?
The Hoeg Law video Klayton mentioned - Palworld vs Pokemon | Can This Be Legal? (VL775)
2 hr 25 min - 105. Armored Souls
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown:
We have reached 500 videos on YouTube! Well, 506 or so, but we’re late to the party. It sure feels like we should do something to celebrate, so let’s look at a mathematically constructed list of the 500 greatest games of all time. What were the best of all time? More importantly, what were the least best of all time?
A very official list of the best games - The Mathematically Derived 500 Best Video Games of All Time - an IGN Playlist by RuFiOoo - IGN
Alex has been playing Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon and getting his giant mech on. This is despite his tepid relationship to other FromSoftware games. And so, we should probably explain why AC6 is not really like a souls game.
There are two kinds of souls-like players and Nathan is not the one you know about. Elden Ring explained this to him better than any other title. Why do some players that don’t really “git gud” still want to play these games?
1 hr 22 min - 104. The Troll in the Room
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown:
It’s that time of year again when we do Save, Bury, Reboot. What games do we keep, which do we throw away and which ones need a makeover? Better listen to find out.
The Steam Awards happened and we smell some shenanigans. Trolls apparently got into the mix and voted for some unlikely choices for nominees in these game categories. So, let’s talk about Labor of Love and Most Innovative Game.
Although it was a fantastic year to play games, it was a dismal year for those who make them. Recently, Hasbro laid off 1,100 employees, many of them from Wizards of the Coast who make Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons. And yet, the CEO… well, he made out just fine this year. Let us discuss the juxtaposition between how well a company does and how well the staff does.
Swen Vincke @where? on X
Hasbro Layoffs Affect Wizards Of The Coast (forbes.com)
Baldur’s Gate 3 support at Wizards of the Coast devastated by layoffs - Polygon
Wizards Of The Coast Employees Have Been Hit Hard By Hasbro Layoffs (kotaku.com.au)
Hasbro Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results | Hasbro, Inc.
1 hr - 103. Resolutionary
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown:
Some games deserve a second chance. Nathan talks about some of the games he plans on giving this chance in 2024 and what he hopes to get out of the experience.
We are not a news program. However, we are hoping to revisit old news stories that fell by the wayside. What ever happened with the OpenGL or Unity stories? What happened to the bad games that got apology jpegs? Probably subjects worth exploring.
It’s the beginning of the year and so we should do an update about what we are doing with TPK stuff, like Discord, Patreon, YouTube, our website and our merchandise. Housekeeping time!
1 hr - 102. The Moist Bandicoots
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown:
Nothing gets Nathan in the holiday spirit like Die Hard. On this episode, we become John McClane and create a quest to stop an assault on a wizard’s tower. Is it part of a campaign or a one shot? How does our party get there? How do they stop the fantasy terrorists? Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? All that and more on this festive episode.
When Frank Capra made It’s a Wonderful Life, he could only imagine that one day we would use the premise to create an end-of-campaign scenario for a TTRPG. Truly this would be his crowning achievement. What would the world look like if your PCs were never in it? How about OUR PCs? Should we be afraid to find out? Also, a spicy Nathan explains why he didn’t actually like the movie.
Home Alone is the best Christmas movie of all time according to ‘90s kids. Since Kevin McCallister is the OG murder hobo, we can easily take his home defense strategy and apply it to… magical bandicoots? How would we defend an abandoned town from a furry swarm of destruction? And can we remember where the family went in the 1st and 2nd movie?
1 hr 7 min
About Total Pebble Knockdown
From the publisher's feed
In weekly discussions that result in absolutely no clear answers, Nathan and Alex delve into the endless choices that make up games. What can we learn from video games, storytelling, and the real…
world, and how can we apply that to tabletop games?