Wardcast

Will, Dylan, and Mike Odum convene for a post-GDC discussion.

Dylan regails us with stories of adventures faraway, from Bit Bash to Train Jam to GDC. His Train Jam game, Track Trek, was made in collaboration with Matt Gambell, Keaton White, and Craig Barnes and is available for all to play (as long as you have two Xbox controllers).

We also discuss GDC experiences, unsuccessful game pitches, and determining success. The conference brought its own share of meaty topics, including unionization in the games industry, the future of GDC, and the current American political climate’s effect on international developers’ attendance, most readily seen in the #1ReasonToBe panel.

We conclude by catching up on Will’s game — working title: Oddish Adventure — currently at version 0.0.3, and Mike updates us on Clash Cup Turbo’s development and multiplayer beta.

Next up on Wardcast: Hidden Gems of PAX East II, an interview with Alex Berry from The Swords of Ditto, an interview with Mike Bithell, and more!

Games include The Moon Fields, Time Crisis II, and Superhot.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

Will and Dylan are joined by RVA Game Jams member, artist, and animator extraordinaire Emily Kundrot.

We discuss Will’s ongoing game development, some code refactoring, and the economic principles behind Late Stage Nugget Math.

A new Nintendo Direct happened, where we learned that everyone is just trying to Smash, sun bros are turning into amiibros, and the dreaded Bean Fever is spreading.

Emily reintroduces us to a prehistoric game and its mutant spawn. All the while, Dylan preps for Train Jam and GDC next week.

Games include Splatoon 2, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and Puyo Puyo Tetris.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

This week, Dylan is joined by Jonathan Lehr, managing public relations at retro game-focused indie developer Mega Cat Studios, about to release their latest games Coffee Crisis and Log Jammers.

Jonathan discusses the wild world of retro cart development and how to best work with talent — especially when they need to be familiar with older technologies.

We also chat about how supportive the game development community is, the historically low barrier to entry for current indies, and more.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

Dylan, Will, and Alex convene to discuss experiences at the Playthrough Game Convention, getting stuck in North Carolina, and weird Galaga ROMs.

Graphics card prices surge due to cryptocurrencies, we sit in awe in the Shadow of the Colossus, and our childhood cartoons are fighting in Gundam versus Transformers

Will traveled to faraway lands — from Hyrule to Cancún — but returns to us to contest Jeremy Parish’s ranking of Metal Gear. Billy Mitchell and Todd Rogers have hotly contested high scores, and Alex welcomes us to his new home at braindeer.games.

Games include Burgertime, Terrorist Galaga, Galaga 3, Splitty Robot, Monster Hunter: World, Shadow of the Colossus, GNOG, Gundam Versus, VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, Dragon Quest: Builders, Overwatch, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Enter the Gungeon, and The Sims 4.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

This episode, Dylan is joined by Felix Kramer, producer at Polytron and helping out with biz dev, PR, and a whole mess of other stuff for indie games Tunic and Genesis Noir.

We cover a swath of different topics, from the perennial discussion of price versus value in games to Felix’s attendance at the JoCo Cruise to letting the Twitter horde choose your username.

We also thirst for some haunted domains and proclaim our love for our favorite Lego sets.

Games include Monster Hunter: World.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

We’re here with Punxsupolyfill to talk about new console ownership and the terrible user experiences they bring.

In an unfortunate series of events, Will gets real deep into Dwarf Fortress, the Overwatch League suffers from a lack of diversity, and Miitomo meets its untimely end in May.

We also go over some housekeeping with RVA Game Jams’ Global Game Jam games, our upcoming attendance at Playthrough, and more!

Games include Monster Hunter: World, Dishonored 2, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Blacklight: Retribution, Super Mario Odyssey, Cave Story+, The End is Nigh, Slaves to Armok: God of Blood Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress, Dobotone, Enter the Gungeon, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Coup, and The Wisdom and/or Madness of Crowds.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

After numerous whirlwind adventures from the past couple of weeks, we return home to rest and recuperate. Back at home base, Dylan is rejoined by Alex Damrath, Justin Mitchell, and Momin Khan.

We discuss the numerous strains of convention pathogens, from MAGFlu to PAX Pox, as well as a return to Breath of the Wild, the nightmarish hellscapes in Martio Rabius Kingdom Journey, Dragon Ball FighterZzzzz, our brief time watching Awesome Games Done Quick, some planning for GDC, and Nintendo Labo.

Games include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Enter the Gungeon, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Dragon Quest Builders, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Broken Reality, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Sole, Virtua Tennis, and Powerstone.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

We’re weary, but we’re here for our wrap-up episode for PAX South 2018. Dylan is joined by Nick Nundahl of Instant Replay Live — and Hidden Gems — fame along with fellow YouTuber Karinabob.

We talk Airbnb furnishings, the Instant Friends Discord, and some last-minute sights from the show floor, including the Jamroom and Multibowl.

As we drift off into a dreamless slumber to recover from the MAGFests and the PAXes, we make brief mention of a secret lost podcast, discuss the disappearance of John St. John, and introduce you to our southern cousin, Cloud Lee.

Games include Donut County, Overland, Super Retro Maker, Armed and Gelatinous, Log Jammers, Sorcerer City, Party Hard 2, The Painscreek Killings, The Norwood Suite, Multibowl, Dobotone, Jackbox Party Pack 3, The Swords of Ditto, and Florence.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

Making its triumphant return, the Hidden Gems panel is back to showcase more awesome games and experiences from the PAX show floor. This time, Dylan took the panel to PAX South with our friends Nick Nundahl and Joe Wetmore of Instant Replay Live. We talk about all the cool stuff that we saw and played. If you’re interested in following along with the panel slides, we’ve uploaded them for your viewing pleasure.

From the panel description:

You’ve made it to PAX South, but now what? There’s just too much to do, see, and play. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to be your guide to finding the most interesting and unique games and experiences from across the far flung corners of the expo. Join us as we highlight, analyze, and discuss surprises on the show floor you may have otherwise missed.

Games include Donut County, Super Retro Maker, The Shrouded Isle, Overland, Tunic, Children of Morta, Patobox, Light Fall, Aftercharge, Mystic Origins, The Norwood Suite, Black Ice, and Omensight.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

It’s our first episode from PAX South in sunny San Antonio — Military City, USA. Dylan sits down with Bekah Saltsman, CEO of indie developer and publisher Finji, showing off their games Overland, Tunic, and Night in the Woods.

We talk about booth logistics for larger shows, being thrifty as an indie dev, and the infamous Costco rental.

Bekah also goes more in depth about topics within and beyond the indie dev life, from her school and work experiences, the importance of non-development roles in the industry, hiring practices at Finji, working as a woman and a mom in games, and how she obtained her cavalcade of nicknames.

Games include Mini Metro.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!