Wardcast

We’re ringing in the new year with a post-MAGFest debriefing. Dylan is joined by fellow RVA Game Jammers and MAGFest Indie Video Game Showcasers Ruthie Edwards and Sam Loeschen to talk about what they learned from showing their games at MAGFest 2017.

But that’s not all! This week, Nintendo also announced the Nintendo Switch launch lineup, so we walk on down to the mean streets of New Donk City to talk neon-colored controllers, alternative input methods, and living hats.

Lastly, we would also like to announce our panel for PAX East 2017 — Hidden Gems: Discovering the Undiscovered at PAX East. Keep a look out for more information about it as we get closer to PAX East in March!

Games include Jupiter Lander, Black Emperor, Battletech: Firestorm, Food Fight, Windjammers, and Mario Kart 64.

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

Well, here we are. It’s been one heck of a year, but now it’s time for us to decide the best games we’ve played in 2016.

Let’s lay some ground rules. First, our top ten considers any game played in 2016, not just games released in 2016. Second, everyone brings their personal top ten games of the year, and from those, we will decide upon the Ward Podcast’s top ten of the year. Lastly, once the ten games of the year have been set, we will create an award specific to each game.

And that will put a close to the Ward Podcast for 2016. We’d like to thank everyone who joined us on the podcast this year: James Gross, Will Blanton, Momin Khan & Mike Odum, Ruthie Edwards, Sam Loeschen, Nick Nundahl & Joe Wetmore, Andy Bowers, Auverin Morrow, Rich Atlas, ​Henry Hoffman, and David Byers. And, of course, we’d like to thank Alex Rice and Dan Cotting for joining us this year on the Ward Podcast.

We look forward to 2017: the year to stay stoked. So long 2016, and thanks for all the games.

Awards include Grandest Adventure, Most Polish, Most Genuine, Most Thought-Provoking, Most Innovative, Best Direction, Best Escapism, Best Open World, Most Empowering, and Best Personal Interactions.

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

Dominated by holiday cheer, the core four collect together to complete our last episode before our game of the year podcast.

We talk movies, television, and poor purchasing decisions on eBay. We also take another look at the announcements from the Game Awards and the PlayStation Experience and try to answer the age-old question, “What is Death Stranding even about?”

We also discuss some of the guys’ Brandcenter projects as they relate to games, from Dan’s presentation on VR to Mason’s “More than Gamification” article series.

Games include Gears of War 4, Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, Stardew Valley, Life is Strange, Google Maps VR, Pokémon Omega Ruby, Super Mario World, Pokémon Sun, Let It Die, Titanfall 2, Overwatch, BioShock Remastered, and Dishonored 2.

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

Dylan is joined by honorary fifth seat, Will Blanton, as well as Uncade’s own David Byers. The guys talk about Will’s Dark Souls level one run and reminisce about the DK Bongo controller.

We also discuss the guests’ favorite games of the year, which includes discussing the ending of Inside from 1:02:52 to 1:07:19. The Game Awards also happened this past week, hosted by the Dorito Pope himself, so we talk about some of the announcements that occurred there. Lastly, we plan for MAGFest and beyond in 2017.

Games include Dark Souls, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

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

It’s Thanksgiving Eve, and we’re thankful to be able to talk games, games, and more games.

Dylan continues his journey through the Fallout 4 DLC, this time stopping at Nuka-World, and Dan proceeds through Episode Two of Life is Strange as well as some experiments with Newton VR.

Alex and Mason start on some new first person sequel releases: Dishonored 2 and Titanfall 2 — our winner for Best Sci-Fi First Person Shooter for Q3 2016.

We take a mental journey back to Charlottesville, where University of Virginia has banned Thomas Jefferson, and a quick pitstop to talk about Suicide Squad, coming to a dumpster near you.

We also talk original Doom on the MacBook Touch Bar, NES Classic Edition shortages, and Pokémon cards worth five figures.

Games include Fallout 4; Jackbox Party Pack; Quick, Draw!; Life is Strange; clickclickclick.click; Dishonored 2; Hyper Light Drifter; Colossatron; Overwatch; Titanfall 2; and Crypt of the NecroDancer.

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

In what will surely be an unforgettable week in American history, the guys decide to speak to the subject that they know best: video games.

Dylan returns to Fallout 4 — season pass in tow — with the Far Harbor DLC, leading to a discussion on the use of AI in popular culture. Dan has finished building his VR-ready machine, and with Vive in hand, he tries out all the experiences Steam VR has to offer.

We also answer our first podcast email, deal with wild Gengars, and convince Dan to start posting on Medium.

Games include Fallout 4, Mafia III, Tilt Brush, The Lab, Overwatch, Batman: The Telltale Series, and Rec Room.

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

The Richmond Utilities Podcast comes back to discuss this nation’s greatest utility: democracy. We encourage all our listeners to rock the vote this upcoming Election Day.

This week’s primary topic of discussion: Oxenfree. All the gents have played it, so we dedicate most of the podcast to analyze and critique it. For those who wish to avoid spoilers, the Oxenfree talk starts at 11:20 and ends at 1:30:23.

And since we missed you during Hallow’s Eve, we talk about all our Halloween experiences, which primarily involve parties, both political and bacchanalian. Also, be sure to check out our own Dan Cotting’s continued discussion on UX in virtual reality on his blog and his newly minted article about VR.

Games include Oxenfree, Overwatch, and Job Simulator.

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

This week, Dan talks about VR-ready PC builds, Dan and Alex both talk about their enjoyment with Oxenfree, and Mason and Dylan continue with some more Mafia III impressions.

We also deal with some huge announcements from the game industry this week: from Red Dead Redemption 2 to Nintendo Switch.

And Dylan brings his entire Pokémon card collection for show and tell.

Games include Oxenfree, Overwatch, and Mafia III.

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

Dan and Alex are dealing with the heavy loss of bodily fluids from pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into their mid-semester projects, so the original Ward Podcast duo have returned for a one-night event.

Tonight, we try to shout over the roar of a neighboring lawnmower to talk about résumés, wireframes, GNU, and other intimidating open source acronyms.

Dylan brings his impressions of the first dozen or so hours of Mafia III, while Mason expresses his fizzling interest in Destiny: Rise of Iron.

Games include Mafia III, Tomb of the Mask, and Destiny: Rise of Iron.

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

With Hurricane Matthew bringing us a little bit of wind and rain, we huddle inside to talk about video games.

But first, we talk about the new HBO show Westworld and the blurring line between reality and simulation that the show portends, as well as violence in simulations and games.

And then there are even more shows and films to discuss, from Steve Jobs to Luke Cage to X-Men: Apocalypse. We also talk about the waning memory of Hanson’s “MMMBop” and Dan’s new Ward theme.

Games include Super Mario 3D World, Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, Rocket League, BioShock Remastered, Sportsfriends, Tricky Towers, and Overwatch.

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