A speedrunner, first-person shooter crossed with a parkour platformer, Neon White is upon us and it's glorious.
Join Stace and John as they detail and dissect their experience the game in a bid to understand what's going in Ben Esposito's latest video game offering and how he's hit Neon White's sweet spot.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
After 200 hours in Elden Ring, our very own Stace Harman has some thoughts and we're ready to 'review' it.
We cover the ups and the downs, the memorable bosses, the sense of engagement, worldbuilding, narrative design and more.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
When playing a video game, how are you embodying the character onscreen? Are you playing as yourself and making decisions based on how you think you'd act in a given situation, or are you acting as the character as it's written for you?
Maybe the answer is that it's a combination of both, or maybe it's something else entirely.
Join John and Stace as they discuss this and figure out how they themselves play games and how that impacts their interpretations.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
This week Stace and John are remaking Legacy of Kain: Soul Revear, Crystal Dynamics' 1999 PlayStation classic and a game that continues to have so much to offer through its narrative, gameplay and aesthetic.
Join us in rediscovering Soul Reaver by designing how it could look and play today.
What would you do if you were remaking Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver?
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
Returnal can be a difficult game to play, understand and unlock the Platinum Trophy for. Having achieved the latter, how is the context, interpretation and playing of the game altered?
Join John Robertson and Stace Harman as chat returning to Returnal for the Ascension update and unlocking the game's famously difficult Platinum Trophy.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
]]>
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, it's one of the most beloved, most respected and most reverred games of all time. For many it's comfortably the finest Star Wars game ever released.
And yet, despite having worked in the games industry for over three decades collectively, it's a game that Stace and John had never played. It's the time for that to change.
Join them as they discuss their early experience of the game, how it relates to their expectations and other RPGs and how they've gone about indulging in such a classic of gaming history.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
]]>
John and Stace are talking about Doki Doki Literature Club this week on Gaming: The Podcast.
A seemingly 'normal' visual novel, Doki Doki has some surprises and ideas up its sleeve that make it something altogether more subversive and challenging than it initially communicates.
Join us as we discuss the power of its storytelling and its stunning ability to get under your skin in a number of different ways.Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is bought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
Music by Ben Prunty.
With the launch of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Stace and John ask themselves: Why do we enjoy trashy, B-movie style games?
There are games that are crying out to be rejected and forgotten due to their inadequicies. And yet, in some cases, such games result in a memorable and personal experience that you wish more people would find joy in. Listen to Stace and John explore and discuss exactly that and why it happens.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
Music by Ben Prunty.
In this episode Stace and John discuss Elden Ring's difficulty, how it is delivered and contextualised by the choices the game gives you, how the ways to 'game the systems' within Elden Ring play into the difficulty and to what extent player creativity affects the challenges you're likely to come across.
Ultimately, the real question is: Does Elden Ring's difficulty, easier or not, make for a better game?
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
Discussion covers class builds, exploration, how information is presented to players, boss fights and the general difficulty curve.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
Stace and John discuss these choices and their outcomes and examine how they combine to create meaning for both you as an individual and for any discussion around the game.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
Does Horizon Forbidden West offer a superior experience if you are already a fan of the series? Can it win over those people who didn't enjoy the first game?
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
Stace and John discuss Lost Ark's launch, its scope and the pros and cons of its free-to-play funding model, before moving on to Sifu and figuring where it sits within an increasingly crowded and diverse roguelite genre.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
Roguelikes include persistent upgrades, roguelikes do not.
Join Stace and John as they discuss the relevant merits of each genre, which they personally prefer and whether or not the distinction between -like and -lites still makes sense given the gaming landscape today.
Games discussed in this episode include:
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
On this episode of Gaming: The Podcast, John and Stace discuss how repetition in games is, however, about much more than grinding and forced replication of action - it's ultimately about enabling creativity, reward, mastery and much more.
Repetition gets a bad rap, so let's talk about it.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
We recommend that you familiarise / refamiliarise with the opening of Demon's Souls before listening to this episode.
Listen in and then get involved in the conversation with your own 2022 new year resolutions for gaming via our Twitter and Discord.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
Visit us at IndieByDesign.net
John and Stace are back for 2022 with their resolutions for a new year in gaming, all which are likely to have been broken by March.
Their picks range from attaining achievements in specific games to giving more attention to certain forms of games and from encorporating new forms of play to becoming more involved in game creation itself.
Listen in and then get involved in the conversation with your own 2022 new year resolutions for gaming via our Twitter and Discord.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
Visit us at IndieByDesign.net
Will it be Deathloop or Loop Hero? Resident Evil Village or Psychonauts 2? Valheim or Death's Door?
Full list of game of the year 2021 candidates:
We'd love you to play along with us and let us know your own games of 2021, so hit us up on Twitter and get involved in the discussion. We are @IndieByDesign on Twitter and all social media networks.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
Visit us at IndieByDesign.net
This week on Gaming: The Podcast John and Stace answer five questions that are often asked of them on social media:
By the end of the episode you'll have a better idea of what we like and have liked and where your own tastes sit alongside, or in opposition to, our own.
We'd love you to play along with us and let us know your own answers, so hit us up on Twitter and get involved in the discussion. We are @IndieByDesign on Twitter and all social media networks.
Gaming: The Podcast is released every Tuesday and is brought to you by Indie By Design, creators of books and podcasts that delve into the history, culture and design of video games.
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.
Visit us at IndieByDesign.net
It's the final part of our Metal Gear Solid trilogy, in which John and Stace discuss the qualities, themes and design of Metal Gear Solid 2's opening Tanker sequence.
Has there been a better opening to video game sequel?
Points of discussion include expecation/ hype versus delivery, foreshadowing of themes seen later in the game, new additions to enemy behaviour and Snake's actions, how the game teaches itself to players, what the game says about the act of playing games and much more.
Welcome to the second episode in Metal Gear Solid podcast trilogy.
This week John and Stace focus on Metal Gear Solid 1's Shadow Moses facility location and how it has come to occupy such a revered place in the history of great video game settings.
The space is a triumph of both level design and in creating an atmosphere of narrative realism and intrigue.
Given how small the actual playing area is, how has Hideo Kojima and his team managed to achieve such a sense of scale and deliver so many different meanings?
What is it about the facility that stands the test of time and has been so influential for other designers?
---Where does Metal Gear Solid rank in the history of great video game opening sequences?
This week John and Stace discuss the opening hour of the original Metal Gear Solid (1998), from the initial cut-scene to the Revolver Ocelot boss fight.
The sequence is a masterclass of game design, narrative and originality, providing us with numerous concepts and ideas that have gone on to become commonplace across many games.
Our discussion of Metal Gear Solid comes ahead of our look at Metal Gear Solid 2 which celebrates its 20th anniversary on 13 November 2021.
Does a great weapon need to make sense within the world it exists? Does it need to play a role in the narrative? Does it need to be unique?
Should it involve spectacle? What does it say about the game that it is a part of?
A video version of this podcast is available at https://www.youtube.com/c/indiebydesign
Music by Ben Prunty.
[Apple Podcasts] [Google Podcasts] [Spotify] [Direct RSS Feed]
]]>
John Robertson and Stace Harman discuss where it sits in relation to Left 4 Dead's legacy, how well it balances its carnage, the nature of its progression and deck building systems and what our respective responses are emotionally and in terms of pure entertainment.
---
A video version of this podcast is available at https://www.youtube.com/c/indiebydesign
Music by Ben Prunty.
[Apple Podcasts] [Google Podcasts] [Spotify] [Direct RSS Feed]
]]>How does John think Amazon's brand new MMO, New World, is looking in its first week on full release? How exactly has NEO: The World Ends With You won over Stace, who is usually indifferent to JRPGs?
[Apple Podcasts] [Google Podcasts] [Spotify] [Direct RSS Feed]
]]>
We discuss whether or not the game is relevant and meaningful for those players coming to it without experience and nostalgia gained from playing it in past years and how different playing styles can result in wildly different interpretations of the core design.
]]>
In this week's Gaming: The Podcast John Robertson and Stace Harman discuss Arkane Studios' Deathloop:
How does it combined stealth and action gameplay? What interesting things does it do with death and time? How does the game react to your presence? How interesting are the things it asks you to do?
---
A video version of this podcast is available at https://www.youtube.com/c/indiebydesign
Music by Ben Prunty.
[Apple Podcasts] [Google Podcasts] [Spotify] [Direct RSS Feed]
]]>
Are there any concepts for settings that make us more interested in a game even if we know nothing more about it? What is it about some settings and locations that make them immediately more attractive and worthy of intrigue than others?
Games mentioned include Batman: Arkham Asylum, the Yakuza series, Resident Evil 1, Dead Space, Persona 5, Catherine, Final Fantasy 7, Ghost of Tsushima, NEO: The World Ends With You and more.
---
A video version of this podcast is available at https://www.youtube.com/c/indiebydesign
Music by Ben Prunty.
[Apple Podcasts] [Google Podcasts] [Spotify] [Direct RSS Feed]
]]>