Diecast – Twenty Sided

The Summer Game Fest happened this weekend. That’s like eight different events: Day of Devs, Devolver Digital Showcase, Future Games Show, Netflix Geeked Week, Epic Store Showcase, Tribeca Games Spotlight, Xbox + Bethesda Showcase, and the PC Gaming Show.

It’s been… a lot. I don’t know if anyone is interested in a wrap-up post, but I might do one of those.

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Hosts: Paul, Shamus. Episode edited by Issac.
Diecast384

Link (YouTube)
Show notes:

00:00 Ren Faire

So, is there a hard line between Ren Faire and SCA stuff? Or do the two hobbies bleed into each other?

06:59 Summer Game Fest 2022

We use the term “punch drunk” to describe someone who’s feeling a little scrambled on account of taking a few blows to the head. I think we need an equivalent term for when you’ve just sat and watched 90 minutes of videogame trailers and their constant stream of screaming, strobing, rushing, flying, exploding, punching, dubstepping, climbing, crafting, and gunfire.

11:35 Diablo Immortal

Here I spend 8 minutes explaining why I’m not going to waste time on the topic? Anyway, here is the post I wrote a couple of years ago where I predicted the “lootboss” idea so a publisher can route around anti-lootbox legislation.

Here is an overview of the game’s monetization system:

Link (YouTube)

19:18 Amazing Cultivation Simulator

“Dwarf Fortress but based on wuxia instead of medieval fantasy.”

22:30 Midnight Fight Express

I still haven’t figured out which way this game is going to go. Maybe this game is like Batman and I’ll learn to master it with time. Maybe the game is about to ramp up the difficulty to insane levels and I should get out now.

26:59 Mythic Tier

What other bits of recent gaming jargon have you heard from children that don’t understand the original context?

29:47 Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

I can’t really fault the designers. They retained the vast open space and thoughtful pacing of the original games. But forwatever reason, that pace just doesn’t work for me in a ground-based game.

39:20 Cyberpunk spire

How unexpected.

41:20 Mailbag: Collectibles and Unlockables

Dear Diecast,

What do you think makes collectibles and unlockables satisfying or unsatisfying? Any Do’s and Don’t’s you have when it comes to video games putting in things to find and pick up, and/or for reward systems in relation to the player’s behaviour?

If you were designing a game and had to have collectibles in it, how would you know if you’re offering the player an engaging activity or a dull chore? How might you lessen the odds of the latter?

All the best,
Andrew

52:26 Mailbag: New experience increases appreciation of old thing

Dear Diecast,

Excitement tends to come from new, novel experiences but sometimes a new thing can show why an old thing is great. I tried Master of Orion 2016 out and found it slow and claustrophobic in its menu-heaviness. 40 minutes later I bailed out and hopped back onto good old MOO2…but with new appreciation for some things. Of particular note were the drag-and-drop interface and flexibility of the game’s systems. To put it simply: I realized that MOO2 was designed to be played. It facilitates play almost to the point of feeling tactile, like a physical board game. I hadn’t fully realized this.

Have you had an experience where a new game or software made you see something old in a new way?

Reinvigoratedly,
Chris P.