We continue our chat with Michael Warbington and dig into a rich vein we usually leave unmined: video games.
With different levels of skill, engagement and knowledge, we look at the experience of gaming in 2022, the intersection of art and commerce, the prevalence of in-game microtransactions, getting mercilessly griefed by racist swearing twelve year-olds, and a game’s replayability. What do we want out of the gaming experience?
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In our latest plot to lose any conservative listeners, we’re back!
We’re chatting with Joe Preti, who offers his defense of the much-maligned and frequently buggy Cyberpunk 2077. We dig into the often unreasonable expectations of both gamers and game companies, and why the video game industry exploits their workers and releases unfinished, broken games.
Is online gaming inevitably toxic and ugly? Are we doomed to racism, selfish teammates and endless griefing? Can we bake solutions into the programming of the games themselves?
And why does it seem like everyone on the political Far-Right from Ben Shapiro to Steve Bannon to Adolf Hitler, is a medicore failed artist, movie producer or screenwriter?
And we say goodbye to a dead radio icon with all of the respect and dignity he deserves.
NOTE: The Skype audio was not up to our usual standards, but we still think it’s listenable. Our apologies! No apologies are offered to Rush Limbaugh.
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On the tail of our BioShock panel, Mike and Casey continue our conversation with Patrick Johnson and Carlos Rodela, to delve deeper into the strengths and weaknesses of this game series in particular and gaming in general.
How big and dense can — or should — a video game’s world be? How much should the player be directing the story, as opposed to the game’s designer? How often should video game franchises release sequels, especially when new installments have only small incremental changes?
Plus, random musings on Star Wars and M. Night Shyamalan.
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They’re coming to get you, Barbara….
Mike and Casey join forces with author and Seattle Vine columnist, Libbie Grant, and Ian Gould, the owner of Ace Comics and Games, to pillage the ravaged post-apocalyptic wasteland and argue about those ubiquitous walking corpses!
That’s right, we’re talking about zombies! We discuss their social relevance, the often derivative nature of zombie fiction, and why they shouldn’t be romantic leads. Ever.
Check yourself for bites and be sure to aim for the head!
Previously titled: “Rotting Corpse Dick”
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