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Dev Game Club

Join hosts and game industry veterans Brett Douville and Tim Longo as they explore older titles to talk about the influences those games had and what we can learn from them even today.
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Now displaying: December, 2016
Dec 28, 2016

Welcome to our YEAR END SPECIAL. We look back on our interview segments and our favorite game takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

TTAJ: 53:15

Next time:
We have one and possibly two TIE Fighter interviews lined up, but then we are going to turn to 2002's Ico and 2005's Shadow of the Colossus. Look for us on Twitter for how far to play. 

@brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Dec 21, 2016

Welcome to our fourth episode examining 1994's Star Wars classic TIE Fighter. We discuss the story of the Collector's Edition additional missions and then turn to our takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Missions 11-13

TTAJ: 1:06:00 (late this episode!)

Podcast breakdown:
0:37    Segment 1: Final battles
39:00  Break
39:27  Segment 2: Takeaways

Issues covered: story review of last few battles, cloaking technology as verboten in Star Wars license, tying into Endor and the trap at the new Death Star, being in the recognizable Star Wars universe, forward performance problems, thinking about future proofing, emulating and Steam, Lucy and the anthropology, failing a mission and rethinking your strategy, using the slam mechanic, circles of the Emperor, viewing your stats, proper pronunciation of Bothan, Brett and lore, having both the success of preserving the Empire and knowing it's about to fall, differing voice actors, not getting to see Zaarin, moving to a 3D rendering, deep simulation, the majesty of being in the space, committing to the fantasy in small ways, how much stuff is in this game, simulation complexity of a fictional craft, AI craft doing the same energy management, mission design around specific craft/loadout, feeling the hand of the designer, modern possibility of failure, we hear from the animal quarter, Brett owes Tim a dollar.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Scrabble, Ernest Adams, Dungeon Keeper, Ultima series, Rogue One, Skyrim, Monkey Island, Jedi Power Battles, Masters of Teras Kasi, The Last Starfighter, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Demon's Souls, Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous, Brian Taylor, Dave Filoni, Star Wars Rebels and Clone Wars, Republic Commando, Sean Duffy.

Next time: A Year in Review

@brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Dec 14, 2016

Welcome to our third episode examining 1994's Star Wars classic TIE Fighter. We discuss the story of the first expansion pack, address some criticism when it comes to these missions, and Brett digresses over technology from the day. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Battles 8-10

TTAG (Time to "Aw, geez"): 1:43


Podcast breakdown
:
0:35 One segment this week!

Issues covered: licensing and the Expanded Universe, the TIE Defender as the centerpiece of a series of battles, Zaarin and Thrawn, choosing Thrawn over Vader, the mag pulse torpedo, Full speed to Killimaar!, being the Red Baron, technology race, using audio to give you hints and direction, lack of feedback to developers, hobbyist press, calling the hint line, over-long missions, changing the rule set on you, dead time, bulletproofing and A bugs, test plans, algorithmically breaking a game, software vs hardware operations, Caveman Tim, texture mapping, fixed point math, floating point operations vs whole numbers, transform and lighting, capital ship scale, render order and limiting your triangle drawing, overdraw, major revolutions in hardware, streaming podcast recording, beam weapons, zooming.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Disney, Trading Places, Dan Ackroyd, Eddie Murphy, Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy, Heir to the Empire, Totally Games, Star Wars Rebels, The Clone Wars, X-Wing vs TIE Fighter, Scrabble, The Great Waldo Pepper, Robert Redford, Howard Hughes, Abbott and Costello, John Carmack, Steven Spielberg, Sean Clark, Robin Williams, Star Wars: Starfighter, Colony Wars, Wing Commander, Reed Knight, Dark Forces, Voodoo, Tomb Raider, Unreal, X-Wing Alliance, Darren Johnson, miggohoo, Idle Thumbs, DLC, Rogue One.

Next time:
Finish the game!

@brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Dec 7, 2016

Welcome to our second episode examining 1994's Star Wars classic TIE Fighter. We discuss the story in greater depth, as well as the various storytelling modes and how they cross over between each other. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Battles 4-7

Podcast breakdown:
0:31    Segment 1: Story and storytelling
50:32  Break
51:00  Segment 2: Feedback

Issues covered: expansion packs, setting of the campaign in the Star Wars chronology, adding new technology as a way to expand the game from the movies, a game's power curve, making the player part of the story, how the secret order ranks work, point bonuses and happy accidents, not knowing what you've missed, modern design removing mystery, stretching the character of the Emperor, medal ceremony, Star Wars story melodrama, military careerism, depth of simulation vs breadth of options, beam weapon, wingman commands, component targeting, flight sim complexity in the early 90s, use of the beam weapon, mastery for perfect puzzle play, use of the simulators, the damage system, prioritizing repairs, various screens, energy management, dumping lasers into shields, starting with one ring of shields (forcing player action), experimenting as a result of failure, most difficult missions, hard failure (funeral and prison planet), having to pay attention/less directed play, map, scale, WWII clips influencing Star Wars film battles, strategy guides and game development, Tim the submarine operator, 15-pin serial connections, recharging your lasers, digging around for joysticks at the local Best Buy, nostalgia bias, no perfect games, letting games go, games as "just a job," healthy self-regard, corporations as psychopaths, overwork.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Gilmore Girls, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Totally Games, The Madness of King George, Jedi Starfighter (obliquely), Republic Commando (obliquely), Wing Commander, Rogue Squadron series, Call of Duty, Battlefront, Brian Taylor, Kurt Strock, DLC podcast, Ken Levine, Janos Flosser, Shall We Play A Game podcast, Silent Service, F15 Strike Eagle, Their Finest Hour: Battle of Britain, B-17: Flying Fortress, ARMA series, Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous, Freelancer, House of the Dying Sun, Aaron Hansen, Waka2234, Warcraft, The Last Guardian, Kurtbamf.

Links:
George Lucas on WWII and Star Wars 

Tora! Tora! Tora! Clip

TIE Fighter Strategy Guide

Crunch Crash

Next time:
Battles 8-10

@brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub
DevGameClub@gmail.com

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