Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 2001's Fatal Frame. We talk about the economy of the design, some sticky puzzles and usability thoughts, and mechanical considerations. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
A few more hours

Issues covered: economy and discipline, the warbling space that signifies a ghost, a possible positive reinforcement loop and the score economy, making every ghost matter, high stakes camera use, unsettling your comfort, the disorienting movement and camera shifts popping out of combat, melodramatic and zany, the different movie eras these series connect to, the Mothman, Japanese making Western horrors, Buddhism vs Shintoism, playing croquet with the Old Ones, brute forcing a puzzle, "well there's a note," head-look, wanting a little more from the map, usability issues, the gap in the wall, mechanical inconsistency, seeing patterns that aren't there, the adventure game of it all, exponential vs linear, the talisman photos in your inventory, RTFM, various reminiscences of Father Beast on HOMM, discovery in HOMM.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Resident Evil (series), Clue, Capcom, Dead Rising, Unsolved Mysteries, Jen Longo, Silent Hill, Don't Look Now, Eternal Darkness, Day of the Tentacle, Father Beast, Heroes of Might and Magic, King's Bounty, Master of Magic, Archon, X-COM, Final Fantasy VI, Dave Wolinsky, Pippin Barr, Beyond Good and Evil, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time:
More Fatal Frame

Twitch: timlongojr
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin our annual spooky series, this time on 2001's Fatal Frame. We briefly talk about the year it came out, its developer/publisher, and why we picked it before turning to other introductory topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
An hour-ish

Issues covered: Discord-only going forward, why this game?, photo mode games, changing culture of photography, re-elevating photography, Sony shenanigans, best years of all time, the ubergame, years where genres were introduced or forks were in the road, being able to fit more games in, risk aversion and uniqueness, indie games, too big to feel?, a bit about Tecmo, Japanese horror, based on a true story?, the cover and the possible origins of the game, the correlations screen, connecting up details, following the ghosts, pushing characters in the directions of the horror, using ghosts in interesting ways, pixel hunting with the characters, interaction prompts on key items, controls, meticulous camera placement and movement, entering a piece of furniture, not overthinking it, the straining of fixed cameras, distinguishing between cameras, something refreshing, feeling extremely different, the visual aesthetic, relying on tropes but using it to enrich, less is more, audio and horror, games that feel like save states due to repetition, accessibility options, give players options and opportunities and not getting in the way of that, accessibility as a frontier, save anywhere, games that get sanded down, more game boxes. 

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Heroes of Might and Magic, Resident Evil (series), Pokemon Snap, Umurangi Generation, Toem, Beyond Good & Evil, Deadly Premonition, Minecraft, Halo, Animal Crossing, GTA III, Devil May Cry, Civ III, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Ico, Silent Hill 2, Final Fantasy X, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, MSG 2: Sons of Liberty, Myst III: Exile, SSX Tricky, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Advance Wars, Burnout, Gothic, Black & White, Ghost Recon, Jak and Daxter, Max Payne, Onimusha: Warlords, Koei, Pikmin, Red Faction, Serious Sam, GameCube, Xbox, GameBoy Advance, Spider-Man 2, Horizon, Ubisoft, Valheim, Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden, Tecmo Bowl, Pac-Man, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Hideki Itegaki, Makoto Shibata, Ringu, Criterion Channel, Ju-On: The Grudge, Audition, Amityville Horror, The Entity, Until Dark, Skyrim, Alone in the Dark, Sam, MegaMan, Hitman, Tunic, Castlevania IV, Alien: Isolation, P. T., Dead Rising, Celeste, Far Cry 2, Ben Abraham, Ben Zaugg, Grim Fandango, Father Beast, Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast, Dave K, Half-Life 2, Starfighter/Jedi Starfighter, Raven Software, World of Warcraft, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time:
More of Fatal Frame!

Twitch: timlongojr
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we conclude our series on Heroes of Might and Magic. We confess that we should have learned more about this game before we tried it, and then turn to takeaways and email. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played: 
Some... more?

Issues covered: games we've fallen down on, the commitment, why we don't play certain genres, falling short, the possibility of finding guest hosts, game selection moving forward, having a tech tree in the manual but things we missed, board games and picking up strategy, hot seat multiplayer, modernizing the series, the limits of the audience, adding narrative, the heroes off the battlefield, June alert, whether you should do something, thinking about the computer audience, clarity and taste, how you present the information to the player in the manual, ramping up the campaign, "board games can be fun," creating your own space, learning design from board games, enjoying the tactical map, coming up with the names for things, not overthinking it, deepening and alienating people, machinima, stories from The Sims, boxes from the past.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Waypoint, Austin Walker, Patrick Klepek, Danielle Riendeau, MegaMan, GTA III, Final Fantasy Tactics, Kaeon, Dwarf Fortress, Artimage, The Sims, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Smash Brothers, NES/SNES, Apple ][, Lode Runner, Wizardry, Final Fantasy VI, Ubisoft, Jurassic Park, Jeff Goldblum, Slay the Spire, Civilization, X-COM, Warhammer, Andrew Kirmse, mysterydip, Bethesda Game Studios/Zenimax, Notch, Halo, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Battlefront, Battlezone, Jeffool, Red vs Blue, Quake, Tacoma, PUBG, LucasArts, Father Beast, Margot Robbie, Barbie, Ashton Herrmann, Lords of Magic, Lords of the Realm, Stonekeep, Interplay, Day of the Tentacle, Burn: Cycle, Phantasmagoria, Tony Rowe, Trespasser, Bill Roper, Warcraft, Diablo, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. 

Next time:
TBA!

Note: I think the person Tim was thinking of is Natalie Watson. We regret our lack of memory. Also note: Philip Johnson is the architect Brett was thinking of, with his "Glass House" in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Twitch: timlongojr
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we start a new series on Heroes of Might and Magic. We talk about the boardgame of it all and where the vibes are with this one, among other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Some standard, some campaign

Issues covered: hearing the journey and thoughts of our listeners, deep regrets about Megaman, games that scare us, learning the patterns, hearing about the Final Fantasy thoughts, learning about FF15 at two different publishers, a game you can't pick up and play for an hour, seeking out a full game experience, dialing down the map challenge, a more dense map, lots of map options, seeing a new map, considering whether the maps are generated algorithmically, playing a little too disposably, how this game might be played, lack of boardgame clarity, extreme depth, depth of the tactical mode, opacity and complexity, the aesthetics of the time, dormant franchises vs active ones, lacking iteration and interaction on the design and with the players, possible outcomes from opacity, balance in defending the castles, how slowly should I move on the map, getting over the hump, getting services in The Sims, kind words about the 'cast.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed:  Kaeon, Biostats, CalamityNolan, Megaman, Day of the Tentacle/Maniac Mansion, Contra, Cuphead, Andrew Kirmse, Full Throttle, Dark Souls, Belmont, Final Fantasy (series), Jason Schreier, Mark Garcia, LostLake, Metal Gear Solid V, Crystal Dynamics, Tomb Raider (2013), Square Enix, Eidos, Halo Infinite, 343 Industries, The Sims, X-COM, Soren Johnson, Civilization, Jurassic Park, Wizardry, Ubisoft, New World Computing, Infogrammes, Dwarf Fortress, Avalon Hill, Universal Paperclips, Frank Lantz, G, Tristan, Stone Librande, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers. 

Next time:
More of HOMM!

Twitch: timlongojr
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we start a new series on Heroes of Might and Magic. We set the game a little in its time, talk about the way the game creates a divergent path from other tactical turn-based combat games. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Some tutorial, some standard, some campaign

Issues covered: the multiverse/divergent evolution, a game that wasn't copied, long games, setting the game in its time, moving more to real-time combat, finite audiences, action became important for larger audiences, the experimentation in the space, the unexpected battle map, an automated complicated board game, tabletop wargaming, wondering how you get from the main series to this, SSI's path, playing the tutorial, the early game, resources and time and other elements, the city view, generating armies and garrisoning, other things that buildings provide, the hero doesn't fight, choosing your heroes and what units you get, retreating and surrendering, leveling your heroes, not being expected to win the first game, the world map, exploring and watching the world map progress, considering multiplayer, metaphors for humanity (computing, industry, alignments, attributes), grinding, wanting cinematography controls in in-game cutscenes, deleting the chip bag, giving the cheats, #PecsAndGlutesForLyfe.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Ubisoft, New World Computing, Jon Van Caneghem, Final Fantasy Tactics, X-COM, Populous, Black & White, Marvel Midnight Suns, Freedom Force, Wildermyth, Civilization, Richard Garriott, Kaeon, NES/SNES, Chrono Trigger, Dark Forces, Full Throttle, Jagged Alliance, Dragon Quest VI, Rayman, Hexen, Suikoden, PlayStation, Warcraft 2, The Dig, Twisted Metal, Kings Field 2, Command & Conquer, Total Annihilation, World of Warcraft, Fallout, Firaxis, Final Fantasy (series), Baldur's Gate, Diablo, David Brevik, Archon, Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Chivalry, Dungeons & Dragons, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, Commandos, SSI, Ultima (series), Eye of the Beholder, Cinemaware, Defender of the Crown, Taylor, The Sims, Majora's Mask, GURPS, Baron, Shadow Tactics, Tacoma, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, Metal Gear Solid (series), Halo, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Braid, Quake, Daron Stinnett, Celeste, Jeffool, Final Fantasy VI, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. 

Next time:
More of HOMM!

Twitch: timlongojr
Discord https://t.co/h7jnG9J9lz
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we revisit our series on Trespasser: The Lost World with an interview with Tony Rowe, who did QA on the title. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Podcast breakdown:
00:49   Interview
1:13:20 Break
1:13:55 Outro

Issues covered: time to take out the prehistoric trash, getting in, doubling up the QA team, the clay model of an island, having to rebuild the island, cutting a more open level, the empty plantation house, Microsoft Hiking Simulator, the bowling shirt, how long games took at the time, rising expectations, developing a software renderer, length of time and risk, entirely procedurally driving the critters, using a hill to escape a dinosaur, everything being a box, exploding physics boxes, choosing procedural animation, saying yes to too many things, a richer first person experience, locking the arm, emergent gameplay, a different context, building a separate demo level, overtime/double time/golden time, lack of friction, the floating plants, taking the blame, programming and managing at the same time, video game history and documenting game development, influences later, making it hard for game stores, dinosaur brains and subtlety, cranking up the anger, the importance of preservation, regressing bugs and test plans.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Star Wars, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Jurassic Park, Dreamworks, Electronic Arts, Spark Unlimited, LucasArts, Force Unleashed (series), First Assault, Drexel University, Greg Knight, Interweave, WayForward Technologies, Microshaft: Winblows 98, X-Fools, Star Warped, MYST, PYST, Parroty Interactive, Monopoly, Spielberg, Katzenberg, David Geffen, DOOM, Neverhood, Dark Forces, Skyrim, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, PS3, Microsoft 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, AMD, Quake, 3dfx Voodoo2, Dreamcast, PS2, Seamus Blackly, Looking Glass, Terranova: Strike Force Centauri, Richard Wyckoff, Austin Grossman, Andrew Grant, Tai-Fu, Small Soldiers, Crystal Dynamics, Noah Hughes, Kung Fu Panda, Unreal, Clive Barker's Undying, Fall Guys, 3D Studio MAX, Starfighter, Video Game History Foundation, Phil Salvador, Frank Cifaldi, UNESCO, Dinosaur Train, Terry Izumi, Clint Hocking, Far Cry 2, Half-Life 2, Octodad, Eidos, Spectre, Max Spielberg, Jet Lucas, Assassin's Creed, David Wolinsky, Apple ][, The Sims, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time:
TBA!

Links: 
David Wolinsky's Interview with Steven Horowitz

Twitch: timlongojr
Discord https://t.co/h7jnG9J9lz
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we revisit our series on rotoscoping with a fun chat with Jordan Mechner, of Karateka, Prince of Persia, and The Last Express fame. We also talk about his new graphic memoir: Replay, Memoir of an Uprooted Family. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Podcast breakdown:
00:50   Interview
1:01:50 Break
1:02:03 Outro

Issues covered: his history, train trips, caricatures and making stuff, not living up to the greats, improvising into his games, animation not holding up, filming his mother's karate teacher, his father, and his brother, handcrafting for rotoscoping, taking silent film classes, cross-cutting and wipes, the moment it came to live, the power of abstraction vs the uncanny valley, the impact on what we wanted for animation, caricature and capturing someone, finding the essence of a person, specialization and stepping into direction, drawing ten real people and getting into the graphic memoir, caricature and selling the big moments of small animations, abstraction and universality, adapting to higher resolution, breaking the illusion of interactivity, not being photorealistic but still having the nuance of real actors, highly compressible art and fluidity, uncanny valley of interactivity, picking the right constraints, the train's limitations enabling the possibility of depth, the fascination of interactive theater, holding up better, physical recording separated from voice, allowing for improvisation or variability, being attracted to historical fiction, his family's history, drawing the real things into the memoir, experience, technical nuance and caricature, moments of impactful character interactions, committing to a high bar.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Karateka, Prince of Persia, The Last Express, Smoking Car Productions, Disney, Replay: Memoir of an Uprooted Family, LucasArts, Space Invaders, Apple, Hitchcock, Thief of Baghdad, Sabu, Conrad Veidt, 1001 Nights, MAD Magazine, Al Hirschfeld, Frank Sinatra, Broderbund, Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud, MYST, Dragon's Lair, Buster Keaton, Robyn Miller, The 7th Guest, Rebel Assault, GTA, Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot, Deadline, The Witness, Infocom, Sleep No More, Assassin's Creed, Zoetrope Studios, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Seven Samurai, Fathom, Michael Turner, The Last of Us, Uncharted, Templar, Count of Monte Cristo, Emily, Michel Ancel, Eric Chahi, Ubisoft, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. 

Next time:
TBA!

Links:
Jordan Mechner's website

Twitch: timlongojr
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on 2000's The Sims. We give some anecdotes, Tim builds his own from the ground up, and of course, we turn to our takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
A few more hours

Issues covered: losing the alien, making the middle-of-the-road character, pecs and glutes, not being able to hire, having to have someone work on the house full time, the light bulbs need replacement, building a house from scratch, a one-room apartment, getting to know your Sim by them walking around, the dread setting in, finding a daily schedule, the newspaper, managing one of the Sims, the chaos of several Sims, figuring out the daily morning routine, getting repeatedly burgled, fighting for detente, finding perfect synchrony, a lonely Sim existence, proactive socialization and obligations, preferring the remove of fantasy or science fiction, how you feel about this game at different points in life, finding other demographics, object encapsulation, gravity wells, attaching animation to the objects themselves, the online stories of the Sims, high value UI choices, realism leading to anxiety, finding the right level of abstraction but simulating a lot of life, breadth and depth, a wider range of feelings, progression vs maintenance, exposing the bars all the time, the design choices we make and the commentary that results, astrological signs, the things I thought about, Zen and the importance of weekends, teams make games.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Mr. Rogers, Piet Mondrian, Bob Newhart, Mia Goth, Will Wright, Grand Theft Auto, SimCity, Sid Meier, Animal Crossing, Nintendo Switch, Portal (obliquely), Halo, World of Warcraft, Maxis, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time:
?

Links:
Alice and Kev (Sims 3 story)

Animal Crossing Mom

Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on The Sims. We talk about a dark spiral, read some poetry, the problem of having enough time, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
A few more hours

Issues covered: alien life, Windows snippet tool vs print screen, not saving, random seeds, introducing a chaos event, theorizing about end games for careers, Tim's persistent chip bag, forums and forever games, games you can play daily, free-to-play mobile games, appointment-based gaming, min/maxing psychology, selling the kids' doll house for food, Dianne being negative, "I'm too depressed to even look at myself," lack of weekends, two Sims having a day off, a podcast first, multiple burners, having to closely manage Bob's fun, the Sims for therapy, externalizing developer feelings of 21st century life, using the room meter to understand what needs to be done, the ultimate plate-spinning game, "did you know that love could be lucrative?," falling in love to increase your net worth, 3D characters and a 2D environment, modding goals and having 3D characters, dimetric vs isometric, revisiting gender normativity, liking problematic things, listening to their audience, how you might approach things the second time around, remastering Final Fantasy VI, a party of side characters, two automated characters healing each other.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: SimCity, Dianne Feinstein, Apple ][, Farmville, Diner Dash, Bejeweled, Animal Crossing, Sims Online, Maxis, Firaxis, Ensemble Studios, Terry Pratchett, Mia Goth, Halo, Kenneth Koch, David Sedaris, Diablo, Quake, Tomb Raider, Super Mario 64, Michael, EA, Wing Commander, Anita Sarkeesian, Northern Exposure, Starfighter, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia, Final Fantasy VI, BioStats, Kaeon, Unity, Final Fantasy Tactics, Cloud Strife, Apocalypse Now. 

Next time:
A few more hours and maybe finish with The Sims

Links:
Here's an audio recording of the poet Kenneth Koch reading his poem

Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 2000's The Sims. We spend a little time on the gender normativity of the title, sprinkle in some stories about our various households, and also fit in some reader mail! Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
A few more hours!

Issues covered: satire and farce, Timmy's toilet troubles, Betty's rapid rise in scientific circles, sexual orientation and the Sims, dark times for Bob, Jeff in the military, whether the game is conforming to gender biases all the time or not, Diane and politics, how Betty got her job, thinking about design decisions around careers, the value systems that the game systems express, working with smaller spaces and the difficulties for game development, the American Dream qua Nightmare, being in the 1950s and the music, "None of my good points are inadvertent," opacity of systems in other simulations vs this game's clarity, a toy vs a game, Bob winning things via the phones, Chance and Community Chest, Potty Talk with Tim and Brett, dolls and trains, finding SimCity more serious, can the Sims die?, not knowing that we had to pay the bills, investing in Bob's creativity, touching on the animation and object systems, teenagers and hygiene, getting Bob's confidence up, a little ditty, the shlubs getting the gals, encouraging community via modding and engagement, moon names, code names, hunting for things in games, the tension of player cleverness and wasting your time, environment scanning, visual language and level design, getting playersr to have intuition.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Mia Goth, Mad Men (obliquely), SimCity 2000, Unpacking, Fallout (obliquely), Will Wright, Monopoly, John Mellencamp, Seth Rogen, Raid on Bungeling Bay, Bethesda Game Studios, Skyrim, Jonah Lobe, Quiet: Level One, Sasha, Tomb Raider, mysterydip, Kaeon, Might and Magic, NES, Where's Waldo, Ratchet & Clank, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, UbiSoft, Witcher III, World of Warcraft, Morrowind, Arkham (series), Breath of the Wild, Ocarina of Time, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time:
More of The Sims!

Links:
Jonah Lobe's Quiet: Level One 

Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we start a new series on 2000's The Sims. We first set the game in its time, and then turn almost immediately to what happened with our Sims. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
A couple of hours

Issues covered: spiders and ant farms, last few episodes, our interview with Michel Ancel, games from 2000, all-time sales by brand, an expansion-pack driven business model, games that don't end, a precedent, building up to simulating people, our memories, jumping in without the manual, following the tutorial, talking about Bob and Betty Newbie, a little shade on the console version, what you learn in the tutorial, getting a job, roleplaying the newbies, being visited by the Goths, an interview with John Romero, another visit from the Goths, Tim diving into level design, making messes, options for reading, promoting experimentation, people eating all over the place, Bob and Betty dividing up labor, Bob the freeloader, the people in your neighborhood, horror movie on the TV, kids running in the streets, Mrs Goth collecting her child, the bed against the wall, building versus micromanaging, finding our own fun, comedy factory, inter-system friction, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, spinning the plates, "some dude got water everywhere," discussing how the pathfinding might work, keeping it clean, our Easter Egg, the Aw Jeez files.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: BioStats, Calamity Nolan, Ben from Iowa, Mark Garcia, Michel Ancel, SW: Starfighter, Final Fantasy IX, Deus Ex, THPS 2, SSX, Perfect Dark, NOLF, Baldur's Gate 2, Vagrant Story, Diablo 2, Banjo-Tooie, Spyro: Year of the Dragon, Majora's Mask, Crazy Taxi, Counter-Strike, Thief II, PlayStation, Pokémon, Tetris, Assassin's Creed, Legos, Minecraft, FIFA, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Mario, Game Boy, Little Computer People, Seaman, Tamagotchi, Amiga, Atari, David Crane, Rich Gold, Pitfall!, Famicom, Will Wright, Raid on Bungeling Bay, Maxis, EA, Final Fantasy Tactics, Donald Pleasance, SimCity, Dwarf Fortress, John Romero, Spore, Mr Rogers, The Exorcist, George Lucas, Far Cry 2, Abraham Maslow, Dave K, Final Fantasy VI, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers. 

Next time:
More The Sims!

Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Friends from the Discord provide some audio from back in December -- sorry to get to it so late, I admit I forgot. No show notes as I'm just back from vacation and settling in. See you next week.

Next time:
New series!

Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we're both unavailable, but we catch you up on the mailbag! Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Issues covered: a review prompting discussion of Majora's Mask, some discussion of time loop games, a very difficult to find character, hard to find stuff in older games, Easter Eggs in games we've put in or in games we knew, the Jar-Jar model, the hidden command-line, keeping the love alive, teaching a bit of a design course, should have gone into film, starting our own company, being inspired by GDC, being reminded of the passion, getting the gang back together, green Tahoma, bringing in marketing, comparative marketing, tapping into the lizard brain, a title having to be many things, legal search for copyright/trademark, why is it called Europa, whether or not it's possible not to grind, the mental state required, the time pressure of the podcast, a place to play for elite players, the relative ease of critical paths in later games, completionist vs main-line content, the requirement to broaden games' appeal, how many people finish games as a percentage, making 30% of the end of the game, the Deep Dungeon of Final Fantasy Tactics, rescuing the dragon, fighting the high end critters, Cloud Strife and his headache, diving into the Deep Dungeon, lighting and the dark dungeon, how to unlock the calculator, the strategy for finding the dungeon exits, Brett's theory about Cloud, connections with Viet Nam, localization issue?, deciding on a post-credits sequence.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: _Iceboy_, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Groundhog's Day, Super Time Force Ultra, PlayStation, Housemarque, Returnal, Deathloop, Outer Wilds, Ashton Herrmann, Pokemon Red/Blue, Street Fighter 2, DB Weiss, Lucky Wander Boy, Jamie Fristrom, Adventure, Mortal Kombat, Republic Commando, Force Unleashed, Greg Knight, Greg Land, Harley Baldwin, Star Wars: Starfighter, Dave K, Diablo, Far Cry 2, Thief, Bethesda Game Studios, Brainy Gamer/Michael Abbott, This War of Mine, Call of Duty, Ian Milham, Tim-mento, Trespasser, Baldur's Gate 3, Dungeons & Dragons, Michael #1, Hero of the Circinus Galaxy, Tacoma, John Feil, Halo (series), Disney Infinity, Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Robert Heinlein, 2010, Tomb Raider, Michael #2, Tactics Ogre/Ogre Battle, Space Quest/King's Quest, Plundered Hearts, Larian Studios, BioWare, The Witcher III,  Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, Apocalypse Now, Ladyhawke, The Doors.

Errata:
Lucky Wander Boy was written by D. B. Weiss (which admittedly, is German for white). We regret the error.

Next time: 
TBA

Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we add to our series on Beyond Good and Evil with Michel Ancel. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Podcast breakdown:
00:49 Interview
1:05:23 Interlude 
1:05:56 Outro 

Issues covered: a one-main game, making a game by himself, being fascinated by computer graphics, not being able to save the first work, a tool for creation, ecological development, UbiSoft's magazine for recruitment, meeting with the big boss, working as an external developer, making a first playable of Rayman, developing an internal team, a big early team, going all in around Rayman, developing internal tools, a female lead, a story-based adventure game trying to be holistic, a difficult and ambitious project, figuring out what to cut and what to keep, defining moments, creating a whole world, not knowing where the boundaries are, wanting to surprise people, cutting the open world/multiple cities, doing everything in the tools they made with a very small team, huge capabilities of the tool, the 100% complete mini-game, coming up with characters and story, telling the story while you play, having a strong vision for the game, integration of levels with cinematic storytelling and camera placement, coming up with the formula, reusing the techniques, the origin of the title, Jade's unexplained traumatic history, enemies doing what they have to to survive, consequences for those close to you, a commitment to internal tech, laying out the development pillars.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Rayman, Rabbids, King Kong, Ubisoft, The Intruder, Shigeru Miyamoto, Atari, Brain Blasters/The Teller, Pixar, TRON, Yves Guillemot, Jaguar, PlayStation, Michel Guillemot, 3DStudio MAX, Legend of Zelda, Elite, Starflight, Argonaut, Starfox, Jacques Exertier, Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid 2, Unreal, Valiant Hearts, Sega Saturn, Nintendo Wii, Fred Markus, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia

Next time:
Mailbag!

Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on Final Fantasy Tactics. Before we head to our takeaways, we talk about the story and themes and about the puzzle nature of some of the story missions. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Near finished (B), Near finished Ch 2 (T)

Issues covered: Tim's retirement guide, continued therapy sessions, side quests, Aeris on the critical path, requiring a guide, finding the various jobs, the story according to Brett, objects of power, the quest for the Zodiac stones, a random battle that went bad, Barinten thrown off a roof, a story mission that I had to replay and replay, leveling vs the main story, puzzle-y missions, the best fit button, wanting a little more feedback about systems, reasons to grind, lack of difficulty levels in older games, the overwhelm of the story, more intentional combat, the job system and making hard decisions, playing for the achievements, production notes.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts, Mark Garcia, The Room, Six Feet Under, Control, Shakespeare, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Dwarf Fortress, Kyle, Baldur's Gate 3, Divinity: Original Sin, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Drunk History, Advance Wars, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers. 

Next time:
An Interview!

Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Final Fantasy Tactics. This week, we put Tim Longo on the DGC couch for an analytical session about his major conflict about this game. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Near to end of Ch 3 (B), or Ch 2 (T)

Issues covered: choice quotes, declarative statements, a favorite Final Fantasy game, the job system, the story-based RPG, history of the early JRPGs, what Brett remembers about the game, Tim enjoying the planning of it, the opportunities for surprise, the spell to discover what people are, having only a few hours to play each week, hitting the wall, the hosts on MMOs and loot, unlocking things and making you more powerful, having different experiences on the same maps, a diversion to Dark Souls, knowledge and skill gains, Tim's wall mission, why would you go there?!, zoning out and and discovering way more about the game, reviewers and having to finish a game, our lives and how the pod fits in, where Brett is in the game and the choices he has, spending the time to figure out the Zodiac system.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Wizardry, Curse of Monkey Island, Halo, Dungeons & Dragons, Eye of the Beholder, Ultima, Pool of Radiance, Dragon Quest, Dragon Warrior, World of Warcraft, Dark Souls, Kyle, Diablo III, Mark of Kri, Kingdom Hearts, Kirk Hamilton, Baldur's Gate III, Breath of the Wild, Inscryption, Perfect Dark, Eternal Darkness, Biostats, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. 

Next time:
Takeaways and email!

Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Final Fantasy Tactics. We talk about the grind, job and abilities stuff, some tactics and end with a listener mail about balance. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played: 
To end of Ch 2 (Brett), somewhere in Ch 1 (Tim)

Issues covered: character representation in the sprites, enjoying the discovery of the macro, finding out how things interact, the Zodiac, why they ask for your birthday, information about turn order, things being unwieldy, a reactive strategy, how the brilliance starts coming in, the learning and grinding curves, an anecdote of the clockwork, achieving a Spelunky turkey and further digressions thereto, early grind, visiting cities and differentiating the shops, side missions for team members, having back-benchers, random encounters over time, the random table that each map draws from, how and whether the maps change, the importance of starting position, which environments we particularly enjoy, how the death mechanics work, preventing the enemies from getting the crystals, the min/max-ability, the revelation of the job matrix, the various roles and ways to augment your characters, auto-potioning, the story overwhelm, "Are we the baddies?", the progression to a more fantastic setting, how the story at the beginning of the game fits in, balance being overrated, the problem of pacing.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: The Matrix, Mario + Rabbids, Clint Hocking, Splinter Cell, Spelunky, Mossmouth, Metal Gear (series), Assassin's Creed (series), X-COM, Pokemon (series), Mitchell and Webb (obliquely), Game of Thrones (obliquely), Taylor Swift, Drew, Nobuo Uematsu, Chrono Trigger, Magic: The  Gathering, Dominion, Marvel Snap, Fallout (series), Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time:
More FFT!

Links:
"Are we the baddies?"

Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Final Fantasy Tactics. We talk about the strategy around jobs, the multiclass approach, and more before turning to a listener question. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
A few more hours

Issues covered: what's a dictionary for, the calculator and the oracle, experimenting with characters in various Finals Fantasies, a digression into how the programming of AI works in FF XII, Brett the grinder and Tim the finesser, the depth and breadth of the jobs and abilities system, the strategy to have options later, the terse manual, the pleasure of discovery, a complex game with lots of systems, mechanizing items like spells in other games, a crisis of confidence, the other camera controls, the Japanese controller preferences, noseless portraits, the importance of character design, character styling, heroic proportions vs anime proportions, great pixel art with the animations, the coy comment from Zalbag, the hug between two sprites, building a scene just for a little movie, pixel techniques and palette progression/swapping, digressing into other/modern tactical games, the odds of success, we read the manual and figure out the height, "brand elasticity," wanting your cake etc, calculating your odds of who you'll lose and who you'll keep, risk aversion, starting off without locking into one thing, being willing to make the break, licensing things out to different creators, the high cost of games, what's a Final Fantasy?

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Unreal Engine, Dark Souls, Chris Hockabout, Andrew Kirmse, Kingdom Hearts, Animal Crossing, Crystal Chronicles, Disney, Naughty Dog, Dead Cells, Stardew Valley, Celeste, Disgaea, Advance Wars, Mario vs Rabbids, X-COM, Logan, Halo, Gears of War, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Star Wars, J. J. Abrams, Law & Order, Zelda (series), Mario (series), Nintendo, Fallout 3, Oblivion, Skyrim, Redguard, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. 

Next time:
More FFT!

Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on Beyond Good and Evil. We talk about the end parts of the game and the variety of the experiences you can have, before turning to our takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Finished the game!

Issues covered: the bad guy, the end of game battles, the risk of forgetting when you do a lot of side content, misremembering the game, being delighted, smoke and mirrors, wanting the spaceship to be the lighthouse, the various tricky bits of the slaughterhouse, being taught how to get rid of electricity, one of the most memorable characters of all time, saying yes until the end, the jumping enemies, supporting the inventory, reflection puzzles, an annoying trigger for a cutscene, wanting more time with Pey'j, the Chosen One, many breadcrumbs at the end, diluting narrative, optional content being part of gameplay content, getting all the animals or not, flawed gem, a good looping track section, escalating the General's ship, religion coming in at the end, intriguing questions, nailing the tropes, improving user experience, put a moat around it, less stressful reintroductions of mechanics, the teleporting boss, touching moments, earning the sweet moments, looking at the prequel, the world-building of it all, subtle ways to reinforce the world-building, don't underestimate the camera, saying yes maybe too much, being uncategorizable, keeping the surprises coming, standing apart in its era, "it's the way to Gao, anyway."

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Apocalypse Now, Nintendo, Ocarina of Time, Michel Ancel, Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, Tim Schafer, Uncharted (series), Star Wars, Metal Gear (series), Assassin's Creed, Ghost of Tushima, Far Cry, Anachronox, Final Fantasy IX, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Final Fantasy VI, Biostats, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. 

Next time:
??!

Notes:
It's General Kehck

Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub
Discord https://t.co/h7jnG9J9lz
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on 1997's Final Fantasy Tactics, which took the series into a new genre. We talk about the game's presentation, basics, and technology as well as how the game begins. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
First few battles

Issues covered: finals fantasies, 1997 in games, testing various games, placing us in that time, a surprising departure in the series, TTRPGs and being "like chess," translating a genre to the PS1, closer combat/smaller spaces, opacity, not remembering the game well, the Zodiac, some other series, a niche genre, limited input options and menus, Ivalice and medieval setting, a deeper simulated system than FF combat generally has, translating well to the genre, the opening cinematics, preferring alignment of story with general engine use, developing technology to stream video, in-game stuff holding up better, getting the leverage from sprites, the diorama look, merging gameplay with non-interactive content, pre-rendered rewards, terrain rendering and spinning the camera, the close-in space vs larger areas and fog of war, elevation and abilities, map differentiation for visuals and challenge, the game over screen, modern engagement.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy (series), Johnny "Pockets", GoldenEye, Diablo, Fallout, Castlevania: SotN, The Last Express, FF 7, Curse of Monkey Island, Grand Theft Auto, JK: Dark Forces 2, Myth: The Fallen Lords, Ultima Online, Outlaws, XvT, Starfox 64, Quake 2, Blade Runner, Dungeon Keeper, Age of Empires, Riven, Gran Turismo, Interstate '76, Populous, LucasArts, MechWarrior, Ogre Battles (series), SNES, Quest Corporation, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Chris Hockabout, Chris Corry, X-COM (series), Mario/Rabbids (series), Fire Emblem (series), Mark Garcia, Disgaea (series), Anachronox, Front Mission (series), Shining Force (series), Vandal Hearts (series), Valkyria Chronicles, Mass Effect (series), Star Wars, Blizzard, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon: Forbidden West, God of War, The Sims, Vagrant Story, Metal Gear Solid, Axis and Allies, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers.

Next time:
More battles!

Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 2003's Beyond Good & Evil. We talk a lot more about the camera, how it compares with Zelda some more, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Through the Slaughterhouse

Issues covered: pigs and pokes, hubs and spokes, feeling like a bigger place, manufacturing the sense of evolutionary trees, getting turned around in dungeons, having a rare moment with a whale, relatable science fiction, SAC and showing character information, a baby step towards tracking, re-purchasable resources, inconsistency of pearl gathering, what you use pearls for, a weird hybrid of various games, not getting the shark names (carcharadon), finding the most difficult looters cave first, going on tilt, competing for Francis's pearl, finding the Alpha Section areas in the pedestrian district, a cool vehicle, camera issues, fun boat physics, having a hard time tiptoe-ing through narrow areas, "a partnership between camera and level design," the many demands on the camera from different departments, you can brute force at cost, going a different direction with cameras, a dungeon sewn together from three different mini-dungeons, the map and solving design problems (or not), getting off and on the hovercraft, the bee in Skyrim, the diagetic save game and cutting the camera, Tim's poor port, how is the title tied in, the state of the industry, standing by your beliefs, businesses taking advantage of cheap money and making bad bets.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: LoZ: Ocarina of Time, Star Wars, Star Trek, Breath of the Wild, Okami, Nintendo, Mario, Mission: Impossible, Jackie Chan, Half-Life, Diddy Kong Racing, Prince of Persia (series), Remi Lacoste, Ghost Recon, Assassin's Creed, Tomb Raider, Skyrim, Nathan Purkeypile, Jean Simonet, Sasha/ScaryTiger, Friedrich Nietzsche, Larian Studios, Sony, Final Fantasy VI, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time:
Finish the game!

Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Beyond Good & Evil. We talk about a number of the game's systems, compare it with Zelda, and engage with the level design and characters. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Past the Factory

Issues covered: who said that line, characterization and Frenchness, aesthetics, cosmic horror and the Domz, Hub, lacking symmetry to promote alienness, diagetic design in its systems, the first trailer, a world you want to hang out in, quirky aesthetic, the camera and when you get control, night and day between two camera systems, the PC port, the "Zelda bucket," modularity and object-orientedness in Zelda games, clockwork, the photojournalism of it, doing things because the narrative demands it and not systematically, stealth vs combat, giving your companions power-ups, companions in combat, two-heart buddies, lock and key enemies, being able to bolt on mechanics, air hockey, keys that aren't keys through the characters, committing to the characters, The Myth of Zelda, making real statements, forgiving and fail-forward stealth, great camera framing, photojournalism as heroic act, the themes of information control and propaganda, what's with Alpha Section, keys that you can use in the inventory, Ubisoft and politics (Cuba, Myanmar and... Montana), tackling universal themes with story specifics to avoid preachiness.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: The City of Lost Children, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Zootopia, Star Wars, Rayman, Jean-Luc Godard, Jerry Lewis, Artimage, Starfield, No Man's Sky, Spider-Man 2, Double Fine, Mario 64, Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Remi Lacoste, Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, Final Fantasy IX, Psychonauts, Tim Schafer, Mortal Kombat, Grim Fandango, Shufflepuck, Anachronox, George Orwell, 1984, The Last Express, Omikron: The Nomad Soul, David Cage, Metal Gear (series), Aleksandr Solzhenitzen, Andrei Sakharov, Final Fantasy VI, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Note:
Mark HH's (Agent HH!) camera book did not debut until 2009

Next time:
Past the Slaughterhouse

Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com