At the end of today’s show we spend some time discussing a list we found of the ‘64 Manliest Movies’. I’m still offended by the exclusion of ‘Rocky’ from not just the easily deserved number one spot, but from the list entire. No ‘Great Escape’? What about ‘Saving Private Ryan’, or jeezusmaryandjoseph ‘BRYANS SONG’? I DEFY any man to watch that and not cry a single manly tear. Old Yeller? No, let’s put ‘American Psycho’ at number 2. That’s just wrong. Apparently the guys who wrote this list believe that a man’s movie is one that no woman would watch. I think a manly movie is one that inspires you to be a better man. Call me crazy.
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So I was playing GTA IV the other day - along with probably 99% of our listeners out there - and I shot a guy in the face. Nothing new there. But as he fell backwards, he was immediately dismantled by a speeding car - blood smearing under the tire tracks as the driver tried to brake. All while a passer-by shouted, ‘Aw damn! That was FUCKED up!’ Screw growing plants in moon dust - why do I need to leave my living room? I can watch simulated TV on a video game thats playing on my TV. Ahh - too meta! Brain hurting. Need more senseless killing.
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In the same breath that we invent a non-lethal weapon designed as a more humane means of crowd control, we invent a miracle water distiller that can supposedly eradicate fifty percent of the world’s disease.
Of course, we also spend an equal amount of time making toy guns that can fire 25 foam darts per minute and port modern rhythm games to 26 year old consoles. Ain’t the future grand?
They say human beings are unique compared to other species of animals on the planet in that we are able to innovate and adapt the environment around us to match our own small range of tolerable conditions.
Right now, I’m watching a Discovery channel documentary about shark attacks. I can’t help but be relieved that Sharks can’t make nets, much less dart guns or non-lethal heat rays. Brr.
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I look at this picture and I think ambition. Brent Ashe, designer for Rainbow Studios in Phoenix, Arizona thinks hey, that would make a great game.
Brent gave a talk tonight at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts about Rainbow’s upcoming action-thriller title, ‘Deadly Creatures’ for the Nintendo Wii. Players take control of some mighty arachnids, battling up and down the food chain, all while set in a very spooky looking desert environment. He shared with us some screenshots, concept art, and a teaser trailer for the game, and talked about Rainbow’s efforts to draw human players into a very non-human experience.
I recorded the entire talk, which you can download below. Brent gave us some very cool insight into producing what he described as an ‘Indie thriller’ title, listing influences ranging from superheroes such as Spider-Man to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Brent spent a lot of the talk explaining how the team is approaching art design - he believes that game designers are always trying to make their game worlds bigger, but with ‘Creatures’ they try to make the game world seem larger by making their protagonists smaller. Something mundane like an abandoned truck or a sewer tunnel takes on a much larger and menacing shape from the perspective of an insect. He described how the art team crawled around in the deserts outside Phoenix with cameras in order to get a ‘bug’s eye view’ of the landscape. Very cool stuff.
What particularly piqued my interest was when Brent mentioned a few juicy story tidbits: “[Creatures has] an overarching human element. There’s a couple of guys out in the desert and they’re looking for something. You’re actually seeing and hearing their dialog from your [bugs’] perspective. [The men are] actually telling the story - we were very cognizant of the fact that if [insects] can’t talk what’s the compulsion to get you through [the game]? By basically crafting a mystery around everything - even though these are creatures, they are still driven by [the player, who as a human] has an understanding of what you’re seeing. You can walk over a newspaper and see the headline - as a creature, you can’t read it, but as a human playing the game you can.” Sounds like what at first seemed like a pretty ho-hum 3D fighter is shaping up to be an innovative little title. I’m just going to make sure I play it in a fully lit room with a huge can of Raid within arms’ reach.
-Michael
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EA Interactive made public last week it’s desire to purchase 2K Games, the publisher of such titles as BioShock, the MLB2K series, and Grand Theft Auto IV. There isn’t much we have to say on the issue that isn’t already addressed in the Ars link posted below, but we just want to show our support. Yet another acquisition for the hungry, roaring juggernaut that is EA is just plain bad for the industry.
I also finally got a Wii, and there is much rejoicing in my happy home. Expect much more attention paid to Wii gaming news moving forward. We also have XBox news, weird news, and all your favorite DIY geeky goodness.
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UPDATE: Here’s a link to the ‘You Suck At Photoshop’ vids we mentioned in Episode 59. Thanks for the reminder, Johan.
Found something hilarious you’d like us to discuss on the show? Need some advice? Ask us, we know everything. (Or at least we’re good at pretending we do.)
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We actually recorded this over a week ago, but I am a horrible human being. We are not awful for laughing at people who kill themselves, or mothers who feed their children marijuana. No, we are terrible for not posting a podcast in a timely manner.
Dear Lord Baby Jesus,
I am wicked sorry I cannot get my shit together to post my podcast on time. I did not mean to get so far behind on my work, and Call of Duty 4 is so fun, I can’t help myself. Please cleanse me of my lackadaisical ways. And could you seriously put some more Wiis on the shelves, because DAMN.
xoxoxox,
Mikow
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It really does. Think about something wicked depressing. Like bulldozers razing a children’s park, or giant smokestacks belching industrial waste into the sky. Now imagine them painted bright pink with the ubiquitous kitty emblazoned prominently on their hulls. Hilarious! The US military should make an elite unit of soldiers dressed in bright pink Hello Kitty uniforms. The bad guys would be too busy laughing to ever return fire. How could the world fear a totalitarian regime if it were protected by pretty pink stormtroopers? Sorry, on a tangent there - OMG MACBOOK AIR. Is that what you came here expecting? We aim to please.
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I have no idea why we are not recording a show at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas this year. It’s a five hour drive from Phoenix, and a 45 minute plane ride, tops. I profusely apologize for our lack of ambition. In the meantime, you can listen to our commentary on some of the news out of Vegas, and cringe at how far crazy can take you in the kitchen.
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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, my geeky friends. I hope your holiday season is filled with magic and shiny things that make most excellent whirring noises. I’m off again to Chicago for the holidays, but don’t worry - I’ll be back in a few days. No super long hiatus, no writer’s strike here. We’ll be back again next week with more geeky goodness. In the meantime, there’s some serious trailer goodness below.
If you haven’t seen the Force Unleashed trailer yet, I demand you set aside a few minutes. This game could either be one of the most amazing things I’ve ever played, or completely dash my hopes and dreams. Given Lucasarts’s track record, I hate being optimistic - but the trailer is seriously that good. Check it out.
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I can’t leave you people alone for six weeks without everything going to hell. Sheesh.
Japan was amazing. Give me a hostage, and I’ll babble your ear off about it for hours - and in this show, I do. I’ll have lots more pictures and stories to tell about my experiences in the coming weeks, as I ease back into the real world and get myself organized. So stay tuned for that. Today we also get reacquainted with that whole doing a podcast thing. Check it out.
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At the end of today’s show we spend some time discussing a list we found of the ‘64 Manliest Movies’. I’m still offended by the exclusion of ‘Rocky’ from not just the easily deserved number one spot, but from the list entire. No ‘Great Escape’? What about ‘Saving Private Ryan’, or jeezusmaryandjoseph ‘BRYANS SONG’? I DEFY any man to watch that and not cry a single manly tear. Old Yeller? No, let’s put ‘American Psycho’ at number 2. That’s just wrong. Apparently the guys who wrote this list believe that a man’s movie is one that no woman would watch. I think a manly movie is one that inspires you to be a better man. Call me crazy.
