Wardcast

Will, Dylan, and Mike Odum convene for a post-GDC discussion. Dylan regails us with stories of adventures faraway, from Bit Bash to Train Jam to GDC. His Train Jam game, Track Trek, was made in collaboration with Matt Gambell, Keaton White, and Craig Barnes and is available for all to play (as long as you have two Xbox controllers). We also discuss GDC experiences, unsuccessful game pitches, and determining success. The conference brought its own share of meaty topics, including unionization in the games industry, the future of GDC, and the current American political climate’s effect on international developers’ attendance, most readily seen in the #1ReasonToBe panel. We conclude by catching up on Will’s game — working title: Oddish Adventure — currently at version 0.0.3, and Mike updates us on Clash Cup Turbo’s development and multiplayer beta. Next up on Wardcast: Hidden Gems of PAX East II, an interview with Alex Berry from The Swords of Ditto, an interview with Mike Bithell, and more! Games include The Mo

Will and Dylan are joined by RVA Game Jams member, artist, and animator extraordinaire Emily Kundrot. We discuss Will’s ongoing game development, some code refactoring, and the economic principles behind Late Stage Nugget Math. A new Nintendo Direct happened, where we learned that everyone is just trying to Smash, sun bros are turning into amiibros, and the dreaded Bean Fever is spreading. Emily reintroduces us to a prehistoric game and its mutant spawn. All the while, Dylan preps for Train Jam and GDC next week. Games include Splatoon 2, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and Puyo Puyo Tetris. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

This week, Dylan is joined by Jonathan Lehr, managing public relations at retro game-focused indie developer Mega Cat Studios, about to release their latest games Coffee Crisis and Log Jammers. Jonathan discusses the wild world of retro cart development and how to best work with talent — especially when they need to be familiar with older technologies. We also chat about how supportive the game development community is, the historically low barrier to entry for current indies, and more. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

Dylan, Will, and Alex convene to discuss experiences at the Playthrough Game Convention, getting stuck in North Carolina, and weird Galaga ROMs. Graphics card prices surge due to cryptocurrencies, we sit in awe in the Shadow of the Colossus, and our childhood cartoons are fighting in Gundam versus Transformers Will traveled to faraway lands — from Hyrule to Cancún — but returns to us to contest Jeremy Parish’s ranking of Metal Gear. Billy Mitchell and Todd Rogers have hotly contested high scores, and Alex welcomes us to his new home at braindeer.games. Games include Burgertime, Terrorist Galaga, Galaga 3, Splitty Robot, Monster Hunter: World, Shadow of the Colossus, GNOG, Gundam Versus, VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, Dragon Quest: Builders, Overwatch, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Enter the Gungeon, and The Sims 4. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

This episode, Dylan is joined by Felix Kramer, producer at Polytron and helping out with biz dev, PR, and a whole mess of other stuff for indie games Tunic and Genesis Noir. We cover a swath of different topics, from the perennial discussion of price versus value in games to Felix’s attendance at the JoCo Cruise to letting the Twitter horde choose your username. We also thirst for some haunted domains and proclaim our love for our favorite Lego sets. Games include Monster Hunter: World. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

We’re here with Punxsupolyfill to talk about new console ownership and the terrible user experiences they bring. In an unfortunate series of events, Will gets real deep into Dwarf Fortress, the Overwatch League suffers from a lack of diversity, and Miitomo meets its untimely end in May. We also go over some housekeeping with RVA Game Jams’ Global Game Jam games, our upcoming attendance at Playthrough, and more! Games include Monster Hunter: World, Dishonored 2, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Blacklight: Retribution, Super Mario Odyssey, Cave Story+, The End is Nigh, Slaves to Armok: God of Blood Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress, Dobotone, Enter the Gungeon, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Coup, and The Wisdom and/or Madness of Crowds. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

After numerous whirlwind adventures from the past couple of weeks, we return home to rest and recuperate. Back at home base, Dylan is rejoined by Alex Damrath, Justin Mitchell, and Momin Khan. We discuss the numerous strains of convention pathogens, from MAGFlu to PAX Pox, as well as a return to Breath of the Wild, the nightmarish hellscapes in Martio Rabius Kingdom Journey, Dragon Ball FighterZzzzz, our brief time watching Awesome Games Done Quick, some planning for GDC, and Nintendo Labo. Games include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Enter the Gungeon, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Dragon Quest Builders, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Broken Reality, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Sole, Virtua Tennis, and Powerstone. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

We’re weary, but we’re here for our wrap-up episode for PAX South 2018. Dylan is joined by Nick Nundahl of Instant Replay Live — and Hidden Gems — fame along with fellow YouTuber Karinabob. We talk Airbnb furnishings, the Instant Friends Discord, and some last-minute sights from the show floor, including the Jamroom and Multibowl. As we drift off into a dreamless slumber to recover from the MAGFests and the PAXes, we make brief mention of a secret lost podcast, discuss the disappearance of John St. John, and introduce you to our southern cousin, Cloud Lee. Games include Donut County, Overland, Super Retro Maker, Armed and Gelatinous, Log Jammers, Sorcerer City, Party Hard 2, The Painscreek Killings, The Norwood Suite, Multibowl, Dobotone, Jackbox Party Pack 3, The Swords of Ditto, and Florence. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

Making its triumphant return, the Hidden Gems panel is back to showcase more awesome games and experiences from the PAX show floor. This time, Dylan took the panel to PAX South with our friends Nick Nundahl and Joe Wetmore of Instant Replay Live. We talk about all the cool stuff that we saw and played. If you’re interested in following along with the panel slides, we’ve uploaded them for your viewing pleasure. From the panel description: You’ve made it to PAX South, but now what? There’s just too much to do, see, and play. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to be your guide to finding the most interesting and unique games and experiences from across the far flung corners of the expo. Join us as we highlight, analyze, and discuss surprises on the show floor you may have otherwise missed. Games include Donut County, Super Retro Maker, The Shrouded Isle, Overland, Tunic, Children of Morta, Patobox, Light Fall, Aftercharge, Mystic Origins, The Norwood Suite, Black Ice, and Omensight. Got a question for the show? Join

It’s our first episode from PAX South in sunny San Antonio — Military City, USA. Dylan sits down with Bekah Saltsman, CEO of indie developer and publisher Finji, showing off their games Overland, Tunic, and Night in the Woods. We talk about booth logistics for larger shows, being thrifty as an indie dev, and the infamous Costco rental. Bekah also goes more in depth about topics within and beyond the indie dev life, from her school and work experiences, the importance of non-development roles in the industry, hiring practices at Finji, working as a woman and a mom in games, and how she obtained her cavalcade of nicknames. Games include Mini Metro. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

It’s our second and final night at MAGFest 2018. We’re joined by Robby Ciszek — the Undead Dev — working on UFO Rodeo, Emerson Smith, founder of ESIO LLC, and Frank DiCola, co-founder of Game Revenant and artist and designer on Where Shadows Slumber. We talk about exhibiting mobile games at the show; avoiding the bomb cyclone; nabbing some sweet, sweet MAGBucks; and more. Games include Joggernauts, DinoBlasters, Mask of Semblance: The Trading Card Game, Treasure Adventure World, and Scoot Pooch. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

It’s the first podcast of 2018 and the first podcast of MAGFest! We’re bringing you some multipart nightly shows while we hang out at the one and only Music and Games Festival. In part one of tonight’s show, Dylan is joined by RVA Game Jammer Ruthie Edwards and VR dev Emerson Smith, founder of ESIO LLC. We talk about what we’ve seen and played on the show floor, from Amanda Hudgins’ #1000ButtonProject to Mega Cat Studios’ custom NES games. In part two, Dylan and Will are joined by MAGFest exhibitors Robby Ciszek, proprietor of The Undead Dev and UFO Rodeo, and Casey Labrack, developer of DinoBlaster. We discuss beard-offs, panels about doing a game jam (come on and slam), getting trapped in elevators, MAGFest memes, and trying to spot all the MAGBabies on the show floor. Games include Fight Knight, Zarvot, KungFu Kickball, Pokémon Puzzle League, Super Button Pusher Turbo Alpha Z, Line Wobbler, Electric Scrapeboard, Desolus, Joggernauts, Denizen, Hercules, and Splitty Robot. Got a question for the show? Join u

Once more the Earth has circled the Sun, and once more we sequester ourselves to determine the Wardcast Best Games Played. For those unfamiliar, here’s how it works: our list consists of what we believe to be the top ten games we played this year. We consider any game played in 2017, not just games released in 2017. Everyone brings their personal top ten games to the table, from which we will decide the official Best Games Played. Once the chosen ten have been decided upon, we will create a superlative for each game that best encapsulates the spirit of its experience. We’d like to thank everyone who’s been on the show this year: Ruthie Edwards; Tim Howell, Chris Howell, and John Duthie; Alex Rice; Dan Cotting; Mason Brown; Nick Nundahl and Joe Wetmore; Luke Porr; Justin Mitchell; Momin Khan; Tyler Rhodes; Kirk Musngi; Shawn Patton; Josiah Renaudin; Kenny Kim; Jay Tholen; David Byers; Mike Futter; M Joshua Cauller; and Michael Listo. And a special thanks to this year’s co-hosts Will Blanton, Sam Loeschen, and

It’s our last regular episode of the year, and it’s here where we make our stand. We critique the quality of the game mechanics of White Elephant, discuss our time with Wolfenstein II — including some heavy spoilers, and rediscover Ryu’s love of pound cake. Ludum Dare 40 happened last weekend, so we discuss the games we played and the games we made, which include Will’s escape🥚hatch, Alex’s Pizza’matic 5000, and Dylan’s Polyose. From there we move on to The Game Awards announcements, from Campo Santo’s In the Valley of Gods to whatever the hell Death Stranding is. And that’s it for your regularly scheduled Wardcast for 2017. Coming up: Best Games Played, maybe some MAGFest, and a new Hidden Gems panel coming to you this January at PAX South. Stay tuned! Games include Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Warframe, Candy Box 2, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Rymdkapsel, Cards Against Humanity, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Dr. Mario, HQ, Puzzle Fighter, Bit Swapper, All Day I Dream About Eyeballs,

Joining Dylan over the air this week is friend of the show and Motion Capture Stage Technician at 2K Games, Michael Listo! Michael speaks with Dylan about what goes into his role, the current trends in motion capture technology, and the common mocap techniques used on the job. We also discuss motion capture in film, advertising, and VR, and how his time studying Visual Effects at SCAD prepared him for his professional career. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

Will, Alex, and Dylan discuss the burgeoning robocky film genre, the EA Battlefront II loot box fiasco, and the predictably disappointing Justice League box office debut. We endure the hellishness of Mario Odyssey’s Darker Side of the Moon, and we talk about Hair Nah and our experiences getting our hairs touched. Alex “BattlerUnknown” Damrath gets back on the gamedev horse with his game, Playground, all the while Dylan contemplates why he and Sam got their games waitlisted for MAGFest’s Indie Video Game Showcase. Games include Overwatch, Super Mario Odyssey, Hair Nah, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

With the Richmond Marathon surrounding us on all sides, we journey into the realm of physical games. We got 280 characters in our pocket, and with it, we propose Doom 2 to take place in Buddhist hell. Alex joins in on the Mario Odyssey discussion — with embarrassing anecdotes about Uncle amiibo. In news, BlizzCon happened, where Blizzard announced a new Overwatch hero, a new World of Warcraft, and an old World of Warcraft. Will’s planning for his next game dev project, and we conduct more battle royale talks, now with mystical bush magic! Games include Super Mario Odyssey, Overwatch, Flippy Knife, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Fortnite: Battle Royale. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

Now that Will’s married, we converse about our prerequisites for what constitutes an arcade, Windows being garbage, trying to play Wolfenstein: The New Order, and Mario Odyssey’s lack of hat-on-hat action. Once again, we ring the game industry death knell. This time, it’s for NeoGAF, the Kinect, and Runic Games — where co-founder Travis Baldree shares his memories of the studio. Lastly, Paris Games Week happened, and we talk about the use of domestic violence and violence against women in the trailers for Detroit: Become Human and The Last of Us Part II respectively. A slew of indie game sequels were also announced, and we discuss what it means in an industry that’s normally reticent to do follow ups to independent releases. Games include Super Mario Odyssey and Codenames. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

It’s a special day here on the Wardcast: Dylan is joined by Joe Wetmore and Kenny Kim, here to talk about — among other things — their eternal cosmic bond. Joe explains his distaste for the new Star Trek, Dylan does an explainer on PUBG hacks, and we all discuss the many things about Middle-Earth: Shadow of War that make us uncomfortable. We keep Tolkien talks going as we dive deep into Lord of the Rings lore, gush on pretty boy Sauron, and contemplate J.R.R.’s writing chops. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

Dylan, Alex, and Sam reconvene to discuss the poor handling of MAGFest’s distribution of hotel rooms. Alex brings a board game, for which there was a price to pay, and Sam discusses the contract game he’s been working on and what it’s like to work on a kid’s game that is COPPA compliant. Taking advantage of physics systems in games has us talking about Just Cause 2 mods and an infamous Liberty City swingset. In other news, Shadow of War has a bad story, neo-Nazis are mad about Wolfenstein, and as is frighteningly becoming the norm, some more layoffs and closings are happening in the games industry. With the shuttering of Visceral, we say goodbye to the potential of Star Wars Uncharted and await the coming death of the AAA single player game. Games include Silent Hill 2, Home Sweet Home, Splatoon 2, Kingdom Death: Monster, Deceiver, Golf Story, and Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!