Dev Game Club

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

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

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

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 90

Welcome to our first episode examining 1994's Star Wars classic TIE Fighter. We talk a lot about the Star Wars presentation, simulation depth and choices, and touch a bit on the story. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Battles 1-3 Podcast breakdown: 0:29      Segment 1, Felis Interruptus 20:35    Quick Break 20:40    Segment 2 Issues covered: six degrees of Bill Bixby, Holland's WWII series, alternate histories, showing the perspective of the bad guys, multiplayer and technical feasibility, Star Wars presentation, cockpits in the films, cookie-cutter bureaucracy of the Empire, linear narratives driving things forward in other games, simulating a military career, voice work, Star Wars melodrama and narrative glue, leaning on the films' fiction, secret society of the Emperor, bonus objectives, naming your pilot, save structure, opening cinematic, propaganda, paralleling the films, the Thrawn trilogy, color choices in t

Welcome to Dev Game Club Bonus Content. We've both played a little bit of The Evil Within and here we lovingly render our verdict in stunning HD. Usually, Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary, but here in Bonus Content we just chat about something descended from one of our main games and talk about the directions it's gone. Podcast breakdown: 0:35    Bonus Content: Evil Within and Feedback 58:27  Bonus Bonus Content from Brett Issues covered: action horror vs slower-paced, text description, gore overload, stealth elements, using fire to your advantage, putting carts before horses, the agony crossbow, Mikami's tropes, story scale/scope, the Japanese factor in melodramatic amp-up, the hospital hub, empathy work in horror games and slasher films, keys to the lockers, fictionalizing all the game mechanics, expensive progression system, getting all the progress, brief encounters with chainsaws, tight level design, look of specific technology

Welcome to our fourth and final episode examining 1996's survival horror classic Resident Evil. We discuss the major story beats of the section, the nonsensical mess of the ending, the tyrant, and talk about some pillars and takeaways from the game. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Finishing the game! In the labs. Podcast breakdown: 0:29 Segment 1: The end and takeaways 52:03 Segment 2: Reviews and what's next Issues covered: current events, RE story beats, the thin hand-waving at a conspiracy involving Wesker, multiple endings, filling out the map and finding the three computers, faking urgency, new game+ stuff, credits sequence, commitment to melodrama, Wesker and Revolver Ocelot, famous villains, asymmetry and symmetry in monsters, foreshadowing and suspense, lack of feedback fighting the tyrant, poor telegraphing, teaching is important, custom coding vs systemic work, frustrated filmmakers, disempowerment/anti-w

Welcome to our third episode examining 1996's survival horror classic 3. We discuss the major story beats of the section, delve into the puzzles, discuss how spaces like these are made, enemies, a whole cornucopia of topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up through the Tunnels Podcast breakdown: 0:32      Segment 1: Story beats, Puzzles 54:30    Break 54:54    Segment 2: Feedback Issues covered: C.O.L.D., story beats and "wacky Japanese stuff," meeting Lisa more than once, military industrial complex, Barry's story and splitting up, puzzle battle with Lisa, knowing what to do and be unable to do it, weaknesses of the camera and controls, bending the verbs to do a different thing, thinking things won't work as a game developer, examination puzzles, sham object puzzles, spider reveal, Lisa creature design, Brett's former fear of spiders and how it differs from Tim's, bringing your own history to a game, using simpl

Welcome to our second episode examining 1996's survival horror classic Resident Evil. We discuss the tight resource management of the game and the spatial logic of the place, amongst other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up to the tunnels (in theory) Podcast breakdown: 0:33    Segment 1: Resources (saves) and Spaces 50:27  Break 51:00  Segment 2: Feedback, next time, links Issues covered: save system, Tim and min-maxing OCD, clearing the map, differences between easy and normal, difficulty settings in games then and now, difficulty for developers and QA, punishing the player, controller difficulty, memorizing spaces, frustration and fighting the controls, fear response on lower difficulty, popping heads, running into other characters and having the space stop making sense, story choices, lack of story logic, "gaminess" of the design, crate teleportation, inventory systems in RE, realism fighting sensibility

Welcome to our first episode examining 1996's survival horror classic Resident Evil. We discuss many of the features that are evident from the beginning of the game that set it apart from other sorts of 3rd person games of the time. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up until the Residence (in theory) Podcast breakdown: 0:24 Segment 1: History and themes 58:07 Break 1 58:35 Segment 2: Reader mail and next time Issues covered: last episode's interview, removing player empowerment, bold decisions in design, can this game be made in the US in 1996, other cultures borrowing genres and reinventing them, frustrating the player and the impossibility of getting this game made today, impatience vs methodical play, subverting player expectation, map coverage and "safety", a systemically light game, jump scares, vulnerability, accumulation of small details, resource management, feeling every shot, inventory management, inability

Welcome to our fifth and final episode examining 1997's classic RPG Fallout. We are lucky enough to interview Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, Producer/Lead Programmer and Art Director respectively on Fallout as well as two of the three founding members of Troika Games. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Podcast breakdown: 0:38        Interview with Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky! 1:01:10   Break 1:01:35   Geek-outro Issues covered: the Wild West of early studio game development, the meta-installer, making engines in your spare time, tabletop after-hours, abstracting the operating system, GURPS character generator, working you way up, pizza and game dev, RPG renaissance, bold theme choices, filtering passionate ideas, making your dream game, career paths into game development, clubhouse Interplay and a creative atmosphere, business incursion, from the garage to the office park, right place right time, QA preferring your game over being p

This is a companion bonus episode to Dev Game Club, a weekly podcast in which Brett Douville and Tim Longo examine classic games and discuss their relevance and impact today.  We tie together our episodes about Fallout with a preceding title and a successor in Wasteland 1&2.   

Welcome to our fourth episode examining 1997's classic RPG Fallout. We finish off the game, discussing our various choices, and then turn to the various pillars we draw from it. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: The base and the Cathedral Podcast breakdown: 0:35    Segment 1: Finishing Fallout 45:12  Break 1 45:50  Segment 2: Pillars and Feedback Issues covered: going back to the Glow, voice acting, sharing assets between various animated characters, criminal underworld quests, the liberation of playing and letting the chips fall where they may, missing out on content, growing an audience by offering multiple play styles, murderous Tim Longo, blowing up the base, satisfying cinematic resolution, getting stuck on the force fields, obscure solutions to big problems, the many uses of the radio, close quarters rocketry, stealthy super mutants, inventory loophole and managing weight limits, hardened power armor, carrying

Welcome to our third episode examining 1997's classic RPG Fallout. We examine tactical combat, leveling strategies, encumbrance as a specific mechanic, and also a lot of what we saw and did. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Everything before the base and Cathedral Podcast breakdown: 0:42 Segment 1 -- all of the above 58:07 Break 58:38 Segment 2: Feedback, next time, and teasers Issues covered: weapon offerings, Power Fist empowerment, late leveling, Ian meets his maker, knowing when the kills are coming, feeding memory from the CD, Tim's last followers, tactical combat numbers, twitch tension, fantasy fulfillment, thoughtful decisions, sound design supporting mechanics, narrative moments in combat, stimpack use, encumbrance and survival, mechanics that force you to reload when you get lost, return to town loop, forcing choices through encumbrance, building tension through limits, making tactical decisions for a larg

Welcome to our second episode examining 1997's classic RPG Fallout. We talk about the lack of the hand-holding in the game, discuss our character builds a bit and talk about the choices we've made so far. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Note: Brett keeps mixing up Junktown with Hub. He blames illness. Our apologies. Sections played: Up until you resolve the Water Chip Podcast breakdown: 0:40    Intro/Segment 1 43:42  Break 1 44:22  What next and Feedback Issues covered: following different threads, Brotherhood of Steel, power armor, Death Claws, having less fun when there are fewer barriers, making your follower into your donkey, open world structure and directionlessness, paying to extend the life of the Vault, playing against type, having Dogmeat as a follower, living with consequences, playing morally ambiguous characters, the meaningfulness of followers, narrative depth of followers, JRPGs, how we dealt with Gizmo, Brett's hote

Welcome to our first episode in our series examining 1997's Fallout. We talk a bit about the RPG renaissance it seemed to kick off and then delve into the first few hours. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up until you reach Junktown Podcast breakdown: 0:37      Segment 1: Relevance 32:11    Break 32:36    Segment 2: Towards Junktown 1:08:46 Break 1:09:17 Segment 3: Listener feedback, next time Issues covered: Brett's workshopping and quotes collection, RPG resurgence in the late '90s, Interplay and other RPG-maker troubles, a new direction for Western RPGs, getting away from the high fantasy setting, accessible turn-based combat, supporting text, return to apocalypse, enabling a variety of settings, tabletop RPGs, hexagonal and rectilinear grids, maturity, relatability, gruesome deaths, archetypes, humor, RPGs vs RPG elements, numerical traits and skill systems, player agency over character destiny, filling out the

Welcome to our final episode in our series examining Super Metroid. We delve specifically into the last couple of boss battles and the concomitant storytelling, and spend some time thinking about our favorite areas. We also talk about the pillars and takeaways of the game. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: End of the game! Podcast breakdown: 0:47    Section 1: Final bosses, storytelling, and Zebes's areas 42:12  Break 1 42:55  Section 2: Takeaways, listener feedback, next game Issues covered: Tim wants to be a pill bug, Samus's backstory and narrative wrappers, feedback/feed-forward loop, player skill, being stuck near Ridley, difficulty curves, developer blindness to difficulty, earning the end vs other Nintendo titles, Space Pirates, map problems and telling the player what they can find, controls difficulty, storytelling in the endgame, Christian the lion, getting to know the world, difficulty adjustment, creature

Welcome to the third episode in our series examining Super Metroid. We delve specifically into the boss battles we've played thus far and spend some time talking about player skill and both positive and negative feedback loops in its play. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through the boss "Draygon" Podcast breakdown: 0:29      Segment 1: Intro and boss battles 36:57    Break 1 37:22    Segment 2: Player empowerment, feedback 1:05:54 Break 2 Issues covered: choosing the Chozo suit, boss design, back history, negative reinforcement, not reading the manual, telegraphing, reappearance of Crocomire (and others), Kraid two-step shooting, skill-based bosses, experimentation and nearby save points, using lesser monsters as foreshadowing, robots that activate, 1950s robots, art directing towards technical limitations, wanting more meaning from the holes Botwoon disappears into, working within constraints, chasing fidelity, c

Welcome to our second episode in our series examining Super Metroid. We talk a bit about what we might do with the series if it were handed to us, and delve deeply into the way Samus fits into the world completely. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up until the Ice Beam Podcast breakdown: 0:33    Segment 1: innovating Metroid and character context 48:13  Break 1 48:45  Segment 2: Skill-based play, bits and bobs, and reader mail! Issues covered: what do you do with this franchise if they hand it to you, destructability, history of Samus Aran as a potential exploration angle, the game hitting its stride, are most of the weapons missable?, getting stuck (or are you), not reading the f'ing manual again (running), a nearly perfect game design, abilities you can disable, the big gold statue and Ridley, scanning and lore and collection, what the manual reveals, players skip everything, economy of character design, building

Welcome to our first episode in our series examining Super Metroid, our first foray into playing something that is exclusively on console. We first situate the game and the series in importance and discuss the influence of Japanese design before turning to the first couple of hours of the game. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up until the Charge Beam Podcast breakdown: 0:31      Segment 1: Relevance/Impact 26:47    Break 1 27:23    Segment 2: First part 1:10:30 Break 2 1:10:54 Segment 3: Outro/Next time Issues covered: how one pronounces "Douville," synchronization bugs, impact of Japanese, mix of skill-based play and environmental puzzles and exploration and tactical decisions, concurrent original development of multiple storied franchises, the time constraints on adult players, open world games and growing the space, narrative and the environment, foreshadowing in the main menu, narrative tone, stylized minimali