Browsed by
Tag: PS4

Let’s Play – Jotun

Let’s Play – Jotun

Comments 0 Comment

Playing a bit of Thunder Lotus’ gorgeous adventure game, Jotun, live really exposed how scary doing such a thing is.

I listen to plenty of video game podcasts, such as Giant Bombcast (as well as the Giant Beastcast), Vice Gaming’s New Podcast, and Match 3, and they have all talked about––to varying degrees––the stress of playing in front of people. For some reason, I thought I’d be immune, but only once I began to broadcast gameplay did I suddenly became aware that anybody could stroll in and watch me die a whole lot. With each chunk of damage I took, the pinch of worry grew stronger.

I don’t think, in hindsight, that my lack of skill lessens the pure majesty of this game (which I first talked about during Episode 107‘s Week in Geek). About halfway through the stream, I wise up and show off some aspects of the game that really do show off the grandiosity and choices that––if implemented––could really do amazing world-building for a retro-isometric The Legend of Zelda game, if they ever wanted to go back to that.

Even though the player character, Thora, becomes so small that seeing her can become a problem if working through a particularly busy boss battle (ahem), and the top-down camera restrains the field of view, Jotun feels epic in the truest and popular sense of the word through the simplest of choices in, most obviously, art and, more subtly, play with perspective which I show off about halfway through the stream.

I hope to do more streams like this––haphazard hour-long plays with my dog making dog noises in the background. “The Dan & Rusty Video Game Hour” was a concept I bounced around this summer (if only to make myself laugh), and I held from pulling the trigger out of laziness more than anything else. Once I got the gumption, it mostly worked and I hope that––despite the constant deaths that befell me during the hour of play––you get some enjoyment out of it. I’ll need to work out some audio kinks, if they can be worked out (the game audio is incredibly loud), but streaming is still a trial and error thing for Andrew and me, so it’ll only get better, I’m sure.

If I do say so, I have a banger of a joke at the end that I’m still quite proud of. *self high-five*

Let’s Play – Star Trek Online (Part 1)

Let’s Play – Star Trek Online (Part 1)

Comments 0 Comment

A few weeks ago, I sat down to play Star Trek Online on the PS4 (shortly after it was released), though I failed to make a post for it up on the website (until now). Watch me play through the first two or so missions (essentially, the tutorial) of the Federation quest/storyline.

Although the video has been on our YouTube channel since I first played it back on September 10, 2016, it took me a considerable amount of time to “annotate” it using the YouTube annotation system. The annotations are visible only on certain viewing platforms (web viewing, mostly) and can be turned off. It’s mostly additional trivia and Star Trek facts that I was only able to think of after I finished recording the video.

The inspiration of the annotations comes from the Special Edition DVD releases of the original Star Trek movies. Technical editors Michael and Denise Okuda wrote a series of sub-titles that included weird facts and information about Star Trek, the design, and the implementation of the movie.

Let’s Play – Transformers: Devastation

Let’s Play – Transformers: Devastation

Comments 0 Comment

When I got new Transformers toys as a kid (and, perhaps, as an adult…maybe) I tended to throw away the packed-in weapons that the toys came with right away. Back in the ’80s, losing weapons was often a consequence of design; it was a problem that G.I. Joe toys had or M.A.S.K. toys had or He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (but not Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, their toys were perfect…not really, I’m sure they had the same problem)––the tiny blasters or swords fit nowhere except for in the hands of the characters. This was less of a problem for the other toys mentioned (since they could just permanently hold their weapons at the ready), but the point of The Transformers was that, at indeterminate intervals, you shouldn’t be able to see the characters’ hands because they were busy being some sort of vehicle (or electronic device or firearm or planet) and, in that case, there would be no place for the weapon to go. So, they got lost.

However, abandoning the weapons of Transformers toys was a choice on my part, not on behalf of any political agenda I held at the age of 5 and 6, but because I wasn’t buying the toys to recreate action scenes. When I spent time with my friends, the talk around playing with toys often came down to the simple binary of who would be the bad guys and who would be the good guys (the Decepticons and the Autobots, respectively, in this case) so that we could either ad-lib or reenact a decisive battle that would result in either global tyranny or peace on earth. I wasn’t particularly interested in these scenarios, possibly because I’m an only child and would often play with my toys alone, and big action set pieces weren’t fun nor particularly interesting.

TFfamily

…

Read More Read More

Episode 79 – What Kind of Magic Spell To Use?

Episode 79 – What Kind of Magic Spell To Use?

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Week in Geek: Andrew nearly swims between the polar ends of Final Fantasy by watching Final Fantasy X HD Remaster and playing for himself Final Fantasy for iOS. Dan, on the other hand, has been playing The Swindle on PS4.

Dungeon Master’s Guild: Dan and Andrew discuss a few of the facets involved with Wizards of the Coast’s and Dungeon & Dragon’s news about the newly opened “Dungeon Master’s Guild” whereby user-created DnD content can be sold without worry of legal repercussion.

Starman: Andrew and Dan spend some time to talk about the death of David Bowie, despite the fact that their exposure to his work was tangential and limited at best. However, it must be said that his work and impact was hard to ignore.

If you would like to share your thoughts on any of this week’s topics, please leave a comment at forall.libsyn.com. Be sure to join the official Facebook and Google+ pages for updates and conversations among listeners. E-mail the show at forallpod [at] gmail [dot] com. The best way to help the show would be to leave a review on iTunes to help spread the word to new potential listeners.

For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap.

Featured Music:

-“Stayin’ in Black” by Wax Audio

-“Changes” by David Bowie

-“The Man Who Sold the World” by Midge Ure

-“Magic Dance (Single Version)” by David Bowie