WEEK IN GEEK: Our hosts jump right into it as Andrew gets sucked back into the world of Stardew Valley with their most recent update and D. Bethel taps into the zeitgeist and plays the roguelike, deckbuilding, poker-themed (?!) game, Balatro.
THE SEASON OF REGENERATION: With the release of the trailer for the new series of Doctor Who, it contains all that fans could hope for––action, humor, adventure, drama…and it’s “season 1”?
TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Andrew got too distracted to podcast…
(01:37) …because he got sucked into Stardew Valley‘s 1.6 release.
(15:33) D. Bethel can’t stop playing the not poker video game, Balatro.
(28:49) Outro – In May we start Doctor Who‘s…first season?
(31:35) Outtakes
RELEVANT EPISODES:
“Love the Stank” (30 December 2016): Where Andrew first dives into the addictive world of Stardew Valley.
“States of Play” (30 August 2019): Where Andrew shares his first experiences with Klei Entertainment’s Oxygen Not Included.
“Reliable Virtual Helmets” (27 September 2019): Where D. Bethel shares his first experiences diving into the world of roguelike deckbuilding games with Meteorfall: Journey.
“Smell the Duke” (4 February 2022): Where D. Bethel discusses the roguelike conversation/combat deckbuilding game by Klei Entertainment, Griftlands.
A LESSON IN SURVIVAL: Our hosts are going to take it easy this week, but they’re stopping in for a quick look at what’s been drawing their attention. Andrew gets frustrated by the difficulty to be found in Green Hell while D. Bethel dips a toe into the wildly popular independent game, Vampire Survivors.
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, our hosts dive deep into the video game pool as Andrew gets his caveman farming on with Soda Den’s Roots of Pacha while D. Bethel finds a lot of adventure and fun in the deeply Lovecraftian adventure puzzle game, Call of the Sea by Out of the Blue.
RELEVANT EPISODES:
“Your Cursor is My Prisoner” (19 February 2016): Where D. Bethel talks about another fun walking simulator, Firewatch.
“Love the Stank” (30 December 2016): Where Andrew begins his long love affair with Stardew Valley.
“Starting By Starting” (3 January 2020): Where D. Bethel plays a different––in many ways––Lovecraftian adventure game, The Sinking City.
INFO:
Visit our website at forallintents.net and leave your thoughts as comments on the page for this episode.
#CAPITALISM: With Disney taking ownership of the 4th of May, Andrew and D. Bethel talk about the role of ownership in public discourse for a bit.
MUNDANE FANTASY: Looking at where the world is now, and with the meteoric landing of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, D. Bethel and Andrew wonder––why do we love playing games about working…and love them?
WEEK IN GEEK: Taking a break from the news, Andrew and D. Bethel talk about the things that have been interesting to them over the last week or so. First, Andrew goes back to finish Unknown Worlds Entertainment’s Subnautica. Then D. Bethel finds much to appreciate––and much to make him uncomfortable––in the recent film, Joker. Then, to round things out, Andrew also gets underwhelmed but intrigued by the possibility found in Lazy Bear Games’ Graveyard Keeper.
It’s Always A Game (08 Feb. 2019): Where Andrew first talked about his time with Subnautica.
Tummy Drums (04 Oct. 2019): Where D. Bethel mentions “grotesque” art when discussing Warhammer 40,000 (the show notes also include a link to the Wikipedia explanation of “grotesque” in art and literature).
INFO:
Visit our website at forallintents.net and leave your thoughts as comments on the page for this episode.
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew starts things off by falling in love with the crafty goodness of using paper mini-figures for tabletop gaming. D. Bethel dives back into consuming the written word (about video games) with Boss Fight Books’ Shovel Knight by David L. Craddock. Andrew wraps back around to dish a little about Stardew Valley on iOS and how its able to manage saves between platforms.
RELEVANT EPISODES:
Episode 27 – Super Sleep Mode: Where D. Bethel mentioned starting to read the book, Console Wars (originally posted in 2014).
Episode 117 – Five Minutes to Funny: Where D. Bethel discussed reading his first Boss Fight Books book, Metal Gear Solid by Ashly and Anthony Burch.
HALLOWED HALLOWEEN: The Spookytober topic for this week is the forty-years later direct sequel to John Carpenter’s breakthrough––and culturally important––hit, Halloween. This new movie, Halloween, sees the return of Jamie Lee Curtis to her role as Laurie Strode but instead of being the prey of Michael Meyers, it is he who becomes the hunted. Andrew and D. Bethel discuss the series and what they’re expecting/hoping from this new movie.
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew gets his Metroidvania on with Chucklefish’s Timespinner and how eerily Castlevania: Symphony of the Night it seems to be at times while D. Bethel becomes enthralled with the first five episodes of the podcast audio drama produced by a collaboration between Marvel Comics and Stitcher (the podcast streaming website), Wolverine: The Long Night.
RELEVANT EPISODES:
Episode 10 – Nerd Business: Where Andrew and D. Bethel argue that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a game worth playing.
Con Artists #03 – StocktonCon, pt. 3: At the very end, Kyrun asks D. Bethel if Wolverine is overpowered and overrated. They also talk about making, selling, and reading comics.
WEEK IN GEEK: It’s an indie game kind of week as Andrew reports on the Zelda-like shop sim, Moonlighter, by Digital Sun while D. Bethel starts a conversation about everybody’s current favorite rogue-like platformer (kind of a Metroidvania, kind of not; definitely not a “roguevania”), Dead Cells, by Motion Twin.
Shortcast 62 – Not the Episode Title: Where D. Bethel discusses his first impressions of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, another game pulling influence from Castlevania: Symphony of theNight (though it’s actually much more a pastiche on Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse).
The Steam Winter Sale 2017 began on December 21. One of the things that I noticed looking through the items on sale were the surprising number of games that I have played this year (or even earlier!). It seemed like a good time to go and highlight a few of the games that are on sale now that I have talked about on the show. This third part of a multi-part series looks at Stardew Valley, Renowned Explorers: International Society, and Project Highrise. Take a look at part two of the series here: http://forallintents.net/worth-a-look-the-steam-winter-sale-2017-part-2/.
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is one of those games where the designer wanted to make the very best version of a classic game. In this case, the game in question was Harvest Moon, first released for the Super Nintendo in the late 1990s. The premise is simple: after getting fed up with your big corporate job, you open a letter left to you by your grandfather and discover that you’ve inherited a farm in a quiet little town called Stardew Valley. From there, you… well, you farm. You plant crops. You water crops. You harvest crops. You make enough money to buy more crops. Go fishing in the local river. Or at the pier. Maybe build a chicken coop. Raise chickens. Harvest eggs. Make mayonnaise. Expand your house. Go adventuring in the local mine. Fight some monsters. Help rebuild the local community center. Make new friends. Maybe meet the man or woman of your dreams.
Farming takes work. And organization. And patience. Source: ConcernedApe
When I started playing Stardew Valley, I didn’t really have a lot of experience with farming simulation RPGs. I played Harvest Moon for about an hour back in 2007 and didn’t quite figure it out. But Stardew Valley became the game I spent most of my winter holiday playing last year. By the time the calendar hit New Year’s Day 2017, I had put more than 100 hours into the game. All in the course of about two weeks time. Say what you will about farming simulation RPGs, but this one is pretty great.
The people of Stardew Valley add a lot of character to the game. Source: ConcernedApe
I mentioned Stardew Valley in Shortcast 21 – Love the Stank. Since then, there’s been a lot of talk about new content. The primary focus has been on the fabled multiplayer support, debuting soon (-ish) on the Nintendo Switch and later on other platforms. But, they’ve also mentioned a few new pieces of content that they intend to add to the game.
Renowned Explorers: International Society by Abbey Games is a strategy game with a fair number of RPG elements. You choose a group of explorers from the collection of possible characters and then proceed on adventures. You’re in search of treasures and renown in an effort to be the best explorer in the International Society. Each adventure involves exploring the local area, having encounters with the local residents, and sometimes engaging in battles. You have a fixed number of resources, so you need to decide how to best use them to succeed in the adventure. Many of the encounters involve story prompts where you have to choose what option to go with. Some require greater skill or sacrifice but yield potentially greater reward.
Exploring the local environment is a big part of the game. Source: Abbey Games
Battles shift to a hex based battle map, where characters take turns making attacks and using abilities. A lot of combat is based on a paper-rock-scissor mechanic of attitudes: devious, friendly, and aggressive. Not only do you choose an overall attitude for every battle but characters have individual abilities that are keyed to the difference attitudes. Learning how to best utilize these different attitudes is the key to succeeding in battle. Because the actions in battle can range from actual violence to talking (whether it be devious or friendly), it ends up being much sillier than one might think at the onset. But silly in a fun way.
To Battle! Agatha von Brunswick lectures the local farmers. Source: Abbey Games
You can hear about my experience with Renowned Explorers: International Society in Episode 133 – We’re on a Track. At the time, there was already one small expansion, aptly named More to Explore, available for the game. Since then, they’ve released an additional expansion, The Emperor’s Challenge, which includes four new characters and a variety of new East Asian themed adventures.
Back in the 1990s, Maxis, the company known for SimCity and its rather peculiarprogeny, published a slightly different game created by Japanese developer OpenBook Co., Ltd.: SimTower. It was a sort of weird game where you build and manage a highrise tower. Twenty years later, Kasedo Games decided that the highrise simulation genre needed a new entry. With that, Project Highrise was born.
You’re in charge of all the stuff a bustling office tower might need. Source: Kasedo Games
In Project Highrise, you build and develop a building. This means everything from the structure itself, including elevators, utilities, and services, to the tenants that live or work in it. When you start, you only have a limited number of options for tenants; most of what you’ll be filling your building with will be small legal and accounting offices. But, as you get better and better at managing the building, your prestige will grow and so will your options. The focus of the game is managing your tenants needs while keeping your building profitable.
Nobody said your building had to make sense. Source: Kasedo Games
Project Highrise was one of the first games I got from the Humble Bundle Monthly. I talked about it back in Episode 125 – Hot Sauce Box. There have been a few expansions since then, adding some new types of businesses to your highrise, although the game is still a solid play experience without any new stuff.
Our hosts say good-bye to 2016 in a predictable but reliable fashion, with a new Shortcast.
WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew gets wrapped up in the indie hit, Stardew Valley while Dan gets politically informed as he listens to Trevor Noah’s autobiography, Born a Crime.
