Thursday, April 2, 2015

The Texture Pop: Episode 34: MPPH

The whole group is together again in the effort to make this podcast more succinct. We will keep working at this, so feel free to let us know how we do. You may be confused about the title, but Sam lovingly

Remember, if you would like to send us a question or comment to be read on the air, you may do so at thetexturepop@gmail.com. Even if you don't want it read out loud, feel free to drop us a line if you want to communicate with us.


0:02:05 Gaming News
Deadpool movie costume finally revealed:
Chris, as our comic book guy, seems rather optimistic about the production. After seeing this picture, I can understand why.

X-Files reboot is actually happened:
Sam does bring up a point about "Why does this need to exist?" Most fans of the show agree that the show went out on a whimper after its last two seasons, so a reboot may not be advised. However, it could be interesting to see how they work within the context of the modern world and more contemporary conspiracy theories. For an aliens-themed show, The X-Files aged well, but aliens are still out of favor. I'm interested in what they do with these six new episodes.
Also, David Duchovny did an interview after we record the podcast on David Letterman, talking a bit more about it.



0:14:05 I played a bit of Hitman: Blood Money.
Hitman has been a weird franchise. Even though it's never really been a big seller, it is almost always brought up as an example of good stealth game design. If you haven't played Blood Money, it's worth checking out. The previous games are okay, but never play the first (Codename 47). It's awful.



0:18:01 I played Final Fantasy III
I like the pacing of a lot of the NES/SNES JRPGs, because they are not meant to take up a lot of time. Considering how much games seek to give tons of content, without much depth or variety, it was nice to play a game that didn't try to be much longer than it had too.



0:22:30 I played Dragon Age: Inquisition
Despite how irritating it is for me to have to make so many different video game accounts, I am having a blast with Inquisition.
The Hinterlands criticism isn't exactly new, but it is worth reiterating. It's a massive trap that designers should have known players would fall for. Somehow, that slipped the net. The rest of the game has been pretty good, but the Hinterlands is a terrible starting area.



0:31:10 Garrett discovers that a rare Beetles CD is stolen.
He didn't do the stealing. Someone stole it before he could buy it.
Sam had a similar story, coincidentally.



0:37:30 Garrett took his friends through Second Life.
I know what you're all thinking: "Second Life is still around?" Yes, it is. I don't go on it, but there are people who still do.
Personally, I'm waiting on Third Life.



0:41:00 Garrett talks about the rest of his week.



0:42:30 Chris talks about Chrono Cross
Note: He did not actually play the game. Yet the conversation we had was worth it.
For reference: The Chrono Cross opening theme.



0:57:19 Sam played Drakengard with a PS2 emulator.
Though it is not a very fun game to play, I remember playing Drakengard just for how darkly compelling it was at the time. You need to play through a lot of mediocre game to get to those interesting bits, but dear god they make it worth it.
I'm also glad Sam used the phrase ",,.how much of a [weeaboo] he is, like me...." He's become self-aware.



1:06:35 Sam played Bloodborne.
I think Sam's thoughts on it are interesting. As someone who never played a Souls games, I can't comment on it with any authority. However, I appreciate that they exist and I am weirdly interesting in listening to people talk about them.



1:23:20 Wrapping Up.
Garrett is starting up a Twitch channel.
My Dragon Age pacing article is here.
Sam's Bloodborne article is here.
Interactive Friction is here.

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