The Texture Pop: Episode 43: Episode With Soul

0:02:00 Gaming News
Metro 2033 and Last Light offer 1/3 of each game as demo
To answer Sam's question from the podcast, those demos are also available on console.
And here is the article about game controllers Sam was talking about.

Infinite Crisis is closing down
That did not take very long.

The Vita is now a legacy platform.
Which sucks, because it had a lot of potential. Sony can really suck sometimes.



0:32:40 Sam went to Momocon
Which I had never heard of until he mentioned it on Twitter. Considering how big it is, that's something I probably should know. It seems like a convention I would enjoy going to.
And here is the Giant Bomb Gal-Gun clip Sam and Chris were talking about.



0:45:00 Sam played The Witcher 1
Apparently it's okay, and somewhat sexist.



0:48:00 Sam finished Gravity Rush
It's a good showcase of what the Vita can do. As a game, it is distinctly lacking.



0:54:00 Sam finished the first Yakuza game.
And his thoughts on it can be found here.



0:55:55 Garrett has been playing Smite
League traitor...



1:01:50 Garrett watched Season 1 of "Rick and Morty"
I swear that I've heard that shows name before, but I can't remember where.



1:15:55 We talk about Steam's new refund policy.
And of course it has problems. To me, this is once again an issue where Steam has great intentions, but didn't fully think through the consequences of their action. For the record, we are in favor of Steam revamping the refund policy. We just feel that this isn't a good solution.



1:22:05 We talk about Demon's Souls (finally)
Even if you're not fan, the Souls games serve as really intriguing case studies in game design. The level and boss design, at least in Demon's Souls, were really top-notch. Though there is a lot of challenge, it's not hard if you take the time to learn the systems.
The Demon's Souls commentary that Sam talked about is here.



1:36:55 I played more Bravely Default.
Long story short: If you liked old-school Final Fantasy games, you will love Bravely Default.
I will also be writing an article to better explain the point I was trying to make about Bravely Default criticizing the standard JRPG plot.



1:44:30  I watched the Kill Bill movies.
I liked both movies, but I say that about most of the movies I watch. My opinion probably doesn't mean much of anything when it comes to movies.



1:50:41 Chris got Splatoon.
For the record, the "squid now, kid now" stuff is referencing this commercial.
We also spent this segment complaining about how terrible Nintendo has handled Amiibos. Nobody can find ANY of these goddamn Amiibos. It's so dumb how Nintendo can't seem to manufacture enough of them.



2:05:25 Sam, Chris, my friend Ryu, and myself have finished FUSE
And we are all just happy to have finished the game. Chris wants to beat it on hard, but I was happy to move it to my shelf.
As promised, here are the trailers for the original Overstrike concept, and the revamped FUSE concept.
Since we mentioned it, here is Hyper Bit Hero's video on the changes between both concepts.



2:21:55 Wrapping Up.
Remember, you can e-mail us at thetexturepop@gmail.com.
We also have finally started Interactive Friction with Episode 0. Episode 1 is also available.
And, of course, don't forget Garrett's Twitch channel.

The Texture Pop: Episode 42: Game Player Haters

0:01:15 Gaming News.
Supergirl TV Show Trailer
As a whole, it piqued my interest in the show enough that I want to give it a chance. It has some parts that DC fans might not like, but there's enough done right that I think it can both bring some female attention to DC superheroes and get old fans to keep watching.



0:15:45 Garrett has played some Dying Light.
It's a game I have had my eye on for quite some time. Though zombies have begun to show their decay, it's nice to know that there are still some new and interesting things that can be done with them.
We also have a really good discussion on durability mechanics in video games in this segment.



0:28:45 I had a summer indie game adventure.
In particular, I played Flower, The Unfinished Swam, and Race the Sun.
They all have their strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, each one is worth spending time with just to see some of the other game design ideas.
Out of the three, I had the most fun with Race the Sun. Though it was the hardest, I was very engaged in trying to get as high of a score as I can.
At the same time, both Flower and The Unfinished Swam show how one can use non-violent mechanics to keep players interested.



0:38:45 I finished Demon's Souls.
But we're not talking about it until Sam gets back.



0:39:00 I played Bravely Default.
As a fan of the old-school Final Fantasy games, I am LOVING this game. The turn-manipulation mechanics at the core of the game give players more control over the pace of a battle. There are also enough difficulty options that any RPG fan should be able to get the kind of gameplay experience they want. Despite the classic (read: generic) Final Fantasy plot, there's enough going for Bravely Default to keep my interest.



0:51:30 Sam, Chris, my friend Ryu, and I played Friday Night FUSE!
And at this point, we are really only playing it so that we can get to the end. It's just a bland game.



0:59:30 Chris talks about his new move, and getting internet set up.
Here are the "Super Bitch" and "Asshole Brown" stories I talked about.



1:02:30 Chris binge watches Chappelle's Show.
Like I said, this is on my list of shows to watch. I will get to it at some point.



1:24:45 Wrapping Us.
Feel free to e-mail us at thetexturepop@gmail.com.
Garrett's Twitch can be found here
My article on the popularity of Demon's Souls
And, of course, Interactive Friction.

The Texture Pop: Episode 40: Infection Buddies

My apologies for the late posting. I have been busy for these past few days.



0:01:33 Gaming News
Batman: Arkham Knight Season Pass (Costs $40)
I don't know whether I should have been surprised to see this or not. This is the logical extension of the pre-order/season pass system. It was bound to happen, and giving Warner Bros. awful history in its short time as a well-known publisher, they were going to be one of the ones to push as far as they did.
It is interesting how publishers don't seem to realize that this system subtly encourages consumers to just wait for the collector's edition, with all of the DLC content included. Playing the launch day-edition is almost a fool's proposition, unless you are extremely sure that you'll enjoy the content.

PT has been completely removed from the PS Store.
Even worse, all active copies now have an expiration date. It's less a condemnation of Konami, but more of an acknowledgement of the consequences of the brave, new world of digital gaming.
As an addendum: Since the time of record, SuperBunnyHop's video on Konami temporarily received a takedown notice, but Konami failed to file it correctly.



0:24:20 Sam bought a new gaming monitor.
This one specifically, or a similar model.
Sam spends the rest of this segment talking nerdy to us. And we also talk about how it's changed his gaming habits.



0:40:10 Sam purchased the New 3DS.
Ignoring the confusing name, Nintendo is terrible about the transfer process. At least the customer support was good enough.



0:51:30 Sam beat Dark Souls 2: Scholars of the First Sin
And we talk about it's differences with the base game.



0:57:35 Garrett is sick as a dog.
And a title was born.
Here is the hot kool-aid video he was talking about.



1:02:35 Garrett talks League of Legends.



1:08:55 I played Resonance of Fate
To get an idea of what kind of hilarity is in this game: Here are both the raisins scene and the hand slap scene.
Though the combat is extremely difficult to explain, it's really fun to play. There's a ton of strategy involved and it looks really stylish.
Side note: You can hear the South in Sam's voice when he pronounced "naked" as "nekkid".



1:24:50 I finished up Drakengard 3.
As we said before, this series and the world it takes place it is so very rich and fascinating. In a way, it's basically a giant criticism of video games, fantasy worlds, and the people who enjoy them. It's undeniably dark, and I love it for precisely that reason.
I also wrote a piece about how the game lampshades its mechanics. It can be found here.



1:38:35 We played more FUSE together.
The only reason parts of this game are fun and/or funny is because the rest of the game is so bland, monotonous, and boring that any sort of mildly interesting stimuli causes some sort of reaction. Those parts are less amusing in and of themselves and more interesting in light of the fact that everything else is so boring.



1:47:50 Chris has been playing Splatoon's Global Test Fire.
Sounds pretty fun.



1:59:00 Wrapping Up
Once again, my Drakengard 3 article here.
Sam's site.
Garrett's Twitch Channel.
And of course, you can e-mail us at thetexturepop@gmail.com

The Texture Pop: Episode 38: The FUSE Experience

0:02:19 Viewer Question
What would be your ideal Star Wars game?
This was written in lieu of the trailers of both the new Battlefront game and Episode 7. Also, I need to make clear that Star Wars is not a franchise that appeals to me, so if my opinions are seen as heretical to fans, it's not something I can help. This is in regards to both the movie and game discussions.

And remember, if you have questions and/or comments that you'd like us to read on the air, you can do so at thetexturepop@gmail.com



0:21:15 Gaming News
Skyrim allowed paid mods on Steam.
For the record, we recorded this podcast on Sunday. By the time of this writing, paid Skyrim mods have been removed. So I kinda have to put my foot in my mouth regards to the apocalyptic tone expressed during this segment. Still, I stand behind the opinions expressed on this subject. It's a well-meaning idea, but Valve didn't really think too much about what the implications were behind such a massive, overnight change.



0:39:55 Garrett talks about his week.



1:03:00 Sam sells furniture (and reads The Fault in Our Stars)
As someone who follows John Green online, I really need to start reading his books. They seem like they'd be right up my alley.



1:09:40 Sam played portable games (while selling furniture)
In particular, he played Muramasa: Rebirth, Persona Q, and Crimson Shroud.
It's nice to hear Sam make similar criticisms that I made when I played Persona Q. I even wrote an article about it way back when.



1:21:00 Sam got into Monster Hunter and God Eater: Burst
As our resident Dark Souls player, I'm not really surprised these games would interest him.



1:34:50 I finished Pillars of Eternity.
It's like Baldur's Gate 2, but without all of the stuff that makes me hate Baldur's Gate 2.



1:46:00 I watched Dollhouse by Joss Whedon
It's a darkly interesting series. Though only 2 seasons long, it did more than many other shows have managed in 5 seasons.



1:50:00 Sam, Chris, one of my friends, and I played Insomniac Game's FUSE
Dear god, that game. We're going to keep going, but it's going to be painful.



2:09:00 Chris played more South Park: The Stick of Truth



2:22:50 Wrapping Up