Game Theory Podcast

Recorded on February 11th with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

This is not the oft-promised indie episode - it is something much better! When thinking about what he liked about indie games, Jim realized the aspect that he wanted to discuss was the innovative design elements in many of his favorite games.

Innovative games often represent a thought experiment or a deliberate isolation or exaggeration of a specific game mechanic or component. This means that often, short form and indie games are the right format for this investigation.

Brian also finally gets to complain about pixel art, and Tom startles the group with a shocking (ok, mildly interesting) confession.

Referenced items:

Match Three Game,
Portal,
Pong,
Doom,
Outsider Art,
Legend of Zelda,
Super Mario Bros.,
Dune Two,
Literature of Exhaustion,
Memento,
Tower Defense,
Bejeweled,
Limbo,
Fl0w,
Osmos,
Ingmar Bergman,
Stephen Merchant,
Electroplankton,
Biophilia,
Sonic the Hedgehog,
Alien vs. Predator (FPS),
Journey,
Left 4 Dead,
Halo,
Hundreds,
Galcon,
ToeJam and Earl,
Earthworm Jim,
Battletoads,
World of Goo,
Shadow of the Colossus,
Ico,
Kinectimals,
Kinect Party,
Mario Party,
WarioWare,
Kongregate,
Raving Rabbids,
Mirror’s Edge,
Dungeon Keeper,
Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman,
Hoard,
Starcraft,
Sim Life,
Spore,
Eve Online,
Red Dead Redemption,
World of Tanks,
Half Life,
Counter-Strike,
X-Com: UFO Defense,
X...

Recorded on September 29, 2012 with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

In the post MMO-RPG world, we tend to make a lot of assumptions about what leveling is and how characters develop as they level, but there’s a lot of diversity in how leveling mechanics are managed. Jim, Brian and Tom discuss how leveling has evolved over the years.

Many games purport to have multiple leveling paths that result in differentiated gameplay experiences, but often due to balance or complexity/cost reasons this ideal is not realized. Additionally, social pressure in online games tends to homogenize the character “builds”.

Tom loathes auto-scaling zones in open-world games. Jim develops an unhealthy obsession with the TV Tropes website while researching this topic (you have been warned). Everyone agrees that the prospect of losing a level or having XP stolen is terrifying.

Links to referenced items:

Pac-Man,
Defender,
Bioshock,
Robotron 2084,
World of Warcraft,
Halo,
Diablo,
CounterStrike,
1942,
Bullet Hell,
Final Fantasy,
Esper,
Dungeons and Dragons,
Deus Ex: Human Revolution,
Dark Souls,
Journey,
Amalur:Reckoning,
Torchlight,
Diablo III,
Elder Scrolls,
The Saga of Olaf,
EvE Online,
Guild Wars,
Anti-Grinding - TV Tropes,
Palladium Books,
[Rifts,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifts_(role-playing_game)
Bushido Blade,
Fable,
Day Z,
A Being of Indescribable Power,
Killzone Three,
Doom,
Half Life Two,
World of Commanders.

Recorded on July 25th with Brian Fife, James Fingal and Thomas Westberg.

Tom talks about early arcade games, starting with Spacewar! and ending with Donkey Kong. Jim describes his present-day arcade experiences.

Brian asks the group about game development, and they briefly discuss game development frameworks.

World of Tanks,
38 Studios - Boston Magazine,
Scott Jennings - Broken Toys,
Copernicus - MMO,
Todd McFarlane,
R.A. Salvatore,
Portal 2 Book,
Bastion,
Penny Arcade Expo,
Fieldrunners 2,
Subatomic Studios,
Madfinger Zombie Game,
King of Dragon Pass,
Final Fantasy 3 - Google Play,
Space Pirates and Zombies,
Subspace,
Spec Ops: The Line,
Max Payne 3,
Fake Sponsor - Cardboard Council,
Metal Gear Solid,
Alien vs. Predator,
Midway Games,
Gauntlet: Dark Legacy,
Computer Space,
Electro-Mechanical Game,
Vertical Sync,
Gun Fight,
Space Invaders,
Battlezone,
Tempest,
Xybots,
Mortal Kombat,
Street Fighter,
3DFX,
Dance Dance Revolution,
Kinect,
Dance Maniax,
Guitar Hero Arcade,
Fruit Ninja,
Chuck E Cheese’s,
Big Buck Hunter,
Golden Tee,
Brady Bunch Movie,
Pong,
Galaga,
Galaxian,
Centipede,
Missile Command,
Atari,
The Sopranos,
Little Big Planet 2,
Pac-Man,
Asteroids,
Lunar Lander,