Seria Ludo

Tim and Joel cover a selection of news items. We begin by looking at some of the corporate moves being made, from streaming and subscription models to acquisitions of smaller companies. This turns into a wider discussion about art and capitalism. Finally we look at the changing demographics of gaming, in light of the news that adult women are now the industry's largest demographic.

Games mentioned:

• Paratopic
• Adios
• Outriders
• Firewatch
• Animal Crossing
• Breath of the Wild
• Pikuniku
• Tonight We Riot

Tim and Joel look at the way systemic games allow players to create stories. After a brief digression into the mechanics of character creation, we look once again at Dwarf Fortress, and its unique ability to generate story through its systems.

Games mentioned:

• The Witcher 3
• Mass Effect
• ADOM: Ancient Domains of Mystery
• Disco Elysium
• Dwarf Fortress
• Rimworld

Following from last week's episode, Tim and Joel begin by looking at Kentucky Route Zero, which does interesting things with narrative interactivity - positioning the player as stage director rather than performer. We talk about the ways games suggest ways of playing through creative constraint, with reference to the stress system in Crusader Kings 3. Finally we talk about narrative reconstruction, wherein the focus of the player's experience is to put the game's story together, in Outer Wilds and The Flower Collectors.

Games mentioned:

• Kentucky Route Zero
• Disco Elysium
• Crusader Kings 3
• Civilization
• Outer Wilds
• The Flower Collectors

In this episode, Tim and Joel discuss how UI that limits the information and actions of the player can be dramatically useful, as seen in the tense radio interactions of Radio Commander, the manual navigation system in Miasmata, and the text-message-like interface of Lifeline. We also talk about how, beyond the pragmatic information/action axis of UI, a good interface can also provide players with a sense of ritual. Games Discussed

• Miasmata
• Radio Commander
• Lifeline
• Duskers
• Technomancer
• One Hour, One Life
• Silent Hunter
• Crusader Kings 3
• Star Traders
• Civilization 6
• Black and White

In this episode, Joel and Tim talk about the games that left the biggest impact on them over the course of 2020 (even though many of these games were made in earlier years). The list is continued in part 2. Award List, Part 1:

• Technomancer gets "best combat system" and "best bang-for-the-buck game world experience" from Joel.
• Pikuniku gets "best-hearted" and "most hilariously partnership-testing" from Tim.
• Inside gets "most pure gaming experience" from Joel and "most unsettlingly emotional" from Tim.
• Assassin's Creed Syndicate gets "best non-committal timesuck" (with some serious caveats that this is more addictive than it is good) from Joel.
• Red Dead Redemption 2 gets "most immersive" from Tim.
• Dying Light gets "best open world movement" from Joel.
• American Truck Simulator and European Truck Simulator 2 get "most therapeutic" from Tim.
• Farcry 5 gets "most annoying / most spineless" from both Tim and Joel. Sagebrush also gets a mention here, as a great indie title that actually engages with cult mentality, unlike the lukewarm mess that is Farcry 5's sad excuse for a setting.