RPGCast - Episode 168: "Big Mac Attack"

[sabin1001]

RPGCast - Episode 168: "Big Mac Attack"

Michael Cunningham joins us this week as we chat about Pokémon, Dragon Age II, and Torchlight on XBLA. Michael also shares his experiences with Kingdoms of Amalur. Finally, Michael and Chris commiserate about the prospects of White Knights Chronicles II.

You can find the links to all our stories on delicious: http://delicious.com/rpgamer/168

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[Rosestorm]

Did you forget I was on the show, sort of.

[Paws]

For those who wish to see progress.

[Quin]

Yay for cross-stiching!

[otakudensetsu]

i was thinking about Nintendo and their sega style gimmicks, when it occurred to me. listen to this, nintendo's newest handheld the 3ds causes eyestrain and who know what else. so tell me this; is it possible that nintendo will release a cheaper version of the 3ds simply called the ds advance. here's the deal, the ds advance can play ds and 3ds games but does not have the 3d technology built in, it's like turning the 3d off and removing the slider. it's a way people can play 3ds games on a less expensive version of the 3ds without the 3d.

[Paws]

Unless the 3D technology is prohibitively expensive, I doubt it'll happen. Look at how processor chips are handled.

[Namos]

Am I the only one getting a serious JRPG vibe from Dragon Age 2? The limited world, the perfunctory interactions with minor NPCs, the combat and ability animations, the locked-in nature of your companions appearance, the elves... Sure, it still has the Bioware conversations, but it certainly isn't what I expect of a Western RPG. Kind of ironic, considering how down Ray Muzyka was on JRPGs a while back. I'm not sure yet whether to consider this a knock against the game though.

R. A. Salvatore shared some information on his involvement in the Kingdom of Amalur backstory during his panel in Gencon last year, which is available through the official D&D podcast. Kind of neat that they are actually establishing that whole "no death" part of MMOs in the lore. Also, Big Huge Games were responsible for Rise of Nations and Rise of Legends - two great RTS titles.

[ChrisDS]

Hi Guys! Thanks for the great show, I just wanted to throw in my two cents about "Torchlight" because everyone keeps talking about it. I have been playing the game on the the PC and it is excellent. I would defiantly give it a 4 out of 5 simply because of all the fantastic mods you can download for the game. Multiple Classes, pets and skins seems to keep the game very exciting... you can also download maps and other areas if you need more content. The MAJOR advantage torchlight has over Diabo is that it will play on anything so when TL2 hit the store you can throw down a LAN party with very little money or worries. I can't wait.

Anyways... I love the show, best podcast ever!

[MasterChief]

Am I the only one getting a serious JRPG vibe from Dragon Age 2? The limited world, the perfunctory interactions with minor NPCs, the combat and ability animations, the locked-in nature of your companions appearance, the elves... Sure, it still has the Bioware conversations, but it certainly isn't what I expect of a Western RPG. Kind of ironic, considering how down Ray Muzyka was on JRPGs a while back. I'm not sure yet whether to consider this a knock against the game though.

R. A. Salvatore shared some information on his involvement in the Kingdom of Amalur backstory during his panel in Gencon last year, which is available through the official D&D podcast. Kind of neat that they are actually establishing that whole "no death" part of MMOs in the lore. Also, Big Huge Games were responsible for Rise of Nations and Rise of Legends - two great RTS titles.

After reading Glenn's review and his thoughts here on the podcast, I can honestly say I never want to hear anyone at Bioware say anything about JRPGs, or indeed anyone else's games again. Fix your own house, guys, because now you just look stupid.

Unless the 3D technology is prohibitively expensive, I doubt it'll happen. Look at how processor chips are handled.

Agreed. This is Nintendo we're talking about. More than any other company, they know how to not make hardware at a loss. You'll never see anything on a Nintendo platform that's prohibitively expensive to make.

[noodle]

I AM OFFENDED! you guys didn't finish talking about the best dressed people. i worked hard on my list! *rages*

ninja kirby is NOT amused.

[Strawberry Eggs]

They skipped my list, too, though I think it's because I started the post with one of my perennial "Ignition sucks" rants.

[Just Doug]

For Quin, my opinions on things videogames may be able to help teach us:

-Hand-eye coordination? Dexterity? Though I have to say with all the thousands of hours I've spent playing videogames I'm only marginally better at fighting games than I was as a little kid.

-MMOs can be cruel lessons in economics and game theory, albeit indirectly and that you have to account for the way it being a game world warps the definitions of economic forces or rational self-interest. (Such as the first rule of the internet: anonymity enables people to be 100x the jerk they would be in person.)

-Problem solving skills, critical thinking, working out things logically. I can see these being helped to some degree by games (such as, but not limited to, numerous puzzle games, RPG minigames), though as with dexterity I'm not sure how much of it depends on one having the skills to begin with to get good at the puzzles or if doing enough puzzles can in fact make people substantially better at problem-solving.

-I'm sure you're more interested in people developing skills through gaming rather than trivia / rote knowledge, but years of playing RPG can lead to randomly knowing things that you wouldn't have come across otherwise, such as vocabulary or mythological references (though if an RPG makes changes to a myth or mythological entity for the purposes of the game, it undermines this idea--e.g. how much does God of War tell you about Greek mythology?). Vocabulary I feel is something that can be improved through gaming...if you play the right games, anyway. All the language one listens to / reads in RPGs can expose people to new words, even if archaic like "ilk" in FFXII which I for one did not know prior to FFXII. And I am not referring to game-specific terminology of course...

[MasterChief]

BEHOLD! The RPGCast Pokemon Team. Click thumbnail to enlarge.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Quin]

Is that a Plusle?

[MasterChief]

Yep. With Roy as a matching Minun.

[Shaymin]

I'm not touching that with a Steelix-long pole.

[Ocelot]

I dun wanna be a Geodude. I hate Geodude.

[Macstorm]

BEHOLD! The RPGCast Pokemon Team. Click thumbnail to enlarge.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I'm not in that lineup! And I thank you for that. Stupid Pokemon.

[Ocelot]

I'm amused that I am in the lineup, since I've never been on the RPGCast.