RPGCast - Episode 214: "Steampunk Nanotech"

[sabin1001]

RPGCast - Episode 214: "Steampunk Nanotech"

Clothes that dry themselves and barrels full of special edition games are the focus of this week's RPG Cast. Really, we don't talk about Mass Effect 3, Diablo 3, or Baldur's Gate or any of the other really relevant stories.

You can find the links to all our stories on delicious: http://delicious.com/rpgamer/214

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[Strawberry Eggs]

It wasn't any American company that censored Leslie from Arc Rise Fantasia (the pink haired woman whose top was changed slightly). It was actually changed for the original Japanese version, though I'm not certain if it was the developer Imageepoch or the publisher Marvelous Entertainment who ordered the change. It was unusual because this was a change in the Japanese version and not the North American one.

[Shaymin]

I'm still early, so I'll just drop the Feb 24th Q&A in to point out that Persona 3 was damn lucky to avoid an AO rating. Or at least a Jack Thompson freakout.

[Ocelot]

I'm still early, so I'll just drop the Feb 24th Q&A in to point out that Persona 3 was damn lucky to avoid an AO rating. Or at least a Jack Thompson freakout.

I remember talking about that back when the game came out. It was only the game's niche status and the fact that nobody sent Evoker imagery to Fox New's VP of Think of the Children! (never mind that it's rated M) that kept P3 out of the public eye. And y'know, even I found the Evoker imagery pretty shocking the first time I saw it, so I can imagine what it must have been like to have been the ESRB employee who reviewed the game.

[GaijinMonogatari]

I WAS surprised that no one mentioned the gun-to-the-head part of Persona....

[Paws]

I always felt that in the US religion and sex was more controversial than violence in the US. Plus, I -love- that opening scene where Yukari is trying to shoot herself for the first time. Gives me the greatest chills.

[moenki]

Ys coming to Steam is just about the best gaming news I've heard recently. Not only that in itself, but also opening the possibilites of more JRPG's being released on PC. I don't own a PS3 or 360, and if it weren't for the great JRPG's I'm missing out on this console generation, there would be no need to get one. So for instance I'd love to see something like Valkyria Chronicles come out on Steam, which might be realistic because Sega seems to be active in porting many old Genesis up through Dreamcast games there, as well as recent ones like Sonic Generations. If we get together and make JRPG's on Steam successful, perhaps dreams like this will come true.

Of course, there are many other games I'd like to see released this way. Ys VI and VII would be a good next step, but hopefully other Japanese developers follow through. Perhaps you can indulge a question on the next RPGCast: What JRPG's would you like to see released through Steam?

[MasterChief]

Well, "questionable content" is always one of those hilarious talking points that later on turn out to really only be questionable/offensive to pundits and the protest circuit. I'm with Manny though, that aggressively trying to pander is far more annoying/offensive than anything else. If you'll allow me another thing that makes me raise my eyebrows, games that try to be all edgy get under my skin. While it's not an RPG, allow me to posit the first game that comes to my mind: Shadow the Hedgehog. A series that had historically been fun little family-friendly platformers suddenly had an entry that was dark and brooding in tone, had guns all over the place and added mild cursing for no good reason (And there is NO GOOD REASON for Sonic to say "Damn" in Lethal Highway)




So, any games, RPG or non, that you guys felt forced the edginess to a point of it being a distraction?

[Azilis]

Re: The Torchlight 2 vs Diablo 3 conversation

I don't think the argument is that Torchlight 2 is going to fail because of Diablo 3. It's that it's simply not going to make as much of a profit as it could have had it beaten Diablo 3 to release by several months. And I don't buy the argument that "they appeal to different audiences". I've been playing the Path of Exile beta for the last few days (that's the free-to-play online Diablo clone from that New Zealand developer) and people are trying to make the same argument there. Just how segmented is the Diablo-clone audience? These games are all point-and-click action-rpg loot-gatherers. Of course they have differences - that's what makes them separate games - but they should all appeal to basically the same type of gamer. Some people will prefer one over the others, but the audiences will overlap hugely due to all of these games having similar gameplay (you're kidding yourself if you think TL2's gameplay is substantially different from D3's).


Re: the Baldur's Gate enhanced editions (or whatever they're calling them)

I would have been shocked if they committed to remaking these games in 3D. The amount of really high-quality hand drawn art in Baldur's Gate 2 in particular is massive. I'm pretty sure that a high-quality HD remake of FF7 would be easy in comparison.

If you enjoy the storytelling style of Bioware's more recent games, you'd love the Baldur's Gate games. Tons of dialogue, well-written side quests, and fun tactical combat (think Dragon Age, but with D&D rules and less restrictions in combat).

[risingsun]

Re: The Torchlight 2 vs Diablo 3 conversation

I don't think the argument is that Torchlight 2 is going to fail because of Diablo 3. It's that it's simply not going to make as much of a profit as it could have had it beaten Diablo 3 to release by several months. And I don't buy the argument that "they appeal to different audiences". I've been playing the Path of Exile beta for the last few days (that's the free-to-play online Diablo clone from that New Zealand developer) and people are trying to make the same argument there. Just how segmented is the Diablo-clone audience? These games are all point-and-click action-rpg loot-gatherers. Of course they have differences - that's what makes them separate games - but they should all appeal to basically the same type of gamer. Some people will prefer one over the others, but the audiences will overlap hugely due to all of these games having similar gameplay (you're kidding yourself if you think TL2's gameplay is substantially different from D3's).
.

Actually, that is EXACTLY the argument I have been hearing on twitter and on forums, that TL2 is doomed since it couldn't beat D3. The only point I was trying to get across is why Runic Games made that decision and why they are happy with it. Even though they wont capture a lot of the people who see Torchlight as a place holder until D3 launches or people who will be satisfied with only D3, the games are different enough in the market that it will do fine. By different I mean price points, where the games will be sold, feature sets, etc.

I agree, it will not do as well as it would have done if it had beaten D3, but it will still do just fine for their budget and expectations. I think what it comes down to, is that the Runic guys dont care when they launch, they just want to make a good game.

[Namos]

Slightly disappointed you guys didn't mention Anachronox is newly available on GOG.

I've mixed feelings about the Baldur's Gate enhanced editions. An HD uprez is fine, I suppose, but I don't really trust Atari, and don't know much about the Beamdog guys. I fear they're going to cause an inadvertent nostalgiacide, particularly in the case of Baldur's Gate 1.