Direct Download

Apologies for the month-long delay, as circumstances of illness and other problems had frequently arisen. I really do wish to have as many episodes as possible and have been considering going weekly rather than our attempted bi-weekly (which is more often “hopefully we can get at least one in this month”), but we are victims of circumstance.

One of the reasons I wish to pick up this pace is the passing of Shamus Young, who had featured multiple times on my podcast and streams. I was first led to his blog through his DM of the Rings comic, and would follow his writing and comedic talents through to his short-lived Chainmail Bikini, Stolen Pixels and Experienced Points on The Escapist, and even having purchased his original fiction books while reading along his gaming adventures on his blog. I was lucky to have the chance to tell him how much I admired his ability to put out so much work on a regular schedule before he passed away, and am glad I was able to let him know how much of an influence he was. If you want to understand why I wrote out my games of the year this January, or why I’ve been going so hard at putting out the Summer Game Fest round-ups this week, it’s because I want to stop making excuses and emulate his ability to just write out his thoughts and put it out there for the world to see.

I wish I could say I will carry on the torch, but even if I had a fraction of his audience, there is no carrying his amazing talents forward. The man was a programmer, a composer of music, and an author. He was multi-talented in ways I had always hoped to be but never could, be it due to limitations in my natural born capabilities or my complete lack of discipline. However, Shamus had impacted and influenced so many that we, the collective of fans and friends inspired to work harder on our own projects, will be shining his light in some fashion in multiple corners of the world. At the very least, I want to stop making excuses and simply work harder. I don’t know if there will be anything here folks will notice that will be different, but I am keeping him in my heart to inspire me to be even a fraction of the reliable content creator he was.

There are so many words I’d like to say, and may put something more substantial together later. Obviously there’s still a lot of processing going on. Additionally, I don’t think there’s anything I, alone, could do that would feel worthy of the man’s memory and legacy. Nonetheless, even if it is a month late, don’t be surprised if I have an entire post dedicated to him and his impact.

As for the podcast itself, we didn’t exactly go in with a plan, which I fear could have hurt its overall quality. I hope you still enjoy our discussion, though it’s barely focused on the Summer Game Fest itself. YouTube channel and frequent Blizzard commentators BellularNews had a video yesterday on Overwatch 2, and I think it’s a fairly balanced perspective on how Blizzard is seeking to improve while also providing cautionary insight and observations into the plan. The nine-week season, for example, is not very long and most teams that attempted such short seasons have found themselves stretching those out. Additionally, they point to Halo: Infinite’s battle pass system as one to emulate, as you can go back and work towards that content at any time.

I, personally, am rather wary of seasons and battle passes and so on and so forth, as they rely on a treadmill that is far more concerned with the obsessive player. I’m no longer certain that these companies are trying to compete for your attention to become your sole gaming hobby, but are instead frightened of the player that does nothing but play their game every day getting bored. I think this is a mistake, as the systems are clearly designed with a manipulative hamster wheel mindset that leads even casual players to feel pressured to log in and do their dailies or whatever challenges they come up with, all for the sake of some skins and bonus currencies. I’ve referenced back to the old days when players would just log into Unreal Tournament every day because they were having fun, but those were also days before match-making algorithms took care of finding servers and games for you. If you look back at a lot of older PC gamers reminiscing about the old days, one of the common gripes is that there was a greater sense of community in those server lists. You’d start to recognize names, develop rivalries, and even build friendships. Was that social element a part of the reason that players were encouraged to keep playing the same game? Once match-making ensures that you’re playing with strangers every week, does that mean you need another incentive to keep logging in every day?

I was never a competitive PC player myself, so I’m curious if anyone out there could ponder this and let me know their own thoughts.

Finally, the “E3 is Dead” essay I mention in the podcast can be found over here. Feel free to give it a read.

Do you miss the E3 of old? Do you prefer this new format better? Are there any games you’re hyped up about from the Summer Games Fest? Feel free to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail with your opinions.

Opening theme music by Fallen Prophecy.