Seria Ludo

In this episode, we talk about UI's ability to embody the player into the character they are playing. We talk about what that means for classic adventure games, action games, and immersive sims, and talk a bit about the potential for both embodiment in VR, and in the real world. Games discussed: Technomancer Hunt: Showdown Hardspace: Shipbreaker Elite Dangerous American and European Truck Simulato...

In this episode, Tim and Joel begin a conversation on UI in games . We talk about the purpose of UI generally, in games specifically, and start breaking down the ways UI can make or break a player's immersion in a character. Games discussed: Dead Space , Hardspace: Shipbreaker , Miasmata , Farcry 2 , Observer , Aragami , Fable 3 , Elite: Dangerous , Call of Duty , Hunt Showdown .

In this episode, Joel and Tim focus in on the problem of designing space games as if you were designing amusement park rides -- by bolting a lot of experiences together based on player expectations, rather than allowing an idea to grow organically. We use Elite: Dangerous as an example to talk about why so many game designers fall into the trap of trying to emulate existing universes rather than c...

In this special episode, Tim and Joel discuss next week's historic election. We discuss where we are now, the choices that lie before us, and why -- even though Biden is a centrist at best -- we're going to vote for Biden in order to stay the tide of Trump's corrosive actions, and then keep on pushing until we can finally see some actual progressives in the highest offices of the United States.

In this episode, Joel and Tim continue our discussion on space games. We deep dive into dramatic play and immersion, and discuss how the marketing points of many space games (things like universe scale, roles you can fill, etc.) are in direct conflict with the actual immersive experience of playing the game. We compare  Elite: Dangerous and its host of imitators with games like  Silent Hunter ,  E...

In this episode, Joel and Tim begin discussing space games -- the kind of game where you are in command of a spaceship ranging the void, the open world that was invented by Elite in 1984 and that has been iterated upon ever since. In part 1, we discuss the ways UI has in some sense been pared down from / reduced from the initial titles in the series ( Descent: Freespace ,  Wing Commander Privateer...

In this episode, Tim and Joel continue our conversation on low-fi art styles, and dig more into the specific reasons (good and bad) that developers might choose a low-fi art style.

In this episode, Tim and Joel discuss low-fi art: pixel art, limited color depth, low-polygon modeling, and sprite billboarding. We talk nostalgia, economy, and other reasons developers use to choose these tools. And we compare the difference between toxic or pandering nostalgia and the kind of nostalgia that is used to lampoon ( Broforce ) or examine ( Undertale ) the past. We also discuss how lo...

In this episode, Joel and Tim talk about cooperative multiplayer games -- shooters like Halo , puzzlers like Portal 2 , creative collaborative games like Minecraft , and the co-op aspects of team games like Hunt: Showdown . We talk about what's fun about these games, and some of the places we hope they'll go in the future.

In this episode, Tim and Joel discuss massively multiplayer games. We've both been a bit disappointed with the games we've tried in this vein, and we talk about why that is, what appeals to people about these kinds of games, and where we hope the genre will go in the future.

In this episode, Joel and Tim discuss environmental multiplayer -- the form of multiplayer that happens when a game isn't directly about interactions with other players, but where other players are still present in the experience. We talk shared world states with Dark Souls ' messaging system, and Elite: Dangerous and No Man's Sky's discovery system. We talk shared road paradigms in  The Trail , ...

In this episode, Joel and Tim discuss competitive multiplayer games, including e-sports titles like Smite and Starcraft , more open sandbox matches like show favorite Hunt: Showdown , and asymmetrical matches like  Dead by Daylight . We also discuss some of the technical elements of building a competitive multiplayer game, including addressing the mind-bending problem of ping.

In this episode, Joel and Tim discuss competitive multiplayer games, including e-sports titles like Smite and Starcraft , more open sandbox matches like show favorite Hunt: Showdown , and asymmetrical matches like  Dead by Daylight . We also discuss some of the technical elements of building a competitive multiplayer game, including addressing the mind-bending problem of ping.

In this episode, Tim and Joel discuss the recent Elite Squad trailer from Ubisoft, how the game's narrative partakes in the growing fascist movement in the United States, and how it all ties into the recent lethal shootings by a fascist-influenced teenager in Kenosha, WI. We also discuss how all of that connects to Ubisoft's toxic leadership culture and recent failure to innovate. Links: A recordi...

In this episode, Joel and Tim discuss multiplayer games. We deep dive into the history of video game multiplayer, and outline some of the main forms in which multiplayer is used across gaming, including co-op games, competitive matches, and environmentally multiplayer or massively multiplayer games.

In this episode, Joel and Tim discuss recent news. We talk COVID cases in the UK and US, the Trump administration's ongoing attempt to obscure COVID data, our unhappiness with the Biden/Harris ticket and the old guard of the DNC generally, and our strong belief that we should vote for them anyway. We also discuss Trump's attacks on the USPS both to limit democratic participation now, and to provid...

In this episode, Joel and Tim discuss some of the ways politics interact with games, and some of the ways different games have portrayed morality, through systems and narrative. Topics Discussed: Morality in narrative branching choices (KOTOR, Jedi Academy) Gradient / reputation systems (Fallout, RDR) Frostpunk's assumption that survival requires -- and is worth -- moral compromise Restorative Jus...

In this episode, Tim and Joel discuss emergent systems storytelling in games like Dwarf Fortress and Rimworld, as well as Sea of Thieves and reasons why that game world sometimes feels so empty. We discuss frame stories in games like Outer Wilds, Gone Home, and Return of the Obra Dinn, and how these stories are uniquely suited to being told in the medium of a game. We finish by discussing story it...

In this episode, Joel and Tim continue to discuss the mechanics of storytelling in games. We look at some of the specifics of why mechanics are important with an in-depth look at FTL vs. Some Distant Memory and Long Journey Home (25:15). We look at the way the deep and engaging gameplay of Return of the Obra Dinn makes the story that much more engaging (40:00). We discuss how Far Cry 5 has good ga...

In this episode, Joel and Tim discuss some of the mechanics of how games tell narrative. We dip into the importance of immersive detail in games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Witcher 3, and Firewatch, the pulled-back scale of strategy games like Frostpunk and Xcom, and touch on some of the emergent storytelling that happens in games like One Hour One Life and Xcom. We also touch on ways indie games...

Tim and Joel discuss the games they've been playing recently, and start digging into the topics of narrative in games, and some of the games that have done it best.

Tim and Joel discuss world  and gaming news, including the Covid response in the US and UK, the Oglala Sioux protests in the Black Hills at Mount Rushmore following the Trump rally there, reports of toxic culture  at Ubisoft, and some of the issues surrounding streaming and games culture.

Tim and Joel discuss the future of the Battle Royale format and other game modes that might be possible with the technology behind BR. We deep dive into Hunt: Showdown and talk about what makes it so interesting. We also talk about the future of the genre, and a bit about the state of the world outside gaming. Games discussed: - Hunt: Showdown

Joel and Tim dive in with a discussion of Battle Royales -- some of the specifics of the genre, which games do it best, and some of the things we'd like to see done better. Games discussed: - Call of Duty: Warzone - Apex Legends - Fortnite - PUBG - Hunt: Showdown (more on this one in Episode 2)

Hello, internet! Seria Ludo is a new podcast focused on deep dives into specific topics of games, game design, and the politics surrounding the medium. We'll be posting new episodes every Thursday. Give this one a listen to hear a little bit about what  the name means, our plans for the future, and to learn about Joel and Tim's history with gaming. Welcome, and thanks  for tuning in!