Seria Ludo

Tim and Joel look at the Civilization games. We examine the way that, in every iteration, their systems have failed go beyond a view of the world rooted in capitalist realism.   Games mentioned:   Civilization series Red Dead Redemption

Tim and Joel look at different ways of experiencing games, how input and interface can shape an aesthetic experience. We look at simple tweaks like removing the mini-map in Red Dead Redemption 2, and examine a team of developers using old-style telephones as voice-activated input devices.   Games mentioned:   The Last of Us 2 Crusader Kings 3 Dwarf Fortress Red Dead Redemption 2 Valheim Disco Elys...

Tim and Joel catch up on some of the games they've sampled over the last few weeks. We go over some preliminary thoughts on UI and UX, and talk about the stunning graphical improvements of PCVR.   Games played:   The Ascent ShadowRun CyberPunk 2077 Deus Ex Elite Dangerous Half Life 1 Return to Castle Wolfenstein Doom 3 Lunar Lander Lunar Flight Kerbal Space Program Crusader Kings 3 Lone Echo Truck...

Tim and Joel continue last week's conversation about systemic games. We look at the medieval sandbox game Crusader Kings 3, and Tim goes into his playthrough of Nantucket. We also look at games that come close to being systemic, employing complex systems, but end up relying on authored narratives.   Games mentioned:   Crusader Kings 3 Civilization 6 Nantucket Disco Elysium Total War Sim City Hards...

Tim and Joel return from a hiatus with a look at the emergent narrative dynamics of narrative strategy games, beginning with a look at Overhype Studios' Battle Brothers.   Games mentioned:   Rimworld Crusader Kings 3 Dwarf Fortress Battle Brothers

Tim and Joel finalize their thoughts - for now - about the survival genre.   We are shifting to a new format! In future we will take hiatuses to prepare for genre/thematic groupings. The first hiatus begins now - we will return in a few weeks to talk about colony builder and narrative strategy games.   Games mentioned:   Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China Hollow Knight Mark of the Ninja Prince of...

Last week, Tim and Joel asked: What are we Surviving for? This week we look at a different kind of survival game, Space Engineers. The focus here is less on the immediate human elements of survival and more on resource gathering, building and eventually interplanetary travel. We then look at gameplay dynamics that are fundamental to enjoying a survival game: desperation, tension and release.   Gam...

Run, fight, craft, build, eat, survive. Cooperate or kill. But why? Joel and Tim begin to look at games that answer this question satisfactorily, and ones that don't.     Games mentioned:     Dwarf fortress Valheim DayZ Rust Fallout Deus Ex The Forest Ark: Survival Evolved Subnautica Eco Neo Scavenger The Long Dark

Tim and Joel introduce some of the fundamentals of the survival genre: environmental pressure, crafting, building, multiplayer. We explore some of the different survival experiences these games are attempting to convey, and the way various games succeed or fail in delivering those experiences.     Games mentioned:   Roblox The Source Tropico 6 Valheim Minecraft Hunt: Showdown Escape from Tarkov Da...

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 mention...

After the recent narrative deep dive, Tim and Joel catch up on what we've been playing. Large doses of Valheim, the dumb fun of Outriders, and some other survival games in preparation for our upcoming look at the genre. Tim goes into the community-based civilizational survival game Eco, and the Mars planet builder Per Aspera.   Games mentioned:   Valheim Outriders The Surge 2 Gears of War The Tech...

In Part One, Tim and Joel looked at how procedural generation can aid or detract from video game narrative. This week, we look at artificial intelligence - a nascent field with immense possibilities. We look at the fundamental difference between AI and traditional systems, and explore the fascinating, dreamlike storytelling experience of AI Dungeon. Games mentioned: Microsoft Flight Simulator. No...

Tim and Joel begin with a discussion of games we recently played. We highlight the problems of returning to grand narrative games like Mafia 3, and the possibilities of player-defined narratives, before looking at procedural generation and its role in game narrative construction, looking at Minecraft and our recent favorite, Valheim.   Games mentioned: Mafia 3 Valheim Breath of the Wild Signs of t...

The systems a game employs to create a narrative or experience are an expression of the way the developers see the world. After looking in depth at Dwarf Fortress last week, Tim and Joel note the different systems in Stardew Valley and Farming Simulator, both ostensibly games about farming. We then move on to discuss The Sims and Crusader Kings 3, and how they use their systems to illustrate diffe...

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...

Tim and Joel examine the difference between passively experiencing and actively performing or participating in narrative, and the different degrees to which games make that participation meaningful. We begin by looking at branching narrative, with reference to The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, a game that takes narrative divergence in bold directions. We briefly examine the dynamics of what makes...

Tim and Joel begin by discussing Kentucky Route Zero, a "postmodern capitalist horror story", before looking deeper at the relationship between game mechanics and narrative. We examine cinematic storytelling, environmental storytelling, and environment as art. Finally we look at dialogue and dialectic in games.   Games mentioned: Middle Earth Shadow of War Kentucky Route Zero Disco Elysium Inside...

Tim and Joel begin with a discussion of ludonarrative dissonance -- when the act of playing a game is in conflict with the story or theme it is trying to portray. We look at specific examples of dissonance like the achievement system in Red Dead Redemption 2 and the crafting system in The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners . We also look at simple narrative imbalance in Death Stranding . And finally...

This is the first look at aspects of narrative for Season Two, building on our examination of narrative in episodes 4-7 of Season One. Joel and Tim begin with a brief discussion of the inherent tensions between seriousness and play, with reference to The Last of Us 2 and Death Stranding. We talk about playing pretend, and the ways in which a game experience is co-authored by the player - we are ac...

In this first episode, Joel and Tim discuss the games they played over the break, on Xbox, PC and the newly released Oculus Quest 2. They talk about the revelations of VR, and the initial strangeness of adjusting from regular gaming, and potential the directions for the medium in gaming and beyond. Tim breaks down the procedural generation technology in Microsoft Flight Simulator, and discusses wh...

In this short intro, Tim and Joel give a preview of what's coming over the course of Seria Ludo, Season 2.

In this episode, Tim and Joel conclude their list of most impactful games played in 2020. Again, these aren't all games made this year, but they are all games that impacted us deeply over the course of the last twelve months. Awards List, Part 2: Deus Ex: Human Revolution got "best immersive sim" from Joel. Objects in Space got "most intense space game" from Tim. Mark of the Ninja got "best stealt...

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"...

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 w...