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Twin Peaks Rewatch 12: Laura's Secret Diary by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 11: The Man Behind Glass by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 14: Demons by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 13: The Orchid's Curse by Idle Thumbs

Fraser is joined by Jon Bolding, Dia Lacina, and Philippa Warr to discuss Animal Crossing: New Horizons, from the ways it connects to the city builder genre to the oddities of the game's premise.

Rob is joined by Cameron Kunzelman and Ethan Gach to return to the world of Frostpunk before the frost as the panel considers the game's latest DLC, The Last Autumn. In some ways it's an expansion the reveals some of the worst traits of Frostpunk, but in some other ways it reinvents and reimagines the game as a trickier and more credible management game.

Working from home is the new normal for the trailer industry during the coronavirus pandemic. We, and how it's affected our own work, and the industry. We also discuss the brilliantly cut trailer for season 3 of Killing Eve. Trailers Discussed: Killing Eve Season 3, Kong: Skull Island. If you have questions or comments please send them to cutdown@idlethumbs.net. Join us in the Idle Forums to discu...

This week we are going all the way back to 1994 to discuss Master of Magic. MoM, though not quite as popular as its bovine counterpart, was a very forward-thinking game. It offered many levels of customization not yet seen in gaming and inspired classic modern series like Dominions and Age of Wonders. Listen in as Rowan Kaiser, Jon Bolding, and Troy "Do you like what I've done with my hobbit hole?...

What makes an A24 trailer an A24 trailer? From Hereditary to The Green Knight these trailers frequently get held up as an example of restraint and confidence, so we discuss why that might be… Trailers Discussed: The Green Knight, Skin, Hereditary, Midsommar, First Cow, Waves, The Kill Team, Green Room, Saint Maud, In Fabric, A Ghost Story, The Disaster Artist, Under the Silver Lake, Laggies, Under...

Not every novel must be Inifinite Jest, not every RTS game must be Starcraft 2. Sure, sometimes you need to hold your copy of Starcraft 2 with the cover facing out so people at the coffee shop KNOW you're playing Starcraft 2, but sometimes you just want to play a quick game of something and get out. This week, Rob and Cameron Kunzelman discuss three RTS games the can be played in less time than it...

Trailer editing hacks and tips are the topic if this week's episode. Anything and everything which saves us a bit of time here and there, and the little tricks unique to a trailer editor's job. Some include tips for sound editing, eye-trace, project management and loads of other geeky tips which editors will love! Derek and Ric also discuss the Instagram account taking the trailer industry by stor...

In this episode, Soren and Leyla Johnson interview Creative Director Michał Drozdowski and Art Director Przemysław Marszał of 11 Bit Studios, best known for their work on This War Of Mine and Frostpunk. They discuss why This War of Mine does not judge the player and why Frostpunk does. Games discussed: Anomaly, Anomaly: Korea, Anomaly 2, Funky Smugglers, Sleepwalker’s Journey, This War of Mine, Fr...

Rob, Brian "Chef Lu Bu" Smawley, Rowan, and T.J. discuss the Mandate of Heaven expansion for Total War: Three Kingdoms. Brian has been radicalized the populist vision of the Yellow Turbans and feels like only Zhang Jue has put in the work to lead China to a glorious new age. Rob and T.J., meanwhile, feel that incremental reform is the way to go. Rowan is out for themselves, but is also starting to...

Time is money! It's the biggest TV Spot event of the year, and Derek and Ric are breaking down all the big game spots including F9, Sonic, Top Gun Maverick and Minions. They also talk about what makes TV Spots a unique thing to create. Trailers Discussed: Sonic the Hedgehog, Independence Day: Resurgence, The Twilight Zone, Minions: The Rise of Gru, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, Top Gun:...

Self referential meta trailers are an art unto themselves in movie and game trailers. What makes these trailers so much fun? When are they the most effectively used? And how long did it take for the trailer industry to start referencing how formulaic they were being? Trailers Discussed: Comedian, 6 Underground Whisper Trailer, Jumanji the Next Level ASMR Trailer, Inception Acapella Re-dub, Hitchhi...

Rob, T.J., Rowan, and Fraser gather to consider the last ten years in strategy games. There is a stark division about what happened to the RTS, as well as how the concept of a game being "finished" mostly disappeared. Then Rob tries to wrap up the show and it goes for another hour as everyone tries to choose their favorite genre game from the last ten years.

Making a trailer for a sequel requires a different approach than something which is entirely new. We discuss what some of those approaches are for that difficult second launch. Along those lines, we dive into the trailer for A Quiet Place: Part II. Trailers Discussed: A Quiet Place: Part II, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Magic Mike XXL, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, No Time To Die, Grown Ups 2, Half L...

Rowan, T.J., Jon, and Rob look back at 2019 and the games that most delighted or dismayed them.

Season 1 of Every Game in This City is over...but that doesn't mean Kuala Lumpur is the last city where we'll try and play every game! In this short conclusion, Stephanie, Patrick, and Doug look back one last time before setting the stage for Season 2 where eight game makers, curators, and researchers are meeting up in Shanghai for a week to try and watch every game at the International Dota 2 Cha...

It's Christmas at the Plantagenets as Rob and Troy watch the superb Lion in Winter and the less superb Becket. What do these movies have to say about history and politics, and is any of it related to historical fact? How good is Hepburn? What is O'Toole doing across these two films?

Jon and Rob welcome back Paul Dean to discuss Julian Gollop's and Snapshot Games' Phoenix Point, which tries to blend some of the old-school systemic realism of the original X-COM games with the ease of play of newer tactics games. It's all going well until the gang realize the AI plays like a zombie... and this isn't a zombie game.

Our favorite trailers from 2019, personal works of the year and trailers of the decade! Trailers Discussed: Kerbal Space Program 2, Astroneer Release Trailer, Wilmot's Warehouse, The Last of Us: Remastered - From the Beginning, My Friend Pedro Full Throttle Trailer, Knives Out, Waves, Joker, IT: Chapter 2 Teaser, Bombshell, CATS, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Mulan Trailers 1 & 2, The Lig...

Sixteen months after leaving Malaysia, the team reunites to reminisce, reflect, and record one final episode of Every Game in This City! Beaming in from Australia, Sri Lanka, The United States, and Malaysia, we takes turns updating one another on new projects and new play experiences that occurred over the past year. Laura E. Hall leads the discussion as we remember our favorite moments, some less...

In this episode, Soren interviews game designer Alex Hutchinson, Creative Director at Typhoon Studios and best known for his work on Spore, Assassin’s Creed 3, and Far Cry 4. They discuss how they both would have screwed up SimCity, how working at Ubisoft is like Brewster’s Millions, and what happened with Spore. Games discussed: Pepper 2, Sensible Soccer, SimCity, The Urbz, The Sims 2, Spore, Arm...

Rob and Troy are joined by Kotaku's Luke Plunkett to discuss Unity of Command 2, the long-awaited sequel to on of Three Moves Ahead's favorite wargames. How does the new setting change the game, and what's with all these new buttons?