Koalatea Time: The K.O. Koala Entertainment Podcast

"The quality of an entertainment experience can be measured by the extent to which its unfolding sequence of events is able to hold a guest's interest." - Jesse Schell, Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses Structuring a gaming experience such that it moves the player through varying levels of emotional and mental intensity in a way that is satisfying to the player, is an art. In this episode we br...

What's this crazy Mario Party minigame Battle Royale game that's taking everyone by storm? Why do people like it so much? What are the BEST minigames? What are the WORST minigames? Is it really a Battle Royale? HAVE WE WON?? Join Anthony & Skylar as they discuss Fall Guys in this week's episode of Koalatea Time! Join us every Monday at 8:30 PM ET as we record Koalatea Time live on Twitch with...

Mobility mechanics are one of the primary elements of a game's foundation. They serve as one of (if not the) greatest tools at a player's disposal to exercise their autonomy on the game world. What do good implementations of mobility mechanics have in common? Do we find 2D or 3D movement to be more fun? What about that Halo Infinite grapple hook? Why is Rocket League's movement so freaking good? J...

Higher resolution! Better framerates! Faster loading times! MORE TERAFLOPS!?!?! Big technological advancements are touted at the advent of every new console generation, but in this week's episode of Koalatea Time Anthony and Skylar examine whether these upgrades are the best use of resources for games on new cutting edge hardware. Join us as we discuss the N64, the teraflop war, what's the best wa...

The first ever reveal of Halo Infinite at the Xbox Games Showcase has come and gone and while many in the Halo community are ecstatic with the new direction the franchise appears to be heading in, many outside of the Halo community were left underwhelmed (to downright disappointed) with the showing. Analysis of the gameplay footage after the event revealed many graphical shortcomings that have us...

Sony and Microsoft have now hosted their first respective major livestream conferences. We now have a much better idea of what the two major console platforms will be offering come this holiday. While some details, like console price and release date, have yet to be revealed, round 1 is now over. Which platform has done the better job so far of convincing gamers that they are the best console to b...

Josh makes his long awaited Koalatea Time debut as he joins Anthony and Skylar to discuss narrative design in RPG and JRPG titles! Join us as we discuss Persona 5, Fire Emblem, The Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, Final Fantasy VII, and more!

The rise in technological advancements have allowed video games to begin to deliver narrative experiences of arguably equal caliber to those found in more traditional media formats, including movies and books. Unlike these other mediums, video games have the unique challenge of communicating narrative intent while accommodating player autonomy. However, many argue that games feel much more immersi...

What two games do console gamers often buy the most? Why don't PC players switch back to Console? Why does Nintendo routinely produce the most compelling reason to own a console? Join Anthony & Skylar as they discuss these and other related topics, as well as fantastic community feedback, on this episode of Koalatea Time!

It's time to tackle the eternal debate: PC vs. Console! In part 1 of this loaded topic Anthony and Skylar discuss who wins on price, game selection, and convenience! Join us as we discuss Nintendo's amazing software and hardware integration history, Steam sales, Xbox Game Pass, the PS5 and more!

Triangularity, a term coined by the amazing Jesse Schell in his book, "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses", is defined as a game design technique in which a game intentionally provides a high risk, high reward option against a low risk, low reward option to spice up the gameplay experience. In this week's episode, Skylar and Anthony discuss some of their favorite examples of Triangularity in...

Should controller players play in the same lobbies as keyboard and mouse players in FPS games? What are the impacts of aim assist and bullet magnetism, and how do they work? How much do first person cameras play into the immersion of FPS games? Join Anthony and Skylar as they discuss these and other FPS related topics, as well as breakdown some of the community's responses to FPS content on our In...

Why are FPS games beloved by so many? What makes class based shooters so compelling? What are the design elements that make shooters so fun to play? Join us in this week's episode as we discuss the community's feedback regarding our previous discussion about Art Styles, as well as the design of FPS games and why we love them! We talk Halo, Valorant, DOOM, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six Siege, and more!...

Why do so many recent games use stylized cartoon-like art styles? Do realistic graphics increase immersion? How do indie games determine the art styles they're going to use? Anthony & Skylar discuss these and other topics related to art styles in this week's episode of Koalatea Time! Join us as we discuss Valorant, Fortnite, Sea of Thieves, Mortal Kombat, Halo, Ori, Cuphead, and more!

Anthony and Skylar discuss the community's favorite in-game customization options and thoughts regarding in-game expression in this hilarious episode of Koalatea Time! Join us as we discuss Call of Duty, For Honor, Mortal Kombat, Halo, Rocket League, Dota 2, Fortnite, and more!

Players love expressing themselves through in-game cosmetics and titles. Some players seek the status that comes with obtaining rare items; others purely enjoy the aesthetic treat! This week we discuss expression in games, why players love to the aesthetic upgrades that they do, and how games can manage modern day monetization opportunities without irritating their fan bases. Join Skylar and Antho...

Many claim that Skill Based Match Making (SBMM) ruins unranked game modes, but data shows that it undeniably helps increase player retention and engagement. Is SBMM in unranked game modes a good thing? Who should devs cater to when developing their match making algorithms? In Episode 20 - SBMM (Pt. 1) we asked the community for their feedback surrounding SBMM in unranked game modes, and in this ep...

Valorant, the new shooter from Riot Games, has been taking the gaming community by storm since the release of it’s beta. This week, Skylar provides insightful commentary into his experience playing the beta so far! Join us as Skylar and Anthony discuss Valorant’s unique design elements, satisfying gunplay, novel marketing techniques, etc. Wonder if you’re the kind of player who’d like Valorant? Wo...

Skill Based Match Making (SBMM) the bane of high level players seeking to romp lower level adversaires everywhere! Many claim that it ruins unranked game modes, but data shows that it undeniably helps increase player retention and engagement. Is SBMM in unranked game modes a good thing? Who should devs cater to when developing their match making algorithms? Anthony & Skylar discuss these and o...

OMG CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT _____ DID OUR PODCAST INTRO!!!!!!!! Reeling from the unbelievable hype, Anthony & Skylar discuss what the K.O. Koala community thinks about rewards by leveraging Jesse Schell's insight into the various reward types a game can offer! Join us as we talk about losing lives, beating games multiple times, grinding for rare armor, completing weekly challenges, and more! Our...

In his book "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses", Jesse Schell discusses extrnisc rewards and how they can be designed tastefully to enhance the player experience. Insipired by his insight, Anthony & Skylar discuss some of their favorite implementations of rewards in games! Join us as we discuss Minecraft, Jubeat, Street Fighter 4, Halo 3, and more!

Single player experiences vary widely in their expected length of play time. Inspired by Jesse Schell's insight surrounding play time in his book, "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses", Skylar and Anthony investigate how the length of single player experiences influences the games they play, the experiences they have playing them, and the commonality in structure between many of their most me...

Burning 800 calories on the dance pads of DDR, cutting a rug in front of a Kinect in Just Dance, jamming out in Guitar Hero, bowling your heart away in Wii Sports, catching a fish with Nintendo Labo. Innovative physical interfaces have allowed us to experience some of the most enjoyable and memorable experiences we've had playing games! In this episode Skylar & Anthony discuss physical interfa...

Social stigmas, cost of entry, escapism, intellectual challenge, competition, cooperation - there are a seemingly infinite amount of reasons that people play games! In this episode Anthony & Skylar discuss why they and others play games! Join them as they discuss Sonic 2, Backyard Sports, Warcraft, Pokémon, Halo, and more!

Not too hard, not too easy. Tense and release, tense and release. The careful focusing of attention. All these elements help achieve arguably the most satisfying of all mental states called 'Flow'. Inspired by Jesse Schell's insight in his book, "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses", Anthony & Skylar discuss Jesse's insights and how Flow is achieved in some of their favorite games. Join u...