Real Time Strategy

World of Darkness – a connected story universe including Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and more – is coming off its most successful year ever in 2023. Jason Carl, brand marketing manager for World of Darkness and storyteller for the “By Night” actual play series, joins Sam and Kaitlyn to dive deep into the universe, what makes it different from other transmedia brands, and why...

It’s finally time for Kaitlyn and Sam to flex their love for movies. This week, they discuss the 2024 Academy Awards and how Hollywood’s biggest night compares to gaming’s awards slate. They break down where The Game Awards, DICE Awards, and BAFTA Games Awards stand in the gaming industry, how a video game adaptation could be recognized at the Oscars, and what upcoming adaptation stands the best s...

PlayStation and EA laid off hundreds of people last week, adding to the thousands of people affected by layoffs in the games industry in 2024. Sam and Kaitlyn discuss why layoffs are sweeping the industry, what they mean for the state of AAA game development, and how PlayStation and EA’s cuts signal major changes for their content strategies.   Timecodes: 00:00:00 – Intro 00:02:27 – The Games Indu...

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior reinvents the hack ‘n’ slash genre by empowering players to rewind time and fight with an army of their past selves. Thibault Legouet, game director and lead game designer at Sand Door Studio, joins Sam to discuss Lysfanga’s innovative combat, its origins as a student project, and the challenges of making a game where you can play co-op with yourself.   Timecodes:...

Xbox is staying in the hardware and exclusives business, PlayStation has no “major existing franchise titles” this year, and Nintendo’s next console is reportedly delayed to 2025. Sam and Kaitlyn break down the state of the first parties and what their strategies mean for major gaming franchises, as well as share their favorite (and least favorite) media from the Presidents' Day weekend.   Timecod...

A record-breaking Super Bowl, Disney’s $1.5 billion Fortnite deal, and rampant speculation about Xbox’s multiplatform future dominated this week in pop culture, so Kaitlyn and Sam break it all down on this week’s episode.   Timecodes: 00:00:00 – Intro (Super Bowl Chat) 00:04:07 – Favorite Super Bowl Commercials 00:10:10 – Deadpool & Wolverine Trailer 00:19:51 – Disney and Epic Games Partner fo...

Spawn On Me founder Kahlief Adams joins Sam to discuss The Spawnies, his annual awards show celebrating game developers. This year marks the third annual Spawnies, airing February 29, and Kahlief breaks down the making of the show and its mission to recognize underrepresented artists.   Timecodes: 00:00:00 – Intro (Kahlief’s Dream Co-Host for The Spawnies) 00:03:54 – What Are The Spawnies? 00:14:4...

IGN executive editor Tom Marks joins Sam and Kaitlyn to discuss his new position leading game reviews at IGN and how the outlet approaches reviews of remasters like The Last of Us Part II Remastered, Early Access games like Palworld, and titles with staggered launches like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.   Timecodes: 00:00:00 – Intro (Tom’s Most Anticipated Indie Games of 2024) 00:07:49 –...

Kinda Funny Xcast host Mike “SnowBikeMike” Howard joins Sam and Kaitlyn to preview Xbox’s year ahead. The trio reviews Xbox’s Developer Direct presentation, discusses the platform’s big 2024 releases (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, Avowed), and predicts what we’ll see from Xbox’s summer showcase.   Note: This episode was recorded and published before Microsoft anno...

Artificial intelligence was the hot tech topic of 2023, and 2024 will be no different. Kaitlyn Red Wing and Sam Mosher dig into the industry’s evolving relationship with AI, how legislation and workers’ groups will affect AI usage, and how AI does (or does not) relate to the Switch 2’s launch. Then the duo closes out with their impressions of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and HBO’s The Last of...

Two months ago, Nick Calandra and The Escapist’s former video team launched Second Wind after Nick was fired. Today, Second Wind has over 400,000 YouTube subscribers and over 14,000 Patreon supporters. Nick joins Sam Mosher and Kaitlyn Red Wing to discuss Second Wind’s success, the business of independent content creation, the failings of corporate ownership, and more.   Timecodes: 00:00:00 – Intr...

A new year means new games, so Kaitlyn Red Wing, Mel Gazazian, and Sam Mosher share their most anticipated releases and predictions for 2024. Topics include Hades II, Nintendo’s next console, and the big game adaptations coming to TV and film this year. Then the trio closes out the episode with their favorite media from the holiday break.   Timecodes: 00:00:00 – Intro 00:01:13 – Gifts we gave and...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — Game of the Year season — so PC Gamer global editor-in-chief Evan Lahti joins us to break down how PC Gamer picks the best games of every year. He also pulls back the curtain on other PC Gamer projects, including game adaptation coverage, the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted showcase, and the Top 100 PC games list.   Timecodes: 00:00:00 – Intro (Evan’s Holiday...

The Game Awards 2023 was jam-packed with trailers (Light No Fire!), surprises (Blade!), and celebrities (Jordan Peele!), but did it give enough time to the awards themselves? Kaitlyn Red Wing, Mel Gazazian, and Sam Mosher review this year’s show, discuss how it can better celebrate developers, and share their favorite announcements.   Timecodes: 00:00:00 – Intro 00:04:57 – The Game Awards 2023 Rev...

The Grand Theft Auto VI trailer is finally here, so Kaitlyn Red Wing and Sam Mosher break it down, discuss its leak, and predict how Rockstar will show the game next. As if that trailer wasn’t enough, Fortnite and Amazon Prime’s Fallout series released huge trailers this week, so the duo also digs into Fortnite’s new experiences (Lego Fortnite, Rocket Racing, Fortnite Festival) and whether Amazon’...

The Game Awards are a week away, and Baldur’s Gate 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are ready to duke it out! Hosts Kaitlyn Red Wing and Sam Mosher dig into this year’s TGA nominations and predict the big winners, cameos, and surprises of the night. Then the duo discusses the recently announced The Last of Us Part II Remastered and their favorite media from the Thanksgiving break.  ...

It’s a huge gaming news month, and hosts Kaitlyn Red Wing and Sam Mosher are joined by Mel Gazazian to break it all down. The trio discusses Blizzard’s first BlizzCon since 2019, the first trailer for the “next Grand Theft Auto” (a.k.a. Grand Theft Auto 6) coming in December, and Nintendo’s announcement of a live-action Legend of Zelda movie.   Timecodes: 00:00:00 – Intro 00:02:48 – What Are We Th...

Puzzmo is a digital reinvention of the daily newspaper puzzle page, complete with a more accessible crossword, hit word games like Spelltower and Typeshift, and more to come. Co-founder and game designer Zach Gage joins Sam this week to discuss Puzzmo, its puzzle-locked limited launch, and how it rethinks newspaper games while preserving what makes them fun.   Timecodes: 00:00:00 – Intro 00:00:46...

NYU Game Center director Frank Lantz set out to explain why games are beautiful in his book, “The Beauty of Games,” and it became one of Sam’s favorite reads of the year. Frank and Sam discuss the book, how to reframe the “are games art?” conversation, why games are most similar to music, and more.   Timecodes: 00:00:00 – Intro 00:00:44 – Frank’s Favorite Games 00:07:23 – The Origins of “The Beaut...

TwitchCon moved to Vegas for its 2023 event, and host Kaitlyn Red Wing and TriplePointer Mel Gazazian have the first-hand report. They join Sam to discuss the streamer convention, the state of Twitch, and how it’s competing with rival services. Then they enter the Spider-Verse to discuss Spider-Man 2, Kaitlyn’s first hours with the game, and whether its length is worth $70.   Timecodes:  00:00:00...

Microsoft has officially closed its Activision Blizzard acquisition, so what does that mean for Xbox? Kaitlyn and Sam discuss the largest gaming acquisition ever and what to expect from it on this week’s episode, as well as rumors of Disney making a major gaming acquisition and John Riccitiello stepping down as Unity’s CEO.   Timecodes:  00:00:00 – Intro (Our Halloween Costume Plans) 00:14:19 – Mi...

It’s spooky season, so let’s get into the ghoulish spirit and talk horror games! TriplePointers Alyx Evans and Paul Lombardo join Sam this week to discuss their introduction to the horror genre, their favorite scary games, memorable horror marketing, and more.   Timecodes:  00:00:00 – Intro 00:02:15 – Adapting scary movies into games 00:09:36 – Horror gaming memories 00:23:03 – Outlast and Amnesia...

We go under the sea this week with lead game designer Thomas Bardet to talk about Under The Waves, the new narrative-driven adventure game from Paris-based Parallel Studio. Thomas explains the challenges of making a game set underwater, the team’s visual and narrative inspirations, striking a balance between cozy gameplay and emotional storytelling, and more.   Timecodes:  00:00:00 – Intro 00:01:4...

MMORPG managing editor Joseph Bradford joins us to discuss the week’s biggest headlines, including Starfield reviews, the Unity Runtime Fee controversy, and our favorite games from the latest Nintendo Direct and PlayStation State of Play. Look forward to new weekly episodes of Real Time Strategy every Wednesday.   Timecodes:  00:00:00 – Intro 00:07:41 – PAX West 2023 thoughts 00:14:17 – Nintendo S...

Five years after its announcement, Starfield is finally here. TriplePoint’s Sam Mosher, Nick Shepherd, and Blane Humphries break down its campaign from announcement to launch and discuss what other games can learn from Starfield’s deep-dive showcase, messaging, and review strategy.   Timecodes:  00:00:00 – Intro 00:01:50 – Baldur’s Gate 3 and other favorite 2023 games 00:07:52 – Starfield’s launch...