The Backrooms Podcast

War is Hell.....but so is AAA gaming. The recent release of Battlefield 6 has violently yanked the boys out of "retirement" to dust off the mics and figure out why this series just feels so damn good. From battles fought here across the globe, to wars waged halfway across the civilized galaxy. Join Jack, Justin and Bryan as they once again speak on behalf of an entire gaming community. W...

Side quests and collectibles are things that often get overlooked when analyzing games. The boys aim to change that by shining a spotlight on some of the things games do right and wrong when it comes to optional content in gaming. *(This episode is optional viewership and is not required to remain up-to-date on the current goings-on of the Backrooms Cinematic Universe)*

After 6 months of absence, the boys are *finally back* (heard that before) and ready for another round of group therapy. Life has gotten more complicated for all of us since our last episode, so we figured now would be the best time to check in with each other as good friends should. As it happens, we found out that mental health can actually DECLINE if we don't continue taking proper care of...

Tutorials can be awesome, but they can also be suck-tacular. They can be brief, or overly drawn-out. They can sometimes hold your hand, and they can sometimes be Dark Souls. The one thing that most games have in common is that they each have one, even if you might not realize that it's there. In today's episode, the boys use what *some* might call "QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS" to determine how different...

The boys are back for Sub-Level 4 of the Backrooms Podcast!! In a industry hyper-saturated with dime-a-dozen button mashers and mindless time killers, there are a growing number of games that tower above the masses as narrative "blockbusters" nearly fit for showtimes at your local AMC! But do games need to have Oscar-worthy levels of storytelling to be enjoyable, or is it fine to just switch our b...

Last year, the boys dived into their personal mental health journeys. We received a ton of positive support on that episode, and if we had helped even just one person listening, we consider it worth doing again. In today's episode, the boys talk about how our interaction with media can shape the way we perceive the world and our place within it. Not only this, but also the phenomenon of which view...

In 2015, 343 decided it was in the players' best interest to remove local co-op capabilities from Halo 5: Guardians. This was the beginning of the end of gaming with your friends together in the same room. Nowadays, AAA games tend not to support local multiplayer, so the boys decided to take a trip down memory lane in the oh-so distant past of before 2007.

We are retconning our first episode; it is no longer cannon. But unfortunately, we have to deal with poorly executed plotlines; some so bad, that even one of the greatest experiences can be ruined by its own writers.

Even though the sentient ADHD hivemind comes & takes over the conversation as usual, we like to believe we were able to take the time to discuss & reflect on the experiences of single player gaming & all that comes with it. Are story-driven titles taking a backseat to multiplayer experiences? Is single player gaming dead? Am I a lonely individual? Maybe, but come join & find out!

For a while now, everything has become a service model, and thus the "as a service" mantra is everywhere. From "Software as a service" to now "Games as a service." Come join us in a completely all-over-the-place stream of thought on how this, audience retention, & adaptation to change all have culminated into what the Entertainment industry is today. Like seriously, how'd we go from map packs to B...

Indie Games have been rising in popularity over the past few years, & this is a great trend to see. Nowadays, the boys feel as if the creativity we see in the industry is only offered by the independent developers. Concepts, mechanics, design, & stories that offer a more unique experience are more likely to be found in this space.

What do you do to pass the time? Do you have any specific interests or hobbies? If you do, great! That's exactly what we are here to talk about. Hobbies can fall anywhere between just having a simple interest or taking up a large chunk of dedication and enjoyment, to being a lifestyle or a complete definition of your Self. Which one are you? Come join us on a deep dive of the importance of hav...

Did you know there is a proper way to have fun? Yep, the boys figured it out. Come join us in our completely objective analysis of how people enjoy engaging in video games, and how some people incorrectly find joy in gaming.

Two games this year stand out as fantastic additions to an already existing IP, Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom & Diablo 4. With Tears of the Kingdom being a sequel to Breath of the Wild, & Diablo being a sequel to, er, the other Diablos, both games polish & improve on the full package of their ancestors, and the boys could not be happier. Justin's eager for Bryan to give TotK the time of da...

Some of us got "plays well with others" on our report cards as kids. And some of us definitely did not. Co-op has been a staple & centerpiece for gaming since the introduction of the Home Console systems & as the era of Arcade gaming saw its retirement. But, as technology & gaming both mature, it seems as if even co-op gaming is getting ready to head to a nursing home, as developers, and maybe eve...

With Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom having a fantastic reception & release recently, another discussion around the visual fidelity & art in gaming seems to have bubbuled (hehe) up to the top of the (very civil) discussion boards again. TotK does not have the best fidelity in the world, but that's okay! The boys pretend like their opinion matters once again and get deep into the depths of this conflic...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and with it comes the important dialogue that is never had. The boys have both direct & indirect experiences with mental health conflicts, and it is fitting to start here, in the first room of Sub-level 3, as we descend further into The Backrooms. We ask our listeners to make a promise. If you know someone who may struggle with mental health, please check...

Creativity & Imagination are what make humans, human. So, let's take some time and dive into the world of creative tools within games that the communities of these games went crazy with. The sandbox that exists within each of these games offers players the ability to express the artistic ability that exists within each of us. Forge mode in Halo, Garry's Mod from Valve, Minecraft, the Trials series...

Bugs are some of the best parts of the gaming experience. It could also completely break an experience. When a game is buggy or broken, it can ruin our enjoyment & break our immersion. However, some of the best moments in gaming history would not be here without the use of bugs & exploits. Hell, even some old games are still played, and in the spotlight, due to their unintended exploits.

In this Episode, we discuss the principles of Laminar Flow in Fluid Dynamics. We get into disciplines such as hydrodynamic stability & the diff... wait... no...  In this episode the boys discuss what it means when a video game has a good "flow state," or when all the aspects of a great game line up to keep you engaged without taking away from the core gameplay. What does this mean? Well, we aren't...

In this very very late edition of The Backrooms, we get a little spooky. All forms of media use our fears & anxieties, in one way or another, to give us a sense of realism or Engagement in a story or setting. The boys decided it was time to take a dive into the depths of the dreadful & dreary world of horror, and the use of horror, in telling a story and setting a scene.

Everything must come to an end someday, thanks to our friend, Entropy. However, when should a story end? The boys discuss different ways writers & developers have either hung onto their favorite stories for too long, or cut off a series or character too early. Maybe there are some movies, shows, & games that should have a sequel or spin off, but maybe there are some that we're better left...

Everything becomes "retro" at some point. Regardless, the boys are taking a step back in time once again to talk about their golden age of gaming, the early 2000s. Now, is this really retro? Probably not to most people, but that doesn't matter because we're talking about it anyways. Let's take a moment to enjoy this trip down memory lane to discuss games and consoles of our childhood and their inf...

Some games are all about the power dynamics. How powerful or powerless you are and can be, compared to your adversaries, can make or break the enjoyment of a game. The boys talk about the balance of power between players and the AI, and how different games & game genres rely on different power scales to bring forward an enjoyable and immersive experience.

Does Customization matter in Gaming? Player Expression & Payer customization has become a staple in video game culture, so much so that the lack of freedom in this area can cause disarray in a game's community, even in a great title. With this being said, let's take a moment to discuss player expression & customization and how it affects a game's community, atmosphere, and tone.