The Backrooms Podcast

Is it easier or harder to make friends in gaming now or in the past? As time marches forward, the way we interact, especially in gaming, has shifted away from Couch Co-op to strong online social chats & communities. In this time, there has been a shift in how we interact within & between communities, and even within the games and chats themselves. Come listen to three anti-social outcasts give the...

While we are definitely not qualified to talk about the mechanisms that surround AI in gaming, we have a discussion anyways. The boys discuss the way developers build and design AI & their systems to interact with the game world and the player. Join us and have some fun with this rather chaotic and disorganized discussion on Artificial Intelligence in video games.

Welcome to sub-level 2 of the Backrooms Podcast!  After a brief hiatus, the boys are finally back for a much-needed group therapy session after experiencing the trials and tribulations of Elden Ring.  Laughs, tears, and an abundance of methane gas are shared in this room.  Join in on our suffering as we recount our struggles as well as successes throughout the Lands Between.  And most importantly,...

Games are getting bigger and more expensive. More and more titles are embracing the open world structure of game design and in this room, the boys take a shallow dive into some of the ways that these open worlds can benefit, and even harm, a game's atmosphere and experience. Between Spiderman, GTA, Elden Ring, & even now, Halo: Infinite, every game is becoming more and more similar, but at the sam...

Does anyone else feel that AAA studios are releasing games in an incomplete or unfinished state? Well...

As is tradition with any game release by FROM Software, the overarching gaming community and media outlets gather round the bonfire to have a debate about difficultly and accessibility in gaming. While the boys are not experienced enough with accessibility tools in games, they sure have had their share of difficult encounters in some of their favorite games. In this room, we take a dive into what...

We tend to remember the more positive moments in our past, rather than the mundane and "normal" moments. In gaming and other media, this leads people to form bonds not necessarily with the game or media itself, but with those moments in time that were attached to that media. What does that mean for modern games, or games of the future? Is the quality of media worse in the present than in the past,...

In any form of media, be it a game, movie, or show, to capture an audience, there needs to be compelling characters. When watching or experiencing a connection with a protagonist, antagonist, or even a minor character, have you ever thought why you feel a connection with them? Why are they so compelling or convincing to you? What makes a character well designed and compelling? In this room, the bo...

In 2009, the sandbox game, Minecraft, took the world by storm. Having sold almost a quarter billion copies across the globe, Minecraft has not only had a monumental impact on the gaming and entertainment industry, but it has also impacted other areas of our society, including education, design, creativity, & even the freedom of the internet. Over the past decade, how has minecraft changed? Why is...

In this room, the gentlemen discuss change in gaming, both on a micro and macro scale. Some game developers make incremental changes between installments of their games, while others make more drastic choices that can affect core mechanics and gameplay. And sometimes, there are games or releases that have monumental impacts on the industry as a whole. What features or mechanics are good? Which are...

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! In this room, the guys discuss realism in gaming. From first person shooters, to racing games, to sport games, a game developer can either make their game more realistic, or more Arcade-like. On this spectrum, at what point does the game become a "Sim" game? At what point does the simulation break? And are people even playing Simulation Games anymore?

The Halo Franchise turned 20 this last November! This anniversary brought with it the surprising early release of the Halo Infinite multiplayer experience. While Jack, Justin, & Bryan are thrilled with the game's early release, and more importantly the astounding quality and refinement of the core gameplay, a much larger controversy has sprung forward; The Battlepass. The guys, and the larger Halo...

Video Games have the unique ability to provide an experience that other forms of media cannot. In Room 3, the boys discuss the different and unique avenues that game developers take to share their story and help a player not only follow that story, but truly experience it. Every game and every developer has a story to tell, and how that story is portrayed can either build on, or detract from the e...

With the recent remaster of Diablo II, twenty-one years after its original release, Jack, Justin, and Bryan delve into the discussion surrounding the modernization and revivifying of games from the past. Many developers are remaking and remastering games to be played on newer hardware with updated visuals, audio, and a fresh experience. But do some games even need a remaster? Why are some games re...

Welcome to Room 1, our horrible introduction in which we discuss the upcoming 343i release, Halo Infinite, alongside the release of The Master Chief Collection's 8th and final seasonal update, and we discuss the modern monetization of video games with battle-pass systems and seasonal Content. Has the battle-pass extended the life of games? Or has this system allowed for a more lazy and stripped-do...