The Experience Points Podcast

The summer doesn't truly start until pounding music, flashing lights, and the collective funk of thousands of sweaty video game enthusiasts assault your senses. That is, unless you're like me, who watched E3 2014 from the safety and comfort of the cyberspace. Jorge went down to Los Angeles while I held down the fort back home. Now that the booths have been dismantled and the food court cuisine are...

Twenty-five years ago, Nintendo gifted upon us mere mortals the Game Boy, defining handheld gaming for years to come. Today on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I go into our histories with the portable device, what we've been playing now, and what has us most excited for the future.   Show notes: - Runtime: 37 mins 19 secs - Music by Brad Sucks

Many of us have been playing games for decades now, which means we’ve seen a lot. Huge advances in computing technology, the evolution of controller schemes, the rise and fall of Gex the Gecko: there’s been a lot at which to marvel.  Bryan Rumsey from Gamer Jockies  wonders whether we’ve reached the point where the capability of games to inspire a sense of wonder has diminished. Have all the years...

We just played  Transistor  for you  yesterday , but we saved our many thoughts for this moment. Here it is, our debrief on one our most anticipated games of 2014. As always, lets have a discussion about the game in the comments below! I'm sure some of you all have better understanding of the story or the best way to clear a room of bad cells than either of us.   Show notes:   - Runtime: 47 mins 3...

Why would you live a life of boring safety when you could start a new society in the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse?  Actually, Episode 3 of this season's Walking Dead series offers plenty of arguments in favor of a nice, quiet existence.  This week we go through all of the episode's stomach turning decisions and find ourselves horrified and excited about where the series is going.   - Subscri...

Nintendo recently announced a re-release of Pokémon Sapphire and Ruby for the 3DS. The future for the series is bright, but have we already forgotten the past? This week on the podcast, Scott and I take on the ultimate challenge. How many Gen 1 Pokémon we name?   Show Notes: - Runtime: 46 mins 52 secs - Music by: Brad Sucks

Quick Rorschach test: what do you see when you look at the Luftrausers logo?  Well, aside from the two of you that said "puppies" (weirdos), it seems that everyone is seeing Nazi-related imagery.  The trick is that the game isn't about Nazis or any specific war in general.  This raises a question: do games that make allusions to historical realities have an obligation to explicitly address the eve...

Games for Change, the organization dedicated to games that seek to impact society in some positive way beyond the production of entertainment, just hosted its 11th annual festival in New York this year. I was lucky enough to attend in person and check out a host of speakers discuss this surprisingly large subset of the industry. This week on the podcast, Scott and I discuss some of the festival hi...

Blame it on the war economy, blame it on the nanomachines, or blame it on our secret admiration of mullets; the bottom line is that Jorge and I found ourselves sneaking through  Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes .  It's a fascinating game in both positive and negative ways and we take the opportunity to think about  Ground Zeroes  and what it says about the series as a whole.  Topics discussed inclu...

Werner Herzog has been pretty busy lately, so Valve has to take it upon themselves to produce a feature documentary about DOTA 2. This week on the podcast, Scott and I dissect  Free to Play , a personal look into the 2011 Internationals. You can actually check out the documentary on YouTube, in full, and when you do, let us know your thoughts in the comments!   Show notes:   - Runtime: 52 min 11 s...

As if trying to mimic the vast reach of the river with which it shares its name, Amazon is pushing into the media player market.  Unsurprisingly, The Amazon Fire TV will tie into video streaming services, but it looks as if games will also be a significant feature.  It has a game pad and Minecraft, so things seem pretty serious.  But what does the gaming library and the way it is marketed really s...

Our submersible is ready and our scuba gear is donned. We are ready once again to visit the terrible sunken city of Rapture. This week in the EXP Podcast, Scott and I delve into  Burial at Sea , the final story-driven DLC for  Bioshock Infinite . Does it wrap up the series with a beautifully designed bow? Or does it stir up more deep-sea sediment than it's worth?   Show notes:   - Runtime: 41 min...

Jack in to net, cyber-citizens: it’s time to talk about virtual reality. More specifically, it’s time to chat about the looming release of several VR headsets. This podcast was recorded a couple days before Facebook-Oculus Rift bombshell was announced, so view it as a quaint time capsule commemorating our pre-Zuckerberg matrix existences. As always, we’re looking forward to hearing about your VR h...

The words all pilots want to hear. This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I drop into Respawn's  Titanfall , and what a drop it is! How well does the mech-shooter live up to expectations? Does the multiplayer campaign revolutionize FPS storytelling? Do pilots pee in the suit? Find out by listening to our chat below! And of course, hope into the comments to let us know your thoughts on one of this...

Spring may be on the horizon for us, but things continue to get colder and darker in for Clementine and the rest of The Walking Dead crew. The weather is getting worse, too. As usual, we spend some time discussing the overall story arc and gameplay systems before launching into plot details. Jorge and I had a few notable differences in our playthroughs, so we’re eager to hear about the consequence...

Between Double Fine's first steps into the crowd sourced funding landscape and  Broken Age 's release this past month, Kickstarter came of age. Our expectations have soared to great heights, plummeted back down like a rock, and risen again, depending on the project. This brave new world has seen numerous indie darlings released, does  Broken Age  still stand out two years after it first captured o...

There are some weeks when I swear I spend as much time watching games as I do playing them. Let’s Plays, Twitch streams, and tournament broadcasts are thriving. The usual assumption behind all these types of broadcasts is that there are people on the other end controlling them. What happens when there isn’t? Strangely enough, it’s easy to find game broadcasts in which humans are relegated to the s...

How do you find games? Or do they find you? Who are your trusted sources for video game news and what sort of effort do you put into finding strange or weird games? This week on the podcast, Scott and I wonder how we heard about  The Walking Dead  and whether or not Steam tags are absolutely useless. As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below and hey, maybe even give us a game reco...

Last week, an unassuming little game called  Flappy Bird  managed to ruffle some feathers. Sorry, I just had to do that. The entire saga is actually a fairly sad tale about the video games press, attitudes towards intellectual property, and the state of mobile gaming in general.  Flappy Bird  may be gone from the app store, but legal, financial, and ethical questions it embodied remain. Feel free...

I have not finished  Dark Souls . Can I still sit at the big kids table? This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I join in on the AV Club's discussion about  Dark Souls  and status symbol games. How did this brutally difficult game become not only popular, but a video game rite of passage? And how will it be remembered in ten years? Let us know in the comments below! Show notes: - Runtime: 33 min...

Getting early access to a game used to be a pretty tall order. You might weasel your way into a limited beta, find a preview disk in a magazine, or poke around the shadier parts of the Internet. Today, it’s much easier: you can just buy your way in. Whether it’s through Steam or directly from the developer, increasing numbers of games are offering prospective players the chance to play the game be...

Out of seemingly nowhere, a little unambitious game was included on both Scott and I's  favorite games of 2013 . That game was  Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons , a simple coming-of-age story that manages to achieve, seemingly with ease, what so many Triple-A games try to accomplish. This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I finally give the game the attention it deserves. Join us in the comments belo...

Much like the eponymous monsters for which it is named, The Walking Dead is back! This week, we have a thorough conversation on episode one of Telltale's second season of the Walking dead. For those of you who haven't played it, what are you waiting for? But seriously, you can listen to the first half of the show without fear of spoilers, as we use it as an opportunity to talk about adventure game...

The year has barely begun, but already the horizon is chock full of interesting titles, from competitive indie sword fights to face-crunching future-battles. This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I delve into our most anticipated games of 2014. There is a lot to be excited for if you are the optimistic type, so jump into the comments below and let us know what releases you eagerly await! - Subsc...

Scott made Santa's shortlist this year and the jolly old man dropped off a beautiful Zelda-inspire WiiU on his doorstep. This week on the podcast, Scott and I explore some of the subtle and not-so-subtle elements of the WiiU interface. We also take our podcast ship on a tour through the "Miiverse" and try to understand the future of social platforms. Oh, and of course Mario makes an appearance. Ha...