The Experience Points Podcast

You've put in hours into a game, the final boss is just on the horizon. While the end might be nigh, it probably isn't unpredictable. Game endings tend to be repetitive success stories, lacking the ambiguous or downer endings readily available in other mediums. Menveer Heir, of Raven Software and Design Rampage , inspires us again on this weeks podcast with his post lamenting the lack of depressin...

Saddle up pardners: Today, you're riding out west with the EXP Gang.  OK, I'll stop.  This week, we discuss the recently released Western-FPS Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood.  We cover everything from co-op, to cover mechanics, to Confederates.  Although the game had some shortcomings, it ended up provoking a fruitful discussion.  Feel free to mosey on over to the comments section to share your tho...

How we depict figures from our cultural history and actual history is our entertainment media is fascinating. We tend to overly praise and ridicule these individuals, particularly celebrities. Deciding which depiction of a cultural figure is too offensive or disrespectful is no easy task. The appearance is Kurt Cobain as a playable character in Guitar Hero 5 runs this border. Giving more options t...

There is nothing like a little friendly competition to get a heated discussion going. In fact, according to Leigh Alexander's recent interview with Capcom senior director of communications Chris Kramer, rival development teams may lament their bygone days of battle. Join us this week while Scott and I discuss the Mortal Kombat/Street Fighter debate, the pros and cons of exaggerated competition, an...

The final day of PAX 2009 has come to an end. Though saddened by the thought of an empty convention, eerily devoid of digital revelry, we are filled to the brim with satisfaction. The last day of PAX was as busy as ever. Panels included such interesting topics as the future of videogames, gamer culture, and depictions of sex and serious topics. The excellent panelists gave us loads to talk about o...

It's Day 2 of PAX and Experience Points is going strong! Today we sat in on on a variety of panels that covered everything from sex, to gender, to story telling methods in games. We also were lucky enough to witness the spectacle that is the Omegathon, a PAX-wide video game tournament featuring attendees. In this episode, we recap our thoughts on the panels and re-live the glory of the Omeganauts....

Experience Points is in Seattle for PAX 2009! The days are unbelievably packed with all things gaming related. Much of our first day was spent in the various panels, so this podcast serves as a sort of debriefing session. Feel free to to leave your thoughts or questions in the comments, and if you are in Seattle, let us know so that we can stop by and say "Hi!" To listen to the podcast: - Subscrib...

The mainstream acceptance of video games is a relatively recent phenomenon, as is the scientific study of how games effect players.  When studies are conducted, it is important to examine them closely, as they can influence political decisions, social perceptions, and future research trends.  This week, we explore a study looking at gamers' physical and mental health.  We discuss some of the study...

Remember the days when the only way to connect with your fellow gamers was to be in the same room?  Whether it was showing off your custom Excitebike track or networking a group of PCs in your parents' living room, connecting with other players was decidedly local experience.  Today, on-line multiplayer allows us to play simultaneously with dozens of people in as many countries...as long as the co...

When it comes to videogame art design, is reality over-rated? In an industry constantly creating and mastering new technologies, game creators have always wanted to show off. For many developers, showing off means aiming for the bountiful land beyond the uncanny valley. For Sean "Elysium" Sands of Gamers With Jobs, the "Gritty Realism" aesthetic has lost its appeal. This week, inspired by Sean's a...

Let's be honest: During our early console gaming days, how many of us would fling our controller upward in a desperate attempt to make Mario jump just a little bit higher?  We learned to shed those earnest, yet useless actions, but with the rise of motion controls and quirky peripherals, it seems that those old habits have been revived.  This week, inspired by an article from Bob Mackey , we discu...

Peanut-Butter & Jelly, Chicken & Waffles, both ingenious combinations! So why not Guns & Wizard Hats? Well I might have a few reasons. This week, Scott and I gnaw on an interesting article by Wired's Chris Kohler regarding Ray Muzyka's and Cliff Bleszinski's RPG/Shooter portents. We touch on such topics as big-ass swords, stat tracking, and the troublesome word that is "genre." As always, you'll f...

What happens when our universe and the digital ones we find in games begin to overlap?  Inspired by Steven Conway's excellent piece about re-examining " the fourth wall " in the context of video games, we take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of playing a self-aware game.  Much is discussed: we navigate the labyrinthlabyrnth that is the Metal Gear universe, explore the hidden meaning of Ting...

I am inundated with excellent games, happy as a clam. But trouble has been brewing for some gamers who fear the titles they love will be marred by sneaky developers and their zany "improvement" schemes. Some have gone so far as to organize an online defense force, including fans of Left 4 Dead , Starcraft , and Diablo . Maybe they have some reasonable complaints and should be heard. Or maybe they...

How many videogame characters have died, by your hands or another character's? Now how many of those actually meant something? There is something unique about murder in videogames in contrast to killing. This week, Scott and I once again spring board off the murderous ideas of Christian Nutt of Gamasutra. Join us while we discuss Shakespeare, revenge, and wanton killing. Christian's original artic...

Last month, outspoken game designers Clint Hocking and Manveer Heir held a little cross-blog discussion regarding the design and implementation of ethical choices in video games. We are accustomed to making decisions about weapons, strategies, and the color of our Sim hairstyles, but meaningful choices with moral weight are relatively rare. Even when faced with potentially tough moral dilemmas, th...

Trying to make a game simultaneously accessible and challenging while also retaining a cogent plot is a daunting task.  Inspired by Julian "rabbit" Murdoch's piece about his son's gaming habits and a recent Gamasutra post by Leigh Alexander, we discuss the nebulous subject of challenge in games.  Using the articles to focus the discussion, we explore the necessity of challenge, different ways of t...

Sometimes when the going gets tough, the less-than-tough just quit. At least that's what Sean "Elysium" Sands did when confronted with some ridiculously skilled players of Demigod. We here at EXP have immense respect for the talented writers of Gamers With Jobs, so we would never ridicule Sands' excellent confession in his Personality Flaws piece. On the contrary, this week Scott and I spring boar...

With Father's Day coming up this weekend, we decided to dedicate a podcast to exploring the role father characters in video games.  Starting with an eclectic list of various game dads, we examine them in terms of their gameplay functions, back-stories, and their narrative importance.  A number of surprising patterns crop up that link even the most dissimilar-seeming game fathers.  We finish by the...

E3 has come and gone, but the over-the-top presentations of upcoming games lingers. Huge screens depicting carnage and head-ripping made epic enthusiasts from around the world spasm with excitement like an epileptic at ananime convention. Which brings us to an article from last month by Chris Remo, Gamasutra Editor At Large and Idle Thumbs entrepreneur, asking if the videogame industry "over-eggs"...

As we all learned from Uncle Ben , "With great power, comes great responsibility."  When Paragon Studios gave players the tools to create their own quests in City of Heroes , it soon became a case study of what happens when people discover a new-found power.  Upon gaining the power to design quests, some players began to exploit the system for maximum experience points with the minimum amount of w...

Our bags are in the trunk, Teenage Wasteland is playing on the stereo, and our coffee stained road map is on the dash: On this podcast, we're hittin' the road. This week, we draw our discussion from prolific and esteemed games writer/pseudonym L.B. Jeffries and his excellent article on Popmatters . Early last month, Jeffries discussed his thoughts on travel in videogames and raised some interestin...

Every week, we add to a massive list of notable news, analysis, and opinion pieces related to video games, knowing full well that most of them will never make the show. We figured it was time to sort through some of the backlog for any gems that may have been passed over and fashion them into an auditory smorgasbord. The topics vary widely, and range from art design, memory and history, dating, an...

Is this already episode twenty-five? My how time flies! Which is exactly the topic of the day. This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I stumble upon a clever idea from Reid Kimball , Gamasutra Expert Blogger and level designer for Buzz Monkey Software . Taking a cue from cinema, Reid suggests game designers implement the potentially cheesy but versatile tool that is the montage. By creating an in...

This week, Inspired by Daniel Johnson's article about games and culture , we wade in to the fascinating-yet-nebulous realm of culture in video games.  After a brief discussion of how to define the term, we think about the cultural influences found in video games.  Whether it is a game's content, the way it was produced, or its capacity to illustrate the societies in which it exists, games carry me...