The Experience Points Podcast

Well yippee-kay-yay, this week on the EXP Podcast we focus on big burly men with chainsaw-guns. Developed by Epic Games, the Gears of War franchise has found immense success amongst a variety of gamers. With a collection of books , a movie in the works, and an inevitable third game, Gears of War just seems to stick in our minds for some reason. Earlier this week L.B. Jeffries of Popmatters drew co...

If you read this site, you are probably one of two kinds of people: 1.  The kind that loves video games or... 2.  The kind that is subjected to rants about why we love video games (i.e. non-gamer friends and family). This week, we were inspired by Owen Good's article about explaining the allure of video games to non-gamers.  We use his discussion of trying to decide which games to demonstrate for...

Last week, Konami announced Six Days in Fallujah , a game set during the tumultuous 2004 batle in Fallujah , Iraq, developed by Atomic Games . Nothing stirs up controversy like a videogame adaptation set in a current war zone (except a large scoop of gratuitous nudity). With war veterans on both side of the fence, it is not so easy to work out how videogames should address warfare and current even...

Grab you shotgun and your thinking caps, because this week, we are devoting the podcast to a thorough discussion of Resident Evil 5 !  We put in some marathon couch co-op sessions, analyzing everything from the control scheme to the game's character development.  As we discuss in the show, Resident Evil 5 quickly became a controversial game in a number of respects.  The game has sparked debates ov...

The gaming internet sites were humming with excitement during the Game Developers Conference last week in sunny San Francisco. Upon one particular announcement, a mix of gleeful tittering and cries of consternation were audible across the bay and a widespread internet discussion soon followed. The product announced was OnLive, a gaming service that purports to do away with hardware concerns by str...

Animals have a long history in video games, and continue to play important parts in the most recent titles.  This week, we happened upon an article detailing the story of a high school student offended by the treatment of dogs in Call of Duty: World at War.  Her efforts to petition Activision to change its ways got us thinking about how and why games are criticized, as well as the larger role of a...

It seems like most people have their favorite examples of the "so bad it's good" class of film. Low-budget, occasionally self-aware, "B movies" often form strong followings of people who love them for their effort and entertainment value. This week, we discuss a recent article by Christian Nutt of Gamasutra that examines the obstacles and efforts in the creation of "B" video games. We invite you t...

We all know by now that the stereotype of the solitary, basement-dwelling video game nerd is the stuff of fiction.  Gaming communities have always existed, but the rise of the Internet has allowed for increasingly complex and direct communication between players and developers.  This week, we use Leigh Alexander's piece on Eve Online to start a conversation about community management in modern gam...

Keita Takahashi of Namco Bandai , creator of Katamari Damacy , has once again dipped his nimble fingers into his mystical bucket of genius and pulled out Noby Noby Boy , one of the most bizarre games I have ever played. Mike Schiller of PopMatters bravely took it upon himself to review this oddity. This week, Scott and I use Schiller's piece to discuss our own thoughts on Noby Noby Boy, Metagames,...

The video game world is buzzing with the release of Street Fighter IV .  It is a franchise that helped usher a generation of gamers into the fighting genre, and arrives greeted by a wave of emotionally-charged expectations.  Further complicating any attempts at objective analysis further is the fact that Street Fighter is rooted in the arcade tradition.  With the game's release comes peripherals (...

Hello readers and listeners.  This week Scott and I branch off of neat panel discussion Stephen Totilo held with Ken Levine of 2k Boston and Todd Howard of Bethesda Softworks .  Each panelist was asked to comment on their game endings, Bioshock and Fallout 3 respectively.  We take their comments and run with them, discussing our thoughts on cut scenes, interactive conclusions, and more.  As always...

This week will see the release of thatgamecompany's unique new title, Flower . In an interview with MTV Multiplayer, Jenova Chen, the co-creator of thatgamecompany, explained that he hoped that Flower will feel "like therapy" to players. This got us thinking about the ability of games to act as stress relievers and how both the mechanical and narrative techniques in games affect our mindsets. We a...

Be they breaking a sweat playing a mean game of Wii Tennis or squeezing their "mind grapes" learning a foreign language, students are incorporating videogames into their educational curriculum. This week on the EXP Podcast, Scott and I take out our chalkboard, calculators and pen protectors to talk about videogames in the classroom. We branch off two Kotaku articles available for your perusal in t...

Post recording note: We chose this story and recorded the podcast before we heard some unfortunate news .  It truly speaks to our economy's sad state of affairs when talented people who produce thoughtful, entertaining writing are let go.  Ben, we hope to see you on the other side of tunnel soon! This week, we flirt with the fires of console fanboyism to talk about the state of the Playstation 3. ...

Some of those smart minds over at the University of Rochester got together and published a little study for us to talk about this week. Those psychologists, tinkerers of the brain I call them, have learned gore and gamers don't necessarily mix. The original article can be found in the show notes for your enjoyment. Your input on the subject is always appreciated. Feel free to answer some of the qu...

This week, an intrepid Internet explorer happened upon some mysterious patents filed by Nintendo .  The documents lay out a new system for delivering hints in a game, as well as a mode of play in which the player watches the game unfold on its own until they choose to join in.  This raises numerous issues in regards to game difficulty, the accessibility of modern video games, and defining exactly...

The first 2009 EXP Podcast is upon us. This week we were inspired by news about a patch coming out for PixelJunk Eden mid-January that will, among other things, lower the game's difficulty. The original story is in the show notes for the curious listeners, but we mostly use it as a jumping off point to discuss patches in general, the idea of an ever-changing medium and Star Wars . Some discussion...

It's the end of the year, which means it's time to reflect on the events of 2008.  This week, we fill the podcast to the brim, discussing our favorite games of the year, our favorite pieces of game writing, and a few news stories that didn't make the original cut.  Check out the show notes for links to all of the games and articles we reference and be sure to weigh in with your favorite 2008 highl...

This week on the EXP Podcast, we discuss the "prestigious" Spike TV Video Game Award show. This glamorous extravaganza aired on December 14th complete with scantily clad ladies, crotch shotguns, and some fairly insulting stereotypes. Check out images and videos from the links you'll find in the show notes. As usual, we encourage you to participate in the conversation. Some questions for discussion...

This week on the EXP Podcast, we wade in to the murky waters of advertising in video games. Microsoft-owned company, Massive Inc. held a conference in which several large publishers (such as EA, Activision, and Ubisoft) discussed how to best implement commercial advertisement in games. Let's not let them be the only ones discussing this...

This week we discuss an IGN preview of Scribllenauts from 5TH Cell and an interview with creative director Jeremiah Slaczka. We theorize on the limitations of a game that claims it can do anything and the potential impacts of what sounds like a ground breaking venture.

This week, we talk about a survey conducted by Guitar Center saying that a huge number of people that buy Guitar Hero are subsequently inspired to learn how to play a real guitar. We discuss the effect games have on our personal interests and explore games' abilities to inspire non-gaming action. Show notes: - Run time: 24m 12s - The Gamasutra article - Music provided by Brad Sucks