Wardcast

We’re ringing in the new year with a post-MAGFest debriefing. Dylan is joined by fellow RVA Game Jammers and MAGFest Indie Video Game Showcasers Ruthie Edwards and Sam Loeschen to talk about what they learned from showing their games at MAGFest 2017. But that’s not all! This week, Nintendo also announced the Nintendo Switch launch lineup, so we walk on down to the mean streets of New Donk City to...

Well, here we are. It’s been one heck of a year, but now it’s time for us to decide the best games we’ve played in 2016. Let’s lay some ground rules. First, our top ten considers any game played in 2016, not just games released in 2016. Second, everyone brings their personal top ten games of the year, and from those, we will decide upon the Ward Podcast’s top ten of the year. Lastly, once the ten...

Dominated by holiday cheer, the core four collect together to complete our last episode before our game of the year podcast. We talk movies, television, and poor purchasing decisions on eBay. We also take another look at the announcements from the Game Awards and the PlayStation Experience and try to answer the age-old question, “What is Death Stranding even about?” We also discuss some of the guy...

Dylan is joined by honorary fifth seat, Will Blanton, as well as Uncade’s own David Byers. The guys talk about Will’s Dark Souls level one run and reminisce about the DK Bongo controller. We also discuss the guests’ favorite games of the year, which includes discussing the ending of Inside from 1:02:52 to 1:07:19. The Game Awards also happened this past week, hosted by the Dorito Pope himself, so...

It’s Thanksgiving Eve, and we’re thankful to be able to talk games, games, and more games. Dylan continues his journey through the Fallout 4 DLC, this time stopping at Nuka-World, and Dan proceeds through Episode Two of Life is Strange as well as some experiments with Newton VR. Alex and Mason start on some new first person sequel releases: Dishonored 2 and Titanfall 2 — our winner for Best Sci-Fi...

In what will surely be an unforgettable week in American history, the guys decide to speak to the subject that they know best: video games. Dylan returns to Fallout 4 — season pass in tow — with the Far Harbor DLC, leading to a discussion on the use of AI in popular culture. Dan has finished building his VR-ready machine, and with Vive in hand, he tries out all the experiences Steam VR has to offe...

The Richmond Utilities Podcast comes back to discuss this nation’s greatest utility: democracy. We encourage all our listeners to rock the vote this upcoming Election Day. This week’s primary topic of discussion: Oxenfree. All the gents have played it, so we dedicate most of the podcast to analyze and critique it. For those who wish to avoid spoilers, the Oxenfree talk starts at 11:20 and ends at...

This week, Dan talks about VR-ready PC builds, Dan and Alex both talk about their enjoyment with Oxenfree, and Mason and Dylan continue with some more Mafia III impressions. We also deal with some huge announcements from the game industry this week: from Red Dead Redemption 2 to Nintendo Switch. And Dylan brings his entire Pokémon card collection for show and tell. Games include Oxenfree, Overwatc...

Dan and Alex are dealing with the heavy loss of bodily fluids from pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into their mid-semester projects, so the original Ward Podcast duo have returned for a one-night event. Tonight, we try to shout over the roar of a neighboring lawnmower to talk about résumés, wireframes, GNU, and other intimidating open source acronyms. Dylan brings his impressions of the firs...

With Hurricane Matthew bringing us a little bit of wind and rain, we huddle inside to talk about video games. But first, we talk about the new HBO show Westworld and the blurring line between reality and simulation that the show portends, as well as violence in simulations and games. And then there are even more shows and films to discuss, from Steve Jobs to Luke Cage to X-Men: Apocalypse. We also...

We come to the table with a bevy of topics. Mason, Alex, and Dan visited the RVA Maker Fest, where many of our game dev friends were showcasing their wares. The gents also discuss bad Brandcenter presenters and the PS4 System Software 4.00. While Dan recollects his bad recent experience with GameStop, Dylan recounts being disappointed with the endings of two recent games. We also talk Bruce Wayne’...

This week, Dylan listens as the Brandcenter Boys talk about all the experience design learnin’ they’ve gotten from school and how they apply it to games. We question the National Sandwich Guild’s judgment over whether a hot dog is a sandwich, and discuss the cardinal sin of eating pizza with a knife and fork. Additionally, we lament the death of the game manual and debate what we are doing for gam...

We’re back at it again talking about Apple’s headphonejackgate and all the courage that comes with it. We also discuss bad teachers we’ve had, the games we made for Ludum Dare 36 — shown on a recent episode of Instant Replay Live, the PS4 Pro announcement, and Alex teaching Dylan muay thai. The guys are also tasked with figuring out how to handle Game of the Year for the Ward Podcast by the next e...

This week, Dylan sits down to chat with Henry Hoffman, one of the creators of the recently-released game Hue and co-founder of indie developer Fiddlesticks. Henry talks about Hue’s development, such as the addition of accessibility features for people with color blindness. He also gives us his impressions of Brexit’s potential effects on the British games industry and the UK as a whole. The pair a...

The core four are back in action, here to talk sock revelations, Carmex debates, Bill Nye Saves the World, and upsetting website design trends. Dylan and Dan bring two hefty games to the table. Dylan regales the group about his No Man’s Sky experience, which leads to a conversation about setting proper expectations for your game, and Dan finally plays the re-re-re-release of Resident Evil 4 — the...

When they’re not arguing over what sound a VHS makes when it’s being rewound, the guys talk about the games they’ve been playing. Dylan’s back from his Missouri trip, and he talks about Midwest arcades, flying, grilled meats, and guest-starring on a recent episode of the Geeks Under the Influence Podcast. Mason finished Tales from the Borderlands, so Dylan and Alex finally get to gush about their...

Dylan’s trapped in a corn maze somewhere in Missouri, so the Brandcenter Boys come together around Mason’s kitchen table to have an intervention about his World of Warcraft addiction. The guys also talk about clearing off the back catalog and how it shows their changing preferences for games. Alex reviews his playthrough of the first episode of Telltale’s Batman, and Dan sparks a conversation abou...

This week, Dan and Dylan are joined by Rich Atlas, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Clever Endeavor Games, developers of Ultimate Chicken Horse. Rich gives us the lowdown on Ultimate Chicken Horse’s creation, managing an indie dev studio, and the game dev scene — both indie and AAA — in Montreal. We also talk about the disappointment that is Suicide Squad, and, since it’s release week for...

On this episode, we’re joined by Auverin Morrow, Commissioning Editor and Program Coordinator at Gameskinny. She talks to us about the journalistic side of the games industry including Gameskinny’s Journalist Training Program for aspiring games journalists. The rest of the podcast is all about games, from trying out more Life is Strange, thinking about formative games of our youth, and figuring ou...

This week, it’s a Will Blanton two-fer. This time, we’re also visited by Andy Bowers, member of RVA Game Jams and iOS developer extraordinaire. We talk DOS memories, PC games of years past, and hacking pranks. Will also tells about his creation Karaoke Nightmare, a horrifying twist on a classic activity. We also discuss booting jerks off of Twitter and dealing with public comments and criticism on...

If you thought we were done talking about Pokémon, then you’d be wrong. In fact, Dan bought a 2DS, so we cover one of the series’ oldest releases along with its newest. The first episode of Life is Strange is now free, so Dan and Alex converse about their first impressions of the game. We’re also joined midway through the podcast by friend of the show Will Blanton, who talks about such things as h...

The core four is back this week to talk about their impressions of Pokémon Go and its continuously staggering impact on the gaming world. Alex follows up with his full impressions of Inside, Dan gives his remarks on the new Ghostbusters movie, and Mason talks about his foray into Dolphin emulation. Games include Pokémon Go, Tap My Katamari, Inside, and Batman: Arkham Asylum. Got a question for the...

This week, Dylan is joined by Joe Wetmore and Nick Nundahl, creators of the YouTube channel Instant Replay Live. The guys talk about some of the games in their Let’s Plays, such as Dragon’s Lair, which calls to mind memories of Don Bluth films, old cartoons, and Disney sequels. From there, we discuss the nostalgia-fueled Pokémon Go — the sensation that has swept the nation. Dylan’s bear trap of a...

It’s the nation’s birthday, and to celebrate, we talk about video games. Everyone did their homework and played Invisible, Inc. We give our first impressions of the game, and look at the similarities between it and other turn-based strategy games like XCOM. We also take a look at our hauls from the Steam Summer Sale, which include games like Red Faction: Guerrilla, Samurai Gunn, and more. Games in...

This week, we’re back with utilities updates. Dylan and Mason explain to the others the process of smurfing and twinking in MMOs, Dan comes back with his impressions of E3, and we all agree to try out Invisible, Inc. by next week. Also, our dystopian resource management game, Arbeau, is out now on itch.io! Check it out on our games page. Games include Chess with Friends, Bernie Sanders Dating Sim,...