It's summertime and that means scheduling challenges. Therefore, this week we are reaching into the Discord Game Club interview archive. This time around, fan Discord members Artimage and Mors chat with Nick T, of The Race Against Time. We expect to return next week.

Links:
The Race Against Time - August 15th & 16th, 11AM - 1PM EDT
http://raceagainsttime.io
http://raceagainsttime.io/donate
https://translifeline.org/
http://Twitch.tv/nt3rp

Twitch: timlongojr and twinsunscorp
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a short mini-series on casual games, beginning with PopCap's Plants vs Zombies. We spend a lot of time setting these lower-challenge games both in their time and against other genres before talking a bit about the game itself. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Through 2-1

Issues covered: setting the game in 2009, PopCap's fortunes, repackaging a genre, puzzly games in Java, appealing to core games and casual, being good at rewards, walled gardens, starting on desktops and moving to phones, phone fragmentation, A/B design testing, hidden objects, translating well to mobile, the history of EA's acquisitions, the early tower defense games, coining the term, automated elements, the stress of the RTS, MOBAs, removing the dev hurdles from a genre, modders doing something they could do, autochess, recognizing it, a simple concept that reads quickly, the impenetrable defense, turtling: the video game, the way zombie movies build, design ideas can come from anywhere, easily visualizing new things, archetypes, easily reading how much health is left, having a moment of joy in a reveal, seeing the zombie affordances, locking into strategies.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Uncharted 2, Demons's Souls, Ratchet & Clank, Brutal Legend, Assassin's Creed II/series, Borderlands, Infamous, Dragon Age: Origins, Left 4 Dead 2, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Bayonetta, PS3/Xbox 360/Wii, EA, Peggle (series), Bejewelled, Blizzard, Zuma, Alchemy, Drop 7, Threes, Diner Dash, Resident Evil 4, Fortnite, Facebook, Farmville, Zynga, Kongregate, Ultima, Westwood, Bioware, Mass Effect, Crystal Dynamics, Morgan Gray, Desktop Defense, Atari, Rampart, Defense of the Agents, Warcraft III, Starcraft, League of Legends, Riot, Valve, George Fan, Diablo, PixelJunk Monsters, Orcs Must Die!!, Vermintide, Tower of Goo, The Birds, Tippi Hedren, Portal, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time:
More PvZ

Twitch: timlongojr and twinsunscorp
YouTube
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we conclude our series on Psychonauts. We talk about how the game gates certain things on the basis of what seems optional and Brett monologues a bit about some later levels before we talk takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Finished (B) or to Gloria (T)

Issues covered: a theater level, getting and using door codes, having to remember what abilities a player might have, player types and what's critical path, trophies and missable content, different ways to push the player, playtesting to balance, what personas you support, the luxury of late full fresh-eyes playtesting, the non-linear nature of Gloria's level, brute forcing your way through the logic of the puzzle, speed-running describing the end of the game, a difficult platformer plus escort mission, talking about the musical identity, being able to do anything, giving narrative and theming to allow anything, cohesive justifications for everything, when the skill elements get in the way, meaning behind the platformer, indies to follow, science.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Final Fantasy VI, Hitman, The Witcher III, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Clint Hocking, Splinter Cell, Tim Schafer, Dave Grossman, Erik Wolpaw, Drew Barrymore/Firestarter, Ratchet & Clank, Xbox 360/PS3, Dark Souls, Microsoft, Halo, TRON, Armin Shimerman, LucasArts, Peter McConnell, Clint Bajakian, Jesse Harlin, Grim Fandango, Brutal Legend, Friendster, Lord of the Rings, Velvet Underground, mysterydip, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

TTDS:
21:20

Next time:
??!

Twitch: timlongojr and twinsunscorp
YouTube
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com