Dev Game Club

Welcome to the fourth and final episode in our series exploring SNES classic The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. We discuss the end of the game, finding nooks and crannies, various difficulties, and then quickly cover our takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through the end of the game! Podcast breakdown: 0:35      Segment 1: Finishing Zelda 46:48    Break 47:22    Segment 2: Takeaways, Feedback 1:10:28 Aw Jeez Issues covered: Brett's loop, using a walkthrough to find the pieces of heart, Tim playing less cautiously due to save state style, Brett fills in Tim on bottle locations, lack of systems, sprite and processing limitations, credits sequence, Brett's dungeon strategy, visual language problems, low cost of failure and encouraging exploration, finding multiple solutions, Brett wonders how you build a thing like Zelda, GDC talk on BotW, taking space to iterate on a game and add moments, planning and s

Welcome to the third episode in our series exploring SNES classic The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. We discuss what storytelling there is, several of the bosses we fought, the analog nature of combat and also the difficulty curve before turning to some player questions. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up through the Ice Palace Podcast breakdown: 0:33 Segment 1: LttP discussion 25:50 "Aw, jeez" 45:44 Break 46:10 Segment 2: Feedback/email discussion Issues covered: overview of the bosses we fought, story-telling as reward, intrinsic vs extrinsic awards, storytelling in other games at the time, entering the Dark World and mechanical differences, navigating the environment, visual tells, making notes, dungeon variety, Skull Woods integration of the overworld and the dungeon, using the map as spatial awareness, the place where you get stuck and put a Zelda game down, preferring the overworld, ancillary mechanics

Welcome to the second episode in our series exploring SNES classic The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. We talk a lot about how it's difficult even to analyze a game that casts such a long shadow and open worlds as a genre. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through Agahnim battle Podcast breakdown: 0:30    Segment 1: LttP Discussion 52:05  Break 52:25  Segment 2: Feedback Issues covered: hardware features, the series long shadow, how do you look at it with fresh eyes, the vocabulary that comes up every day, the underlying structure, discovery and exploration, "the Zelda game I always wanted," Nintendo establishing structures for several genres, what the legend means, multiple hands touching a series, the template, building up a set of skills to tackle each new challenge, stamina system in the new Zelda and how it's set aside in Skyrim, challenge vs expression, a wild goose chase, side quests to the ice rod and th

Welcome to the first episode in our series exploring SNES classic The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. We situate the game in time and talk about its long shadow in game development before tucking into the game proper. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through the end of the Eastern Palace Podcast breakdown: 0:30 Segment 1: LoZ 49:38 Break 50:09 Eastern Palace & Feedback Issues covered: Zelda's long history and which of them Brett and Tim played, action adventure with overworld, each identify their favorite, differences between entries, overworld flow vs Metroidvania skills and re-traversal, visual telegraphing of skill usage, getting lost, marking the map, lack of direction or quest log, goals and gating, the misleading fortune teller, setting of context, dream sequence, the role of Zelda, Agahnim trying to break the seal, initial experience, learning combat mechanics (hit locations sometimes mattering and s

Welcome to the final episode in our series exploring PS1 and PC 3rd person action-adventure game Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. We delve into the last bits of the game including pluses and minuses surrounding its environmental navigation and puzzles, its voice acting, and then turn to our takeaways and pillars. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Finishing the game! Podcast breakdown: 0:36 Soul Reaver discussion 55:55 Break 56:35 Pillars/Takeaways and feedback Issues covered: controls and directional awareness, a visit to the human city, Brett's memory problems and the human city, number of pizza wedges, realizing you're in the wrong place, order in which you see new navigable challenges, visual language when you don't read it yet, over-subtlety, macro design, wishing for a key, the tradeoffs of a connected world, wanting to revisit the world, world connectivity, mapping of interdepencies, level design role in late 90s,

Welcome to the third episode in our series exploring PS1 and PC 3rd person action-adventure game Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. We pick apart the jumping madness that is the Drowned Cathedral, talk animation priority and interruption, and hit up some development thinking to boot. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through Rahab Podcast breakdown: 0:40   Soul Reaver discussion 55:48 Break 56:25 Feedback and next time Issues covered: continental philosophy, Morlock the ramming boss, substituting in a boss as an enemy, jumping through the environment, gaining projectile from the boss, jumping section followed by jumping section, analog vs digital controls, lack of cueing for the jump physics, camera not helping you, level design working against the grain, convergence of level design camera jump physics and checkpointing, never dying and wasting time, skill-based jumping, dramatic choices vs mechanical choices, the analog n

Welcome to the second episode in our series exploring PS1 and PC 3rd person action-adventure game Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. We delve into character design and how it is supported by character art and animation and pick a bone with lack of environmental direction. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up to Zephon TTAG: 49:28 Podcast breakdown: 0:42   Segment 1: Soul Reaver discussion 56:32 Break 57:00 Segment 2: Feedback Issues covered: year anniversary, gothic horror elements, color choices, silhouette, mechanics reinforcing narrative, animation reinforcing character, economic character design, ludonarrative consonance and dissonance, navigation and puzzles rather than combat, pacing strengths and problems, death mechanic elegance, getting away from "lives," rivalry between vampires, character design of bosses, gaining your first power, boss fight with Kain, revenge fantasy propulsion, having nothing to fear, enablin

Welcome to the first episode in our series exploring PS1 and PC 3rd person action-adventure game Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. We situate the game in time a bit and then turn to its storytelling style, its early game, and its primary mechanics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up until the first boss Podcast breakdown: 0:37 Segment 1: Intro to Soul Reaver 55:45 Break 56:07 Segment 2: Feedback and next time Issues covered: horror influences and origins, historical context, light touch of the storytelling, IP ownership, character motivations, additional powers as rewards rather than as keys or enablers, worldbuilding of Nosgoth as a feature, Kain as twisted god and reflecting Paradise Lost, moving past tank controls and grids, differentiating the two realms visually, reaving souls, two ways to view the world/environment, mechanical consonance of reaving with walking between the realms, revenge and propulsion/being driv

Welcome to the final episode in our series examining the first two works of Fumito Ueda: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus and turning to the present with some bonus content surrounding The Last Guardian. We talk about the games' pillars and our personal takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: A bit of The Last Guardian Podcast breakdown: 0:34 Segment: Pillars/Takeaways/The Last Guardian Issues covered: getting all the tails and fruits and making one's way to the top of the temple, meaningful companion characters, making a boss the level, set pieces vs mechanical depth or integration, grip meter convergence, holistic integration of space/camera/mechanics, trying the outlandish, the discipline of simplicity, console lifecycle and buyer influence, credits padding for publishing, storytelling and mystery and curiosity, repeated themes, mechanical depth and replayability, unpredictability, description of Trico, art dir

Welcome to the third episode in our series examining the first two works of Fumito Ueda: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. We discuss Colossus's mysterious world, talk about Agro, the camera, delve into the story, and also recap the eight Colossi that make up the second half of the game. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Final 8 Colossi in Shadow of the Colossus Podcast breakdown: 0:41 Segment 1: SotC discussion 1:03:34 Break 1:04:22 Segment 2: Final Colossi, Feedback Issues covered: visiting areas ahead of fighting Colossi, stripping away the filler combat, a Cursed land: justifying its emptiness, the Zen garden, beauty is a purpose, a meditative space, no support to the completionist or progress on the map, altar icons on the map, getting the platinum, less is more, openended-ness as a hinge to mystery, filling in details by yourself, archaeology as jigsaw puzzle, being memorable and provocative, being left wanting m

Welcome to the third episode in our series examining the first two works of Fumito Ueda: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. We discuss Colossus's form, intro, animation, and a number of design elements, including brief recaps of the first eight Colossus battles. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: The first 8 Colossi Podcast breakdown: 0:40 Discussion Issues covered: brief history, high-level structure (boss battles), boss battle-centricity, bosses as story arcs and reward structures in other games, pacing benefits, higher peaks and deeper valleys, puzzle bosses and the puzzle-y aspects of each Colossus, presentation of the first Colossus, description of the opening scenes, organic design, story setup, narrators, shadowy figures, echoes of the sarcophagi, Brett teaches Tim the name of the horse, Agro as companion, horse as primer for environment/Colossus navigation, inverse kinematics, introduction to all the mechanics, s

Welcome to the second episode in our series examining the first two works of Fumito Ueda: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. We discuss bits of Ico's narrative, the holistic and economic aspects of the design, the build-up of tension and mutual support between the characters, the combat, and a host of other issues. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Second half of Ico! Podcast breakdown: 0:33     Ico Issues covered: the source of all future quotes, camera/yorda/scale holism and reinforcement, taking copious notes, the "b" word, spots where the camera doesn't work, setting down the controller, pushing through player skill games, visual language in encounter design, maintaining the connection with Yorda in combat, story act structure, the arc of combat encounters, castle cohesion, castle as a character, being able to see from title screen where you'll go, points of interest, story bits with the Queen at the gate, the castl

Welcome to the first episode in our series examining the first two works of Fumito Ueda: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. We situate it in time a bit, and then turn to the opening few rooms and the design, technical, and narrative departures already visible. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through the windmill TTAJ: ??! Podcast breakdown: 0:38     Segment 1: Ico 59:33   Break 1 59:58   Segment 2: Themes for next time, feedback Issues covered: situating Ico's release in 2001, other games focusing on character control and repetition, passion for or against, focusing on different elements, feeling like a young boy, introduction to the game, the spice shop of little boys, economical storytelling, recognizability, space occupied by the character, environment as character, lack of player agency in the camera, showing the player the environment, what does the camera want me to know, camera as drama/emotion rather than mech

Welcome to a special interview episode examining 1994's Star Wars classic TIE Fighter. We welcome Larry Holland and discuss the overall arc of his career building games for LucasArts and specifically TIE Fighter. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. TTAJ: Podcast breakdown: 0:31       Interview with Larry Holland 1:05:53  Break 1:06:21  Outro/Next time Issues covered: early career, educational background and focus in anthropology, love of history, military simulation, World War II trilogy, shift to IBM PC, CGA->EGA graphics, reliving history from both sides and controversy, life and death struggles, manuals to support games, combat focus vs flight/avionics focus, switching to a fictional history, quiet around the Star Wars property, moving to 3D from rotating and scaling sprites, adding a 2D cinematic engine, film "history," reflecting the environment as an attempt to be immersive, WWII air combat speeds and gun camera footage vs BVR fi

Welcome to a bonus episode examining 1994's Star Wars classic TIE Fighter. We welcome two guests, Reed Knight and Darren Johnson, who worked in QA on the original titles and co-led the QA team on the Collector's Edition. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. TTAJ: 14:24 Podcast breakdown: 0:29        Interview segment 1:10:00   Break 1:10:22   Outro, Next time Issues covered: Tim introduces QA as a discipline, Reed self-introduction, QA being in start credits of Full Throttle, Tim's interviews, Darren self-introduction, early history of Reed and Darren in QA, games that are fun to test months in, score competition, day in the life of a tester, bug entry process, having only one computer for entering bugs, "anti-speed runs," thinking in terms of triggers or events, gluing events together, getting the editor and looking for bugs, finding voice lines that had never fired in original TIE Fighter, finding bugs that weren't literally visible i

Welcome to our YEAR END SPECIAL. We look back on our interview segments and our favorite game takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. TTAJ: 53:15 Next time: We have one and possibly two TIE Fighter interviews lined up, but then we are going to turn to 2002's Ico and 2005's Shadow of the Colossus. Look for us on Twitter for how far to play.  @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to our fourth episode examining 1994's Star Wars classic TIE Fighter. We discuss the story of the Collector's Edition additional missions and then turn to our takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Missions 11-13 TTAJ: 1:06:00 (late this episode!) Podcast breakdown: 0:37    Segment 1: Final battles 39:00  Break 39:27  Segment 2: Takeaways Issues covered: story review of last few battles, cloaking technology as verboten in Star Wars license, tying into Endor and the trap at the new Death Star, being in the recognizable Star Wars universe, forward performance problems, thinking about future proofing, emulating and Steam, Lucy and the anthropology, failing a mission and rethinking your strategy, using the slam mechanic, circles of the Emperor, viewing your stats, proper pronunciation of Bothan, Brett and lore, having both the success of preserving the Empire and knowing it's about to fall, differing voice

Welcome to our third episode examining 1994's Star Wars classic TIE Fighter. We discuss the story of the first expansion pack, address some criticism when it comes to these missions, and Brett digresses over technology from the day. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Battles 8-10 TTAG (Time to "Aw, geez"): 1:43 Podcast breakdown: 0:35 One segment this week! Issues covered: licensing and the Expanded Universe, the TIE Defender as the centerpiece of a series of battles, Zaarin and Thrawn, choosing Thrawn over Vader, the mag pulse torpedo, Full speed to Killimaar!, being the Red Baron, technology race, using audio to give you hints and direction, lack of feedback to developers, hobbyist press, calling the hint line, over-long missions, changing the rule set on you, dead time, bulletproofing and A bugs, test plans, algorithmically breaking a game, software vs hardware operations, Caveman Tim, texture mapping, fixed point

Welcome to our second episode examining 1994's Star Wars classic TIE Fighter. We discuss the story in greater depth, as well as the various storytelling modes and how they cross over between each other. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Battles 4-7 Podcast breakdown: 0:31    Segment 1: Story and storytelling 50:32  Break 51:00  Segment 2: Feedback Issues covered: expansion packs, setting of the campaign in the Star Wars chronology, adding new technology as a way to expand the game from the movies, a game's power curve, making the player part of the story, how the secret order ranks work, point bonuses and happy accidents, not knowing what you've missed, modern design removing mystery, stretching the character of the Emperor, medal ceremony, Star Wars story melodrama, military careerism, depth of simulation vs breadth of options, beam weapon, wingman commands, component targeting, flight sim complexity in the early 90

Welcome to our first episode examining 1994's Star Wars classic TIE Fighter. We talk a lot about the Star Wars presentation, simulation depth and choices, and touch a bit on the story. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Battles 1-3 Podcast breakdown: 0:29      Segment 1, Felis Interruptus 20:35    Quick Break 20:40    Segment 2 Issues covered: six degrees of Bill Bixby, Holland's WWII series, alternate histories, showing the perspective of the bad guys, multiplayer and technical feasibility, Star Wars presentation, cockpits in the films, cookie-cutter bureaucracy of the Empire, linear narratives driving things forward in other games, simulating a military career, voice work, Star Wars melodrama and narrative glue, leaning on the films' fiction, secret society of the Emperor, bonus objectives, naming your pilot, save structure, opening cinematic, propaganda, paralleling the films, the Thrawn trilogy, color choices in t