Why We Play – The Horrible Show #307
Justin, Cole, Ethan and Josh are all back but they are tired of all of the cynicism around games lately. Instead, this week they focus on the fun factor of their favorite moments with games from LAN parties to just being evil.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:38:33 — 45.1MB)
The Horrible Show – Join the editorial staff of HorribleNight.com as they discuss a variety of entertainment-focused video game topics.
Show Notes
Cast:
Justin L, Cole, Ethan, Josh
Guide:
00:25 – Intro
05:26 – Game Industry Shout-Outs
25:27 – Horrible Shout-Outs
37:20 – On the Spot Question
43:45 – Why We Play
44:22 – Group Gaming
58:26 – Gaming with Strangers
1:06:43 – Stupid Fun
1:15:30 – Racing Games
1:23:30 – Being Evil
1:30:05 – Bad Games
1:35:35 – HorribleNight.com Updates
Featured Games:
Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Warcraft III, Unreal Tournament 2003, Halo 2, Command & Conquer: Generals, Left 4 Dead, World of Warcraft, Counter-Strike, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Bad Company 2, Burnout 3, FlatOut, Indianapolis 500: The Simulation, Fable 2, Prototype, Grand Theft Auto IV, Hunting Unlimited 2010, Worms, Snuggle Truck
Game Industry Shout-Outs:
- Josh – Skyrim Hoarders
- Cole – GameStop Loses in California
- Ethan – Lost Planet 3
- Justin – DmC trailer
Horrible Shout-Outs
- Ethan – Cole Monroe – It Doesn’t Matter: EA is Not the Worst Company
- Josh – Cole Monroe – I Learned Something Today: Wrestlemania 2000
- Justin – Brandon, Aaron, Justin G – Mass Effect 3 Reviewcast
- Cole - Aaron McNeal – Ninja Gaiden 3 Review
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HA! Love the Indy 500 screen you used for the podcast pic. You have no idea how much I used to play that game on my ultra powerful Wang computer with its 386 processor and all 2 megabytes of RAM.
I was waiting for someone to mention Hard Drivin’ during all the car wreck conversations. The only reason I played the game…
It was cool to hear you guys address my topic. I think the only point I would have added is the way developers use them (achievements,trophies) to get you to play DLC. I have a gaming friend that defines game night by what achievements we can get in a 6 hour session. We’ve been playing Gears of War 3 for well over half a year now because every time a DLC comes out, we have to get the new achievement points. I don’t think things like “Survive 10 waves of horde as (insert 5 new character looks here)” is relevant. It just gives tools a reason to play the same game mode and have the same game experience again, but with a different skin on their character. It’s trite. I would dare say that most games have several achievements/trophies that are actually the exact same gaming experience, ultimately asking you to do the same thing repeatedly.
Somebody nailed it when they said most of these things are monotonous and not actually fun to “achieve”.
I’m surprised their wasn’t more of a fight over your cheevos topic. Coop and I can get defensive about it, but Josh was civil enough and made some good points. There’s definitely a fine line between enjoying well designed achievements and maxing out a game and going after every single easy achievement ever made.
I must seek out Hard Drivin, I bet that machine is tough to track down.
@Copperskull – If you livestream Indy 500 you will be my hero.