Full Transcript for Indie Devs Play: Episode 10 - Amnesia: The Dark Descent (PC), BioWare & 2010 in Gaming

the new Mass Effect to be their comeback, 00:02:33.694 --> 00:02:39.988 from the likes of Andromeda, Anthem, and Veilguard not being particularly successful. 00:02:40.353 --> 00:02:44.564 And people were hoping that the new Mass Effect was going to rectify that problem. 00:02:44.564 --> 00:02:47.546 Maybe they'd learn from some mistakes, but I guess we'll never get to see. 00:02:48.706 --> 00:02:52.364 Yeah, I think, I mean, you spoke about Mass Effect 3 being the last one that 00:02:52.364 --> 00:02:56.682 you enjoyed. I mean, that was only a couple of years after the EA acquisition. 00:02:57.854 --> 00:03:00.994 Yeah, the EA acquisition was a big downhill for me. 00:03:01.814 --> 00:03:07.919 As an enjoyer of BioWare, it was very noticeable after EA took over. 00:03:08.987 --> 00:03:15.314 The games changed. They became something else. They weren't the BioWare games I enjoyed anymore. 00:03:15.877 --> 00:03:21.094 I think when you're bought by either a publicly traded company or hedge funds 00:03:21.094 --> 00:03:27.534 or private investment, where it's purely driven by profit and you have situations where, 00:03:28.050 --> 00:03:32.839 games sell well and they make a profit but they have profit margins that the kind of, 00:03:33.437 --> 00:03:37.553 broader umbrella company has profit margins that they need to hit or profit, 00:03:38.676 --> 00:03:42.268 basically they've told their shareholders or they have desires of certain profit 00:03:42.268 --> 00:03:46.908 percentage increases need to be hit and then they need to make what they do 00:03:46.908 --> 00:03:48.616 is they make cuts to staff, 00:03:49.408 --> 00:03:54.198 to raise the percentages a little bit to reach those levels and what happens 00:03:54.198 --> 00:03:56.670 is when you make cuts to staff and, 00:03:57.326 --> 00:04:02.208 you know teams you lose that kind of institutional knowledge and that teamwork and that, 00:04:02.857 --> 00:04:07.398 that chemistry and everything that you work together to you learn every you 00:04:07.398 --> 00:04:09.788 learn something with every new project and they had a lot of, 00:04:10.419 --> 00:04:13.519 institutional knowledge that they in development pipelines that they're familiar with, 00:04:14.146 --> 00:04:17.558 developing all these rpgs and over time if you keep making these cuts and then 00:04:17.558 --> 00:04:21.628 you just either rehire for those positions again at a later date but different 00:04:21.628 --> 00:04:25.919 people or or you just have smaller teams and also when you have kind of. 00:04:26.890 --> 00:04:34.738 People at the very top making decisions influencing broader choices on how the game should exist, 00:04:35.469 --> 00:04:39.730 in some way i mean we had it with Lionhead a similar sort of situation you know 00:04:40.102 --> 00:04:45.408 when I look into things like Veil Guard and reading that you know EA executives wanted, 00:04:45.942 --> 00:04:50.603 it was to it was to be a live service game and it wasn't until the last 18 months 00:04:50.795 --> 00:04:53.871 or something like that that it was pivoted to a single player experience, 00:04:54.483 --> 00:04:59.429 you know there's a lot of these different things I mean look at Mass Effect Andromeda was made by, 00:05:00.110 --> 00:05:05.008 a subsidiary Bioware company that was not the main one in Edmonton So it was 00:05:05.008 --> 00:05:08.968 made by a different company that didn't have that institutional knowledge of Mass Effect. 00:05:09.241 --> 00:05:13.519 So you had a different team working from the ground up on a new Mass Effect game. 00:05:13.786 --> 00:05:17.368 So is it any surprise that it had teething issues? No, it's not. 00:05:17.368 --> 00:05:21.248 Well, they opened two additional studios, didn't they? Subsidiaries after being 00:05:21.248 --> 00:05:22.882 acquired by EA, I believe. 00:05:23.241 --> 00:05:26.342 I can't remember exactly where they were, but I remember reading that they opened up two... 00:05:27.061 --> 00:05:31.452 More after that point but i maybe i think Montreal i think it might have been 00:05:31.452 --> 00:05:34.862 maybe Montreal maybe maybe it's like a Texas or something i don't know that's 00:05:34.862 --> 00:05:38.872 that rings a bell actually and then they had the main Bioware working on Anthem 00:05:38.872 --> 00:05:40.510 which again was a live service game, 00:05:41.176 --> 00:05:46.792 so it's one of those where i can i can i would imagine and this is based on 00:05:46.792 --> 00:05:50.957 my experience of knowing people who were not lying ahead who had a similar sort of issue, 00:05:51.654 --> 00:05:57.242 the development team in the core bioware want to make games that they have the 00:05:57.242 --> 00:06:02.352 institutional experience and knowledge for which are those kind of either single-player rpgs or 00:06:02.732 --> 00:06:05.899 single-player rpgs that might have a light co-op experience like take a you 00:06:06.259 --> 00:06:08.331 know your boulder's gate you never win tonight's or whatever, 00:06:08.883 --> 00:06:11.142 they might want to make those but at the end of the day if you're bought by 00:06:11.142 --> 00:06:16.002 ea the people at ea are making the decisions and and you remember this time 00:06:16.002 --> 00:06:19.002 period where you spoke about massive 3 around that period. 00:06:19.912 --> 00:06:22.852 You know a lot of these companies like ea were saying single-player games are 00:06:22.852 --> 00:06:26.312 dead single-player games are dead you remember that rhetoric and that narrative 00:06:26.312 --> 00:06:29.202 well mass effect 3 had multiplayer yeah, 00:06:29.777 --> 00:06:33.402 and that makes sense right for the time yeah and i look at that multiplayer 00:06:33.402 --> 00:06:36.582 was good and what they mean by single-player games are dead they don't mean 00:06:36.582 --> 00:06:40.572 that single-player games can't make money what they mean is that the money to 00:06:40.572 --> 00:06:43.848 be made is in live service

where you have this perpetual, 00:06:44.481 --> 00:06:48.254 revenue stream that continues to exist long beyond the games initial release, 00:06:48.869 --> 00:06:50.256 and that's basically where, 00:06:50.889 --> 00:06:56.242 ea went and in turn this saudi investment fund that bought ea and is closing 00:06:56.242 --> 00:07:00.212 quite you know as close by aware where they will be going as well, 00:07:00.804 --> 00:07:07.061 so it's i i do feel it all makes sense yeah i feel a degree of empathy towards, 00:07:07.824 --> 00:07:11.252 Like, towards the developers who are just told, you know, like, 00:07:11.632 --> 00:07:15.702 I use Lionhead as an example, which I have more kind of at least secondhand 00:07:15.702 --> 00:07:16.988 knowledge from people who were there. 00:07:17.557 --> 00:07:20.452 You know, they want to make, they've made Fable 3, they want to make Fable 4, 00:07:20.452 --> 00:07:24.127 but Microsoft tells them, no, we have Kinect. We want to make a Kinect game. 00:07:24.440 --> 00:07:26.774 So they make them make Fable Kinect or whatever it was called. 00:07:27.331 --> 00:07:30.532 Journeys, I think. That Fable Journeys. And then what's popular? 00:07:30.532 --> 00:07:33.582 We've got League of Legends and Dota 2 doing really well. We want a MOBA. 00:07:33.582 --> 00:07:37.705 Okay, guys, make a Fable MOBA. And they make Fable, I want to say Legends. 00:07:38.338 --> 00:07:42.814 Develop that. I thought there was an isometric multiplayer game on V4. 00:07:43.672 --> 00:07:48.774 Oh, maybe. Well, I think it was like one person plays like the... 00:07:50.280 --> 00:07:53.537 Dungeon master or something and then four heroes have to go through and that's 00:07:53.537 --> 00:07:56.677 something that was in development i've never seen that might be it then that 00:07:56.677 --> 00:07:59.867 might be i think maybe you've got one team that has one thing and then the other 00:07:59.867 --> 00:08:03.367 team is four heroes or whatever yes yeah when i say, 00:08:04.027 --> 00:08:07.807 it was basically like that but yeah it was a kind of life service game was fable 00:08:07.807 --> 00:08:13.665 legends the card game the card game i'm not sure thinking about it, 00:08:14.477 --> 00:08:17.297 fable fortune was the card and that was developed by Mediatonic, 00:08:17.297 --> 00:08:19.136 I think, the people who make all guys. 00:08:21.527 --> 00:08:24.950 And that was an outsourced piece, so it was not in-house. 00:08:25.307 --> 00:08:28.827 But yeah, I look at those situations and they want to make Fable 4 and it's 00:08:28.827 --> 00:08:31.036 took until 2026 to be making a new Fable. 00:08:31.263 --> 00:08:34.467 Getting acquired isn't necessarily the best thing for the company. 00:08:34.847 --> 00:08:37.747 A lot of the time, it's often the best thing for the people who are selling the company. 00:08:39.487 --> 00:08:43.607 It's them making the money and then saying, okay, cool, lovely, I've made my money now. 00:08:43.607 --> 00:08:49.507

And almost all these situations the people who made the money off those acquisitions 00:08:49.507 --> 00:08:55.257 leave the company short after bioware's original founders or the they left very 00:08:55.257 --> 00:08:58.287 shortly after they were acquired i remember that being quite big, 00:08:59.421 --> 00:09:03.517 notch left after minecraft or so they make their money because they sell this 00:09:03.517 --> 00:09:07.566 thing they've created and then it's not the same anymore because those visionaries 00:09:07.786 --> 00:09:12.917 that made that started that journey are no longer there yeah it's the it's the capitalism, 00:09:13.770 --> 00:09:17.327 a lottery ticket isn't it basically that's that's what it is if you've got a 00:09:17.327 --> 00:09:20.857 company that makes that is going to make you enough money you never have to 00:09:20.857 --> 00:09:23.277 work in for the rest of your life and your kids aren't going to have to work 00:09:23.277 --> 00:09:28.147 again and your grandkids aren't going to have to work then i think you take that a lot of the time. 00:09:29.807 --> 00:09:33.737 But yes yeah so i i do feel for the developers that by i I mean, 00:09:33.737 --> 00:09:37.180 certainly the thousands of jobs that have been lost or however many it was. 00:09:38.287 --> 00:09:45.777 But I also fear for quite a few of the people under EA right now because it's 00:09:45.777 --> 00:09:47.107 Saudi Investment Fund that owns them. 00:09:48.239 --> 00:09:51.159 According to IGN.com, 00:09:52.197 --> 00:09:56.574 400 people lose their jobs. Roughly 50 of these roles were at Bioware. 00:09:57.625 --> 00:10:01.106 Oh, okay. The entire studio had just 50 Bioware jobs? 00:10:01.106 --> 00:10:07.146 Well, this is IGN, so I can't speak for any level of personal information. 00:10:07.146 --> 00:10:10.026 I'm just reading here. Bioware's shutting down. Next Mass Effect Games cancelled. 00:10:10.026 --> 00:10:13.688 Bloomberg said Bioware closed its doors amidst mass layoffs at EA, 00:10:14.181 --> 00:10:17.706 which amounts to 400 people losing their jobs, approximately 3% of their total 00:10:17.706 --> 00:10:20.851 staff. Roughly 50 of these roles were at Bioware. 00:10:21.971 --> 00:10:29.926 Yeah wow okay so rest in peace i guess some memories i mean i love i mean to 00:10:29.926 --> 00:10:33.070 be honest a lot of their before the acquisition from ea i, 00:10:34.098 --> 00:10:39.006 i don't remember playing a bad bioware game i like boulders gate one and two 00:10:39.006 --> 00:10:43.647 i don't know if i think they're responsible for both of those never winter nights i played and i love that, 00:10:44.301 --> 00:10:47.676 obviously star wars knights of republic uh the first one because the second 00:10:47.676 --> 00:10:52.370 one was obsidian if i'm right it was obsidian yes jade empire i played on the xbox love jade, 00:10:52.911 --> 00:10:58.623 experience oh you just listed off my favorite games growing up like yeah i'm 00:10:58.768 --> 00:11:02.406 not sure public was my one of my favorite games jade empire frequently replay 00:11:02.406 --> 00:11:05.152 frequently replayed the first mass effect game. 00:11:06.716 --> 00:11:10.845 In age origins is one of the best rpgs i think ever, 00:11:11.932 --> 00:11:16.987 The systems in that game are so cool. Being able to essentially give a list 00:11:16.987 --> 00:11:23.627 of commands to your party members that because they're AI controlled, 00:11:23.627 --> 00:11:24.867 you can set them up and be like, 00:11:25.787 --> 00:11:30.167 if I, the player, dropped below this much health, use this healing spell on 00:11:30.167 --> 00:11:32.461 me. And it's, oh, wonderful. 00:11:32.791 --> 00:11:35.267 Wow. That's so cool. 00:11:36.071 --> 00:11:40.067 And then obviously this sort of like, Notch Republic, it was the modernized 00:11:40.067 --> 00:11:44.427 version of CRPGs, wasn't it? It took it to third person and had all the same 00:11:44.427 --> 00:11:48.187 sort of mechanics you'd expect in those sort of games. And then Mass Effect 00:11:48.187 --> 00:11:49.882 2 is something people love. 00:11:50.862 --> 00:11:57.027 And then we get to the end times where starting at Dragon Age 2. The end times, yeah. 00:11:59.602 --> 00:12:04.697 The turn. 15 years ago. Yeah, the turn 15 years ago. Dragon Age 2 came out and 00:12:04.697 --> 00:12:07.764 what a shock that was. Did you ever play Mass Dragon Age 2? 00:12:09.945 --> 00:12:16.697 Is there a bit on a bridge? or something you know what mate i can i can say 00:12:16.697 --> 00:12:18.644 there's probably a bridge somewhere in the game, 00:12:19.607 --> 00:12:25.667 and i think it was a bridge too far mate but oh yeah no i i not really if i 00:12:25.667 --> 00:12:30.446 if i did it was brief i played the first dragon age origin so then i did play, 00:12:31.259 --> 00:12:35.667 inquisition on the ps4 because i remember it being one of the only few kind 00:12:35.667 --> 00:12:40.918 of ps4 games like kind of like next gen games at the time Yeah. 00:12:41.169 --> 00:12:43.547 And I honestly wasn't impressed with that either. 00:12:44.027 --> 00:12:47.315 I was really not impressed with Inquisition. I put my time into it, 00:12:47.640 --> 00:12:52.427 but it felt like an offline MMO at the time. Apparently, over updates over years, 00:12:52.427 --> 00:12:55.452 it had got better. And I do know people who enjoy it. 00:12:56.111 --> 00:13:03.407 Not my cup of tea. Dragon Age 2 was an action RPG, so they went from heavy RPG elements to... 00:13:04.373 --> 00:13:10.711 Into very action-based. And you could smell the EA influence on it, 00:13:10.711 --> 00:13:14.756 like completely leaving what I think made Origin Special behind, 00:13:15.128 --> 00:13:17.177 bringing it all into this new sort of action thing. 00:13:17.653 --> 00:13:23.082 And there was a lot of complaints about that game having reused areas, reused assets. 00:13:23.980 --> 00:13:27.981 Yeah, I mean, again, some people like it, but for me

it was like, 00:13:27.981 --> 00:13:29.756 what have they done to the game I enjoy? 00:13:30.564 --> 00:13:36.154 Mass Effect 3 had a rough release as well after that too. with the ending being highly. 00:13:38.261 --> 00:13:41.531 Controversial, because it was very quick, it ended very quickly, 00:13:41.531 --> 00:13:46.204 and all of those decisions that you're supposedly making throughout three games for a whole franchise 00:13:46.622 --> 00:13:50.381 ended with a single decision which was not influenced by any of the previous 00:13:50.381 --> 00:13:54.451 ones, which it is difficult to end something like that, I suppose, 00:13:54.451 --> 00:13:57.912 but what a way to go. I do think the game as a whole was good. 00:13:58.330 --> 00:14:03.001 The multiplayer was really fun. I remember having lots and lots of hours on playing that. 00:14:03.361 --> 00:14:07.670 I still revisit it sometimes. The multiplayer was good fun. And I did play it. 00:14:08.121 --> 00:14:12.436 They did release a patch afterwards, expanding the ending with more cinematics and things like that. 00:14:12.785 --> 00:14:18.472 So I do think they sort of patched it up. And I do think the trilogy as a whole is a brilliant trilogy. 00:14:18.890 --> 00:14:20.644 But then it's just... 00:14:21.305 --> 00:14:25.181 Inquisition came out and I was disappointed. Andromeda played and was just like, 00:14:25.181 --> 00:14:27.784 what am I playing? Anthem, I never gave a go. 00:14:28.434 --> 00:14:32.041 Veilguard, the controversy, the decisions around that, 00:14:32.921 --> 00:14:35.951 all the things we've discussed about AAA in previous episodes, 00:14:35.951 --> 00:14:40.851 where they're hand-holdy and easy, and there's no friction, and all those things 00:14:40.851 --> 00:14:45.100 prevalent in that game, and then unfortunately, no Mass Effect universe. 00:14:46.268 --> 00:14:50.899 Yes, unfortunately. I did like how one of the developers did leak it on Reddit 00:14:50.899 --> 00:14:52.289 or whatever it was. I think good for them. 00:14:53.589 --> 00:14:57.959 Yeah. Good for them. You know, it's an internal concept trailer to kind of illustrate 00:14:57.959 --> 00:14:58.989 something, but it sounds interesting. 00:14:58.989 --> 00:15:02.309 I do see the internet is morning. I see the people online going, 00:15:02.309 --> 00:15:04.679 they took this from us and all this sort of stuff. And it's like, 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:09.279 well, looking at their recent releases with Andromeda, Anthem and Veilgar as 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:13.331 a trinity of horses of the apocalypse. Maybe this was going to be the fourth one. 00:15:14.140 --> 00:15:17.389 But much like the Horses of the Apocalypse the fourth one being death is the 00:15:17.389 --> 00:15:20.421 death of the gut oh poetic, 00:15:21.589 --> 00:15:26.539 well it's just well it's impossible to know but it's like some of those like 00:15:26.539 --> 00:15:30.889 again Andromeda was made by a different team internally you know and, 00:15:31.723 --> 00:15:35.839 it's difficult to say from what I've read from people online who were working 00:15:35.839 --> 00:15:39.859 on it they think it was going to be a return to form but I suppose you've got 00:15:39.859 --> 00:15:42.669 to believe that but yeah it's a shame, 00:15:43.869 --> 00:15:49.799 yeah yeah i suppose then like a lighter candle using a tinder box for the the 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:55.959 bioware yeah rest in peace we did i did have a message on instagram a question 00:15:55.959 --> 00:15:58.589 for us on the podcast i don't know, 00:15:59.271 --> 00:16:00.269 how uh how insightful we can be 00:16:00.269 --> 00:16:04.145 in regards to this but it is a bit of an ultimatum that makes me nervous, 00:16:04.853 --> 00:16:11.239 terrifying lee sent us on instagram if you had to erase either mario or sonic 00:16:11.239 --> 00:16:14.959 the hedgehog and all of their respective games from existence which one would 00:16:14.959 --> 00:16:18.939 you choose mario sorry was i supposed to think about that. 00:16:20.576 --> 00:16:24.819 You sending mario to the scrap it's very easy for me, 00:16:25.656 --> 00:16:33.289 on a personal level i will say because i only have really played or i have played 00:16:33.289 --> 00:16:36.173 more i've only really enjoyed one game of each franchise, 00:16:37.411 --> 00:16:41.011 I've played many of them. I only really enjoyed one of each, 00:16:41.011 --> 00:16:45.371 which came around the same time, so I only really liked it. You enjoyed Dr. 00:16:45.371 --> 00:16:48.431 Mario and Sonic Pinball. Is that right? 00:16:49.891 --> 00:16:54.977 What was the Sonic game nobody liked? Sonic the Werewolf one or something? I don't know. No. 00:16:55.250 --> 00:16:59.830 I really enjoy Sunshine, Mario Sunshine, and Sonic Adventure Battle 2. 00:17:00.846 --> 00:17:05.341 Sonic Adventure Battle 2, for me, is one of my favorite games growing up, 00:17:05.341 --> 00:17:08.234 so I can't. I would much rather lose the Mario franchise. 00:17:08.489 --> 00:17:13.341 If we're talking about from an industry level, Mario's far superior to Sonic, 00:17:13.341 --> 00:17:16.951 right? In terms of influence on the industry and its history of games. 00:17:16.951 --> 00:17:19.788 I probably think in every way, I think it is. 00:17:19.980 --> 00:17:22.331 Yeah. I'm trying to think of a way that Sonic... 00:17:24.226 --> 00:17:28.372 Yeah, I'm trying to think of a way it isn't. 00:17:28.372 --> 00:17:32.362 High-speed platformer and stuff. It's very unique and very interesting when 00:17:32.362 --> 00:17:36.842 it came out and stuff. But yeah, I just think in terms of influence on the industry, 00:17:36.842 --> 00:17:39.582 Mario is a far superior franchise for that. 00:17:40.445 --> 00:17:43.762 But then what Mario do we lose, though? Do we lose Smash Bros? 00:17:43.762 --> 00:17:49.327 Do we lose Mario Kart? What do we lose? Well, it's not Super Mario Smash Bros., is it? 00:17:49.675 --> 00:17:53.210 No, but I suppose,

okay, yeah. So you just erase Mario from existence like he's... 00:17:53.632 --> 00:17:56.452 Yeah, and his little reflect, get in the bin. It's like Spider-Man. 00:17:56.612 --> 00:17:58.772 You know what I mean? He's done that spell with... 00:17:59.700 --> 00:18:03.732 And Peach. With pulling that toad out the ground and deflecting my attacks. 00:18:03.732 --> 00:18:05.292 I'm not having it anymore. Well, just... 00:18:05.432 --> 00:18:08.582 Okay, so Mario's been erased, and all his games have been erased, 00:18:08.582 --> 00:18:10.672 and now it's Luigi Brothers, and it's Luigi. 00:18:12.352 --> 00:18:15.562 Is that the way we evolved? We'll just get a different one. The question now 00:18:15.562 --> 00:18:20.212 becomes, do you want the rest of the games to be Luigi or Tails? 00:18:21.448 --> 00:18:26.052 Oh, it's Luigi, right. Now, what do you think, like, for your personal and industry? 00:18:26.052 --> 00:18:28.551 Oh, if I had to wipe them all from existence? 00:18:29.262 --> 00:18:33.332 With a snap of my fingers. Well, I think... I'm sorry, little one. 00:18:33.332 --> 00:18:37.832 I do think, even though I'm not a massive platformer fan nowadays, 00:18:37.832 --> 00:18:41.592 to the extent I was when I was younger, I do like the diversity of... 00:18:41.892 --> 00:18:46.399 I mean, there's diversity in Mario and Sonic games, but I do like the diversity... 00:18:46.730 --> 00:18:52.202 I think that Mario has a bit more diversity and a bit more breadth there. 00:18:52.202 --> 00:18:56.212 Like I can, for example, I can not be a fan of Super Mario, but there's all 00:18:56.212 --> 00:19:00.932 world style games, but I can sit there and enjoy Super Mario and Luigi Superstar 00:19:00.932 --> 00:19:06.045 Saga or Paper Mario RPG series or enjoy Super Mario Kart or something like that. 00:19:06.190 --> 00:19:10.817 But I have enjoyed the Sonic Karting games as well in more recent years. Yeah. 00:19:11.647 --> 00:19:15.956 But, I mean, I do think Mario Kart is superior. But I do like how Sonic, 00:19:15.956 --> 00:19:19.326 the new Sonic karting game, is taking kind of the Super Smash Bros. 00:19:19.326 --> 00:19:20.307 Approach. Have you seen it? 00:19:20.765 --> 00:19:22.916 It's got a lot of... It's a lot of different franchises. Yeah, 00:19:22.916 --> 00:19:24.176 they've got SpongeBob in there. 00:19:24.596 --> 00:19:27.096 Very cool. They've got a variety of things, which I kind of like. 00:19:27.096 --> 00:19:30.870 It's almost like Sega racing then, isn't it? It's Sonic on the brand. Yeah. 00:19:31.439 --> 00:19:37.753 Either way, we lose Mario versus Sonic Olympics, and that's a tragedy to some people. 00:19:39.196 --> 00:19:43.716 Okay so if it was super mario and sonic olympics was gone what would be the 00:19:43.716 --> 00:19:50.216 counterpart after that is it is it master chief and sonic olympics, 00:19:51.406 --> 00:19:55.416 what would now be the replacement well if you're you kind of think about right 00:19:55.416 --> 00:19:58.246 because the only the first franchise that pops up is legends of zelda but that's 00:19:58.246 --> 00:20:03.076 just nintendo with nintendo you got to go out from that if it was if it mario was gone, 00:20:04.356 --> 00:20:05.356 It would be Link, 00:20:06.916 --> 00:20:07.396 with Sonic, maybe? 00:20:07.396 --> 00:20:09.986 Yeah, if it was Mario gone, it would be Link. You've got Sonic gone. 00:20:09.986 --> 00:20:13.523 Have you got in Sega that can be Super Monkey Ball, the monkeys or something? 00:20:15.169 --> 00:20:20.258 I don't know. The only other franchise that hits that is Crash Bandicoot, but that's not... 00:20:21.118 --> 00:20:24.218 If you're talking about it specifically in Sega... Yeah. 00:20:24.818 --> 00:20:28.794 Imagine they were doing a partner again, so Nintendo Sega, but you've got to replace Sonic with... 00:20:29.102 --> 00:20:33.653 Because historically, it was Alex Kidd, and then Sonic replaced Alex Kidd as their mascot. 00:20:34.193 --> 00:20:37.653 But Alex Kidd is not a cool cat anymore, or a cool kid. 00:20:39.967 --> 00:20:43.978 The Shenmue guy? I don't know. Hizuki, I don't know. 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:49.258 Yeah, that would be quite funny. Quite a really kind of a... 00:20:49.932 --> 00:20:54.918 Matt Mayer's like, woohoo! And he's like, have you seen a black car around here? Whatever it is. 00:20:56.230 --> 00:21:01.084 They just have Jim Carrey? Yes, yeah. But as the mask, I think. Hold on. 00:21:02.158 --> 00:21:06.078 I've just Googled very quickly Sega characters and Hatsune Miku's popped up. 00:21:06.578 --> 00:21:11.638 Yes, okay. There you go. Mario and Hatsune Miku Olympics. I think that'd probably 00:21:11.638 --> 00:21:14.128 be more popular, to be honest. That would be more popular. 00:21:14.158 --> 00:21:20.547 There you go. sega it's on us you can have it whoa oh i want 30 of your i mean 00:21:20.820 --> 00:21:23.299 yes 30 we are a store page now, 00:21:24.358 --> 00:21:28.407 but yes thank you for that question i think we haven't come to a conclusion, 00:21:29.056 --> 00:21:33.345 yeah so it might be mario and hatsune miku and then it would be sonic and. 00:21:35.402 --> 00:21:38.414 Yeah but now in sakurai nowadays probably end up being kerber, 00:21:39.782 --> 00:21:45.413 Look, they can keep trying to force Kirby down our throats, but I ain't buying it. 00:21:46.219 --> 00:21:47.919 You're not literally buying it? 00:21:49.324 --> 00:21:54.319 Both. Okay. Okay. All right, then let's move on from that question. 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:55.739 Thank you for the question, Lee. 00:21:56.419 --> 00:21:59.969 And feel free to send anyone, feel free to send in any questions. 00:21:59.969 --> 00:22:01.777 They can be serious, they can be silly. 00:22:02.555 --> 00:22:04.593 The more seriously silly they are, the better. 00:22:05.639 --> 00:22:10.089 Whether I answer them seriously or silly has nothing to do the question it's 00:22:10.089 --> 00:22:11.839 all about me on the day that is

00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:16.749 true having worked with him for over 10 years i can i can attest to that. 00:22:18.555 --> 00:22:23.379 Okay shall we move on i guess sort of to the main event which is amnesia the 00:22:23.379 --> 00:22:29.507 dark descent a game that we've both been playing dare i say religiously or culturally or, 00:22:30.217 --> 00:22:35.899 metaphorically i've been playing yes metaphorically in insanity there we go you're welcome, 00:22:36.639 --> 00:22:41.949 so it was developed by a swedish studio called frictional games they were founded 00:22:41.949 --> 00:22:46.619 in helsingburg and they're currently based in malmo but much like us the majority 00:22:46.619 --> 00:22:49.855 of their well their development team works remotely all across 00:22:50.241 --> 00:22:53.015 all over the place apparently mostly over, 00:22:53.462 --> 00:22:56.538 around europe there's 35 developers full-time, 00:22:57.125 --> 00:23:00.539 the amount of people that worked on amnesia dark descent full-time this was 00:23:00.539 --> 00:23:05.919 back in the day they had six core developers with 55 people in total in the 00:23:05.919 --> 00:23:08.816 credits with probably about seven or eight of them in the special thanks, 00:23:09.628 --> 00:23:16.918 the game came out on september 8th 2010 and as it was 2010 what do we like to do we like to have a look, 00:23:18.144 --> 00:23:26.729 The year 2010 in gaming. So this was a year because I developed RSI typing down 00:23:26.729 --> 00:23:29.379 the list of games that came out this year that I was like, wow, 00:23:29.379 --> 00:23:30.387 I actually played quite a lot. 00:23:31.226 --> 00:23:34.272 It was also the year that you and I met, Josh, in that area. 00:23:34.800 --> 00:23:36.904 So if we could delete one year. 00:23:38.469 --> 00:23:41.682 There's a choice between, yes, yeah, removing one person. 00:23:42.023 --> 00:23:46.329 So there was quite a lot of games that came out and kind of like new IPs, 00:23:46.329 --> 00:23:50.234 but also games that were just a single release and then that was it but they 00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:52.980 live long in the memory even today so, 00:23:53.729 --> 00:23:57.519 i go i'll go through new ips first and and kind of singular games and then we'll 00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:00.498 go to kind of big sequels and spin-offs that exist, 00:24:01.009 --> 00:24:04.869 but in terms of new ips i think one of the biggest that came out in 2010 was 00:24:04.869 --> 00:24:06.564 the first red dead redemption 00:24:06.936 --> 00:24:13.832 by rockstar which is relevant with gta 6 ever so on the horizon coming out approaching 00:24:14.110 --> 00:24:16.543 what is it what's the date november is it 16th, 00:24:17.167 --> 00:24:22.549 couldn't tell you there we go we as you can see josh and i are both so excited 00:24:22.549 --> 00:24:28.169 i'm so excited yeah definitely but november 5th is ocarina retirement folks so there you go, 00:24:28.929 --> 00:24:33.799 we're not erasing link from existence um but yes red dead redemption i played 00:24:33.799 --> 00:24:39.629 it on the xbox 360 and yeah they'd released kind of or was it a DLC or an expansion 00:24:39.629 --> 00:24:40.962 of zombies or something? 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:43.359 That was the best part of the game, was the Undead Nightmare. 00:24:43.359 --> 00:24:47.078 Undead Redemption. That was brilliant. That was so good. Yes. 00:24:47.416 --> 00:24:49.070 What a brilliant expansion that was. 00:24:50.336 --> 00:24:54.989 There was also, it's a bit fandom, but Yakuza also did a zombie one called Dead 00:24:54.989 --> 00:24:58.599 Souls, and it was like you're going through the Yakuza world, 00:24:58.599 --> 00:25:03.182 but you're just kind of smashing through a bunch of zombies with all the pickups. 00:25:03.298 --> 00:25:05.939 It was quite entertaining. Yeah, that's basically what the Red Dead Redemption 00:25:05.939 --> 00:25:08.889 was, right? Yes. They just took the entire map, converted it, 00:25:08.889 --> 00:25:12.841 and added quests and everything, and it was all voiced. It was really good. Yes, yeah. 00:25:13.364 --> 00:25:17.469 Another IP that started 2010 came out, Alan Wake, first Alan Wake, 00:25:17.469 --> 00:25:21.829 which was also a horror game, so kind of related to our spooky season theme at the moment. Ooh. 00:25:23.278 --> 00:25:26.273 I'm a bit concerned that we both did that. Yes, I was going to say. 00:25:29.215 --> 00:25:33.889 I haven't played Alan Wake, embarrassingly, sir. No, the thing is, 00:25:33.889 --> 00:25:37.404 these games came out when we were late teens, right? 00:25:37.561 --> 00:25:42.609 So Man with Torch on the front of a blue box didn't really capture my imagination 00:25:42.609 --> 00:25:44.050 back then, unfortunately. 00:25:44.775 --> 00:25:47.736 So it's a bad time to say that I loved Luigi's Mansion. 00:25:48.340 --> 00:25:54.452 Well, it took me a very long time to figure out, to actually learn what Alan Wake was. as a game, like, 00:25:55.320 --> 00:26:00.091 To me, it looked like a walking simulator or a detective game or something at the time. 00:26:00.259 --> 00:26:07.239 Well, I guess it's a combination of things from those genres as well as horror. 00:26:07.984 --> 00:26:11.649 But yeah, I haven't got around to playing it myself either, but it is a game 00:26:11.649 --> 00:26:13.313 that's on my list of things to do. 00:26:13.910 --> 00:26:18.259 So I'm looking forward to playing it at some point. It's kind of the method 00:26:18.259 --> 00:26:20.609 to the madness of the podcast, really. There's a bunch of games that I want 00:26:20.609 --> 00:26:23.353 to get through. Bioshock was one of them. Thankfully, we've played that now. 00:26:24.439 --> 00:26:30.805 Yeah. Yeah, hopefully get through a few more. We've got coming up as well that I'm quite excited by. 00:26:31.246 --> 00:26:38.186 Another game that came out in 2010, first one, Xenoblade Chronicles on the Nintendo, 00:26:38.818 --> 00:26:43.856 Wii,

which, I mean, it is a new IP because it's monolith soft, 00:26:43.995 --> 00:26:45.689 but it's a first party by Nintendo. 00:26:45.689 --> 00:26:51.433 But it's weirdly, like, it's kind of like a spiritual successor to a spiritual successor. 00:26:51.822 --> 00:26:55.357 So there was, like, a PS1 RPG called Xenogears, 00:26:55.984 --> 00:27:00.379 which was by the same director i think it was uh i want to say it's tetsuya 00:27:00.379 --> 00:27:04.319 takahashi i think his name is and he made zeno gears where he was the head of 00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:09.905 zeno gears which was a square soft game or square or square enix as people know him as now, 00:27:10.659 --> 00:27:15.439 and then it was square hard well square something and then he had another studio 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:21.619 after that where he made another series called zeno saga which was on the PS2 00:27:21.619 --> 00:27:23.774 and he made I think three of those, 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:29.052 but they were published by Namco which is now Bandai Namco, 00:27:29.922 --> 00:27:34.862 And then he, again, started another studio, which is now Monolith Soft, 00:27:35.290 --> 00:27:39.057 and created Xeno Blade Chronicles, which is Nintendo. 00:27:39.411 --> 00:27:44.091 So he has three kind of Xeno series that he worked on. 00:27:45.724 --> 00:27:50.375 And they're all owned by three different major publishers, I suppose. 00:27:51.624 --> 00:27:54.664 Another one. Another one. Another one. Another one. 00:27:54.664 --> 00:27:59.194 Yeah. And I think he kind of does subtle nods to them, if you know what I mean, 00:27:59.194 --> 00:28:03.013 as much as you can legally legally do it yeah like in the title of the game 00:28:03.292 --> 00:28:07.637 real subtle nod yeah subtle nods like that yeah it'd be like, 00:28:08.171 --> 00:28:13.564 Capcom releasing a new series called Monster Tracker or something you know Monster Fighter, 00:28:14.644 --> 00:28:18.314 and you know he works with Ridley Scott and he works on the Xenomorph so yeah 00:28:18.314 --> 00:28:21.738 there's a bunch of stuff going on I think it was Xenomorph maybe I'm wrong, 00:28:23.082 --> 00:28:28.655 But, yes, so there was the Xenoblade Chronicles 2010. I should pick up the pace a little bit. 00:28:29.378 --> 00:28:33.986 All the big indie games came out then, Super Meat Boy, Limbo, 00:28:34.468 --> 00:28:38.432 those ones that are kind of held in high regard, still thought about and talked about today. 00:28:38.955 --> 00:28:43.366 Heavy Rain came out 2010 on the PS3, David Cage game. 00:28:44.005 --> 00:28:46.323 Oh, Jadon. Jadon. 00:28:47.482 --> 00:28:49.369 Jadon. There you go, press X. 00:28:50.763 --> 00:28:57.841 Jadon. Yeah. very strange like i i play that game and it there's just he does a bunch of um, 00:28:58.463 --> 00:29:02.358 things where the guy keeps the main character who says jason and sean and whatever 00:29:02.782 --> 00:29:07.501 black's out and he just wakes up with a origami in his hand and it's just

never explained at all, 00:29:08.083 --> 00:29:11.543 i think that was due to cuts or something it was yeah i think there was going 00:29:11.543 --> 00:29:14.223 to be a supernatural element yeah, 00:29:15.123 --> 00:29:19.933 i i was going to be the killer or something and that was i think that obviously 00:29:19.933 --> 00:29:23.983 that was the red herring that he wanted you to believe but the fact that there was no, 00:29:24.503 --> 00:29:28.673 explanation for those blackouts in the game that launched but just had a 00:29:29.103 --> 00:29:33.313 short scene but we don't care about it it's not true just a short scene at the 00:29:33.313 --> 00:29:35.873 end of the game where he's just getting his brain scanning and it's like these 00:29:35.873 --> 00:29:40.263 red dots are the key problem areas in your memory loss and i'm afraid it's terminal so, 00:29:40.783 --> 00:29:45.192 it's a bad case of cte are you a former american footballer what's going on here, 00:29:46.083 --> 00:29:49.053 and it's like we don't we don't think that you should get married to anyone 00:29:49.053 --> 00:29:52.402 quite frankly you You should be isolated from society. 00:29:52.986 --> 00:29:55.627 And it may have been better if you left Sean to his fate. 00:29:57.823 --> 00:30:03.232 Anyway, moving swiftly on from that, we've got Kinect Sports, a classic. 00:30:04.362 --> 00:30:07.997 Uh dark siders do you remember that one, 00:30:09.056 --> 00:30:14.326 dark siders yes deadly premonition spooky season deadly premonition combines 00:30:14.326 --> 00:30:17.848 like kind of twin pixie style combines horror with, 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:22.926 surreal comedy i suppose that that we should add if we can ever find a playable 00:30:22.926 --> 00:30:26.473 version of that game somewhere because i've heard the pc version is a, 00:30:27.442 --> 00:30:31.776 is not the greatest you need to potentially troubleshoot it based on your hardware 00:30:31.776 --> 00:30:34.577 and stuff, which sounds like a nightmare. 00:30:34.774 --> 00:30:36.893 Sounds like a deadly premonition for me. 00:30:38.145 --> 00:30:42.116 But it is a great game. I enjoyed it. In the Guinness Book of Records should 00:30:42.116 --> 00:30:44.876 be the most polarizing review scores. 00:30:45.352 --> 00:30:48.614 So people either gave it like a one to three or a 10. 00:30:49.296 --> 00:30:53.066 Wild. It was very much Marmite or I don't know what the term is in Americans. 00:30:53.066 --> 00:30:53.978 I'm trying to localize it. 00:30:54.227 --> 00:30:58.286 What would be the equivalent in America if not Marmite? Cheese Nick, 00:30:58.286 --> 00:30:59.309 Al? There you go. You're welcome. 00:30:59.838 --> 00:31:04.332 I'm here all night. Another first game. Unfortunately, it is. Yes, unfortunately. 00:31:04.872 --> 00:31:09.958 Another first new IP, first game in the series, Metro 2033. 00:31:10.276 --> 00:31:14.476 And we spoke about those games off-air, haven't we, about looking into them 00:31:14.476 --> 00:31:16.502 and they're on our list to explore. 00:31:16.827 --> 00:31:20.856 Maybe Metro 2033. But I don't believe we can get the original anymore. 00:31:20.856 --> 00:31:23.521 I think it's got to be the remastered version on Steam or something. 00:31:25.056 --> 00:31:30.308 I have it on Epic, but it might have, what's it called? It's like Redux or something like that. 00:31:31.056 --> 00:31:35.495 Yeah, they might have Witcher 3'd me. Ah, I see. Yeah. 00:31:35.840 --> 00:31:43.201 It is a series that I've heard great things about, so I would like to play that at some point. 00:31:43.549 --> 00:31:47.776 I've only played Exodus from that series, and I did enjoy that a lot, 00:31:47.776 --> 00:31:49.345 but it's very different to the other ones. 00:31:49.832 --> 00:31:51.716 Oh, is it? Okay, interesting. Yes. 00:31:52.933 --> 00:31:57.832 The game that came out, Dante's Inferno? Oh, yeah. Played the demo of that. 00:31:59.614 --> 00:32:00.177 Burn, yeah. 00:32:01.721 --> 00:32:08.021 Yeah. New IP, I guess, Nier. Oh, I did play that. Did I play it around yours? Did I buy it? 00:32:09.881 --> 00:32:12.771 You might have borrowed it off me. But I definitely owned it. 00:32:12.771 --> 00:32:15.113 I own it as well. It's on my shelf behind me. 00:32:15.548 --> 00:32:19.701 Well, that was the time where me and you were going into second-hand game shops 00:32:19.701 --> 00:32:23.241 and buying new games, which is how some of these games came to be, 00:32:23.741 --> 00:32:25.737 I think, in our collections. 00:32:26.173 --> 00:32:28.821 Yeah, I think we both bought it. It might have been really cheap. 00:32:29.161 --> 00:32:30.741 I think it was a couple of quid. 00:32:31.041 --> 00:32:33.781 Yeah I think so and we both picked up and we were surprised that it was actually 00:32:33.781 --> 00:32:37.591 decent because it was so cheap and it was an RPG and you usually think wow they 00:32:37.591 --> 00:32:42.072 must be awful but it was actually pretty pretty decent pretty solid and then of course, 00:32:42.553 --> 00:32:46.301 they've they've done a few variations of it since and then there was kind of 00:32:46.301 --> 00:32:51.824 like that sequel or spin-off that was Nier Automata which blew up like No Tomorrow 00:32:52.137 --> 00:32:53.264 and is extremely popular, 00:32:54.111 --> 00:33:00.049 yeah so that series is still in the zeitgeist so to speak another game that, 00:33:00.742 --> 00:33:04.031 You might remember me playing, because I think I played it around yours, 00:33:04.031 --> 00:33:05.734 a game called Resonance of Fate. 00:33:06.541 --> 00:33:09.831 I do. And it had a really unique combat. 00:33:10.214 --> 00:33:13.535 It was like, you had like bullet, you had guns, right? 00:33:13.808 --> 00:33:19.761 And you had to kind of, you had to direct yourself to run in a direction and 00:33:19.761 --> 00:33:23.272 then you could shoot whilst running or maybe do flips and stuff. It was really a... 00:33:24.190 --> 00:33:28.712 It had, I feel that

if I could truly understand it, there was something really 00:33:28.712 --> 00:33:30.192 interesting to grab onto here. 00:33:30.796 --> 00:33:34.991 But I don't think I ever quite, I played it for, you know, five hours or so. 00:33:35.287 --> 00:33:39.272 But I did like the aesthetic and the kind of, it had like a steampunk kind of 00:33:39.272 --> 00:33:41.987 look to it, but it had an interesting colour scheme, colour palette. 00:33:42.480 --> 00:33:45.580 And the characters were kind of stood out as well. 00:33:46.189 --> 00:33:49.702 Visually, I remember it being quite good. And they have released a HD version, 00:33:50.345 --> 00:33:52.011 like a remastered version on Steam. 00:33:52.364 --> 00:33:56.802 And they funnily enough they did it's funny that this game popped up in my research 00:33:56.802 --> 00:33:59.655 because a few days ago they did announce a dlc coming for it, 00:34:00.327 --> 00:34:05.132 an additional content which is wild because when you think when that game come 00:34:05.132 --> 00:34:07.317 out my gosh i can't believe that, 00:34:07.874 --> 00:34:12.442 it can't even be that popular of a game can it you wouldn't think so it's uh 00:34:12.442 --> 00:34:16.812 incredible really and that dlc's come into the steam version and that you know 00:34:16.812 --> 00:34:18.085 that kind of remastered version, 00:34:18.922 --> 00:34:23.730 so maybe maybe even just we could consider it in the future just to kind of, 00:34:24.274 --> 00:34:29.548 dive into it and see if my memories of that are are relatively correct. 00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:34.448 Okay, so sequels and spinoffs now. Halo Reach 2010. 00:34:35.247 --> 00:34:39.031 I have not played that. Have you played that one? I've played it extensively. 00:34:39.624 --> 00:34:44.357 Speaking of dying companies, that was the last good Halo. They closed Halo Studios, 00:34:44.357 --> 00:34:45.244 did they? Or something like that? 00:34:45.892 --> 00:34:48.138 Something happened? What, recently? 00:34:49.107 --> 00:34:53.797 Yeah. Maybe. Maybe. This is how depressing it is, though, isn't it? 00:34:53.797 --> 00:34:57.177 It's hard to tell, isn't it? There's layoffs every other week. 00:34:57.679 --> 00:35:02.467 Microsoft just announced... Maybe they won't close. Oh, that was it. Yeah, that was it. 00:35:03.556 --> 00:35:09.867 After co-developing Halo 4's release, Halo Infinite came out, 343. 00:35:09.867 --> 00:35:14.214 Studio rebranded to Halo Studios, releasing Campaign Evolved in 2026, 00:35:15.189 --> 00:35:16.307 which was not received that well, 00:35:16.307 --> 00:35:20.379 as far as I can tell. And then shortly afterwards, they're not closed. 00:35:20.680 --> 00:35:25.400 A lot of the staff were laid off, and Halo's development has been shifted to Activision. 00:35:26.095 --> 00:35:30.652 I do remember reading that, yes, shifted to Activision. That was this year? Yes, yeah. 00:35:31.313 --> 00:35:34.390 I'm happy we played Halo Combat Evolved earlier in the podcast. 00:35:34.611 --> 00:35:36.297 That was a good experience. Yeah, yeah. 00:35:36.743 --> 00:35:40.268 Well, I did play Halo 4 and it was... 00:35:41.967 --> 00:35:44.417 Yeah, I didn't... Was it forgettable? Is that what you're saying? 00:35:44.417 --> 00:35:51.675 It was forgettable, yes. Yeah. Okay. Okay, so we move on to the next one. I just... I weep. 00:35:54.987 --> 00:35:58.747 Another sequel spinoff, Call of Duty Black Ops came out 2010. 00:35:58.747 --> 00:36:01.264 That was good. Back when, oh, never mind. 00:36:02.286 --> 00:36:04.967 I was going to, you know, slag off another AAA game. 00:36:06.287 --> 00:36:12.503 Do you prefer Black Ops or Cotton Warfare? I always enjoyed the Treyarch line 00:36:12.747 --> 00:36:18.527 of Call of Duty, so World of War, Black Ops, Black Ops 2 were my preference. 00:36:19.107 --> 00:36:23.192 Yeah, they had the zombies and stuff, and they were just better games, in my opinion. 00:36:24.414 --> 00:36:29.974 Fair enough. God of War 3 came out 2010. Fallout New Vegas. 00:36:30.649 --> 00:36:33.772 Classic. Other Obsidian. Other Obsidian mentioned. 00:36:33.877 --> 00:36:37.737 Still alive for now, clinging on. Yeah, well, you know, odd life support, 00:36:37.737 --> 00:36:41.311 but maybe making Fallout again. So fingers crossed, everybody. 00:36:41.927 --> 00:36:43.627 If we all join our energy together. 00:36:44.427 --> 00:36:47.673 Yeah, like a spirit bomb. Dragon Ball 2. 00:36:48.922 --> 00:36:54.510 Super Mario Galaxy 2. Yeah. Mass Effect 2. Yeah. 00:36:55.311 --> 00:37:00.827 Rock Band 3. Did you play that one? No, I wasn't into those Guitar Hero Rock 00:37:00.827 --> 00:37:02.935 Band games. Mass Effect 2, you said you don't like, is that right? 00:37:04.447 --> 00:37:08.407 I don't hate the game. I much prefer... You hate the game? I hate it. 00:37:08.407 --> 00:37:12.667 No, I much prefer the first one compared to any of the other two in that franchise. 00:37:13.127 --> 00:37:17.450 Much like Dragon Age 2, but in a very different way. 00:37:18.305 --> 00:37:23.087 Mass Effect 1 is much more like the Dragon Age Origins 2 Mass Effect series 00:37:23.087 --> 00:37:29.287 for me, is a lot more old-school BioWare RPG, and then Mass Effect 2 still has 00:37:29.287 --> 00:37:32.682 that a lot more than Dragon Age 2 did. 00:37:33.877 --> 00:37:39.252 There was a lot of... I can see in that a lot of the problems people have with Starfield these days. 00:37:40.506 --> 00:37:43.136 I won't get too into it because this is not a podcast about... 00:37:44.091 --> 00:37:48.806 It's not a podcast about Mass Effect and all that stuff. But yeah, 00:37:49.226 --> 00:37:54.046 that game opposed to the original one felt very level-based, which is really weird. 00:37:54.066 --> 00:37:57.518 It felt really weird for me as an enjoyer of RPGs to be like, 00:37:58.098 --> 00:38:00.356 oh, you're going to this planet. This planet is this level. 00:38:00.751 --> 00:38:02.966 You're going to play through these key points and

you're going to leave the 00:38:02.966 --> 00:38:05.976 planet and there's no anyone to talk to there's no quests there's no nothing 00:38:05.976 --> 00:38:08.186 you're just going to play through this level of this RPG, 00:38:08.959 --> 00:38:12.446 and then you're going to like a shooter level and then you're going to go back 00:38:12.446 --> 00:38:17.023 to the RPG afterwards and it felt very disconnected for me in that regard yeah yeah yeah, 00:38:17.855 --> 00:38:19.730 Starcraft 2 Wings of Liberty, 00:38:20.700 --> 00:38:24.006 I haven't played that either in fact I haven't played a Starcraft game I don't 00:38:24.006 --> 00:38:29.888 know if I'm going to get shot for that oh no I've got to interrupt the podcast I'm going to date it. 00:38:31.431 --> 00:38:33.315 Sir Patrick Stewart has just died. 00:38:34.197 --> 00:38:35.466 Really? Yeah. 00:38:36.467 --> 00:38:41.075 Oh, no. Well, that is sad. That is sad. Wow. 00:38:41.726 --> 00:38:47.139 How old was that? It was the 80s, wasn't it? 86. Oh, that is a shame. What a dude. 00:38:48.386 --> 00:38:52.886 That's heartbreaking. Was he in Avengers or whatever it was? 00:38:52.886 --> 00:38:55.244 Yeah, he's going to be in the new Avengers. Damn. 00:38:55.970 --> 00:38:58.946 Feels bad. It does. But back to 00:38:58.946 --> 00:39:03.312 our roasting of AAA games. We'll take that moment there and Bloody hell. 00:39:03.880 --> 00:39:07.136 So when the rest of this episode, I'm crying randomly, you'll find out why. 00:39:07.136 --> 00:39:11.473 You know why? Yes, he really loves Professor X. 00:39:14.446 --> 00:39:18.329 So, yeah. And Assassin's Creed Brotherhood was another, 2010. 00:39:18.590 --> 00:39:21.846 I'll probably reel off these quite quickly now, I suppose. You know what? 00:39:22.380 --> 00:39:25.136 Well, yeah, reel off these quite quickly. Very quickly. Well, 00:39:25.136 --> 00:39:29.026 the things that you're mentioning right now just seem to be the last titles 00:39:29.026 --> 00:39:30.193 in series that I enjoyed. 00:39:30.838 --> 00:39:35.109 There is a theme here, isn't there? Like Halo Reach, let's say Mass Effect 2. 00:39:36.506 --> 00:39:38.069 Let's put that in there as an oral mention. 00:39:39.498 --> 00:39:43.933 And what did you say? Sorry. So there was four. Brotherhood. 00:39:44.713 --> 00:39:48.103 Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, yeah, sorry. Yeah, Brotherhood as well being another, 00:39:48.103 --> 00:39:52.183 like the last Assassin's Creed I enjoyed because Revelations just dropped off 00:39:52.183 --> 00:39:53.903 for me and then three I didn't enjoy. 00:39:53.903 --> 00:39:57.703 And four was fine, but it was a pirate game, not an Assassin game, 00:39:58.681 --> 00:40:00.127 which as a pirate game, great. 00:40:00.753 --> 00:40:05.723 I think it was just before that. I think it was around the time because I know 00:40:05.723 --> 00:40:09.035 Xbox Live was massive still at this point because it was 360. 00:40:09.556 --> 00:40:14.753 But it was still at the tail end of before all these kind of AAA developers 00:40:14.753 --> 00:40:18.947 decided that we should pivot to everything should be a live service, like online game. 00:40:19.481 --> 00:40:24.333 And they were still content with making great AAA single player games. 00:40:24.333 --> 00:40:27.788 Well, you're saying that, Brotherhood had a multiplayer section added to it? 00:40:28.015 --> 00:40:31.673 Yes. It had like a hide and seek multiplayer mode. But I think the key thing 00:40:31.673 --> 00:40:35.973 here is they were added to it. It wasn't the focus. 00:40:37.253 --> 00:40:41.743 Where I think later on, then it Not even Assassin's Creed specifically, but you know what I mean. 00:40:41.743 --> 00:40:46.563 I think it's the allocation of resources and where the attention of people at 00:40:46.563 --> 00:40:49.553 the top of these companies kind of shone their eyes. 00:40:49.553 --> 00:40:53.543 This is a shift, isn't it, at this time? There's a big shift in the industry 00:40:53.543 --> 00:40:57.615 around the turn of that decade. Yes, I believe so. 00:40:57.940 --> 00:41:03.833 And another game came out in 2010, Civilization V, Super Street Fighter IV, 00:41:04.333 --> 00:41:07.073 which is considered the definitive edition of Street Fighter IV, 00:41:07.920 --> 00:41:13.543 need for speed hot pursuit i did play that but my memory of that is hazy no 00:41:13.543 --> 00:41:21.067 more heroes 2 desperate struggle which was on the way which i think is suitor 51 bioshock 2. 00:41:23.853 --> 00:41:24.713 Just cause 2, 00:41:27.213 --> 00:41:31.120 just cause 2 is good yeah yeah megaman 10, 00:41:32.145 --> 00:41:34.925 Oh, my God, it did have a multiplayer mode. Yeah. 00:41:35.225 --> 00:41:40.175 Do you notice it, though? Yeah, I've seen it. I think what happened was Xbox 00:41:40.175 --> 00:41:45.225 Live blew up mid to late 2000s. Yeah, on that stuff, didn't they? 00:41:45.811 --> 00:41:51.308 I want to say it was about 2006 to 2009. That's when it really blew up. 00:41:53.271 --> 00:41:56.667 And it was kind of established by the time these games are coming out. 00:41:56.957 --> 00:42:00.145 And it was clearly a case of, like, we need to have an online element. 00:42:00.145 --> 00:42:01.443 We need to have an online element. 00:42:01.582 --> 00:42:04.845 And then the pivot went from we need to have an online element to the online 00:42:04.845 --> 00:42:09.872 element needs to be the focus so after this now the next five years are spent, 00:42:10.534 --> 00:42:15.335 well not next five years next 10 years are spent pursuing that pretty much what 00:42:15.335 --> 00:42:20.685 was our megaman 10 lost planet 2 did you play lost planet oh lost planet 2 i 00:42:20.685 --> 00:42:23.803 love that game yeah lost planet i i i, 00:42:24.520 --> 00:42:26.850 I feel like it's a game that's kind of been forgotten now, hasn't it? 00:42:26.850 --> 00:42:29.420 Was Lost Planet 3 really bad and it kind of just died? It was really bad. 00:42:29.880 -->

00:42:34.441 It really departed from the vibe and the gameplay of that series. 00:42:35.020 --> 00:42:41.664 And it just died after that. Lost Planet 2 was brilliant. It had great four-player co-op enjoyment. 00:42:42.645 --> 00:42:44.172 And also fun online. 00:42:46.031 --> 00:42:51.210 The main problem with that game was getting a whole... You used to have to use, like, was it Hamachi? 00:42:51.210 --> 00:42:55.870 Like the server like little app you can get on your computer to like locally 00:42:55.870 --> 00:43:00.360 host a server you used to have to do that to play it on PC I remember like, 00:43:00.989 --> 00:43:04.280 so many years ago maybe 10 years ago at this point trying to play it like a 00:43:04.280 --> 00:43:09.900 play I have played through Lost Planet 2 with friends in co-op on PC but they 00:43:09.900 --> 00:43:13.320 like discontinued everything like it completely disappeared and you had to like 00:43:13.320 --> 00:43:15.961 find your own ways to play it I think you still probably can, 00:43:17.180 --> 00:43:21.170 with some effort but it's certainly not easy anymore to play that I think like 00:43:21.170 --> 00:43:26.180 Windows, get us live, Windows something services went, disappeared off PC. 00:43:26.180 --> 00:43:28.291 What was it? Windows games or something like that? 00:43:29.008 --> 00:43:32.380 Windows games. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, that, that disappeared and that it was 00:43:32.380 --> 00:43:35.056 hosted through that. And once that was gone, you couldn't even, 00:43:35.800 --> 00:43:37.247 yeah, you could not get onto it. 00:43:38.562 --> 00:43:46.485 I'm just reminding myself now to turn off the sounds for when someone messages 00:43:46.485 --> 00:43:50.869 you on Discord. Does everyone turn you Professor X is dead? 00:43:52.225 --> 00:43:56.205 You know when people at you, at everyone, and it's just another thing. 00:43:56.205 --> 00:43:59.738 And it's not to do with that, which I wish it was, because then I would have some more respect. 00:44:02.055 --> 00:44:05.854 Anyway, another game, Skate 3, which I know a lot of people love that. 00:44:05.988 --> 00:44:08.368 I did not play it, but Skate 3. 00:44:08.554 --> 00:44:13.273 And then Prince of Persia, The Forgotten Sands as well, which was another, 00:44:13.604 --> 00:44:15.590 I think that was another Prince of Persia that people liked. 00:44:16.211 --> 00:44:19.875 Clearly, I mean, I've played more than half of the games I've listed and still 00:44:19.875 --> 00:44:22.595 there's plenty there to sink my teeth into. Indeed. 00:44:22.956 --> 00:44:24.644 So, yes, that was the list. 00:44:25.435 --> 00:44:29.035 There was plenty more I could have wrote down, but I think I got to about September 00:44:29.035 --> 00:44:30.351 and I was like, guys, I'm done. Yeah. 00:44:31.285 --> 00:44:35.882 It's alright. The last thing that I would mention is the release of World of 00:44:35.882 --> 00:44:40.909 Warcraft Cataclysm, which for a lot of World of Warcraft enjoyers

is the beginning of the end. 00:44:42.227 --> 00:44:46.642 And there we go. The beginning of the downfall of retail. Another candle for 00:44:46.642 --> 00:44:48.472 the tinderbox, with the tinderbox. 00:44:49.592 --> 00:44:53.292 Well, yeah, yeah, I mean, it's okay. They're just going to keep re-releasing 00:44:53.292 --> 00:44:56.892 the, you know, 2004 build over and over again and call it different things and 00:44:56.892 --> 00:44:58.854 everyone's going to keep buying it. Yes. 00:45:00.392 --> 00:45:03.812 That's me. No, I'm not a World of Warcraft person, to be honest. 00:45:03.812 --> 00:45:06.817 No, me neither, but it's, you know, it's worth mentioning. Yes. 00:45:07.351 --> 00:45:11.972 Okay, so let's move on to the main event, Amnesia, The Dark Descent. 00:45:11.972 --> 00:45:14.532 That wasn't right. One hour later. Yeah. 00:45:15.732 --> 00:45:19.662 It's been 83 years or whatever it is, 84 years. I did mention, 00:45:19.662 --> 00:45:23.838 developed by Frictional Games, they also self-published this on Steam. 00:45:24.256 --> 00:45:31.216 It was one of the kind of breakout games, really, on Steam, from what I remember, because I had a Steam, 00:45:31.878 --> 00:45:37.342 back in the day because football manager when it was still sold physical they 00:45:37.342 --> 00:45:38.582 decided the way they would, 00:45:39.552 --> 00:45:44.342 drm in the game or you know implement that kind of stuff was by making you have 00:45:44.342 --> 00:45:46.813 to download and play the game on steam, 00:45:47.428 --> 00:45:50.192 so you bought the physical and installed it and you had to create a steam account 00:45:50.192 --> 00:45:55.372 so i remember in the late 2000 about 2007 i remember yeah, 00:45:55.872 --> 00:45:59.264 i remember people being miffed off at steam and their anti-consumer practices 00:45:59.462 --> 00:46:03.322 and now people love them so there you All it takes is do it early Tons have 00:46:03.322 --> 00:46:10.004 changed Exactly The crimes against us have grown This was one of the first kind of breakouts. 00:46:11.243 --> 00:46:15.585 I would say, indie games on Steam. And I think it brought about, 00:46:16.503 --> 00:46:20.711 in my view, it popularized kind of Let's Play content on YouTube. 00:46:20.903 --> 00:46:25.865 A lot of big YouTubers who react to games, you think of your PewDiePies, 00:46:25.865 --> 00:46:32.775 your Markipliers, they played this and made a name for themselves by being larger 00:46:32.775 --> 00:46:35.465 than life and reacting to the horror and everything else. 00:46:35.465 --> 00:46:40.831 And then what came from that was your Slendermans, your Outlasts and whatnot. 00:46:41.300 --> 00:46:46.095 I think before we start talking about the game specifically and picking it up, 00:46:46.095 --> 00:46:54.568 I think it's important for me to kind of place it in its moment in time and its genre. 00:46:55.131 --> 00:47:01.245 So you had survival horror that was kind of innovated by Capcom with Resident 00:47:01.245 --> 00:47:04.044 Evil and Sweet Home and stuff like that on the PS1. 00:47:05.332 --> 00:47:09.721 And the survival horror genre was essentially something where, 00:47:10.436 --> 00:47:15.808 you know, it was about suspense. It was about tension. It was about very limited 00:47:15.808 --> 00:47:17.901 resources. And it was about puzzle solving. 00:47:18.052 --> 00:47:22.888 And then you're kind of going through, you know, it wasn't a big action feast. 00:47:22.888 --> 00:47:24.577 You know, it was, that was what it was. 00:47:25.093 --> 00:47:29.034 And then Capcom released Resident Evil 4. 00:47:29.661 --> 00:47:34.228 And I think it was off the back of like maybe horror games sort of waning in 00:47:34.228 --> 00:47:38.308 popularity a little bit at least the way survival horror was at the time and 00:47:38.308 --> 00:47:40.235 they released Resident Evil 4 and it was this, 00:47:40.793 --> 00:47:45.263 more action heavy horror experience so it was less about, 00:47:45.722 --> 00:47:48.408 I mean there was still sort of limited resources in the fact in the fact that 00:47:48.408 --> 00:47:52.496 you have ammo and you have to buy things and find stuff but it was it was more 00:47:52.606 --> 00:47:57.773 action-based you know they innovated this kind of third person over the shoulder viewpoint, 00:47:58.220 --> 00:48:02.585 and there was a lot of different things they did but it essentially it kind of pivoted, 00:48:03.119 --> 00:48:07.768 horror games from kind of survival horror tension etc. 00:48:08.559 --> 00:48:13.081 To this action formula which was seeing great success commercially so you had, 00:48:13.714 --> 00:48:17.754 you know you resident evil 4 dead space that we're gonna play soon, 00:48:18.268 --> 00:48:22.479 but other games like i mean even like last of us today like you know that third person look, 00:48:22.922 --> 00:48:26.868 other kind of third person shooter games that were 18 plus they might not have 00:48:26.868 --> 00:48:30.778 been horror specific but they had horror elements like gears of war you know 00:48:30.778 --> 00:48:34.188 like the krill and stuff but you've got that third person oh yes it was definitely full, 00:48:34.708 --> 00:48:36.828 horror yeah yeah but my my point is, 00:48:37.403 --> 00:48:43.081 you've taken it's pivoting like capcom is the industry leader in this space 00:48:43.400 --> 00:48:52.294 and they pivot the genre from suspense to action horror basically and so around the time of 2010, 00:48:52.943 --> 00:48:56.708 the horror games that were existing were like the ones I mentioned they were 00:48:56.708 --> 00:49:02.452 more about action and guns and explosions and gore you think of kind of like. 00:49:03.195 --> 00:49:06.955 Almost you compare it to like Hollywood action slasher movies compared to like 00:49:06.955 --> 00:49:08.596 Japanese psychological stuff. 00:49:09.026 --> 00:49:14.157 You know, it's like that contrast. And we were very much getting this guns a blazing

horror. 00:49:14.697 --> 00:49:20.495 And what Amnesia did was when it come out, the reason I believe it caught everyone's 00:49:20.495 --> 00:49:26.505 imagination and captured so many people was it was at a time when all the kind 00:49:26.505 --> 00:49:27.897 of stuff that Amnesia is doing, 00:49:28.524 --> 00:49:32.005 the industry leaders had just gone, that's not fashionable anymore that's not 00:49:32.005 --> 00:49:35.407 popular people aren't interested in that they're interested in bang bang bang 00:49:35.785 --> 00:49:40.335 basically and explosions and gore and everything else and they went back to 00:49:40.735 --> 00:49:46.002 this kind of psychological survival horror which is you know you've got, 00:49:46.640 --> 00:49:50.785 you've got there's there's a lot it's about anticipation it's not about, 00:49:51.253 --> 00:49:55.545 encountering things over and like you know all the time it's about the tension 00:49:55.545 --> 00:50:00.115 and the build-up and then also the either limited resources or in amnesia's 00:50:00.115 --> 00:50:02.793 case you can't fight at all, right? You can't fight back. 00:50:04.041 --> 00:50:09.709 And also the, what is it? And also the, I mentioned the resources, so we'll cut that part. 00:50:10.063 --> 00:50:16.491 But yeah, so it's those kinds. So it's important to understand why this game 00:50:16.491 --> 00:50:18.720 is designed in the way that it is as well. 00:50:18.836 --> 00:50:21.518 Like why it made such a splash, I suppose. 00:50:21.756 --> 00:50:26.181 Because for years, people, you know, if you were someone who loved Silent Hill 00:50:26.181 --> 00:50:31.871 or Resident Evil on PS1, and then for the PS2 and kind of PS3, 00:50:31.871 --> 00:50:36.301 360 era, they just do action stuff you want to be scared you know 00:50:36.741 --> 00:50:39.460 i knew horror fans like i've got my best mate who i was, 00:50:40.057 --> 00:50:44.029 i was best man at his wedding he loves horror games and he wasn't i'm not married well, 00:50:44.737 --> 00:50:47.661 are you not what the hell no can't believe i'm finding out this but i'm not 00:50:47.661 --> 00:50:51.532 your i wasn't your best man at your wedding was i so i'm so sorry. 00:50:52.751 --> 00:50:56.731 But yeah my point is he's he's a proper horror nut and he was detesting the 00:50:56.731 --> 00:51:00.311 space where the genre was at and then when amnesia come out it just blew his 00:51:00.311 --> 00:51:04.161 mind you know and what what it brought out was a bunch of others that realized 00:51:04.161 --> 00:51:05.354 that horror could still sell, 00:51:05.859 --> 00:51:11.542 and be popular as well where it's it's specifically about horror trying to scare you trying to create, 00:51:12.163 --> 00:51:15.877 you know that anxiety that comes with horror rather than, 00:51:16.458 --> 00:51:20.371 you know you have big guns and you you can batter everything kind of thing almost 00:51:20.371 --> 00:51:26.354 like a power fantasy in a horror setting it's more

of a you're vulnerable you know that kind of thing, 00:51:26.905 --> 00:51:31.741 so like a Scottish chip shop you can batter everything which yeah Solon Hill 00:51:31.741 --> 00:51:36.921 Turnfall anyway moving on from that one yes so yeah so there's just some context 00:51:36.921 --> 00:51:41.241 for Amnesia of the Dark Descent so there now without further ado let's let's, 00:51:41.968 --> 00:51:45.144 let's tuck in it's not an eating podcast I do apologise but either way, 00:51:46.168 --> 00:51:50.748 shall i let you start here i guess with the game oh your feelings or do you 00:51:50.748 --> 00:51:55.181 want me to have a yeah you you take it away mate okay i feel nothing. 00:51:56.308 --> 00:52:02.981 Yeah a bit like daniel really except the chattering of his teeth so i what i really i think, 00:52:03.567 --> 00:52:07.958 one of the cool things about the game so when i played like early kind of survival 00:52:07.958 --> 00:52:11.438 horrors even though you had limited resources you still had resources that you 00:52:11.438 --> 00:52:15.168 could fight back with even like silent hill or resident evil you'd have a knife 00:52:15.168 --> 00:52:17.975 or something it wasn't the most useful but at least you could do something, 00:52:18.482 --> 00:52:24.088 i think amnesia is fantastic in the sense that you can't fight back at all so 00:52:24.088 --> 00:52:27.793 it is literally about if you encounter anything that can be a threat to you, 00:52:28.292 --> 00:52:31.282 you've got to figure out ways to deal with that threat, 00:52:31.804 --> 00:52:35.466 either by distracting it or hiding or or something of that nature, 00:52:36.024 --> 00:52:39.059 what i like is it's two it's got these two systems, 00:52:39.692 --> 00:52:41.973 so you've got your health and you've got your sanitary, 00:52:42.676 --> 00:52:52.025 and for your for your sanity if you stay in dark places you start to lose your sanitary, 00:52:52.705 --> 00:52:58.738 and it makes you more it exposes you more like so obviously you have the the 00:52:58.738 --> 00:53:02.588 stuff that we all see you know you have the the warping of the screens you have 00:53:02.588 --> 00:53:06.991 the chattering of the teeth you have the sound effects additional things But what I like is, 00:53:07.856 --> 00:53:11.318 when it comes to some of the monsters that are in the game, I think they're 00:53:11.318 --> 00:53:14.401 called grunts or something like that, servant grunts or whatever. 00:53:17.246 --> 00:53:24.049 The way you hide from them is in the dark, but to go in the dark brings down your sanity, right? 00:53:24.357 --> 00:53:29.320 So you have to find this really interesting balance between being in the light 00:53:29.500 --> 00:53:35.468 that keeps you sane, but then being in the dark that keeps you safe from the monsters. 00:53:35.938 --> 00:53:39.171 And what it does there is it forces the player to make a decision. 00:53:39.456 --> 00:53:45.778 It forces the player to balance those two things and it puts them in a situation 00:53:45.778 --> 00:53:51.271 that you're never comfortable you know you're never safe as a player and a character, 00:53:51.869 --> 00:53:55.311 you're not allowed into a safe space where, 00:53:55.998 --> 00:53:59.428 you know you you aren't under threat in some way you're not exposing yourself 00:53:59.428 --> 00:54:03.318 in some way if you're in the darkness you're exposing you your sanity and in 00:54:03.318 --> 00:54:06.218 with your sanity obviously there's different sound effects and everything but 00:54:06.218 --> 00:54:10.475 you can actually pass out and it makes you and it alerts any monsters in the area. 00:54:11.468 --> 00:54:15.948 I have a correction for you there. Have I? Okay, go on. A lot of the tooltips 00:54:15.948 --> 00:54:18.011 in the game are misleading when it comes to Sanity. 00:54:18.718 --> 00:54:23.682 The only two actual mechanical things Sanity does is model up your screen. 00:54:24.030 --> 00:54:27.750 Obviously you hallucinate and you see stuff and the passing out. 00:54:28.313 --> 00:54:32.128 None of those things actually make the affect the monsters. So passing out doesn't 00:54:32.128 --> 00:54:33.658 attract monsters. Being insane 00:54:33.658 --> 00:54:36.208 doesn't attract monsters, even though the tooltips tell you that way. 00:54:36.852 --> 00:54:39.529 This is from an interview from Thomas Grip. 00:54:40.274 --> 00:54:44.318 One of the developers, I presume. This is something I was looking off because 00:54:44.318 --> 00:54:45.408 I was very interested in the... 00:54:45.768 --> 00:54:48.635 He is a designer and programmer. 00:54:49.367 --> 00:54:52.930 The sanity system was something I was really interested in. And if you look 00:54:52.930 --> 00:54:54.653 at that, we live streamed this a little bit. 00:54:55.014 --> 00:54:57.602 We watched the live stream, something I wanted to experiment with a little bit 00:54:57.992 --> 00:54:59.831 and see what it actually affected. 00:55:00.267 --> 00:55:04.520 And other than making me feel sick of a wobbly screen and making you pass out 00:55:04.520 --> 00:55:09.390 occasionally, there's no real downsides to sanity in that regard. 00:55:09.890 --> 00:55:13.910 It doesn't make the monsters any more aware of you like it says it does. 00:55:13.910 --> 00:55:16.550 And so like the chattering of the teeth? 00:55:17.390 --> 00:55:21.210 None of that. low sanity does not affect enemies at all. 00:55:21.210 --> 00:55:24.730 This was just used to scare the player. Sanity dropping to this level in hard 00:55:24.730 --> 00:55:28.860 mode causes death, which makes it more important. But in normal mode, 00:55:28.860 --> 00:55:32.755 it's just that momentary pass out. It's just there to scare you as a player. 00:55:33.423 --> 00:55:36.100 Oh, I suppose, and if there is monsters around at that point, 00:55:36.100 --> 00:55:36.970 they would find your body. 00:55:37.950 --> 00:55:42.084 If a monster was already looking at you, it would

find you. But other than that, 00:55:42.404 --> 00:55:45.916 it's not going to find you anymore so that it was already going to find you. 00:55:46.252 --> 00:55:50.455 I suppose the only other thing is when you are low in your sanity. 00:55:51.665 --> 00:55:54.980 You lose, you know, the controls are a bit more clunky. 00:55:56.150 --> 00:55:58.780 You move a bit like you're almost drunk in some games. If you've played some 00:55:58.780 --> 00:55:59.710 games where they do like a drunk... 00:56:00.030 --> 00:56:03.390 Well, if you don't mind lingering on the sanity, this is the big talking point 00:56:03.390 --> 00:56:04.632 for me, I think, for the game. 00:56:05.249 --> 00:56:06.938 I really didn't like that. 00:56:07.832 --> 00:56:12.832 I didn't like the wobbly screen. As I said, it made me nauseous. 00:56:13.308 --> 00:56:17.052 And I didn't like it affecting my ability to move. Not from a horror standpoint, 00:56:17.052 --> 00:56:19.432 just from a frustration of playing a video game. 00:56:20.222 --> 00:56:26.042 There are plenty of ways to use a sanity game. Just the hallucinations and noises 00:56:26.042 --> 00:56:28.426 and stuff. If it did affect the monsters, great. 00:56:28.774 --> 00:56:33.362 That would have been better than blurring my screen and making me unable to 00:56:33.362 --> 00:56:36.852 play the game, essentially. Because it's just like, this isn't scary. 00:56:36.852 --> 00:56:39.050 This is annoying. That's how I felt about it. 00:56:39.696 --> 00:56:43.606 Not because, just because I just wanted to walk down a corridor and I couldn't walk down a corridor. 00:56:44.672 --> 00:56:48.912 Because it was just, ooh, I'm drunk now. It's just, for God's sakes. 00:56:49.654 --> 00:56:53.626 Like, I found it, it took me out of the experience, weirdly. 00:56:54.085 --> 00:56:55.520 It took me out of the immersion. 00:56:56.182 --> 00:56:59.880 Interesting. Yeah. Because it started telling me how to feel. 00:57:00.280 --> 00:57:02.347 The sanity system told me how to feel. 00:57:02.776 --> 00:57:05.932 It was like, oh, these wobbly things on your screen, you're getting scared. 00:57:05.932 --> 00:57:07.577 It's like, no, no, make me scared. 00:57:08.169 --> 00:57:12.264 Don't make the character scared make me scared and that was the disconnect there for me. 00:57:13.341 --> 00:57:19.532 Yeah i um i don't really know what to say about that there's not really much for me uh if if uh, 00:57:20.346 --> 00:57:25.461 i think what they could have done perhaps is obviously this was a while ago 00:57:25.635 --> 00:57:29.222 and i think accessibility features have gone a long way have come a long way 00:57:29.222 --> 00:57:34.934 now but i think what they could have done is perhaps allowed you to customize, 00:57:35.556 --> 00:57:39.114 the sanity experience perhaps if you wanted if you didn't want 00:57:39.549 --> 00:57:44.066 the movement of the screen you know like certain things that make you nauseous 00:57:44.251 --> 00:57:48.152 because we're talking about here that's something that's giving you physical 00:57:48.152 --> 00:57:51.030 nausea a bit like how you know like vr gives some people that, 00:57:51.812 --> 00:57:55.432 no it doesn't give everyone but it gives some people that i think it's it's 00:57:55.432 --> 00:57:59.282 something that could have been considered because if if you remove that kind 00:57:59.282 --> 00:58:02.650 of shaping the visuals a little bit, remove that. 00:58:03.697 --> 00:58:07.883 And so it makes it so you can actually play the game. I think that's the difference 00:58:07.883 --> 00:58:11.343 maker. And that's what accessibility features are about. We've spoken in previous 00:58:11.343 --> 00:58:15.412 episodes about the fact that accessibility isn't about difficulty. 00:58:15.661 --> 00:58:19.069 It's about making sure that people can be included in the gameplay experience, 00:58:19.742 --> 00:58:23.523 if they have something wrong. I feel like if they'd have just done what the 00:58:23.523 --> 00:58:29.419 tooltip said as well and actually made it have an effect on the monsters. 00:58:29.837 --> 00:58:32.703 So you do have that sense of pressure and time with the sanity and you have 00:58:32.703 --> 00:58:37.221 that sense of like okay this monster is going to find me the more insane i get, 00:58:37.886 --> 00:58:42.489 then i think you would get that experience like that would that would be a very, 00:58:43.110 --> 00:58:48.313 important mechanic to then keep a track off other than just making it slightly 00:58:48.313 --> 00:58:51.725 harder to move around do you know the beauty of it is though like, 00:58:52.673 --> 00:58:59.688 i felt that it did you know like yeah it's a placebo effect for you then i and which is It's fine. 00:58:59.944 --> 00:59:04.233 I don't, I think game design can, I think sometimes should be about fooling 00:59:04.233 --> 00:59:07.023 the player into believing something that's not reality. You heard it here, 00:59:07.023 --> 00:59:08.843 ladies and gentlemen. He's a con man. 00:59:09.673 --> 00:59:13.953 Well, I think it's true with, you know, your skybox, your world that you've 00:59:13.953 --> 00:59:17.225 put together, the way you've layered the assets, all sorts of different things. 00:59:17.637 --> 00:59:19.473 You know, if you get out the map and look behind, it's like, 00:59:19.473 --> 00:59:20.958 bloody hell, there's no back to this castle. 00:59:21.417 --> 00:59:24.563 You know what I mean? I think if you're going to tell a player that a mechanic 00:59:24.563 --> 00:59:27.750 exists, the mechanic should exist. Yes, yeah. 00:59:29.269 --> 00:59:33.679 That's what I'll say about that. Yes. Obviously, games are about fooling the 00:59:33.679 --> 00:59:36.228 player into, tricking you into immersion. 00:59:36.876 --> 00:59:39.349 But yeah, if you're going to tell me that the monsters are going to find me 00:59:39.349 --> 00:59:43.214 when I go insane, make the monsters find me when I go insane. Don't lie.

00:59:45.089 --> 00:59:48.919 Unless there's a narrative reason and it's a character lying to you, 00:59:48.919 --> 00:59:50.252 not the game lying to you. 00:59:51.053 --> 00:59:55.439 I don't know. It feels like there's a difference there. If I found a note from 00:59:55.439 --> 00:59:58.977 my character telling me that this happened, but it was him hallucinating it 00:59:59.389 --> 01:00:03.649 then i'd be like oh okay cool that's great what a fun way to do that but then 01:00:03.649 --> 01:00:05.351 i just feel like i've been lied to by, 01:00:05.961 --> 01:00:08.010 the game developer i'm so. 01:00:09.089 --> 01:00:13.629 I'm surprised that it doesn't expose you more i'm surprised that's the truth 01:00:13.629 --> 01:00:16.677 but then i don't know i guess if he said that it's the truth, 01:00:17.333 --> 01:00:22.329 and you see oh this is a youtube link so it's not a document i can, 01:00:22.809 --> 01:00:26.759 uh quickly scan well and we've talked in our podcast anyway it is well no i 01:00:26.759 --> 01:00:29.112 would quickly scan i would scan for a quote 01:00:29.460 --> 01:00:34.239 is what i was about to say if it was a written document but no yeah this is 01:00:34.239 --> 01:00:38.503 just me reading the wikipedia the fandom wikipedia referring to an interview, 01:00:39.078 --> 01:00:42.619 it does have a link to that interview so as you listen you can go and have a look yourselves, 01:00:43.368 --> 01:00:49.051 so i think that the height of the game for me in terms of just being just, 01:00:49.852 --> 01:00:53.789 terrified i suppose or anxious walking around and everything there was a there 01:00:53.789 --> 01:00:56.057 was a level called the the prisons, 01:00:56.882 --> 01:01:02.349 and it's it's it's extremely dark area so you've got to pick and choose your 01:01:02.349 --> 01:01:07.084 tinder boxes but also there are my understanding again i i haven't looked into, 01:01:07.787 --> 01:01:12.379 too much how they operate but i felt that there was at least a few monsters 01:01:12.379 --> 01:01:19.509 that existed in that space patrolling and if they weren't patrolling in which space sorry prison, 01:01:20.131 --> 01:01:23.881 is the yes I believe the prison, 01:01:24.547 --> 01:01:31.930 is one of the areas of the game where the game ratchets up the monster's risk level essentially and. 01:01:33.075 --> 01:01:35.925 Like the first few areas you go through, obviously, the start of the game, 01:01:35.925 --> 01:01:38.623 it's just set. Moments you're not in any danger. 01:01:39.053 --> 01:01:44.171 When you go to the refinery, there's a monster that you might meet knocking about. 01:01:44.907 --> 01:01:48.530 But it's not really... I think so. Yeah, it's not a huge threat. 01:01:48.925 --> 01:01:51.175 But as you do get further, the prison is one of these places. 01:01:51.175 --> 01:01:56.545 There's a couple of them that are set to high risk, which basically means the 01:01:56.545 --> 01:02:00.075 monsters will hunt you down and there's several of them in the area and there's 01:02:00.075 --> 01:02:03.180 no avoiding them in that area of the game. 01:02:03.650 --> 01:02:08.475 Yeah, the prisons, because it was so dark and it was so claustrophobic in the level design. 01:02:08.795 --> 01:02:14.595 Storage is the other one that has the same sort of, the storage area is another 01:02:14.595 --> 01:02:16.937 one which, you know, is classed as high risk. 01:02:17.662 --> 01:02:20.814 Many gatherers walk around the storage, yeah. Yeah, yeah. 01:02:21.939 --> 01:02:25.109 Yeah, I think that some of the challenge, like, I think when you, 01:02:25.109 --> 01:02:29.429 because it's so dark and you have your sanity going down, you encounter the 01:02:29.429 --> 01:02:32.339 enemies quite a lot there, which led me to believe that the, 01:02:32.982 --> 01:02:34.753 if the tooltips are to be believed, 01:02:35.472 --> 01:02:37.318 it led me to believe that they were accurate. 01:02:37.818 --> 01:02:40.529 Because I was going insane there and I was encountering them a lot. 01:02:40.529 --> 01:02:42.299 And because it was dark a lot. 01:02:42.543 --> 01:02:46.559 And also you had this interesting balance where you didn't want to light up 01:02:46.559 --> 01:02:51.163 too much because if you lit up an area, then it meant that you can't hide in that corridor. 01:02:51.634 --> 01:02:56.359 You know because then it could you could be seen so again i really enjoyed the balance there between. 01:02:58.878 --> 01:03:01.679 Yeah picking and choosing when when you, 01:03:02.359 --> 01:03:06.119 whether you should spend a tinderbox for light you know picking and choosing 01:03:06.119 --> 01:03:10.129 when that is the right uh i did find that quite a quite a bit of a decision 01:03:10.129 --> 01:03:13.499 to make throughout the camera just there's many times where there was like a 01:03:13.499 --> 01:03:15.379 corridor and there was a lamp like 01:03:15.799 --> 01:03:19.951 a torch on the wall or something i was like why would i ever like this, 01:03:20.697 --> 01:03:24.239 like Like, is this just set dressing, but there's the option to light it because 01:03:24.239 --> 01:03:26.322 it's, you know, immersive for the game? 01:03:26.919 --> 01:03:29.429 But it just felt like there was never really a sure sort of, 01:03:29.429 --> 01:03:33.229 like, sign of ever needing to light something up. It was just like, 01:03:33.229 --> 01:03:38.190 well, okay, if I sit in the, like, because it never really told me the game didn't. 01:03:38.864 --> 01:03:42.359 Whether or not staying in, like, raises sanitary. It does. 01:03:44.079 --> 01:03:48.299 Okay. All it ever really said is it stops it going down. So I was never really 01:03:48.299 --> 01:03:51.879 certain whether or not I needed to light up this area and then sit here for a while. 01:03:52.408 --> 01:03:56.149 Maybe that's why I ended up getting into a situation where I've just like wandering 01:03:56.149 --> 01:04:00.636 around with max sanity and

finding it very hard to play the game. 01:04:01.603 --> 01:04:04.643 Yeah, you just look at the light for a little bit and it should sort itself 01:04:04.643 --> 01:04:06.341 out if you are really bad. 01:04:06.666 --> 01:04:11.033 Yeah, and that's why you're encouraged to put your lantern on a little bit sometimes 01:04:11.033 --> 01:04:13.028 and whatnot, but you have to pick and choose your battles with that. 01:04:13.295 --> 01:04:17.093 Although I found with the lantern, personally, I just played on normal, 01:04:17.290 --> 01:04:22.983 but I felt like I had an excess of oil, to be honest, so I don't know if they expected me to use it. 01:04:22.983 --> 01:04:27.113 I did use it, but it was in air, you know, like I was having it on in the prison 01:04:27.113 --> 01:04:29.793 walking around and then you just, and then something's coming. 01:04:29.793 --> 01:04:34.823 And i tell you i found that prison section absolutely horrifying and you have 01:04:34.823 --> 01:04:36.480 to try and hide and it's like there's, 01:04:37.504 --> 01:04:41.364 I think there's like hanging pigs, you know, the bodies are upside down and 01:04:41.744 --> 01:04:45.542 you try and – I hid behind them as they broke through. 01:04:45.752 --> 01:04:48.851 You grab something that you need, like a kind of potion or something. 01:04:49.675 --> 01:04:54.594 Yes. And then there's different triggers, isn't there? Like if you grab a key 01:04:54.594 --> 01:04:58.394 item sometimes, it means, okay, one's coming in. And you hear it banging on the door. 01:04:58.551 --> 01:05:01.848 So basically it's kind of like a trigger to be like, try and find somewhere here. 01:05:02.104 --> 01:05:07.415 And the thing about that kind of arbitoire area was it was all kind of lit up really. 01:05:07.717 --> 01:05:11.206 So I just hid amongst the pigs hanging, you know, in between. 01:05:12.664 --> 01:05:15.854 Which is a wonderful visual. It's a wonderful visual. And I have, 01:05:15.854 --> 01:05:18.487 I don't know what it is about amnesia, but I have this real anxiety. 01:05:18.777 --> 01:05:23.245 I just, I don't even, mate, I don't even look. I just stare at the wall. 01:05:23.756 --> 01:05:27.084 Like, you know, that kind of like old school, like if it can't see me. 01:05:27.384 --> 01:05:29.104 If I can't see you, you can't see me. 01:05:31.004 --> 01:05:34.584 And sometimes I wouldn't even look at the computer screen until I'd heard. 01:05:34.584 --> 01:05:37.664 Well, that's what the game encourages though, isn't it? Because your sanity 01:05:37.664 --> 01:05:40.428 goes up for looking at the monster, it's like, don't look at it. Yes. 01:05:40.706 --> 01:05:43.934 And that creates the fear because then you put, it's got the sound effects. 01:05:43.934 --> 01:05:46.554 And you can't keep track of it. Yeah, is it getting closer to me? 01:05:46.564 --> 01:05:49.280 And you can hear it walking around and you hear it knock something, 01:05:49.465 --> 01:05:51.004 you know, that's your nose

near you. Yeah. 01:05:52.184 --> 01:05:53.768 I think it does a fantastic job there. 01:05:55.584 --> 01:05:57.964 Maybe I sound like I'm complaining a lot about the game, and I am, 01:05:57.964 --> 01:06:03.814 but I do think the use of light and the setting and the sound design and everything 01:06:03.814 --> 01:06:05.487 is brilliant and really good horror. 01:06:06.599 --> 01:06:10.014 It's your inability to fight back, though, as well. You don't have any means 01:06:10.014 --> 01:06:13.584 to defend yourself. Things like Subnautica and stuff like that, 01:06:13.584 --> 01:06:16.564 where at the very least near the start of the game, you can't fight back on 01:06:16.564 --> 01:06:18.852 the monsters. That's the most terrifying part, and I love that, 01:06:19.171 --> 01:06:20.239 when that sort of stuff happens. 01:06:21.046 --> 01:06:23.504 I don't want to be able to kill the monster half the time when I'm playing a 01:06:23.504 --> 01:06:25.162 horror game. I want to have to run away from it. 01:06:25.835 --> 01:06:29.204 Because the moment you can kill something, the fear goes, and you get brave, 01:06:29.204 --> 01:06:31.327 and you start fighting, and it becomes a combat game. 01:06:31.728 --> 01:06:35.081 But I did find the sanity felt to me a little bit harsh. 01:06:36.019 --> 01:06:42.791 A little bit forced to go up a lot because i again because you're told to manage your resources, 01:06:43.459 --> 01:06:47.551 i was like well i don't use the lantern too much i'll just walk around this corner 01:06:47.964 --> 01:06:51.168 and you walk in a corner and like a bull sack on a wall slaps you in the chin 01:06:51.272 --> 01:06:55.549 and then you're like oh i've gone mad and i'm like i just wanted to walk down 01:06:55.549 --> 01:07:00.779 this corridor dude it's like god damn this is so harsh how fast it goes up i'm gonna 01:07:01.139 --> 01:07:05.259 have to ask a bit more about that bull sack are you referring to a scene or something. 01:07:05.749 --> 01:07:10.259 No, I'm referring to the fleshy stuff that appears on the walls and stuff. 01:07:10.259 --> 01:07:12.467 When you step on it, it hits you. Yes. 01:07:13.239 --> 01:07:16.419 And obviously, I'm not staring at my feet half the time, so I did step on it 01:07:16.419 --> 01:07:19.665 at one point, and then my character was just like, I'm nuts now. I was like, great, cool. 01:07:20.339 --> 01:07:24.346 Sweet. There's a better middle part of the game. I want to say that's like the first 15%. 01:07:24.700 --> 01:07:27.429 And then you don't see it again for a while, or I don't remember seeing it again 01:07:27.429 --> 01:07:31.999 until like the latter. Apparently, it's the essence, it's the remnants of an 01:07:31.999 --> 01:07:34.406 entity called The Shadow or something? Yes, The Shadow, yes, yeah. 01:07:34.685 --> 01:07:37.895 Yeah, that's its goo that it leaves behind when it's been somewhere. 01:07:38.599 --> 01:07:43.601 So that's it attacking you in that zone. So it's not in

some zones, I guess. 01:07:44.048 --> 01:07:48.429 No, yeah, it makes sense that it's not. I just find it interesting that it's 01:07:48.429 --> 01:07:49.730 used earlier on in the game. 01:07:49.859 --> 01:07:56.328 What a cool idea for a monster that you never see, but you see its path. 01:07:56.729 --> 01:08:02.159 You see remnants of its existence. Its very existence sort of warps the nature 01:08:02.159 --> 01:08:05.523 of the area around and is it real or is it not, 01:08:06.147 --> 01:08:10.219 that is such a cool monster design and it gives you the impression that the 01:08:10.219 --> 01:08:15.419 house or the castle itself is alive yeah but this thing is haunting you this 01:08:15.419 --> 01:08:19.688 thing is trying to kill you and it's got all these it leaves this goo behind, 01:08:20.391 --> 01:08:22.968 that looks like sinew and flesh and stuff. 01:08:24.577 --> 01:08:31.036 Yeah so i do do really i do really enjoy that monster as the concept if i had one, 01:08:31.707 --> 01:08:36.877 mate i guess it's not even a major criticism but it's just the when i'm playing 01:08:36.877 --> 01:08:40.177 this game i obviously want to be as immersed as possible so i you know i have 01:08:40.177 --> 01:08:44.068 my headphones on the lights are off you know just me and the computer screen, 01:08:44.996 --> 01:08:49.857 and when you get when you get like a scene or something like that it just hits 01:08:49.857 --> 01:08:51.203 you with this bright white. 01:08:52.217 --> 01:08:56.677 Flash of screen and when you're in the dark and that is like oh my god my eyes, 01:08:57.217 --> 01:09:00.004 oh you're right yeah like that is a that i think that, 01:09:00.864 --> 01:09:04.647 i would have not done that i suppose if that's one thing i would change about 01:09:04.647 --> 01:09:07.677 the game when they're triggering like a cut scene so to speak that that felt 01:09:07.677 --> 01:09:12.125 like you've encouraged you know people are naturally sorry about that people are actually gonna 01:09:12.526 --> 01:09:15.727 play this in the darkness don't hit them with a bright white light like that 01:09:15.727 --> 01:09:20.943 a lot of games that have flash bangs in them use like a gray screen now rather than a white one, 01:09:21.677 --> 01:09:26.157 we encountered this with tbr didn't we we used a gray instead of a white for 01:09:26.157 --> 01:09:28.600 the flash bang in that for the exact same reason, 01:09:29.506 --> 01:09:32.917 i'll uh i'll jump ahead a little bit because i don't know if you got to some 01:09:32.917 --> 01:09:36.677 of these sections but there's some parts i really want to talk about that links 01:09:36.677 --> 01:09:38.484 to kind of not being able to see everything, 01:09:39.395 --> 01:09:43.205 kind of like allowing the player to kind of imagine and create the fear and 01:09:43.205 --> 01:09:47.665 anxiety themselves and there's some parts later on in like torture chambers 01:09:47.665 --> 01:09:51.528 and and sections like that where

you encounter the device that's used, 01:09:52.074 --> 01:09:57.155 and you enter the scene and then they like they essentially act out the scene 01:09:57.155 --> 01:10:01.954 from an audio level you know like you've got the sound effects you've got the voice acting and then. 01:10:03.015 --> 01:10:05.885 You enter it and it's basically like that scene's happening but you can't visually 01:10:05.885 --> 01:10:09.704 see it so it's like a memory of this room at some point in time, 01:10:10.255 --> 01:10:14.935 and it is horrific because it's you have some some of the rooms even have like 01:10:14.935 --> 01:10:20.907 a drawing you know of the specific torture thing that's how it's utilized like there's one 01:10:21.308 --> 01:10:22.795 where they have like it's used 01:10:22.795 --> 01:10:25.679 on rapists like you saw them upside from upside down through the middle, 01:10:26.292 --> 01:10:30.845 or something and so they play like a clip like where you've got like you're 01:10:30.845 --> 01:10:34.285 still walking around the room yourself but the dialogue's coming through and 01:10:34.285 --> 01:10:36.886 it is horrific like it paints an image in your head, 01:10:37.474 --> 01:10:42.291 that is probably that is going to be much worse and more horrifying than if they showed you, 01:10:42.768 --> 01:10:46.395 the visual act almost do you know what i mean like it's like oh god and it's 01:10:46.395 --> 01:10:49.912 got the sound effects of the crunching and the screaming and the wailing and 01:10:50.231 --> 01:10:53.505 and they do that throughout kind of like some of the latter stages but there's 01:10:53.505 --> 01:10:55.323 some cut scenes that they do a really good job of 01:10:55.648 --> 01:11:00.045 and i like i like that way of delivering like obviously the game's a bit like 01:11:00.045 --> 01:11:03.463 half-life right you don't jump into a cut scene it's all present, 01:11:03.951 --> 01:11:08.105 right but i like the way that they've utilized by that i mean like it's not 01:11:08.105 --> 01:11:11.945 you're not taken out of the story you know you're kind of present all the time 01:11:11.945 --> 01:11:13.375 doesn't play a different clip or something but. 01:11:14.405 --> 01:11:18.655 I like the way that they tell the story in this, the way that some of the cut 01:11:18.655 --> 01:11:22.925 scenes are delivered, like the way that you're present in a room and then you're 01:11:22.925 --> 01:11:25.021 just hearing the past come back. 01:11:25.220 --> 01:11:27.367 Because it can be done in a different way. 01:11:27.785 --> 01:11:33.085 I like it could be you're getting your memory back or it could be the insanity 01:11:33.085 --> 01:11:36.285 of this castle playing tricks on you or the shadow or things like this. 01:11:36.285 --> 01:11:40.085 As you progress through the story, obviously, you learn and understand more. 01:11:40.085 --> 01:11:43.225 But it's a nice way to play around with the player. 01:11:43.225 --> 01:11:46.725 And it's an interesting way from a development point of view to not have to 01:11:46.725 --> 01:11:50.923 create all of that like you know sometimes that's quite an expensive ordeal to create 01:11:51.288 --> 01:11:56.195 a scene like this but they're utilizing it in a way that you're saving on resources 01:11:56.195 --> 01:12:00.085 as a developer but you're also enhancing the horror experience as well so it's 01:12:00.085 --> 01:12:04.768 that perfect balance of resource saving but you're maximizing 01:12:05.139 --> 01:12:06.318 your design and your, 01:12:06.956 --> 01:12:10.985 what you're trying to achieve with the player's experience as well So I thought 01:12:10.985 --> 01:12:14.465 those, I think that was very good, especially when you think of it being a team 01:12:14.465 --> 01:12:18.149 developed by six people full time. And obviously they had some supplementary help. 01:12:19.546 --> 01:12:22.866 Yeah. Was there anything specific you wanted to jump on about? 01:12:23.704 --> 01:12:27.336 It's mostly the sanity system was my big sort of talking point because it was 01:12:27.336 --> 01:12:30.556 the thing that interested me the most. And I think I've said my piece there. 01:12:30.556 --> 01:12:36.080 I think it's very cool. And it would be, not many games tackle that sort of thing. 01:12:36.469 --> 01:12:40.026 I like how you start to see things like dead bodies that weren't there before 01:12:40.026 --> 01:12:42.154 and that with the insanity system. 01:12:42.717 --> 01:12:46.656 So, and I'd like to see it in more games. I'd like to see it iterated upon and 01:12:46.656 --> 01:12:49.366 improved. But as a, you know, a first crack. 01:12:49.761 --> 01:12:52.112 Can't complain to you much again. Well, there's an eternal darkness in there. 01:12:52.230 --> 01:12:57.403 It's just a shame that I had to sort of stop playing a bit because it was just, 01:12:57.960 --> 01:13:00.141 unplayable for me with it. Yeah. 01:13:00.866 --> 01:13:02.510 I've had a few games like that, unfortunately. 01:13:03.953 --> 01:13:08.786 I think where it's interesting, like they've got like puzzles in the game because 01:13:08.786 --> 01:13:10.470 this is a staple of survival horror. 01:13:11.121 --> 01:13:16.095 And this is particularly after we played Portal 2, which I think is a masterclass in puzzle design. 01:13:17.186 --> 01:13:21.346 It's an interesting, interesting like there's some puzzles i quite enjoyed figuring 01:13:21.346 --> 01:13:23.978 out and you certainly do have that kind of eureka moment but 01:13:24.290 --> 01:13:27.776 i think at times there's a bit of a challenge because when you go in some rooms 01:13:27.776 --> 01:13:30.956 and you find important inventory you know it kind of like glows when you see 01:13:30.956 --> 01:13:32.789 a tinderbox on a bookshelf or something yeah, 01:13:33.317 --> 01:13:37.576 occasionally there's things like rocks on the ground that you might need to 01:13:37.576 --> 01:13:43.406 throw at something or gears that you

might need to attach and they aren't distinct i mean they're, 01:13:44.062 --> 01:13:47.736 they're distinct in the fact that it looks like a gear but like they're not 01:13:47.736 --> 01:13:52.346 like highlighted as though this is something that's a point of interest or anything 01:13:52.766 --> 01:13:54.562 yeah you really have to look around and, 01:13:55.218 --> 01:14:00.541 and think what am i missing here like what am i not grasping like there's rooms, 01:14:01.001 --> 01:14:04.686 sometimes you go into them and there's something you can do like there was one 01:14:04.686 --> 01:14:09.356 with a well with a piece of rope and you kind of you can take it down and then 01:14:09.356 --> 01:14:12.926 bring it back up and you know there's the water monster down in the well and 01:14:12.926 --> 01:14:14.334 you're like okay well that's. 01:14:15.486 --> 01:14:19.966 I'm assuming I can attach something to this rope, you know, because why is it 01:14:19.966 --> 01:14:22.876 here? But then I also got to thinking, much like the sanity, 01:14:22.876 --> 01:14:26.436 and we spoke about not having, it's kind of like a placebo thing. 01:14:27.011 --> 01:14:32.675 Have they just put this in to kind of, you know, a bit of immersion, a bit of a set piece? 01:14:33.070 --> 01:14:36.436 You know, like I almost started to question that as well, because it turns out 01:14:36.436 --> 01:14:39.656 that the thing you had to put on there was actually an optional thing. 01:14:39.656 --> 01:14:43.020 It was like part of a side quest if I wanted to do it. And it was attaching a piece of meat. 01:14:43.467 --> 01:14:49.657 I needed to get something underneath the meat like right from the saliva of the water creature. 01:14:50.646 --> 01:14:54.046 It was a bit complicated but basically i needed to drop a bit of meat in the 01:14:54.046 --> 01:14:55.903 well the thing would eat the meat, 01:14:56.518 --> 01:14:59.776 and then it would bring up the bone but on the bone was the saliva of the monster 01:14:59.776 --> 01:15:05.426 and i could take some an extract of that for a potion or whatever to cook up 01:15:05.426 --> 01:15:07.235 in a laboratory but it was like, 01:15:07.856 --> 01:15:11.756 i went in there initially because i didn't have the meat for that and i was 01:15:11.756 --> 01:15:13.156 just thinking well, what can I hang off here? 01:15:13.156 --> 01:15:17.786 You naturally think, right, a bucket, right, maybe, or someone's looking around for a bucket. 01:15:18.226 --> 01:15:21.066 And then is it one that's in your inventory bucket, like a glass jar, 01:15:21.066 --> 01:15:25.596 or is it a bucket that you pick up and attach to it like you throw a rock or you attach a gear? 01:15:25.863 --> 01:15:29.386 And I think that's probably one of my, I don't know whether it's a criticism 01:15:29.386 --> 01:15:35.214 or not, but I think there's a better way of distinguishing things that can be utilized, 01:15:35.997 --> 01:15:39.876 and things that can't, particularly

when it's like a gear that you put into 01:15:39.876 --> 01:15:42.580 a slot compared to like a rock that you just throw, 01:15:43.206 --> 01:15:46.480 you know like because a rock that you throw is similar to like a chair that you can move, 01:15:46.997 --> 01:15:51.176 yeah right it's not an item that you attach to something whereas i think when 01:15:51.176 --> 01:15:54.896 you look at a gear like those weren't highlighted and i think perhaps maybe 01:15:54.896 --> 01:15:58.116 there was food for thought there but then does it make the puzzle too easy yeah 01:15:58.116 --> 01:16:00.626 it's complicated there's there's the. 01:16:01.666 --> 01:16:06.586 Yeah the game's very dark and the reason everything's lit up is because the 01:16:06.586 --> 01:16:10.256 game's so dark they chose to it's very clear that they chose to go, 01:16:10.256 --> 01:16:13.061 right, players need to find these items. 01:16:13.497 --> 01:16:19.029 We want the game to look like this. Those two things don't work together. 01:16:20.257 --> 01:16:24.881 But in this situation, it could have been extended to that. 01:16:26.073 --> 01:16:33.335 Very quick here, John. Do you want to do another little recording tomorrow to finish this off? 01:16:33.979 --> 01:16:36.897 If you're not done talking, because they've just arrived. Okay, 01:16:36.897 --> 01:16:38.917 I'm pretty much done, mate. So, shall we call it? 01:16:39.471 --> 01:16:41.577 Yeah, we can call it. If you want to edit this bit out, that would be. 01:16:42.157 --> 01:16:43.407 Yeah, yeah, of course. Now I'll keep in. 01:16:44.224 --> 01:16:48.517 Yes, I understand your point, Joshua. Yep. I think, shall we call it there? 01:16:48.517 --> 01:16:51.597 Because we've actually had quite a big start. so i suppose yeah i think we've 01:16:51.597 --> 01:16:52.717 talked about amnesia quite a bit we 01:16:53.137 --> 01:16:57.307 i think it's a i think it's a fantastic game that brought about a new generation 01:16:57.307 --> 01:17:02.707 of horror games that were an emphasis on fear and anxiety and tension and suspense 01:17:02.707 --> 01:17:06.387 which is important rather than it just becoming a kind of genre dominated by 01:17:06.387 --> 01:17:07.557 action and running and gunning uh, 01:17:08.197 --> 01:17:12.247 so that was that was refreshing and that was good and it's a game that's lived 01:17:12.247 --> 01:17:14.797 long in the memory because i remembered a lot more of it than i thought and 01:17:14.797 --> 01:17:17.648 i only played it once back in 2010 or whatever it was, 01:17:18.142 --> 01:17:22.237 so it was a great it was great to revisit it basically and i'm looking forward 01:17:22.237 --> 01:17:25.686 to playing a few more games like it again as well, 01:17:26.256 --> 01:17:31.317 yes definitely and uh so on that note that's amnesia the dark descent our next 01:17:31.317 --> 01:17:35.415 game we're going to stick with spooky season for now our next game will be dead space, 01:17:35.926 --> 01:17:40.257 on pc and neither of us have played it is that correct never played it so neither 01:17:40.257 --> 01:17:43.597 of us have played it so that will both be our first playthroughs of it i have 01:17:43.597 --> 01:17:47.877 a capture card on the way so i'm looking forward to hopefully grabbing some 01:17:47.877 --> 01:17:49.009 gameplay in the future as well. 01:17:49.543 --> 01:17:54.457 But other than that, I have been Jonathan and he has been Josh. 01:17:54.457 --> 01:17:56.977 I might have been Josh, I don't know if I have or not. He doesn't know, 01:17:56.977 --> 01:17:58.380 he's got, he's had the amnesia drink. 01:17:58.640 --> 01:18:04.503 Amnesia. Other than that, thank you very much and we will catch you on the next one. Ciao.