Gamecast - Episode 26 - “Everybody Panic!â€Â

[Link Antilles]

In this show, we investigate “The Agencyâ€

[Link Antilles]

Note: I'm going on vacation during the week of the fourth of July, so there won't be a regular podcast until after the 14th of July. However, there should be a special "videocast" of the Video Games Live concert in Washington DC before then.

[Fish and Chips]

Fun fact: when Sonic originally debuted, it was seen as an "Adult" alternative to Mario (darker locals, different music, etc).

And Rockstar...don't get me started on Rockstar. Long story short, I agree with Nate.

Questions to the Audience
1. How would you design a Sonic themed RPG?
2. For those who are currently into MMORPGs, what is the main appeal of them for you? For those who are not, what would push you to play one (and pay for it)?

1.) As much fun as might ensue from such a subject, I’m going to have to decline. Being a Sonic fan from back in his vintage side-scrolling days, I don’t think the Sonic series would adapt so well into that genre. Whatever I would say might sound cool on paper, but I doubt it could be executed with due excellence.

But, I'll bite my tongue and see how this plays out.

2.) Well, speaking as a member of the proletariat working class, no monthly fees would be an excellent start. I prefer paying for my games once, and finished no less (*Cough* expansion packs *cough*). But seriously, a couple months ago I cut back on the amount of time I spend gaming, but even before that I still didn’t spend all that much time with it. I honestly don’t think I would play often enough to justify a $15~ monthly subscription fee. However on the cold day that I do pick up MMORPGs, I demand both a deep, well-written, cohesive universe, and a solid story. Not to mention more engaging gameplay (click and kill is right).

[Raiden no Kishi]

I'm totally with the crew on Manhunt 2 and Rockstar. To me, Rockstar is the shock jock of the gaming world, and they wouldn't know art if it asphyxiated them with a plastic grocery bag. Perhaps Hideo Kojima was thinking of them when he said games weren't art . . . but who can tell what goes on in that twisted head of his? XD

Note to the traditionally British food item: if you think about it, expansion packs [or other ways of adding content] are essential to the very concept of an MMO. MMOs aren't designed to be replaced like most games. Since you pay monthly fees for most MMOs, the developers want you to play the game as long as possible. They have to add new content to keep players' interest. The game isn't "finished", as you say, because that kind of game isn't supposed to be finished.

I wish I had more profound things to say, but I don't, so let's get to the questions, no?

1] I would shamelessly pass the job off to Bioware . . . oh wait. XD I can honestly say I don't have many cohesive ideas. However, traditional Japanese-style turn-based combat would seem to be right out. I don't see how that works with Sonic at all. I would, however, be tempted to say they should make Cream the Sonic universe's Aeris. I don't really think she adds anything to the universe. [A minor note: just how the heck would anyone mistake Shadow for Sonic in Sonic Adventure 2? That's bloody ridiculous.] Also, no more mysterious, unnaturally powerful hedgehogs. Shadow's cool, but that's about it. Sonic needed a "rival"-type character, but more hedgehogs doesn't equal more better. As to the idea of turning Tails evil . . . that would be hilarious. I like Tails, and an evil version of him would be interesting if hard to take seriously. Maybe when his voice changes. XD P.S. Link, the bat is Rouge [pronounced "Rhooj"], not Rogue. Rogue is from the X-men, as well as being an RPG character class. Minor note there. I know a lot of people on the Internets misspell her name, so I can understand the confusion.

2. Well, if they had this somewhat over-the-top, spy- and mercenary-based MMO that was some sort of actiony shooter, and the focus was on gadgets and gear instead of character classes and grinding . . . and if it was good, I'd play it. Yes, I'm pretty psyched about The Agency. Not so much about their Flash site and its w34k54uc3 amount of content, but hey. They're still in development, so I'll cut them some slack now. I've tried MMOs in the past [City of Heroes, Guild Wars, and World of Warcraft + The Burning Crusade]. I could never really get into them. I loved the depth of character customization in CoH [something that disappointed me with FFXI, as one of the series' selling points are the unique character designs], the low cost of Guild Wars, and the look of WoW, but their gameplay was lacking at best, and sheer boredom at worst. Current MMORPG game mechanics, IMO, are straying from the original idea of a game: to make it fun. Essentially, I get all the features of an MMO that I want to use in AIM. For free. Yes, I did just go there, there being the "glorified chatroom" attack. For massive damage. Take that, giant MMO crabs. XD I need action-packed, real-time gameplay, a world that DOESN'T favor forsaking a social life/artistic pursuits/college/relationship with God to be good at [I thought the example of having your own "Q-branch" that works on stuff even while you don't play and CALLS YOU ON YOUR REAL CELL PHONE IN THE REAL WORLD OH SNAP was pretty dang slick]. Also, I am a gadget and gun buff who used to be on a serious secret agent kick back in his youth. That could relapse when The Agency comes out.

I've got work to do, so I'll think about a Sonic RPG. Be excellent to each other, party on, dudes, and all that jazz.

.rai//

P.S. If the invitation's open, I'd love to see if I could make it on one of the shows. I just need to know when you guys meet for planning and such, since my audio setup takes a bit to get set up.

[uc pseudonym]

As per usual, I enjoyed the podcast. You guys generally have good things to say, which makes discussion of the subjects moderately interesting even if they aren't particularly of interest to me inherently. It was also nice to hear Omega Amen's comments on how Christianity relates to the Manhunt issue. Most of the time religion doesn't directly relate to what is being discussed, but it is refreshing when it does.

You would not believe how many times they made me retake the flames shot for the Dissidia trailer, but I think the final cut turned out pretty well. But also note there is no promise you'll actually be able to play as Sephiroth; he could be a boss-only character. Is there news on if you can play as any of the villains?

God of War: It was better than the first game, which says a great deal. I know what you mean about playing it, Nate. Because I rented it I was very time-conscious, so I carefully cleared a day in my schedule in which I didn't have to work, run any errands or do anything other than play (and certain unfortunate necessities, like eating and bathing). I very nearly beat it in one rush, but when I reached the last area and discovered it had puzzles I decided to sleep instead of finishing, because I thought there would be more after that.

The main weapon made combat fun, as always, and the special techniques felt more useful than ones in the previous game. Things were hidden better than last time, as I actually didn't get all of the upgrades before the ending. It was also nice to see them delve deeper into their permutation of Greek mythology. While not as epic as those against monsters, I thought the boss fights against other heroes were still fun. My only real complaint was the lack of boss life bars. Without any indicator of your progress, certain battles felt a bit too long.

1) I think a Sonic RPG would work best with a streamlined combat system and extensive player involvement (as in Super Mario RPG or Paper Mario). Even a turn-based system could capture the feel of high-speed battles if done properly. Something as elaborate as a AD&D-based system would be very unnecessary; who really wants to see Sonic's abilities expressed as Rogue 10 / Fighter 8?

2) I abhor repetition, so MMO games are not my thing. A good RPG will, of course, involve a lot of killing enemies, but due to all the plot, puzzles, and character levelling strategies involved you shouldn't realize how much it is. All of these things are so stretched out in most of such games that I find them immensely boring. There really isn't anything I can think of that would make me pay for such a game.

Note, however, that I play Dragonfable, a free online game that is essentially MM. But I play it as if it was a normal RPG: whenever they release a new quest or area I have fun with it, but I never farm or level grind. Consequently I don't play all that often and paying for the game is completely out of the question.

[Bobtheduck]

After the things I read about the reasoning for Manhunt 2's rating, I think it definitely deserved the rating it got. If that means they won't release it, well... They should just release the AO game on PC and the M rated version on PS2 and Wii... It won't be the first AO rated PC game, after all.

1. Honestly, Sonic Adventure was already what some may consider a Sonic RPG, especially if you're talking about American RPGs... So, something like that, only with experience points, I guess, and new abilities and parties. I wouldn't want to work on a Sonic RPG because I don't know the Sonic world well enough. Working on a MARIO RPG game would be a dream, though.

2. As for MMOs, the first MMO to really interest me since I saw the trailers for FF11 is the Agency... Now, notice I said FF11 interested me, but I never did it... I realized how pointless it was to get into it past the initial stage, as I'd be losing forever. This may not be the case with the Agency, and I may actually get some use out of it. I may change my mind after I see it in action. Lag is detrimental to my playing a game... That's why I'm not all that fond of online games...

Oh, and I was listening to the Kojima productions podcasts, and they basically said they make their production runs based on how many preorders are reported by game stores, so preorders are very important. They don't want to make too many or too few copies... It's important for the game publishers, not just gamestop and EB games.

[Link Antilles]

Hey folks, great feedback! Since E3 is the week of the next recording, I am considering dividing that show into two parts. I think it is safe to say there is going to be a ton of news to talk about. So, would you guys prefer one giant show or a two-part show?

[kryptech]

I do not know enough about Sonic or MMORPGs to attempt answering those. I did enjoy the show. I like what Nate said about Rockstar having the freedom to create an AO game; that was their free choice. However, just because they have freedom to create what they want doesn't mean they aren't free from the consequences. They knew the risk of getting the AO stamp going in, and what that would mean for Nintendo and Sony. So tough beans for them. ^_^

In answer to your last question, Link, I'd lean towards a two-part show. That would increase the likelihood of me finishing the show without having to pause it for an extended time and loosing the conversation train.

[Raiden no Kishi]

I'd usually go for a big, monolithic show, but I realize that not everyone has a cable connection, so a two-part show would probably be ideal so that it can be downloaded with less strain on one's Internets. Put me down as wanting a two-part show.

Also, whatever happened to those pre-episode 1 podcasts [I believe they were about the now-deceased E3]? I'd be interested in hearing them.

.rai//

[uc pseudonym]

The format doesn't matter to me as far as one show or two, but do you think that if you did two the overall minute count would be higher, due to repeated introductions and the like? If so, I'd prefer a single podcast.

[Bobtheduck]

I don't much care, but I think 2 shows would be easier for most people. It's a matter of having to sit through a really long file before moving onto another one.

[Yeshua-Knight]

Questions to the Audience
1. How would you design a Sonic themed RPG?
2. For those who are currently into MMORPGs, what is the main appeal of them for you? For those who are not, what would push you to play one (and pay for it)?

1. i would probably do one more in the style of gauntlet or the lord of the rings games rather than a turn based rpg, simply due to the nature of sonic's abilities

2. first of all, while i do play mmorpgs, i don't play the ones you pay for, or at least i don't play the pay versions of those games, i do enjoy my runescape though and dragon fable,

the attraction for me in runescape is setting a goal (for example, building up my character's mining ability so that i can join the miner's guild and mine for mythril and coal more easily) and then achieving it, then i set a new goal and go from there until i'm at a point where for the most part i don't really need the aid of other players in order to be successful in player vs. player combat encounters while at the same time helping other players accomplish tasks either through guidance or by aid in combat or with items or equipment, in fact sometimes i'll even go into runescape and make a bunch of the more basic equipment and hand it out for free to new players or to players that have died and need new equipment at the respawn point


as for dragonfable, there's not as much of a community to it (although i've heard its in the works) because it's a flash rpg, but the story for it has been pretty decent with the only hangups taking place because i'm not a paying member (which is expected because they gotta make a way to make their money off of the players)

so yeah, in a nutshell my motives for playing mmorpgs are accomplishing the goals necessary to be a strong player, interacting with and aiding others in the community, and the storyline

edit: due to conversations i've had with other members here, perhaps dividing up the podcast into smaller downloads would be a better idea simply 'cus not everyone on here has the time or resources to download a massive audio file