Call and Response: WOFF Dispatch February 2021
Added 2021-02-12 18:41:40 +0000 UTCHello! The purpose of this post is to call for your questions and prompts for WOFF! Dispatch. Because of aforementioned uncertainty about our schedule due to Gary's back injury, it's hard to put a firm deadline for responses here. Let's say, please respond by Tuesday, February 16.
We're looking for two kinds of things:
1. Suggestions for our long-form discussion prompt.
2. Q&A about the shows, behind the scenes details, and miscellaneous (including off-the-wall and off-topic questions). Ask us about games or other media, life in general... You name it.
One caveat we've given in the past: If the question is too personal or gross, we may dance around it and not give a direct answer.
We look forward to making this new kind of WOFF! episode together with you.
Comments
Have you ever been initially bounced off of, or been turned off by a piece of media (movie, game etc.) and then come around to really liking it? Dark Souls comes to mind for me. I Initially really dispised it because it seemed like it was just difficult for difficulty's sake and poorly put together. A few years later it ended up clicking with me and becoming one of my favorite games. Another one would be Attack on Titan. I thought the first season was nonsensical and really overhyped, and ended up coming back 6 years later and it being one of my favorite things because of the direction it ended up going in.
Sbeve
2021-02-16 00:06:40 +0000 UTCWill we see the return of Radio Free Mid-World in 2021?
Ryan Weisse
2021-02-15 15:53:47 +0000 UTCHave you ever walked out of a theater due to the discord quality of the film? Concurrently what’s the worst thing you’ve ever sat all the way through (not for a duckfeed show)
Jordan and Maya M.
2021-02-15 15:36:38 +0000 UTCI just finished playing through Doom Eternal and it committed one of my cardinal gaming sins: The sequel doesn't take itself as seriously as the first game did. The first game had comedy to it, but they were moments of levity during the frenetic experience of ending a demonic apocalypse brought on by a terminal case of capitalism. Another title that managed this was Prototype. The first game felt like it was at least attempting to balance the fantastic super powers with the anchored presentation of New York and the military. The second had soldiers in oversized, blinking armor, and armed with gi-joe rocket launchers. So two questions, pick one: What games have you felt let you down in the sequel, or, what are your cardinal game dev sins that sour you on an experience?
Darrin Michelson
2021-02-15 02:49:56 +0000 UTCFeel better Gary! And hopefully Kole doesn’t have any health problems either! I’ve been replaying Sekiro, and am convinced the Mikiri counter is the best party in games. What are your favorite parries? Are there any that match up to modern FromSoft games?
Andrew
2021-02-14 07:07:10 +0000 UTCIf you end up including my response for Outer Wilds this month, you'll see that I did at one point really enjoy my time with the game. But during the endgame of that, when I was all set to travel to the Eye of the Universe, I burned out completely trying to get the trophy for landing with your ship on the solar station. I got so tired of the game, I uninstalled it and watched the ending on YouTube, even though I'd have no problem finishing it at this point. I realize this is partly my fault for trying to get a trophy at all, but a lot of trophies help you find fun new things to do in games. This one led me to attempt something only YouTube trick-boys should be trying to do, instead of focusing on the things that make this game great, like exploration and reasoning. So my question is, do you have any experience with a game's outer or inner reward system leading you wrong?
SindrElf
2021-02-13 20:18:44 +0000 UTCPlaying any tabletop RPGs lately? For some reason, this time of year really gets my GM brain going (pandemic or no) and I end up playing multiple games each week. If not, is there a TTRPG you're looking to play once you and your friends can all sit at the same table again?
Autumn M
2021-02-13 16:58:04 +0000 UTCEach year when a new Call of Duty or something like that comes out I can’t help but feel a certain amount of revulsion at the setting these games take place in. I feel modern conflicts don’t have a place in video games, or media at all for that matter. It comes across like unsubtle propaganda and millions of people eat it up. There are real people who are victimized from these conflicts and are alive today as I’m typing this. I can’t imagine showing a call of duty or anything branded with Tom Clancy to someone in a conflict zone and saying “Yeah this is what we do for fun in the west, we pretend to kill hundreds of people who look like you”. Kill enough people and you can call in a drone airstrike; one of the most horrifying modern weapons that are used against the less privileged of the world to this day. I’m not against violence in games at all. I’ll pretend to shoot scores of demons, aliens, nazis whatever, without blinking an eye. I won’t call for censoring what types of games or media should be made, but I find it so bizarre that no one questions this stuff when it comes out. The industry just accepts it, gives it 9/10 cuz the shooting feels real tight and it sells millions of copies. What do you guys think?
Matt DiTomaso
2021-02-13 16:06:11 +0000 UTCI recently bought a leather jacket because it makes me feel like Leon S. Kennedy in RE4. Have you ever bought an item of clothing to emulate a character in a game? If not who's style would you most like to emulate?
Tom Healey
2021-02-13 12:50:19 +0000 UTCHello! Only one question - Armored Core retrospective - when? Thank you =)
Oleksandr Shevchuk
2021-02-13 09:35:58 +0000 UTCThe fact that there are games where 15 people are super into completing as fast as possible, and the rest of the world doesn’t care is just cool to me. Exploring those little pockets of obsession can be worthwhile.
Shane Salley
2021-02-13 06:19:20 +0000 UTCHave either of you delved much into speedrunning yourselves, outside of games that specifically reward you for it like the old school Resident Evils? I find the communities that arise from certain games fascinating, especially ones that aren’t that popular.
Shane Salley
2021-02-13 06:14:44 +0000 UTCSorry if this is rambling nonsense. Not too long ago, Gary put up a question on Twitter: (to paraphrase) "What themes are you tired of?" The Last of Us reminded me of a big one: "Humans are just murder/sexual assault monsters after civilization collapses". Don't get me wrong; human beings are capable of truly heinous atrocities, but I find the idea, at the very least, uninspired and lazy. People are, by and large, desperate to group together and rampant psychopathy tends to get one ostracized. But, then again, a big point of zombie fiction isn't about epidemiology, it's about exploring the darkness of humans. Shame that so many works just come to the same conclusion.
Jonathan Scratch
2021-02-13 02:17:24 +0000 UTCNow that it's a more established thing, do you ever do refunds on Steam (or any other digital platform that offers it)? As I get older, I've gotten a lot better at just admitting I'm not into a game and pulling that ripcord.
Samuel Bair
2021-02-12 23:58:09 +0000 UTCOn both personal and professional levels, how does morality play into your decision to buy/play/cover a game? Do problematic content (e.g. transphobia in CP2077), horrendous work conditions (Rockstar's crunch, Ubisoft's sexual harassment), or military-funded propaganda (Call of Duty) affect your decisions, and have you found it affecting your base interest? Personally, learning of these aspects both completely nullifies any excitement or interest I have, *and* gives me conscious objection to them.
Fenreliania
2021-02-12 23:26:49 +0000 UTCHow do you guys feel about the recent rumors about the RE4 remake? If I’m correct capcom has taken over development and are changing up the story and stuff. If that’s true I’m excited to see what direction they are going to go with the story and characters. I’m hoping they don’t cut a lot which is my and I’m sure a lot of other people’s biggest fear. I do wish they would do a code Veronica before re 4. Also a friend of mine who doesn’t really play games but does enjoy them jusg picked up re4, once she gets through the game or at least most of it I’ll be pointing her to y’all’s episode of re4 since I recently showed your podcast to her and she likes it!
Joseph maneol
2021-02-12 22:50:43 +0000 UTCYo! Loving Orb, and very happy to have finally watched a great show like Venture Bros.! Listening to you all talk about what you like about the show, I’m reminded in some spaces about my own favorite show. Though obviously the humor and tone is very different, the use of continuity and jokes setting up later plot points is also a large factor in Adventure Time. My question is, I’m aware from random shows that you’ve both watched some amount of the show, but I’ve always been curious how much?
Eli Leslie
2021-02-12 20:55:48 +0000 UTCLoved the Monster Train episode! Thanks for giving me an excuse to check out this gem of a rogue-like. You might have mentioned this on an episode already, but have you run across any rogue-likes that would have been better without the randomization or vice versa?
Mark Mahler
2021-02-12 20:06:27 +0000 UTCRight after MLK day, we’ve got no good holidays until Memorial Day here in the states. What official holidays would you create or swap for this part of the year. I’ll take the low hanging fruit: President’s Day should be changed to Post-Super Bowl Monday as the official day off in Feb.
Mark Mahler
2021-02-12 20:01:33 +0000 UTCDo you have any good examples of a video game that taught you something (either a skill or a life lesson)? I'm an educator by profession and play games as a hobby, but I've always wondered what opportunities there are to see the two intersect. Currently, the "gamification" of education is usually low effort reward schemes or simulation-based training. I wonder if video games could be a tool to try to help shape future generations in a more progressive or positive direction. Maybe playing through a video game and discussing it could be a part of early education if we could solve the access issues?
Timeandwatch
2021-02-12 19:24:30 +0000 UTCPineapple on pizza? Yay or nay?
Markus Blomer
2021-02-12 19:22:25 +0000 UTCAs a collector of consoles and games with an ever increasing physical and virtual backlog, I am often confronted with the paralysis of choice. Time is so limited, and with so many games to play, both old and new, I often find myself starting a game, playing a bit, and then getting the urge to play a different game for fear of missing out. I am sure, as podcasters, it helps since much of what you play is dictated by the demands of your shows, but I figured I would ask anyway: how do you deal with the paralysis of choice?
Ethan Young
2021-02-12 19:11:38 +0000 UTCEarlier this year, I blind-bought Yoku's Island Express on an eShop sale, and while I try to save "blown away" for once-in-a-lifetime kinds of experiences, I was so throughly swept up by the chemistry of Metroidvania meets pinball. A couple of days and ten hours of play later, I got one of the most satisfying 100%s of my gaming life. I'll save my gushing over the game for another time, but I quickly realized how often in the past pinball-ifying a game can work for me despite my not actually caring about pinball itself at all. Both Pokemon Pinball games as well as Mario Pinball Land were big hits for me in younger years and hold up for me still today. My question is: what oddball genre hybrids have snuck up on you and been a hit?
I Have No Hole, and I Must Butt
2021-02-12 19:06:46 +0000 UTCI was thinking about straight up asking if you think it’s better to play some of the older CRPG classics (like Baldur’s Gate, Fallout games) before diving straight into Disco Elysium but then I got to wondering if you think that way of thinking / that approach is a good one to go with for someone unfamiliar with the gaming canon. I only got into gaming a year or two ago, and being so new into this medium, my way of going about what I want to play for now isn’t like “oh I like [genre] so I’ll like other games in that genre.” My approach has instead been diving into the canon and first and foremost addressing the kind of huge staples of gaming, just giving an honest chance to EVERYTHING and seeing what sticks. And since I’m new to gaming I don’t really fall victim to the typical concerns of today’s gamers for older games, like jank or graphics (PS1 graphics are basically my favorite thing, even having played newer / shinier games at this point) or “how well something has or hasn’t aged” since I don’t have any basis of comparison. My fear is / was originally kinda that I would play something newer / more recent (and therefore polished) in a genre and then have a much harder time going back to something older and likely more primitive / janky. I was listening to an earlier Dispatch episode where y’all are talking about GTA3, and how it’s aged poorly just because the open world genre has grown and expanded so much since then, even if at the time it was a real groundbreaking and innovative and all-around good game to play (basically like “Seinfeld isn’t funny” but for gaming). I’d hate to miss out on a great game like Fallout or Planscape: Torment or any other older RPG just because I play something like Disco Elysium first, which would probably at least somewhat make going back to an older game harder. So my question is basically “do you think it’s better to start with an earlier staple in the canon for a genre or a newer one, or does it not matter at all?” Thanks for hours of entertainment and for being a great guide and resource for someone getting into this wonderful medium, and I hope Gary gets better!
Zach Evans
2021-02-12 19:05:02 +0000 UTCHow does procedural generation affect your immersion in games? I started Daggerfall on a recommendation from the Dusk developer and while I like the flavor I find I’m needing to suspend my disbelief deliberately to get over the knowledge that the world is generated by a computer. Its not the same as being in a designed space with proper names and local lore. It’s an issue I’ve had with many recent games, like Big Robot titles Sir You and Being Hunted and The Light Keeps Us Safe, games I’d otherwise be super excited about— We Happy Few is another prime example.
Paul Buchholz
2021-02-12 18:47:31 +0000 UTCI've sometimes wondered what my chances would be in the event of a zombie outbreak or some other mass extinction event where the world quickly goes to hell. Honestly, not good I think. For example, take guns. I've never touched a gun in my life, much less fired one. However, my friends who DO own them say I'm best off with a shotgun when I break into the gun shop cause they are easy to use. Have you thought about what you might do in a situation where your forced to learn new skills on the fly, and how well (or badly) you might do?
Greg Polander
2021-02-12 18:46:49 +0000 UTCThe indie space seems to be a fertile ground for old genres to get new spiritual successors. Is there an old genre you feel deserves a revisit?
Doug Lief
2021-02-12 18:45:46 +0000 UTC
