Call and Response: WOFF! Dispatch September 2020
Added 2020-09-11 18:36:13 +0000 UTCHello! The purpose of this post is to call for your questions and prompts for WOFF! Dispatch. Please leave your response as a comment on this post by the end of the day on Monday, September 14.
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
G'day, What kind of computer specs are you two running and when do you decide it is time to upgrade?
Elliot Nial
2020-09-15 08:44:35 +0000 UTCFor Gary: Will Cassette Goblin ever come back? I know that was a more niche project, but I doubt I'm the only person who misses it. For Kole: Do you ever think about getting into making a regular/semi-regular zine? If so, what do you think you'd like to cover in it?
Cassandra Banner
2020-09-15 02:48:26 +0000 UTCWhen do you guys quit games? Assuming you like the base mechanics etc to get past the first hour or so, when do you push through a bullshit level/encounter and when do you walk away? (question inspired by immortal unchained’s teleporting snipers in apexion)
Andrew
2020-09-14 23:18:34 +0000 UTCHi there. To start I'm right there with you on the sensation of whiplash regarding Atreus's mood swings, and it continued to nag at me over the course of play. I'm not terribly well versed on Norse mythology; most of what I know came from that old Quake era third person brawler 'Rune', so the hints of the BOY's true nature eluded me until it was outright stated it at the end. Loved that reveal, I was grinning ear to ear.It did make me think back on those strange mood swings and consider what might have been actually going on there. Recalling that in the myth Loki was imprisoned in the earth and a venom was allowed to spill into his open heart when his wife wasn't there to catch the poison with a bowl. His screams of agony would go on to be the cause of earthquakes. Thanks Odin. With that in mind, and factoring in all the lies and secrets, the manipulation by almost every party, is it possible that Atreus isn't just a kid coming to terms with his heritage, but also a secret vessel for a incredibly vengeful and wicked god bent on revenge? I know there's nothing expressly to go on besides just how bizarre Atreus's behavior was during that middle stretch, but with all the subtle suggestions of time shenanigans, it also doesn't feel like it's outside the realm of possibility.
Darrin Michelson
2020-09-14 21:42:32 +0000 UTCJust wanted to ask how many entries in a game series does it take for you to get bored of the gameplay? Relating to God of War (2018), I'd certainly play a sequel that played similarly, but I don't think I'd play a third without a major gameplay shake-up. I skipped God of War 3 for the same reason. I didn't have the stomach for another mindless button tapper, especially in the company of the younger Kratos - I hate that guy. Dad Kratos is a big improvement though!
Ben Robson
2020-09-14 11:11:17 +0000 UTCHello fellas. I was enjoying listening to the podcast about God of War which is a game I liked and was frustrated by. My biggest frustration was something you talked about in the podcast which is the way the game always puts obstacles in your way to keep you from completing your initially simple quest. The structure of the game is always a cycle of: You have to do X, it seems straight forward, but then something unexpected happens and now you need Y to do X, then something else happens and now you need Z etc etc. I have read that some people call this the: "princess is in another castle" trope There was just something about this structure that really frustrated me. It made everything I did seem like a task instead of some epic quest like "Ring the two bells of awakening!". Many games do put obstacles in your way (fx the four lord souls of DS1), but for some reason God of War's structure was so much more frustrating than the other ones and I cannot put my finger on exactly why. Is the problem that the game doesn't tell you in advance what the obstacles are? I was wondering what you guys had any thoughts on this? If you had the same frustration and if so, why and what other games does this better? Thanks!
Toke Bruun Jensen
2020-09-14 10:10:03 +0000 UTCIf all the main Resident Evil protagonists were de-aged to teenagers and you were forced to parent one of them, who would be the easiest teen to manage and why? Who would be the biggest pain-in-the-ass teen to parent and why?
Holland Hume
2020-09-14 03:31:55 +0000 UTCAlright thanks, guess I missed that one!
Abe
2020-09-13 11:47:51 +0000 UTCExcellent, and thanks for the quick reply! And yes, publicly posting stuff would be shitty. I mean. What is this, SA in 2004?!
Guy Kelly
2020-09-13 11:01:26 +0000 UTCThe line for problem sharing would be giving your patron rss url to some friends, or publicly posting the RSS feed or any premium content on a third party content hosting site. Anything like that would be uncool. - K
Duckfeed.tv
2020-09-13 10:56:11 +0000 UTCWe can answer this on the episode as well, but since it can affect behavior between now and then it makes sense to answer here, too. I don’t feel slighted by married couples sharing patron content. Policing that would go to the illogical extreme of saying “don’t listen to this in the car with someone who hasn’t kicked in.” Imagine a movie studio saying a couple needed to own two copies of whatever DVD you were going to watch together.
Duckfeed.tv
2020-09-13 10:52:21 +0000 UTCHello folks. I got my wife listening to your podcasts and she's super into them. Even to the point that she's got into Bloodborne thanks to Bonfireside Chat, a thing that five years of me saying "but you'll enjoy it!" didn't do. On that note, is it A Dick Move if I share Patreon exclusive episodes with her? There was nothing in our vows about it, but I also don't want to screw you guys out of income. Where do you stand on that? Also, in true "not a question but a comment" style, a little while ago I had three days straight of constant déjà vu. Every second. It was horrible. So I decided to replay Bloodborne. Thematically appropriate, scary immersive, and I shat myself when I looked into my garden and saw a red lamp,. I absolutely don't recommend it. Cheers!
Guy Kelly
2020-09-13 10:38:16 +0000 UTCGary has mentioned an tabletop system called Iron Kingdoms, so what makes that system appeal to you? Also, is it published by Privateer Press because the only thing I can find has big steam punk energy, so I can't be sure?
Jonathan Scratch
2020-09-13 00:52:13 +0000 UTCI recently picked up Control when it released on Steam and although I really want to like it I find myself getting increasingly frustrated by it every time I play. That game ticks a lot of boxes for me - weird Twin Peaks/X-Files vibes, varied combat scenarios & powers, and really excellent acting and voice work from the cast - but it falls just short in a lot of other areas that I'm finding myself being almost overly critical of flaws I might overlook in another game that aimed its sights lower and hit those marks more consistently. You've both talked about similar issues like this on WOFF before, but do you ever find yourselves being harsher in your opinion toward games that got it 80% right than you do for less imaginative games that were more "consistently mediocre"? (I suppose this is the gameplay version of "would you prefer an inconsistent 60fps in a game or a solid 30 fps?")
Mark Mahler
2020-09-12 23:20:21 +0000 UTCIf you could only ever watch films from a single decade for the rest of your life, which decade would you choose?
Mark Mahler
2020-09-12 23:07:40 +0000 UTCI'd second Stewart's comment: I regularly listen to the back catalog & they're still a blast to listen to.
Mark Mahler
2020-09-12 22:59:33 +0000 UTCI heard Gary mention the near adoption of Willow the pug. Pet preferences are highly personal, and I don't know how set you are on any specific breed...but as a pug dad of several years, holy cow are they fun little monsters -- thousands of years of breeding directed at nothing more than being lovable goofballs. Good luck with your search wherever it takes you.
Casey Woolfolk
2020-09-12 19:19:41 +0000 UTCBouncing off of this, is there any content you wish you could redo? Similarly, are their any episodes you regret making? This doesn't have to be for something heavy like political reasons, but could also be something like it just wasn't worth it in the end, hardware difficulties, you feel it didnt end up having enough interesting content, etc.
Markus Blomer
2020-09-12 13:07:48 +0000 UTCI thiiiiiinnnnk we answered this last month? I'm not saying that to chide, just to give you a place to hear us talk about it if you missed it. -GB
Duckfeed.tv
2020-09-12 01:41:48 +0000 UTCI just started playing RE2 Remake a few days ago and it got me thinking about representation in games. I am playing as Claire, and while I am a man of carriage rather than a shapely female heroine, I’m pretty sure that I could function just as well as Claire in a similar scenario, i.e. lightly jogging around a police precinct to avoid slow-moving zombies, accompanied by some moderate huffing when using the stairs. This got me thinking: While games have generally become more inclusive in recent years, there are still many groups excluded from representation in this increasingly popular form of media. While it is possible for me to make an overweight avatar in games such as Dark Souls, it tends to look goofy at best and is frequently used as a joke rather than a serious representation of a very common body type. Similarly, when designing avatars a modern game will usually allow players to choose skin colors depicting a variety of races, but this is very different than game designers intentionally writing a story involving main characters that come from diverse ethnic backgrounds, genders, and body types. Maybe this is simply a case of my gaming experience not being very diverse, but I can’t think of a single game I’ve played that doesn’t star a cast of beautiful, athletic models that are almost always Caucasian. Do you see anything different in your extensive gaming experience? If so, can you recommend any games that buck this trend? Please feel free to open this up to involve any group of people underrepresented in games, not just what I’ve described above.
Abe
2020-09-12 00:53:39 +0000 UTCI recently picked up Blasphemous again with the DLC release and have really been enjoying it. Hell if I know what is going on with the story still but they added lots of quality of life improvements (bonfire teleport) and the gameplay feels much better. I think more arm hair was even added to the Exhumed Bishop fight! Have either of you messed around/have plans to mess around with it?
Andy Ward
2020-09-11 22:58:34 +0000 UTCThe trailer for Dune was just released and people seem to be going crazy for it. What is a book series, graphic novel series, or any series that you would love some films of? The only catch is, it can't already have a film adaptation.
Christopher Schlee
2020-09-11 22:47:36 +0000 UTCWhat's a nice surprise that's happened to you recently?
Matt Bixler! Hello!
2020-09-11 22:46:14 +0000 UTCYou've both made a lot of content over quite a few years now, and creatives are known for not liking their older pieces. I've been listening back through WOFF and other shows, and I think your stuff holds up, but how do you feel about it? What do you think of when you reflect on past work?
Autumn M
2020-09-11 21:05:55 +0000 UTCWith the pandemic I have gotten back into writing songs, playing guitar and singing for the first time in almost a decade- I gave it up for a long time because of my job. Recording new music has been immensely satisfying, I hope to finish an album eventually and play a few local shows when the pandemic is over (so I just want it to be a steady part of my life, not "make it"). But I'm also 37 now and I sometimes get this nagging feeling that "it's too late" or "I'm too old." I've found articles debunking this fear of ageism-- but I'd love to hear your thoughts on getting over it, since you guys are always good at talking being accepting and happy with yourself as you are. -Paul
Paul Buchholz
2020-09-11 20:13:17 +0000 UTCHas Kole played Halo Wars/do you have any thoughts about it?
Bill Darrow
2020-09-11 19:10:05 +0000 UTCWould you rather have a hand made out of ham or an armpit that dispensed a beer of your choice. Rules and assumptions:- The hand would function properly but you would be able to eat/carve it as you like, although it didn’t regenerate immediately. The beer is a single beer of choice (you can’t change once decided) but of course it has to come out of your armpit, which at times (like us all!) it isn’t the freshest environment. Also beer is for personal use only and must not be used to sell to any individual or corporation.
Dan Sayer
2020-09-11 19:06:12 +0000 UTCThe Venture Bros was just cancelled. With ORB about to be released, how do you feel about that?
SindrElf
2020-09-11 18:45:16 +0000 UTCA couple weeks ago I suddenly got laid off from my finance job without any warning. I received a severance package so I'm okay with finances for now, but in the last two weeks I've been doing a lot of job hunting, had some leads, but nothing has turned up yet. However, I've noticed something strange about my game playing this time around that I did not experience when this has happened in the past. Before, I was so busy that my game time was very limited, maybe a total of 10-12 hours a week and most of that on the weekend. Now, even though I have more free time and I know it's important for your mental health to give yourself some 'non job hunting' time each day, I find myself playing a lot LESS games. Biggest reason I can ID why is that I feel guilty in doing that when I'm out of work and feel like that my time should be more productive spent. Have you guys encountered this in the past and how did you get around or dealt with it?
Greg Polander
2020-09-11 18:42:40 +0000 UTCI'm currently teaching a university-level course on video games—weekly topics include game localization, gender and gaming, hacking/modding/speedrunning, and games and disability. But there are so many things I wanted to talk about, it was a pretty wild task narrowing them down. I was wondering, if you had to give a lecture to a university class on any games-related topic of your choice, what would each of you choose? (This can be as general as "the history of arcades" or as specific as "how Disco Elysium plays around with the detective genre.")
Andrew C
2020-09-11 18:41:56 +0000 UTC
