Call and Response: WOFF Dispatch July 2020
Added 2020-07-17 19:02:23 +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 Sunday, July 19.
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
What is your most vivid video game memory from childhood? When I was 5 years old, my cousin Stephen made the mistake of letting me watch him play the original Resident Evil game on PS1. After turning the corner to see Kenneth Sullivan getting munched on by an undead monstrosity, with the iconic half face turn during a lightning strike, I fled in terror to my room. I then started having nightmares of being eaten by zombies that continued until about age 11. Over the years of my zombie-fueled night terrors, my family grew weary of my constant mention of “Stephen’s Scary Video Game”. At about age 9, I was asked to lead prayer for a meal with extended family, which I capped off with “And Dear Lord, please help me to stop having bad dreams about Stephen’s Scary Video Game.” I now attribute this to my late-emerging atheism, as God did not in fact stop my nightmares. It was either that, or divine retribution from the ESRB for ignoring the M rating.
Jared Mogen
2020-07-20 02:27:39 +0000 UTCHearing Gary's idea for an Osmosis Jones-type golf game got me thinking about novel types of golf games that I might like to see or play. Not sure how y'all feel about Death Stranding but the idea of an in-engine mod or some such to alllow me to hit the links as Sam in Kojima's Scottish links style version of America just seems so rad to me! I'm curious to hear what game and/or game engine *y'all* think would make for a good golf time? Channeler teeing off @ Ash Lake anyone? :-)
Brett Johnson
2020-07-20 01:46:23 +0000 UTCany misconceptions about the show you don't think someone will ever ask about? something the average listener doesn't know they don't know?
Matt Bixler! Hello!
2020-07-19 04:24:44 +0000 UTCWith all of the terrible things going on in the world these days, and especially since many of those things are hitting very close to home for a lot of us, I’ve been appreciating games as a brief escape from reality. Whether it’s a few hours in the national park in Firewatch, or a longer visit to Lordran, anything that can just help me “get away for a while” has been greatly appreciated. While I’m not advocating using games to run away from your problems, it is nice to have a comfortable place to go. So I have 2 questions for you guys: 1) What role do games play personally in escapism for you, and how do you feel about escapism in general? 2) If you do tend to escape via games, what are some of your favorites to slip into when the real world gets to be too much? Thanks!
Dave Jackson
2020-07-19 04:16:46 +0000 UTCThoughts on Code Vein? I haven't tried it, but knowing your love for From Games and your feelings toward anime, it always seemed like it would be equal parts attractive & repellent to both of you (and might make for a fun Bonfire episode). Also, I'm struggling for a good "equal parts attractive & repellent" metaphor to end this comment on, so help me out fellas. "A juicy burger filled with maggots"? "A beautiful beach vacation where all you can do is file taxes all day long?"
Mark Mahler
2020-07-18 19:56:00 +0000 UTCI can't remember if you've already covered this one, so apologies upfront if it's a repeat: What's a book/film/game you like, but would struggle to recommend to others?
Mark Mahler
2020-07-18 19:54:04 +0000 UTCI saw remarks in the Slack about songs based on video games. I was wonder where you guys stand when it comes to video game music covers and remixes.
Chris Blanchette
2020-07-18 16:47:48 +0000 UTCMaybe you've answered this elsewhere, but what made you guys come up with Abject Suffering? It's not like WOFF, where it's just an extension of talking about games you like and sharing that with the world. How does one say, "well, let's make a podcast where we play things that (mostly) aren't fun" and somehow make it fun to listen to? I love AS (and your other content) so I've always wondered what the thought process was.
Markus Blomer
2020-07-18 13:31:55 +0000 UTCFeel free to not answer if this is too personal. As someone who moved to another state, I've actually been socializing with more old friends since the quarentine. Mostly its been fb or zoom chats with friends and family reaching out and online D&D games with friends across the country. I was curios y'all have noticed this as well.
Uncle64
2020-07-18 12:16:26 +0000 UTCHello Gary and Kole, I've been thinking of getting a cat, it will be my first pet, as I grew up without having pets ever. Can I ask you two about your formative experiences with having a pet ? and what advice you would give to a first time cat owner ? Cheers, Anh-Tu
Anh-Tu
2020-07-18 06:48:53 +0000 UTCI just listened to the Inside The Battle of Portland episode of the Worst Year Ever podcast. As a Portlandite, does Gary have any personal insigth regarding what is going on there at the moment?
SindrElf
2020-07-18 05:51:56 +0000 UTCWe can definitely speak to this, but if you want to hear more, we did a dispatch adjacent to this subject in early/mid 2019. -GB
Duckfeed.tv
2020-07-18 03:05:24 +0000 UTCFor the rest of WOFF and Abject Suffering's life you can own as many consoles and actual titles as you want, but as far as emulators and ROMs you can only have one console. Which console do you choose to steal, you dirty pirates?
Holland Hume
2020-07-18 01:07:09 +0000 UTCThis may certainly be one to avoid, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the recent Chris Avellone news. I know Both of you love the games that he has worked on, many of which have been covered on the show (he was even interviewed for an old WOFF episode). Personally the news wrecked me, in the past 2-3 years I’ve fallen in love with almost everything he’s done, playing alpha protocol, planescape torment, fallout 1&2, new Vegas (fuzzy on his involvement here), and all the new obsidian games like pillars of eternity etc... for the first time. I had even written a specific list of all the games he was credited on and planned to go through them. I was shocked, then upset and angry, but quickly realized it was for selfish reasons. I wanted this creator I loved to be an upstanding person, and he had always seemed this way from public appearance, but it turns out like a large portion of the games industry he used his power or clout to take advantage of several women. I guess this is again about separating the art from the artist. Will both of you continue to play games he has worked on? I’m sure in time I will but I will always feel at least somewhat hesitant about doing so and certainly this puts a dark cloud over some of my all time favorite games.
Colin Tevis
2020-07-17 23:19:55 +0000 UTCYou guys joke about backdoor WOFFs on Abject Suffering, but is there a game you've already covered that you would actually consider featuring on WOFF? Personally I'd love a Bad Mojo WOFF.
Todd Bryanton
2020-07-17 22:03:35 +0000 UTCPotential long-form prompt: Character Game critics and game studies scholars have spoken for a long time about how characterization works differently in this medium, compared to literature, film, theatre, and television. A compelling character might not have any personal history or even dialogue, but still might convey tons of personality through movement, abilities, appearance, and so on. But it's a tricky subject. Is there any way of thinking about characterization that allows for more abstract characters like Pac-Man, Wario, and Chun-Li, as well as more narrative-dependent characters like Bea from Night in the Woods and Kim from Disco Elysium, to all be considered “good characters”? More succinctly: what constitutes a successful game character to you, and what are some examples of the best and worst characters you’ve encountered in gaming?
Andrew C
2020-07-17 21:57:35 +0000 UTCRecently I was having a conversation with a friend about video game music over the years. I've always loved video game music and have been enjoying it since, well to be honest, even before you two were born. :) Anyway, we were discussing favorite game tracks when I realized that for me about 90 percent of them are in the 32 bit era and earlier and that got me wondering why. For whatever reason I just don't enjoy as much modern music with a few exceptions such as the Elder Scrolls soundtracks. I could think of a few reasons why that might be -- in the old days due to limited technology composers had less to work with and had to 'try harder' to make their stuff sound good; we don't pay as much attention to music cause the games are bigger and more intense; or all the modern game music is orchestral/CD based and doesn't have that 'unique' factor to it that older games had. Do you think there's any truth to the statement that most modern video game music sucks or am I looking at this through rose tinted glasses?
Greg Polander
2020-07-17 21:53:58 +0000 UTCHey guys, I don't really know where else to turn to ask this. Don't answer if you think it's not appropriate for the show. My brother has recently been suffering from depression and I'm at a loss on what to do to help. I try to be there for him and always be open to listening. But he is just a stone wall, shuts down whenever our family tries to ask what's going on and how we can help. I understand it's an internal battle and struggle. Being privileged in not suffering any mental condition myself, it's frustrating being an outsider when you feel so helpless in seeing someone you love struggle with it and not being able to help. Any suggestions or advice from your perspective would be immensely helpful.
Nicholas Prior
2020-07-17 20:53:26 +0000 UTCWhat is the conservative/right-wing idea or perspective you find most compelling (meaning you don’t have to agree with it, but you find the idea/perspective interesting or worth considering)?
Ian Derk
2020-07-17 20:35:26 +0000 UTCHey folks! New subscriber and I already love the show, especially when I'm listening while on the clock at work. (Apologies if this is spamming but I did submit this question via contact). Science fiction and fantasy properties love rebellion/revolution stories. However, I find that for the most part, a lot of these narratives merely appropriate language and symbolism from real world revolutions without accounting for material conditions that lead to them or making a realistic resolution. Detroit: Become Human was one of the most egregious examples I can think of because of how clumsily it borrows US Civil Rights and Holocaust iconography while making a really contrived resolution for the "good" ending. What in your opinions are good examples of revolution stories in sci-fi or fantasy? The Bajorans from Deep Space 9 and the Narn from Babylon 5 are two of my favorites.
Rob Cheng
2020-07-17 19:47:58 +0000 UTCI've been playing two very politically charged, and wildly different, games lately: Disco Elysium, to go along with the show, and Far Cry 5, and they make really interesting companions to one another, because they're both games that explicitly tread in some hot-button contemporary issues. Far Cry 5 is, in many ways, a total failure to do anything with a deeply fertile subject matter, and Disco is a pretty resounding success. Can you think of some other examples of games that handle explicitly political subject matter notably well/poorly, and what's the difference maker there?
Harris Allgeier
2020-07-17 19:45:27 +0000 UTCI played the first Dishonored for the first time this month, and then listened to your episode about it. But I could not help wondering what a post-Covid19 Dishonored WOFF episode would be like. So do you have any thoughts on the game now, vis a vis govermental response to a plague?
SindrElf
2020-07-17 19:37:38 +0000 UTCWhat game consoles/handhelds do you have immediately available to play WOFF games on? What is your general policy on using emulation as opposed to playing on the original hardware?
Zoombini
2020-07-17 19:24:46 +0000 UTCI know you both have expressed liking Tim and Eric, have you watched anything by Eric Andre? I feel like their styles are similar and I wanted to hear if you had any takes on him
Kelerak
2020-07-17 19:20:18 +0000 UTCWho’s your favourite unsung “shredder”? Mine would be Jason Becker (Cacophony etc.) taken down by an illness at 20 but amazing songs (Speed Metal Symphony) also do you like brown sauce in your sausage sandwich? Hopefully that’s not just a British thing
Dan Sayer
2020-07-17 19:14:13 +0000 UTCHello. Just subscribed recently and really loving the shows. Keep it up! In reference to Disco Elysium, I really wanted to play the game until I saw that the developer had a picture of Stalin hanging in their office. As a history teacher (in the UK), this made me feel so uncomfortable that I couldn't bring myself to buy the game. Is this reasonable? I know people have been having similar issues when it comes to the Last of Us 2 and Naughty Dog's work practices, but have you ever been put off playing/covering a game because of the developer? Did you think about this before covering Disco Elysium?
Joseph Butler-Hartley
2020-07-17 19:09:59 +0000 UTC
![VAM_Erup[VR]](https://samsuka.com/istorage/28584.jpg)
