Q&A Topics For This Month's Exclusive Podcast

Could be that they just joined, so the first billing hasn't occurred yet, or a privacy setting.

I'll keep this brief/open-ended: How do you all feel about storytelling through immersive experiences/theme parks? Disney is set to release open their Starcruiser Hotel experience where the aim is to tell an expansive story to guests. This, of course, comes on the heels of their "Galaxy's Edge" area that also tells a layered story for guests to engage in as much (or as little) as they like. In many ways, it's this commitment to story that separate Disney rides from their competitors. But it isn't only Disney that is doing these kinds of things. Evermore in PG aims to do something similar-- immerse visitors in a world and story for them to explore and discover. You two often talk about the power of videogames to effectively tell compelling stories because of their ability to immerse and engage audiences. These in-person experiences seem to possess a similar characteristic. Curious to hear your thoughts.

With the current trend of companies buying studios left and right my fear is the drop in creativity if you have more traditional business thinking dictating content. What is your sense of the immediate consequences of this trend for content in games? Is there any upside to centralization of gaming development from What you Can see? I Just have a feeling that there will be more of a predictive formula of to each genre seeping in to new or established ips, all FPS need x, all JRPGs need to have y, etc. Curious of your prescience on the matter.

Tomas

You've talked about your upbringing in the Church before. With games like Tactics with it's anti-dogma story, or Xenogears exploring religious concepts heavily, did you ever bring these ideas to others in your Church, if so how did they react, and did it ever affect your own relationship with your faith. Apologies if this is too personal a question, feel free to skip it or partially answer if it's easier for you.

Richard D Ross

Oh, I see. It's confusing. When I go to some of these people's pages...It says, "This patron isn’t supporting any creators at the moment."

Tom Whitley

Is replayability a factor in regards to a game being good. Or for a more nuanced look what aspects of replayability are good vs bad?

In the past, Mike has talked about Chrono Trigger as a game that helped him through a stressful time in his life. I was wondering if there are any games like that for Casen. And what kinds of games do you both go to when dealing with stressful times? What about that type of game or genre helps you relax or just "get away" for a while?

I'm not sure what you mean, Tom. Everyone who is commenting on this is a patron. This post is inaccessible to anyone who is not a $5+ patron.

Resonant Arc

Mike i want to ask if you played Deus Ex 1 or human revaluation before? i think you might liked it.

FFXIIKD

Storytelling is a filter of internal character conflict. If the main character doesn't face their truth throughout the story, it's not the right filter. It's why I think some protagonists fail. Even when they are saving the world and doing impossible things, it is not the right filter if they aren’t facing their demons. It doesn't matter if your demon is public speaking; that will be more 'correct' than someone facing an actual demon when it's evident he has no problem defeating it while still having other problems/character defects in their life. Facing the most significant conflict is what determines a hero. I also think this is key to the writing process. There are endless things that happen in the imaginary world of the story, but the 'filter of internal conflict' is what should only be shown in the novel (separating what happens from what is shown and written). If true, you could reasonably conclude, technically speaking, through imitation, stories are the most adaptive tool after language.

wtf?

I don't understand why some of these people are asking these long questions when they don't even support your Patreon.

Tom Whitley

Hey guys! Just wondering which three games you would pick to: 1) Remaster (already pretty perfect, just needs art or music update) 2) Remake (Had a great premise, but implementation fell short) 3) Make a sequel (A story or world that still has untapped potential) Thanks!

What makes (character) mysteries mysterious? To be more clear: Under what situations does a character's confusion engage you as a reader/player? For example, in FFT, Ramza's 2 lines about "He lives? But why does he fight under the banner of Duke Goltanna?" carried my interest throughout the entire first chapter. There's two mysteries for Ramza and at least four mysteries for the player, i.e. (1) How do they know each other (2) Why did Ramza think Delita died? (3) How did Delita survive? and (4) Why is Delita working for the enemy / Why is Ramza surprised to see Delita working for the enemy. I think this was partly possible thanks to the In Medias Res style of the opening, but I'm still surprised at how engaging those mysteries are. After all, the stakes to each of the mysteries are relatively small. I also don't think the player/reader needs to necessarily have less information than the character. For example, in Harry Potter, we know that Harry Potter survives a horrible magic-related incident as a baby, before Harry himself knows. And according to Hitchcock's "Bomb under the Table" suspense can be created when players/readers know something the character doesn't know. But in other situations, if the player/reader knows "too much" or much more than the character, it can be annoying or frustrating, right? Like "Hurry up and get to the conclusion!" No specific examples come to mind, perhaps because this stuff doesn't stick with you for long. Sorry for such a long post, but you can stick to "What makes (character) mysteries mysterious?" if you want more open-ended question.

I have a question for Casen. My Wife watches alot of korean/chinese shows I'd like to watch something of this nature with her, but she mainly likes romances. Is there anything you might recommend as i'd like to show an interest in her interests and thought this might be in your expertise.

(Repeat question from last month) what justifies a remake of an ost for a game? Youve praised the pixel remaster ost however there were some tracks for nier that didnt resonate with you. Xenoblade is also a good example of a great remaster of an ost. What makes remastering an ost worth it?