|
I listened to the latest Dispatch after not tuning into WOFF for about five years and while it was surprising how blunt Gary is towards his dislike for Kojima, it seems in line with what Gary's been saying about Kojima for what I know of the podcast. It was harsh but refreshing because I think a lot of people in the gaming community recognize that Kojima has problems but they're reluctant to criticize him for a myriad of reasons. The guy is responsible for some of the earliest examples of "Video Games As Art", maybe that's why people are reluctant to criticize him out of reverence, but MGS4 going forward is when his limits became apparent.
|
#
¿
Oct 4, 2022 05:54
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 3, 2024 21:10 |
|
|
Having actually listened to the episode, it is weird how little they talk about gameplay in comparison to the plot. Ah well. Gary put it very well when he said that Kojima might be the 'elder statesman' of good video game writing but he's fallen behind compared to game writing since the mid-aughts.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 15, 2022 04:51
|
|
|
I don't think a Death Stranding episode would provide a lot of new text on what the WOFF boys think about Kojima. In fact, the storytelling of Death Stranding is very similar to MGSV and the weird gameplay/story disconnect is similar to MGSV too. I know a few people that liked DS for its gameplay and got lost in its surreal, apocalyptic atmosphere while disliking the explicit narrative. If WOFF did an episode on it, it would like follow the same flow as their MGSV one.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 16, 2022 04:29
|
|
|
Listening to the latest episode on Strangeland and when did they get rid of skits? Pretty sure since I last listened to them they were still doing skits. I never liked them much because I didn't find them funny but now that they're gone I feel lost. It's very familiar territory otherwise, now that I'm listening again. In fact, it's feels like there are not a lot of new threads to pick up. Gary mentioned a LucasArts game and I was like, "I wonder if Gary is going to mention how he doesn't think Tim Schaefer is a good game designer" and then he did. And as someone who's just started to watch Breaking Bad for the first time, it's frustrating that the podcast is spoilery but I get because they'd likely have a richer discussion if they could mention things later on. DoubleCakes fucked around with this message at 18:09 on Oct 19, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Oct 19, 2022 02:17
|
|
|
I remember Summer of C*m. That didn't literally make me throw up in my mouth, but it did figuratively.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 19, 2022 23:02
|
|
|
The latest episode on Mankind Divided: I really dug it. As someone who enjoyed that game despite it being a weird middle chapter in a longer narrative, it's cool that other people appreciate it. It's been a good six years since I played it but I remember digging the atmosphere a lot.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 8, 2022 04:01
|
|
|
Latest episode on Lucah was pretty good. It's similar to the Strangeland episode where it's the two guys being unimpressed with very serious subject matter, making a lot of jokes but not crossing a line where they make fun of the problematic themes themselves.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 6, 2023 05:08
|
|
|
I don't think they were being that apologetic about not liking NORCO. Most of what I remember about that episode is them thinking the writing was very sketch and had some pretty laughable moments like the player detering fascists by calling them out on hypocrisy like that would work. I got a good idea of what the game is like. I think that was the same episode where Gary voiced his dislike for the idea of "vibe gaming" which I have a hard disagree with. I love vibe gaming! Now that I'm done Breaking Bad, I'm caught up on Best Quality Vacuum and it's been pretty great if a little dry and unsurprising. I appreciate that each episode of podcast isn't 300% the length of the episode of the show. The discussion is rich and as someone who came off of BB feeling it was a teensy bit mid, the discussions they are having are shining new light on the show. But am I weird for thinking that Walt punching that air dryer in 14 Days Off was supposed to be triumphant? That's what I took away from it when I first saw the episode.
|
|
#
¿
May 22, 2023 22:01
|
|
|
I can see why the plane crash is very weird in hindsight, but in my marathon of Breaking Bad, there was no moment more shocking and desolate than the lead up to that plane crash. And I kind of get it. When you get into making meth, you know the consequences is a drug that will ruin people. But there are very specific expectations to that. Walt wasn't expecting to be indirectly responsible for a plane crash.
|
|
#
¿
May 24, 2023 15:46
|
|
|
There's some weird synchronicity between keeping up with new episodes and catching up with the backlog. At the same time listening to the Night in the Woods episode, in recent episodes Gary's criticized a new concept in gaming called "vibes gaming", playing games for vibes and being that his new motto is "Verbs, not vibes" it seems like he doesn't understand how vibes gaming works. When I heard him say that I said out loud (to my house) "He coming after vibes now!?" The way I see it, verbs are the vibes, and vice versa. Every change in how a game plays will change how it feels.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 4, 2023 20:08
|
|
|
Excited for the Jak II episode next month. That game was a real gamechanger for me. Also liked the recent episode on Pentiment, didn't play that one, but the episode highlights the importance of games that don't allow the player conclusive answers.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 22, 2023 20:13
|
|
|
Real short one on Burnout Paradise. Barely had a structure at all but maybe that's appropriate. I hope they continue to tackle these weird games that don't fall into WOFF's regular format. Unfortunately the WOFF boys show their floppy taste by coming after the music in the game, bashing Jane's Addiction and Faith No More's "Epic" within the span of thirty seconds. Furthermore, it sounds like they are not vibing with Jak II. This next episode... it's going to be turbulent. Continuing my exploration of their backlog, I failed to notice they stopped doing intro skits– I think EDF was their last one. I always took issue with their goofy skits but now that they are gone, they glow a little brighter. I relistened to the Planescape Torment episodes and even though I've not listened to it in about a decade, I recalled those opening skits pretty distinctly. "Okay. I'vemadeitoutofthemortuary. Now... wherecanIfindFarad?" The mic quality back then wasn't great but the skit quality was quite quite good.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 7, 2023 13:42
|
|
|
Wow, what an episode! No matter which side you fall on the Jak II debate, you can acknowledge that we are all better– society is better– because of that sharp discussion on today's WOFF. Frankly, I think they were a little harsh on some aspects while others I can agree with them completely. I still think it's a pretty great game even with the difficulty problems and still love it. Glad the WOFF guys could check out this franchise. Also, in my exploration of the back catalogue, I've noticed that Gary likes the word 'bespoke' more than most people.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 14, 2023 05:10
|
|
|
As interesting as the Jak II episode was, I don't think that kind of outrage is something I'd want very often. A Kingdom Hearts episode would be bad WOFF. Without even playing the games, Gary's clocked the problems of Kingdom Hearts pretty accurately and I don't think the episode would uncover much more. It would be 2-4 hours of Gary and Kole saying, "This is stupid" over and over again and that's never entertaining or profound. Also, I feel like something got ate by a time hole because I thought that WOFF covered the first Baldur's Gate. I know they did Dark Alliance and the sequel but the first has been untouched?
|
|
#
¿
Jul 18, 2023 04:02
|
|
|
Got finished listening to their Psychonauts episode and that might be one of the best they've ever done? It certainly feels like it with the dichotomy of Gary disliking the gameplay aspects of Psychonauts and Double Fine but loving the character of Tim Schafer and the writing of the game. How many episodes have that level of tension?
|
|
#
¿
Aug 8, 2023 04:46
|
|
|
I think I could listen to hours of Gary complaining about Metal Gear but I know that would be a bad podcast and would alienate most people. The thing about his hatred for Kingdom Hearts is that I don't think he's played any of the games, really. It's weird having such impassioned opinions on something he's mostly experienced through the franchise's fans, but I think its mostly him venting his hatred of the Power of Friendship trope– which is totally fair, that trope is so overdone and obvious that it can't even be a narrative theme. But I think there are more profound criticisms to be levelled at the KH franchise that Gary isn't familiar with that are more interesting to talk about. It's also weird how he pairs up Kojima and Nomura. Those two creators have very different reputations. They're both auteurs but Kojima has been seen as a capital-A Artist for most of his career and only recently with the mixed reception of Death Stranding has his general opinion been tarnished. Nomura? I don't think he's ever been taken seriously. His designs have been criticized frequently since the PS2 era and the plots of Kingdom Hearts have been met with great criticism, too. His ability to direct is constantly on trial. People like him but it's in a heavily ironic way in which fans like his work but know the guy has made a lot of bad creative decisions.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 14, 2023 17:37
|
|
|
They're taking a break from BQV to stand by the actor strikes, which I understand. I've been catching up still and passed the Gunstar Heroes episode which feels like a game they did in the first 50 episodes and not one in the middle of their 200s. Good episode at least, and even if it touches on to some political stuff it could have been one they did in the earlier couple years of WOFF. I've also been looking at some of their older episodes and listened to the Half-Life one because that is the first episode I wrote into and in the extrasode he has that great story about going to a Portland magic show where I guy closed the show with "Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" and clapped to the beat before the song even began which Gary used as a recurring joke in Teenage Dirtbags.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 20, 2023 21:47
|
|
|
Latest on Aria on Sorrow was good. Gary voiced some thoughts on the old Castlevanias being kind of outdated and Metroidvania being that very easy combo genre to like that people were clamouring for back in the day! But the indie space has changed the overall love for Metroidvanias.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 12, 2023 00:59
|
|
|
It's been awhile so I gave a couple Abject Suffering episodes a listen. Quickly remembered that discussion of the game is only a small fraction of the show. I put on the latest episode on Big Sky Trooper. I have vague memories of playing that game on emulation and I remember it having the feeling of being pretty hard to get into and repetitive in a way that reminds me of other space games like Space Pirates and Zombies and Halcyon 6.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 26, 2023 02:04
|
|
|
Kole bellowing "THE CROSSOVER EVENT OF THE CENTURY" and then subsequently laughing himself to death on the latest Abject Suffering is giving me life.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 23, 2023 20:32
|
|
|
I'm still getting caught up and I just passed episode 300 including the trilogy of Dragon Age 2 episodes and for a game that's been whispered at over the course of the podcast I was expecting a more substantial discussion. Don't get me wrong, the eps were entertaining but the takeaway I took from Dragon Age 2 is that it's a kinda rushed WRPG with centrist politics and it felt like there should have been a more profound statement on a game that was kinda hyped up. The episode(s) introduced me to a new useful term, though. Gary mentioned that one character had very "key frame" character development and that's a term I'm going to utilize because it's a thing I don't like in stories when a character's arc is the basic beats and lacking in transitional moments.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 27, 2023 18:47
|
|
|
Finally, we'll discover what's going on with those nasty Salamanca twins. As for WOFF, I recently finished the Magic Circle episode and I'm with Gary that, on paper, that game sounds so good and there are so many elements that are very realized, but overall it's a failure as a piece of art. It's the kind of game that's stuck in my head for years now and I sometimes wonder why it's not remembered more fondly and that episode reminded me... oh yeah. There was also the Last of Us episode and I take back what I said about Kole laughing himself to death on that Abject episode. Kole is actually laughing himself to death on that 'giraffes took over' riff. You can hear the years seeping out of him as he violently cackles.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 9, 2023 03:03
|
|
|
My (biggest) issue with Grand Theft Auto V was that it was hard to find optional/bonus stuff to do, something that was also a problem before in GTA4. I kinda wanted to replay it for the show but it's probably a good thing that GTA5 is one-and-done for me. EDIT: A cool Easter Egg at the end of this week's Abject Suffering. DoubleCakes fucked around with this message at 21:22 on Nov 20, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Nov 18, 2023 15:46
|
|
|
Listened to the latest dispatch. Not terribly excited for the games coming in January but whatevs. I'm sure they will be great episodes. I've also been thinking about Gary putting a call out for games that have a single-sentence reputation dismissing them for a generalized reason. I don't have anything off the top of my head (yet), but I think it's an important discussion because any media that gets reduced to a very memey criticism– like, that's bad. Also, upon finishing Day of the Tentacle I went back and listened to the WOFF episode on it and I had forgotten that they wedged a discussion of Maniac Mansion in there. Pretty neat! (I was disappointed that their ECHO episode wasn't on Echo, the gay furry visual novel. It would have been such new frontiers for them!) DoubleCakes fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Dec 1, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Dec 1, 2023 18:16
|
|
|
Sounds like Gary isn't eager to get to Mass Effect 2, which is fine. His comments on JRPGs being RPGs that take away the complexity to be more accessible resonated with me because I never liked the choice-making in the Mass Effect games (or at least I didn't feel it) but liked it as a big adventure with combat and character growth– kinda like a JRPG.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 21, 2023 18:43
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 3, 2024 21:10 |
|
|
Glad that Gary found his detective game with Curse of the Golden Idol. I like the sound of it myself, but I find the aesthetic repulsive so I won't check it out. I think the reason why genuine detective games are hard to find is because I think classic detective situation require a lot of improvisation and would require lots of different mechanics to be programmed in. I'm also finally done catching up with WOFF, having listened to all the episodes I wanted to. About a year ago when I started listening again, I said that it didn't seems like there were a lot of new threads to pick up but I've noticed that WOFF's philosophy on challenge is that a game should only be as hard as it needs to be to emphasize the mechanics. WOFF is about the cause and effect of mechanics.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 8, 2024 05:42
|
|