Call and Response: WOFF Dispatch May 2024
Added 2024-05-14 14:00:10 +0000 UTCHey y'all. It's Gwen. I have a confession.
I've been purposefully leaving typos in this post because I thought it was funny. And then last time, it all went horribly wrong.
So let me be clear. All typos are a work of fiction.
Now, on to your regularly scheduled programming:
Hello! The purpose of this post is to call for your questions and prompts for WOFF! Dispatch. Please respond by Tuesday May 21st by leaving a comment on this post.
We're looking for two kinds of things:
Suggestions for our long-form discussion prompt.
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.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Comments
My fiancee and I got a Switch a couple of months ago. It's my first new console since the GameCube (having been a PC gamer for new stuff), so I'm having a blast catching up on all the new releases of the past eight years. Even more fun is that my fiancee never played console video games beforehand, so I get to watch someone brand new to all of these things I've internalized for over 25 years. She's having so much fun, but she'll occasionally tell me occasionally tell me how she feels like she's behind in what the game expects her to already know by virtue of it being a game. I grew up playing Super Nintendo, where the relative simplicity of stuff like Super Mario World made for an easy intro to the semiotics of games, and everything else feels like an iteration on these early principles. According to my fiancee, a lot of modern games feel like they already expect you to know how to play them. What makes a good modern introduction or instruction to the principles of gaming? Perhaps reductively: what's today's Super Mario 1-1 equivalent - where you learn what a game is by playing it?
Dylan Kilby
2024-05-21 17:07:19 +0000 UTCMonthly request for an Unfilmable episode on the first season of AMC’s The Terror. Very similar tone to Chernobyl and a few of the cast, too.
MIKEISTKRIEG
2024-05-21 12:01:25 +0000 UTCHave you guys thought about doing more VR games for the show ? I recently bought RE4 VR and am having a blast ! Also saw there was a Vampire the Masquerade game that came out. Much love from Steven, Canada
Steven Reichenbach
2024-05-20 20:13:39 +0000 UTCI recently finished up my "going into the DLC" character in Elden Ring so that's been on my mind and my only question is: one Crucible Knight versus a gaggle of DS1 torch hollows. Who are you putting your money on?
JQ
2024-05-20 01:45:21 +0000 UTCAre there any games you enjoyed playing in your past that are now unavailable completely? In other words, games you cannot play physically, digitally or via emulation? If so, it would be interesting to hear you share about it. For instance, I played the relatively mediocre Dr. Goo series a lot as a kid but cannot find it anywhere now.
Tylor
2024-05-20 01:15:57 +0000 UTCWe all have a personal gaming history, that has impacted and shaped how we feel about games, and maybe formed us on deeper levels also. What are some of the most memorable, nostalgic or important gaming experiences in your life time? (What games? How old were you? Did you play alone, or with someone? What was special about this experience?)
Owlology
2024-05-19 21:55:34 +0000 UTCAnd also... does Kole have any secret games on Itch.io?
Kathryn
2024-05-19 20:45:49 +0000 UTCThis is a question for Gary. One of my hobbies is spelunking down Itch.io to find weird and unique story games. During a recent deep dive, I was extremely surprised to discover a name I recognized attached to a narrative adventure game about divorce. It’s been about nine years since Early Frost Warning was released, and Gary, I was wondering how you feel about the game now. Would you recommend that curious parties play it? What was the process of creating it like? Do you ever consider making more games? Apologies if I've unearthed something that should have stayed buried 😅 but please know that I always appreciate your conversations about your creative work.
Kathryn
2024-05-19 20:44:48 +0000 UTCSince Onimusha was originally intended to be a Resident Evil game set in Sengoku era Japan and that would have been sick; what historical setting would you like to see a Resident Evil game take place in? I think if it kept the survival horror aspects intact, a historical setting would be sick nasty. Much love, Ali in Scotland.
Alistair Cunningham-Gray
2024-05-19 19:08:13 +0000 UTCWhat's up Gamer God Gary and Cool CoD'er Kole! What's some of your most epic gamer moments? 🤪🤘🔥
SindrElf
2024-05-19 07:30:36 +0000 UTCMini topic? The quick mention of Pandemic in your Plauge, Inc. WOFF made me curious about your respective thoughts on board game and video game adaptations and vice-versa (if you haven't discussed before). Successful board game adaptations of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Elden Ring (BSC ep?), Horizon, Resident Evil bring in big bucks on Kickstarter regularly. But how successfully do they really capture either he mood/aesthetics and/or the necessary mechanics of the original? The models and components are often top notch (love a tiny Fallout mini or a Lil' Smough!); but the game itself is just middling. Cash grab? A labor of love lost in translation? What makes a good video game board game? On the flipside is board game video games. Platforms like Tabletop Simulator are great for accessibility, distance issues, and even learning mechanics. App store adaptations of complex multiplayer games like Root, Wingspan, etc... have solo mechanics that are a blessing for remote gamers. But who really wants to play Chessmaster or Monopoly on NES when the actual game is right there on the shelf? Is there a value beyond "ease" of the medium in board game video games? Also where does Mario Party fit in? Thanks! Appreciate all you guys do!
VJRavenwood
2024-05-18 18:30:46 +0000 UTCHow do you use mods for games you cover on the show? I know you've used unofficial patches in the past. But what about UI mods? Like changing inventory interface for Bethesda games. Or general quality of life mods? Like increasing companion limit for Mask of the Betrayer. How much do you want the show to present the out of the box version of the game vs. playing a version you enjoy more?
Kerr
2024-05-18 12:56:26 +0000 UTCDo either of you visit arcades often? If so, do you have any favorite spots? Some of my favorites are Ground Kontrol in Portland and Jupiter Bar in Seattle, which I highly recommend if you get the chance. Thanks as always for the great content!
aidan.j
2024-05-18 06:35:59 +0000 UTC𝕎⬩𝕀⬩𝕃⬩𝕃⬩𝕆⬩𝕎
Andrew (andyk250) Koch
2024-05-17 19:57:57 +0000 UTCUncanny Avengers assemble! You're in charge of creating the next Avengers Unity Squad. You've got six slots for three Avengers and three X-Men. Who's on your team? Who's the leader? Feel free to add their first villain if one comes to mind!
Michael Krisher
2024-05-17 16:31:00 +0000 UTCWhat arcade game do you think you've put the most money into? For me it's either Marvel vs. Capcom 2 or the Terminator 2 pinball table
Michelle
2024-05-17 04:29:02 +0000 UTCIs there a franchise in media that you don't like -- books, movies, music, etc. -- but that you enjoy the games for? Can you enjoy the game despite not liking the franchise?
Greg Polander
2024-05-16 01:51:50 +0000 UTCHowdy fellas, ready for your monthly unsolicited new show suggestion? Good, here it is: Unfilmable but about 80s fantasy films. The people are hungry for y'all to go long on the likes of Krull and Dragonslayer, Legend and Deathstalker. Think of all the fucked up little guys you could talk about!
Eric Nagurney
2024-05-16 01:25:08 +0000 UTC⚡Do devs ever react or respond to your coverage of their games? If so, what has that interaction been like?
Nina
2024-05-15 17:23:53 +0000 UTCI'm glad to hear it! -GB
Duckfeed.tv
2024-05-15 16:14:43 +0000 UTCGary, thank you for sharing your ball health story. I recently had a similar health scare, but it was made less scary by remembering that you went through it and came out fine. No cancer here, just a swollen epididymis. A bee bit my didymis, now my didymis is big!
Shane
2024-05-15 15:15:27 +0000 UTCMulti-part survival horror question from me. Do you think survival horror peaked in the 90s and that modern games will never be able to re-capture that magic as a lot of it had to do with the technical limitations at the time such as pre-rendered backgrounds and fixed cameras? Do you think it's possible for developers to re-capture that 90s survival horror magic in the future? (Tormented Souls did a pretty good job) What would you both like to see from survival horror going forward? Taking into account everything that has come previously, which bits would you keep or add to, to create the perfect survival horror game?
Gaz Darkwood
2024-05-15 07:46:11 +0000 UTCWhat's the best trap in a game? Not type of trap, but actual instance of one trap. I think it's hard to beat the lightning spear mimic in Sen's Fortress - a trap so mean it made people hit every single treasure chest in the series for the next 11 years.
Chapel Collins
2024-05-15 01:26:22 +0000 UTCWhat are some of the jobs you’ve had?You don’t have to say where. I’m always surprised when Gary is telling a story that starts with, “ When I was working at *blank*.” It’s always something different.
Steven Riddle
2024-05-14 23:31:53 +0000 UTCAs the weather's started heating up I've started a rematch of The Shield, a great show, up there with The Wire and Breaking Bad for me, something about watching it in walm nights really enhances the show's pressure cooker tension and dirty LA crime vibe for me. Do you have any media like to enjoy in hot weather/summer?
Tom Healey
2024-05-14 22:37:29 +0000 UTCNo need to read this out, but just wanted to say a big thank you for using my question as the discussion topic a few months ago! I'm not a particularly media-literate person, and so hearing two extremely media-savvy and witty folks discuss my question really expanded my understanding. Thank you for challenging me in the best way possible with every podcast <3 If you do decide to read it out, here's a quick question for you - having just finished a playthrough of Lunacid with my partner, we found it a definite shame that "Kings Field-like" isn't a genre we see more of (though I agree with Gary that the market doesn't need to be over saturated!). Are there any other older games that you wish had influenced their own genre?
Andrew Parker
2024-05-14 21:04:28 +0000 UTCAfter listening to the Plague Inc. episode, wherein you described the task of popping bubbles on the world map as being a useless form of interaction that didn't reinforce the meanings present in the play-space, I got to wondering about how interaction does reinforce various elements of a game. In Eggplant's Into The Depths series on Kentucky Route Zero, they discuss the various new forms of thematically interesting interaction that don't reinforce choice, but which instead reinforce tone and perspective that are present in KRZ. Do you have any thoughts on the various ways you think interaction could be used or the ways you have seen interaction be used to reinforce games in ways beyond "Archibald will remember your choice" or "you popped a bubble"?
Béa(u)
2024-05-14 14:10:07 +0000 UTCHi there y’all! I have recently had my love of X-men revitalized by X-men 97’ and my friends asked me to run some tabletop gaming with everyone’s favorite merry mutants. Superhero TTRPGs however, have had a problem since their inception, inevitably the question comes up “Cyclops what are YOU gonna do this round?” Not to mention a kinetic and visual medium is very difficult to measure up to without vast prep by GMs and it is difficult to keep the pulse pounding action up. In the end tabletop rpgs might not be it for superhero action. Do y’all have any other genre/medium mismatches that have subject matter and execution clanging violently with one another that you find particularly note worthy?
Jordan and Maya M.
2024-05-14 14:09:31 +0000 UTC
