Podcast Idle Thumbs

Len and Jon are joined once again by Fanbyte's Mike Williams to talk about their semester abroad in Two Point Campus. Is the humor a bonus or a drawback? How is it, really, as a management game? And what exactly does the Scientography machine... do? We have written a thesis on all of these topics and are ready to defend it.…

Len is joined by two special guests, Strategy Lead at Vortex Games Trent Murray and Head of Esports at Frost Giant Studios, Trevor "TorcH" Housten. From the glory days of Brood War in Korea to the modern era of "ded gaem", we go over the history of RTS esports, why it was overshadowed by other genres, and what the future may hold. In particular, Tr…

Rowan, Troy, and Ian Boudreau dig into Strategic Command: American Civil War. Taking a very high-level look at the conflict, the focus is much more on the operation than individual battles. It's an ambitious approach for a relatively small studio. Does it pass muster from serious Civil War buffs? And what about Ian?…

Rob sits down with Company of Heroes 3 Lead Gameplay Designer Matt Philip and Senior Designer Will Ward to talk about the recently-released North Africa alpha, which you can play from today until July 19. The Deutsch Afrika Korps is the second German faction to be announced, so what sets them apart from the Wehrmacht? And how do you balance around …

Len is joined by Sin Vega to discuss Starship Troopers: Terran Command, a bug-splattering RTS that happens to be the first licensed Starship Troopers game in far longer than you may realize. And there's a bit more to it than just StarCraft or Dawn of War with a cult hit sci fi license tagged on, too. I feel like I can't make the "Would you like to …

In this episode, Soren and Leyla interview independent game developer Chris DeLay, co-founder of Introversion Software and best known for his work on Uplink, Darwinia, Defcon, and Prison Architect. They discuss why they hid the credits screen for Uplink, who Darwinia’s Dr. Sepulveda is based on, and whether you can have too much fun playing Defcon.…

Len and 3MA Radar Technician Mike are joined by Sports Business Journal's Jason Wilson to talk about Songs of Conquest, an early access aspiring successor to Heroes of Might and Magic. We've got frog men. We've got zombies. We've got Generic Human Fantasy Kingdom. Is it worth a look?Bởi Idle Thumbs

Len and Rowan are joined by Kotaku's Luke Plunkett and Twitch streamer Casey Explosion to talk about Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters, and also more than a little bit of Mechanicus since we seem to have slept on that one. Is this just XCOM with space marines? And why should you be paying attention to this, the 40,000th Warhammer 40,000 g…

Len and Jon are joined by Leyla and Soren Johnson to talk about Old World's Steam launch and its first big expansion. We got their thoughts on the Early Access process, figuring out how to depict historical cultures like the Hittites when sources are sparse, and where the ancient era 4X might go next.…

In this episode, Tom Chick and Bruce Geryk interview Soren and Leyla Johnson about their new historical 4X, Old World. They discuss whether the Old World timeline really makes sense, how they approach Early Access differently, and why Soren didn’t want to give up on the name 10 Crowns.Games discussed: Old World, Civilization series, FrontierVille, …

Len and Rowan are joined by Fanbyte's Steven Strom to test fly a new episode format. Our usual episodes covering a specific game or digging deep on a single topic aren't going anywhere, but this week we're just sitting down to have a chat about what we've been playing and what's on our minds relating to the world of strategy games. Steven needs a n…

Over on Waypoint I’ve spent about a month looking back at Sid Meier’s Gettysburg and teaching the game to the rest of the crew (with varying levels of success). But since I was already hip-deep in 90s Civil War culture, Troy and I decided it was time to tackle one of the films that we’ve been intending to discuss for years: 1993’s Gettysburg, direc…

Len, Fraser, and Jon take a look at Shiro Games' Dune: Spice Wars, which just launched into early access. Is this the modern Dune RTS we've been waiting decades for? As it so happens, it ends up igniting an entirely different kind of war in our own ranks.Bởi Idle Thumbs

We explore our impact on the strategy game world as Jon sits down with creative director Kyle Kukshtel to talk about Cantata, an indie space tactics game directly inspired by a conversation we had on this very show almost a decade ago. So how exactly did our kvetching inspire the design of this project? How do you make a tactics game that isn't sec…

Rob and Rowan are joined this week by freelance writer Ruth Cassidy, whose article, "Ethically designing unethical worlds" (https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/ethically-designing-unethical-worlds) inspired this week's topic. From eugenics in Crusader Kings to choosing between fundamentalism and fascism in Frostpunk, the games we play often put us…

This week, Rowan recruits Fanbyte's Mike Williams, freelance writer Kendal Erickson, and 3MA's Correspondent for All Things Three-Sided, Brian Smawley, to discuss Triangle Strategy. The Switch has had some sleeper strategy hits, and we're here to let you know if this one belongs among them. Beware of salt.…

In this episode, Soren interviews Luca Redwood, the developer of 10000000, You Must Build a Boat, and Photographs. They discuss why 10000000 has no commas, how he makes sure the player never gets unlucky, and why you need to build a boat. This episode was recorded March 18, 2019.Games discussed: Morph, Suikoden I, Suikoden II, 10000000, Puzzle Ques…

Len and Mike are joined once again by Dr. Bret Devereaux (@BretDevereaux), Visiting Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of the blog A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry (acoup.blog). The topic this time around is Empires and Imperialism. What exactly makes an empire? How do strategy ga…

Len, Rowan, Fraser, and Jon join forces on one episode for the first time in a long time to talk about Total War: Warhammer 3. With nine new factions, a new story-driven campaign, and a customizable daemon protagonist, it's an ambitious capstone to the trilogy. Pledge yourself to Podcast Undivided and find out how we think it stacks up.…

Len and Ian take a look at the first full expansion for Crusader Kings 3, and it's a chunky one. Royal Court adds a full 3D throne room and the ability to interact with your subjects at eye level for the first time. Forging new family heirlooms and new cultures. Has it reignited our interest in CK3?Bởi Idle Thumbs

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Robin Hunicke, co-founder of Funomena and best known for her work on MySims, Boom Blox, and Journey. They discuss why developers overperform their authority in large companies, how they almost accidentally made Journey a competitive game, and why they decided to let thatgamecompany run out of…

This week, Jon and Rob dig in to what Rob has dubbed "yet another entry in the crowded Lunar Lander Bullet Hell Naval Wargame Roguelike Visual Novel genre." It's not an easy game to get into, so how did our boi go from cursing its very name to absolutely adoring it? What exactly is this game, anyway? And why should every good fleet commander read t…

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Robin Hunicke, co-founder of Funomena and best known for her work on MySims, Boom Blox, and Journey. They discuss why HyperCard was so great, why AI development is game design, and how Steven Spielberg almost made Angry Birds for EA. This episode was recorded December 1, 2021.Games discussed:…

Len and Troy plunge gladius-first into the Late Republic to win victories on the tactical and strategic scale in Expeditions: Rome. The third installment in the series has more going on than ever before, but is it /too/ much? And what is the correct way to pronounce Cicero, anyhow? We came. We played. We did a podcast about it.…

Len and Rowan come in for a low glide over 2022's calendar of strategy game releases to discuss what excites us, what worries us, and what smaller stuff we're keeping an eye on. Will Victoria 3 live up to the hype? Can Marvel's Midnight Suns satisfy our in-house X-Mean aficionado? Will Dwarf Fortress ever actually come out? We don't know the answer…

Troy and Len are joined by PCGamesN's Ian Boudreau and Fanbyte's Mike Williams to look back on a year that's a bit hard to summarize. Why can't we find a theme to slap on 2021? What were some of the biggest surprises, good and bad? And what were our favorite strategy games in what was, if nothing else, kind of a weird year for them?…

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran RPG designer Josh Sawyer, best known for his work on Icewind Dale, Fallout: New Vegas, and Pillars of Eternity. They discuss the purpose of grinding, the difference between viable and optimal characters, and why RPG players don’t welcome rebalancing their games. This episode was recorded March 24, 2018.Game…

Len and Kotaku's Luke Plunkett dig into the logistics-laden recent expansion and patch for Hearts of Iron 4 with No Step Back and the Barbarossa Update. How has it changed how we play, and how does HoI4 feel different now compared to launch? We also go into the joys of playing wacky scenarios with historical focuses switched off and making the dumb…

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran RPG designer Josh Sawyer, best known for his work on Icewind Dale, Fallout: New Vegas, and Pillars of Eternity. They discuss how making a website for a tattoo parlor led to his game career, what is the purpose of traps in an RPG, and how much lore is too much lore. This episode was recorded March 24, 2018.G…

It’s Day 5 and PSG.LGD finally face off against their TI8 rivals, OG (formerly Monkey Business), in one of the most anticipated matches of the International Dota 2 Championships in Shanghai. Luckily, esports researcher and MIT professor T. L. Taylor joins us to discuss our experiences both inside the stadium during an intense match full of cheers a…

Rob got to check out a pre-alpha build of Company of Heroes 3's multiplayer, and now he's sitting down with lead gameplay designer Matt Philip and map designer Will Ward. Among the topics on the docket are how the flow and pacing of battles has changed from previous games in the series, keeping familiar factions fresh without betraying their identi…

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Chet Faliszek, who co-founded Stray Bombay and is best known for his work at Valve on games such as Left 4 Dead and Portal 2. They discuss what shampoo sales have to do with Old Man Murray, why he tests his games in a foreign language, and why game design is easier for co-op games. This episo…

Rowan, Jon, and Ian Boudreau talk about Against the Storm, an early access city-builder that forces you to abandon your cities after a set amount of time. How do these shorter runs affect how we approach the genre? What does a beaver need, on a deeper level, to be happy? And why were we so eager to do an episode on this when early access city-build…

Rowan recruits Fanbyte's Steven Strom and long-lost guest Jason Wilson to take a look at Darkest Dungeon II in early access. That's right, five years later we finally put out an episode with Darkest Dungeon in the title. How does it differ from its predecessor? And which of the changes do we actually like? How do we feel about the fact that they ca…

In this episode, we put the art back into ARTS on Day 4 of the International Dota 2 Championship. First Yang Jing will tour UnArt Center, a media art gallery that doubles as an esports venue, then Peter will exhibit AutoSave: Redoubt, a Counter-Strike map reconstructing the scene where Japanese and the English first encountered one another in the B…

Len and Ian Boudreau discuss Age of Empires 4, the long-awaited return of one of the RTS genre's defining franchises. What's new and what's been kept the same? And where would we like to see it go in the future? Okay, okay, I'll say the thing: wololo. Get it? It's funny because I said a thing you remember. Humor is when someone says a thing you rem…

Len, Rowan, and Mike are joined by Dr. Bret Devereaux (@BretDevereaux), Visiting Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of the blog A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry (https://acoup.blog). The topic is The State in strategy games. What is a state? What are the advantages and disadvantag…

It’s Day 3 of the International Dota Championships in Shanghai and the whole cast is back in one room to talk about how we’ve been playing Dota. From the Mercedes Benz Arena and the Super Brand Mall to laptops in our apartment and the night cafe across the street, everyone has their own way of playing. And after catching up with the cast, we’ll int…

Len and Rowan discuss the concept of "games as a service" as it relates to the strategy space. Is it a good thing? Has it always been around and we just called it something different? Can you ever really trust a game studio? Are the post-Kripke seasons of Supernatural actually worth your time? Listen to the episode, then check out the Season Pass o…

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Andy Schatz, who founded Pocketwatch Games and is best known for his work on Monaco and Tooth and Tail. This episode was recorded March 23, 2018. They discuss what Monaco and Rashomon have in common, how familiarity with your best players can be more valuable than metrics, and why the fla…

In our last episode Shang Lun was about to narrate his long night at The Late Game, a Dota 2 talk show where he got to interview the cast and crew of the International Dota 2 Championships in Shanghai. So this time we’ll tune in and hear about his adventures with shout casters, camera operators, Chinese translators, TV producers, and a certain buff…

Troy, Len, and Jon sit down to discuss the Civilization 6 New Frontiers DLC pass and where the king of 4X stands in 2021. How does Civ 6 now compare to launch five years ago? How have its modern competitors changed our perception of and relationship with it? Is Sid still the gold standard to beat?Bởi Idle Thumbs

24 Histories, 4 Arts, 1 Dota. In this episode we meet our final cast member, Felania Mengfei Liu, who takes us on a tour of Chinese Game Studies, including a deep dive into the etymology of gaming and gambling, sport and esport in China. Then Stephanie, Patrick, and Will tell us about the long history of Dota, from Aeon of Strife to DotA: Allstars …

Phil Daccord is the legendary trailer editor of The Matrix Trilogy (amongst many many more!) and in this episode we talk about his start as an assistant searching for frames of film in literal bins all the way through being senior editor at Giaronomo Productions and now Creative Director at Ignition Creative. Derek and Ric also discuss the website …

Jon and Ian Boudreau talk Conquest of Elysium 5, a lo-fi fantasy tactics game with Dwarf Fortress-like procedural world generation. Lead armies of moose, visit other planes of existence that are doing their own thing while you're not looking, and try to make it as a Senator in an era with no Senate. Do you like to control archers with your numpad? …

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Andy Schatz, who founded Pocketwatch Games and is best known for his work on Monaco and Tooth and Tail. This episode was recorded March 23, 2018. They discuss how he tried to live out Ultima’s virtues, why no one was ever able to rip-off The Sims, and why we both hate click-the-stick.Game…

From our local police station to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, we finally watch our first match together at the International Dota 2 Championships...and it's a doozy! After unpacking the hour-long contest between Vici Gaming and TNC Predator, Alex, Shang Lun, Peter, and Yang Jing teach us a little about what they learned on Day 1 before before we take a d…

This week Rob is joined by Ranged Touch's Cameron Kunzelman and PCGamesN's Ian Boudreau to discuss an unusual World War II military shooter that feels more like a tactics game: Hell Let Loose. Hear the stirring tale of trying to explain how to drive a manual transmission to someone who has only ever been in his 2006 Honda Civic during the middle of…

The battle begins! In the first full episode of Every Game in This City Season 2, the team gathers at the top of a penthouse in Huangpu, Shanghai the day before the International Dota 2 Championships in 2019 to talk about our Dota pasts, Dota predictions, and the case of the missing tickets! In the interlude Will, Stephanie, and Patrick try to expl…

We're back! In Season 2 of Every Game in This City eight game designers, researchers, journalists, and curators meet up in Shanghai to try and watch every game in the 2019 International Dota 2 Championships. In this short introduction, Stephanie, Patrick, and Will try to connect the dots between escape rooms and esports: What are we doing? What are…