Episode 64 - The Married Gamers

Have we got a treat for everyone this week!

We chat with Chris and Kelly Brown, hosts of The Married Gamers podcast. Topics range from gamers and gamification, relationships, good communication skills, and free beer. If you don't already subscribe to their show, you really should. On the eve of their 300th episode we can assure you they are a fun and engaging couple and this is a fantastic show. 

Chris and Kelly were recently featured in an Xbox Live story. Check out the video on YouTube. It's pretty adorable (and I'm bummed we didn't hear Kel's war-cry on the show... that just means we need to have them back on!) 

As always, we'd love your feedback. Leave a comment here or "Like" us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or join our G+ Community. 

Until next time, game on!

Regina & Rhonda

Episode 64

The Impetus: Buying my First Game

There's been an awful lot of controversy the last few weeks in the industry; the Dragon's Crown character design, the Xbox 1's reveal and its implications in the used game market, among others. However, I would like to not talk about all that stuff today. It's so easy to get absorbed into these Internet fervors and lose track on the good parts of gaming...or even the life off of the Internet. Instead of being aggro, I want to be happy. So, I want to briefly share a moment with you, one from long, long ago; my very first game purchase.

Naturally, these memories are very fuzzy and incredibly rose-tinted. I'm not even 100% sure if I have the exact details anymore; that happens when you're four or five and you're looking back on that moment 25 years later. However, I remember the feelings pretty clearly. It was around my birthday. I had a NES for a bit, and had played Super Mario Bros. to death by that point. Rentals were available, but there was only so far I could get before the game was due back, so I had a desire to start getting games of my own. Ones I could play whenever I wanted, and would cherish as a prideful possession. Yes, I was quite early at being incorporated into the capitalist mindset. XD Anyway, my mother promised me that I could get a game for my birthday. I do not remember actively telling her what I wanted, but she seemingly knew of the next Super Mario Bros. game and had ordered it through a local Sears catalog store. It had arrived and was waiting for me there, and she had a spare moment to go with me to pick it up.

The car ride is forgotten, but the entry into the store is still strongly supplanted into my brain. The low-lit room was filled with appliances ranging from washers to refrigerators. It seemingly took forever to get up to the counter, despite it being a relatively small room. My mom talked to the clerk. The words are lost, but I remember feeling a little nervous about the situation. The relative darkness and general silence were unsettling, and the only thing really keeping my sanity in check was the knowledge that I was on the verge of getting a brand new game of my very own. The transaction was done; the game box put into my waiting hands. Mario gleefully jumping, a turnip in his hand, surrounded by clouds. Little did I know that this was not Super Mario Bros. 2, but a remapping of promotional title Doki Doki Panic! with Mario sprites replacing Fuji TV's Dream Factory mascots (I'll cover this in a localization piece soon). That was not the point. I had a game. My second NES cartridge. I poured my early reading knowledge at the box, admired the manual, held the cartridge like a holy relic. It immediately slid into the NES the moment I walked into our house.

That thrill of a new game sticks with me, even though I have purchased hundreds of games since then, both new and used. There remains something truly amazing about uncovering a new world, or revisiting old friends in different situations. So, dear readers, I now humbly ask you to share your earliest game purchases or a memorable buy with me in the comments. :)

The -Isms of World of Warcraft, pt. 2: Battle of the Sexes

When I began playing World of Warcraft again a couple of months ago, I decided that I needed to try out one of the newer races: Pandas and Goblins. Neither of them really appealed to me, if I’m being honest; most of the Horde races elicit a ‘meh’ response from me (I’m an Alliance girl at heart) and the Pandas just seemed cheesy and not very WoW-ish at all. My boyfriend is a fan of Goblins (more so outside of the game than in), so I thought I’d give them a try. Lady Goblin, bring it on!

Their beginning quests were … not what I had expected at all. There was lots of running around committing hit-and-runs on looters, stealing, lots of chaos, and … picking up things for your significant other’s party. (Yeah, I don’t know either, it was weird.) The brief focus on your in-game relationship just rubs me the wrong way, for a few reasons.

At the start of one of the quests, your S.O. tells you to run out and get a few things for the party. As part of the quest description, regardless of which gender your character is, you get: “Make sure you pull plenty of moolah out of the bank. I don't want you buying any of that cheap clothing you usually like to wear. This party's important!” Well, that’s nice. It’s great to know that my boy-/girlfriend thinks that I don’t dress well.

Candy Cane in a 'tasteful' costumeAnyway. You go and have your party (which is crashed by pirates or something just to keep your interest), and your partner breaks up with you for an NPC (named Candy Cane if you’re playing a female, Chip Endale if you’re playing a male). Can’t say I cared much, since I didn’t like the former boyfriend anyway. (Seriously, if you hate on my clothes, you’re dead to me.)

Then there’s more chaos and something blows up — I got bored of it after a while, to be honest — and the Goblins end up on the beach on an island somewhere. It was nice to be in a new environment that wasn’t chock full of cars with blaring horns and weird mini-freeways. The island was a neat place to explore, until I hit level 11 and I picked up this quest: What Kind of Name is Candy, Anyway? (Spoiler: It was previously called Kill Candy Cane, if my internet snooping and a number of broken links are to be believed.)

I read the quest description and I’m pretty sure I had my head tilted past 45° with a look of disbelief on my face. This part is a little confusing, because while I was researching this quest, I found out that there is another quest that is very similar, so I’m not sure if it was removed, or if this quest replaced it, or what happened. In this particular quest (She Loves Me, She Loves Me NOT!), you are ‘just’ required to kill Candy Cane. In the male version of the quest, you still kill her, but you rip her heart out afterwards.

Doesn’t that just make you think of sunshine and puppies?

(EDIT: Upon further investigation, I found that male characters have their own version of that quest as well.)

Chip Endale before he gets smooshedWhat I find irksome about these quests is that there’s really no other way to see them (at least, none that have come to me in the past month) than this: A significant other dumped you and shacked up with someone else, so you go and kill their new partner. Eliminate the competition. Get rid of the thing your former partner thought was better than you.

It’s really creepy.

When I was initially explaining to someone why these quests bothered me, I was told that it was just a show of how brutal the goblin culture is; they don’t take crap from anyone, they put up with nothing, and they’re tough, so they do what they want. I don’t think that’s an acceptable work-around for depicting this kind of relationship-related violence. Considering that domestic abuse and related violence is a huge problem in many countries, a gaming company with millions of customers making light of it in this manner makes me really uncomfortable.

Another thing that bothers me is that Candy says some interesting things to you, both before the quest is accepted and during the battle. Here’s a list of things she says:

To males:

• “How can you even go OUT like that? What, did you just wash up on a beach somewhere?!”
• “I spent most of your money on getting a decent massage, goodness knows you could never do it right!”
• “I've met cabin boys who were manlier than you. To think I ever wasted my time...”
• “You always secretly thought I looked fat!”
• “You never tried to get anywhere. I'm so glad I finally found a real goblin who can satisfy my shopping needs.”
• “You're just jealous I found a man with skills AND a fat wallet.”
• “You told him I was fat behind my back, didn't you?!”

To females:

• “You can never replace me. Chip will never stoop to dating someone who makes a brute look attractive!”

What we have here, surprise surprise, is an antagonized female character who taunts a male player by attacking his appearance and his masculinity, talks about shopping and money, and accuses him of thinking she looks fat. How original, right? EDIT: We also have this character attempting to degrade another female by saying she's ugly. Also unoriginal.

Now, if we look at what Chip says, in comparison: “I can't believe you'd do this to me!”

Just disbelief. That’s all. I’m actually a little surprised that there were no quotes floating around hinting at promiscuity or appearance. EDIT: Or questioning his opponent's masculinity or sexuality. I guess if there’s anything positive about these quests, that would be it right there.

Oh, and as a reward for killing either one of these delightful NPCs, what do you get? ‘Ex-Stealer’s Gloves’, a ‘Fickle Belt’ and a dagger called ‘Jealousy’s Edge’. Classy, Blizzard. Reeeeal classy.

Thoughts on Marvel Heroes

I recently had the good fortune to be able to get in on the Marvel Heroes open beta a couple of weeks ago through Steam. I jumped on to Steam and went to my library to figure out what I felt like playing. As I perused my list, I came across “Marvel Heroes – 2 days left”. I was confused. I didn't remember downloading a demo or getting a gift or anything. So I went and checked it out on the Steam store. Ah ha! An open beta for the weekend. I looked at the in-game photographs and description and thought, “It looks okay, maybe I’ll check it out later.”

At this point, one of my best friends and most excellent gaming buddy, Trevor, jumped online. He wanted to do some gaming, but wasn't sure what he wanted to play. I mentioned that the Marvel Heroes open beta was available and we were off!

As we began to play and get our feet beneath us, my fiancé wandered over to see the game. (She is a Marvel fan-girl from way back.) When I mentioned the game to her earlier she didn't seem excited at all. And, truth be told, she hasn't been very excited about gaming for a long time. (I blame Blizzard. What they did to WoW broke her heart.) However, once she saw Deadpool and Wolverine clobbering waves of bad guys, she got a gleam in her eye.

Hulk smash!

“This is free to play?” she asked.

“Yup. This is the last open beta before launch,” said I.

And then she was gone. Downloading the beta on Steam.

Marvel Heroes is an MMO ARPG. Think Diablo meets super heroes and you're in the right neighborhood.  In fact, the game is being developed by Gazillion Entertainment. The president and COO of which is David Brevik of Diablo and Diablo 2 fame. Knowing this put me at ease straight away.

The game is done in the same top down isometric perspective as other games in the ARPG genre. The environments are lush and well done within the confines of the genre's style. Much of the scenery is destructible, which is a practical necessity when you deal with heroes like the Hulk, Thing, and Colossus. Speaking of which, watching one of those guys throw a car at a group of baddies is AWESOME!

The heroes that I’ve played so far seem to all be rather different in play style and hold true to their iconic powers as found in their respective comic books. Some definitely seem over powered and others under powered, but it makes sense in the setting and keeps characters from becoming too homogenized.

Another interesting and FUN decision by Gazillion was to make the iconic characters playable. Nothing puts a smile on your face like playing the Hulk and smashing. The only problem I had with playing the actual heroes from the books is that it can be a bit jarring when you see 3 or four of yourself running around on screen.

Avengers assemble! Or at least some of you...The biggest issue I have with the game currently is that it seems like the main story line is pretty short. I don't know if this is really the case, however. The day that I played the game with Trev and my fiancé, it seemed like we made it through two thirds of the story chapters, but there could be more in the full release of the game. That being said, the real fun of the first two Diablo games was leveling your characters and destroying hordes of enemies in the pursuit of better loot as it is here with Marvel Heroes. Plus Marvel Heroes will have endgame content in the vein of raid bosses, it sounds like.

So what do I think about the game? I think it's a great start that can really be built upon, and I think the proof is in the pudding.

Trevor, my fiancé, and I played the beta for an entire day together with us settling on the Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor. Honestly, it was the most fun I've had playing a video game in a while...

... And we've all bought one of the Founders Pack options available on Steam.

Marvel Heroes will be available in the U.S. June 4^th.

“Remember the Athenians.”

Episode 63 - Mike Stevens: Golden Sky Stories

If you're looking for a family friendly, non-violent tabletop role playing game, this is the episode for you. We talk with Mike Stevens from Star Line Publishing about their translation of a Japanese Tabletop Role Playing game, Golden Sky Stories.

This whimsical game lets the players game as henge (hen-gay), magical animal creatures with the ability to take human form. Game play focuses on cooperation and effective communication. Check out the last few hours of their Kickstarter project and support this great game. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Until next time, game on!

Regina & Mark (filling in for Rhonda)

Episode 63