The End of the Game Locus Network
When I first began Game Locus, the reaction was the same. That seems ambitious. That seems overly ambitious. Certainly there isn’t much reason to begin an endeavor if it is not ambitious. And it would be overly ambitious if I thought to update all the podcasts on a weekly basis. That woudl be a full time job without any income. The intent was to rotate between releases and provide weekly content distributed between the collective. I learned some lessons in that attempt.
1. Video editing takes a lot more time than audio editing.
2. Flip video is not 30fps even though it claims to be so.
3. I think anything to be said about gaming has been said. Certainly anything I want to say about it.
4. It’s easier to get motivated to do something when other people are depending on you than it is when you’re doing it just for yourself.
5. If other people aren’t invested in what you’re doing, they will cancel. Often.
6. To me, writing is the most important extracurricular activity I participate in (though I don’t consider it an activity, I think of it as a second job).
What does this all boil down to? I’m back where I started. If you can’t/won’t do something well, don’t do it. (Pedants may argue that one must practice before one can perform well, but I’d ask Keith and Andrew to stow it for awhile.) I started GLN because I did not believe I was maximizing my podcasting potential, and then I promptly failed to maximize my podcasting potential.
The bright spot of all this is the Way of the Game (originally named Game Whore, which was a name only I liked). Alex and Jonathan have taken a show that I said need only be updated once every five weeks and proceeded to put out a weekly episode. If anything, I consider GLN a success because they made something together they might not have ever done otherwise. For me personally, GLN is not living up to its potential, and that will not be changing in the future. I have written two novels in the past year and am actively soliciting agents for representation. This has been and will remain to be a primary focus of mine, which means I will not do anything more with GLN than I already have.
So what does this mean? First, and most importantly, I will not be updating any GLN material to the Locus or individual feeds. Way of the Game has moved to http://thewayofthegame.net. The forums are moving to Spooky Outhouse. TWoG will continue its weekly release schedule and Jonathan and Alex have been gracious enough to let me use TWoG as a soap box when I feel like talking about art or politics (games in their own right, some might say). It is my understanding that they will continue with LurkerWithout’s Sunday Trade as well, but that will sort itself out in the mix.
Thank you for your support and your interest in this endeavor. I am sorry it never lived up to its potential. I will not be actively seeking another venue to podcast in, but hopefully you will be able to buy my novel in 2011.
Here endeth the Game Locus Network. That’s the way of the game.
The Way of the Game – Episode 21
On a very special episode of the Way of the Game…
There’s no mention of what our latest games of the week are, nor is there a single mention (for once) of Blood Bowl. Our topic this week is simply too important, and will probably strike home either for you or for someone you know.
In our 21st episode, we sit down with Dr. Hilarie Cash, the executive director for the reSTART Internet Addiction Recovery Program. When gamers go over the line – as we all know they are wont to do – her program is there to help them come back to reality.
We go in depth into the nature of addiction, her opinions about why videogame addiction gets less attention in America than in other countries, and how developers have learned to juggle rewards and punishments in order to make gamers play hour after hour. She also talks about the reSTART program and how it seeks to reverse the addiction and teach gamers how to achieve balance in their lives.
As usual, we’ve found something else to throw in after the credits, but it too has a serious edge to it. Alex and friend-of-the-podcast David pay their respects to Carl Macek, the executive producer of Robotech and the man who helped import several classic anime series to America. It’s as close to a heartfelt eulogy as two rampant fanboys can get.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The Way of the Game – Episode 20
Hey everybody!
We’ve got a long one this week! We may have gone off for a little bit too long on Blood Bowl. Just know that Alex edited out a lot more than he left in! We discuss the R.U.S.E. beta ever so briefly (which is a good description of how long we played the beta, as well), and then move into headlines before Alex can get distracted by his Games Workshop fanboyism.
Headlines:
“Nintendo Wii made me nympho!”
Microsoft has given MekTek.net clearance for the free release of MechWarrior 4.
Another free browser based game – this time Lord of Ultima.
Would you be willing to pay more for Xbox Live if you got television content through it?
Study claims that “brain games” do little to exercise that gray lump in your skull.
British video game retail chains owns its customers’ souls. MWAHAHAHAHA!
We’ve got a blooper this week, and remember all that Blood Bowl talk we skipped over in the episode proper? By popular demand, we tacked it on to the end of the episode. If you’re interested in our thoughts on future prospects for Blood Bowl, Cyanide, Games Workshop, and turn-based tabletop board game conversions, be sure to listen through the credits.
Wanna get in touch with us? We’ve got plenty of ways!
- Twitter: @StingRay02 and @Mollarom
- Email: feedback@thewayofthegame.net
- Voicemail: (203) 794-GAME (4263)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
LurkerWithout’s Sunday Trade: Asterix Omnibus
Asterix Omnibus written by Rene Goscinny, illustrated by Albert Uderzo, translated by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge
First published in 1961 Asterix has been one of the two pillars of European comics for FIVE decades. The tales of a fictional Gaul village in the 1st Century, holding out against the Roman conquest have sold millions of copies. This omnibus collects the first three stories. Astrix the Gaul which introduces the titular hero, his best friend Obelix and their village. Asterix and the Golden Sickle has the pair attempting to buy a new golden sickle for their villages druid, Getafix, and running up against a band of sickle smugglers. The last story Asterix and the Goths has Getafix kidnapped by the Goth chieftan Choleric, who hopes to use the druid’s magic to aid his plans for conquest…
The stories of Asterix are amusing as hell. Full of bad puns, running gags and broad physical humor. Its no wonder that for decades millions of people have been following the adventures of the clever Gaul and his friends…
The Way of the Game – Episode 19
Hello again, folks!
So, I think we used to have a schedule for our show topics. I’m not positive we still have that schedule. We’re wingin’ it, folks! Hope you enjoy the ride.
Games!
- Turf Wars Online
- iDuel Online
- Tiger Woods Online
- Blood Bowl Online
- Dawn of War 2 Online
- Magna Carta 2 Online
We also follow up on the ongoing melodrama between Activision and the former employees of Infinity Ward. I’d link to the articles, but there are a ton of them, and I am really, really tired. So, I’ll just link to Penny Arcade, and you can find the relevant links in their post!
Hooray for making use of other people’s work!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
LurkerWithout’s Sunday Trade: Nixon’s Pals
Nixon’s Pals written by Joe Casey, art by Chris Burnham, letters by Rus Wooton
Nixon’s Pals is about one of those simple high concepts that you can’t believe no one thought of before. In this case its this, Nixon Cooper is a parole officer for super-villains. Of course coming up with the concept is just the start. Casey and Burnham deliver a sharp bit of supers/crime mash-up fiction. With characters that have realistic motivations and problems and that are visually striking to boot…
And Nixon is perfectly done as an old-school crime/noir hero. Battered, pushed about and then battered again. But never broken no matter how much it piles on…
The Way of the Game – Episode 18
Mike from the Bear Swarm! podcast joins us on the show this week. He’s here as part of their Take a Couple of Months Off Grand Tour. ;-)
We start with our usual discussion of what’s on our radar this week, which led to a discussion of the merits (or should that be demerits) of Final Fantasy XIII. Blood Bowl, Magna Carta 2, and Turf Wars Online are all discussed, as well.
We also put Mike through the Top Ten wringer, harassing him about his decision to flaunt some of our rules, while also admitting that he makes some valid objections to those same rules. The list won’t make a show-note appearance, so you’ll have to listen to hear Mike’s shocking (Shocking, I say!) pick for Number One.*
*Mike’s Number One pick may or may not be all that terribly shocking.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
LurkerWithout’s Sunday Trade: Smoke and Guns
Smoke and Guns written by Kirsten Baldock, art by Fabio Moon
I don’t normally pick something up just for the art. ‘Cause that’s how you end up like my roommate owning a copy of Oktane. But I’m a sucker for anything by brothers Moon or Ba and this was only 12 bucks…
Its a fun little piece, about gun-toting cigarette girls. Their city is divided into violently defended sales districts, but Scarlett keeps straying out of her Puff district into that of the Belles. Which eventually escalates into a war between the two crews…
An enjoyable romp with hot women and lots of frenetic gun play…
The Way of the Game – Episode 17
Cheaters never prosper, but apparently they can survive brain stabbings.
Hey folks! We’re back to full strength this week.
Jonathan’s had some interference, and iDuel Online is his only contribution to this week’s Whatcha Playin’ section. Alex has had a bit more luck, with Magna Carta 2 and Solium Infernum under his belt.
Headlines:
- Nintendo 3DS has been announced. Speculation abounds. Here’s hoping it’s not a 21st Century Virtual Boy.
- Blood Bowl Legendary Edition has been announced. Here’s hoping this isn’t an April Fool’s Day prank.
- Microsoft is already exploring technology for Natal 2. Here’s hoping they remember to release Natal 1 first.
- The Penny Arcade Adventure series has been cancelled. Here’s hoping lessons are learned from this.
- Alex is unnervingly pleased by the idea of GameCrush, and Jonathan can’t stop laughing.Here’s hoping Jonathan can control that during the interview scheduled with the GameCrush folks.
- Chinese CounterStrike cheater is stabbed in the brain, and lives. Here’s hoping they removed the cheater impulse along with the knife.
That’s it for this week. Be sure to join us next week when Mike from the Bear Swarm Podcast joins us! Woo! A real guest!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
LurkerWithout’s Sunday Trade: Parker the Hunter
Richard Stark’s Parker the Hunter adapted and illustrated by Darwyn Cooke
Most of you are probably more familiar with this one as the movie adaption Payback with Mel Gibson. Or maybe even the ‘67 Point Blank with Lee Marvin. But the Parker in those two is a cuddly puppy of love and forgiveness compared to the original. And that brutal bastard is the one you see in Cooke’s adaptation. This Parker is out for revenge and his missing money. But he wasn’t so much betrayed and robbed as beaten to the punch. Parker is a master thief and a cold-hearted machine…
And not enough can be said about Cooke’s art here. His simple inks evoke the noir style better than anything I can think of elsewhere. Cooke brings the full emotion of the story to..well not the light. But to well-defined shadows…
