Podcast 107: Ask Your Questions!

We also had a similar question to this on a recent podcast... I can't remember what we said though, haha. -Mike

Resonant Arc

What Xylon said! -Mike

Resonant Arc

We've talked about this a bit recently on a few podcasts, but I wouldn't be able to give you links with timecodes. Short answer is I prefer a slow, steady flow of small amounts of information. Give me some info on one thing, then design a level that allows me to practice it. Then give me the next thing. As little text as possible, more showing. -Mike

Resonant Arc

I wish I could take the topic and make a good discussion out of it, because I believe it's really important just as you do, but unfortunately I don't think I've played any games that tackle the subject in a way that has really impressed me. -Mike

Resonant Arc

We haven't announced anything officially yet, but if you mean just here on Patreon the reception has been mostly very positive! -Mike

Resonant Arc

Yeah... or why everybody is so obsessed with having Terra join their team when she's not super strong in combat? What's up with that?

I recently finished watching the first season of 13 Reasons Why, a Netflix series that is controversial for its graphic depiction and glorification of suicide. Do you know of any video games that tackle the subject well, and what responsibility do games with suicide have to warn audiences of the content and to get vulnerable viewers the help they need?

I've noticed that certain games like FFXII, I don't get too much excitement out of the main plot, but I get immense enjoyment out of the finely crafted world building that is on display. I noticed the same with Xenoblade, I liked the plot, but the world building really struck a chord with me. Which games (I'm sure I mentioned two) had enjoyable world building for you and what was it that was done so well in those games?

Hat

I've seen a lot of discussions about how video games can take inspiration from film or books. Do you feel that there are storytelling techniques that can flow in the opposite direction? What inspiration do you take from video games when you write, or what techniques from digital media do you wish were more prevalent in your favorite print media?

g o l d e n s u n

So i recently finished radiant historia(thanks for the rec mike! I sent my full thoughts in a discord pm if ur interested) and ive since moved on to replaying golden sun. One thing that has become very apparent by moving from one to the other is the quality of dialogue. this is somewhere i think golden sun really struggles. But i love the world and concept, and thankfully the dialogue in important scenes is still good. So my question is where would you put dialogue on a priority list if that included stuff like lore, exposition, design, characterizations, and whatever else you guys would add?

Do you ever find that non story elements such as game difficulty affect your enjoyment of stories in games? An example of this could be a boss fight in a game against a prominent villain in the story being too easy. I personally have found that gameplay can very much change how immersed I am in a story.

What are some RPGs that have really good dungeons in them? What goes into making a successful dungeon and how does a game maintain that success over the course of a long adventure?

Why has hollywood nailed comic book movies and tv shows and yet they have failed miserably at doing the same for video games. The fan bases overlap significantly so there is a clear market value to it. What do they need to do to succeed and is it even worth the effort?

Can you think of any games that did tutorials particularly well? How do you prefer games to handle them?

Last year, ProJared played Sweet Home for halloween month on youtube. Sweet Home is a japanese RPG that served as the main inspiration for Resident Evil. In the spirit of this, which games that are not RPGs do you think would have been really cool if they were remade as classical RPGs?

How has the response been to the new direction of the channel? Are people mostly excited? What specific content are you most excited about talking about that you wouldn’t have covered in the past?

If you were in charge of a full remake of each mainline Final Fantasy game for the PS4 (or PS5) what is one thing you would change from each game to improve the experience and how would you change it?

I'm playing Trails of Cold Steel right now, and although I'm enjoying it, I find it has too little gameplay compared to story scenes for my taste. What are your thoughts about this, particularly when it comes to JRPGs? Does it ever get to the point for you where a game gets boring because it's been too long since you got to play it?

Bryan Gillis