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Our Video Gaming Origins
40 Plays2 months ago
Something a little different this time. With some video game episodes in the near future, Daryl, Nick, & Lauren discuss their earliest days with video games and the kind of games they enjoy.
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Transcript
Intro to Casual Nerdity
00:00:10
Speaker
Casual Nerdity is a podcast celebrating and discussing the pop culture that we love. Movies, TVs, comics, books, games, you name it. Our aim is to talk about the good, what worked, and yeah, sometimes what didn't.
00:00:22
Speaker
All with an eye towards building up, not tearing down. Thanks for joining us.
Hosts Introduce Themselves and Discuss Halloween
00:00:29
Speaker
Welcome back to the Casual Nerdity Podcast, everybody. ah i am Daryl. I'm Nick.
00:00:38
Speaker
And we are we are taking a little bit of a break from our ah ongoing Clone Watch series to bring something a little different this time. But first of all, ah as we're recording this, last night was Halloween. How have you two been doing?
00:00:57
Speaker
hi any Any major... Nick, did the trick-or-treaters dress like squirrels show up? Oh, there, if I... if If that happened, i'd be ah I wouldn't be here to talk about that.
00:01:12
Speaker
Would you be in jail? Yes. would you You would be in jail because you would have killed small children.
00:01:22
Speaker
No, I think it's worse. i think I don't think Nick would have survived. I think he'd actually be in the afterlife at this point.
00:01:30
Speaker
Oh, Nick would have just you died of shock is what you're saying? Something like that, yeah. Yeah, I'll let my lawyers know that. Okay.
00:01:44
Speaker
Okay. We'll take your word for it. but a look and but In actual honesty, is like it was this quiet night, and it's I'm in the back end of my neighborhood, so not a lot of people get...
00:02:01
Speaker
come back this area, so it's a quiet night. i just won I just did my usual Halloween watch.
00:02:12
Speaker
Which is, what, Halloween? Or is it something other than Halloween that you watch on Halloween?
00:02:20
Speaker
Halloween, the original, and sequel. The sequel. The sequel. Okay, I was going to say, when if you were just going to say the sequel, I was like, Nick, can you narrow it down?
00:02:37
Speaker
is it is yeah Halloween, Halloween, Halloween kills, and Halloween ends.
00:02:49
Speaker
Okay, because I i was going to say that, um you know, the, if if you just said sequel trilogy that still didn't really narrow it down all of that much because technically you can say that there's a sequel trilogy in um Halloween 4, The Return of Michael Myers, and Halloween 5, The Revenge of Michael Myers, and and then Halloween Not Numbered 6, just Halloween The Curse of Michael Myers? No, no, no. We're doing the... You're doing Blumhouse.
00:03:37
Speaker
I did the Blumhouse royalty.
00:03:41
Speaker
That is, that is, if you have to it put me but be on the spot, hate me if you hate me, like, that that's the Halloween franchise to me.
00:03:55
Speaker
Nick, I'm not only not going to hate you for that, I'm going to give a hot take. Ooh. I think Halloween ends works. Yes! Yes!
00:04:08
Speaker
Again, that's not what we're going to talk about, but it's like, I'll agree with that thoroughly. It's not what we're here to talk about today.
Review of Recent Halloween Movies
00:04:16
Speaker
um i will just encapsulate by saying I understand why the people who wanted to see the promised Laurie Strode, Michael Myers final face-off were disappointed in Halloween Kills.
00:04:32
Speaker
But it's dramatically for the trilogy they were doing. I think that the Corey story works. I think it's very, very interesting in what they were doing with that story.
00:04:45
Speaker
I think that story really works best within the framework of an existing horror franchise like Halloween. And I think it's impossible to separate it from that Laurie and Michael story because if you make it its own movie,
00:05:06
Speaker
after kills and before ends, it seems kind of out of place. and that it it It's the Jason yeah thing from Frollo when they try to make a Jason copycat. and But at the same time, if you do it after the big Laurie and Michael showdown,
00:05:33
Speaker
it's anticlimactic because you've already seen the end of the story that it ties into. Exactly. It did the Jason... sin thing that if if you're in the hor horror movie slasher, you'd recognize like what we're talking about.
00:05:51
Speaker
like It did what Jason sort of like copycat did better than that, but there's no proper way to really do it, but it's better than yeah anyone could have adapted to it.
00:06:07
Speaker
Yeah, but i that's my hot take. Halloween Kills works. Oh, yeah, i but that's my whole thing. It's like, I love the Blumhouse trilogy, and that's why I watch it every Halloween now with the original, because they are all one great franchise.
00:06:27
Speaker
How about you, Lauren? ah Well, not a whole lot happened as far as Halloween activities. Not very many trick-or-treaters around here. ah But I did, i spent most of my time playing the video game Mystia's Izekiah, which is a Toho fan game where you play as the Night Sparrow Yokai, Mystia Lorelei,
00:06:51
Speaker
And you run an izakaya, which is basically a Japanese bar. And it's it's mostly like a cozy, comforting game, although it is so somewhat thematically appropriate in that most of the Toho characters that show up are like Japanese yokai and monsters and such.
00:07:11
Speaker
So it's like a monster bar version of like Stardew Valley? Uh, less intense than Stardew Valley.
00:07:25
Speaker
But, you know, you''ve you're generally on the right track there. So a cozy game where you you interact with monsters, but it's not a horror. Yeah, no, it's ah Toho is more totoe in general has, like, horror undertones that the main games never really directly focus on because all the monsters are very humanized for the most part and there's like rules against eating the humans in the world of ginsokyo because they need the human sphere in order to properly exist so like they can't actually kill them or else then their power source would cease to be interesting with a sense of spooky
00:08:10
Speaker
Yeah, but, you know, so but Misty as Izakaya, in particular, is a very lighthearted take on an already not super, like, scary series in the first place. So, like, the there are elements of horror in the Manto franchise that are further defanged in this fan-created entry.
00:08:37
Speaker
But at the same time, there is still the core element of these characters are inhuman monsters that at the very least used to eat people.
00:08:50
Speaker
Right on. It was a fun time, you know, I've been having a good with it. Well, since we moved into this house 10 years ago, we very quickly learned that we don't get many trick-or-treaters.
00:09:05
Speaker
So about five, six years ago, we stopped even getting candy. Don't turn our lights on. ah So last night, we just watched ah It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
00:09:20
Speaker
And then I settled in to watch our friends from the Tabletop Empire YouTube channel do their live actual play of a one-shot of the Mothership RPG.
00:09:35
Speaker
Oh yeah, i i I have an archive that i'm going to watch later. Yep, Nate, the the host of Tabletop Empire, ah let me know earlier because I had asked, is it going to be on the channel afterwards?
00:09:50
Speaker
ah And at first it was... So they they were in part doing this live stream as a fundraiser, to upgrade their equipment for their next actual play series after they're done with their current one.
00:10:06
Speaker
And so they, they had benchmarks for donations. And one of the benchmarks was that, um, it would be available on the main YouTube channel, not just for subscribers and patrons on Patreon.
Video Game Histories of Hosts
00:10:27
Speaker
And, They hit that benchmark. He messaged me earlier saying that it was about to be posted to to the Tabletop Empire channel. So check it out. They are all great guys.
00:10:40
Speaker
and And i I use that as kind of a segue because, as I said, we are... taking a a slight break from clone watch.
00:10:53
Speaker
This episode ah is one that you Lauren are going to take the lead. oh boy. and Part of why i say that mentioning tabletop empire is a good segue is the first time I met Nate. Well, the only time really that I've met Nate in person, I picked him up from the airport and as along with ah other members of the channel, Joe and Noah,
00:11:19
Speaker
ah from the airport for Gamer Nation Con this spring. And on the drive from the airport to the hotel, which for those not familiar with the, with the greater Dallas and North Dallas area, and it's like a 30 minute drive from the airport to where their hotel was.
00:11:42
Speaker
And, and Nate was just giddy with excitement, and I i don't use that word lightly. He was giddy with excitement because as he was about to board the plane to head here, Nintendo was about to do their big Switch 2 announcements.
00:12:02
Speaker
And he was just super duper thrilled that they were doing a remaster of Kirby Air Raiders. Air Ride.
00:12:13
Speaker
Air Ride. Air Ride. So this is why you're in the lead this episode. but i But, you know, it's I foreshadowed this many episodes ago where at one point y'all were getting very in depth about Star Wars lore and I was sitting there, you know, not having much to say about it.
00:12:33
Speaker
And I said in response that one of these days I'm going to start talking about Kirby and I will not stop talking about Kirby. Today is not quite that day, but we are establishing things to ah to set up for the two-hour Kirby episode. you are you you are You are digging you're dig in the foundation.
00:13:00
Speaker
Because to introduce like what the actual topic of this is, video games. Aw, We're going to talk about our experience with video games.
00:13:14
Speaker
Now, I will preface this by saying a lot of my video game experience will make me sound like this. How do you do fellow kids? How do you do, fellow kids?
00:13:26
Speaker
How do you do, fellow kids? How do you do, fellow kids? Honestly, Daryl, I... You and i have surprisingly samu similar histories based on how i was introduced to video games.
00:13:44
Speaker
Yeah, we had a Pong console at home in the 70s. I played the original E.T.
00:13:56
Speaker
video game. Nick, my dad came home one night with an Atari console for me, and this is before the Space Invaders cartridge was released.
00:14:08
Speaker
Again, it's not a competition. but's like I said, like, this was not I got introduced to, the only like, modern video games way later than most people.
00:14:21
Speaker
Well, Ed, I do think that we need to take David Letterman's advice here. this is not a competition. It's only an exhibition. Please, no wagering. Exactly. This is not... We're here to just talk about our experience with video games and...
00:14:38
Speaker
Just be honest about like, because video games are a major part of pop culture and something that we can explore in this series.
00:14:48
Speaker
Yeah. Yep. Very much so. So do y'all want to maybe yeah do y'all sections first and then I'll, I'll be the end game. We're in the end game now.
00:15:02
Speaker
A lot to say. I have, at heart, always been a very, very casual gamer. um You know, I had had the Atari... You had the Florida.
00:15:18
Speaker
Yeah. i I wanted a ColecoVision, but I never got a ColecoVision. I was mad. i I had to play the the crappy Atari 2600 port And...
00:15:30
Speaker
ah or not man and And the crappy 2600 port of Pac-Man. Oh no. Infamous.
00:15:41
Speaker
I've seen that on videos. like That wasn't Pac-Man. That was Pac-guy. But did you have 2600 Q-Bert? No. was barely Q-Bert.
00:15:54
Speaker
twenty six other cuor was barely cuber And as as time went on, you know, i I had a Sega Genesis and I rocked Revenge of Shinobi because my roommate and I, before I got my own Genesis, I had a roommate who had one.
00:16:13
Speaker
And we we found a little cheat exploit. oh you You could basically give yourself unlimited lives. And I don't remember exactly what it was. There was something like there was an invisible three extra life's box.
00:16:33
Speaker
Now, granted, you had to sacrifice a life to get to it where it was at. But would sit there for 15, 20 minutes just farming those three extra life's. we would sit there for you know fifteen twenty minutes just farming those three extra life boxes so that we had you know enough lives to to get through the game.
00:16:55
Speaker
Yeah, makes sense. When he moved out, I got my own Genesis. Lovely. I love that. And But consoles after that, for a while, I was buying secondhand from co-workers when they got done. you know like my My PS1 and my PS2 were purchased like two, three years after they had come out.
00:17:20
Speaker
Although, actually, I think my PS2 wasn't that long because I had a co-worker who bought it specifically to play Grand Theft Auto Vice City.
00:17:33
Speaker
Oh, nice. And he finished it and had no use for the console anymore. Ooh, I see. Fooled.
00:17:44
Speaker
There was nothing else that he wanted to play. PS2 was really high quality the time. So ah he sold me his PS2 for a song, plus the game.
00:17:57
Speaker
and tell bo friend i vice it and How do you feel about Fire City? I mean, I played it a little bit. i kind I thought it was kind of boring, actually.
00:18:10
Speaker
um
00:18:12
Speaker
Then i got an Xbox for Christmas a few years ago, or a few years later. That would be the xon the first Xbox, not the Xbox one. Those are different.
00:18:25
Speaker
Actually, so No, I didn't get an Xbox for Christmas. I, again, bought an Xbox for a friend of mine from a friend of mine who was selling his because he was upgrading to... ah what The 360 was the second generation Xbox, right?
00:18:43
Speaker
Yeah. That was after PS2 at the time that he was competing with PS3. He was buying a 360.
00:18:52
Speaker
yep and the he was it he was buying a three sixty And so I bought his Xbox off of him. Which was a beast of a machine at the time.
00:19:05
Speaker
And then um got 360 for Christmas a couple of years later. What did you play on? Did you play anything on the Xbox?
00:19:18
Speaker
Yeah. it It's been so long, I don't remember. I've slept since then. Did you play Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts? No, no. Did you at least play Halo?
00:19:31
Speaker
um Eventually, i played a little bit of it. um it It just was kind of there. i also i did play the Buffy the Vampire Slayer game for a little bit on it.
00:19:46
Speaker
Oh, yeah. that That was there. Yeah. ah But I honestly don't remember what all I had for that. ah Got a 360. Also had a Wii in there. ah i i loved Wii bowling. And I loved... ah i Honestly, I loved the Wii sports stuff. and oh yeah yeah that was That was universally loved. That was very fun.
00:20:09
Speaker
Yeah. i got like I got that for Nicole and she loved it. night That was her favorite thing. Until she broke the TV because she accidentally slipped. You know how they said, like oh, you have to put like the little thing on?
00:20:26
Speaker
and i Nicole did not do that and then she was like, Yeeted one of the Wiimotes right through the TV. Oh no.
00:20:37
Speaker
And although i I never finished it, I thought one of the one of the coolest, most original games that I saw for the Wii was Epic Mickey.
00:20:49
Speaker
ah Yeah, I played that a decent amount. I never actually finished it, but I got pretty far. Yeah, I didn't finish it either. I didn't finish it either, but maybe because the cold broke the TV. mom actually played that game.
00:21:02
Speaker
Yeah, my mom had it. The concept of it was really interesting. It took full advantage of the controller concept for the Wii.
00:21:15
Speaker
And as an animation if i like it talked about like animation in old schools. There was a lot to work with it. you know They did a remake of that game a few years ago.
00:21:26
Speaker
or not Maybe not even a full year ago at this point. I don't remember. Cool. And... um and But yeah, the music controls were really fun. Then I was you know trying trying to decide you know what... ah I ended up... I got an Xbox One.
00:21:46
Speaker
And then i yeah was was trying to decide... Actually, first, ah the Xbox One, the decision to get that was made by Jedi Fallen Order.
00:21:59
Speaker
Yeah. be Not being compatible with the 360. and And so I bought an Xbox One. And then I got a hey Series S or X, whichever one I have. I don't remember. They're the same thing. one It's an optical drive. One doesn't.
00:22:23
Speaker
ah zema yeah Specifically for Jedi Fallen Order. Which was really good. yeah Yes, I spent $500 specifically to play a specific game.
00:22:41
Speaker
Because that's the console it was on. But you know through through there, you know i played like some of the the first one or two Arkham games. I have the others, I just never really sat down. but My problem with video games is that...
00:22:56
Speaker
With as little free time as I have to play them, and since the the TV that the consoles are connected to is the family TV, you know it's not fun for Stephanie to just sit there and watch me play a video game.
00:23:16
Speaker
You don't have the Let's Player energy.
00:23:20
Speaker
Stephanie doesn't have the Let's Player energy. and to to watch She doesn't want to watch you play a video game. But i I think I've talked with her before. She's not good.
00:23:32
Speaker
She's like, I don't... Not good at video games. But she doesn't want to watch you play video game. Yeah, at at one point we got um the Lego Lord of the Rings because she thought it looked fun. And she played for about five minutes. as a gay I was like, yeah, this is... No.
00:23:51
Speaker
Get it out of my hands. Because again, I see i do remember when she said like, because I do remember when she did bring up that you bought the Arkham games. like They're really fun and really cool, but like, yeah, they're single player games. and and And they're really cool. And they're really good. And again, it's like, it it has the Batman. Batman from the, for the AMA series.
00:24:22
Speaker
And I have found that with it with the exception of the Jedi games, which just, and since I'm a mark for Star Wars,
00:24:34
Speaker
ah and no it was gra we we was really grab me. and and i And I drive through them, you know, playing for an hour or two every night after she goes to bed. The games that seem to keep me engaged the most are the Lego games.
00:24:51
Speaker
Oh, the Lego games are great. but Because they're just silly fun. But also, don't forget, Daryl, you enjoy the Star Wars games, so we're getting some of that Star Wars money. Because we're all sales.
00:25:07
Speaker
Oh, obviously. oh yes, yes.
Nick's Gaming Journey
00:25:11
Speaker
Yes, we're all shills. That's why I have left Outlaws sitting where it's at after basically the intro planet and the first set of missions on the next planet that you go to for over a year.
00:25:28
Speaker
sorry I thought it was because like the there's DLC with Hondo. No, see, you know, love that. I love that. I know that, but if your wife finds you playing a game with Honda, you'll be divorced and you'll be stuck on my couches.
00:25:50
Speaker
So, they are pretty good couches, though. ah Fun aside there, um as we have been you know watching house listings, one popped up that we really liked, and the street name is Hondo. And I sent her the listing, you're going to veto this just based on the street name.
00:26:12
Speaker
ah beautiful how did she respond ah she she liked the house and i was like you you do understand that every time if if we were to get this house every time i give someone our address i was like it's such and such something such hondo live on hondo hondo is the best she just looked at me and you Well, Daryl, the answer is very clear.
00:26:41
Speaker
See, except the house, you'd be six feet under it.
00:26:49
Speaker
Well, you know, it would it would be fun while it lasted being able to give our address out.
00:26:58
Speaker
They'll create a new creepypasta, the Hondo House. No, no, no. It'll be a true crime. It would be a true crime.
00:27:10
Speaker
I'm not sure which one I would narrate she She watches enough true crime, or as I call them, um how to kill my husband and get away with it shows, that she would kill me and get away with it.
00:27:22
Speaker
ah Understandable. But would she her right so but you eating a succulent meal while she's doing it? Probably. Probably.
00:27:36
Speaker
Anyway, that's the more disturbing part of like true crime podcast. It's like, here's how this horrible crime happened. Also, here's some amazing like kimchi or like fried chicken.
00:27:55
Speaker
Anyway, what's what's your video game journey, Nick? Yeah, what's what's your game and energy looking like? Okay. Okay.
00:28:05
Speaker
My first video game was it in the arcade. Chuck E. Cheese.
00:28:16
Speaker
That was my first video games and that was like, wow amazing.
00:28:23
Speaker
It was like arcade games. It's like. Wow, that's incredible. Then I went home and I made a couple of friends. It's like one of those is like, hey, we can play video games at home. It's like, no way.
00:28:41
Speaker
Whoa. Then he brought over
00:28:46
Speaker
Nintendo. was Whoa.
00:28:53
Speaker
We played like Mario.
00:28:56
Speaker
It was. It was Mario. It's like, this is incredible. And then left. And my parents were like, I would like to. Do have something like that? I was like, yeah, we do.
00:29:12
Speaker
And we went into the attic and found the Nintendo. i thought you said it was Atari. It was an Atari 2600. Mm-hmm.
00:29:24
Speaker
How do you do, fellow kids? How do you do, fellow kids? How do you do, fellow How do you do, fellow kids? I'm sorry. and I was like, okay, this is... We have a console for you. It's like, awesome! It's like, it's all these, like, like, cassettes.
00:29:44
Speaker
And I had to, like, blow into, like... to like The cartridges. Cartridges, like, I had to, like, really... I slam them into the console. It's like, oh, wow.
00:30:00
Speaker
And I have like a button and like two buttons. and
00:30:08
Speaker
And that was my video game experience for like four years. and I kept on telling people, oh, but sometimes you can use this little gun thing.
00:30:22
Speaker
It's only for one thing. and You have to tilt the console so it works.
00:30:32
Speaker
And then...
00:30:36
Speaker
Eventually. Eventually.
00:30:41
Speaker
I was given a PlayStation 2. And I was like...
00:30:50
Speaker
Wait...
00:30:52
Speaker
There was a PlayStation 1? Yes, there was in fact a PlayStation 1. Yes, there was. You know what I played on the plate on my PS1, Nick? What did you play, Daryl?
00:31:04
Speaker
Star Wars Masters of Terras Kasi. Whoa! That's the fighting game, right? yeah yes Yes. out I was able to play that and rent that on my PlayStation 2, but... We went... That's compatibility!
00:31:20
Speaker
The... they gave us the PlayStation. My parents were like, here you PlayStation 2, Nick. It's like, and was like, oh, this, it must be like the, like the Nintendo's like, oh my God. It's like, i was playing Jack and Daxter.
00:31:38
Speaker
i was playing all kinds of like, like I believe it was like, uh,
00:31:46
Speaker
ah The Bandicoot game. Crash Bandicoot. Crash Bandicoot. There's like so much going on. yeah yeah Because my parents didn't really know what video games were. like I played Silent Hill.
00:32:01
Speaker
I played Resident Evil. Leisure Suit Larry. Oh no. Yeah. I did. Leisure Suit Larry too. Oh my gosh.
00:32:14
Speaker
Because they they they didn't know what video games were. Didn't they see that it was rated in That was before that was even a thing. But it was rated M, but it wasn't like a... You could go to a blockbuster and like... Stack up a whole bunch of things and like... Your parents would be like, yeah, video games.
00:32:39
Speaker
The vidi game.
00:32:43
Speaker
ah played I played GTA, Miami Vice. It's like...
00:32:52
Speaker
it was awesome. Some really hardcore stuff. e it's like It was like... I was terrible at all of it. I see. Honestly, Nicole was incredible at it.
00:33:10
Speaker
Crash Bandicoot. She made it for the whole game. i couldn't do any of it. Nice.
00:33:20
Speaker
So she is the one who took all of your gaming power.
00:33:26
Speaker
Sounds like it. I played like Silent Hill. I picked up Silent Hill 1, Silent Hill 2. ah Did some Resident Evil. It's like,
00:33:42
Speaker
Yeah, they were mature, but it was like puzzles. so it's like I like puzzles. Mm-hmm.
00:33:50
Speaker
But do you like zombies trying to re tear your face off? don't know, but I was able to feel like, okay, I just need to... I got frustrated with the fact that, like, with the tank controls. Mm-hmm. All right, so if I move one angle, it's like, oh, no, my whole angle is completely thrown off.
00:34:08
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:34:11
Speaker
But I realized, like, oh, it's all the zombies are, like, stuck there. So I beat them and then get to the save room, i don't have to deal with them.
00:34:25
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:34:29
Speaker
And the positive one was like, okay, I got to get this thing. get to there, so I just kind of beat the bad guys, get to the save room, save in the same room, I beat the bad guys, solve the puzzle.
00:34:44
Speaker
Right. It was just like a long... It wasn't the best way of solving it, but it was like how you solve the puzzle. Mm-hmm. Eventually, I then got to...
00:35:02
Speaker
The Xbox 360.
00:35:06
Speaker
When finally played Halo. Ah, yes. And i was like, wow, this is a lot of fun. e
00:35:19
Speaker
It's like fun gunplay, fun like... moving around, cool lore, but mostly, like, me and friends mess around with, like, the fact that you could create new maps and ID and, like, in the multiplayer.
00:35:35
Speaker
Mm-hmm. So, like, oh, and so, like, here's a new challenge or here's, like, a little trick or trap with the... Mm-hmm. You fight either.
00:35:47
Speaker
It was fun. Lovely. And... Ultimately, that kept on going. like I realized that like what I like about video games is like I like the stories.
00:36:00
Speaker
Mm-hmm. I played several of the Call of Duties. Mm-hmm. Duty. Duty.
00:36:11
Speaker
But the the ones I liked most were the ones that were story-based. I wasn't into the multiplayer because I mainly wasn't good at them.
00:36:23
Speaker
But it has some amazing stories like Call Duty 1, Modern Warfare 1, Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops 1, Black Ops 2. It has some amazing, like some of the best stories in video games.
00:36:40
Speaker
And then there's some stories like Biosoc 1 and Biosoc Infinite are some of the most amazing stories I've ever played.
00:36:51
Speaker
And it's just like, I'm more of, I enjoy the storytelling and the fact that like, it's unique. It's, it's not like reading a story or watching a movie.
00:37:02
Speaker
You're very much in gross in them. and That's a more in depth. who ah Discussing was like, that's what I loved about it. Yeah. Yes. We, we come to like things like, uh, should I fall in order? And,
00:37:22
Speaker
And stuff like that, like good storytelling games with the really interesting mechanics and fun. They're difficult and, but it's like,
00:37:34
Speaker
and that sort of video games, but I'm also interested in video games, like currently for like, uh, there's a video game I told you about earlier today about like Jurassic world evolution three.
00:37:48
Speaker
Oh yeah. a, a theme park managing video game. Never done that before, but it's like, I love the franchise. like dinosaurs. want to do like, uh, I think that'd be really cool to do. So I think, uh,
00:38:07
Speaker
Let's put the spotlight on you. All right. It's time.
Lauren's Gaming Background
00:38:14
Speaker
So my history of video games is almost entirely divergent from both of you. yeah ah So there's there's not going to be a whole lot of overlap.
00:38:26
Speaker
that in no There's no problem. The whole thing is like we're we're being completely honest about our history of With a certain type gaming. Yeah.
00:38:37
Speaker
So basically, i got my first video game console at the age of four. It was gifted to my family ah by one of my mom's co-workers. she they We obtained the Sega Genesis with a number of games.
00:38:53
Speaker
There was Pac-Man... Like the Sega Genesis? The Sega Genesis. I know one person... I actually got the Sega Genesis.
00:39:07
Speaker
I just got done saying that I had to say a Sega Genesis.
00:39:14
Speaker
Awesome. I knew someone and you had one and oh, we're all committed. I didn't have a Sega Genesis.
00:39:26
Speaker
Mm-hmm. See, I had a number of games. One was Ms. Pac-Man, which is probably like the best iteration of like classic maze game Pac-Man out there.
00:39:38
Speaker
variety difficulty levels, a lot of different mazes. It had simultaneous multiplayer. It was pretty cool, but it was also Pac-Man, which was very falling out of style at the time of its release.
00:39:49
Speaker
There was Jungle Book, which was fine. And then there was the first three Sonic the Hedgehog games. And I played those so much.
00:40:00
Speaker
ah I really loved those games a lot, particularly Sonic 3. Now, this is important. Because naturally, I was four whenever I got the Sega Genesis.
00:40:13
Speaker
So as I was going into school for the first time, it turned out that the school that I went to had a Sega Genesis with the first three Sonic games.
00:40:27
Speaker
And this is a very notable early memory in my life where, technically speaking, we were supposed to take turns on the Genesis.
00:40:38
Speaker
You know, every time somebody died or like every five minutes, whichever came first, ah we were supposed to swap out who was playing the game. But I was the only person there who really knew how to play the game. I was the only one who was good at it.
00:40:56
Speaker
So every time it was supposed to be somebody else's turn, they just gave me their turn because they wanted to keep watching me play.
00:41:07
Speaker
um so you were... You were... you were You were a the big guy. you were the guy. yeah i was not... I was generally not a very popular person in school, but this moment was the one time when, like, I was center stage.
00:41:26
Speaker
This was my moment. ah Because I was good at Sonic 3. That is...
00:41:35
Speaker
that that is you That was you. then you were That was your moment. That was you. Yes. And notably, my my school also had a variety of other games. For some reason, we had this computer with like a bunch of emulated games on it, like a bunch of n NES games for some reason.
00:41:56
Speaker
is what I'm very confused about. like You mentioned this before in passing. It's like...
00:42:03
Speaker
like I have no idea why. i don't know. it it was was that All the games were Japanese. they They were all Japanese copies of the games.
00:42:14
Speaker
and This was some private Christian school. I don't know why we had this. yeah Were they trying to build some sort of like, super gaming super soldier? I have no idea. But one thing is that one of the games... Well, note notably, so it seems like we had multiple of these computers.
00:42:37
Speaker
And one of these computers, the key that we used the right D-pad input did not work consistently. Wait, wait. They didn't have, like...
00:42:50
Speaker
It acts for like proper input. Yeah, so like we were using a keyboard because this was a computer. ah And we were like, all of these people, we were like six to eight years old.
00:43:04
Speaker
We didn't know how you emulators word worked. There was probably a way to change what keys did what inputs, but we certainly didn't know that that would be possible. Or just get the proper like controls.
00:43:17
Speaker
Yeah, no, well, this was a this was a computer. we didn't we couldn't plug in a controller. That's what's making it this more confusing. is's like it It was an emulator, Nick. A computer emulator.
00:43:29
Speaker
But like, why? It had a lot of games on it. I don't know why, but what I'm getting to here is that, ah so most of the games on, so there were multiple computers, on this particular computer that I'm talking about, most of the games were essentially unplayable because these were NES games that were hard and our right input didn't work properly. It didn't work consistently.
00:43:51
Speaker
However, there was one game that was functional with this setup. It was Kirby's Adventure! Because Kirby is generally a very easy platformer series.
00:44:06
Speaker
Because Kirby can fly infinitely in a platformer. And in Kirby's Adventure, there are a variety of copy abilities that when you use them, they launch you forwards.
00:44:17
Speaker
Like the fireball ability. You get that ability, you press the button, it launches you forwards. So even if your right input doesn't work consistently, you have a way to go right.
00:44:27
Speaker
And the wheel ability. You press the button, you turn into a wheel, you start revving forward regardless of input. And so even if you don't have a right input, you use the wheel ability, you can keep going forward.
00:44:40
Speaker
And it's like, this was the one game that actually functioned under these conditions. And we actually managed to beat it at one point. And least this does sound rather absurd and...
00:44:52
Speaker
Rather unreasonable. Yes. And the another on on a different computer that did work consistently. Not just like rather, not just regular unreasonability. It's like just rather very coincidental absurdity. Mm-hmm.
00:45:10
Speaker
So on another one of these computers that did have a more consistent control scheme, I also played Mega Man for the first time. They had like Mega Man 2, 3, 4. And we couldn't pat we couldn't get past any of the Robot Master stages. the The closest that we ever got was a Skullman's stage in 4.
00:45:30
Speaker
We managed to make it to Skullman and then we died because Mega Man is a very difficult series and we were somewhere from the ages of six to eight. And we couldn't read eat anything because the games were in Japanese.
00:45:44
Speaker
And we didn't have any control manuals. And we didn't also know there were all the controls. Because... Were there in Japanese? Yes, I mentioned this. They were all the Japanese versions of the games.
00:45:56
Speaker
We couldn't even see what the titles were because they were in Japanese.
00:46:02
Speaker
it was it was It was absurd. I don't know why my school was like this. I began to think that your ah school was trying to train you in some sort of weird we're sort of like video game tournament.
00:46:23
Speaker
Like some sort ninja tournament for video gamers. Maybe, but... don really That makes sense. Mm-hmm. Notably, a few years later, i went to a different school and I found on on TV, Kirby had a show.
00:46:45
Speaker
And I was like, oh, hey, i recognize that guy. I know that one. I'm going to watch that show. And then they started having advertisements for the latest Kirby game, naturally. And it was Kirby's Nightmare in Dreamland.
00:46:58
Speaker
And whenever I saw the advertisements, I looked at the level design of the gameplay and I was like, hey, wait a second. I recognize that level design. I know this game because Nightmare in Dreamland was a remake of Kirby's Adventure, which was the game that I had played on the computer. It was the NES game.
00:47:20
Speaker
And so i I asked my parents, hey, can I get this game for the Game Boy Advance? And so they were like, yeah, okay, we can do that. And so I got the Game Boy Advance, and I got Nightmare in Dreamland, and I was able to play the game with a functioning controller setup, and it was awesome!
00:47:38
Speaker
It was beautiful. I love the Kirby series so much. One of these days, ah we're going to have an episode where I just talk about the Kirby series for 10 hours straight. Lauren, it sounds like you're in this old childhood.
00:47:54
Speaker
was you were being indoctrinated as sort of sort of super video game cult. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So anyway, basically, ah so that was, so ah technically I did skip over a little bit. I also had a Game Boy Color in there. ah not Not a whole lot happened on the Game Boy Color. I only used it for like a year or two before I got the Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy Advance plays Game Boy Color games anyway. Did you play Pokemon?
00:48:20
Speaker
I did not play Pokemon. I was not allowed to get into Pokemon as a child because my parents were very controlling. Oh, yeah. Yes. As I have gone over a number of times before. You told me that. ah So, yes.
00:48:34
Speaker
Let's see. But there i my my first two Game Boy games, I will say, were Pac-Man and Asteroids. And then there was also super Mario Brothers Deluxe. So I did play a version of the original Super Mario Brothers. that Super Mario Brothers Deluxe was yeah the Game Boy version of the original Mario Brothers.
00:48:55
Speaker
That is the original Super Mario Brothers, of course. yeah not Not Mario Brothers, the arcade game.
00:49:04
Speaker
Yes, yes. And on the Game Boy Advance, i you know, the Game Boy Advance, it had a lot of SNES remakes. Like, they remade, you know, Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super, yeah like, Yoshi's Island. ah There were a lot of Game Boy Advance games that I played.
00:49:24
Speaker
But not too long after that, there was the GameCube. And the GameCube became basically my main childhood game console.
00:49:39
Speaker
So, you know, Super Mario Sunshine, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Adventure. ah There was ah Sonic Heroes. there There was a lot of Sonic on that system. Any of the Zeldas?
00:49:51
Speaker
likeness of any of the zeta No, i would I've never been into Zelda. i ah One of my cousins tried to lend me the GameCube version of Ocarina of Time, and I got to the slingshot, and I got stuck, and I was like, well, I'll come back to this later. And then I never came back to it later.
00:50:12
Speaker
And then years later, many years later, i was play one of my friends tried to get me into Zelda again, ah got me to play Wind Waker. And i got to the grass dungeon, the Deku Tree, and I got through almost the entire dungeon.
00:50:27
Speaker
But then at the end of the dungeon, something glitched out, and the wind lifts stopped working properly right at the very end. And it was getting late at night. i We were getting kind of tired because I was playing this at my friend's house. And I was like, well, you know, we'll come back to this later.
00:50:44
Speaker
ah and then And then I never came back to it later. And then, even further later, ah i got the Switch. And I got the Zelda game on the Switch, Breath of the Wild.
00:50:57
Speaker
And i was good I was having some fun with it. And then I got to one of the shrines and it was a minor test of strength. And I was having difficulty beating the guy. I was kind of having trouble with the controls. And I set it down like, well, you know, I'll come back to this later.
00:51:12
Speaker
And then and I never came back to it later. So basically that's my Zelda experience. I'll... i I will admit this and hopefully my friend who does listen, doesn't listen to this.
00:51:30
Speaker
I know. He let me.
00:51:34
Speaker
his, uh, his ocarina at a time. Time is like and play. So I could play. It would be my first Zelda game. It's like,
00:51:50
Speaker
I couldn't get through the first puzzle. oh At all. And I just... I mean, I got stuck at the slingshot. That's pretty early.
00:52:02
Speaker
I think it was the slingshot.
00:52:07
Speaker
but yeah when Whenever I played Ocarina of Time... I've never played a Zelda game. I kind of got that since. as like I played it as like...
00:52:19
Speaker
This is really cool. Like, it's like, I am not doing well. And i just wasn't that into it. I, thought I just having difficulty with the game because i I'm not a good gamer.
00:52:37
Speaker
and That's sort of, it's like, it's like I was having difficulty. It's like, I will put it away. And I'll come back to that.
00:52:47
Speaker
And it has been 10 years. Well, some context for my first time playing Zelda and also further context for a couple of things that I'll be talking about later. i was going to get to this part anyway.
00:53:01
Speaker
ah So one of my cousins, she's older than me, and she had a Nintendo 64. And whenever I was growing up, anytime that I visited whenever Well, it wasn't old school at the time. Right, obviously. when whenever Every time that I visited her, I would always play Banjo-Kazooie.
00:53:21
Speaker
And I loved the game a lot, but of course, I was always playing it whenever I was visiting a relative, so I didn't get very far. yeah But later on, she went to college, and I basically inherited the Nintendo 64. She gave it to me at that point.
00:53:34
Speaker
And along despite it... Do the big Nintendo 64! Nintendo 64!
00:53:42
Speaker
ah Not really, because at that point I had a GameCube. So I was going reverse Nintendo. i I had a GameCube, and then I was given and a Nintendo 64 later. But, you know, I played Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Kirby 64, and Yoshi's Story. Those were the big four Nintendo 64 games that I had.
00:54:03
Speaker
And i loved Banjo-Kazooie games, particularly... Banjo-Tooie is fun. ven yeah and i played i didn't I didn't own it.
00:54:14
Speaker
I had a friend that had it, and we played it together. like That was fun. Oh, yeah. In particular, I loved Banjo-Tooie. That was that was the end but was the one that I loved more than Banjo-Kazooie, because I just loved the interconnected world. It felt like an actual world that you were exploring.
00:54:32
Speaker
which just ist game It Also, the platforming was like it was so rewarding. Yeah. it was It was such a wonderful game. And this will be important later.
00:54:45
Speaker
I think I know what you're gonna going to remark on. Because I can't. i you talked about I talked about Game Boy Advance games. Banjo-Kazooie, Grunty's Revenge for Game Boy Advance, also played that.
00:54:57
Speaker
Was also a very fun time. Very cool. Didn't play that, but I i will say that I was a Banjo-Kazooie fan as well. think wherere going I can't believe that I forgot Game Boy Advance games.
00:55:09
Speaker
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror is such a good game. I love that game so much. It was like I talked about Kirby Nightmare in Dream Land as the remake of Adventure. That was fantastic.
00:55:21
Speaker
But Amazing Mirror, the other main GBA game. was just so good. I played that so much growing up. the bi Some of the best multiplayer platforming action that I've ever experienced. It is fantastic.
00:55:36
Speaker
I will say that even though you weren't mostly Pokemon, but like Pokemon Golden Silver? Peak.
00:55:46
Speaker
Those were peak. That was Game Boy, but ah yeah. yeah Game Boy Advance too? I mean, ten well, technically, any game boy advance game Game Boy Advance could play Game Boy games. So, like, yeah.
00:56:01
Speaker
Oh, you gotta to be a technically guy. Mm-hmm. But yeah, so so let's see here. So where was I in the over? So yeah, GameCube, fantastic system, Game Boy Advance, a lot of fun.
00:56:14
Speaker
And then there was Wii. And naturally I was going to be getting the Wii on account of all the all the series that I've been talking about so far that I've enjoyed. ah You got Kirby games on the Wii. got Mario games on the Wii.
00:56:27
Speaker
You got a lot of a lot of good stuff on the Wii, and it was fantastic. There was a great Godzilla game on there. Godzilla, at least, on the Wii. Nice. But I am going. then that's that that was That was honestly why I bought the Wii.
00:56:41
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think I got the Wii probably for Super Smash Bros. Brawl initially. Well, actually, no, I think I got Super Paper Mario first and Super Paper Mario.
00:56:53
Speaker
Well, first of all, Paper Mario the Thousand Year Door. Fantastic game. I played that game so much. One summer for like an entire week, I beat the game every single day. And this is an RPG. This takes a lot of hours to do.
00:57:05
Speaker
heard so much good stuff about that. Yeah. That's like a class classic rv the It's up there like if like the classic final fands like whatever speed is oh yeah Whenever Super Paper Mario released for the Wii, I was getting that game. It it was so good. I loved that game a lot, too.
00:57:25
Speaker
Not necessarily better than Thousand Year Door because it's a very different game. It's less of an RPG, more of a platform, but it was still a fantastic experience that I loved a lot. But then something important happens in 2008.
00:57:40
Speaker
My friend comes over. And he shows me ah video by someone known as Deceased Crab. This video is a let's play.
00:57:53
Speaker
Deceased Crab is playing the video game he is providing his commentary over the gameplay. And I looked at it and I was like, people can do that? that That's a thing you can do? that That's a type of video that you can make?
00:58:06
Speaker
And keep mind, I mentioned previously about how whenever I was like six to eight, I was playing video games for people's entertainment. Whenever I switched schools, that kept happening. My new school had a GameCube with the Sonic Mega Collection on it.
00:58:19
Speaker
And guess what games the Sonic Mega Collection has? It's Sonic 1, 2, and 3, baby! And once again, the exact same thing happened where even though we were technically supposed to take turns, people still wanted to watch me play those games because I was the best at them because I could actually play them effectively.
00:58:37
Speaker
So whatever whenever I saw these videos, whenever I saw Let's Plays, I was like, i I basically grabbed my friend's shoulders. I was like, I have to make one of these right now. and so I got my camcorder.
00:58:49
Speaker
i put it in front of my TV. i turned on my Sega Genesis with Sonic 3 and Knuckles clocked in. And on that very day, i made my very first Let's Play. And thus began the rise of Mr. Game and And, uh, yeah, they basically, uh, the response to my very first Let's Play was, wow, you actually know how to play the game? You have a lot to say about it?
00:59:18
Speaker
Unfortunately, you're using a camcorder and your recording setup sucks. Uh, maybe try getting a better setup sometime and this would actually be good. very and And then in 2011, I did.
00:59:34
Speaker
did. and I have seen some of some of your later stuff. It's like, cool. Yeah. Yes, in 2011, I actually got an actual recording setup and I started making actual Let's Plays.
00:59:48
Speaker
My very first Let's Play was Mega Man 4, which ah I haven't really talked about my foray into Mega Man much because it happened a bit later, at but it did eventually happen.
01:00:00
Speaker
I think it was around 2010, I started watching Rome Mythril's playthroughs. ah He does perfect runs of the classic Mega Man games, where he goes through the stages without getting hit or using any of the special weapons.
01:00:12
Speaker
Sort of a minimalist run in that regard. And they were very impressive, and they helped get me into the series. It was actually... a I actually got Mega Man 1, 2, well no, actually, on the Wii Shop channel, ah originally, whenever the Wii came out, you had to spend Wii points in order to access the internet on the Wii, like to just surf the web.
01:00:37
Speaker
But later on, this became free, and you basically got those Wii points refunded to you. So I had a couple extra Wii points, I could buy, like, an n NES game.
01:00:48
Speaker
And I was like, well what game do I want? And I was like, I want a hard game. I want something that's difficult. Mega Man 3.
01:01:00
Speaker
I got what I was wanting in that regard. Because Mega Man 3 is really hard. what I was about to say, is that a case of be careful what you wish for? Kind of. Honestly, that that that was that was your white whale. That was your that was your boby dick. That's like you you wanted that you wanted the talent.
01:01:25
Speaker
a The thing is, is that I did not beat Mega Man 3 that day, but later on, I did get Mega Man 1 and 2, and then further later on, I got Mega Man 9 and 10, and then got Mega Man 4, and then got 6, 5, and the other games as they released over time. 3?
01:01:46
Speaker
Well, the thing is, is that ah out of all the classic Mega Man games that existed at that time, Mega Man 3 was the last one that I beat.
01:01:57
Speaker
Because it was just that evil. That was your white whale, Ismael. You did it. Yes. I did eventually beat it. And i think i've I don't think I've ever beaten it after that because it's just... ah I don't like Mega Man 3 that much, actually.
01:02:13
Speaker
It's one of my least favorite Mega Man games. You asked Ismael if I wanted to it Is Moby Dick my favorite whale? Like, he'll, no.
01:02:28
Speaker
i hate that whale. I was like, good that's your white whale. You beat it. that That's what's the point. Yes, but notably, Mega Man 10 was the first Mega Man game that I beat, and it is actually my favorite Mega Man game. it is It is honestly one of my comfort games any time...
01:02:46
Speaker
that I want to just play a video game casually, Mega Man 10, that's one of them. That's one of the games that I can just turn on and just have a good time with at any time. It is a beautiful game.
01:02:59
Speaker
that's a good way That's a good segue to... Like, talking about, like, what games do we like to play? Well, I'm not quite done yet, because there's a couple other factors that I want to get into first.
01:03:11
Speaker
Oh. There's a few. i'm not I'm not quite done. I'm getting there, though. Because there's there's there's one thing that I've set up. We give you, like, the plot. There is at least one thing in particular that I set up earlier that I need to pay off still.
01:03:28
Speaker
ah And that is, so I've been talking about Nintendo consoles a lot. And that that has been most of my video game experience. you know I'm not gonna go over all the details, but you know I talk about playing games on Game Boy Advance, later on I got a DS, then a 3DS.
01:03:45
Speaker
I've talked about GameCube and Wii, eventually got a Wii U, then went onto the Switch. But there is one more console out there. There is one more instance that is an outlier in all of this.
01:03:57
Speaker
It's the Xbox 360. I did, in fact, have that console. And do you know why i got an Xbox 360? Why did you have an Xbox 360?
01:04:10
Speaker
I know. no. I know. It is because the Xbox 360 is the only console that had Banjo-Kazooie nuts and bolts.
01:04:24
Speaker
Because i was a big fan of the Banjo-Kazooie games, and I really wanted to try out the new one. Because I recognized that Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts was not going to be like the other Banjo-Kazooie games.
01:04:38
Speaker
But at the same time, the vehicle creation mechanic looked pretty interesting to me. I like being creative with stuff. I like you know having creative solutions to problems. And I was like, you know what?
01:04:50
Speaker
That seems pretty interesting. It did look fun. As someone that I got an Xbox 360, it wasn't the game I was going in for. It was like, oh, Banjo-Kazooie with a unique mechanic. ah Cool. It's like...
01:05:10
Speaker
It wasn't the game that I... it It was a launch game. as like it like It wasn't the one I was like excited the most for. I wanted some other games. like I was going for like some more games. But like yeah. I got on a get it. I'll let you...
01:05:30
Speaker
i got it on a deal to like get it like i'll let you and Talk about how that ended up. I will say that Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts is fine.
01:05:45
Speaker
It is an okay game. the The core idea of building your own vehicles is very inherently fun. I have a lot of fun messing around with it. I have a lot of fun being creative with interesting setups.
01:05:59
Speaker
but the challenges that they create for this vehicle creation mechanic are extremely repetitive. ah To give you just sort of a basic idea, as far as speedruns are concerned,
01:06:15
Speaker
Speedrunners basically just use a singular vehicle for the entire game. There is exactly one mission in the entire game for 100% speedrun that uses ah a different vehicle from the one that they use for ah literally everything else.
01:06:34
Speaker
It's apparently just like a barely different, like, barely different feel from... And the thing is, is that... yeah that i will say I will praise the game for, like, it has a whole lot of customization for the vehicles, which, again, is not not the Banjo-Kazooie, like, regular gameplay.
Lauren on Xbox 360 and Banjo-Kazooie
01:06:58
Speaker
who that's That's the main problem that everyone has with... I'll at least praise it for, like, the fact that you can build, like, anything on that. It's like, if you build, like, the bog-standard...
01:07:12
Speaker
simple vehicle. You just have have adjust it once. who And yeah you win the game. Yeah, the thing is is that what I was really wanting them to do is to require players to have really creative um solutions to a variety of problems. And that's just not the kind of challenges that the game provides.
01:07:38
Speaker
The core element of building your own vehicles is very fun, but the challenges just aren't there. It's Minecraft levels of like, here's what you can do.
01:07:50
Speaker
the but the The game, actual game is asking you to like... Oh. there There isn't... There is not enough variety there.
01:08:03
Speaker
It's just like saying like, you have to do this. It's like... Well, that's like... the easiest thing that I could do. The thing is, is that, so I talked about making Let's Plays earlier. I'm the, I was always the kind of Let's Player who did practice runs and research before actually playing the game, before actually recording.
01:08:23
Speaker
And at one point, Early on in my career, I was doing the Banjo-Kazooie series. So, you know, I did my practice run of Banjo-Kazooie. I did my Let's Play of it. And then while I was uploading my Let's Play over time, I did my practice run of Banjo-Tooie.
01:08:37
Speaker
I recorded it. I basically started uploading it immediately after Banjo-Kazooie. And then as I was uploading Banjo-Tooie, I was like, well, I want to do a Let's Play of Nuts and Bolts.
01:08:48
Speaker
And so I started doing my practice run for Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts. And as I was in the middle of the first major area of the game, I ran out of things to talk about.
01:09:00
Speaker
And I realized that I just did not have enough to say about the game to warrant an entire Let's Play of it. And so I was like, well, it's a good thing I'm doing my practice run because if I ran this problem while i was in the middle of recording, that would suck because this series would be canceled.
01:09:18
Speaker
For a game that has so much... I will accept someone that actually played it. Also, I want establish, this is the only time that this has ever happened.
01:09:29
Speaker
this This is the only time where this ever happened, but it's a good thing I did my practice runs. And you can tell that he is... that Lorne is very animated about that.
01:09:41
Speaker
You are not very animated about things unless you have some issues with them. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, and then I would say that ah my my other my other Xbox 360 experiences, ah I played Sonic Generations on Xbox 360, which is one of the best Sonic games ever. It's beautiful. I love it so much. yeah And then there were the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 and 2.
01:10:08
Speaker
I played those games a lot. i play I played those on PlayStation 2. Those are really good. Ah, see. Well, I did Xbox 360. And then there was also Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions.
01:10:21
Speaker
I played that an awesome amount. That was a really fun game for Xbox 360. Yep. yep And ah that that's pretty much it. I guess there was also Plants vs. Zombies. I got the console version of that game.
01:10:33
Speaker
and that That was always more like... no That was like the first mobile game. I mean, I played it on PC first, but eventually I got the Xbox 360 version. ah Again, no say on mobile games.
01:10:46
Speaker
gains or Games are games. Yeah. And, you know, I guess ah there there is a lot more that I could go into with my history of games. I didn't bring up Toho at all, because Toho shows up a lot later in my game history. That's true. But I have been going on for ah almost an hour now, just for my... but Because I am the gamer of the group.
01:11:11
Speaker
So I could just keep going. was the group yes I could keep going about Let's Plays. I could keep going about consoles. I could go on about PC games because I did not touch those at all in my history.
01:11:24
Speaker
That is, I did not talk about them yet. i have I have, in fact, played quite a few PC games over time. ah But yes, the the I think that is where I will stop for now.
01:11:39
Speaker
and it You can see what I mean whenever I said, well, my gaming history has almost no overlap with anything that y'all talked about. nope But it was was fascinating. It was interesting.
01:11:54
Speaker
Yes. think i get At no point did I feel that we needed to, like... At no point did we feel like we needed to, like, censor or stop you. In fact, that's...
01:12:06
Speaker
We're hoping that this is going to open up system more concepts about like ah video games. Because they are part of gaming, and we are how we roll gaming.
01:12:21
Speaker
Yes, I think that ah you did attach to something that I said earlier about my comfort games, as it were. Yeah. Yeah.
01:12:31
Speaker
If I pick like my comfort game is...
01:12:36
Speaker
it's usually like something like, uh, like a Stardew Valley. Ah, see. It's just a simple little like farm game.
01:12:51
Speaker
Nice. and who dare like do you Do you have a game where it's just like, you need to unwind. And so you just turn it on. It's like, ah, yes, this familiarity. It's very comforting. Not really. If I did, it would probably be one of the Lego games just because you you can... I can sit back and giggle at their silliness and they're yeah they're not... They're not like...
01:13:20
Speaker
I don't want to say intense because that's not the right word, but they' they're not as involved. There's not as but it's just silly little Lego people running through like minor puzzles and fights and picking up Lego pieces.
01:13:39
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Lego games can be very chill in that regard. yeah yeah that's That's a major thing about games in general. i think're with With Lego games in particular, there's not very much punishment for death.
01:13:54
Speaker
I think that's a big thing. Respawn points are constant. ah you You lose studs whenever you die, but you don't really lose progress whenever you die. And you don't have limited lives or anything.
01:14:06
Speaker
I feel like a big thing is that in terms of gaming, both in... TTRPGs and video games, there's places where like you could be more intense or you could just go and be a bit more chill.
01:14:24
Speaker
Yeah. You it's, it's ultimately what you're looking for. And some people like, Oh, I like more of the serious stuff or I like more of like the more chill stuff. It's like,
01:14:40
Speaker
But there's always a middle ground where everyone comes together. It's like... It's all still gaming. But it's like... It just... That's what... And honestly, to me, like gaming in general is my chill space.
01:14:55
Speaker
Where I come and just have fun with friends. Nice.
01:15:04
Speaker
Oh yeah, Minecraft is also a game. I got Minecraft back whenever it was a game that you played in your browser. Yeah. i've I've been playing Minecraft since before beds existed.
01:15:17
Speaker
I still need to learn how Minecraft works. But that's in the future. When I eventually get my my my gaming game PC working.
01:15:28
Speaker
and but Between Lauren and the boy, you you will be well taught. who But I think... there There is actually another thing that I'd like to bring up, though. ah and it is sort of how video games and tabletop games intersect and how they don't
Tabletop RPG Influences from Video Games
01:15:50
Speaker
intersect for me. Because I think there's there's something very interesting that happens in tabletop games for me in particular.
01:15:57
Speaker
where, oh you know, tabletop games, they are generally designed as a group activity. You build characters, and for the most part, you...
01:16:12
Speaker
are incentivized to specialize in an area of the game's mechanics to help yourself work with the other players, to help yourself work with the other characters. You're not designed to do everything because you're supposed to be able to rely on the other players having complementary skill sets, essentially.
01:16:34
Speaker
and Now, this... Now, I remember whenever whenever we did the episode on the other show, whenever Robert talked about ah the way that he designs his characters, how he envisions oh what sort of character he would want to be in the world, and then he builds that.
01:16:52
Speaker
And then I talked about how I don't really envision a character initially. I look at what everybody else is doing, and I build a character to complement them. I fill in spaces that are not being...
01:17:06
Speaker
uh, like, held by the other party members. The reason why i build my characters the way that I do, and why I specifically don't build my characters the way that Robert does, is because of the kind of video game characters that I like to play.
01:17:24
Speaker
ah the The kind of video games that I talked about, the ones that I really enjoy, Kirby and Mega Man. Both of these characters, their primary gameplay ah well not their core gameplay mechanic that a lot of their stuff revolves around is copy abilities.
01:17:43
Speaker
They copy enemies' abilities, they adapt to the scenarios that they ah are presented, and they can functionally have any ability and do anything.
01:17:55
Speaker
And this is very much not incentivized by tabletop game design. In tabletop games, they want you to specialize.
01:18:05
Speaker
They don't want you to... That's true. And so if i were to if I were to try to create the kind of character that I would want to be in a world, i would be trying to create a Kirby or a Mega Man.
01:18:21
Speaker
And that is not the kind of character that tabletop games want you to be playing as.
01:18:28
Speaker
Daryl, I think we have an we can actually like work this into a costume at least. Maybe not an episode, but at least start with you and I talking about that.
01:18:42
Speaker
there Yeah. Your idea is not incompatible. I can understand how you can see it as incompatible to TTRPZ. Yeah, I mean, like it's not in... it's not i don't think I don't envision it as entirely incompatible, but I see it as the different substantially disincentivized.
01:19:04
Speaker
And you you know what's interesting? You bring that up And it made me think that what's kind of interesting for me is with tabletop RPGs, I i want that interaction with the other players. And when you there's a trend the last few years that especially yeah TTRPGs have been including rules for solo play.
01:19:37
Speaker
I see. and and it been and I do believe most of it has been since since ah the pandemic. A lot of that has been like, but always been a a a trend or But I have zero interest in solo play of a tabletop RPG.
01:19:59
Speaker
it like i I would never run a solo game. It's antithetical to me. Meanwhile, with video games, for the most part, I'm like, I don't want multiplayer. Let me have single player.
01:20:19
Speaker
Almost every single thing that I mentioned is single player. Yeah. But it's like it seems like always like, it's like, I want to play my character how I want to play my character. Or if they have a strong story, it's like, I will play this character. This has to appeal to me.
01:20:41
Speaker
That's not to say that I haven't had fun playing MMORPGs. Oh yeah, those those are fun. Star Wars Galaxies. Swartor for me.
01:20:53
Speaker
lucked into a a great community on a server in Galaxies. Same with me. i got into a pretty good guild. After it shut down, and later on, a few years later, I found one of the emulator servers, and yeah, the the game was still there, the game was still fun, but I didn't have that click with the player group.
01:21:17
Speaker
The Swole Torre basically became basically like, okay, you can be whatever you want to, and it's a single-player experience. was like, well, then why am I paying for...
01:21:31
Speaker
For a MMORPG. When it's like. You can just give me a game. And even. Star Wars Squadrons. Was. Amazingly fun. may thirty five it was designed and advertised as being multiplayer.
01:21:50
Speaker
like Okay, fine. and you know The tutorial was your single player campaign. It was relatively short. Very fun. Very very interesting. Great tutorial.
01:22:01
Speaker
Even when you could play person versus computer, but you once you're out of that tutorial, even person versus computer was required five flesh and blood players versus hey five AI enemy.
01:22:25
Speaker
Mm-hmm. It'd be better. It's like, well, I can't always... I can't make the team come all the time. a Well, or even if you just went into the matchmaking part of it, there were times that I would sit there and it would time out after 10 minutes. Like, I just want to fly my X-Wing.
01:22:49
Speaker
if Do something cool. like It's like, honestly, there's a lot more to talk about video games as a concept right now.
01:23:00
Speaker
yeah But I think this is a good time to... We talked our experience. yeah But like video games as is a larger concept that we can explore the future. And I feel like that's that's why we made this episode, to talk about video games, which is a big part of a lot of our audiences and people that maybe not have heard of us.
01:23:35
Speaker
It's a good way to broach the subject. Yes. Yep, and set the stage for future related episodes.
01:23:47
Speaker
You know what that means, everybody. 10-hour Kirby episode confirmed! wait If you do that, we will I will reach out to Nate from Tabletop Empire, and Nick and I can sit back while the two of you nerd out over Kirby.
01:24:04
Speaker
Yeah!
01:24:09
Speaker
I was not opposed to that at um ah I'll have it because now I am able to do... to do a to host things myself now so I can probably host that and you don't have to be there no Daryl needs to be there Betsy needs to be there too you both need to witness my power
01:24:33
Speaker
but anything else that we want to add in our video game preamble episode I do want to say I do want to say that say that Video games are incredibly part of the gaming sphere.
01:24:50
Speaker
And that's why we did this episode to bridge the gap. It's like, honestly, a lot of RPG video games like Skyrim, uh, uh, Baldur's Gate 3, et cetera.
01:25:07
Speaker
They all came from tabletop video games. So, yeah you know, it's all together. You know, you mentioning Baldur's Gate 3 reminds me of of another, you for want of a better term, of a minor point that I've noticed about myself several years ago.
01:25:28
Speaker
And that is, with fantasy video games, I enjoy them, and i but I get really tired of them really fast.
01:25:39
Speaker
Interesting. Not so much tired of them, just I get kind of bored with them. but he says same thing with Same thing with me. was like i I used to really be be big into i ah sci-fi ah literature. it's like Eventually, it gets kind of dry.
01:26:02
Speaker
was like if yeah if you It's not the fact that the genre gets dry. You see it in a different way. in life. I get into a sci-fi video game.
01:26:16
Speaker
I feel a bit more renewed. It's like, oh! I remember what I liked about it, but it's like it's a different different take.
01:26:29
Speaker
Yeah, and it's not, you know, Baldur's Gate 3?
01:26:34
Speaker
Xander bought for me for Christmas that year that it came out. I've maybe played a total of three or four hours of it. Maybe. Maybe.
01:26:48
Speaker
But, you've in terms of D&D, we've been doing like several, and like eight or so, seven, this is now. No, we've done more than than that.
01:27:01
Speaker
Well, since you're you're saying about it. Oh, yeah yeah, but, you know, it's like, And and i'm I'm not saying it's a bad game.
01:27:13
Speaker
Not at all. But it's like different flavors. Yeah, it just it's a flavor that a little of it goes a long way for me.
01:27:25
Speaker
who And again, like none of it's bad. Honestly, like it it made several cool chords. Oh, I know. that was like Again, I'm not saying it's bad.
01:27:38
Speaker
No, no one's critiquing that you're not taking that. I'm just saying like in the same thing way that I'm doing Star Wars games, but like some people are not watching and or which is winning ah Academy Awards.
01:27:56
Speaker
It's like it doesn't there's flavors. There's ways to engage with big media, big concepts.
01:28:08
Speaker
And none of them are wrong. Yeah. Everyone has their right to engage with what they want to engage with. and And that's why like video games could be your thing. That's that could be your thing. Or it if you're in a.
01:28:28
Speaker
in a little funk is like, oh, I'll play a video game instead. It's like, that could be the thing that gets you back into that or just be the thing you're more interested in.
01:28:41
Speaker
There's no wrong way to interact with media concepts and ideas. It's all about like, what's fun? Yeah.
01:28:53
Speaker
Yep. And that's honestly like, that's, Not to make it about me, but like that's my big thing about here. Nick, you're making it all about you again.
01:29:05
Speaker
damn it.
01:29:11
Speaker
ah that this But speaking of fun, this has been fun. we Were you about to say something? Yeah, I will say that ah it was talking about video games being someone's thing.
01:29:23
Speaker
it was very funny to see Nick's reaction to me beating Ogdo Bogdo in about five minutes and realizing, oh, wait, video games are Lauren's thing. like oh no, she's good at them.
01:29:39
Speaker
You have to run that back in my face again. Of course. It'll be something forever. Yes. yeah you know was the moment where That was the moment where you stopped doubting my power.
01:29:54
Speaker
yeah You're going to write that on my grave, so I know it.
01:30:00
Speaker
This is... He doubted that Loren could beat Ogdo Bogdo. and On the first try! On the first try! it It wasn't my first try. It was within five minutes.
01:30:13
Speaker
Where like, yeah. yeah In fact, Nick, we're going to make sure that you have a gravestone so that we can put that on it. Mm-hmm. Even if you're cremated, we're going to make sure that there's a gravestone.
01:30:26
Speaker
Yes. So that that can be put on it. I deserve it. I did say to you like you, you can't do it. You can't do it on your first try. And then you did. No, no, no, Nick, Nick, the the bet was that... ah we Because it was so late at night, we were about to go to sleep. and so you thought that I would not beat Ogdo Bogdo by the thought by the time that we before the time that we had to go to bed.
01:30:53
Speaker
And then I beat it within five minutes. And you never actually gave me that $50. Or well, you only gave me like half of it or something.
Nick's Gaming Wager and Gadgets
01:31:03
Speaker
I gave you $25. Yeah. you still owe me another $25 that.
01:31:10
Speaker
Wait, Nick's just handing out cash for doing things that you're good at now? Yeah, apparently. ah if well As long as he doesn't believe that you're good at them. Well, I made a wager, so I do owe you $25.
01:31:26
Speaker
yeah Nick, um I'm truly, truly horrible at picking on you, especially at the end of episodes of How We Roll. I tried.
01:31:44
Speaker
I tried. i tried Yep, you did. It works. and like i even I even did a handshake with you. I do owe you $25.
01:31:56
Speaker
I'll give that to you tomorrow. Okay. we are Remember, that this is Nick who never brings enough of anything for the whole class during game time.
01:32:08
Speaker
It's like, you know, nick will Nick will intentionally have Amazon deliveries made during the games so that he can say, look, here's my new laptop lap desk. Mm-hmm.
01:32:22
Speaker
All the rest of you that are using laptops for the game, you don't have this new lap desk. Look at my luxurious new lap desk. It wasn't even that good of lap desk.
01:32:34
Speaker
It was cheap. Well, you know what, Nick? Whenever you give me that $25 tomorrow, I will use it to buy Hollow Knight Silksong, and I will defeat a very difficult video game with that money.
01:32:47
Speaker
I've heard it's a video game. Yeah, I've heard so too. I've i've also heard that it's hell. So I'm looking forward to that. But let's end tonight's video game talking points.
01:33:04
Speaker
We want to thank everyone for listening and let letting us just go on about our video game experiences, your our our histories, our journeys with video games so that we can prep for some future video game episodes.
01:33:22
Speaker
Yes.
Engaging with Casual Nerdity Podcast
01:33:23
Speaker
And in the meantime, be sure to follow us on socials, ah Facebook, Instagram, threads, Blue Sky, and Twitter, X, whatever,
01:33:34
Speaker
He's calling it this week. ah But we are casual nerdity, all one word, on all of those platforms. ah You can also help the podcast get a large reach by giving us a hopefully good review on your podcast platform of choice.
01:33:52
Speaker
Or if you happen to be listening through YouTube, do all of those cliched YouTube things of liking and subscribing. We want... to feed all of these algorithms and get some more on the show. They're very hungry.
01:34:08
Speaker
But until next time, thank you once again for listening. I'm Daryl. I'm Nick. And I'm Lauren. And we will see you next time. Bye-bye.
01:34:20
Speaker
This has been Casual Nerdity. We hope you've enjoyed your time with us and look forward to having you back.