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Ep.189: Celebrating Kerbal Space Program & The OlliOlli Series image

Ep.189: Celebrating Kerbal Space Program & The OlliOlli Series

Six One Indiecast
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With Take-Two shutting down Roll7 and Intercept Games, we wanted to take the time and reflect on what made both studios unforgettable staples within the industry.

The Six One Indiecast publishes every Monday at 8AM EST on all major podcast feeds and YouTube.com/SixOneIndie. Be a part of the discussion live and catch Clocked Out: The Indiecast Post-Show exclusively on Patreon.com/SixOneIndie.

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Transcript

Mike's Concert Dilemma and Kelsey's Tattoo Story

00:00:19
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to episode 189 of the 6.1 Indicast. My name is Mike Taljo. Tonight, I am joined by Matthew Wright. Hello. And Kyle Stevenson.
00:00:33
Speaker
I need y'all to consider yourselves lucky. You almost got a text from Mike saying like, Hey y'all you got to do tonight without me. Cause I just found out Queens of the stone age hit the stage five minutes down the road. I was about to just jump on like $20 a second. You should have just done it live from there. We can't hear anything. That's a DMCA nightmare on YouTube side of things. Kelsey tattooed two individuals who flew in from Knoxville, Tennessee and uh,
00:01:03
Speaker
They were like, they came in for the queens of sewing show that got rescheduled from last summer for whatever reason. And then Kelsey like came in, it was like a half hour ago. She's like, Oh yeah, they're going to the queens, queens of sewing shirts. And I was like, damn. And then immediately just start looking at tickets and not even thinking about like us having plans tonight to do production stuff. So yeah. Curiously how much were tickets for a show that's in five minutes?
00:01:28
Speaker
on stub hub, I could get like seats. Like I, cause it's one of the amphitheaters that like there's the lawn and then seats seats or 30 bucks. So I don't.
00:01:39
Speaker
doing that like people who wait till the last second freak me out. I could never it's a strat man. I know it's a smart strat, but I like because everything near me that I want to see is in the city.

Kyle's Last-Minute Concert Ticket Strategy

00:01:54
Speaker
So I can't like just take a two-hour train to the city without tickets and then be outside MSG like okay, let's hope something is it's going to be in my price range.
00:02:06
Speaker
Well, speaking of the islands, I mean, for the last time, me and Kelsey saw my couple of romance during the reunion tour. Um, it was at that OBS, Ooby. Why'd I say Ooby? I don't know.
00:02:19
Speaker
Ubisoft UBS, the UBS theater that is in Long Island, granted, like more bordering the city, but, um, waited till the morning of, and usually the, like those, my chem tickets are like no less than $550, no matter what. Got it for 20 bucks each.
00:02:38
Speaker
I'm planning on doing the same with Blink-1A2 when they come back around in July. I ain't messing around. Also, Matt, for context, we just learned to disregard when Kyle disappears for a second. Because in post-production, when people are watching this and listening to this, it doesn't matter. Silvanna notices it. Our patrons, the members of the Coupe will notice it when they watch the archive. The thing is, I don't blip out for them. It's only for you. So I'm the one that stays constant.
00:03:08
Speaker
But do we disappear? You disappear on the YouTube end. Okay. I stay there completely. But then when I am editing the video version of it, there is no disappearing. No, it's fine. So I don't understand what's going on. That's good. It's definitely training us to be better hosts to not let the little things to
00:03:27
Speaker
us. Granted, we just went on a tangent for a little thing distracting us, but that's why you listen to the six way indie cast, a weekly video game podcast, amplifying the indie scene and smaller games outside of the triple A space. New episodes drop each and every Monday morning on all major podcast feeds and youtube.com slash six, one indie supporters on patreon.com slash six, when he could tune in live as we record and gain access to clocked out the indie cast post show.

Podcast Promotion and Patreon Shoutouts

00:03:50
Speaker
But if money is tight, no worries. You still could share your support with a simple click
00:03:53
Speaker
Wherever you're listening, go ahead and leave this podcast a review. Follow Six One India on socials. Subscribe and hit the bell on YouTube and tell your friends all about us. Shout out to members of the Coop.
00:04:04
Speaker
little rebranding on, on patreon members of the coop, Brett Griffin, Kobe, Cordis, Ellie, JC, Jill Groat, Marcus Johnson. No God is Nicholas Johnson and Marcus O'Neill. Nicholas Johnson, Marcus O'Neill. I need to separate them. They're like misbehaving in class. I need to separate them. I'm doing it right now. Marcus. No, Nicholas, you're going towards the bottom of the list.
00:04:29
Speaker
Nicole Humphrey, stone cold ET, Nicholas Johnson, once again, the compound Cole AKA the good sir. And of course our producer still can it who is currently in chat, watching us fall apart in real time. Wait until next week. You say Nicholas compound or different people.
00:04:51
Speaker
Oh goodness gracious housekeeping for you. Guess what? The six way indie showcase. We announced that it is happening on September 19th.

Six Way Indie Showcase Announcement

00:04:58
Speaker
If you would like to get some behind the scenes, looks and information on the whole showcase production, head on over to patreon.com slash six one indie. You could become a producer. We're going to have some content trickling out over the course of the next
00:05:14
Speaker
four months. Is that the number? Yeah. Four, four months. That's the number between may and September. Speaking of that, patreon, patreon.com slash six one. And he also got a brief kind of refresh. There are three tiers now, the into cast plus tier where you could just get this show early.
00:05:32
Speaker
And of course with clocked out, the Indicastpo show, the coop membership, which gives you access to watch the shows live. And also anytime we record a let's play a six one plays, come out and hang out with us while we record them live. Of course, when there's no embargo in place. And then of course the producers here where you get those behind the scenes on the major productions, a lot of reviews in the pipeline, but the ones that we could talk about right now, Becca reviewed Indica.

Current Game Reviews and Excitement for SGF

00:06:01
Speaker
I think she liked it. I it's weird with you. I think overall positive. Matt, you got a surmount review on the website, which is out today. Go play it. It is out today. And then I reviewed another crab's treasure. My current game of the year, but yeah, obviously made knife looms. So you could make an educated guess as to what is happening behind the scenes. Gentlemen tonight. I want to talk.
00:06:30
Speaker
Another little housekeeping thing. Okay. Shout out to indie council, 10,000 downloads. Hey, Pat yourself on the back on this, on this show. The number two indie podcast. Yeah. We are. We are the number two indie podcast here. We were here first, but you know, it's fine. We have 180 episodes. It's cool. It's all right. Everybody 189. I said 180 ish. Did I not?
00:06:54
Speaker
Oh, I thought you just say 80, nevermind. But yeah, indie council. Hey, thanks for the support. Thanks for the love. Appreciate y'all. Oh, I guess the other piece of housekeeping thing, which is going to be news to Matt. I'll be at SGF six way indie. Got to invite to SGF. I should say I got to invite through six way indie. So if you're in LA and say hi, awesome. It's weird. What part of it's weird?
00:07:21
Speaker
I don't know. I just feel too chaotic and whatever to be granted an invitation to what chaos is your natural state. I feel like I don't belong in, in that, uh, in the, the high regard of Jeff Keeley and his, his prestigious. I should be careful with what I say. I'll just spill ice cream everywhere. Specifically ice cream.
00:07:48
Speaker
But yeah, I planning on, um, I'm gonna bring my laptop with me. I'm going to plan on just knocking out some quick like review, uh, previews. Sorry. Um, try to talk some of the devs and bring some production equipment with me. So stay tuned to the site. I'm a, we'll try to get some stuff going. Um, speaking at indie council, we're planning on doing an in-person podcast as well. Um, not like
00:08:09
Speaker
something people could attend or anything, just like us together in a room in person doing a podcast. So good times. Also some other potential cool news that I not confirmed yet, but hopefully in the coming weeks, I'll be able to share something else. All right. Kyle, it's what I DM you this morning. Okay. Anyways.

Industry Layoffs and Studio Closures

00:08:31
Speaker
Tonight, I want to talk about, and there's no great way to transition from us just messing around a little bit there. I want to talk about role seven and intercept games. Of course, news broke this week that take two is reportedly shutting down the two studios, private divisions suffering from layoffs. I'm going to take this from games industry.biz. This is James bachelor reporting on the Bloomberg news, the Bloomberg report.
00:09:01
Speaker
Bloomberg has seen internal documentation that reveals that UK developer Roll7, known for the Ali Ali series and Rollerdrome, is planned for closure with the publisher working on the severance agreements for the affected staff. The documents also plans to close Intercept Games, the Seattle-based studio behind Kerbal Space Program.
00:09:19
Speaker
Yesterday, games.biz reported on a warrant notice filed in Washington state revealing that a Take-Two owned Seattle office will close this June and affecting 70 employees. Bloomberg noted that this is approximately the same number of staff who worked at Intercept Games. Both studios are a part of Private Division, Take-Two's label for publishing indie games. The label formed Intercept Games in 2020 after taking over development of Kerbal Space Program 2 and acquired Role 7 in 2021.
00:09:48
Speaker
Of course, you go over to gamesindustry.biz to check out that full article. I guess you can also head over to Bloomberg if you have a subscription to Bloomberg to check out Jason Schreyer's report. Horrific stuff. I hate that we keep on talking about this. On the latest indie council, this is a big topic of discussion. Of course, just letting out our frustrations, obviously, of the situation.
00:10:14
Speaker
Instead of kind of treading that same water tonight, of course, I want to give you both the platform to say, which say your thoughts or express your feelings about this news. But what I really want to do tonight is reflect on those games that we do love so much. But before we get to that, Matt, I know you have some stuff to say, so I give you the floor first.

Kerbal Space Program's Unique Legacy

00:10:37
Speaker
Yeah. So I never actually played Cripple Space Program 2, which I only just now realize it is a different developer than Cripple Space Program 1. But still, other than those two games, there's no other space simulator like that out there. It was really like a physics playground. And speaking about
00:11:02
Speaker
The first game, I bought that all the way back in 2013, and it's one of those games that kind of took over YouTube. A lot of YouTubers were doing that, but it was also one of those rare games where it's single player, but if you're playing at the same time with other people and kind of doing your own space race kind of thing, it was a blast.
00:11:21
Speaker
Um, so to see kind of like, uh, take to, you know, purchase an IP and then kind of, you know, decide, Hey, that's, that's all for you. And we own it now it's, it sucks. Yeah. Yeah. Um, going to the Kerbal space program to.
00:11:43
Speaker
page, uh, the steam page, uh, it is currently out in early access. And even as soon as of, uh, what was it? April 25th, there was like a development update from the creative director, like talking about some stuff coming up and, and, um, just laying out the future plans for early access on the, on the road to 1.0. Uh, it is.
00:12:04
Speaker
With this context, it's weird seeing that and like heartbreaking this, like, unfortunately it's not the first time we've seen a studio get laid off in the middle of an early access cycle or in the middle of a development cycle, obviously, but it's strange because as soon as you go to the steam page, the most obvious thing at the moment, uh, recent reviews, mostly negative 535 reviews and all those nothing to do with the game. It's all warning people don't buy this game. The entire studio was just laid off.
00:12:32
Speaker
Yeah. And I, I forget where I did see a note somewhere that take two said that development will continue on Kerbal space program too. But like at this, you're not supporting the people who started that game. If you're buying it now, that's something I got brought up on the council last night. Like, is it really that
00:12:55
Speaker
much more financially sound to put a skeleton crew on a project versus just keeping them, keeping the team active through this development cycle. Like it's just backwards as decisions. And just real quick, Matt, I want to just point out something you said in our community discord, like
00:13:14
Speaker
you know, we want, you know, you would love to see the, uh, the reasoning behind this decision and the, and the documents because GTA online is just printing money and the, the takes you CEO. I think last year we looked it up. His salary was 70 mil or something. And it's like not including bonuses, stock options, et cetera, et cetera. Uh, but yeah, Kyle, go. Yeah, no, I was going to just add to that point directly of this is even weirder when you really sit down and think about,
00:13:44
Speaker
GTA six is next year. Yeah, that's going to print money. And the fact that you can't keep intercept and roll seven who, by the way, just won a BAFTA recently for rolling drum, an award winning studio that makes nothing but bangers, my opinion. And you just are going to shut them down for.
00:14:07
Speaker
What reason is any reasons? Yeah, like where where I we all know like you're not hurting for it. And and it's just I don't know. There's been a lot of really weird decisions going. Oh, going around on this topic of layoffs or whatever and people who are losing their jobs on Indies and triple A's and all in between. It's.
00:14:38
Speaker
It's mind numbing at this point. Like I know I keep saying that every time it happens, but it just, I wish there was a better answer to what we have to give and there is none. Without, without doing the thing and doing the rant, it's a, it's macro economic slate stage capitalism. That's what all this is. Yeah.
00:15:00
Speaker
And even just to obviously, I don't want to, you know, a lot of is on the development side, but also we've seen on the media side as well. And community management side, like all facets of the industry have been just affected. I was really hoping when, um, when we filmed the last showcase and we, we had our closing bit and I had my little, I said, my peace of mind of like, we got to protect our own and it's like support one another. I was really hoping that would be all at a date at this point.
00:15:29
Speaker
It's not, and it blows real bad, but yeah, but I will. Yeah. I want to talk about the games because again, the Kyle, like you said,
00:15:44
Speaker
both studios put out nothing but bangers. Um, I would like to start with Matt cause personally, and I think I can speak for Kyle also, I don't have experienced the Kerbal space program. I know I understand different studios, but still the IP. So it's still like Kerbal space program always felt like one of those IP that are one of those staple names in, in indies and in games. So like still, despite it being a different studio, it feels
00:16:10
Speaker
shitty that it's, that's just probably going to go away. Like I'm, I'd imagine like they're just going to ship 1.0 at some point just to tie up loose ends and call it a day. Yeah. So I would love to hear just like your thoughts on Kerbal space program and like your experience in history with the, with the game.
00:16:28
Speaker
Yeah, bought it 2013. Used to play with a bunch of, funnily enough, we were called Kotakuites. It was a group for people who write Kotaku on Steam. And we did this whole thing where I think like six, eight, 10 of us bought the game and we were just doing a space race. If you've ever played that game, your first like five, seven, 10 builds of rockets are just going to be disasters.
00:16:54
Speaker
because if you don't know Kerbal Space Program, you're able to design your own rocket with the goal of whatever you want it to be, at least to begin with. There was later modes that came out that had missions and stuff like that, but originally it was just a sandbox where you had access to rockets, fuel, different sections of spaceship. So if you wanted to do science research, all that jazz,
00:17:19
Speaker
it was your playground to play in. And just someone most fun was just making a disaster. Seeing your rocket explode spectacularly in the entire time, if you're not familiar in the lower right hand corner, you can see a Kerbal's face as they're in the pilot seat of this spaceship and the sheer terror on their face when that ship's on fire and then just gone.
00:17:49
Speaker
But yeah, whatever the few times I watched like you, like you mentioned, it was huge on YouTube and watching YouTubers play it is that charming nature of it, of seeing the little curvil in the lower corner as they're experiencing
00:18:05
Speaker
terrible tragedies to their spaceship. It's, it's such a fun game. It's a, it's a very complex mechanic game. Like mechanically in physics, like you, you got to know kind of what you're doing, but failing and not knowing is most of the fun from the outside looking in and we need more of those games.
00:18:28
Speaker
and there's like a, there's fun and failing and yeah, Kerbal, Kerbal is definitely legendary for that for sure. Yeah. Like even thinking about that, I feel like what there's like, there's things like getting over it that are sort of physics space, but like that's more of a puzzler. Like that's not really a
00:18:49
Speaker
a fuck around and find out kind of like herbal is. Yeah. It's rare. Is that the sledgehammer one? Yeah. That's, that's more on the frustrating ends than like having fun. Kind of thing on the similar vein. Like we have baby steps from Ben coming out too, which is going to be that same, or even someone like Octo dad, like there is like the hilarity in the physics, but like, yes, like frustration comes out of there where
00:19:14
Speaker
Kerbal very much encourages experimentation and it encourages you to fail. Like it, whether it's the intention or not, there is something really beautiful and sincere about a game teaching you that it's okay to fail. Like make your mistakes. That's what this platform was for. And figuring it out on your own, take her out on your own. Like, am I reading too much into it? Who knows? Maybe like that is
00:19:38
Speaker
part of the design philosophy of that game. I would love to see those early design docs to see if like any of that conversation was in there, but yeah, it's, I, I mean, I'm, I must be blanking on something, but I feel like there's not really anything that has that, um,
00:19:54
Speaker
recognition, that impact, that overall community love that Kerbal has in the genre. There's, there's, uh, what was it? Like bridge simulator? Sure. Like on a different scale. Sure. That is like, yeah, you're going to fail a lot when building these things, but the addition of the Kerbal characters, I think is what makes it stand out. Yeah, it has personality. Yes.
00:20:22
Speaker
Um, so Canada did write it into the discord, which, uh, Hey, go to six one, indy.com, join the discord and hang out with a bunch of wonderful folks. Um,
00:20:32
Speaker
So yeah, so kind of wrote a haven't played Ollie Ollie. We'll get to that. So kind of you need to play Ollie Ollie, but kernel space program. I did and letting go people and letting go people so good in writing. Oh, oh, gotcha. Okay. Letting go people so good in writing the humor. The physics design is so short sighted. I don't even know what to say. I hope that people could bounce back and get snatched by other studios. They deserve it. Yeah. Madam. Again, as somebody who hasn't.
00:20:59
Speaker
played it firsthand, but I recognize the charm, the humor, like that's also a big part of it. I'd imagine even in the moment to moment gameplay.
00:21:07
Speaker
Like, yeah, it's it's the only game that encapsulates what like early rocket building was that it doesn't really show like even and even in my room, but like I love like space rockets and all that stuff. And like a lot of that early, even till this day was failure. Like you don't know until you fucking try it. Like all of its theoretical until you try and sometimes it might work for no reason when it doesn't work another time. Like
00:21:38
Speaker
It's volatile stuff, but sometimes it works and it's beautiful when it does like seeing your rocket get out of orbit and so you're letting go of your boosters and seeing it do like that spiraling dance in space because your rocket's not just going straight like it's still like spinning on an axis. It's beautiful. And there's nothing else like that out there. Yeah.
00:22:02
Speaker
how what is the farthest you got in Kerbal like how far in moon deep into you got to the moon okay i'm curious like how far does it go like can you there's a solar system yeah sweet that's awesome it's wild that's really really when when did Kerbal like the first one launch i feel like it's been early access 2011 2012
00:22:25
Speaker
Wow. Yeah. That too. It's like, it's seriously like there's a lot of times we talk about like the OGs in the indie space. Like of course you're, you know, you're meat boys and the other one we don't talk about anymore. Cause the June 24th, 2011. Yep. Yeah. Like you don't really, I guess like Kerbal that really comes up in the conversation, but they, they really are one of the OGs along with like, you know, meat boy and FES and plus
00:22:51
Speaker
It was just for all the nerds on PC. Yeah. And like for a long time. The nerds need something, man. Yeah. I kind of want to go back and mess around with it. I'm sure like, yeah, we should maybe like do a stream or something with it. That'd be a fun space race. Yeah. That'd be cool. Yeah. Well, we'll pencil that

Roll7's Impact with the Ollie Ollie Series

00:23:11
Speaker
in. Yeah. I know. I'm going to get so frustrated so quickly.
00:23:16
Speaker
Oh, I haven't played it in years. So I'll be, it's, it's fun. There's fun in the frustration. Sure. Yeah, sure. Cause it's like, Oh, miserably with a group also. I'm sure it's a blast. Any final words on, on Kerbal for now until something else pops up. All I'll say is I hope the team lands on their feet. I know Seattle, Portland area, like there's a good amount of small indie studios and other work too, if they need it. So I hope they're all doing okay.
00:23:45
Speaker
Yeah, same best wishes. Of course. Yeah. Let's roll. Let's roll on to roll seven.
00:23:54
Speaker
Not the strongest, but I'll take it. Thank you. So think about going to the Stone Age. Are you having fun here? At any point he's could just be gone. When they, when you guys blip out on my screen for everybody, it's just going to come back and no one's in Mike seat. And he's just spinning. Exactly.
00:24:25
Speaker
Let's talk about role seven. And of course I think it's important to start from at least our entry point into role seven. I, does anybody know off the top of their minds? Was Ollie Ollie their first game? That's a good question that I totally should have researched for me. That was the first one. What happened? I can't hear either of you anymore. What happened?
00:24:52
Speaker
Oh no. Can you hear me? I hear Matt. I can't hear Mike. Mike, did you mute? It's cause I accidentally muted myself. Jesus Christ. Don't do that to me. Oh Christ. What are you talking about, Kyle? What's going on? What did you do? Oh man. Yeah.
00:25:11
Speaker
Olly Olly was the introduction to the studio for I feel like a lot of folks and whether it was the first game or not, like that's what really good roles is. Yeah. Eighth. Yeah. They had a bunch beforehand. We could we run through their lineage before Olly Olly. Yeah. Do you have it up, Matt? You want to go for it? I do. Yeah. So when there's only two thousand nine or sorry, two thousand eight dead ends in two thousand nine, they release invaders, reloaded and thinky thunky party. It's a great also. Yeah.
00:25:40
Speaker
Also on Mac and Windows in 2010, Zombie Pop and Man Period Up in 2011, Focus Pocus 2012 gets to the exit and then Oli Oli was in 2013. Which is, that makes sense because it's their first console game. That's why I got familiar with them with Oli Oli. That's fascinating. Wow. And published by Devolver. I did not realize that. Yeah, it was originally a Devolver joint.
00:26:10
Speaker
Oh yeah. Yeah. I forgot. They also did not a hero, not a hero is great. That's fantastic, dude. That was one. I think I got with my Nintendo switch when I got my switch and I just, I'd never really dove into it. Yeah. It's a good time. It's just a 2d running gun. It's really great. Yeah. I always forget that they did like, I, of course, like I feel like
00:26:39
Speaker
role seven nowadays, at least for me personally, like they are not, I don't mean for this to sound as a knock. They're, they're the other skateboarding game. Like they're the other company that does skateboarding correctly. Like no joke. I put all the Ali one, all the Ali two and all the Ali world.
00:26:59
Speaker
as the third pillar right next to Tony, our prosecutor and the skate series. Like I don't think anybody else has done it right. Shut up. But even beyond that, like I totally forgot they did not a hero. I totally forgot they did laser league. Yeah, exactly. I was just going to bring that up. I totally forgot about that game and which like that had its moment like that had like, you know, I, it was nominated for like dice awards and stuff like that. I remember that.
00:27:29
Speaker
And of course, the biggest and the latest being rollerdrome, which by the way, wild that they launch all the other world and rollerdrome in the same year. Yeah. For whatever reason, I didn't realize that or I don't have that memory. I close the page. Wasn't it months apart too? Possibly. Let's say I'll pull them over. Oh, okay. So it's like half a year.
00:27:51
Speaker
Ollie Ollie World's February. Yeah. And then roller-drome August. I had roller-drome in May for some reason, but it's still wild that they got both of them out in the same year and they're both such high quality games as bad as I was with roller-drome. What a kick-ass concept man. That game is so cool. And for 55 employees as of 2023. Yeah, that's insane. That's nuts, man. What a talented goddamn studio. Kyle, what's your history with Ollie Ollie?
00:28:21
Speaker
I got the first game on my Vita and that was why I asked you my friend. That was my go-to like I'm waiting at the car dealership for my car to be done like oil change or get fixed whatever and I am sitting in the waiting room playing ollie ollie and getting
00:28:40
Speaker
not frustrated, it's not the right word, but like upset at myself because I'm the one screwing up the skating moves because it is such a complex system to learn because yeah, I was just so used to Tony Hawk and Ollie Ollie Rope having to use the thumbsticks to actually do the maneuvers because I'm not a big escape player. I think I'm barely touched that game. So that style of doing the tricks and whatnot, it was new to me and I instantly fell in love with it because you are so
00:29:10
Speaker
You're like laser focused in it. Yeah. And that was a game in the life cycle of me playing the Vita, which it's been maybe a year plus since I've touched it. That is I would always boot it up and do another run here or there. Same thing with the second one. And then when world came out two years ago at this point. Yes. Like I adore world. Yeah.
00:29:39
Speaker
the what they added to that formula with the the reverb send the verticality in the levels and whatnot.

Ollie Ollie World: Innovation and Design

00:29:46
Speaker
It's just like the depth of levels. Yeah. Oh my God. They just got it. Yeah. As a big skate player EA skate fan like to the point where like by the time we got to skate to that
00:30:02
Speaker
as wild as this might say might sound. I like ski to securely planted my love for that game over Tony Hawk adore Tony Hawk, Tony Hawk's incredible though, especially the first four games on the ground. Amazing. But I love the thumbstick mechanic and the way that roll seven was able to adapt that into a 2d platformer formula
00:30:25
Speaker
I felt was so brilliant because it so easily could have been botched. I don't understand how it was executed so elegantly, if we could put it like that. It just felt impactful. It felt right. It felt smooth. When you nail a trick with the sticks,
00:30:45
Speaker
it made sense like it triggered in your brain like yes, I know I nailed that trick. I know I nailed the perfect landing. I know I nailed the perfect grind and it's really hard to really execute feel in that way, especially in a 2d platform or that a 2d sports platformer and just said that like the perfect landing perfect ground or whatever when you have a perfect run one giant combo nothing better feeling in the nothing better because you earn that.
00:31:13
Speaker
You earn that combo from start to finish on every single level, because it is so knowing where the tricks are, where they're throwing obstacles in your way to kind of throw you off and just avoiding them perfectly and landing those perfect landings into manuals and then grinds. And it feels so good. To this day, the first game still feels incredible. Oh, yeah. It's one of those games that just comes down to game design and the talent of the studio.
00:31:44
Speaker
You know, I feel like there's a lot of times the conversation of something feels dated comes up, not, you know, sometimes we bring it up here, but like, it's kind of rare in the indie space. I feel like, um, well, like that is a genuine conversation of like, you know, you go back to, I think a great example is like now that fallout is back in the zeitgeist, like people going back to fallout three vault new Vegas. And like, there's like the critique of like, I, well, it doesn't feel as good anymore. Just jump at the fall off or whatever it may be. Matt, just for the sake of argument, don't want to get into it.
00:32:12
Speaker
But I feel like because of how eloquent the design of Bali Ali is and just the snappiness, the fluidity that impacts, it's going to be one of those games that are timeless. It's going to be, again, this might sound hyperbolic. It is akin to like Mario, like Mario feels timeless. And that's because of the design aesthetic of that game.
00:32:34
Speaker
Um, and, and it takes a really profound and talented studio to nail something like that, that you could go back to in five, 10, 20 years and still feel that same sensation you did on launch day. And it's, this is, um, of course all the layoffs hurt, especially, um, the ones that do hit close to home. Like when, when it comes to like, we have friends or colleagues that we know of that may have been impacted, um, as a fan, this one.
00:33:03
Speaker
really fucking hurts. Cause yeah, they're, they're an all timer, man. It fucking sucks. Also just to the genre of game it is we're like the extreme sports game genre is
00:33:17
Speaker
Slowly going away and the end and having a studio that does it so right? Yeah being shut down. That is a huge hole in an already thinning genre Yeah, I I to think that kids these days man, I've just dated myself Don't understand how good we had it back in the day with the Tony Hawks and the SS X's and The aggressive in lines will throw the pressures in there, you know
00:33:47
Speaker
The other studio, man, same studio, two extreme or three extreme, whatever that PS one game was. And no, don't talk about them. I had a great time. I didn't know any better games game where you could play as a in three extreme. Yeah.
00:34:05
Speaker
Like they don't understand just how good we had it with the extreme, you know, sports genre. And it's becoming like a white whale. Now when we get one, we all flock to it and fingers crossed that it's good. And yeah, these guys did it extremely well. And now who knows when the next one we get.
00:34:26
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, the only one I can think of on the horizon is slope crashers, which is carrying that spirit of SSX. Same thing with them. And I'm blanking on the name. I try to remember it before I brought up that point. We just started off in the showcase, the rogue light skateboarding game. Oh, hellscape hellscape. Like there are some, but pure extreme sports like Ali Ali world and what role seven did is I don't know. Diamond doesn't. Yeah.
00:34:54
Speaker
Yeah. Um, before we move on to the next game, um, I do want to shout out all the early worlds, uh, for steam. It's currently $8 and 50 cents on game billet. So if you haven't played all the other world and you have a PC, if you have a steam deck, it's verified on steam deck. Do yourselves a favor and grab it. I'm just to have it on steam deck. I might double dip on it just cause I
00:35:16
Speaker
I would like that game handhelds. Yeah. Do yourselves a favor. Play those games. All three, all that the Ollie Ollie trilogy is incredible. World is arguably probably the best one just cause of that, the extra maneuvering, the, the extra depth, a lot of the accessibility options that are in that game. Fantastic stuff. The personality also of that game. So that's, I, I do want to keep touching on like a little bit with Ollie Ollie.
00:35:42
Speaker
one and two very similar games. Like two was very much just an evolution of what one was doing still 2d pixel art platforming, skating, and just some extra moves, extra flair, extra aesthetic. But world really like, I remember the first time we saw world. Yeah. I feel like it was at like a Mindy's or like a Nintendo indie world, whatever it was at that point. And
00:36:05
Speaker
They didn't show the name right away. Like it was one of those trailers and like, they kept it like guarded for a couple. And I think we all were all on that library act. Um, and we all had that same inkling of like, is this only Ollie, but like, no way in hell it could be Ollie Ollie. Cause it looked so damn good. And like, it looked like such a significant step above what they did previously. And when that name card dropped and mind blowing,
00:36:33
Speaker
Like we, I, I personally could not believe that's something we got. Now I remember it's the same Nintendo direct or the same indie direct. We got oxen free too. Cause I remember the thumbnail or the episode title for that was all the oxen free. That's why everybody had that fucking same idea for the name. I remember that being like that week's like headline. Yeah. Like a world is just, it's again, just the talent of that studio. It's just incredible what they were able to do.
00:37:00
Speaker
And I just also want to shout out if you want to hear us talk about all the other worlds, the moment we were playing it, there is a video of review and progress that we recorded of, I got to play it early and, and, and just gush about it in real time back then. And so more in depth, all the other world, there is a video on YouTube for you to check out. I think we were so in love with it. Um, it was the first time we did like a standalone review video. Yeah.
00:37:25
Speaker
that was like not part of an indie cast. Like that, that's what started us doing like the offshoot episodes whenever there was like a game that we really loved under embargo. Yeah. Just like the impact that this game had on us.
00:37:34
Speaker
am I just going to go play Ollie Ollie world tonight? Cause I'm just remembering the same. I'm hovering over at the car on PC. I know I have it on the switch, like all the different biomes and different styles and the different skating gods that you were going through. Yes. I was just going to say that.
00:37:56
Speaker
Oh, I loved how they we mentioned briefly like instead of the 2d plane being able to switch in the background in the foreground and find the hidden paths. Yeah. Oh my God. There was it's and like promoting
00:38:13
Speaker
different pathways for you to go through different. Yeah. Every single level you go like, okay, let me see what's going on instead of going down. And sometimes there's a little like it's like the simple, not simple. I don't mean to like boil any game that does this down to like simple, but like it does check boxing so well. Like it sets a goal structure that helps encourage the player
00:38:34
Speaker
to try new things, to try different things, to experiments like similar with Kerbal. That's like, whenever a game has like a trophy system or an achievement system that supports directly supports the gameplay. Like that's how you're supposed to treat those kinds of games or treat those kinds of systems. Like whenever like a platinum trophy encourages the player to just go out of the box a little bit, like all the other worlds and the first two games, but particularly world did it so damn well.
00:39:03
Speaker
Matt, you can look and see if you own it on PC. I thought it was part of a humble choice one month. And I thought it was. I remember cause again, that was a reason I almost joined humble choice, which is wild. But yeah, if you haven't owned it and you have a PC, like please a game bullet or if you go to a warrior 64 Twitter, you can find that direct link. By the time you're listening to us, it's probably still on sale. It's

Rollerdrome: A Unique Rollerblading Experience

00:39:30
Speaker
It had, I mean, it's worth the $30, but yeah, it did. I never played the expansion. I only know PlayStation. I never played it. Yeah. I very much want to play this game handheld on deck. Of course, the same year rollers room.
00:39:50
Speaker
Yeah, tell me about it. Sorry. I was just thinking back of how bad I was at that game because I'm terrible. I mean, if you're not familiar, it's a third person action shooter, but you are rollerblading and it's a weird reality game show thing where like you were, I believe you're taking on robots.
00:40:13
Speaker
as enemies. Um, yeah. And you do tricks to refill your ammo and, and, um, reload and whatnot and dodging and shooting at the same time and doing tricks. Like there's a lot going on, but again, they, they, they take what they've learned from Ollie Ollie world and they put it in here and
00:40:35
Speaker
not being on a 2d plane either. Like it was full 3d moving around a giant map and hopping over gaps. And again, a lot going on real bad in this video game, but it is stylish as all hell. Yeah. Yeah. For the first four way into a 3d extreme sports, man, what a first entry like
00:40:55
Speaker
This is the game we were referring to. Like it won BAFTAs. It like was critically acclaimed the whole nine yards. But despite all that, of course, like there was that tweet going around from one of the BAFTA committee members. And it's like, again, utterly fucking heartbreaking.
00:41:10
Speaker
Man, Rollerdrome is like similar to what we say about Umarangi Generation. Rollerdrome is one of the most punk rock games ever made. It's just so gnarly. It is the definition of a video game that shreds. And I love that they took a more fantastical route of, like you were saying, the reality TV show of following this unnamed protagonist around who is just making their way through this tournament and just trying to survive.
00:41:38
Speaker
I was also awful at the game. I, it takes a hefty amount of coordination. That being said, though, when things click and again, it goes back to the root of design ethics and just how you build the core theme of a video game, man, when that shit clicks, it clicks. It feels phenomenal.
00:42:01
Speaker
This dystopian world in rollerdrome takes place in 2030 or six years away from this future. I also like the fact that like it's a rollerblading game. How, when, when was the last time we got a rollerblading game? Yeah, it's, it's, it's a lost art. Like Matt, if you are able to tell me something aside from aggressive in line right now, I mean, we, we got one last year. That's what I'm thinking.
00:42:29
Speaker
But before. Bomb rush separate. Oh, oh, oh, sure. I. Sure, that's fair. I mean, I guess more grounded to some extent. I know that's stretching it a little bit with roller drum, but yeah, before that, yeah, definitely like aggressive in line or jet set radio future was the latest. Yeah. Man, it's just like.
00:42:58
Speaker
They're one of those studios that like after roller drone, I was thinking like, man, what were they cooking? What was the last time I watched roller ball 2001? Thank you for pointing that out. I was trying to think of like, what was that? I was trying to think, what was the name of that fucking movie? That's literally the plot of roller drone. I've never seen the original, but yeah, I've seen that remake. Oh yeah. I've seen it. I saw that in theaters.
00:43:23
Speaker
Yeah. Same here. Who's in that? It's like, it was like Courtney Cox or Nev Campbell's. I feel like one of the screen. It's a, it's the dude who plays the jock in American pie. Okay. Yeah. Is it LL cool? Yeah. I was going to say, isn't it LL cool J and that what's it called? Roller ball. It's a Chris Klein. Chris. John Reno, LL cool J Rebecca remain. Rebecca remain.
00:43:51
Speaker
Yeah, look at these outfits. What a movie. This was also back in the time with TNN would have just roller derby on or spy TV whenever it was prior. And I'd be being like, what is this? This looks freaking cool. And then it was followed up by like slam ball during a slam ball.
00:44:11
Speaker
Oh, slam. God damn right. I do. Yeah. Also game belt. They also have the rat edition for 1277. Oh, perfect. And that, that gives you the expansions. Oh my God. Yeah. Spend the extra $3. Like, come on for $4. I can't math. Whatever man. What is it? A 3.1 out of 10 on IMDB.
00:44:36
Speaker
I've heard 2002 film. Uh, I'm going to read the plot synopsis, the one line that IMDB has. So 2002 film, the big thing in 2005 is a violent sport, which can have some pretty serious consequences, dot, dot, dot, like dying.
00:44:56
Speaker
whoa, it's a, it's a cheesy F the establishment movie. Like, yeah, well listen, it did the job, you know, whatever. Yeah. It got Mike in the theater. It got my ass in the theater. Listen, this is around the time where I was, I went to go see a man, not the, the motorbike version of triple X. What was that called?
00:45:19
Speaker
It was a different franchise, but I think it was sort of related to triple X, but I thought triple X had a motorbike. Did he jump a prison fence? Yeah. But like, I think this studio saw that triple X is doing that thing. And then they made a motorbike version of it. I think ice cube was in it. I understand. Ice cube was in any of the states. I know, I know, but it's not, it's not, I promise you.
00:45:48
Speaker
Is it not just the return of Xander cage? No, it's a different, it's not triple X motor bike, triple X. No, don't do that. There's a lot of don't film stuff. We all made the same mistake.
00:46:10
Speaker
motorbike, Kyle. Why look this up? Can you tell me what's happening this weekend, Indy? Busy week everybody. So strap in on Monday, May 6th, torque, torque. Oh, I didn't realize that as a triple X movie. I thought that was a fast and furious movie. So I think it's like a, it's a ripoff of triple X. Like I think they tried their best to like associate it with triple X. So is it like biker boys or is that more like fast and furious?
00:46:39
Speaker
I don't know. I don't think I've ever, I've never seen biker boys. Shit. Y'all torque is playing at the Alamo draft house. Raleigh on Wednesday, June 12th and 35 mill. I might. That's what are the fucking chances.
00:47:09
Speaker
biker boys next week. After that, I also just would like to know that, uh, that is another, uh, entry in favorite mic moments of all time of him just yelling torque into his bike. Ice cube was in it. That's not a triple X.
00:47:32
Speaker
I need, I need to dig into this triple triple X lore. Please tell me what's happening this weekend. May six, six one showcase alum plushy from the sky releases on PC. Play as a little angel who fell down from the sky and is finding her way home. Embark on a dreamy action adventure. As you soar across the sky and explore the mystery of a fancy world, fight your way through wacky and corrupted monsters with their close and far range combat abilities. The bosses will be challenging despite the charming part of the game.
00:48:00
Speaker
Players might fail during the initial attempts, learn their attack patterns, and find ways to overcome them. This game also focuses a lot on world-time dodge, block, and parry abilities. There will be many scenarios that one will suit better than the others. I'm reading this from release.com, so it's not a steam summary.
00:48:16
Speaker
Forgive me. Two things. I'm going to put the pause on you because a torque and say the union, not any of the state state of the union, not related ice cubes character in torque is Trey and stay of the union. It's a Darius stone.
00:48:34
Speaker
I got so flustered by this torque stuff. I forgot that we have a couple of notes in the discord regarding Ollie Ollie. Oh, okay. Backtrack for a second.
00:48:48
Speaker
I love doing this podcast. Nicholas Johnson writes, thanks to Kyle raving about Ali Ali world. I gave the game a shot and fell in love between the gameplay, the aesthetic, the music, and the vibes. This game gave, gave me the nostalgia and love I had for video games, especially skateboarding games. The studio did something amazing and I'm hoping the teams get to show off at the next place as a question for this. What studios would you like to see these teams go to create, to go to and create another game? What kind of game would you want to see from them?
00:49:18
Speaker
Honestly, I kind of hope I kind of hope they try to reform and just do more extreme sports. Yep. Do the do the thing that I've I've been screaming from the rooftops whenever I can is bring back the error of like EA big and just do extreme sports. Well, and that's your bread and butter and let's just keep eating with those kind of entries because that's what I that's what I miss so much.
00:49:48
Speaker
It's just that arcade style kind of racing on a snowboard or doing combos on a skateboard. And granted, we have the Tony Hawk remake, which is fantastic. Yeah, nothing against it. And we have we have Ali Ali where I'm like, but true sportsmen and that Ubi game, I didn't really put a whole lot into. So I don't know if it's good or not. It was OK. Yeah, they're writers in public. I think it was called and then steep. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So.
00:50:16
Speaker
But that, that they all come together and reform EA big. There was also shredders, which shredders didn't really hit for me too much either.
00:50:29
Speaker
Honestly, like the dream and like, you know, never say never who the fuck knows what the conversations are behind the scenes. I would love to see Devolver go back to them and be like, Hey, we'll have to make you an offer for whatever you have cooking. Cause clearly they're, they've been working on something for the past two years. So like I would, in my heart of hearts, I would love to hear Devolver reach out to them and I would scoop that and then intercept, you know, sure. Yeah.
00:50:57
Speaker
I think I will fit stuff over extremely well as two. Yeah. Yeah. And then Adam Gombe Ali Ali Ali world made my shortlist for game of the year. The year came out such a fun, colorful, amazing game that always had me wanting the perfect one more level over and over. Very few skating games gripped me like that one did that too. It was very approachable. Like there was nothing really like it or there is nothing really like it. I'm not trying to put it like past tense. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:51:24
Speaker
Uh, but you know, for those who feel the fast and the furious movies have only gotten better as they've gotten more and more ridiculous. Take a look back at 2004 and see that Joseph Kahn and his team beat that franchise to the NAS injected punch. Kyle, continue with this weekend.
00:51:44
Speaker
Tork, Tork, Tork, Tuesday, May 7th, coming to PC, heading out, heading out, redefines the essence of journey over destination and an immersive driving game, deeply inspired by iconic road movies, embark on an emotional voyage across American highways, seeking escape and self-discovery. Your driver's fears, dreams, ambitions, and choices shape each unique adventure, blending races, chases, and encounters with vivid characters.
00:52:14
Speaker
That's on Tuesday, the seventh, and then buckle up everybody. Here comes main knife, get your wallets ready. Set time. Oh, nevermind.
00:52:25
Speaker
What do you continue? It got pushed. It delayed ventures of the vial got pushed. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Rainbow Cotton comes to PC PS four and five switch Xbox one and Series X Cotton the iconic which makes a dazzling return now. I met reimagined in 3d experience the charm of this once Japan exclusive cute them up classic now re conjured for a global audience. Nice.
00:52:52
Speaker
Uh, this one just said name alone. I have no idea if this is like a well-known game, but it sounds cool. Brokula embark on an Epic journey is Brokula, a vampire awoken from a 500 year slumber in a world unrecognizable team stripped of his wealth. He must navigate the daunting maze of capitalism.
00:53:11
Speaker
taking on part-time jobs at the local garage, coffee shop, and restaurant to earn a meager living. But that's not all. His ancestral castle now in ruins poses another challenge. Work tirelessly to repair the dilapidated fortress, all while facing the bureaucratic hurdles of reclaiming its ownership from the town's mayor. PCX1 Series X.
00:53:34
Speaker
It's also part of the Xbox, sorry, the idea Xbox developer acceleration program that we talked about last year. Yeah. Very cool. Yeah. I didn't hear about it. I was like, Oh, Brokula. Absolutely. Let me see what this is all about. Sounds cool. Yeah. Also, there's a demo on Steam. If you want to check it out. Very cool.
00:53:53
Speaker
Also on Thursday, May 9th, the vampire survivors operations guns, uh, expansion contra contra. Yeah, we could just, yeah, that's all I was going to do. Little kitty big city also comes out in May 9th. Uh, pretty much everywhere. PC PS four or five switch, Xbox consoles. Will you make your way home or will you explore what the big city has to offer first? I mean, getting home is obviously your main priority. Obviously
00:54:17
Speaker
Well, it's one of your priorities. Maybe more of a guideline. It's definitely on your to-do list somewhere. But first exploration, your cat and big city. Have fun. Oh, wait. That didn't get updated. By the time you're listening to this, it's already out. Nevermind. Also Thursday, May 9th, crow country comes out on PC, PS five and X series X.
00:54:41
Speaker
dive into a survival horror adventure characterized by dense atmosphere, a palpable sense of location, a tight knit yet unforgettable group of characters, purposeful exploration, captivating puzzles, and above all a mesmerizing fusion of tension and serenity. That is a long sentence.
00:55:00
Speaker
Edward Crow, the proprietor of Crow Country, a quaint theme park nestled in the rural fringes of Atlanta, Georgia, has vanished. His absence grew more mysterious after the sudden closure of his park two years prior. The stillness is pierced when an enigmatic young woman, Mara Forrest, embarks on a journey to the heart of the desolate amusement park driven to uncover his whereabouts. I'm going to stop you there. Bye.
00:55:28
Speaker
It's just releases.com. Their descriptions are just like wild. We just know that was the end of it. I was moving on. I'm sorry. That's why the indie council is sorry. What did you say? You know what? Breaking news. I got an email about May 9th. Yeah.
00:55:58
Speaker
Oh, did you bloodstain ritual a night update one point five with cosmetic DLC packs, chaos mode and versus mode is dropping May 9th. Oh, OK. I think it may not be related. Just like the like, I feel like we had like subtle disappointment in our voices. I still play the game after, you know, being so disappointed with the switch. Yeah. Yeah.
00:56:30
Speaker
corporate nation comes to consoles on May 9th for the six one showcase. I you know it collection showcase also May 9th Thursday animal well comes to PC PS 5 and switch is it coming to switch this releases drunk. I did not know that.
00:56:49
Speaker
I thought it was. Okay. I could be wrong. Apparently hatch from your flower and spelunk through the beautiful and sometimes haunting world of animal. Well, a pixelated wonder rendered in intricate audio and visual detail encounter lively creatures, small and large, helpful and ominous. As you discover unconventional upgrades and unravel the well secrets. Very excited for Adam oil. And then finally, also may 9th, Crip master.
00:57:17
Speaker
which you see the showcase, you know what it is. I won't get into the summary.
00:57:22
Speaker
not finally though. Also a thousand time resist, which Matt played PC switch, delve into a hyper cinematic adventure. You are a clone. You live at the world's end. You worship the last surviving human, the all mother, when a dangerous rumor shatters your faith. You phase through time and memory to expose a thousand year old lie, relive, reclaim, resist, don't fucking tagline. Holy shit. I can't wait to play the full game.
00:57:47
Speaker
And then gift comes to switch PC, PlayStation five series X when a protagonist, well, when the, not just when the protagonist, when the protagonist wakes up, he finds himself on a luxury cruise ship. The game revolves around the story of his attempts to escape from the sinking ship and a group of passengers. He feels nostalgic about, I know Becca is very much excited about this game as well. And of course the Pac-Man game, the Pac-Man battle royal.
00:58:31
Speaker
I didn't know if you want to shout out Conan exiles or gatekeeper or Cyberman hunt two on the 10th.
00:58:39
Speaker
Wait, wait, wait. Is it cyber man hunt to, or is it cyber man hunt to that one new world coming to PC early access on May 10, a narrative driven puzzle game that combines themes of big data, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. There you go. Sweet. Hey, this has been episode one 89 of the six one into Cass. Thank you for listening. We appreciate it.
00:59:06
Speaker
Uh, if you somehow like what we do, do us a huge favor. Uh, toss us a sub on youtube. That's youtube.com slash six one, indy drop a like on the video, comment for the algorithm on patreon. Ring that bell on patreon. I forgot to mention you can also join for free. We are publishing all of the content that drops publicly on all channels. We're dropping them on.
00:59:29
Speaker
Patreon as well, just in case you want to get alerted for when a new review drops or a new video drops, anything like that. So you can join for free. Hang out over there. And of course on the discord, hang out on the discord, six what indeed.com. You'll find that link. Matt, Kyle, Mike, pork it up.