Total Playtime: Bugpunk
Total Playtime is a Patreon-supported podcast about videogames, hosted by Alice Bell, Jon Hicks, Brendan Caldwell and Nate Crowley. Jank has partnered with them and we'll be posting new episodes each week.
It’s Thursday, so that means a new episode of Total Playtime, and as part of our current partnership I am compelled to bring it to your attention. This week’s episode, after an extended aside about shrimp (real; either annoying or delicious) and ahead of a discussion of Silt Striders (not real; valuable public infrastructure), is anchored by the news that progress has been made on the Split Fiction movie, which Alice cited as a transparent segue into her talking about the fact that she has been playing Split Fiction and is extremely furious about it.
I will not attempt to summarise her argument but the topline is that the characters, narrative and game itself are all bad in ways seemingly calculated to enrage. Some of these views are shared by Graham and, to a degree, Brendy - I have not played the game so I will not judge, but that’s okay because Alice offers judgment in abundance, both for the game and anybody who reviewed it positively.
Other topics this week included Bruce Nesmith’s assertion that people would not wish to play a remastered Morrowind, which is a heretical take in PC gaming circles but, I must concede, probably true - as is the assumption that the source code is old and janky and broken and lying in the bottom of a damp filing cabinet in a basement nobody wants to go in. Let those who have willingly ported legacy codebases cast the first stone.
We consider whether people are cancelling their GDC trips or just weren’t going in the first place on account of it being (a) extremely expensive (b) in a nation that is Going Through It (c) of limited relevance to its original prime purpose, which was meeting people and signing new videogames. (There’s a good post on LinkedIn about that, inasmuch as it’s possible to have a good post on LinkedIn.) We also judge the uncertain fate of Highguard, which is Such A Videogame but flew too close to Geoff Keighley. Since we recorded, the 5v5 mode has been made permanent and the game is still free to play so give it a shot if you’re bored.
As far as actual games go, Nate watched a lot of people play Everything Is Crab and Brendy played TR49, but you knew that already. This counts as an unusually game-heavy episode by Total Playtime standards.
You can listen to the episode via the embed above or this link here. You can subscribe via the links below, where you'll also find all previous episodes.
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/total-playtime/id1790845149
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1jPv8y9BRzqATFT7zXRxKW
RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6786cf573ceecdbe85eac067
Acast: https://shows.acast.com/total-playtime
The art is by Marsh Davies and the music is by God Ribbon and the entire podcast is by the munificence of our Patreon backers. You can send feedback, Split Fiction notes and shrimp suggestions to totalplaytimepod@gmail.com.
Links!
Sydney is not actually hype about the Split Fiction script. Bruce Nesmith reckons Morrowind doesn’t hold up. Nate never visited the Crab Palace. Lots of people said they’re skipping GDC this year but the organisers say it’s fine. Highguard’s debut went badly which the dev considers “risky in hindsight”, although they’re trying hard and the 5v5 mode is now permanent. Please enjoy MerritK’s post in the Jank newsletter. Iron Lung is in cinemas now. Brendy reviewed TR49.
Games!
Split Fiction. The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind. Highguard is free. Everything Is Crab. TR49.
Recommendations!
Moldovan Rara Neagra, Shitstorm by Fernando Sdrigotti, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Andycruns on BlueSky.
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