Not a Game podcast

In a sadly rather downbeat episode Jordan and Tom are joined by prolific freelancer Chris Schilling [https://twitter.com/schillingc]. Chris has been playing The Flame and the Flood and Far Cry Primal and goes back and forth on the pluses and minuses of both. Meanwhile Tom explain’s why Superhot’s shooting is Super Good and it’s story is Super Not Very Good At All. Thankfully Jordan’s enjoyment of Stardew Valley comes without caveats. * Conker Hololens [http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2016/02/29/the-hololens-conker-game-looks-awful-just-awful] * Holly Nielson on pastoral games [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/11/why-sentimental-pastoral-themes-make-perfect-fodder-for-video-games] * The Boston molasses flood [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood] is a real, weird thing that happened * Tom has finished Superhot now and it turns out there is a level select unlocked when you finish it. * You can play the original Superhot prototype here [https://superhotgame.com/play-prototype/] * Emily is Away [http://store.steampowered.com/app/417860/]

This week we’re joined by the bouffant Alice Bell [https://twitter.com/babygotbell] of VideoGamer to tell us all about the beautiful grit of The Division, while Jordan is torn between farm life and industrialisation in Stardew Valley. Meanwhile we take a non-video game break to discuss the allure of plastic spaceships in the X-Wing Miniatures Game and Jordan’s attempt to escape the Oubliette on a first date. * Alice’s Flame and the Flood review [http://www.videogamer.com/reviews/the_flame_in_the_flood_review.html] * The Dark Souls Chain of Pain [https://web.archive.org/web/20130418000752/http://www.oxm.co.uk/52110/features/reviewing-dark-souls-the-email-chain-of-pain/?page=1] * Chris Thursten explains X-Wing for Shut Up & Sit Down [http://www.shutupandsitdown.com/blog/post/stress-focus-x-wing-tournament-diary/] * Holly Nielson on pastoral games [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/11/why-sentimental-pastoral-themes-make-perfect-fodder-for-video-games] * Jordan’s Room Escape [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/24/would-you-attend-a-live-action-video-game-on-a-first-date-i-did] article, and The Oubliette Room Escape [http://www.entertheoubliette.co.uk/] * Tom will be at the PC Gamer Weekender [http://weekender.pcgamer.com/], but only on the Sunday

This week we’re joined by PC Gamer’s Andy Kelly, who tries his level best to persuade us of the joys of driving through rainy motorway stations in American Truck Simulator. Also he talks a lot about Virtual Reality which is obviously far less cool and interesting than trucks. We know our listeners love trucks. Meanwhile Tom has been smashing up houses in Rainbow 6: Siege and Jordan has been dying a lot, but slightly less than Tom in Nuclear Throne. * Convoy [http://store.steampowered.com/app/318230/] – The roguelike Tom mentioned * Rami’s Nuclear Throne talk [https://youtu.be/aNDWf-hBbns] * Other Places [http://www.otherplaces.co.uk/] * Jordan’s Jonathan Blowterview [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/09/the-witness-how-jonathan-blow-rejected-game-design-rules-to-make-a-masterpiece]

This week we’re joined by our old friend Josh Matthews [https://www.youtube.com/user/GamingFTL], who managed to get his hands on an early demo of Firewatch and tells us what he thinks. Meanwhile Tom is finally playing XCOM 2, and regales us with the comedy of errors that ensued on his first VIP extraction mission. Finally Jordan explains the charms of Unravel and it’s not at all demonic looking star: Yarney. * Jordan’s Guardian games night [https://membership.theguardian.com/event/guardian-live-guardian-gaming-night-20142476690] has now sold out! Sorry! * Jordan’s Unravel review [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/11/unravel-review-love] * The Adventure Time Game Jam [http://www.adventuretimegamejam.com/] * How indie developers would make Duke Nukem [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/16/duke-nukem-how-indie-developers-would-tackle-gamings-most-macho-hero] * Double Fine’s video [https://youtu.be/kILeyo1iv0A] with the makers of the Aladdin and The Lion King megadrive games. Which were made by Westwood (!?!)

With last week’s Season Two pilot out of the way we get back to your regularly scheduled programming. This week we’re joined by Maki Yamazaki [https://twitter.com/makiyamazaki], fresh from Global Game Jam to tell us about all about the jam experience. Plus more talk of the Witness, Oxenfree, Undertale and Rebel Galaxy. We also pine for XCOM 2, which wasn’t out when we recorded this. Enjoy! * Learn more about Global Game Jam [http://globalgamejam.org/] here * Here’s the article [http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/i-entered-global-game-jam-having-never-made-a-game-before-and-didnt-totally-blow-it-819] Jake wrote about the Bristol meetup * Here’s Jordan’s interview [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/09/the-witness-how-jonathan-blow-rejected-game-design-rules-to-make-a-masterpiece] with Jonathan Blow * TIS100 [http://store.steampowered.com/app/370360/] can be found here