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BAD END is a videogame podcast brought to you by videogame critics and videogame makers. Each episode we talk about what we've been playing, and then dive in on a specific game, new or old.
The monthly game design podcast that you haven't been waiting for! Join us as we discuss, explore, and get out of our depths in a new game design topic every episode.
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Loop Hero, Monster Hunter Rise, FFXII The Zodiac Age, FFVIIR
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1:49:39
We're back on our Normal Episode beat this week, talking about videogame core loops of all kinds - some peaceful, some way too complex for their own good, some infuriating. We're talking about Loop Hero, the new indie hotness that's taken the idle roguelike world by storm, the new demo for Monster Hunter Rise, and FFXII the Zodiac Age, an old class…
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MTG, feat. DIIV's Cole Smith and Storefront Church's Lukas Frank
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1:46:22
This week, we're joined by Lukas Frank (Storefront Church) and Cole Smith (DIIV) to talk about Thoughtseize Interviews, a new show where they interview artists and gaming personalities while playing Magic the Gathering. We talk about community-building, the value of art in an increasingly-monetized world, the crossover between music and games, tast…
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In Other Waters, ft. Gareth Damian Martin
1:28:49
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1:28:49
Today we're joined by game creator and critic Gareth Damian Martin about In Other Waters, their new sci-fi exploration game. We discuss the interplay between game criticism and game design, the game development process as seen through the eyes of an outsider, and the discipline of architecture as it applies (and doesn't apply) to videogames. We als…
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Valheim, Hitman 3, Gunfire Reborn, One Step From Eden
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1:26:20
Now that we've been quarantined for almost a year, we're actually playing through our backlogs. We have a lot of games to talk about, including the new Steam bestseller Valheim, the weird beautiful stealth of Hitman 3, the mindless carnage of Gunfire Reborn, and more! We're also talking about videogame patents, and arguing whether or not stealth ga…
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Disc Room, Hades, Cyberpunk 2077, ft. Mukqs
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1:43:32
This week, we're joined by music label founder and musician Maxwell Allison AKA Mukqs to talk about videogame music, DIY and experimental spaces for music and games, a 2020 arcade-style game called Disc Room, and the inherent value of videogames (if there's any to be had). BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websi…
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AI: The Somnium Files, Promesa, Cyberpunk 2077, ft. Natalie Flores
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1:22:08
This week, we're joined by Fanbyte contributor and The Game Awards Future Class member Natalie Flores (@heartimecia) to talk about Cyberpunk 2077's best character, an incredible 45-minute indie game called Promesa, the anime detective game AI: The Somnium Files, and maybe even a little K-pop... BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network…
BAD END's long-awaited GOTY awards are here to conclude 2020. We're hashing out our favorite picks, recapping the trends that defined the year, and making way for the videogame landscapes yet to come. So lean in real close, keep your voice down to a whisper, and make sure the coast is clear. 2020 is finally gone, and we've got some crap to talk. BA…
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Cyberpunk 2077 (REAL review), Spiritfarer, Oxygen Not Included
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1:55:20
The year's biggest game - Cyberpunk 2077 - is officially out, and we're doing our best to avoid crashes so that we can actually talk about it. We're also discussing recent backlash against the game's developer CDProjektRED, as well as a sweet little game about death called Spiritfarer. BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podca…
We're back with a very special episode, as co-host Ryan Anderson walks us through their design methodology for the combat in Wintermoor Tactics Club. We break down how Ryan intentionally approached Wintermoor so that it would introduce new players to turn-based strategy games, and we use those same lessons to analyze how Fall Guys, One Night Werewo…
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Cyberpunk 2077 Pre-Review, Paper Mario Origami King, Aim Lab, feat. Roy Graham
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1:43:05
This week we're joined by narrative designer, writer, and long-time friend Roy Graham. Get ready, because we're greasing up your cyberchips and dusting off our 20-barrel plasma guns to do an ADVANCE REVIEW of Cyberpunk 2077! It is satire so please dont get mad at us. We didn't actually play the game. We're also talking about the quietly brilliant n…
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Teardown, Ghostrunner, Phasmophobia, new consoles, feat. Emma Kidwell
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1:25:01
New consoles are out! Exciting new games are... potentially on the horizon! Joined by writer and game maker Emma Kidwell, we talk about a few recent games of interest and the inflated appeal of new videogame systems in these strange pandemic times. BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the unde…
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Amnesia Rebirth, Paradise Killer, Cyberpunk 2077, feat. Yussef Cole
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1:46:45
This week, we're joined by videogame critic Yussef Cole to discuss the motherly horror of the new Amnesia game, the compelling aesthetic mishmash of Paradise Killer, and the upcoming (?) "event" game Cyberpunk 2077. We also delve into the declining appeal of graphical fidelity, and the gradual fall of realism in mainstream gaming. BAD END is proud …
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Genshin Impact, Hades, Mortal Kombat 11, ft. Yung Skrrt
1:17:29
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1:17:29
Promise yourself not to spend too much cash as we discuss Genshin Impact, the latest anime gacha craze, with producer/viral artist/streamer Yung Skrrt. We're also diving into the Mortal Kombat 11 scene, our inability to understand the appeal of "lying games," and the exhausting, lucrative world of Twitch streaming. BAD END is proud to be part of SU…
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Caty's last episode. Hades, Spelunky 2
1:36:34
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1:36:34
Caty is off to bigger and better things, so this is her final episode. To stave off the debilitating grief, we send her off with love from our listeners and some good ol' gamer talk. We're discussing a new all-time great roguelike/dungeon runner in the form of Hades, and Spelunky 2 - the sequel to one of the former best roguelikes ever. BAD END is …
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Among Us, 13 Sentinels, Superliminal, Due Process, A Monster's Expedition
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1:49:44
Another week of quarantine, another multiplayer meme game to stave off debilitating loneliness. This week it's the social deception game Among Us, but we're also playing a VN/RTS with beautiful art, a tactical shooter that everyone seems really good at, and a puzzle game that might just be better than Portal (insert incredulous gasp here). BAD END …
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Roleplay - Priming Proactive Players
1:42:39
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1:42:39
Jon and Kyle sit down to discuss player proactivity in tabletop roleplaying. What is the difference between proactive and reactive play? Why is proactivity important for collaborative storytelling? And how do you create a space where your players feel comfortable and encouraged to be proactive? We answer all these questions and more in this jumbo-s…
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Moon, Crusader Kings 3, Red Dead Redemption, ft. Matt Margini
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1:38:26
This week, we're joined by Matt Margini, author of a new Boss Fight Book about Rockstar Games' now-classic Red Dead Redemption. We discuss the overwhelming complexity of Crusader Kings 3, the ahead-of-its-time '90s RPG moon, and the legacy of RDR. Read an excerpt of the book at Kotaku and pick it up at Boss Fight Books. It's also available digitall…
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Fall Guys, Valorant, Anime, CoD Warzone
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1:31:30
We usually play the Small Games but this week we have been playin' pretty much nothing but the Big Games. We talk about the new "casual battle royale" of Fall Guys and whether that's a self-contradicting concept. We talk about the tonal disconnect of online multiplayer shooters like CoD Warzone. We talk about the match structure and beautiful styli…
Between following an internet league sport, getting yelled at by teens for not aiming well, and sticking aliens with plasma grenades, it feels like we're going back to high school in episode 79 of BAD END podcast. We talk about the imaginative fandom that drives Blaseball, the beautifully-designed meathead shooting in Valorant, and the merry-go-rou…
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Quickplay - Death Stranding & Animal Crossing
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The gang breaks into Death Stranding and Animal Crossing, two games that are perhaps more similar than they first appear. We discuss how adding friction to mechanics can make the player feel more present in the game world and debate whether there is such a thing as a wrong way to play a game.
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Ghost of Tsushima, Necrobarista (ft. Matt Kim and Emma Kidwell)
1:23:20
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1:23:20
Ghost of Tsushima is out, and we're joined by Matt Kim (IGN) and Emma Kidwell (Gamasutra) to talk about the game ~~as Asian Americans~~. Join us as we wrestle with ideas on representation, intersectionality, appropriation, and Asian-American identity, all while answering the most important question: is the game fun and/or worth 60 bucks? We're also…
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TLOUII (spoiler-free), Summer gaming, Twitch streaming, CoD Warzone
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1:33:16
We're not gonna lie, we spent a chunk of this episode talking about TLOU2 again. But it's spoiler-free! And on top of that, we're answering listener questions about summer gaming and talking about a bunch of other miscellaneous quarantine gaming stuff. So sit back, put a lil paper umbrella into your can of Monster Energy Drink (not a BAD END sponso…
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The Last of Us Part II (ft. Emma Kidwell)
1:51:44
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1:51:44
After a one-episode hiatus, we're joined by friend of the show Emma Kidwell in a full-length episode where we ONLY discuss The Last of Us Part II. Sprinkled in there we've also got some discussion of single player AAA's role in 2020, diversity, new consoles, and ~~stuff that's going on~~ in the world today. BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTU…
The gang digs into the audacious design of Doom Eternal, which manages to be too similar to its predecessor for new players to learn, yet is also too different for some existing fans to enjoy. You can punch the ribs out of a giant brain with a gun bolted on top, though, so Jon and Rob love it anyway.…
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Umurangi Generation, Twitch Streaming, Call of Duty Warzone (ft. Bijan Stephen)
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1:52:00
We're joined by critic/streamer/podcaster Bijan Stephen to talk about streaming on Twitch, the trials of the videogame press, battle royale games, and the future of games criticism. BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobserved. Tweet us @superculturenet Special thanks to our Patreon …
After taking a few months off, we're back ready to discuss the latest and greatest in digital games... by talking about a five-year-old mobile game. Rob's been grooving on Clash Royale's clan battles, and the gang discusses how these types of alternate game modes can expand a game's audience by providing multiple modes of play that appeal to differ…
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Streets of Rage 4, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, CoD, Reader Mail
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1:27:00
Hope you're all doing well during lockdown, cuz we're trying to find games to keep us entertained that aren't CoD or ACNH. This week, Caty played a bit of the (still mostly embargoed) Xenoblade Chronicles remaster, while Josh tried out the new Streets of Rage joint. Then we dig through a pile of listener questions, diving into games vs film, annoyi…
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Roleplay - Expectations and Invitations
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1:05:12
We're back with another dive into the fascinating world of tabletop roleplaying! This time, Jon comes to Kyle with a problem -- he feels anxious that the last session he GMed didn't go so well, and he's not sure how to deal with this in a constructive way. This sparks a long discussion about the importance of creating intentional spaces that invite…
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Tabletop Simulator, Anno 1800, FFVII Remake
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1:46:38
Take a break from taking a break and join us as we discuss all the biggest games of the season. We're taking a deeper dive into FF7 Remake from a FF7 newcomer's perspective, Call of Duty Warzone, more ACNH, board games, and Anno 1800, which is way better than the screenshots would ever have you believe. We're also answering listener questions about…
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Final Fantasy VII Remake, ACNH, Horizon's Gate (ft. Austin Walker)
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2:09:13
We break quarantine to hang out with Austin Walker (Waypoint Radio, Friends at the Table) and discuss some of the biggest games of the month - Final Fantasy VII Remake, which captures at least some of the magic of the original, and Animal Crossing New Horizons, which has been softening our brains into mush for almost a month now. We wrap up with so…
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Animal Crossing New Horizons Quarantine Special
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We are on lockdown and we are obsessed with Animal Crossing, just like you are (perhaps). Here's us talking about it for an hour and a half. We try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, and do our best to give you a little warning when we're gonna drop the names of objects and functions we've acquired. BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a ne…
We're back to discuss more of the hows, whats, and whys of GMing tabletop roleplaying games! This time, Kyle and Jon discuss how to get your players to engage their imaginations and provide more colorful contributions to the ongoing story. Among other things, we cover the importance of making your players feel safe at the table, how to create oppor…
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Animal Crossing New Horizons, Call of Duty Warzone, Ori and the Will of the Wisps
1:27:20
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1:27:20
Take a load off from your days of isolation and come hang with the BAD END crew as we talk about the new Call of Duty, Ori, and CoD. We're also delving into the specifics of taste and our perspective on videogame crit. BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobserved. Tweet us @supercult…
We're trying something new! While video games are cool and all, we've been spending a lot of our design energy recently playing, running, and thinking about tabletop RPGs. RPGs are some of the most fascinating and unique gaming experiences you can experience today. They're intricate machines that synthesize the efforts and desires of the players, t…
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PAX East, Moonlighter, Hollow Knight, Scourgebringer, Noita
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1:25:41
One of us went to PAX East, one of us is playing a game under embargo, and one of us played a bunch of beloved games that are no longer protected by the sheen of newness. We discuss the Metroidvania frustrations of Hollow Knight, the woes of min-maxing in Noita, and Animal Crossing's influence. BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network…
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Dragonball Z Kakarot, Scourgebringer, Slay the Spire, Ori, TiPZ
1:36:46
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1:36:46
With one co-host gone this week, the remaining two end up shooting the breeze for like 2 hours straight in this one. We discuss the new Dragonball Z game, we rag on Ori and the Blind Forest, we talk about Slay The Spire and the concept of "perfunctory" game mechanics, and we answer a very, very long list of listener questions. We've also got a fun …
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Kentucky Route Zero, Legends of Runeterra, The Beach, puzzle boxes
1:22:31
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1:22:31
dramatic voice Wherein lies the magic of videogames? Is it in the understated brilliance of Kentucky Route Zero? Is it in the schoolyard fantasies of Magic: The Gathering brought to digital life? Is it on The Beach being snatched up by the beak of a seagull? Or is it somewhere else? Join us on BAD END 67 as we attempt to find the answer in an unlik…
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FFVII, Quadrilateral Cowboy, The Witcher 3, AGDQ, influence in videogames
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A thought: maybe "influential" is not a net positive when assessing a game's quality! We talk about the idea while discussing AGDQ and digging through our backlogs. Kyle enjoys The Witcher 3 despite living in a post-Disco Elysium world, Caty is surprised at how well FFVII holds up, and Josh finally gets to unleash his inner hacker with Quadrilatera…
It's the end of the 2010s, and the gang is looking back to try and make sense of what just happened. Join us for a jaunt down memory lane that is almost as insightful as it is exhausting. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll be amazed at how many games we're still playing today came out over a decade ago. Happy new year, and here's to another decad…
To wrap up the decade, we're joined by Ben Pack of Giant Bomb and talking about our favorite games of the 2010s. Listen for our thoughts on some all-time heavy hitters like Dark Souls, The Witcher 3, Mass Effect 2, Breath of the Wild, and more. BAD END is proud to be part of SUPERCULTURE, a network of podcasts and websites dedicated to the underobs…
It's the end of the year, and we're celebrating with our annual awards ceremony that includes crowd favorite "Oh Yeah, That Came Out" and "Dope, But Not For Me." We also discuss our top picks of the year. We don't really spoil specific plot points in this episode, but we sometimes discuss *things certain games do* that might be considered spoilers …
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The Decade in Tim Rogers, ft. Tim Rogers
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1:52:14
You might know Tim Rogers as any number of things: a pioneer of "New Videogame Journalism," a prolific game developer, a video personality, an industry consultant, a friend of Suda51, Mr. Rogers' relative, a CPA. He is all of those things, and that's why he's uniquely qualified to talk about all of the videogame-related things that happened this de…
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The Decade in Indie, ft. Emily Rose
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Indie games have come a long way from their roots as a way to spite Roger Ebert (kidding!), and we've teamed up with rebind.io founder Emily Rose (@caravanmalice) to discuss the decade in indie, from "AA" hits to powerful "micro-indies." We explore the impact of influencers, the birth/death/resurrection of indie game journalism, the importance of p…
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Pokemon Sword & Shield, Death Stranding, Half-Life: Alyx
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1:03:32
A new Pokemon game is out, so we're asking the question that everyone asks when a new Pokemon game comes out: Is it the Pokemon game I've always dreamed about? We also discuss the weird lack of hype surrounding Half-Life: Alyx, which when you think about it, should be the most hyped game of the decade. Finally, we wrap our conversation on Death Str…
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Death Stranding, Blizzcon, Air, Land & Sea, Remembering Apple Arcade
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1:25:24
It's here. The new Kojima game. Death Stranding. Secure your cargo straps, crack open your Monster Energies, slap that blood bag, and come along as we delve deep into this ~generational phenomenon~ of a game. Then we've got a grab bag - the new Hearthstone game mode and how terrible we are for playing it, some snazzy new board games, Guitar Hero vs…
The gang discusses Really Bad Chess, which is actually really good. We dig into how developer Zach Gage made a classic game more fun and accessible, and Rob expresses his surprisingly deep love for Backgammon.
The gang discusses the gorgeous visual album game Sayonara Wild Hearts, heaping praises upon its aesthetics but picking apart its bizarre relationship with its scoring system.
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Disco Elysium, Outer Worlds, Modern Warfare, Qube 2
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1:25:07
Outer Worlds. Modern Warfare. Disco Elysium. It's Big Game season, folks, and this week we've got some of the heaviest hitters of the year. Listen to us talk about why Disco Elysium is awesome, why Outer Worlds is the videogame equivalent of a limp pool noodle, and why Modern Warfare is at least a 7.5. Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and…
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Quickplay - Untitled Goose Game + What the Golf?
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The gang discusses comedy in games and how Untitled Goose Game and What the Golf? each tackle this difficult design area.
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Hearthstone controversy, food vs. videogame crit with Soleil Ho, MTG:A, What the Golf
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This week, BAD END is joined by a special guest - San Francisco Chronicle food critic Soleil Ho (@hooleil). As a fellow gamer, Soleil talks to us about the parallels between food and videogame consumption and criticism, her love for Harvest Moon, and the importance of evaluating games and food in their social contexts. After that, we discuss the in…
