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Waypoint Thread: Vice City Stories

patapuf

Member
The podcast is so much better when it's about games they like talking about (even if it's to shittalk them) as opposed to games or news they "have to" cover. 4 man team with Rob also helps the discussion a lot, as there's less long monologues.

This mondays episode was fun.
 

hamchan

Member
Y'know, it's telling that the first place I went to after finishing Nier was Waypoint. The site really brings the good discussions and covers the holes that other sites might have.
 

Lindsaymv

Member
Yeah it really feels like it's hit its stride

Yeah agree. I always wanted to like Waypoint but found some of the earlier podcasts kind of dull or stilted at least. Without really being able to put my finger on why, it's become a lot more compelling recently. Group dynamics? Maybe just a good string of discussions: the Destiny grimoire reading made me want to get back into that game in a big way, Stellaris chatter was absolutely intriguing although I'll never play it and any time they talk about Nier it's a good time.
 

Jintor

Member
i think to some extent austin has become less conversation dominant.

having rob actually in the room helps. his skype mic is noooooooooot great
 

lawnchair

Banned
Austin really should be paid commission by the Stellaris devs. I don't think I know of anyone who articulates the wonder of that game in the way as captivating as Austin does.

i liked the stellaris talk. i never play big strategy stuff like that but it made me interested in the game. made me wonder, how many of those things that austin experienced were unique to his one playthrough? will there be weird cult moments in other peoples games? it was fascinating and confusing.
 
Looked over the voting options for the zelda challenges but like... i don't want to be a part of making Austin not enjoy playing videogames. Wouldn't wish those challenges on anyone.

I get that it's... uh, stream content i guess, so this is when i have to start choosing what i like to see and what's not for me i suppose.
 

omg_mjd

Member
Decided to unsubscribe from Idle Weekend (which I had been listening to since the beginning) and just stick with Waypoint. Too much Danielle otherwise (no complaints with Rob though).
 
honestly think these guys are the best of the lot to listen to. i don't listen to podcasts often because i don't really like that 1 and a half hour + long ones of others. plus the fact the focus more on the themes of games and their feelings therein is great. love that they've added a 4th now.
 

Jeffrey

Member
I feel like 1 hr is good length for the podcasts enough to get things flowing.


And these wednesday streams are quite fun! Shame I can't watch live.
 

WreckTheLaw

Giant Bomb Japanimation Correspondent
Looked over the voting options for the zelda challenges but like... i don't want to be a part of making Austin not enjoy playing videogames. Wouldn't wish those challenges on anyone.

I get that it's... uh, stream content i guess, so this is when i have to start choosing what i like to see and what's not for me i suppose.

FWIW: That stream is 100% my favorite thing I do all week. I've already beaten BotW once, but I love it. This is a great excuse to play more, and I love how the rules imposed on me each week change how I play and lead to really interesting things happening!
 

TrutaS

Member
I followed their podcast from the beginning, but have dropped it a few weeks ago because it just started to be irritating to me. The conversations, especially from Austin, seemed to be always trying to find a forced "meaning" or social implication of games, rather than enjoying the games themselves. I think the last episode I listened was when Austin admitted that he rarely enjoyed games and was more interested in their social impact, which is a voice and point-of-view I really do not identify with (I am paraphrasing of course).

I think social implications are fine, if the game clearly attempts them, but I play games for the enjoyment they bring and the entertainment they bring - and I don't think they are any lesser if they are just meant to be "fun".

Edit: Just to not sound so destructive, I just found that the point of view they want to bring into gaming started to sound like something I don't identify with. I think it's very good that there are different points of view in the industry and different interests, and I'm glad there is a platform for everyone. I was just telling the story of why i dropped out of the podcast - a totally personal opinion.
 

Jeffrey

Member
I followed their podcast from the beginning, but have dropped it a few weeks ago because it just started to be irritating to me. The conversations, especially from Austin, seemed to be always trying to find a forced "meaning" or social implication of games, rather than enjoying the games themselves. I think the last episode I listened was when Austin admitted that he rarely enjoyed games and was more interested in their social impact, which is a voice and point-of-view I really do not identify with (I am paraphrasing of course).

I think social implications are fine, if the game clearly attempts them, but I play games for the enjoyment they bring and the entertainment they bring - and I don't think they are any lesser if they are just meant to be "fun".

Edit: Just to not sound so destructive, I just found that the point of view they want to bring into gaming started to sound like something I don't identify with. I think it's very good that there are different points of view in the industry and different interests, and I'm glad there is a platform for everyone. I was just telling the story of why i dropped out of the podcast - a totally personal opinion.

Yeah if you don't dig Austin... Probably a waste of your time to keep listening lol.
 
I followed their podcast from the beginning, but have dropped it a few weeks ago because it just started to be irritating to me. The conversations, especially from Austin, seemed to be always trying to find a forced "meaning" or social implication of games, rather than enjoying the games themselves. I think the last episode I listened was when Austin admitted that he rarely enjoyed games and was more interested in their social impact, which is a voice and point-of-view I really do not identify with (I am paraphrasing of course).

I think social implications are fine, if the game clearly attempts them, but I play games for the enjoyment they bring and the entertainment they bring - and I don't think they are any lesser if they are just meant to be "fun".

Edit: Just to not sound so destructive, I just found that the point of view they want to bring into gaming started to sound like something I don't identify with. I think it's very good that there are different points of view in the industry and different interests, and I'm glad there is a platform for everyone. I was just telling the story of why i dropped out of the podcast - a totally personal opinion.

That's exactly why I listen. I fucking love a good deep-dive into the political and social implications of a great game. Heck, I'd much rather listen to someone discuss a game from that perspective, instead of from the perspective of how many frames per second it has.

To each his own though, it's fine that it's not for you.
 

Roussow

Member
The Zelda permadeath playthrough has been fantastic so far, I was trying to think of possible games to follow up Zelda with eventually, best I could come up with is something like a no-restart Xcom run, or perhaps MGSV playing exclusively OSP, tons of stuff would work though, it's just such a good premise for a playthrough, great stuff.
I'd also love to see Austin spend an extended period with Far Cry 2.
 
I followed their podcast from the beginning, but have dropped it a few weeks ago because it just started to be irritating to me. The conversations, especially from Austin, seemed to be always trying to find a forced "meaning" or social implication of games, rather than enjoying the games themselves. I think the last episode I listened was when Austin admitted that he rarely enjoyed games and was more interested in their social impact, which is a voice and point-of-view I really do not identify with (I am paraphrasing of course).

I think social implications are fine, if the game clearly attempts them, but I play games for the enjoyment they bring and the entertainment they bring - and I don't think they are any lesser if they are just meant to be "fun".

Edit: Just to not sound so destructive, I just found that the point of view they want to bring into gaming started to sound like something I don't identify with. I think it's very good that there are different points of view in the industry and different interests, and I'm glad there is a platform for everyone. I was just telling the story of why i dropped out of the podcast - a totally personal opinion.

My thing with this is kind of twofold really. I appreciate what you quoted of Austin, and feel that i experience games in the same way. The fun i get out of them these days has much less to do with the game itself and much more about its "higher level" things, like themes and stuff, and with what they show of their developer's desires and opinions and stuff. Like, that's what i really want. Maybe i'm just getting old and i'm starting to see everything in how it relates to humans (cue "i'm lonely" joke that's actually about how i have a hard time relating to people face to face and feel that relating to them over what they create is both easier and hopefully close enough to actual real life closeness with other people, the answer to which i already know but cannot face).

But what i love about Austin is that he isn't apologetic about it. Like, it's incredibly refreshing to listen to that kind of stuff without it being apologetically framed as "pretentious" (this is something Heather Alexandra has made in her last two Kotaku videos and it breaks my heart to hear it), or in some way so dislocated from where discourse about videogames happens that it might as well be a second class conversation that is destined to remain off to the very corner of the room, that is, it's a lonely place out there and those discussions feel lonely as well.

That might not be the impression people in general have about those discussions because, well, it's not a place they're interested in. But i can safely say that to me this is what's the best about Waypoint, its determination and confidence. I understand that people that don't care about this kind of stuff may feel that this podcast and website lulls them into these weird conversations that don't speak to their interests without being preemptively obvious about it, but to me? This website is like, it feels like home where others have always reinforced this sensation of being an outsider, a nerd within nerdom, like a nerd squared or like nerd to the power of nerd.

By the way i know i've written Austin a bunch of times but my appreciation goes to all members of the team, the whole group. It's a family effort and it would be wrong of me not to point that out.
 
Decided to unsubscribe from Idle Weekend (which I had been listening to since the beginning) and just stick with Waypoint. Too much Danielle otherwise (no complaints with Rob though).

This post prompted me to start listening to Idle Weekend in reverse order. It's fantastic through and through. Thanks for that push.

they're wrong about the arkham series though. Arkham Knight is the Far Cry 2 of batman games if you play it right
 

omg_mjd

Member
This post prompted me to start listening to Idle Weekend in reverse order. It's fantastic through and through. Thanks for that push.

Idle Weekend is pretty good (especially the letters section which always prompt Danielle and Rob to have very thoughtful discussions.) I've reached peak Danielle though so I'm sticking with just Waypoint for now.
 

omg_mjd

Member
Hang ups? Nothing that serious...if I'm being "vague" it's only because it's my subjective opinion and a personal preference.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
Oh man, I'm excited to watch this Stellaris stream. In the first game I played (that I didn't start over) I reached a point about two hours in where I was in a sustainable resource growth pattern, played another four hours without anything happening and said "well now what?"

I want to watch someone who knows what they're doing so I can figure out how you have fun
 

Jeffrey

Member
on a side note. #content idea.

somehow combine Danielle's passion for exercise with games lol.

I remember pushup club from some extra live stream a while back and that was fun.

Just hard these days to be motivated to work out lol. Like I want to play games, but work + workout = too tired for games usually.


I feel like there is something there that waypoint could tackle! haha
 

omg_mjd

Member
Hmm I used to get a lot of time on the exercise bike thanks to handhelds. Maybe a Zelda-related challenge? That would be fun.
 

Brakke

Banned
Aight this is mad niche but there's a character in Persona 5 (Empress Arcana) who is clearly voiced by Danika's Bad Anime Girl impression and I can't handle it.
 

Hasney

Member
Oh man, I'm excited to watch this Stellaris stream. In the first game I played (that I didn't start over) I reached a point about two hours in where I was in a sustainable resource growth pattern, played another four hours without anything happening and said "well now what?"

I want to watch someone who knows what they're doing so I can figure out how you have fun

The new expansion adding internal politics helps with that a ton. the original had lost of moments where nothing is happening, but dealing with internal factions happens more often.
 

Jeffrey

Member
Hmm I used to get a lot of time on the exercise bike thanks to handhelds. Maybe a Zelda-related challenge? That would be fun.

I can't stand bikes or treadmills lol.

These days I just do crossfit bootcamp style gyms.

Its satisfying but kills ya lol.
 

Valtýr

Member
I'm glad Austin did a Stellaris vid. I recently bought it but I couldn't penetrate the early game, so I am interested in seeing it in action to motivate me to actually play the fucking thing.
 
Idle Weekend is pretty good (especially the letters section which always prompt Danielle and Rob to have very thoughtful discussions.) I've reached peak Danielle though so I'm sticking with just Waypoint for now.

Danielle's RI accent at the end of the latest idle weekend was amazing. Always great when that accent comes out.
 
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