Show Notes
We recorded an episode on Elden Ring forever ago, and here it is! What’s the difference between Elden Ring and Dark Souls? Who is George R.R. Martin, and what has he done to Miyazaki? Did FromSoftware invent a new IP for narrative reasons, or is it just a marketing move? How approachable and how accessible is Elden Ring? Why shouldn’t a horse have a double jump? Is FromSoft the Arcade Fire of videogames? Is Arcade Fire the T.S. Eliot of music? Also, you get to hear Don’s best NPR voice - it’s very soothing! - and Nate rants about Sony’s multiplayer paywall (also known as PlayStation Plus). (And Christian is wrong - the world didn’t collectively bounce off Elden Ring - Nate is right, and someone has to drink a bottle of ketchup.)
More from Gamers with Glasses Podcast
In this episode Nate and Samantha set out to recap and wrap up our summer series on games, childhood, and nostalgia, and end up…somewhere else. We cover all the deep questions, like, “Does nostalgia have to be melancholic?”; “Are console generations a marketing lie, just like other generational divides?”; “Do any of us leave childhood unscathed?”; and, “Isn’t Assassin’s Creed just Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoons?”
In this episode, Nate interviews NikkiJay, developer of the just-released "plotformer" Quantum Witch. Come for the in-depth discussion about cults, conditioning, and choices - stay for the impromptu ukelele concert.
We make learning fun! In this episode, Samantha and Luis interview Dr. Erik Verlage, a research scientist at the Ohio State University who works on interactive media and games in education. Discussion ranges from the use and value of games in education to GeoGuessr and the difference between toys and tools. Where’s the dividing line between a game and a simulation? Why were Skyrim players willing to spend hours on the same thing at the forge, even when it wasn’t fun?
We thought it would be fun to do an “Oops! No Games” episode, in which we try not to talk about games. Inevitably, we totally fail, to the degree that we even end up recommending games at the end. We were all going to bring a book and a movie to talk about, and that somehow inspires us to complain about AI a lot, but probably not enough, because it really is so, so bad.
How do game critics contribute to Western hegemony, and what can we do about it? Nate Schmidt interviews Felipe Pepe, creator of The CRPG Book Project, on his recent essay, “The Gentrification of Video Game History.” Drawing on Mia Consalvo and Christopher Paul’s critique of the concept of “ real games,” their wide-ranging conversation covers mods and mobile games, the relationship between internet cafes and free-to-play RPGs, and the emptiness of the stereotypical “nerd and jock” divide between narrative-driven and sports games.