Game suggestions for the podcast

[JaySevenZero]

Thanks for the feedback Ksub, although I can't make any promises as to how things may change but rest assured it'll be taken onboard. One thing I would say though is that the 2 hour limit came into play around 2013 so I wouldn't exactly say that it was that 'recent'

All the best for 2018, which looks set to be yet another great year for gaming!

[ratsoalbion]

Feedback for the integration of listener feedback has been extremely positive, and we actually feel it gives it more priority and focus by doing so.

I definitely try not to read it in a monotone and appreciate anecdotes and so as much as ever, and I feel these stand out more than when read back to back.

However, it is in fact much, *much* more work to do it the way we do it now so if enough people did feel the same way it would actually be easier for me...

[KSubzero1000]

I didn't mean to call you out (or anyone else, really) in particular, Leon. In fact, I can assure you that I take no issue with the way you personally handle feedback integration.

But I recently listened to several of the Season 1 episodes and I've noticed a difference. The tight editing can be a bit jarring when the host finishes reading a post which begs to be dissected and responded to, only to be followed by a hard cut to the Three Words Reviews segment or something similar. I just feel like the strict timeline can make the show a bit cold at times. I've sometimes checked the forum after listening to a show in order to read the feedback myself only to find that a significant part of it had been left on the cutting room floor.

Either way, it's not that big of a deal, and I can't claim to have a solution either! Just a little something that I've noticed.

[Alex79uk]

I do actually like the way the feedback is slotted in throughout the show rather than all saved up for the end. It's something I kept meaning to mention that at some point but it just never came up - seems like now would be a good time to throw my two cents worth in! It does seem to make the show flow more naturally than have have it adhere to a rigid structure of 'heres some background info on the game, here's what we thought of it, here's what the forum thought of it'. I dunno, I prefer it the new way.

[KSubzero1000]

To be clear, I agree with Alex. It's not the new fluid feedback integration I have an issue with (in fact, I think it flows much better this way), so much as the lack of response / hard cuts following some of it.

[ratsoalbion]

I hear you, and we’ll of course reflect on this feedback, but actually the intention is to use each piece of user content to kick off the next discussion point, so effectively the next sequence should be our responses.

[Whippledip]

I wonder if it's also partly because forums/messageboards are a dying part of the internet and most discussion is moving to Twitter which just isn't really conducive to in depth discussion and analysis.

It also restricts the types of opinions to draw from, I consider this forum to be healthier than most but it still feels like there is only a relatively small collection of people regularly contributing to the podcast game discussion here

[Suits]

I wonder if it's also partly because forums/messageboards are a dying part of the internet and most discussion is moving to Twitter which just isn't really conducive to in depth discussion and analysis.

It also restricts the types of opinions to draw from, I consider this forum to be healthier than most but it still feels like there is only a relatively small collection of people regularly contributing to the podcast game discussion here

I agree on the basis of this point but man, Forum Message Boards have been dying since the beginning fo FaceBook - which is 10 plus years ago.

I'm starting to think that Forums have died and come back a better, healthier place because of it.

What that has meant for forums is that you get a much more in depth refined level of conversation, with more focused members. The members that used to use forums for the casual internet interactions now prefer the platform of Twitter & FaceBook.

I suppose what I'm getting at (and not that I don't expect you to already know) is quality over quantity is the message regards the Forum.

However, Twitter is a wonderful platform to advertise the 'Brand', snag new listeners and get the attention of industry folk who would love the chance to site and wax about projects they've worked on, or thoughts that they have about something they care for. Without the avenue of say Twitter, I feel things here would potentially be rather different.

Another thing I tend to think about regards feedback contributions, to which I have been considering switching to myself, is email.

Being a visitor to the forum, probably daily and always reading the new posts is that I tend to be up to date with a lot of the contributions. When I hear the host say that they have some feedback from email, it generally catches my ears as I know that I won't have heard this opinion - which is nice.

There is also a slight romance in the way that someone has taken the time to sit and write an email, much like a letter.

[Suits]

Regards the new list of next years games, I can't be the only one that does a spreadsheet to plan things out can I... .

[JaySevenZero]

It's not the new fluid feedback integration I have an issue with (in fact, I think it flows much better this way), so much as the lack of response / hard cuts following some of it.

The lack of response is kinda deliberate. We did have a discussion several years ago about not making it a thing for the panel to specifically discuss a particular community opinion since if an occasion arose when the panel disagreed with a community members opinion it could feel unfair to dissect their thoughts as the conversation would naturally be biased in favour of the panel since we will always get the last word in. We certainly didn't want it to end up feeling dismissive of a personal opinion especially when someone has taken the time to contribute.

However, as Leon has already mentioned, the way we do it now is to use the feedback now as a jumping off point for the wider topics of conversation, which we feel integrates it better and avoids some of the possible pitfalls too.

As for the hard cuts, I'm not sure about these since they are not something I particularly favour to begin with, was there a particular show that stood out to you recently where this sounded to be the case? From an editing perspective, there are many things that can come up during a recording be they technical issues, off-topic conversation and of course that the recording was simply over-running that may result in something sounding cut but these are often unavoidable.

[Alex79uk]

I'm starting to think that Forums have died and come back a better, healthier place because of it.

What that has meant for forums is that you get a much more in depth refined level of conversation, with more focused members. The members that used to use forums for the casual internet interactions now prefer the platform of Twitter & FaceBook.

Yeah and also, remember, this forum is not really like any other forum I've posted on - and that's a lot of forums over the last 20 odd years. There's no trolling, no flaming, sure there are disagreements but they're always handled appropriately and more importantly, respectfully. I still frequent a couple of other forums from time to time, and they are, on the whole, utter cess pits of humanity.

It's probably largely due to the style of the podcast, but this forum simply doesn't seem to attract the less desirable elements of the Internet. It just doesn't.

[Suits]

Yeah and also, remember, this forum is not really like any other forum I've posted on - and that's a lot of forums over the last 20 odd years. There's no trolling, no flaming, sure there are disagreements but they're always handled appropriately and more importantly, respectfully.

Agree entirely.

There's much more fruitful platforms to get that style of entertainment from, Twitter, FaceBook.... - if that's what you're looking for. Which lets face it, sadly, a lot of people are.

[JaySevenZero]

There's no trolling, no flaming, sure there are disagreements but they're always handled appropriately and more importantly, respectfully. I still frequent a couple of other forums from time to time, and they are, on the whole, utter cess pits of humanity.

It's probably largely due to the style of the podcast, but this forum simply doesn't seem to attract the less desirable elements of the Internet. It just doesn't.

Good to know!

We do happen to police our little sanctuary rather strictly too!

Although, to be fair, you can count on one hand the amount of times we've had to DM folks to mind their tone and on only a few fingers the times we've had to bar folks from entering the premises (excluding spammers).

[Stanshall]

While I understand K's point, I definitely appreciate the way contributions are incorporated into the show. Where a particularly interesting point is made or phrased well, it's often commended, and although it may seem slightly dismissive to not directly respond to individual comments, I agree that any direct disagreement with a contentious point is too one sided, as Jay pointed out. It's not a dialogue, at that point. To use contributions as a potential springboard for a particular topic or viewpoint means that the panel can then debate it and disagree without it being directly addressed at a forum member who can't reply.

Quite waffly but I'm a bit hungover. Happy new year one and all. Top quality forum and I totally agree with Suits and Alex. Forums have found their feet again, for me, and this is a great one.

[Chopper]

Interesting list this year; it really hits home when you see it laid out like that, the amount of work that goes in to this truly massive task each year. Big thanks to all the team for this.

I've only played three out of the first 35 games. Looks like I need to expand my gaming vocabulary

Looking forward in particular to Far Cry 2, and am on tenterhooks to see how you deal with Bioshock Infinite.

[Simonsloth]

Interesting list this year; it really hits home when you see it laid out like that, the amount of work that goes in to this truly massive task each year. Big thanks to all the team for this

Agree completely. It’s a huge commitment! The final fantasy games alone are a mammoth task! I’ve completely dismissed those and will focus on all the others.

Will be replaying bioshock 1 and 2 before infinite too. I hope the DLC will be included in the discussion.

[Marco]

As someone who has played a great deal of JRPGs and Resident Evil, this looks like a great year ahead. For me at least. I hope there's not too much grinding for the team.

Can I ask what's going on with the Resident Evil 4? I might have missed something. Will it be a revisiting episode, a different team entirely or will there be an extension of the original podcast?

I'm more than happy to listen to people talking more about that game and I hadn't known the podcast existed back then. Just wondering.

[Alex79uk]

I'm only making a guess, but I'd think it was likely due to the fact it would have looked a little odd to cover the series and leaving Resi 4 out, and it was so long ago and the game has had so many more re-releases since originally covering it that it probably more than warrants going back over it.

[ratsoalbion]

It’s some of the same panel and some who weren’t on originally.

Not only have there been several more versions of the game but also another six years has passed since we previously looked at RE4.

And, furthermore, some elements of the game that were unknown back in 2011/12 now need discussion.

The format of the show will be pretty much as if we hadn’t covered it before.

[Marco]

Cool, looking forward to it. I'll probably play the PC version that's been sitting on my Steam list judging me.