Remap Radio 40 - (Dragon's) Dog(ma 2) Days of Summer
Mar 22, 2024
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Podcast discusses Musk's absurd Sweetbaby witch hunt, challenges of unionizing in media, Dragon's Dogma 2, Balatro & Motorsports Manager successes, Total War Shogun 3 desires, and dives into online toxicity, ownership dynamics, media challenges, and importance of unions.
03:19:42
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Quick takeaways
Legacy media struggles with maintaining institutional expertise in the face of digital dominance.
Online challenges for smaller media outlets include discoverability and negative interactions.
The union drive at IGN reveals ongoing struggles between management and workers' rights in media organizations.
Dragon's Dogma 2 features a detailed world, diverse races, and improved combat design.
Golden Lab combines art style and strategic gameplay in a motorsport management game set in the dangerous F1 racing era.
Deep dives
Challenges in Legacy Media
Legacy media outlets face challenges in sustaining institutional expertise and mentorship due to the shifting landscape of digital media dominance. The model of building deep knowledge and experience within a team proves difficult in an environment where scale and profitability drive decisions.
Navigating the Online Space
The online landscape presents challenges in discoverability and organic growth for smaller operations seeking to reach a wider audience. Breaking through engagement can lead to exposure to new audiences but also invites scrutiny and potentially negative interactions.
Unionization at IGN
The union drive at IGN highlights the push for workers' rights and representation within media organizations. The subsequent layoffs affecting union members shed light on the ongoing struggles between management prerogatives and union protection in the evolving media industry.
Intriguing Exploration and World Design
The game features a dense and detailed world with diverse cultures and unique races, such as the Beastron and the humans. The lack of icons on the map leads to varied player experiences based on exploration. NPCs offer quests and interactions that contribute to a rich and immersive world, allowing for unique narrative threads to unfold based on player choices.
Engaging Combat Design and Class System
The combat design undergoes significant improvements, offering more dynamic and strategic gameplay experiences. The class system has been revamped, with changes to classes like the warrior, thief, and sorcerer, providing new abilities and playstyles. Players can engage in a variety of combat scenarios, enhancing the overall depth and engagement of the battles.
Deeper Storytelling and Lore Detail
The game delves into deeper story elements and lore details, presenting philosophical themes and exploring concepts such as race relations and political intrigue. The narrative complexity and diverse character interactions create a compelling and immersive storytelling experience. Players encounter intriguing NPCs, engaging in quests that prompt thought-provoking choices and consequences, expanding the depth of the game's narrative landscape.
Effects of Light Fuel on Car Performance
Lightening the car by using less fuel resulted in a significantly faster lap times for the driver Gaspar. Despite having better components with lower reliability than the senior driver, Gaspar excelled due to the lighter car and the unique track conditions.
Golden Lab - A New Twist on Motorsport Management
Golden Lab, a new motorsport management game, combines the artistic style of Art of Rally with the strategic gameplay of a motorsport manager. Set in the era of dangerous F1 racing from 1960 to 1980, the game captures the excitement, danger, and evolving technology of that time period, raising questions about how it handles sensitive issues like driver safety and accidents.
Game Depth Mechanics and Evolution
The podcast episode delves into the topic of game depth mechanics and how they evolve over time. It highlights the challenge faced by licensed sports games in portraying realistic and potential negative real-life outcomes such as career-ending injuries. The discussion extends to the lack of representation of significant historical advancements within game development, like the evolution of Formula 1 cars or the introduction of team radios.
Challenges in Game Development and Industry Shifts
The episode also touches on the challenges in game development, potential industry shifts, and the impact on developers. It explores how many game developers face layoffs due to industry norms and studio management priorities. The conversation extends to the possibility of a shift in the industry towards fewer AAA studios and more independent developers, reflecting on the dynamics of creative freedom and respectful workplace practices.
Rob and Cado sit down for a quick episode before PAX and end up shooting the breeze for over two hours about Musk's embrace of the absurd Sweetbaby witch hunt, layoffs at IGN and the challenges of unionizing in the face of a declining media ecosystem, Ron Howard's classic journalism adventure The Paper and what it means to have institutional capacity. Then Austin and Patrick talk Dragon's Dogma before Rob and Cado return to talk about their successes in Balatro and Motorsports Manager, plus the upcoming race team management game from Funselektor and what a management game set in the most dangerous years of racing will have to get into. Finally, Rob thinks there should probably be a Total War Shogun 3 by now, and finally the duo dive into questions.
Discussed: Coffee Talk 2:40, Gamergate "2.0" 6:38, IGN Lays off Union Members 1:05:27, Austin and Patrick talk Dragon's Dogma 2 1:19:59, Balatro 2:10:44, Motorsport Manager 2:28:28, Total War: Shogun 2 2:42:14, The Question Bucket 2:53:06
