PixlBit

I have the silver one but I originally had the purple one. I've always wanted one of those orange ones, I've seen them on Amazon and Ebay before. I love how comfortably the GC controller fits in my hands, and as weird as it looks it's incredibly sturdy and solid despite being lightweight. I've dropped mine so many times and hit it on things and it's never chipped, become loose feeling, cheap & plastic-y, and the buttons haven't become sticky.

My Gamecube console and its controller are the two most sturdy and reliable pieces of tech I have in my entire house.

I told Julian on twitter this morning that I'm not down on One, I'm actually quite impressed by it, I'm just not interested. We still have to see all the games at E3, but at the moment I'm certainly leaning towards picking up PC gaming as well as a PS4.

Kinect 2.0 and the multimedia speed and accuracy is beyond impressive, it's the kind of stuff that a lot of people will really enjoy and use. It looks like a fantastic multimedia living room device, it's the type of thing Microsoft has been trying to do this whole time. It isn't a fight for games alone, M's strategy has been a fight for entertainment in a broad sense and it's a fight for the living room and they are succeeding at it very well. It's a strategy we have all known about since before the launch of the 360, but people seem to have forgotten about it or tried to pretend Microsoft didn't "mean" it. Anybody who has been following Microsoft's foray into gaming and entertainment since the original Xbox shouldn't be surprised by any of this, they've been very clear about this overall war plan for a long time. The One device is the kind of thing that Apple has been trying to create to dominate the living room but hasn't quite been able to do yet, the One might be attractive enough to a lot of people to actually be that trojan horse to dominate their living room and entertainment needs. The 360 was already that type of device for a lot of people, and now the One is a more refined and aggressive attack into that strategy.

It could end up working out really well for Microsoft, because these days the sales of PCs are way down, meaning sales of Windows is probably down as well, and it sounds like they need to adapt to a changing market. The Xbox One could be a really profitable idea in the adaptation. Lots of people want that kind of simple, single, sleek (note that I didn't say attractive, I don't think it is) multimedia device in their living room that works incredibly fast and does any random thing they tell it to do on the fly. It's very tech heavy and forward thinking, it seems like the kind of thing kids and many adults will eat up and learn to use very quickly. It isn't for everybody but it seems like it'll sell really well if the price is right and the marketing is good come later this year.

It isn't for me, but it is really impressive, and it seems like it'll be an excellent way for Microsoft to continue their long known strategy to be the go to device in people's living rooms.

Remember this guy? Yep, not him. I really like the Gamecube, 360, and Dualshock 2

Fantastic topic, discussion, and cast. It's nice to hear that Patrick is doing a little painting again, I hope he can get a blog in sometime soon showing any work(s) he wants us to check out. I really appreciated Patrick's Triforce painting as well as the other ones he's posted. I wish all the best to Master Gholson, Zero Charisma looks like a really compelling story. There's no history behind why I call him Master Gholson, it's just the title I instinctively gave him the first time he came on the show, it became a habit, and now I realize I've never referred to John as anything else lol. He seems like a very humble and kind person, and there's something about him that exudes a master or sensei-like quality. Much love goes to Erika as Julian requested, I appreciate the positive, level-headed, and informed attitude she brings. Jules listed her on a follow-Friday on twitter one time so I started checking out all of her works and I'm a fan now.

The part of the discussion that got me thinking the most was when John explained the difference between passion and obsession, and why it's unhealthy to get too attached to these hobbies and material possessions we love and how we can't allow them to become the only thing making us happy. The approach every one took to this discussion really injected a healthy dose of not only sensibility, understanding, and love, but also context. We love video games but they're just a part of our lives, not our entire lives. If my room burned down and I realized I no longer have all my Gamecube and 360 games, I would have to make sure I could psychologically be okay the next day. My games are a great outlet for me and depending on the type of game they can stimulate me cognitively, intellectually, and emotionally in unique ways that school and the society around me isn't. I really love the craft of design and if I can I want to be on a team and make a living building, so games may indeed end up being a big part of my livelihood but I can't loose that bird's-eye view that John was explaining.

In recent history, anytime that one of my consoles had died and I went without gaming for an extended period of time it ended up being a positive thing. I've just taken my attention to reading, drawing, playing guitar, and getting outside more, but that wasn't always the case. When I was fresh out of high school I was a mess emotionally and I wasn't prepared for life afterwards. The tests I took would have you believe I was in the top 10th percentile of the country, but in reality I was a total wreck with no clue what to do. Failing at adulthood made me feel inferior and I lost a lot of self esteem and became like a hermit. I was depressed for a couple years and it's hard to admit it but there were times when I'd look at lists for upcoming video games and I'd reassure myself that I had something to live for. Anytime when that dark corner of my psyche would suggest that I was better off dead, the dominant part of my psyche would make sure to remind me that the next Halo, Mass Effect, or Elder Scrolls was coming and if I was dead I'd miss out on the great memories I'd inevitably create with those games. I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss all the work and love that went into the projects, and I needed to experience them for myself. For a while I felt like if I lost all my games I'd fall off a cliff, but with time I've been becoming more stable, creative, ambitious, I've been reading more, studying more, branching out into various interests, and even though I have a passion for games and I want to build I need to make sure that I can survive without them.

After I listened to this podcast this morning I went to get dressed and during some introspection I did what John did and looked at my life from a bird's eye perspective and realized that the greatest priority I have when it comes to making a career out of this isn't necessarily the games I make, code I write, or the levels I build. Games come and go, technology improves and demands you to adapt, good designers are always learning and challenging themselves with new ideas. The actual game part of this career path is always in flux and it's never perfect. The most important aspect of making a career in design is the people you spend your time designing with. Who cares if you make a groundbreaking game if all your memories of being on the team are poisonous and you hated the culture, the way you were treated, and the experience of building it?

The people you end up spending your years with are much more important than the actual game, or some bullshit Metacritic score, or a flaming thread on some forum of people being racist, sexist, or hateful to you. That's not to devalue the games you design though. Even under the best circumstances, if you're on a great team and you make a great game that you can be proud of, at the end of the day you have to quit making that game, ship it, and move on. Things are always changing in design and teams often change, there's a lot of variables, but the only thing that has a chance to be relatively constant may end up being the people you spend your time with. If you can't find smart, compassionate, level-headed, positive people to team up with I don't see how any ambitions and creativity you have would be worth it in the end. Prior to that I didn't often think about a possible career in this rodeo from that aspect, I just thought purely about ideas and I wanted to be ambitious and innovative and put out the next thing to blow people's minds. Passion and ambition brought me to game design, but the only thing that can keep me here will be finding good people to spend time with.

Minecraft. Also, any tower defense game.

This is that Finnish band I mentioned a few days ago. I like this song quite a bit. There's a lot of Metallica and Megadeth influence in these guys among other things especially in the way he sings, but the choruses have a different type of influence and they sound nice too. The album art is pretty cool and unique too.

I like this song by Operatika, her voice is really nice and the guitarists are pretty good.

This one is my favorite that I'm sharing this week, it's some symphonic black metal from Vesperian Sorrow. The name always makes me think of Tales of Vesperia the game. This song and band rocks, I love this style of black metal with lots of melody, symphonic parts, but it's also super heavy.

Love the Wii U gamepad idea of walking around a NintendoLand type of environment and getting to interact with displays and watch teasers, play demos, etc. That's not just a good idea, it's fantastic and I'd like to see all three do something like that.

I've seen that picture before and it's always awesome. I thought Vinny would be taller. I know you're a giant of a man and Vinny is slouching in the picture but I thought he would've been up there with Gerstman in height. Gerstman is like you, up in the early/medium 6' range isn't he? Was there a cool story behind you meeting them outside the expo there? Did you get to exchange a couple words with them about anything?

Definitely don't quit! We just barely got started and there's so much adventure left to go in Dark Souls. I haven't watched the new video yet but I will after this, since you asked for advice and opinions on how the show is going I just want to write this down before I forget. Length of the videos is good and I like how you guys stopped in the last video and talked about the statue of the mother and baby at the sunlight altar and talked about lore for a minute. I'd like to see you guys talk lore as you play whenever you feel it's appropriate and you can fit it in. I like how B will randomly ask you questions or tell you to clarify things to new players as you're adventuring and seeing new things, and then you'll give him answers and you'll both delve into the topics and discuss it together.

Also, it would be really cool for you to occasionally stop and show the viewers what kind of equipment you're using for particular areas and battles if you think it would be important advice for new players. For example if you go to Blighttown and you're trying to wear poison resistant clothes and the poisonbite ring or even the rusted iron ring so you don't get slowed by the swamp try to take a minute to explain to those new players why you're choosing to do that, what the properties of the equipments are, etc. I can tell from the comments you've been getting in the videos so far that some of the community members here are actually playing DS too and they often have questions which is really cool. You could highlight the benefits of certain equipments, you could discuss strategies to how you're going to take on a boss and just any general area with your bow-build, etc so that the people playing can get some insight into how the game's systems work, how kindling works, what firekeeper souls do, why it's good to try out different types of equipment for different situations, why it's good to study your stats and item effects, and how the weapon/armor upgrading works.

One of the things that has made my first Dark Souls playthrough so amazing is that since the beginning I've been plugged into the DS community, the Wiki, Dark Souls veterans like you, and asking questions and having people help me out which has given my adventure a sense of camaraderie and a support system that can discuss the nuances and finer mechanical details of the game as well as lore with me.

m/ m/

When Monday comes around there's this one Finnish band I want to share with everybody, you'll probably already know who they are because you're really plugged into lots of metal from around the world. You already knew of that awesome Russian black metal band Grimorium Verum that I shared last time. Those guys are awesome, I'm still listening to that album a lot, their Reborn album is really good. I've been putting the headphones and listen to Grimorium Verum while I watch hockey playoffs. I can always count on you to know about good bands and weird interesting stuff far and wide.

I assume the goatee and chops all connect to your side burns so it's all one big beard/goatee/mustache? It looks a lot like James Hetfield's long goatee that he grows out from time to time, except yours is darker in color and even more metal.

My dad grows a thick Abe Lincoln style beard and his mustache connects to it I think, he's had big facial hair all his life since before I was born, he trims it a little to keep it styled and it's naturally a strong contrasting mix of black and silver hair. You and my Dad both have some legit beards that could probably grow out to be like dwarves in lord of the rings. I grow hair pretty fast and I've had a mustache and goatee since I was 15 or so, but they don't all connect together so I've always been really disappointed. It gets really itchy and I end up trimming them both or shaving them off. I can grow a thick beard and mustache but mine are more on the inferior side so I just keep it short or shaven.