Idle Thumbs 106: Imagine the Man

[Jake]

Idle Thumbs 106:

 

 

Imagine the Man

This week on Idle Thumbs we talk about the video games we've been playing and laugh at each other, but our A/B testing has shown that those things don't really bring in the key demos we're looking for, so we're probably going to just replace this episode with a picture of a woman in a thong, drop a sleazy tagline on it, and claim for some reason that it's rated AO. That should do the trick.

 

Games Discussed: Tammany Hall, Thomas Was Alone, Dota 2, Spooky Sound Effects Record, Wartune, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Dark Souls & Demon's Souls, Sleeping Dogs

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[Sententia]

It strikes me that Idle Thumbs and the Telltale office might really love Mafia and it's probably a cool game to play on the Stream.  It's played in person like a board game without a board, over about a half hour.  There's also different rulesets for a long-form version designed for forum play, which allows more duplicity and manipulation and information trade/control (especially with a PM system).

[Gormongous]

Every week, I hope that the theme song is the "ruined" version from episode 102, the one where Jake is making all the noises.

[Faegbeard]

Just want to point out that the guys Chris was talking about in sleeping dogs that attack you when you take that picture aren't actually part of that mission if I remember correctly. They're guarding a lockbox.

 

The narrative of them being there to protect copyright on a scenic vista is better though.

[TychoCelchuuu]

On a scale of 1 to yes, how much does this podcast spoil Thomas Was Alone? I want to get around to that game some day.

[Jake]

I almost called this episode "Thomas Was AO" and didn't, and now I regret it.

 

 

  On 5/16/2013 at 3:44 AM, TychoCelchuuu said:

On a scale of 1 to yes, how much does this podcast spoil Thomas Was Alone? I want to get around to that game some day.

Around 1.y, probably. Chris talks about the systems in the game but not about the story much at all. He's played the whole game, so he's speaking from the perspective of having completed the experience, but there aren't a bunch of specific spoilers that I remember.

[CaptainFish]

Yeah, Dota talk! Was hoping for a little talk about the International Quals and Compendium, but I'll settle for any.

[soggybagel]

Sometimes I get confused on whether you're even talking about a game or riffing as you seamlessly move from Obama impressions.

[Nelsormensch]

So, I had just assumed that when you all turned on me in Tammany Hall, it was just an implicit read of the state of the board. Now to discover there was active collusion? Fascinating.

 

Also, just as a matter of public record, when I got up to and you all had your backstabbin' powwow, I was buying everyone a round of drinks. I even brought Nick back a glass of water. Things are on a whole new level now.

[soggybagel]

I will email you guys too but I was too broke to support your kickstarter back in the day but I would definitely buy a record from you guys for 30-40 dollars.

[I_smell]

Thanks for mentioning Heroes of Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes like 8 episodes ago. I downloaded it and I can't stop playing this game. I didn't know this was a thing people were doing, it's a cool idea.

[Gormongous]

  On 5/16/2013 at 6:32 AM, Nelsormensch said:

So, I had just assumed that when you all turned on me in Tammany Hall, it was just an implicit read of the state of the board. Now to discover there was active collusion? Fascinating.

 

Also, just as a matter of public record, when I got up to and you all had your backstabbin' powwow, I was buying everyone a round of drinks. I even brought Nick back a glass of water. Things are on a whole new level now.

 

Forget it, Nels. It's Chinatown.

[Argobot]

  On 5/16/2013 at 4:04 AM, Jake said:

I almost called this episode "Thomas Was AO" and didn't, and now I regret it.

 

That's fine, because then the title of the episode might have overshadowed the amazingness of the episode description.

[Roderick]

I'm just at the bit where you guys are asking for feedback on what type of merchandise I'd like. Well, I would love some quality apparel, but not t-shirts and the like, because I find I'm wearing those less and less. I'd like something I can wear to work. I'm reminded of the Penny Arcade line of polo shirts. Clothing that's classy and subtle, perhaps with only an Idle Thumb on it, or a logo, or a small wizard hat. Alternatively, a good quality hoodie to wear at home.

 

On top, I'd prefer the logo as it is on the site, rather than the 'pixeled' one.

 

Just the first thoughts in my head, about what I'd actually wear on a day-to-day basis. Alternatively, a novelty tie in the shape of a grotesque, detailed thumb.

[tegan]

For the bit about games like Dark Souls that appear to have a linear narrative but secretly gate you with skill: Super Metroid! Or almost any Metroid, really.

[mikemariano]

  On 5/16/2013 at 3:44 AM, TychoCelchuuu said:

how much does this podcast spoil Thomas Was Alone?

 

I'm more concerned about the Gone Home spoilers!  Sean said he played "Act I", which would mean the game is divided into Acts instead of being continuous exploration.

 

Since I'm currently playing Luigi's Mansion, I am picturing Professor E. Gadd beaming the player in and out of the house using his pixelation beam.

 

And if it's like Luigi's Mansion, I think we can safely say ghosts are confirmed.

[Argobot]

Follow up to the Merida from Brave redesign: Disney has apparently cancelled it http://www.avclub.com/articles/disney-quietly-nixes-its-gussied-up-version-of-mer,97793/

[feelthedarkness]

The deflated silence when Sean first mentions Dota as a comparison to Tammany Hall is SOLID GOLD. 

 

sidebar: I personally don't care what you dudes talk about, because it's the way you do it that is compelling. 

[melmer]

T SHIRTS T SHIRTS T SHIRTS

 

Could your make a spreadshirt store like GAF? I've actually made a t shirt on spreadshirt before its really easy (

)

 

Although now thinking about it i dont know how bigger cut of the monies you would get, probably a pretty small percentage if anything....but, you wouldn't have to deal with the busy side whatsoever

[tberton]

Hi guys, so glad you talked about Tammany Hall on the podcast. I love that game. Just wanted to correct some misconceptions about its release though.

 

The first edition was the one at Essen 2007 that looked like garbage but that everybody really liked. The second edition came out in 2009 and looks much like the Kickstarter edition: same board art, same box art, etc. The Kickstarter edition added the fancy meeples, office cards, embroidered bag and cleaned up the art slightly. Also, the Kickstarter edition was made available at retail (although I believe it's now sold out), which actually caused some controversy since many retailers got the game before many Kickstarter backers.

 

Anyway, it's a great game (that also has a great online implementation here). I'm excited to here your impressions.

[SecretAsianMan]

  On 5/16/2013 at 1:32 PM, Rodi said:

I'm just at the bit where you guys are asking for feedback on what type of merchandise I'd like. Well, I would love some quality apparel, but not t-shirts and the like, because I find I'm wearing those less and less. I'd like something I can wear to work. I'm reminded of the Penny Arcade line of polo shirts. Clothing that's classy and subtle, perhaps with only an Idle Thumb on it, or a logo, or a small wizard hat. Alternatively, a good quality hoodie to wear at home.

 

On top, I'd prefer the logo as it is on the site, rather than the 'pixeled' one.

 

Just the first thoughts in my head, about what I'd actually wear on a day-to-day basis. Alternatively, a novelty tie in the shape of a grotesque, detailed thumb.

 

I second this, especially the part about the polos.  Also, can I hire Jake to come perform at my birthday party as Big Bird?

[SecretAsianMan]

The question about Dark Souls and being able to beat the game almost whenever you want makes me think of Chrono Trigger.  It's not quite the same because there is a mostly linear story but after a certain point you can fight the final boss whenever you want.

 

Also, the Kotaku AO sexy women discussion brought this to mind.

[elmuerte]

I'd buy (more) Idle Thumbs T-Shirts. I like T-Shirts, and wear them to work (because I'm a software engineer). I wouldn't be interested in assless chaps.

 

As for open world games where you can skip stuff, how about most Bethesda games? Especially Fallout 3, one wrong turn and you skipped a whole bunch of the story.

[sclpls]

Just a quick factual correction: LA Noire takes place post-WWII so its in the late 40s, not 30s. Just bringing that up since you guys got into a brief disagreement about the elderly fellow that checked the game out.

 

Tammany Hall sounds cool, but I am definitely wary of king maker game designs.

[Jake]

  On 5/16/2013 at 6:32 AM, Nelsormensch said:

So, I had just assumed that when you all turned on me in Tammany Hall, it was just an implicit read of the state of the board. Now to discover there was active collusion? Fascinating.

 

Also, just as a matter of public record, when I got up to and you all had your backstabbin' powwow, I was buying everyone a round of drinks. I even brought Nick back a glass of water. Things are on a whole new level now.

It was a mix of both. It was all of us collectively saying "you all realize that anything but a unified front means that Nels will win right?" and everyone was already thinking that. We just made it official.

  On 5/16/2013 at 1:37 PM, tegan said:

For the bit about games like Dark Souls that appear to have a linear narrative but secretly gate you with skill: Super Metroid! Or almost any Metroid, really.

Super Metroid is almost entirely gated with mechanics, isn't it? You need crazy missile type X to bash through this wall, or you need the grappling beam to swing across this otherwise insane gap! I'm sure there are parts of the game which you can complete if you have near-exploit-worthy levels of wall hopping traversal skill, but that's not explicit in the design of the game, right? I'm not anywhere near a skilled Metroid player, so while I know about speed run type scenarios, my understanding of Metroid design is "the player sees an interesting place that they can't go but find intriguing, and then when they gain a new unlock or ability they realize they can backtrack to that interesting place and discover they now have the mechanical means to access it." That's pretty different than core-skill-based gating.