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Idle Thumbs Megathread | Indepth discussion inbetween horsebags and birdsounds

demidar

Member
Also if you're starting from the beginning (which I will also encourage because it's still podcast gold), I'll just warn you that the language can be a little... rough.
 

Jake

Member
Also if you're starting from the beginning (which I will also encourage because it's still podcast gold), I'll just warn you that the language can be a little... rough.

Yeah the early early episodes use old gaming culture language (e.g. "rape" as a synonym to getting owned in a game) liberally in a way we never would now. I don't recommend the very early episodes anymore because of this. We'd come up in that culture and, stupidly, never considered it. It takes us a while to clean up completely but most of it is wrung out in the earliest episodes. So, you really want to deep dive into the past maybe start around ep 10 or 11 instead of 1, at least. The two parter of Episode 11 and its followup, Episode XI-2, are a decent starting place for an archival deep dive I think.

Or don't do that, and just roll back a few. I think our run in the past few months (lead up to and aftermath from ep 300) were pretty good.
 

Anno

Member
I'm glad we've established now that episode 12 of a mainline Thumbs crew podcast is to be a sequel to episode 11. I'm disappointed that this one isn't titled 11-2, though.
 

Boem

Member
I finally got around to my Twin Peaks rewatch in preparation for the new series (after watching it a couple of times over the years I still have never watched the back half of season 2 or the movie - I always involuntarily quit at the same point 75% of viewers do apparently, even though I love the show), and I just wanted to throw this quick post out there to endorse the Idle Thumbs Twin Peaks podcast, which is still really good and really enhances my own rewatch. So watch Twin Peaks and listen to Thumbs people!

Link for the lazy: https://www.idlethumbs.net/twinpeaks
 

Jake

Member
I finally got around to my Twin Peaks rewatch in preparation for the new series (after watching it a couple of times over the years I still have never watched the back half of season 2 or the movie - I always involuntarily quit at the same point 75% of viewers do apparently, even though I love the show), and I just wanted to throw this quick post out there to endorse the Idle Thumbs Twin Peaks podcast, which is still really good and really enhances my own rewatch. So watch Twin Peaks and listen to Thumbs people!

Link for the lazy: https://www.idlethumbs.net/twinpeaks

I've been re-listening to all the Twin Peaks Rewatch episodes in preparation for season three, in the hopes of kicking as much of the rust off as possible in advance, before we do episodes for the new season. It's reminded me how fun that show was to do.
 

Anno

Member
I hope you all get to play a lot of Prey and do a big Thumbs episode with your thoughts. It's such a good game so far.
 

dLMN8R

Member
Yo I don't remember if you guys have any connection to GFW Radio or know Shawn Elliott, but he mentioned on Twitter that he's looking for podcasts to hop on. He works at Arkane and is a level designer on Prey. You should totally invite him.
 

Anno

Member
Yo I don't remember if you guys have any connection to GFW Radio or know Shawn Elliott, but he mentioned on Twitter that he's looking for podcasts to hop on. He works at Arkane and is a level designer on Prey. You should totally invite him.

He's been on an episode before. Somewhere back in the late 80s, early 90s. I think him and Chris were acquaintances before that when they worked in the press. It would definitely be nice to see him on again though given how much the Thumbs people like the games he helps to make.
 

Jake

Member
He's been on an episode before. Somewhere back in the late 80s, early 90s. I think him and Chris were acquaintances before that when they worked in the press. It would definitely be nice to see him on again though given how much the Thumbs people like the games he helps to make.

They worked together on BioShock Infinite!
 

xir

Likely to be eaten by a grue
interesting to hear the "we love systems based games but we make narrative based games" discussion, since I've been thinking about that for awhile, though I feel like I saw Miasmata (map) come through in Firewatch and even outlast (the dong bros during the prologue)

Last one might be reaching.

Again, Firewatch is an un-metroidvania like a vampire is undead
 

Teeth

Member
Yeah the early early episodes use old gaming culture language (e.g. "rape" as a synonym to getting owned in a game) liberally in a way we never would now. I don't recommend the very early episodes anymore because of this. We'd come up in that culture and, stupidly, never considered it. It takes us a while to clean up completely but most of it is wrung out in the earliest episodes. So, you really want to deep dive into the past maybe start around ep 10 or 11 instead of 1, at least. The two parter of Episode 11 and its followup, Episode XI-2, are a decent starting place for an archival deep dive I think.

You should probably stop using "owned" if you're concerned about making a post like this again in 5 years.
 

Jake

Member
You should probably stop using "owned" if you're concerned about making a post like this again in 5 years.

Thanks. (I do appreciate the point, and will fix that.)

interesting to hear the "we love systems based games but we make narrative based games" discussion, since I've been thinking about that for awhile, though I feel like I saw Miasmata (map) come through in Firewatch and even outlast (the dong bros during the prologue)

Last one might be reaching.

Again, Firewatch is an un-metroidvania like a vampire is undead

Yeah there are a lot of little systems in Firewatch (and sole totally simulated and reactive things like physics) but I think those sort of systems are more there as a bit of crunchy detail to add to the feeling of being the character or being in the place, OR theyre serving as pins in the narrative pachinko machine that's running underneath the whole experience. I think that's what separates Firewatch from a traditional adventure game. But it's also very different from a game where those systems are what define the core loop of the game and the dressing is placed over the top of that loop.

Re: spicy, one day in an early IIT episode Chris said he was feeling spicy and has spent the rest of his life trying to make spicy happen. He will die spicy, with a smile on his face.
 

Jintor

Member
is it that you cats don't want to make system heavy games or it's just a coincidence that the first one you got together for wasn't one (or it was kind of just built off the telltale experience?)
 

demidar

Member
Systems heavy games seems like something you need a real big team to pull off, or take a really long time in development. Not sure if Campo Santo is up for that yet.
 

Jake

Member
is it that you cats don't want to make system heavy games or it's just a coincidence that the first one you got together for wasn't one (or it was kind of just built off the telltale experience?)

I'm not sure. When it came to Firewatch, it was the game it was in part because the team liked the feeling of being in a fully realized visually unique space that you get in the big AAA single player first person games and thought we could do a take on that, and the way to make that achievable with a small team is to choose your battles. We had talked about there being more complicated traversal and climbing, more intense cartography, for instance, but even those fell away as not important enough to the game. We never really considered going as far as enemy or other NPC AI, because the story we wanted to tell was pretty intimate.

This is unrelated to Firewatch but kind of related to "why the empty room games?" Design aesthetic considerations aside (e.g.: "I just don't want to make a game with enemies you combat") reactive characters like NPCs and enemies all seem simpler than they are (they are hugely complex). I hope this GDC talk by an enemy animaton/behavior programmer on the new Doom game eventually goes into the Vault for free so everyone can watch it. It's such a good talk about that shows the skill and ingenuity and artistry from programming and art and design, that goes into a really reactive gameplay element (in this case enemies). It's hard to explain until you see some complicated AAA grade examples.
 

Brakke

Banned
I've enjoyed every ep of IIT so far but I appreciate the broadening. Robots are good and funny but as long as they're crowding out this good good Panino content they must be considered our enemy.
 
Finally caught up with Important If True. The podcast needs a "please don't listen while driving" warning. First there's the robot that can stab in 60 ways (and Chris' Joe Pesci) and then later in the same episode the Dempster Dumpmaster/Wetzel's Pretzels discussion..

I'm lucky I didn't
get hoisted
 

thenexus6

Member
I listened to the newest episode then when I got home I watched it on youtube to see the reactions in video form.

Man I love this show!
 

Sakwoff

Member
I listened to the newest episode then when I got home I watched it on youtube to see the reactions in video form.

Man I love this show!

Oh my god, yeah.

This might just have been my favourite moment of all podcasts ever. I actually jumped up from my chair.
 

Kerned

Banned
Has everyone been listening to Something True? If not, please start with episode one. If you don't like it, skip ahead to episode 8. If you don't like that, please listen to the other 6 episodes. Every single one is incredible.
 

Anno

Member
I don't understand how people could hate Something True. Alex's readings are just perfect. Really hope we get a season 2!
 
I just heard these guys on the Giant Bombcast, they were fucking great -- never listened to one of their podcasts before, I think I've heard them name dropped on Waypoint a few times, too. Any episodes I should listen too as a priority or am I good to jump in with the latest stuff?

Welcome to the Fold! Bombcast and Idle Thumbs are two of the few podcasts I make time for every week.

I'd reccomend this gem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9R-ICC29gU
 

Brakke

Banned
Yeah I definitely heard that shitbag story before. Like, on GAF even, I think. I was wondering if it had gone Nick Breckon -> GAF -> Me but I guess it's just in the air.

The best part about this, though, is it means when the hairdresser was talking about her lady-client that told it, it's entirely possible the hairdresser indeed heard it from a lady client *in addition to having heard it from Nick Breckon*.

You should probably stop using "owned" if you're concerned about making a post like this again in 5 years.

Clearly "hoisted" is going to slot right into that spot.

Keep "stay spicy", though. That shit is timeless.

I'm really bummed that knuckleheads on The_Donald say "spicy" a whole lot. I hope they don't take it from me I like it too much. ;_;
 

Joeku

Member
I feel like "owned" is just coming back semi-ironically, since "pwned" and the like have not been a thing for a while. And while I am into hoisting, I can't hear it and not thing of the first episode of Veep.

Also, hoisting literally means blowing yourself up, so if you follow the path that the Thumbs took from video games to IiT, it does kind of work: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoist_with_his_own_petard
 

Mafro

Member
Regarding the discussion on Important If True the other week about the People section in the Photos app on iPhone, on mine it made a whole album out of my Pokemon Go screenshots because it recognises my avatar's face in the bottle left corner as an actual person.
 

Rahk

Member
How big are the spoiler segments on the Twin Peaks rewatch cast (season 1 and 2)?

I watched it a few years back but dropped out towards the end of season 2, I guess at the same point everyone else does.

I'm rewatching it now from the beginning and listening to the cast after each episode. Would I be safe to listen to the spoiler sections or are there still things that could be spoiled if I haven't watched the end of season 2 and Fire Walk with Me?
 

Jake

Member
How big are the spoiler segments on the Twin Peaks rewatch cast (season 1 and 2)?

I watched it a few years back but dropped out towards the end of season 2, I guess at the same point everyone else does.

I'm rewatching it now from the beginning and listening to the cast after each episode. Would I be safe to listen to the spoiler sections or are there still things that could be spoiled if I haven't watched the end of season 2 and Fire Walk with Me?

Did you get through the resolution of the Laura Palmer murder? If so (and if you don't mind some scenes in the movie being spoiled) you can probably listen to spoilers.

(btw I am really liking season 3. It's really weird but so good.)
 

Rahk

Member
Did you get through the resolution of the Laura Palmer murder? If so (and if you don't mind some scenes in the movie being spoiled) you can probably listen to spoilers.

(btw I am really liking season 3. It's really weird but so good.)
Yeah, I did. Cool, thanks.

Can't wait to catch up.
 
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