Dev Game Club Brett Douville and Tim Longo

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on 2000's The Sims. We give some anecdotes, Tim builds his own from the ground up, and of course, we turn to our takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.
Sections played:
A few more hours
Issues covered: losing the alien, making the middle-of-the-road character, pecs and glutes, not being able to hire, having to have someone work on the house full time, the light bulbs need replacement, building a house from scratch, a one-room apartment, getting to know your Sim by them walking around, the dread setting in, finding a daily schedule, the newspaper, managing one of the Sims, the chaos of several Sims, figuring out the daily morning routine, getting repeatedly burgled, fighting for detente, finding perfect synchrony, a lonely Sim existence, proactive socialization and obligations, preferring the remove of fantasy or science fiction, how you feel about this game at different points in life, finding other demographics, object encapsulation, gravity wells, attaching animation to the objects themselves, the online stories of the Sims, high value UI choices, realism leading to anxiety, finding the right level of abstraction but simulating a lot of life, breadth and depth, a wider range of feelings, progression vs maintenance, exposing the bars all the time, the design choices we make and the commentary that results, astrological signs, the things I thought about, Zen and the importance of weekends, teams make games.
Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Mr. Rogers, Piet Mondrian, Bob Newhart, Mia Goth, Will Wright, Grand Theft Auto, SimCity, Sid Meier, Animal Crossing, Nintendo Switch, Portal (obliquely), Halo, World of Warcraft, Maxis, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.
Next time:
?
Links:
Alice and Kev (Sims 3 story)
Animal Crossing Mom
Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on The Sims. We talk about a dark spiral, read some poetry, the problem of having enough time, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.
Sections played:
A few more hours
Issues covered: alien life, Windows snippet tool vs print screen, not saving, random seeds, introducing a chaos event, theorizing about end games for careers, Tim's persistent chip bag, forums and forever games, games you can play daily, free-to-play mobile games, appointment-based gaming, min/maxing psychology, selling the kids' doll house for food, Dianne being negative, "I'm too depressed to even look at myself," lack of weekends, two Sims having a day off, a podcast first, multiple burners, having to closely manage Bob's fun, the Sims for therapy, externalizing developer feelings of 21st century life, using the room meter to understand what needs to be done, the ultimate plate-spinning game, "did you know that love could be lucrative?," falling in love to increase your net worth, 3D characters and a 2D environment, modding goals and having 3D characters, dimetric vs isometric, revisiting gender normativity, liking problematic things, listening to their audience, how you might approach things the second time around, remastering Final Fantasy VI, a party of side characters, two automated characters healing each other.
Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: SimCity, Dianne Feinstein, Apple ][, Farmville, Diner Dash, Bejeweled, Animal Crossing, Sims Online, Maxis, Firaxis, Ensemble Studios, Terry Pratchett, Mia Goth, Halo, Kenneth Koch, David Sedaris, Diablo, Quake, Tomb Raider, Super Mario 64, Michael, EA, Wing Commander, Anita Sarkeesian, Northern Exposure, Starfighter, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia, Final Fantasy VI, BioStats, Kaeon, Unity, Final Fantasy Tactics, Cloud Strife, Apocalypse Now. 
Next time:
A few more hours and maybe finish with The Sims
Links:
Here's an audio recording of the poet Kenneth Koch reading his poem
Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 2000's The Sims. We spend a little time on the gender normativity of the title, sprinkle in some stories about our various households, and also fit in some reader mail! Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.
Sections played:
A few more hours!
Issues covered: satire and farce, Timmy's toilet troubles, Betty's rapid rise in scientific circles, sexual orientation and the Sims, dark times for Bob, Jeff in the military, whether the game is conforming to gender biases all the time or not, Diane and politics, how Betty got her job, thinking about design decisions around careers, the value systems that the game systems express, working with smaller spaces and the difficulties for game development, the American Dream qua Nightmare, being in the 1950s and the music, "None of my good points are inadvertent," opacity of systems in other simulations vs this game's clarity, a toy vs a game, Bob winning things via the phones, Chance and Community Chest, Potty Talk with Tim and Brett, dolls and trains, finding SimCity more serious, can the Sims die?, not knowing that we had to pay the bills, investing in Bob's creativity, touching on the animation and object systems, teenagers and hygiene, getting Bob's confidence up, a little ditty, the shlubs getting the gals, encouraging community via modding and engagement, moon names, code names, hunting for things in games, the tension of player cleverness and wasting your time, environment scanning, visual language and level design, getting playersr to have intuition.
Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Mia Goth, Mad Men (obliquely), SimCity 2000, Unpacking, Fallout (obliquely), Will Wright, Monopoly, John Mellencamp, Seth Rogen, Raid on Bungeling Bay, Bethesda Game Studios, Skyrim, Jonah Lobe, Quiet: Level One, Sasha, Tomb Raider, mysterydip, Kaeon, Might and Magic, NES, Where's Waldo, Ratchet & Clank, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, UbiSoft, Witcher III, World of Warcraft, Morrowind, Arkham (series), Breath of the Wild, Ocarina of Time, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.
Next time:
More of The Sims!
Links:
Jonah Lobe's Quiet: Level One 
Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we start a new series on 2000's The Sims. We first set the game in its time, and then turn almost immediately to what happened with our Sims. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.
Sections played:
A couple of hours
Issues covered: spiders and ant farms, last few episodes, our interview with Michel Ancel, games from 2000, all-time sales by brand, an expansion-pack driven business model, games that don't end, a precedent, building up to simulating people, our memories, jumping in without the manual, following the tutorial, talking about Bob and Betty Newbie, a little shade on the console version, what you learn in the tutorial, getting a job, roleplaying the newbies, being visited by the Goths, an interview with John Romero, another visit from the Goths, Tim diving into level design, making messes, options for reading, promoting experimentation, people eating all over the place, Bob and Betty dividing up labor, Bob the freeloader, the people in your neighborhood, horror movie on the TV, kids running in the streets, Mrs Goth collecting her child, the bed against the wall, building versus micromanaging, finding our own fun, comedy factory, inter-system friction, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, spinning the plates, "some dude got water everywhere," discussing how the pathfinding might work, keeping it clean, our Easter Egg, the Aw Jeez files.
Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: BioStats, Calamity Nolan, Ben from Iowa, Mark Garcia, Michel Ancel, SW: Starfighter, Final Fantasy IX, Deus Ex, THPS 2, SSX, Perfect Dark, NOLF, Baldur's Gate 2, Vagrant Story, Diablo 2, Banjo-Tooie, Spyro: Year of the Dragon, Majora's Mask, Crazy Taxi, Counter-Strike, Thief II, PlayStation, Pokémon, Tetris, Assassin's Creed, Legos, Minecraft, FIFA, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Mario, Game Boy, Little Computer People, Seaman, Tamagotchi, Amiga, Atari, David Crane, Rich Gold, Pitfall!, Famicom, Will Wright, Raid on Bungeling Bay, Maxis, EA, Final Fantasy Tactics, Donald Pleasance, SimCity, Dwarf Fortress, John Romero, Spore, Mr Rogers, The Exorcist, George Lucas, Far Cry 2, Abraham Maslow, Dave K, Final Fantasy VI, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers. 
Next time:
More The Sims!
Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Friends from the Discord provide some audio from back in December -- sorry to get to it so late, I admit I forgot. No show notes as I'm just back from vacation and settling in. See you next week.
Next time:
New series!
Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we're both unavailable, but we catch you up on the mailbag! Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.
Issues covered: a review prompting discussion of Majora's Mask, some discussion of time loop games, a very difficult to find character, hard to find stuff in older games, Easter Eggs in games we've put in or in games we knew, the Jar-Jar model, the hidden command-line, keeping the love alive, teaching a bit of a design course, should have gone into film, starting our own company, being inspired by GDC, being reminded of the passion, getting the gang back together, green Tahoma, bringing in marketing, comparative marketing, tapping into the lizard brain, a title having to be many things, legal search for copyright/trademark, why is it called Europa, whether or not it's possible not to grind, the mental state required, the time pressure of the podcast, a place to play for elite players, the relative ease of critical paths in later games, completionist vs main-line content, the requirement to broaden games' appeal, how many people finish games as a percentage, making 30% of the end of the game, the Deep Dungeon of Final Fantasy Tactics, rescuing the dragon, fighting the high end critters, Cloud Strife and his headache, diving into the Deep Dungeon, lighting and the dark dungeon, how to unlock the calculator, the strategy for finding the dungeon exits, Brett's theory about Cloud, connections with Viet Nam, localization issue?, deciding on a post-credits sequence.
Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: _Iceboy_, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Groundhog's Day, Super Time Force Ultra, PlayStation, Housemarque, Returnal, Deathloop, Outer Wilds, Ashton Herrmann, Pokemon Red/Blue, Street Fighter 2, DB Weiss, Lucky Wander Boy, Jamie Fristrom, Adventure, Mortal Kombat, Republic Commando, Force Unleashed, Greg Knight, Greg Land, Harley Baldwin, Star Wars: Starfighter, Dave K, Diablo, Far Cry 2, Thief, Bethesda Game Studios, Brainy Gamer/Michael Abbott, This War of Mine, Call of Duty, Ian Milham, Tim-mento, Trespasser, Baldur's Gate 3, Dungeons & Dragons, Michael #1, Hero of the Circinus Galaxy, Tacoma, John Feil, Halo (series), Disney Infinity, Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Robert Heinlein, 2010, Tomb Raider, Michael #2, Tactics Ogre/Ogre Battle, Space Quest/King's Quest, Plundered Hearts, Larian Studios, BioWare, The Witcher III,  Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, Apocalypse Now, Ladyhawke, The Doors.
Errata:
Lucky Wander Boy was written by D. B. Weiss (which admittedly, is German for white). We regret the error.
Next time: 
TBA
Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com