Open Betas

Open Betas
  • 5.0 (1)
  • VIDEO GAMES

A podcast about the life of games and the game of life. Swimfan, a reformed marketing director at various large game companies, and Regal, a software engineer, give multitudinous lukewarm takes on game design and development, the industry as a whole, and ideas about how to improve...everything. Occasionally, we also play games.

  1. 11/09/2023

    v1.022: Swimfantasy Theatrhythm

    Music games are all the rage these days! Also, I'm selling a bundle of 2 Rock Band drumkits (markedly used) and a crate of unopened DJ Hero turntables for $9.99 USD. Please like and comment if you're interested. Outro music by I Am Jemboy YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

    2h 50m

  2. 10/18/2023

    v1.021: One RNG to rule them all with Paul Sottosanti

    Paul Sottosanti, game design veteran and certified cool guy joins Regal and Swimfan to talk about the role that randomness, variance, and luck affect games, mostly from a designer's perspective, in both general and case-specific terms. 0:00:00 Who is Paul Sottosanti? 0:29:18 Basic concepts and a tangent about the popularity of games 0:43:00 Drawing cards 1:20:00 Build complexity 1:42:27 Play-by-mail games 2:22:29 Horizontal progression and strategic diversity 2:39:45 Damage range 2:54:14 Rapidfire topics Outro music by Cyranek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46LF80G6nB4 YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

    3h 22m

  3. 09/19/2023

    v1.020: The Most Dangerous Gamer

    1337 G@m3rz UNITE!! We broadly discuss the difference between people who consider themselves "gamers" and people who simply play games, the effect this has on the industry discourse, and the icky associations the label carries. 0:00:00 Intro and patch notes 0:17:19 The influence of the online discourse about games 0:40:45 Identity and gamerism 1:18:55 The use of games 1:47:25 Finding your voice 2:02:10 The use of gamers Outro music by DatManOvaDer: https://soundcloud.com/datmanovader/throwback-funk YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

    2h 41m

  4. 09/06/2023

    v1.019: Card games with Andrew Yip, former Game Director of Legends of Runeterra

    Yip schools us on TCGs, CCGs, DCGs, and all other card-based games. 0:00:00 Introductions, who the heck is Andrew Yip, and the LoR experience 0:17:33 History with card games 0:49:01 Hanging out in settings and MMOs 1:05:51 Mana, variance, and all its implications 1:41:31 Different players, different skill expression 1:53:44 Back to mana (color pie, mana flood) 2:05:32 Making losing fun and making the game approachable 2:24:51 Can more interesting games be made if we didn't try to make more money? 2:37:56 Single player TCGs Outro music by BotanicSage: https://soundcloud.com/botanicsage/16bit-magic-sped-up YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

    3h 1m

  5. 08/15/2023

    v1.018: Is it wrong to steal from NPCs?

    Do not trust Swimfan to inspect your door, physical or digital. 0:00:00 Intro and patch notes: nets 0:06:15 The joy of thievery 0:12:16 Why are steal games less popular and sometimes more frustrating than combat games? 0:39:39 How do the NPCs or the game itself handle ethics? 0:50:30 Singleplayer vs multiplayer 1:18:22 Society in the apocalypse 1:34:20 Ethics (in singleplayer games) 2:01:40 What makes a good thieving game? Outro music by Nathan Miller: https://youtu.be/_tPeNHBy5GQ YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

    2h 32m

  6. 08/08/2023

    Regal Raves #2: Against the Storm thoughts and a proposal for endless mode, plus other changest

    babby's second video. but babby's, like, 18th audio! 0:00:00 What is Against the Storm? 0:16:51 What sets ATS apart and its core mechanics 0:27:19 Some ideas for high level changes 0:54:14 Endless mode Against the Storm on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1336490/Against_the_Storm/ YouTube.com/@OpenBetas You can attempt to contact me at regal@openbetas.com. I will probably check it at least once in my lifetime. Probably.

    1h 21m

  7. 07/31/2023

    v1.017: The Tetris Affection

    Even your parents want to play! 🙄 0:00:00 Intro and patch notes: death note 0:16:00 The universal nature of simple games 0:35:45 Solitaire and games as a way to fill time 0:59:24 Tetris, platforms, and popularity 1:07:00 Randomess & replayability 1:14:05 Wordle 1:30:00 Pokemon GO 1:54:04 What can we learn? Outro music by beat_shobon: https://soundcloud.com/beat_shobon/mario-paint-but-you-can-dance-to-it YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

    2h 32m

  8. 07/10/2023

    v1.016: More than a bird, more than a plane

    An episode about superpowers in which we learn that we should never under any circumstances tell Swimfan any of our secrets. 0:00:00 Intro and patch notes: positive religious relationships and experiences 0:10:10 The rules 0:17:30 Saving and loading as a superpower 0:59:10 What it's like to be older than one human lifetime 1:11:49 What would we do? 1:36:20 Superpower #2: mind reading 2:01:00 Superpower #3: simulate until end of season YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

    2h 18m
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About

A podcast about the life of games and the game of life. Swimfan, a reformed marketing director at various large game companies, and Regal, a software engineer, give multitudinous lukewarm takes on game design and development, the industry as a whole, and ideas about how to improve...everything. Occasionally, we also play games.

Information

  • Creator
    Open Betas
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Open Betas
  • Show Website
    Open Betas