Dev Game Club Brett Douville and Tim Longo

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

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we add to our series on Beyond Good and Evil with Michel Ancel. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.
Podcast breakdown:
00:49 Interview
1:05:23 Interlude 
1:05:56 Outro 
Issues covered: a one-main game, making a game by himself, being fascinated by computer graphics, not being able to save the first work, a tool for creation, ecological development, UbiSoft's magazine for recruitment, meeting with the big boss, working as an external developer, making a first playable of Rayman, developing an internal team, a big early team, going all in around Rayman, developing internal tools, a female lead, a story-based adventure game trying to be holistic, a difficult and ambitious project, figuring out what to cut and what to keep, defining moments, creating a whole world, not knowing where the boundaries are, wanting to surprise people, cutting the open world/multiple cities, doing everything in the tools they made with a very small team, huge capabilities of the tool, the 100% complete mini-game, coming up with characters and story, telling the story while you play, having a strong vision for the game, integration of levels with cinematic storytelling and camera placement, coming up with the formula, reusing the techniques, the origin of the title, Jade's unexplained traumatic history, enemies doing what they have to to survive, consequences for those close to you, a commitment to internal tech, laying out the development pillars.
Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Rayman, Rabbids, King Kong, Ubisoft, The Intruder, Shigeru Miyamoto, Atari, Brain Blasters/The Teller, Pixar, TRON, Yves Guillemot, Jaguar, PlayStation, Michel Guillemot, 3DStudio MAX, Legend of Zelda, Elite, Starflight, Argonaut, Starfox, Jacques Exertier, Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid 2, Unreal, Valiant Hearts, Sega Saturn, Nintendo Wii, Fred Markus, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia
Next time:
Mailbag!
Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on Final Fantasy Tactics. Before we head to our takeaways, we talk about the story and themes and about the puzzle nature of some of the story missions. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.
Sections played:
Near finished (B), Near finished Ch 2 (T)
Issues covered: Tim's retirement guide, continued therapy sessions, side quests, Aeris on the critical path, requiring a guide, finding the various jobs, the story according to Brett, objects of power, the quest for the Zodiac stones, a random battle that went bad, Barinten thrown off a roof, a story mission that I had to replay and replay, leveling vs the main story, puzzle-y missions, the best fit button, wanting a little more feedback about systems, reasons to grind, lack of difficulty levels in older games, the overwhelm of the story, more intentional combat, the job system and making hard decisions, playing for the achievements, production notes.
Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts, Mark Garcia, The Room, Six Feet Under, Control, Shakespeare, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Dwarf Fortress, Kyle, Baldur's Gate 3, Divinity: Original Sin, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Drunk History, Advance Wars, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers. 
Next time:
An Interview!
Twitch: timlongojr, Twitter/Threads/Insta: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Final Fantasy Tactics. This week, we put Tim Longo on the DGC couch for an analytical session about his major conflict about this game. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.
Sections played:
Near to end of Ch 3 (B), or Ch 2 (T)
Issues covered: choice quotes, declarative statements, a favorite Final Fantasy game, the job system, the story-based RPG, history of the early JRPGs, what Brett remembers about the game, Tim enjoying the planning of it, the opportunities for surprise, the spell to discover what people are, having only a few hours to play each week, hitting the wall, the hosts on MMOs and loot, unlocking things and making you more powerful, having different experiences on the same maps, a diversion to Dark Souls, knowledge and skill gains, Tim's wall mission, why would you go there?!, zoning out and and discovering way more about the game, reviewers and having to finish a game, our lives and how the pod fits in, where Brett is in the game and the choices he has, spending the time to figure out the Zodiac system.
Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Wizardry, Curse of Monkey Island, Halo, Dungeons & Dragons, Eye of the Beholder, Ultima, Pool of Radiance, Dragon Quest, Dragon Warrior, World of Warcraft, Dark Souls, Kyle, Diablo III, Mark of Kri, Kingdom Hearts, Kirk Hamilton, Baldur's Gate III, Breath of the Wild, Inscryption, Perfect Dark, Eternal Darkness, Biostats, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. 
Next time:
Takeaways and email!
Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Final Fantasy Tactics. We talk about the grind, job and abilities stuff, some tactics and end with a listener mail about balance. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.
Sections played: 
To end of Ch 2 (Brett), somewhere in Ch 1 (Tim)
Issues covered: character representation in the sprites, enjoying the discovery of the macro, finding out how things interact, the Zodiac, why they ask for your birthday, information about turn order, things being unwieldy, a reactive strategy, how the brilliance starts coming in, the learning and grinding curves, an anecdote of the clockwork, achieving a Spelunky turkey and further digressions thereto, early grind, visiting cities and differentiating the shops, side missions for team members, having back-benchers, random encounters over time, the random table that each map draws from, how and whether the maps change, the importance of starting position, which environments we particularly enjoy, how the death mechanics work, preventing the enemies from getting the crystals, the min/max-ability, the revelation of the job matrix, the various roles and ways to augment your characters, auto-potioning, the story overwhelm, "Are we the baddies?", the progression to a more fantastic setting, how the story at the beginning of the game fits in, balance being overrated, the problem of pacing.
Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: The Matrix, Mario + Rabbids, Clint Hocking, Splinter Cell, Spelunky, Mossmouth, Metal Gear (series), Assassin's Creed (series), X-COM, Pokemon (series), Mitchell and Webb (obliquely), Game of Thrones (obliquely), Taylor Swift, Drew, Nobuo Uematsu, Chrono Trigger, Magic: The  Gathering, Dominion, Marvel Snap, Fallout (series), Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.
Next time:
More FFT!
Links:
"Are we the baddies?"
Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Final Fantasy Tactics. We talk about the strategy around jobs, the multiclass approach, and more before turning to a listener question. 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: what's a dictionary for, the calculator and the oracle, experimenting with characters in various Finals Fantasies, a digression into how the programming of AI works in FF XII, Brett the grinder and Tim the finesser, the depth and breadth of the jobs and abilities system, the strategy to have options later, the terse manual, the pleasure of discovery, a complex game with lots of systems, mechanizing items like spells in other games, a crisis of confidence, the other camera controls, the Japanese controller preferences, noseless portraits, the importance of character design, character styling, heroic proportions vs anime proportions, great pixel art with the animations, the coy comment from Zalbag, the hug between two sprites, building a scene just for a little movie, pixel techniques and palette progression/swapping, digressing into other/modern tactical games, the odds of success, we read the manual and figure out the height, "brand elasticity," wanting your cake etc, calculating your odds of who you'll lose and who you'll keep, risk aversion, starting off without locking into one thing, being willing to make the break, licensing things out to different creators, the high cost of games, what's a Final Fantasy?
Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Unreal Engine, Dark Souls, Chris Hockabout, Andrew Kirmse, Kingdom Hearts, Animal Crossing, Crystal Chronicles, Disney, Naughty Dog, Dead Cells, Stardew Valley, Celeste, Disgaea, Advance Wars, Mario vs Rabbids, X-COM, Logan, Halo, Gears of War, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Star Wars, J. J. Abrams, Law & Order, Zelda (series), Mario (series), Nintendo, Fallout 3, Oblivion, Skyrim, Redguard, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. 
Next time:
More FFT!
Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @devgameclub
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com