Bungie Plagiarism, Doom: The Dark Ages, Aging Gamers, and Much More!

Terrence shares his quick impressions of Doom: The Dark Ages and makes a surprise return to Dragon Age: Inquisition. Did he finally make it out of The Hinterlands this time? We dive into the controversy surrounding Bungie, as the studio is once again caught plagiarizing art. With morale reportedly low and Marathon in a precarious state, we discuss what the future might look like for Bungie moving forward. In the Post Office, we reflect on how we've changed as gamers over the years and share the narrative tropes in media that instantly ruin the experience for us.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
What is up, everybody? Welcome to this week's episode of
the Dense Pixels podcast. I'm way with your host Brad,
joined by my co hosts Micah Hey and Terrence. But
Terrence as usual is coming through this week because I
am slowly making my way through Clare Obscure. For some reason,
I don't feel the necessity to like smash it, you

(00:35):
know what I mean, Like, I'm just kind of enjoying
taking my time going through, which.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Is I'm I just received the last party member.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
A me too. I think you and I are probably
in pretty much the same spot.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
Okay a last party member? Yes, okay, okay, Andy Cirkus. Wait,
that's not Andy Serkis.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
That's not Andy Serkis.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
No, that's not Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
He does.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
That's not people that I was like, wait a second,
did you just drop.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Like a spoiler? They sound like this.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
I immediately, I immediately like, what's what's his name?

Speaker 3 (01:21):
Monoco?

Speaker 1 (01:21):
I think is what his name is, because like they
made the very smart choice of having the the tenor
of the voice juxtaposed severely with the lines that they say,
which is very funny.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
So I like, I like the banter.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
Between very funny.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
It's like genuinely funny.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Yeah, talking to versus like I would never follow you,
and he's like, but they'll be fighting. He's like, you're right,
there will. He's like, there will. He's like, all right then,
but Terrence, once again, game pass comes through for you
because you've been playing, Uh, the latest thing you released,
Doom the Dark Ages.

Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yeah, Dooming the Dark Ages. It's the third in the
in the remake of this series. It's fun. Like I
don't really have a lot to say about it. It's fun.
It was written by a twelve year old, right.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Because I did hear. One of the critiques of the
game is that there's that there's there's too much story,
like like like, recognize why we're here and realize that
we don't need all of these cut seeds.

Speaker 3 (02:34):
It's the Doom Slayers his name, Like, we don't need
a lot of fucking exposition, but they give it to
you anyway. But like, no, I'm what I would say
is written by a twelve year old because they were
the last game I wouldn't have. I wasn't a big
fan of them eternal honestly, like all the flippy dippy
shit that wasn't too much jumping around for a Doom game, Allas,
it's weird this one. They took it back to basics.
He's just a tank. A tank with the shield, throws

(02:56):
a shield, he charges with the shield, his jumps cast
shock waves. You know what I'm saying. It's just it's
a power fantasy. But like if you get hit once
or twice you die. When I say it's written by
a twelve year old, because they were like, hey, what
if we gave you levels where you're in you jump
into a mech and just start squaring up with demons, right,
why not? Like you jump into a mech and those

(03:19):
levels you're literally just punching Max that's it. Or hey,
let's just give them a dragon because it's the Dark Ages.
You know, if you're just flying around on the dragons
on levels, I'm like, all right, doing your pants? Pants
are drag going best? No, it's fun, Like it's just
a fun game. That's if that's what they were going for,
they achieved it. I think it's just a straightforward FPS,

(03:41):
very fun you just kill shit. I will. You know
what else to say? It looks terrible on this series
as but it runs really well. I will.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
I will say that one thing I do appreciate that
they did between Doom twenty sixteen, do Maternal and now
this is that they've not seen fit just to release
like another Doom. Like they've gone out of their way
to make each game feel different, very different, right, and
even if that's not to everyone's taste, Like Terence to
your point, you said that you really didn't like the

(04:14):
you know, the way that Eternal played, but there are
some people that are like you, No, Eternal is my
favorite one. That's one, yeah, right, and where there's some
people that still are like now twenty sixteen was the
best one. So like, it's cool that they don't see
fit just to sit back and because they could just
release like June twenty sixteen three times and it would
still probably make the same amount of money. But I
appreciate the fact that they wanted to do a little

(04:34):
bit more than just copy paste.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
Yeah, it's something for everybody. Yeah, between those three games,
a very FPS person just something for you and at
least one of those games, So yeah, that's cool. The
other games that I've been playing.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Before you before you do get off of Doom, what
it's called the Dark Ages, right.

Speaker 3 (04:57):
And.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
So as it's like King Arthur and and and demon
dragons and like, aesthetically, is it any different from any
other doom?

Speaker 3 (05:10):
No? So why is it just not necessarily it's still
like Corridos is like it's still you're still running through
like well, actually this one is like wide open areas
in this game, and you do run through Cordos as well,
but you have like dragons and ship like that. It's
weird this takes place before twenty sixteen to twenty sixteen.

Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, because it's supposed to be like a pre doom. Yeah,
so in the future we go back to like the
Age of Camelot. But like with.

Speaker 1 (05:39):
I'm scratching, I'm scratching my head as to why you're
getting up in arms bet a series that's predicated on
extra dimensional portals opening up.

Speaker 3 (05:47):
To Hell just kind of being.

Speaker 1 (05:51):
Like the main thrust of the of the of the plot,
and you're just like, wait, how can we go back
in time? Who cares?

Speaker 3 (05:57):
But it's just it's just.

Speaker 1 (05:59):
A reason to kill things with very large guns and
apparently like a massive flail as well in this one.

Speaker 3 (06:06):
I don't have the flail yet the next level or so, so.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
I'm just fascinated by, like I'm fascinated by like genre blending,
but this doesn't seem like a genre blending, like like
space western, right, Like Cowboy Bebop is a space Western, right,
and it's done really really well. Right, But like yo,
this is just doom with like a shield.

Speaker 4 (06:32):
Like yeah, pretty much. And he rides a dragon. Again,
there's a mech. There are mech levels in this game.
It don't make a lot of sense at all, you know.

Speaker 3 (06:43):
I don't know. I had mechs in the Dark Ages,
but like it works. It's stupid. It's dumb. Oh. Also
I played I had they have free play days. I
played Stranger on Stranger of Paradise. Yes, oh yeah, incredibly.
That game is incredibly stupid.

Speaker 2 (06:59):
It is dumb.

Speaker 3 (07:00):
Like that game is very fun. I really like that.
I played that for like two or three hours. That
was very fun. Another game I played Alia this game
that came out like two years ago. It's like a
cozy game. I put a couple of hours into that.
It's I like that. But the game, well, you said
you wanted to guess what game.

Speaker 2 (07:17):
Is the only thing I could The only thing I
could guess that you knowing you for as long as
I have The only thing I could guess that you
would be curious about, but would not want to put
money into.

Speaker 3 (07:28):
Is dopy dopey literature Club? What the.

Speaker 1 (07:34):
Don't even.

Speaker 3 (07:37):
I don't even know what that is.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
From what I understand, if you ever play it, that's
good that you had no idea what it is, because
going into completely the way to experienced that game, that
was that was my guess.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
I'm just trying to be funny and I'm failing.

Speaker 3 (07:55):
Out of it. No, this is a game that I
actually have played in the but I gave it another
shot because I actually own it. It was still on
my system in my library. Dragon Age Inquisition.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
Oh snap, Oh.

Speaker 1 (08:12):
I went back to it.

Speaker 3 (08:13):
Remember remember all those years ago. I don't know how
many of you ten years ago, almost I played it
and I couldn't get out of the fucking hinterlands. Yeah,
I said, fuck that gig famously and again I booked
that game. It was only like ten bucks, but it
had all the DLC within whatever. But I gave it
another shot because I had downloaded Dragon Age origins. Also

(08:33):
because that was free. It's free on the game Pass
and it's a fucking fifteen year old, seventeen year old game.
I played that for a little bit, and the combat
in that game, while I know it's it's a lot
more free than Inquisition, Like you have a lot more like,
you know, you can do a lot more with it

(08:55):
player expression wise, it's slow as fun. I hate it
for Origins, but the story, but like the three or
four hours that I played is better so far than Inquisition.

Speaker 2 (09:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yeah, the story and Origins, I can tell. It's just
it's just a better story.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah, that's why people are so like, that's why people
are so butt hurt about every other dragon Age because
Dragon Age Origins has such like a it's it's very very.

Speaker 3 (09:27):
Like grown up. Yeah, for for it's.

Speaker 2 (09:32):
And and they kind of and they kind of dumb
them down a little bit story wise, like not just
story wise, but like story telling wise, you know what
I mean. And not to the point where it's like
not to the point where it's these people are like
harassing devs right, Like it's not it's not like there's

(09:56):
nothings that serious. But yeah, it's very much like, Hey,
the first one is the it's it's the robo cop thing, right,
dragon Age Origins is robo cop. That's a little end
of it. By the end of it. Dragon It's it's
robo Cop three, where it's just like that's pretty extreme.

Speaker 1 (10:18):
I would I would just comment about how the Dragon Age,
you know, the way it evolved exactly mirrors Mass Effect,
where like one came out story Greade gameplay, mid they
over they over corrected for two, and then three found
probably the best balance between the two.

Speaker 2 (10:40):
I would say, yeah, I was in including the fourth
Dragon Age in my robo cop comparison.

Speaker 3 (10:46):
Uh you heard that.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
I don't hate it. It just I don't hate it that.

Speaker 3 (10:52):
Like I know who these characters are, the redesigns, and like, yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:57):
But before before you bespirch that, like, would you rather
play Dragon Age the vail Guard again or have to
watch for robo Cop three?

Speaker 2 (11:06):
No, I would play Dragons the bail Guard. Yeah of course, yeah,
of course you would.

Speaker 3 (11:12):
But anyway, I'm twenty fives into the game. That's how
much time I put into the game so far. I
got the sky again or no, in Inquisition and Inquisition,
I got the Skyhold and hey, look what you got
to do is give me like a castle or a
house that I can upgrade. And I'm in Nigga. When

(11:33):
we got the Skyhold and it was all messed up
and like, oh this is now your your your keep,
and I'm like, oh, I get to customize it. Okay,
that's what's up.

Speaker 1 (11:41):
Have you played foo Foot four?

Speaker 3 (11:45):
Yeah? One hundred and twenty?

Speaker 1 (11:47):
Okay, well I could remember if you had played it
or not, but I was thinking, I was like, if
you hadn't, it was like it seems like that, like yeah.

Speaker 3 (11:54):
Yeah, that's again, I put a whole four hundred. I
actually really like that game. Another another game that people
well doesn't really like compared to like Fallout three and
New Vegas.

Speaker 2 (12:05):
How about how about Indiana Jones in terms of my
comparison to Dragon.

Speaker 3 (12:15):
Wait you have one?

Speaker 1 (12:17):
Wait again you have Oh I see what you're saying,
because then four came out and it was Crystal Skull.

Speaker 3 (12:23):
Oh right, Forest Crystal Skull.

Speaker 1 (12:25):
Do you but do you? But do you consider it?
Do you consider Inquisition to be the best?

Speaker 3 (12:29):
Which one is?

Speaker 2 (12:33):
It's the one that it's the one that I enjoyed
the most, is the one that I played the most?

Speaker 3 (12:40):
Yeah, I knew you played one of those multiple times.
I couldn't remember one I played.

Speaker 2 (12:44):
You played Dragon Age the original Dragon Age twice on console,
twice on PC. I played Dragon Age Inquisition that used
to be like a yearly thing, like I got like
I got a I got a platinum and on the PlayStation,
and I think I have a thousand gamer score on Xbox.
Don't quote me, but I think I do. And I

(13:08):
know I don't give off fuck about achievements. Okay, those
little numbers don't do anything for me. It's trophies all day.
But I really enjoyed that game a lot. Yeah, I'm
enjoying it. I started like, my character is a rogue archer.

Speaker 3 (13:28):
Ooh, buddy, that's a terrible class of star with by
Man terrible. It is awful, But like the first ten
hours that she was trash, I'm like, I'm so glad
I got through other people on my team to you know,
pick up the slack. But like, I just finally got
the the specialization. I did it in the Specialization mission,

(13:48):
and you I picked the Tempest class because it has
the flask where you can throw a flask on yourself
and you have like infinite stamina for like five which
is awesome. But the story it's fine, right. The biggest
issue I have with the game is it's an Ubisoft game.

Speaker 1 (14:15):
For for audio for audio listeners. We had a special
visual guest on the podcast.

Speaker 2 (14:20):
For please.

Speaker 3 (14:24):
Thank you, all right, thank you. It's it's an Obie
Soft game. And when I say it's a movie game,
a lot of there's a lot of busy work, you know.
I'm like, yo, come on, why am I playing flags?
Just playing the flag across the street while I'm I
playing another one? What are we doing? It's it's a lot.
It's a lot that you kind of like forget the

(14:45):
story for three hours and then you're like, oh, ship,
I got a story to do because I'm trying to
level up. Leveling up is very slow, which kind of
driving me crazy, but I'm getting through it. It's fun.
I like the I like the dialogue between the characters
and origins more than in this game. Honestly. There like
Alistair and Morgan that shit. It's funny, like those two

(15:06):
going at each other. Very funny this one. I like
the characters. Eric is not in my team so far.
My team is is Cassandra. What is that her name? Yeah, Cassandra,
Yeah damn you remember last name?

Speaker 2 (15:23):
Yeah, bru, I have Cassandra.

Speaker 3 (15:28):
I have a Solace and Iron Bull as my team
right now, and that's I've been rolling with for like
the last hours. Yeah, it's just just just a well
made game with a lot of busy work that I'm
not really a big fan of. But like the fact
that the combat is pretty cool. It's not as tactical
as the first game at all. I like, the only

(15:52):
reason why, the only reason why I even use the
tactical thing is to like save a CPU character from dying.
All right, I've used my main character and like when
they're doing stupid ship, I switch to them to get
them out of trouble to pop up like a healing potion.
So it's not a lot of strategy, it's just I
just that's using this scout. I'm using it. An archer
was really a bad idea. It was like, it's really bad,

(16:17):
but I but I pushed through, and it's a good game.
I see why people like it. Yeah, ten years later
or eleven years later. Yeah, and it came with all
the DLC I'm playing on how long is it? Because
I don't know how long it is.

Speaker 2 (16:31):
You don't do all of it, well, I can't. I'm
not really a good gauge because like I did a lot,
and I went through all the Trespass with DLC and
all the you know, the the story.

Speaker 3 (16:46):
Yeah, so I would. I would.

Speaker 2 (16:48):
I would do all of it if you're if you're
into it, like if you're really into these characters, yeah,
I would do it. And then uh and then play
and then play the Veil Guard and be a little disappointed,
especially with like the characterization of some of the people.

(17:11):
But yeah, like that's one of those games that's like
I like the majority of the cast. I you're right,
it is a grind. But whenever I want to grind,
I'll just pop on a podcast and just start doing
stuff and and yeah it it. Some of the DLC

(17:31):
switches things up a bit, some later game stuff like
switches things up a bit. I really I really enjoy
that game, man, I really do. Like it's up there
with one of those like yearly playthroughers that I do,
like with Mass Effect.

Speaker 3 (17:47):
Yeah, I enjoy it. I like it again ten years later. Again.
It just took me.

Speaker 1 (17:52):
All I need to do is got of hindling. How
long did it take you to get out of the
Hinderlands this time?

Speaker 3 (17:58):
Like I was because of my previous game time with
the game. I'm like, yo, I'm making it a fucking
I'm making it a.

Speaker 1 (18:07):
Priority to get out literally literally literally the second you're
allowed to.

Speaker 3 (18:11):
So I was in there for a little bit though.
I was in there a little bit longer than I
wanted to. Maybe what the what's the second section that
I got to? I can't remember with the second set?

Speaker 1 (18:22):
You might know, isn't it like the storm Coast that's
the second section or something?

Speaker 3 (18:27):
I didn't a storm Coast. I went to the something Meyer.

Speaker 2 (18:32):
I know the storm Coast is where you meet uh.

Speaker 3 (18:37):
And then no, Iron Iron Iron Bowl.

Speaker 2 (18:40):
Yeah, Iron Bull is in the Storm Coast.

Speaker 3 (18:41):
Okay, yeah, I didn't go there first. I went to
what's what's that? There was this one place that you
go to where you get Sarah Sarah.

Speaker 2 (18:53):
I forgot that she was in it. Yo, she's not.

Speaker 3 (18:56):
She's not in my party. She's no fucking Becky.

Speaker 2 (19:03):
Thank you, thank you. That's it. Whenever anybody questions why
I am not a Bey Lynch fan, thank you, I
can point to that.

Speaker 3 (19:16):
Like she's she's not on my team? She absolutely not.
She stays there. I got the little weirdo dude, what's
his name? Cole? Also, yeah Cole.

Speaker 2 (19:28):
To me because he don't he doesn't really have a
lot of personality. He has a story, but he doesn't
have he doesn't have much of a personality for me
to want to keep him in the party. And then
you know, Sarah's got way too much of a like
personality that I hate.

Speaker 3 (19:46):
Yeah, she's I was I'm like, you can join my party,
and then I threw in the party and then I
got iron bull Like forty minutes later, I'm like, whoa,
all right, it's ago you're doing. So that's that's the
car I've been rolling with for the last twenty something else. Yeah,
it's fine. I like it. I enjoy it. I'm probably
gonna plan I'm finished. I'm planning on doing all of

(20:06):
the DLC because I am I'm like really enjoying when
I'm blaming, Like again, it's just that grind that I
need to take a break every once in a while,
Like this is come on, man, Why am I doing
all the ship just to get power and influence so
I can unlock another level. I'm like, all right, fine,
but it's great. I get it now.

Speaker 2 (20:27):
Eleven years later, Hey, better late than never.

Speaker 3 (20:30):
And they gave it a frame a framework boost, so
it was running at sixty.

Speaker 1 (20:34):
Yeah, but I say probably even even on the probably
I'm sure that probably runs probably perfectly. And look, it
probably pretty.

Speaker 3 (20:42):
Technically stronger than the PS four, right it is?

Speaker 1 (20:46):
Yeah, I mean it has to be strugger than the
Xbox one, right, like or Xbox one X.

Speaker 3 (20:52):
I should say it's it's on par with the PS
four bro Okay as far as so, then, yes, it should.
It should run very run like again, they gave it
the f yes boost as a FPS boost mode, and
I think HDR mode too. I'm like that's unnecessary, but
it's fine. Yeah, all right, Well it's.

Speaker 1 (21:09):
Eleven years, eleven years in to make what a what
a way to stay current on our on our twenty
twenty five gaving podcast, Good Take Good Place, take a break,
we'll come back and we'll get into the news this week.
So why is it that like when when Bungeee got

(21:29):
you know, bought by Sony, it turned out to be
this like real Monkey's paw kind of situation kind I
mean really really both of their acquisitions from First Activision
then Sony turned out to be Monkey's Paw kind of things.
But it seems like it's really gone sideways since they've
gotten with Sony because we've seen you know, layoffs and

(21:51):
and all sorts of stuff, and uh, another case, because
this isn't the first time they've been caught doing this.
The big story now artistic plagiarism. So a Scottish artist
who's who's named fern Hook accused Bungie of taking assets
from work that she had used previously and used it

(22:12):
in the AUP for Marathon. Now for people that are like, oh, like,
are we sure that this happened, Like, I'm like, there's
literally art assets in the game that people identified that
has her signature still on it, like scrubbed out basically
that you could like see signs of wear and tear

(22:35):
for the game. So, yes, this one happened. Bungie did
acknowledge that this is the case. They blamed it on
a former staff member who is no longer with the studio.
Believe them, who can say this They worked on it

(22:55):
in twenty twenty.

Speaker 3 (22:56):
They're no longer you know, they're no longer with us.

Speaker 1 (22:59):
I'll tell you what, I'd be more, I'd be more
willing to give them the benefit of the doubt if
this hadn't happened before. In Destiny Too, because because a
similar situation had cropped up a couple of years ago,
not quite blatantly to this degree, I don't think, but
a similar situation had popped up with Destiny two a
few years ago. So again it's like a foolmy once

(23:23):
you know, shame on you kind of situation. Either way,
their their controls for vetting this stuff obviously are not
to the degree they need to be if this is
still happening. The game's director of Joseph Cross or the
game's art director, i should say, said that they are
conducting a third review to remove any art from the

(23:45):
game that and make sure that anything that is in
the game then was interpropriate source will be taken out
and that they this won't happening in the future. They
also said that they've reached out to her to apologize
and to make sure that they do right by her,
that they have not said what they're going to do.
I'm assuming some sort of licensing or financial compensation.

Speaker 3 (24:06):
Would go along with.

Speaker 1 (24:07):
This, because a lot of the aesthetic of Marathon is
based off of this artist's like.

Speaker 3 (24:14):
Aesthetic right Like I thought this the other day, I
was like, Wow, they are just straight up biting that's crazy.
And then they see the actual ass in the game, like.

Speaker 1 (24:23):
Which from from my understanding of how this stuff works,
like when you know, when when an art team for
a game goes to you know, put this stuff together,
like they I'm sure they draw, they grab art from
a lot of artists to use as like a like
like a jumping off point, right, like this is the
style we're going for, this is what we're trying to do,
and then they make their own art based off of

(24:45):
like like what they're what that style guideline is that
they're trying to achieve. You don't just rip it off,
you know, a c line and sinker from an artist.
And in relation to this story, a report has come
out from I believe Forbes from Paul Tassi, who claims

(25:05):
that morale at the studio is in quote free fall
across the entire organization, not only in part because of
this plagiarism scandal, but also because like the marathon closed
Alpha that dropped a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, Pete, Well,
like they think it's perfectly it's a perfectly promulent fine right,

(25:29):
Like it's fine, it plays fine, but obviously, like this
is a live service extraction shooter and they're trying to
please both like the hardcore Tarkov players and also like
the Destiny fans. But of course, by trying to please everybody,
you're probably gonna end up making a game that really

(25:51):
appeals to nobody. Not to mention the fact that, unfortunately
for them, another closed alpha for creators for arc Raiders
dropped like a week later, and people who play extraction
shooters are like, oh, man, like Arc Raiders has the
juice like this, like this game is fucking legit, and
Marathon was almost forgotten about.

Speaker 3 (26:11):
I've said a bunch of on YouTube, I've seen a
bunch of people when that when that beta came out,
I'm like, I'm on YouTube all the time. I saw
a bunch of people playing it. I never saw anyone
shoot a bullet. I've never seen anyone fire a gun.
I was like, what what do you do in this game?
Every time I would turn, every time I put put
on one of these streams, they were just kind of

(26:33):
like a running around. Yeah, like I don't know what
fuck y'all to do?

Speaker 5 (26:35):
It.

Speaker 1 (26:36):
Well, that's I mean, that's kind of well. So the
point of an extraction shooter is it is kind of
a it's so it's pv PvP v E, so like
like multiplayers are on a map and you're also competing
against like a I like NPCs and stuff like that.
Kind of kind of the point is you go it,
you drop in, you try to sneak around and get

(26:58):
like materials and ship like that, and then you x
fill basically because if you die while you're in there,
then anything you're carrying, including like the shit that you
brought with you to the mission, like you lose it
all basically, So like that's kind of the that's kind
of the gameplay loop behind these games. There's a couple

(27:19):
of them that are popular. Escape from Tarkov is probably
the most popular one in this genre. But of course
because Tarkov got popular, now everyone else is rushing to
capitalize on the craze. Like from what I understand there,

(27:39):
like the decision to make Marathon an extraction shooter is
directly because like there's a bunch of people in Bungie
that we're playing and really digging Tarkov, and they're like, well,
what if we did our own version of Tarkov? And
so again it's but that genre of extraction shooter is
a niche within a niche, right like like like it's

(28:00):
kind of like people were like, man like Battle Royale
isn't hardcore enough for me, so I'm gonna so I'm
gonna play this game where like the stakes are elevated
to insane degrees and the permanence and the ability to
lose stuff is very high. And so they're they're trying

(28:21):
to make this game, you know, like appeal to a
wide audience, but the Extraction Shooter fans aren't really weren't
really digging it, and the regular Destiny people, the regular
Halo people, they're just like, well, I don't really have
any interest in this extraction shooter. So not to say

(28:44):
that this is gonna be like a concord situation where
it's just gonna be like embarrassingly da, But I struggle
in the current environment that we're in. I struggle to
see where Marathon is gonna find an incredible amount of success.

Speaker 3 (29:00):
Isn't Marathon like their first game that it is it
is the I P turn, Yeah, the I P. The
fact that they turn this into an extraction shooter because
they're trying to chase a trend kind of dumb, right,
like the first version Shooter like, what are you doing?
Did you not see the Justice was it killed? Justice

(29:20):
League Suicide Squad? They did the same ship Concord, like
you said, did the same thing chasing trends, and like
this game is still in beta.

Speaker 1 (29:29):
Right now, it's an alpha right now. It's supposed to
come out this fall.

Speaker 2 (29:34):
Is what doesn't they come out in September?

Speaker 3 (29:36):
Yeah? Okay? And again, like people are like having orgasms
to this fucking Arcurator's game. I can't. I still I
didn't see anyone shoot a gun in like ten different streams,
but I don't. I didn't get it. I'm like, what
the fuck you is doing? Okay, everybody's like the game
is fine. The best part of it is the aesthetic,

(29:57):
which apparently they stole.

Speaker 1 (29:58):
So right and and then combined and mind that that
was the fact that like Destiny two's kind of in
like this weird black hole right now because like they've
they've they completed the ten year story, right and so
now they're trying to continue to support the game with
like seasons, but to mixed degrees of success, you know

(30:21):
what I mean, because that now they don't have this
like slowly evolving tail to be able to kind of
Crutch everything on and also for the other downside for Destiny,
and this bugs me personally. It's one of the reasons
why why I'm why I fell off the game is
because basically like they took all of their PvP talent

(30:42):
and moved it over to Marathon. So like the PvP
and Destiny too really hasn't been touched in literally like
four to five years. Like like with with any with
any degree of know, you know, significance, I would say,
so we have layoffs in the studio a couple several
months ago, and and not only just layouts, but also

(31:04):
just moving people around, uh to Sony Corporate proper from Bungie.
You have Destiny kind of in this like weird place
in this weird limbo. You have your next big game
that's supposed to be this huge match of hit that's
so far been you know, met with indifference from by

(31:26):
a lot of people. Guys, are we worried about the
long term future of of Bungee as a as a
game development studio? Like like like are we are we
in a or are they in the bad place right now?
What Halo and Destiny in the Marathon? Yeah, they gave

(31:47):
Halo to three four three, right, well they left they
left Halo with Microsoft is probably more accurate.

Speaker 3 (31:52):
Way to well to end, Like that's series has kind
of been, you know, for whatever it came out. It's fine. Yeah,
I just well I stopped playing games altogether, but like Destiny.
How Like when I was they said the ten year
playing for Destiny, and when I remember thinking, I'm like
ten years play this game for ten years? Clearly a

(32:15):
lot of people people did, ye, I'm like, that's a lot, man, But.

Speaker 2 (32:21):
That's probably why they thought they could get away with
doing an extraction shooter, right like, oh hey, this extraction
shooter we're playing is really good, but we're bungee right right,
make it great? Right? I look, man, I understand the
need to want to appeal to like a mass audience,

(32:45):
and I respect the art style that they're ripping this
off from, but this is not going to appeal to
a mass audience, just the just.

Speaker 3 (32:55):
The shooters that Lamor doesn't appeal to.

Speaker 2 (32:59):
Right, Like, you're not going to write like no matter
what it looks like and aesthetically, you know, I was
I was looking at because I didn't know much about that,
uh that arc game. I'm looking at it, and I'm
seeing human beings running around, you know, shooting things and
killing things, and I'm looking at a marathon and I

(33:22):
don't know what the hell I'm looking at and you
know it just and the color palette is very no
Man skyish to me. And how I feel about.

Speaker 3 (33:33):
That, I'm not really a big fan of the aesthetic.

Speaker 2 (33:37):
I'm not either man. And that's what I'm saying, Like,
if you want to get like, like, if you want
to get like a mass audience, the first thing a
mass audience s they look with their eyes first, before
you know, you gotta get them. You gotta it's got
to look enticing. And this looks odd and not in

(34:00):
a bad way, but in a way that I don't
think that I wouldn't be like, hey, let's this is
going to be the McDonald's of extraction.

Speaker 1 (34:08):
Shooters, right like this, And what's what's funny is I
mean I'm kind of in the opposite camp from you guys.
I actually kind of dig the style of the game, like,
like it looks bold and unique, like obviously it's not
going to be I appreciate it, right, but but I
kind of dig it. I'm not down with the whole
kind of aesthetic round it, because the whole thing with

(34:29):
this game is that you play in teams of three, right,
and if you're playing by yourself, like like like the
game encourages you. Then these these styles of games do
just because of how they are. The game encourages you
to squad up with people. If you're solo cuing, you
just get paired up with other solo cues or a

(34:51):
duo Q. And you can actually make it so that
you say, no, I'm going to be by myself, like
I don't want to be paired up with people, and
the game will let you do that. But the game,
both from the enemy balance and also the fact that
like there's no solo Q playlist, like the enemies are
balanced for teams of three and and and the end

(35:13):
you're gonna play against other teams of three, So you
can play by yourself if you want, but it's you're
basically one, B three everyone else in there, so like
it's not gonna be a very solo Q friendly game
to begin with. So for me, like that's a huge detriment.
The other problem that the game is gonna have, and

(35:33):
this is this apparently for extraction shooters This is apparently
a positive that it's not free to play, because like
those games, apparently it's good for the games in game
economy that it's not propped up by solely by micro
transactions and stuff like that. Like it's good that people
pay a cost of entry to get in. But for this,
for this moment that we find ourselves in, good or

(35:55):
good or ill, kind of the expectation for these mass
multiplayer games that pop up now is for the games
to be free to play to find that initial audience.
It's I think it's one of the biggest detriments that
Concord had is that, by all accounts the Concord the
game was a perfectly good it was a shooter, but
people are like, I'm not paying forty dollars to play

(36:16):
this game, and Marathon is going to have I would say,
at least a forty dollars price point. I think they
announced it that it's going to have a forty dollars
price point. I could be wrong about that, but it's
going to have an upfront cost of entry, and so
you're going to run into the same problem where you
have people that are like, Hey, what's this cool game?
This looks interesting ask forty dollars. I'll wait and see.

(36:38):
But a game like this is going to be completely
reliant on having a strong and robust player base to
be successful.

Speaker 2 (36:47):
Yeah, I think you're right. Like, wasn't Warframe free to play?

Speaker 1 (36:52):
Warframe still is? It's always free to play.

Speaker 2 (36:54):
Yeah, and it's you know, I've I didn't put much
time in Warframe, but I know people who have and
you know, anecdotal evidence or whatever, but like like people
people actually, yeah, people love that game, man, so and
and you know that game doesn't exactly you know, it's

(37:15):
not a it's it's a unique look but like, you know,
a little too generic in my opinion, like uniquely generic.

Speaker 3 (37:24):
I'm gonna watch the guy was like, yeah, right, that's
what happened with that game.

Speaker 2 (37:31):
Yeah, So, like you said, this at least has some
sort of unique evocative look to it. But yeah, I
think you're right. I think of I think of a barrier,
like like an initial buy in is not going to
do this game any favors.

Speaker 3 (37:48):
And Definity Too has been free for years now, right,
for years? It is.

Speaker 5 (37:57):
It's that's the other thing, man, I mean when I like,
Destiny is the most up to scheme, like like it
this is current as of a couple of years ago,
like Destiny content creators that I followed, Like, you know,
they're asked.

Speaker 1 (38:12):
All the time like, hey, like I'm looking to get
into Destiny, what's the best way to go about that?
And like their recommendation is, I don't know, man, Like
I don't really know the best way to tell you
to get to onboard onto this game, Like, like it's
a really awkward game to onboard too, if you if
you're just getting into it for the first time. So, yeah,
it is free to play, but like free to play,

(38:33):
and Destiny is only gonna get you so far before
you're gonna have to pop down some some money. Yeah, man,
Like I'm I'm I'm probably more concerned about Bungee now
than I ever have been, even more so than during
the kind of dire last days during the Activision part
of it, before they got out under Activision and became

(38:55):
independent before being.

Speaker 3 (38:57):
Picked up by Sony.

Speaker 1 (38:58):
So and and what what an investment by Sony by
the way, I mean, they spent what four billion dollars
on Bungeee. I can't imagine that that's uh paying off
in spades.

Speaker 3 (39:11):
So spending much money on he got game, Like you
spent all his money and then you fucking hamstring them.

Speaker 1 (39:18):
I mean, look, man, they spent money at the worst
possible time to spend money, and now that now the
bills are coming due, and so you know why it's
white and he's the way to go.

Speaker 3 (39:30):
Like we said, yeah, it's like the two biggest games
that have come out so far this year, like two
double A games. What is it Split Fiction? People love
that game and claps well, probably two games in the
running Split.

Speaker 1 (39:46):
Fiction in Fairness published by e A. So like, I
don't know that we can get the indy the indie plots.

Speaker 3 (39:53):
I guess it's e A. But the e A lets
that guy do what he wants, you know.

Speaker 1 (39:58):
Well because he ha to proved track market. That's why
the got a record, That's what I mean.

Speaker 3 (40:03):
Like yeah, still they just kind of give him, Carl
Blanche to do what aunts and he makes a specific
type of game. So I like, I'm gonna give that.
You know, it's e A, but like not.

Speaker 1 (40:14):
It's it's it's e A at their most altruistic. It's
it's the same part of the that like that like
woke up, like they're like the version of mister Burns
that got like the fucking happy pills injection right and
started like walking around, uh like I bring you love
like all the time like that. That's that's the same.
That's like, we're not gonna be putting out eighty dollar

(40:34):
games anytime soon.

Speaker 3 (40:35):
Guys like don't don't get it to listen.

Speaker 1 (40:37):
So sure, So that's the same one. The the the
So now that the Epic Apple situation has been mostly
resolved in court, now we've entered the extremely petty phase
of relations between the two. So Epic has re has
reapplied for to have Fortnite reinstated back on the Apple store,

(41:00):
and apparently Apple is just kind of doing the equivalent
of the Pocket veto of the re enabling into the
Epping store. So basically, according to Tim Sweety of of
the CEO of Epic Games, Apples just like not responding
to them. They're just fucking leaving them on red basically.

(41:24):
And so now he's yes, Now now he's gonna say said,
they're gonna go back to the court to see if
they if the court can make Apple, uh put Fortnite
back in the ning who.

Speaker 3 (41:41):
Company what to do? Good luck put my game when
they're service, like, they don't have to courtroom, so that's free.

Speaker 2 (41:54):
Marcus ship goes out the window when it affects you. Huh, right.

Speaker 1 (42:01):
Does TIMS when he does have Weirdly, he's one of
those weird like corporate libertarian types. So fucking Also, like
I said, I find this extremely funny that Apple's just
like because because Apple is literally costing themselves money by
not by not doing this because like some some people
will still buy stuff through the app in uh if

(42:25):
they put it back on there. But then again, uh,
this court ruling will cost them many more monies uh
than then it would have previously had it not been
had it not gone in uh epics favor there. So
so yeah, more to come. I I guess as this
uh as this tit for tap between billionaire companies trillionaire companies.

Speaker 2 (42:46):
This is like, this is like the Real Housewives of
Silicon Valley, Dude, Like, this is fucking this is the
this is the trash. This is the trash reality TV
that I enjoy.

Speaker 1 (42:58):
Yep, And hey, I don't really have a steak and
it's uh whatever. So over the weekend there was a
lot of hubbub because it looked like that there might
have been a leak through from Steam of user records.

(43:20):
Basically an old, old text messages were sent to Steam
customers with one time codes for logins, and the reported
news like follow from this is that there was a
hacker that was allegedly in possession of eighty nine million
user records and he put them up for sale for

(43:41):
a couple thousand dollars. And basically what happened is that
like a third party service that links to Steam got
broken into by all accounts, but not Steam itself. But

(44:02):
people were kind of trying to hang this leak on
Valve and valves like yeah, it wasn't us, like don't
don't get it twisted to the point where they even
told like customers like hey, like you don't need to
change your password or anything, like everything is absolutely fine,
trust me, like every like, trust me, everything's cool on it.

Speaker 3 (44:23):
And so just a.

Speaker 1 (44:25):
Really weird situation and just a good reminder to people
that if you use third party services that connect in
to these other like lockdown services that you use, just
remember that that data is not safe. This is like,
like this story is more of a p s A than.

Speaker 3 (44:42):
It would I'm slightly confused what third party.

Speaker 1 (44:45):
So there there are something like there are lots of
services that let you like link your Steam account to
them for some added benefit of some of some way,
shape or form, and I guess this Twilio service is
one of them. Yeah, so the fuck knows what it does.
But just just again, remember if you're if you're linking
your data, just make sure you trust the service that
you're linking it to, not just the service that it's

(45:07):
being linked from, because once it's once that data is
in their hands, then you never know. Finally, uh, in
this week's Sign of the Pending Apocalypse, so Fortnite has
a Star Wars event going on right now. Apparently you
can you know, run around and with Star Wars characters

(45:30):
and if you grind out your battle pass, you can
upload you you can get Emp Palpatine skin, so Emp
Palpatine can run around with AK and it's somehow integrated
into the story lore and stuff like that. The one
thing I will give them is that apparently all of
the gunshot noises have been replaced with like Star Wars
blaster sounds. I think that's I think that's a positive.
I think that's good integration.

Speaker 2 (45:50):
So when a pew pew. Yeah, absolutely, all right, that's
kind of funny, but yeah, I still.

Speaker 3 (45:57):
Don't see it.

Speaker 1 (45:58):
So that's the thing that's going on on. The Other
thing that's going on is that you can also find
Darth Vader in the world and you can converse with
Darth Vader because James Earl Jones when he passed away,
made a I guess, like an agreement with an AI

(46:23):
studio to allow the studio to license out his voice
to use in like Darth Vader projects, I suppose, because
he wanted to ensure that, like if they still wanted
to use like the authentic voice, that that would be
able to be used for years to come, because he
always you know, he felt like it was inseparable from

(46:46):
kind of that story and one in fans of all
ages to continue to experience it.

Speaker 3 (46:49):
This is from a statement from his family.

Speaker 1 (46:52):
But of course, because Generative AI companies are wholly irresponsible,
they have a Vader saying all sorts of the crazy shit,
including just like dropping fbombs all over the place and
things like that, because of course they're trying to break
it because.

Speaker 2 (47:11):
Like, of course, and I know people are gonna be like, well,
he gave his permission or that company took advantage of
an old dying man's that's the way I like to
see it.

Speaker 1 (47:26):
Yeah, so apparently Epic patched it like right away as
soon as it was discovered, but not before some funny
clips got circulated on the internet that you can still see.

Speaker 3 (47:38):
Yeah, insane, just again, like.

Speaker 1 (47:44):
Nothing, I mean again, every tech company in the fucking
history of the world has the ability to just do
the coolest things, and they just make the worst choices
possible at all times because they have zero self control.

Speaker 3 (48:00):
I don't like. I don't like AI man, I don't
like it getting too good.

Speaker 1 (48:04):
Look, I like, I like the theory of it, but again,
we can't trust these fucking people without guardrails to do
what's in the right interest of the general public, like
they're gonna do it or make them the most money.

Speaker 3 (48:15):
No, I mean just the way the general public is
using it. I don't like it, right, Yeah, but.

Speaker 1 (48:20):
I'm saying, like the companies could place guardrails on that
if they want to, they.

Speaker 2 (48:23):
Could, That's what I'm saying. J j Q sending me like, oh,
look at what AI is doing in the advancement of
like this medical procedure and I'm like, yeah, but this
is what people are actually using it for to turn
Donald Trump into a sith lord like like that that's
what they're they're using this stuff for. And all I'm
saying is, look, I'm not a luddite, right, All I'm

(48:45):
saying is maybe there needs to be some regulations on
how we use AI.

Speaker 3 (48:54):
Administration.

Speaker 1 (48:58):
To listen to the new episode to look forward, we
thought about it, so it just my god, this terrence.
Since you can't listen, I'll give you a preview. Apparently
this Congress is trying to put a bill through that
will not not only will not let the that will
not let any state enforce any AI regulation for the
next ten years if if it's were to get signed

(49:19):
in the law.

Speaker 2 (49:21):
Well, okay, okay.

Speaker 1 (49:24):
Like I said, good, good teaser, good teaser.

Speaker 2 (49:27):
Here's the thing, man, here's the thing man, Like they're
gonna they're gonna deep fake some politician calling uh calling
somebody the fucking.

Speaker 1 (49:37):
N word, and the regulation sorry, and.

Speaker 2 (49:42):
Here's but here's the thing though. But here's the thing though, Right,
that'll be the perfect That'll be the excuse du jore like,
that'll be the excuse for everybody now, like instead of
oh I was hacked. Oh it was it was a I.
It wouldn't me. It wouldn't me ai AI, I didn't

(50:02):
lie super five, shouting him five right, that wouldn't. That wouldn't.
I wouldn't. I wouldn't with that girl. That wasn't me
on that phone call.

Speaker 3 (50:11):
Yeah, that wouldn't mean all right, all right, literally said yeah, no,
he said it. He was like, yeah it was me.
Everybody else was like that's a I. But he came
up with like, no, that was me.

Speaker 2 (50:20):
Fu right, you stupid to deny it.

Speaker 3 (50:26):
Yeah, we're like again. The first time I heard that ship,
they had said they had had Biden seeing some wild
ship on pot Save American and I was like, I
don't like none of this. I thought it was him.
This is years ago, but they did it to be
funny and I thought it was him. I'm like, that
was a I. I don't like that. I was literally
walking down the street in downtown. I was like, I

(50:47):
don't like this. I don't like it at all. This
is fucked up, and look at where we're at now.
And that was like four years ago. Okay, all right.

Speaker 1 (50:58):
But hey, people, the people in charge of passing the
laws they're they're too busy asking Google, like, hey, like,
why is it when I searched my name on Google
that all of the bad stories about me are the
first things that I see. I think my Google's broken,
Like that's it's actually working.

Speaker 3 (51:16):
In good stories.

Speaker 2 (51:20):
There's no self reflection or they're just too stupid.

Speaker 1 (51:23):
They're just too stupid and tech tech unsavvy to understand, uh,
the challenges that confront us in.

Speaker 2 (51:30):
This Uh, everybody's a fucking this is this is fucking
uh the Principal Skinner Congress.

Speaker 3 (51:38):
It's just like, nope, it's the Google that's wrong.

Speaker 2 (51:41):
All right, all right, shut up fucking degenerates.

Speaker 3 (51:45):
Man, I swear anyway, I'm starting to get mad.

Speaker 1 (51:49):
I mean, I mean, let's let's move on to lighter
topics of conversation, because we're going to take a quick
break and then we'll be back with the topic dusure
that is the Dense Pixels post Office. If you're a
member of our discord, uh, you're able to ask us
questions in the Dance Postal post Office that we will
answer on the show. If you're not, you can go

(52:10):
to dence pixels dot com slash fans to join We're
gonna start with Johnny, who asks thoughts on Booker T,
not as a wrestler and performer, but as an announcer.
Some people think that he is insufferable, while others enjoy
his unique energy also unk gooning over Stephanie Vecaer never

(52:33):
gets old.

Speaker 2 (52:36):
Yeah, he's a hilarious show.

Speaker 3 (52:46):
I love it. It's so stupid. But he's funny. It's funny. Man.
You don't like him, I'm sorry.

Speaker 2 (52:54):
He is funny, right, Like he's got that like old
southern black man charmed that that thing that made Shannon sharp,
like that that endeared chin and sharp to everybody. But
at the same time, I'm really good at cort grade.

Speaker 1 (53:09):
Is there also well, because because yeah, you need you
need someone that's actually able to provide like a stude commentary,
right exactly.

Speaker 3 (53:19):
It can't be the color. It just can't be just
the color commentary it was if it was just fucking
Jerry the King of Lola you put a bullet in.

Speaker 1 (53:26):
Your ya was for so long. I'm with you, guys,
like I enjoy like booker T's just an acronisms.

Speaker 3 (53:40):
They're very funny to me.

Speaker 1 (53:41):
I enjoy when he like when whenever trick Williams comes
out and then he's on commentary just with his fucking
like being the hype guy in the back of the
track essentially, Like that's that's that's very funny to me.
But no, he's not a great he's not a great
color commentator. Like he's on the same level that like JB.

Speaker 3 (54:00):
L is essentially.

Speaker 1 (54:02):
Yeah, like he doesn't understand the fine arts of color commentary.

Speaker 2 (54:07):
Yeah, he's just looking at fucking Chilean ass whatever. Where's Stephanie.

Speaker 1 (54:14):
I think you are correct. I think I think Chile
is the is the correct country of origin for her.

Speaker 2 (54:24):
Yep, she is Chilean. What they know what they got
in the water down there?

Speaker 3 (54:29):
But okay, they just bought Triple A right they did recently,
isn't what's her name Lahedra? She is in Triple A,
is she not? It's a it's a Spanish.

Speaker 1 (54:41):
You're you're asking that. You're asking the wrong the wrong guy.

Speaker 2 (54:45):
You got to ask that show tomorrow. That's the that's
the Mexican guy.

Speaker 3 (54:51):
Google, Like, if you google Ahedra, I think that's what
her name is. She's in Triple A A. She's a
she's a wrestler. You'll you'll know what I I mean.
I mean again, I'm sure there's someone in the in
the post office that knows exactly what I'm.

Speaker 1 (55:05):
Talking, right, But yeah, I'm sure that. I'm sure that
that's part of the calculus. Is like using the pipeline
to bring you know, the finest town. Yeah. Yeah, Oh
that's so funny to me. Uh, cam Cam asks. Fallout

(55:28):
season two is coming in December, and season three already
has a green light. What do you people hope to
see when the show returns? Unfortunately, our chief Fallout fan
is not on the podcast, Micah, what do you hope
to see?

Speaker 3 (55:41):
And fall season two and three?

Speaker 2 (55:44):
I'm not well versed in Fallout lore to be able
to answer this question, but I will say that I
am looking.

Speaker 3 (55:52):
Forward to it.

Speaker 2 (55:53):
I I the only follow that I've played to completion
is all Out four, and I don't know what it was.
I think it's just because there was nothing else around
to play. And so I said, all right, I will
give this a legitimate shot. And I did. I finished

(56:13):
it and it was fun and I but I'll never
need to play another Fallout again. In my opinion, I
don't think I have a will, but I just I
just I'd be happy with whatever it was, like the

(56:34):
same level of quality that the first season had. I
really enjoyed it, but I wouldn't be able to tell
you like, you know, yeah, I don't. I don't even
I don't even know what could be. I couldn't even
make a joke. Just be good.

Speaker 1 (56:53):
We'll tell you what, Carrie. You go ahead and post
in the episode discussion channel when you hear this question
and you let cam no, what do you want to see?
Because I think that your thoughts will be the most coherent.

Speaker 3 (57:07):
I watched the first season. I enjoyed it a lot.
I don't again. I finished three and four. I don't
remember what happened. Were like totally like the characters in
the show aren't in well, I guess there's like a couple,
maybe the dog maybe yeah meat? Is that the dog meme?

Speaker 1 (57:27):
The name of the dog is dog meat?

Speaker 3 (57:28):
Actually it's it's it's it's yeah, so yeah. I mean,
I just wanted to be a good show. I don't know.
The FATS system didn't like, like, here's the thing that
kind of pissed me off. Like the most annoying character
was the black character in the show, which it was
very annoying in that show. But yeah, he pissed me off.
But yeah, I just wanted to be good because it

(57:51):
was it was. It had no right being as good
as it was, considering it was a video game aditation.

Speaker 1 (57:56):
From what I understand, they tried to adhere as close
as they could to the source material, keeping you then
the bounds of reason some you know, perhaps some logic.
Behlo show probably could have taken advice on. Apparently it
got better at the end, and then they pull the
plug on itself.

Speaker 3 (58:12):
That was the problem.

Speaker 1 (58:14):
Ridiculous film wander asks me, which f one track currently
not on the schedule should replace Monaco. I don't think
you should replace Monaco, Like I understand why people want
to replace Monica. So Monico, for you guys to understand,
literally is a street race that they have every year

(58:34):
that is literally on the streets of Monaco in Monte Carlo.
And it's a spectacle because of like the city and
and the and the you know, the golf right there
and everything like that. But the racing sucks because the
streets are really narrow and there's a lot of low

(58:54):
speed corners, so it's very hard to pass people. So
the racing is not great like when it came to Baltimore. Yeah,
it's very very similar to that, except worse. Except worse.
But it's also like the most historic F one race,
and it's like the Crown Jewel, it's like the super

(59:15):
Bowl of F one essentially. Like it's it's a major
event every time it happens, and it's happening next week,
which is why he's asking his question. So I don't
think you can replace it. It should be better, hopefully
this year, because for the first time, they're mandating two
pit stops in the race for each car. Normally you
can finish the race with just doing one pit stop.

(59:36):
Introducing two pit stops and introduces a lot more potential
for strategy to rear its head, because you're usually not
gonna win by passing on track, usually win by having
a different pitstop strategy.

Speaker 3 (59:46):
Than everybody else.

Speaker 1 (59:48):
But if you're talking about bringing an F one track back,
I don't understand why the Hackenheim Ring in Germany is
not on the calendar anymore because German Germany is like
a rabbit F one fan base and they're no races
in Germany, which doesn't make any fucking sense at all.
So I would still bring Hawkenheimering back, even not getting
rid of Vonnico. So Mark asked Carrie might not be

(01:00:11):
able to answer because comparatively, she's a damn youth, which
she then responds, I'm thirty five. But as the rest
of you get older, how of your gaming reflexes changed?
Like I would get my ass handed to me and
fighting games even more now than when I was in
my twenties. I was happy that Expedition thirty three went
turn base, but I still mess up with the Perry timing.

Speaker 2 (01:00:34):
I mean, it's just like one, you know reflexes, right,
Like my reflexes are really really bad. They always have been,
which is why I was called a waste of hype
because I don't know how to play basketball. And but

(01:00:56):
to my patients, I you know, I I don't know
if I have like too many really really long games
in me, Like if a game starts to feel like
a slog and I don't enjoy the characters in it,
then I'll just I'll probably just put it down. Or

(01:01:17):
if it doesn't feel like a slot like the only
reason I want to, like, I wanted to try.

Speaker 3 (01:01:22):
Doom, but.

Speaker 2 (01:01:25):
You know, I feel like the you know the pacing
will be quick, but like there's no character in it.
But like they try it, they're trying for some reason
from what I hear, and that's probably gonna kill it
for me because I don't have the patience.

Speaker 3 (01:01:40):
Man, I don't.

Speaker 2 (01:01:41):
I don't have the patience.

Speaker 3 (01:01:44):
I'm right there with you, got patience wise, like I
was the I was the devil may cry beat it
on every difficulty Ninja guy, and beat it on every
difficulty guy, Like, I'm not gonna let this game beat
me now. I'm just like you got it.

Speaker 1 (01:01:57):
Bro, I'm going to I'm gonna push back a little
bit on you there, because you're the You're the one
that's still dead set on taking out these optional bosses
as you're playing through Expedition thirty three, whereas me like,
I'll walk up on them and I'll give it a
try or to and I'm like, I'm good.

Speaker 2 (01:02:13):
Take you up. I'm all right.

Speaker 3 (01:02:16):
One shot.

Speaker 1 (01:02:16):
You're like, okay, whatever, whatever whatever you got, I probably
don't need it that bad. I'm sure I'll be okay
with that.

Speaker 3 (01:02:23):
Hey, but I will. What I will tell you is
I haven't took I haven't put this, I haven't turned this.
It on like two weeks. I finished it and I
tried to from the bosses, and I know I can
beat them. I can create bills that I can. I
would be able to beat it. But I'm like, I'm
gonna go ahead and play Palia fuck.

Speaker 1 (01:02:39):
D Yeah right, you know, but but yeah, I agree, Yeah,
I agree with you. Guys are like it's not the
reflexes as much as is the ability to want to
deal with it that has eroded a little bit more.

Speaker 2 (01:02:52):
Yeah, Like that's the thing like fighting games, Like I
can get through combo trials, right, but like I don't
want to learn a character, yo, because like I gotta
learn a character and then if I end up not
liking that, it's like it's like creating a character. Like
if I create a character, I spend hours on it
and then I'll turn around and for some reason, the lighting,

(01:03:16):
the lighting looks worse in game, right, like they do
the they do the thing that stores do where it's
like god damn, like like I'm really feeling this. I'm
feeling this shirt out right. The lighting is great and
ship and I get home and see it in natural light,
and I look like the schlub that I've always been
like all right, man, God damn it, and I gonna

(01:03:37):
go all the way.

Speaker 3 (01:03:38):
Back position and I'm like, I got to look way
better in the character created than she does right in game,
Like what the fuck happened? I'm not fixing it. Fuck it,
I'm not going back no, man. Like back then, I
would have been like, I gotta fix this, and I'm
just like, Okay, it is what it is.

Speaker 2 (01:03:55):
I'm gonna just I'm gonna just be My character is
just gonna look like me with a fucked up hair
airline for forty hours.

Speaker 3 (01:04:05):
But your patients, I guess all three of us are like, yeah,
they just don't have the patience anymore.

Speaker 2 (01:04:08):
I don't too.

Speaker 3 (01:04:10):
Yep. Yeah, reflexes are still there. They are like again,
parrying in Claire Obscure. I've gotten through whole fights with
pairying everything in thirty frans per second, I might add.

Speaker 1 (01:04:21):
I mean me and I mean I guess not our
first technically, but like me and Micah literally three years
ago sat down with the frump Soft game for any
extented period of time for the first time in our
old age.

Speaker 3 (01:04:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:04:36):
Yeah, So it's not the reflexes as much as it
is putting up with bullshit. Uh, speaking of bullshit, I'll
actually just because it thematically works, I'll jump down to
tea wash This question, who asks in any media what
instantly ruins a story for you for them and is
unnecessary romance?

Speaker 2 (01:04:55):
I don't know if this is a story ruiner, but
it's really annoying. Well, there's a couple of things. One
that ruins the story is just like poor pacing. But
that's very like subjective. But something that's really annoying that
I think is less subjective is a ham fisted message.

(01:05:19):
Like we just did a movie on Black on Black Cinema.
There's a love story about like an artist and an
up and coming lawyer, and there's a scene where a
lawyer just starts talking about housing discrimination has nothing to
do with anything, and they don't come back to it,
and it's like, yeah, I get it, I get it,

(01:05:42):
But is this is this love story between this this
this artist and this lawyer really the medium that you
want to talk about housing discrimination for like five minutes
and then never bring it up again and it's just
not part of the plot.

Speaker 1 (01:05:59):
The part in the in the parlance of wrestling, that's
just trying to get your ship.

Speaker 2 (01:06:03):
In for that, right, Yeah, man, Like you can't have
you can't have Chekhov's gun and then not use it.

Speaker 3 (01:06:09):
Like it was really fucking bizarre.

Speaker 2 (01:06:12):
It was weird.

Speaker 3 (01:06:14):
Yeah, I don't I don't know. Poor pacing in video
games is like it's almost inevitable, right, I think.

Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
Depends on the game, and it depends on like like
I like, you know what ruined? Uh uh. I wanted
to see that Indiana Jones in the Great Circle. I
played it on on game Pass because I want to
see if I could get through it, because like it's
an Indiana Jones story and like Indiana.

Speaker 3 (01:06:38):
Jones before you continue. That was that was an inquisition
moment for me because I got stuck on the fucking
Vatican and I was like, I don't want to do
this anymore.

Speaker 2 (01:06:45):
Right, And that was it, you know, like I'm like,
all right, I only got I got game Pass. I
got game Pass for two months, right, there's nothing else out.
It was like Decemble whatever when it came out, and
there's nothing else out, and I can be I know
I could beat this game within two months, even given
my schedule, and I just I by the time I

(01:07:08):
was just getting out of the Vatican when my game
pass was up, and I'm just like, I don't even
care anymore.

Speaker 3 (01:07:13):
Man, Yeah, that section was really long. I don't even
know how long it is, but I didn't get out
of it. Like again, it was free to play, and
I'm like, why am I still here? What the fuck
is going on? Why am I not in the jungle
or some shit? All right, you know, fuck this game. Delete. Also,
it's like one hundred and something gigs to begin with.
Now you're taking up to my space and it's taken
too long. Patients like exactly goes back to the first

(01:07:36):
fucking question we had. My patients were just warth thin
and I'm like, yeah, it looks good, but no for.

Speaker 1 (01:07:43):
Me and the premium members who've listened to the full
catalog of the Men with the Golden Tongues will be
all too aware of this, as me and Mike have
drawn out about for a long time. If you reverse
engineer your way to a plot resolution, and it's obvious
that you did it because you had to construct an

(01:08:04):
amazing like Rube Goldberg machine of coincidences to get you
to where you need to get you where you need
to get to, I'm gonna be really pissed off at you,
and I'm not gonna like it the most. The most
glaring example of this is in a fantastic movie in Skyfall,
where the villain's plot only works because of you know,

(01:08:28):
sheer happenstance.

Speaker 2 (01:08:29):
Yeah, because he's because he has omnipotence.

Speaker 1 (01:08:33):
Right, and and but but but but it's also so fragile,
such a house of cards that James Bond is immediately
able to just by doing one thing, said, the whole
fucking thing tumbling down.

Speaker 2 (01:08:45):
So yeah, it's what, Uh, it's what. It's what Republicans think.
Democrats are right, like evil masterminds, but like stupid at
the same time.

Speaker 1 (01:08:57):
But yes, don't don't make me jump through leaps of
logic to get to your your plot point. Like, get
me there in a nice easy manner and I will
be fine. I'm willing to suspend some level of disbelief,
but only some, not not all. So Kirby kurb Forever

(01:09:18):
a new comment or I do believe. Hey guys, are
you watching season two of the Last of Us? And
if so, thoughts on it?

Speaker 3 (01:09:24):
So far?

Speaker 1 (01:09:25):
Episode six had some amazing acting. Give the Emmy to
both of them, right now, that's it have a good day.
You could not have picked a worse panel to ask
about the Last of Us anything than this panel right here,
known last of Us haters, this entire podcast.

Speaker 3 (01:09:44):
Now, I watched the first two episodes.

Speaker 2 (01:09:47):
Yeah, same two episodes I got. I got, I got exactly,
I got exactly what I needed from the first two episodes.
I got exactly what I needed. I got to see
mister fantastic play golf. And look, I watched that first
season just to compare it. But I think this person

(01:10:11):
might be new, so welcome, and I will tell you
what I told Jay. I don't I'm not in the
right headspace right now to watch a show.

Speaker 3 (01:10:28):
Like this. I didn't play that.

Speaker 2 (01:10:30):
I played the first game, didn't play the second game.
Second game came out in twenty twenty, during the middle
of a pandemic where I think it came out in
twenty twenty. It had to come out before then, maybe
maybe twenty nineteen. When when did that pandemic start? So
started in twenty twenty, Okay, either or I didn't.

Speaker 3 (01:10:53):
I didn't want to play twenty June of twenty twenty, yeah,
right into.

Speaker 2 (01:11:01):
Right, and I didn't want to. I didn't want to
you know, I didn't want to play a game where
there was a massive pandemic and humanity is at each
other's throats instead of trying to figure out the how
to solve the pandemic, and you know, in the middle
of you know, one of the worst presidential administrations this

(01:11:21):
country has ever seen. I just wasn't I went in
the right headspace and lo and behold.

Speaker 3 (01:11:27):
We're right back.

Speaker 2 (01:11:28):
We're right back, We're right back, And I can't. Yeah,
I can't do that. Jay keeps sending me all this
stuff to like.

Speaker 3 (01:11:38):
Like, oh, doesn't this make you mad?

Speaker 2 (01:11:39):
Like, nigga, why are you sending me this ship to
make me mad? Like I'm really trying to work on
mental health one two three, I'm taking care of me, right,
I'm really trying to work on my mental health right now,
and you sending me, you know, clips of these two
dudes arguing about like, hey, I think you should treat

(01:12:00):
women with respect.

Speaker 3 (01:12:01):
Hey, I think you should fuck sixteen year old bro.
And if they get an.

Speaker 2 (01:12:06):
Essay from being graped, then it's all good. Like what
like what they get the big old from being essayed,
then everything's good? What? No, No, bro, don't you want
to punch this guy in the mouth. Yes, but I can't.
So now I got blue knuckles, nigger, I got blue
balls for knuckles.

Speaker 1 (01:12:28):
This is not Alasta's question to go. I guess I'll
just I'll put I'll put a bowe. And I'm I
just saying I don't think the last of a story
is very good. I didn't care for the original video game,
and I'm certainly not gonna watch the HBO show, but I'm.

Speaker 2 (01:12:39):
Glad that I hear the second one. I hear the
second season is a second game is even worse because
it's just a petty revenge tale. Like at least the
first season had some sort of moral quandary to make
you think, like, oh, well, you know, is is you know,

(01:13:00):
is sacrificing one? Right?

Speaker 1 (01:13:02):
Is the life of one worth the life of many?

Speaker 3 (01:13:04):
Essentially? Right?

Speaker 2 (01:13:05):
Like that was the crux And that was an interesting
enough premise that I think the game kind of you know,
stumbled at the end, and the show did it better.
But from what I understand of the game's story, it's
just a petty revenge tale. And you know, I don't

(01:13:26):
need all this shit right now, man, Yeah, I got.

Speaker 3 (01:13:29):
My reasoning is a little easier. Like again, like partially
for for mic is the reasoning my reason, I just
don't like Ellie in a season, she's supposed to be
twenty years old and she's like still like like a
fucking child. And again, as a twenty year old, you's
still kind of you're still kind of a kid. But
like I'm old there, I don't like kid. I don't
like kids.

Speaker 2 (01:13:52):
Yeah, I don't blame yeah again patience, right, It's just
she's just but apparently it's supposed to be good. I like.

Speaker 3 (01:14:02):
Whatever, man, I.

Speaker 1 (01:14:02):
Mean, em faris to me. I don't watch any TV
anymore anyway, so like that's that's kind of the whole thing.

Speaker 3 (01:14:07):
I'm very selective, Yeah, with what I watched, Like, the
last thing I watched was The Pit, which is an
amazing television so what I hear, it's very good, Like
if if anything, if you were to watch anything, the
Pit is fucking great, gross because it's hospital ship. But
you know, look, I love watch I love medical dramas.

Speaker 2 (01:14:29):
The last thing I watched was the last thing I
watched was Final Destination Bloodline of course, so of course
I'm you know, I'm the book or t of the group.
If you haven't realized.

Speaker 3 (01:14:42):
How was that.

Speaker 2 (01:14:44):
It's fun, man, And if you've never seen a Final Destination,
which a lot of you listening might not have because
Final Destination is a twenty five year old franchise, then
right then this is a great place to kind of
jump in and and it's it. It's story is ridiculous,
but it's the best version of that story, and they

(01:15:07):
know they're having fun with it, Like, yeah, I would
check it out.

Speaker 1 (01:15:13):
Micah mike A is my favorite connoisseur of media because
Micah can talk about like high falutin media in very
like mature and advanced and like like like very intelligently
and has a lot of nuanced thoughts on things and
and it's fantastic. And then he can also still find

(01:15:34):
a ton of enjoyment in just the most garbage fucking
media that you could possibly imagine. At the same time,
he he is truly the duality of man in one person.
So it's a motherfucker's seen every Saw movie multiple times,
I'm pretty sure.

Speaker 3 (01:15:50):
Absolutely Final Destination.

Speaker 2 (01:15:56):
That was great. I love it. I loved it.

Speaker 1 (01:15:59):
But at the same time, me and him can sit
down and talk about you know, like like the fuckingo
Dendy Villeenuve together. Yeah, oh my god, thank you for
your question, Kirby, thank you. Uh Cam asks. Now that

(01:16:20):
the Gears movie has a director, do you think Big
Dave is finally gonna get his wish? Yeah, as long
as timing works out, there's no reason not they cast
it in in this movie, even if it's not it's Marcus.

Speaker 2 (01:16:33):
I mean, if they do cast him and it's not
as Marcus, that's that's gonna be even the weird for me.

Speaker 3 (01:16:42):
Is it gonna be old Marcus? Is he gonna have
his son by this time?

Speaker 1 (01:16:48):
I don't know. I don't I don't. I don't know
what the I don't know what the plot of the
movie is.

Speaker 2 (01:16:52):
You know, shave, shave his head and shave his head
and put the put that do rag on because you know,
Marcus got them fresh waves. I guess the markers went on.

Speaker 3 (01:17:02):
A do rag for.

Speaker 2 (01:17:06):
But yeah, just just put a due rag on and
then you know, guys can get away with you know.

Speaker 3 (01:17:13):
Is what fifty six years old?

Speaker 2 (01:17:16):
Yeah, but if he puts that elephant armor on, like
he'll be fine, you know, he won't you know who
is who is directing the movie?

Speaker 1 (01:17:26):
I don't know, I know they announced it, but I
couldn't tell you the name of the dude that did
it or that that depicts.

Speaker 3 (01:17:34):
I think I saw it and.

Speaker 2 (01:17:37):
H David Leach.

Speaker 3 (01:17:41):
Oh, yeah, that's the dude that does the fucking stretcher.

Speaker 2 (01:17:46):
He did a bullet Train four guy Atomic Blonde.

Speaker 3 (01:17:50):
Oh he's he's the He's just he's There was a
duo that did what is it the first damn the
fucking movie with Canna Reeves.

Speaker 2 (01:18:05):
John Wick.

Speaker 3 (01:18:07):
Was one of them.

Speaker 2 (01:18:08):
Yeah, he was one of him, and Chat's look fog.
I was fun. Bullet Train was ridiculous.

Speaker 1 (01:18:16):
Yeah, well I was gonna ask because I figured that
at least one of even seen it. So like no
with the with the knowledge that I found a lot
of delight in that weird U two thousand and seven
action movie with Clive Owe Shoot Him Up, which I
thought was very funny as a silly fucking movie that
doesn't get that frankly doesn't get talked about enough in
my opinion. Would I like bullet Train because it looks

(01:18:39):
like it has a lot of those vibes.

Speaker 3 (01:18:40):
I didn't like bullet trains.

Speaker 2 (01:18:42):
I didn't bullet train. Bullet train is uh, bullet train
is kind of trying too hard, and I think it was.
It was a COVID movie, so it's it's kind of
it's kind of weird. It's trying a little too hard
to be like a Guy Richie movie where it's got.

Speaker 1 (01:18:57):
Like so so so it's more so it's more towards
smoking aces then, which means I probably wouldn't like it
as much.

Speaker 3 (01:19:03):
And I think I don't like smoking aces.

Speaker 1 (01:19:04):
Did you?

Speaker 2 (01:19:05):
I like not care for smoking It's like it's like
smoking clubs, yo, Like it's not it's not quite you know.

Speaker 1 (01:19:14):
Smoking Smokeing Aces is one of those movies that I
don't think a lot of people have seen but but
in But for some reason, when I think of smoking Aces,
like that movie is so directly linked to the year
two thousand and six with me, like like it's unshakable,
like it's the first thing I think of when I
think of two thousand and six, I'm like, a, well,
Smoking Aces came out. It's it's it's got like the
perfect fucking nexus of two thousand and six, where like

(01:19:36):
Ryan Reynolds was still popular but not uber popular like
he is now, and that was like the apex of
Jeremy Pivens uh fucking Nader and everyone's still kind of
trying to rip off Guy Ritchie, but no one Zoo
especially well except for Matthew Vaughan.

Speaker 3 (01:19:52):
But yeah, so.

Speaker 2 (01:19:55):
Yeah, I forgot Alicia Keys was in that movie.

Speaker 1 (01:19:57):
Yeah she was. That was a big deal too. Yeah,
it was big, big crossover event.

Speaker 3 (01:20:01):
Well I don't know that.

Speaker 1 (01:20:03):
I can't remember if Common was in that movie, but
it feels like a movie that Common would have been in.

Speaker 2 (01:20:07):
I don't think I don't think so that that was that. No,
he was in that movie. There you go, what, Yeah,
he was. He played Sir Ivy, someone's head of security.

Speaker 1 (01:20:21):
That would that would be a fun game is just
kind of it's just kind of picked like pick like
pick like a list of like that style of action
movie and just like play the game of what was
common in this and see like how successful if somebody
could be the trick to the game would be every
movie that I would select would have Common in it.
So like that would be that would be the secret

(01:20:42):
the secret trick question of the game.

Speaker 3 (01:20:44):
That's funny, John Wick.

Speaker 1 (01:20:46):
He was he was wanted weapons or weapons the fate
was the video game?

Speaker 3 (01:20:52):
Just wanted was the was the movie. That's right.

Speaker 1 (01:20:56):
Remember wanted a lot of money and they all kind
of have the same the same general aesthetic.

Speaker 2 (01:21:04):
What in the world common was in The Ocean's eight?

Speaker 3 (01:21:08):
What well?

Speaker 1 (01:21:11):
That well that that lies outside of that esthetic?

Speaker 2 (01:21:14):
Yeah, but no, I get you. But like he's in
he's in a lot of movies and a lot of TV. Yeah,
he's in silo.

Speaker 1 (01:21:24):
What is common the most successful rapper, third actor in
the history of the world.

Speaker 2 (01:21:34):
Someone someone might be the most prolific, but I don't
know if he's the most successful, like Will Smith.

Speaker 1 (01:21:41):
That's okay, okay, all, yeah, I did forget that he
was a rapper.

Speaker 3 (01:21:47):
That's it's fair. You can't album, did he Oh my god,
I don't know if he's writing his own ship. But
if he gets it, if he is bad.

Speaker 2 (01:22:00):
Yeah, yeah, someone else like mid fifties?

Speaker 3 (01:22:05):
Yeah is it? But is it?

Speaker 1 (01:22:08):
But is it still like the kind of like, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:22:16):
It's not Willennium BD like Willennium, What the fuck?

Speaker 1 (01:22:23):
I'm I'm aware of the will annivalbum. I didn't own it.
I did own Big Willie Styles. I believe it was
issued every suburban white kid in the late nineties. Michael,
did you listen to the last one's episode.

Speaker 2 (01:22:36):
Of this show. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Terrence per right,
black people love look as soon as as soon as
as soon as Terrence said it, I started listening to
more Room five. Absolutely, absolutely every everybody. Black people love
mo Room five. I don't know what it is black

(01:22:58):
people and and and lower upper class white suburban moms
in their fifties and love Moroon five.

Speaker 3 (01:23:06):
It's the only thing we got lower. Oh lord, how
do we How did we get from Dabatis to this?

Speaker 1 (01:23:16):
I'll never I'll never.

Speaker 3 (01:23:17):
Know how this happened. I had one question for Brad
because last we were talking about overrated, overrated bands. What
do you think because this is my fa This is Littlely,
my favorite rock band of all time, and I don't
listen to a lot of them, But what do you
think of Tool?

Speaker 1 (01:23:33):
I love Tool. I'm fucking down. If if you, if
you were if you if you were like a music student,
like like like if you played music or or like
got into music theory as I was when I was
in high school and college for a little bit, you're
contractually obligated to enjoy Tool. They're the coolest fucking band
out there in terms of like the style of music
that they play like. They are completely unique onto themselves.

(01:23:55):
Nobody does what they do, and it's very interesting. But
if like you're not into music, you're gonna hate Tool,
probably unless you get high a lot, in which case
then then I don't.

Speaker 3 (01:24:05):
Yeah, I've never smoked.

Speaker 2 (01:24:07):
Now that you're into music, like, I wouldn't. I wouldn't know, honestly,
you might you don't like music with lyrics. I don't
like music with lyrics. Show give me, give me some
fucking low fi beats to study by, and I will
I will be fine.

Speaker 1 (01:24:23):
Like I would try to give you.

Speaker 3 (01:24:24):
A list of Tool songs to try to listen to,
but I don't even know. I don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:24:27):
I listened to a lot. I give one a couple
of you know, a couple of seconds.

Speaker 1 (01:24:32):
I mean, I mean.

Speaker 3 (01:24:34):
Songs is like twelve minutes long.

Speaker 1 (01:24:36):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, go go with the go
with the fucking go with the fucking standards, right like
go with like Latteralice.

Speaker 3 (01:24:43):
And and uh.

Speaker 1 (01:24:46):
Yeah, just just just like go to Spotify and just
and played the first thing.

Speaker 3 (01:24:50):
Yeah, thats.

Speaker 1 (01:24:53):
Rats Lotteralis litterle raals ye on it which skis him?
You probably or even though you don't realize you've heard
it that that's that's probably the most popular song. I
think Scizm is fine, but obviously it's like like like
most singles, it's not their best work, so but it
is certainly the most partially viable. But yeah, Tool rocks.

Speaker 3 (01:25:14):
I love to win.

Speaker 1 (01:25:15):
So did you know there's a Tool Cruise by the way,
Like you can go on a cruise with Tool and
they play like four nights.

Speaker 3 (01:25:21):
While they're there.

Speaker 1 (01:25:23):
I just I just came across that knowledge randomly a
couple months ago, and it has left my head.

Speaker 2 (01:25:28):
So how does it hold up to how does it
hold up to the fazz.

Speaker 1 (01:25:32):
To the Fazzi Cruise? I have to imagine the Tool
Cruise is better than the Fazzi Cruise. Yes, even though
Judas is a cool song. Finally, can't ask is there
a game you bought on a whim and then fell
in love with it? Of so many, so many games
that I bought with minimal research that and I fell

(01:25:53):
in love with Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 2 (01:25:55):
Does a whim count as like, hey, Brad thinks this
is good, I should play it?

Speaker 3 (01:26:01):
Or is that too much research? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:26:03):
Oh well then yeah, like there's a ton of games
but I can't name I can't name them off the
top of my head.

Speaker 3 (01:26:10):
Well, that that's I picked that up on a whim. Yep.
I really enjoyed that. Moonlighter. I picked it off of
a whim. Really enjoyed that, like a lot of indie games,
because they're fucking cheap. I'm not spending sixty dollars.

Speaker 1 (01:26:24):
Right, and I and I and I picked up and
I picked up Moon Later and Children of More and
there you go, there's two great examples. Was great. I
fucking I picked up solely because Terrence is like, these
are cool, and I was like, well Terrence likes them,
then they're worth a shot. And they weren't. They were
fucking great. And now I can't wait for the next
Moon Later.

Speaker 2 (01:26:40):
I think Johnny said Sea of Stars was really really good,
So I bought that, and it's really really good.

Speaker 3 (01:26:48):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (01:26:49):
Uh, I might try that if you want to, if
you want to resee for me, Like you said Nubby's
number factor. I heard one person talked about on a
podcast that seemed really interesting. I bought it and I
have twenty hours in it right now, So like that's
that's another given one as well.

Speaker 3 (01:27:03):
So yeah, by all.

Speaker 1 (01:27:05):
Sorts of trust me. All I need to do is
hear one voice that I trust say that it's cool,
and I'm like, well, I have to at least check
it out, like like we at least have to look
at it, and if it's if it's less than ten dollars,
I'm probably just gonna buy its sight unseen, especially on
Steam because they have the very generous refund windows.

Speaker 3 (01:27:21):
As A game called Monster Sanctuary came out about four
or five a couple of years ago. It's almost like
a Pokemon type game, but it's also like a Metroidvania.
Very good, very good. I put thirty hours and I
bought that on a whim. It's like five bucks. Very good. Yeah,

(01:27:43):
if you know, if you've never heard of it, I
would check it out. That's also on game Pass if
you have Xbox, I would.

Speaker 1 (01:27:48):
I would challenge you, like anyone listening, if you ever
find yourself without like the next game to play and
there's nothing like that you have in your back log
that's calling out to you and you're just like, yeah,
I just want something new, but I don't, you know,
do yourself favorite go to your store of choice, like
like your your your marketplace of choice and just go
to like games under ten dollars and just sort by

(01:28:10):
popularity and just pick one that's in like that top
twenty list that you might not have really heard of,
and just just check it out. Just check it out.
You might you might be surprised what you might find
just popping something random in.

Speaker 3 (01:28:25):
And seeing seeing what's.

Speaker 1 (01:28:27):
Up that Like, Like, I think the biggest problem that
we have, uh in terms of like uh with the
with the lot of content across the entire media spectrum
that we have right now is I think we've gone
away from like the TV method of having content served
to you. Like, think of how many TV shows you've
especially when you were younger. I'm sure that you watched
and enjoyed just because it was what was on and

(01:28:49):
you're just like, yeah, i'll check this out for a
few minutes, and you got to it. Like, I don't
know why every streaming service doesn't have like a random
button that you can hit to just fucking play something
random and serve you of something that you don't you know,
that you don't think about or don't intend to actually pick,
because like, like, to me, like half of the reason
why I don't like to use a lot of streaming

(01:29:11):
services especially, is because like this, like the amount of
choice that I have is paralyzed, Like I can't get
past the amount of.

Speaker 3 (01:29:18):
Jump into an open world game. You lose, you don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:29:22):
Yeah, that's why so I don't usually play them. Is
because it's just like, oh my god, there's all these
fucking things on this map around me, and I don't
really want to do them all, but at the same time,
they're on the map, so I would to clear them
because my OCD is bothering me and I don't like
having the ship just fucking sitting out there. So like
it's like, just just tell me, just just give me,
give me the content. I will consume it. I will
tell you whether or not I like it, but just
just fucking give it to me, and I'll uh and

(01:29:44):
I'll do that. So that's because we're old. We actually
used to watch. Yeah, I mean, I'm sure there is
some sort of generational Yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure there's
some generational gap in there, but hey, that's what happens.

Speaker 3 (01:29:54):
When you have a couple of forty year olds.

Speaker 1 (01:29:56):
Uh wax and photic uh on a podcasts. Well, that'll
do us this week again. Don't forget to join the
discord going to dence pixels dot com. Slash fans subscribe
to the channel on YouTube at YouTube dot com slashdance Pixels.
You can find us as well as all of the
other TNP studio shows on the podcast app of your choosing.

(01:30:18):
Just search for TNP Studios. You'll find us that are
in Pocalypse, black Out, Black Cinema and look Forward and
if you want to support us with zeal because in
my opinion, it's never been a more important time to
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it financially, you can get dence pics dot com slash
Premium and give us five bucks a month. That also
gets you access to the full unedited episode of the

(01:30:42):
Look Forward political podcast because we always saved some real,
the real insanity for behind the paywall on that show
every week. Jani, So that is gonna be it for
us this week. Thank you all very much for watching
and listening, and we'll see you all in the next time.

Speaker 3 (01:30:59):
Yeah,