Bits On Hits

This we subsist on Transistor. Kevin wants to talk about the apocalypse, Pops obliges him. The duo explores the pseudo-Turn based gameplay and Kevin explains computer puns to Pops. They then disagree on pretty much everything about the ending.Timestamps:I feel fine - 00:01:00 game play - 00:30:45 The End - 00:59:25 closing statements - 01:23:56 Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, under CC BY 4.0"Radio Svboda" By Trillion Catz under CC BY 4.0"Tabea (Extended Mix)" by Ars Sonor under CC BY 4.0"Unconquered Sun" by The Freeharmonic Orchestra under CC by 4.0 @playsandscreens

Kevin and Pops welcome Connor from Volcano Bakemeat!(!) to take some phone calls about Hotline Miami.Flow in how the game play is discussed both in-context and on its own. We learn each other about David Lynch, dreams, and how the narrative of Hotline Miami weaves this all together intricately then dumps a ton of blood on it. Finally, we talk about the 80s, or rather, the 2016 version of the 80s - which it turns out is so simply very different. Timestamps: Gameplay - 00:06:17 Flow - 00:26:40 Convoluted David lynch-ian narrative - 00:44:15 80s Aesthetic - 01:16:20 Closing Statements - 01:41:32 Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, under CC BY 4.0"I'm having a stroke," "Spontaneous elk reunion", and "Collecting pebbles" by The Fish who saved the planet under CC BY 4.0 Be sure to check out @sosimplyverygud and, of course, @Playsandscreens

The Plays and Screens Committee spelunks down into the various games and genres that influenced how Cave Story+ plays. The hidden treasures and nasty pitfalls of game remakes are uncovered soon after. How deep is too deep when mining for nostalgia?  Timestamps: gameplay - 00:01:18 remakes - 00:17:14 true ending - 00:53:00 closing statements - 01:10:55 Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, under CC BY 4.0"Eerie Mausoleum," "Miniboss Fight," and "The Plateau at Night" by Visager under CC BY 4.0     Be sure to check us out on Twitter @playsandscreens! Let us know what you think about the episode! #NostalgiaFracking

Nick and Jonathan from Literate Gamer (@LiterateGamer) join Kevin and Pops on the Bits on Hits podcast to talk about Double Fine's Psychonauts. Overall aesthetic and level design are tackled first, followed by some charmingly diverse opinions and memories about summer camp. We wrap it up with a topic close to Literate Gamer's heart - writing.  Timestamps: The World - 00:03:25 Level Design 00:23:20 Camp - 00:48:20 Humor - 01:06:10 Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, under CC BY 4.0 "Backed Vibes Clean," "Acid Jazz," and "I knew a guy" by Kevin MacLeod under CC BY 4.0 "Outer Orbit" by Revolution Void under CC BY 3.0 Be sure to check us out on Twitter @playsandscreens! Let us know what you think about the episode!  

Kevin and Pops coming at you with some QUICK BITS ON HITS! Optimal strategies and gameplay variety are discussed in this dissection of Treasure's 1993 classic.Timestamps:variety playhouse 00:00:55 First Order Opptimal Strategies 00:22:00 Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an CC BY 4.0 "Crush at Maracas bar" and "He plays me the best rhythms" by Rolemusic under CC BY 4.0 Be sure to check us out on Twitter @playsandscreens! Let us know what you think about the episode!

Pops and Kevin get more philosophical than usual in their talk about the wide whaling world of Dishonored. Hobbes, the Trolley Problem, awful people doing awful things, and gleeful murdering sprees are on the ticket this episode. Heavy use of barbituates while listening to this episode is ill-advised.Timestamps:stealth games, moral choices and Hobbes- 00:00:55 the hand that stalks - 00:32:00 proper story integration - 00:56:30 everybody hates corvo 01:11:55 Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an CC BY 4.0   "Ships" by Josh Woodward under CC BY 4.0 "Sea" and "You and Everyone" by Portrayal under CC BY 4.0  

Pops and Kevin talk media surrounding this game - among them the Fables graphic novels and the movie Chinatown. Kevin tries to determine what defines an engaging action scene. Finally we end in a smoky private eye's office wondering just what the hell happened.Also, spoilers.Timestamps: source material 00:01:30 crime noir - 00:13:20 action scenes - 00:43:35 ambiguous ending 01:13:20 closing arguments 01:31:00Volcano Bakemeat twitter: @sosimplyverygud Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an CC BY 4.0 Anxiety by Kai Engel available under CC BY 4.0 Dirt Rhodes by Kevin MacLeod available under CC BY 3.0  

This week: Metroid FusionPops learns Kevin hates backtracking because he doesn't understand progress. Inverted ziggurats are mentioned. The hosts try to one up each other with their OG game knowledge and learn they're both filthy casuals. They try to start an intellectual conversation about art design and devolve into talking about 80's sci fi movies. Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an CC BY 4.0 Sleeping Outdoors, Black Forest by voyageurs available under CC BY 3.0 A dark blue arc by Pipe Choir available under CC BY 4.0 Ecclesia by Ambienteer available under CC BY 3.0    

This week: Papers, Please. Pops and Kevin are joined by guest Orrin Luc (@OrrinLuc). They learn about a new word for talking about video games that they can use to confuse and enthrall their friends - Ludology! Papers Please has a very unique playstyle that Kevin has conflicted feelings about. Pops returns from his trip to the can of worms store and you'll never guess what he opens - about Communism and Statism. They finally return to the well-tread ground of choices in video games and examine how Papers, Please has an exceptionally ingenious system of decision-making. **NOTE**: Spoilers for Bioshock Check out Orrin Luc's series It's Not Just a Video Game    Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an CC BY 4.0 Occhi di Bambola by Giovanni Vicari, available under CC BY 4.0 Arnautka by Steva Nikoli, available under CC BY 4.0 Baltic Levity by Kevin MacLeod, available under CC BY 4.0

This week: Resident Evil 4. Kevin and Pops start right off with examining the tension between power and powerlessness that underlies good horror. Then they find a way to talk about economics in a game about parasite-infested Spaniards. Meta-game talk of RE4's quick time events and PC port are followed by a conclusion on the game's replayability. Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an CC BY 4.0 Intermission music: "The Waking Nightmare" by Ars Sonsor, available under CC BY 4.0 "Night without sleep" by David Mumford, available under CC BY 4.0 "Spanish Moss" by Ennio the Little Brother, available under CC BY 4.0 "Flamenco Rhythm" by Sunsearcher, available under CC BY-SA 3.0      

This week: Crypt of the Necrodancer Kevin and Pops lay down the boogie on rhythm games and roguelikes and how this groovy title mashes up the two genres. Then they enter a mathrock phase and talk about the fundamentals of turn-based games. Finally they look at how recent playable alphas range from Bold and Brash to Belongs in the Trash. Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an CC BY 4.0 Intermission music: "Hit the Dance Floor" by D SMILEZ, available under CC BY 4.0 "Dance Rocket" by Jesse Spillane, available under CC BY 4.0 "Dance Harder" by Three Chain Links, available under CC BY 4.0

This week: Vectorman. Kevin and Pops slide right in to the totally tubular art design of this late-Genesis classic. The multiple high-water marks that this game embodied are discussed, as well as just how gosh darn hard it is. Your hosts learn about Vectormania and try to find a man who doesn't want to be found. Finally, they try and figure out what the dillio is with the early 90s - what made it such a flippin radical era? Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an CC BY 4.0 Intermission music:   "Machiotil," "Cemanahuatl," and "Xinachtli" by Seclorance under CC BY 4.0  

This week: Portal. Kevin and Pops riff on the history of Portal's 3D space-folding gameplay, as well as some of the stereotypes of that type of game. They then talk about the internet for way too long and end up bitter and disgusted with modern society. After that, they start making jokes! They wrap the show up with a discussion on the concept of minimalism in Portal and how other games have reacted to this social trend. Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an Attribution 4.0 International License Intermission music: "Night Owl" and "Mell's Parade" by Broke for Free, available under CC BY 3.0 "Mario Bava Sleeps In a Little Later Than He Expected To" by Chris Zabriskie available under CC BY 4.0 "Machiotil" and "Xinachtli" by Seclorance under CC BY 4.0 "Enthusiast" by Tours under CC BY 3.0  

This week: Amnesia: The Dark Descent Pops and Kevin try to hash out the difference between being spooked and scared. Spoiler alert: scared wins. They learn that Nintendo has patented fear. Questions about the dividing line between horror, action, and comedy leave the hosts feeling more confused than they were when they started. Permanence and impermanence drive the final discussions.    Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an Attribution 4.0 International License Intermission music: Selections by Kai Engel, available under CC BY 4.0 "When You Leave" and "Fog" by Sergey Cheremisinov available under CC BY 4.0 "Ghost Dance" by Kevin Macleod available under CC BY 3.0

This week: Goldeneye Kevin and Pops talk about how controllers have changed before jumping wholesale into wild critical nonsense about how James Bond games and James Bond movies exist in an existential feedback loop. They then discuss how anyone who picks Oddjob in Goldeneye multiplayer is a utility-maximizing asshole. Finally they talk about actual games for a little bit before naturally concluding with a story about secret plans in fascist Spain. Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an Attribution 4.0 International License Intermission music: Selections by Kevin Macleod, available under CC BY 3.0 "Outer Orbit" by Revolution Void, available under CC BY 3.0

This week: Bastion. Peace, what is it good for? Bastion uses innovative storytelling methods to weave a tale about what not to do with world-ending weaponry.  Kevin gripes about outdated game trends then gushes about outdated movie trends. Pops ties in the unique ways Bastion handles difficulty and destruction and how those influenced future games in the genre. Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an Attribution 4.0 International License Intermission music: Selections by Doctor Turtle, under a CC BY 4.0

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Bits on Hits! We take a different hit video game every week and discuss different bits of the game - game mechanics, obscure PR campaigns, and Spanish dictators are all on the table.  **ALL EPISODES ARE FULL OF SPOILERS** This week: Undertale.  Your hosts Kevin and Pops talk about what choices the player really has in Undertale versus what choices are foisted upon them. They then delve into the inspiration behind the game's aesthetic and battle mechanics. Finally, your hosts give their thoughts on the enormity of making a hit game (mostly) alone and what they'd do with "Notch money." Intro: "Intro" by Azureflux, available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License Outro: "Factory Time" by Visager, available under an Attribution 4.0 International License Intermission music: "Electric Donkey Muscles" by RoccoW, available under CC BY-SA 4.0 "Road Trip" by Ryan Little, available under CC BY-SA 4.0