It's day two of Giant Bomb at Night Live in Los Angeles. I'm Jeff
Grubb from giant bomb dot com. They have once again shackled me to this
chair for six more hours to talk to people about video games and who knows
what else, including I praying over here. Simon Desan from A forty four.
How's it going, man? Hey, thanks for having me. Man,
that's all right, Yeah, I appreciate you coming bye. Itch is
absolutely Seth Rosen. How's it going good? Good, good to be back.
Thanks for having me. Yeah, absolutely, And Sam Winkler, it's
an honor, my lucky charm. So let's let's go. Well, you
know what, we'll get to that one. Let's start, I said,
we start here. What's your favorite food? Oh? Man, are we
actually doing this? Okay? Of course, kind of good past like a
Kiwi meat pie. Okay, explain what that means. Oh, it's just
like like mince gravy and like a nice pastry package. You know. Hey,
that sounds delicious. Instant light food vessel delivery, yeah, fighteen mils,
Yeah that sounds okay. Yeah, so it's very savory and you just
go like just dig right in. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah, exactly, like you have to go to New Zealand and try
them sometime. Sounds very good. Up, but before Simon looked, He's
like, what we gonna talk about like your favorite food? That's where we're
going to go right away. And I kept my promise, as I always
do. Yeah, I know, Summer Game Fest is here. Are you
showing the game? Are you showing the game here at the show? No?
So we're just on we're you know, coming up to release, you
know, this year, and so we're coming over and just doing all of
the present promos, right and stuff like that. How's that process gone for
you? Yeah, it's going really well. You know, like I'm superheapy
with all the games coming together and yeah, it's like amazing to get to
fly over to you know, the other side of the world and talking about
your game. Yeah. Absolutely, Are you guys you're based in New Zealand?
Yeah, yeah, whole studio is based in New Zealand. Yep,
excellent, excellent. I know that there's like a burgeon it's not the right
word. There's an established game scene there, but it doesn't feel like it's
still growing all the time, Like every day there's new game developers coming up
out of like the education system. Yeah, hell yeah, it's been it's
been absolutely amazing. I mean you've got some like really established studios there,
but like USA have some like you know, brand news studios popping up.
You know, I think it's like Black Salt down in Dunedan, who do
like Dridge? You know, like amazing games coming out of New Zealand all
the time, and you had so many developers over there. Now, Seth,
you recently launched a game, we sure did. How'd that go?
It went well? You can drive around the Pacific Northwestern Pacific Drive Civic Drive
out now. Yeah, came out back in February, and you know,
we even we've been enjoying the success and relaxing a little bit after was you
know, admittedly pretty difficult production. But it's done and we're kind of winding
down and starting to work on on content for the future that'll be coming out
over the coming months. And it's been really exciting. Yeah, Like,
are like win, does the relaxation begin after lunch? We let you know,
yeah, that's what I would assume that it's like, No, the
actual answer is like we you know, really try and avoid dragging our people
through the mud as much as possible, Like it happens, like we we
generally have a policy of like no crunch, but we had some and drop
out of that. But it happened you got to sprint at a certain point.
Yeah, yep, Like there's the last mile, hopefully not several last
miles. But you know, because of that that extra time and effort,
Like it's really important to us that we give the team like a proper break,
like some comp time. So everyone got like a month to kind of
use over the summer however they want and hopefully like recover and recuperate a little
bit, right. I mean, you know, I think about it,
like when we do stuff like this, it's like, yeah, we're working
kind of NonStop for several days in a row, and it's like that that's
a sprint. It's like as long as you're mindful of that and keep like
you're keeping that in the tabulations of like this has happened, we do need
to like make up for it at some point, like that is just a
job. At a certain point, it is like yes, several laps of
a sprint, it becomes something else, right yep. Yeah, So the
game now you guys are like taking this little breather and more more content to
come. How do you sort of is this like ideas that got left behind
or so like, now that it's out there and people are responding to it,
you have new ideas. It's been a mix. I mean, some
of it is stuff that like we thought of and even in some cases prototype
during development and just like didn't make sense to include at the end of the
day in the final scope. But some of it is also like seeing what
the community is exciting excited about. And you know, an example there is
like in an update already not for these coming updates, we added the ability
to close the rear garage door so you can actually like have an inside time
when it's raining out and feel that coziness fun. And then you know,
we're also starting to think about like further future things and do some like experimentation
and R and D for for some some larger features and content down the line.
Very cool, Sam, How do you direct a narrative? How do
I direct a narrative? Yeah, narrative director, Sam Weekler, how do
you direct a narrative? I get to work with an incredibly talented team from
the process of ideation to putting stuff down on the page and then working with
a million different departments who actually sort of spin my flax into gold. And
then people invite me onto couches. Yeah, give me credit, appreciate it.
You are indeed my lucky charm. Last time I saw you, you
came by to say hi, and I'm like, yeah, Sam, come
sit with me. That's when I won that ten thousand dollars on that that
parlay for hockey game. What hey, Okay, So yeah, people mostly
do know the story. We were at packs and before I left, I
was just like, you know, I'm gonna do this like it was like
an eleven game parlay over under in hockey. So it's like, I'm gonna
pick over and under for all these eleven games and if they all hit.
You know, I also do like the little like one dollar two dollars bet
on each one, but I bet eight dollars on all eleven games, and
if all eleven would hit, I would win ten thousand. And as he
was coming over, I'm like, I'm pretty sure it's gonna hit, and
about yeah, fifteen seconds later, it actually did come through. Well,
we sat down in the corner and I was like yeah, man, and
then we I turned and looked, and the entire your group was like staring
at you like a ghost had just sat yes, like it wasn't a shirt
thing. It was like, are we gonna jinks it or something like that.
So but Sam was there, so of course not. Yeah, I
just I have an aura, Yes, exactly did you get his cut?
Well, I can pay the government first, so yeah, after that,
but yeah, it was that was a fun time, flashing my Venmo on
the screen. Get your crypto wallet. Yeah. So you said you're out
here kind of talking to press and stuff. Seth. You kind of came
down here to see some friends hang out with us. Sam, are you
doing anything at summer game fests? I am doing very little summer game fest
other than hanging out with a bunch of games industry friends and seeing people celebrate
finally getting to announce stuff and just I don't know, it's been awesome.
Well go ahead, please, I feel like you should see how many parlays
you can make it. Hey, look, I am I am now accepting
invites just to people who are gambling. Yes, within whatever field I emit.
I'm renting it out open real estate. So I mean like none of
you guys are part of summer game fests proper, but you guys are all
here. Is there still something that is like drawing you in, Like,
once there's a critical mass of people in the industry in one place, it
is just worth it to come out or or what I mean. I would
say I had a deep hunger during you know, twenty twenty and twenty twenty
one, where there wasn't a lot of these moments happening. Yeah, and
then I've had a very busy last few years between like moving and having a
kid and everything like that, and so you know, the moment I was
like, yeah, I actually could make it down to LA and see a
bunch of other people who make games that and honestly just see stuff that I'm
a fan of myself. It seemed like a no brainer. Yeah, how
about you guys. Is it like there's enough people in town like that that's
what makes it able to go see the press in person? Yeah? Yeah,
yeah, I mean this time. Yeah, like we're you know,
we're in the home stretch on flint Lock, so it'll just kind of light
made sense for us to our way over and you know, I haven't been
to La since I think like twenty eighteen when we were launching Eshen. So
yeah, it's been a minute, man, I had to get back here.
Yeah, well how's uh, how's these sort of get the word out
changed? Between Ashen and now? I don't know. I mean, like
I think, like you know, being on streams and stuff like that,
seems to be like a lot more like prevalent. Yeah. I think like
when we were showing off Ashen, there was a lot more sort of like
we just kind of released the trailer, do some like press sort of behind
closed doors and things like that, and yeah, now I don't know,
I want to podcast, Yeah exactly. Yeah for Flintlock, what is are
there any like walls you're running into when you try to explain it to me?
But I imagined, I imagine a lot of people have preconceived notions about
what they expect the game to be when they see it. Is that something
you're able to explain or did you feel at a certain point people just got
to play it to understand it? What? No? I mean I think
like with us being like a what we term to be like a Soul's Light
experience, like a more sort of accessible Soul's game I think, you know,
just having a chat about that and like you know, explaining that it's
you know, not trying to alienate kind of like either end, but it's
more of like a fusion between sort of like an action RPG and sort of
like a more typical kind of soulsy game. But you know, I think
like once people do get their hands on the controller, like the game feels
like super nice and so you know, everyone's super heavy, like once once
you get hands on Yeah, and that's I mean, that is probably one
of the keys there is, like you know, we keep telling the story
but once to set the expectations, but people are going to get a chance
to play it and then it's going to kind of I'll be able to explain
itself. Yeah, yeah, exactly exactly. You know. I mean,
like as compared to say something like Ashen, we have like a lot more
of like a narrative focus in the game. And so yeah, like I
honestly can't wait for people to kind of get their hands on it, and
yeah, experience like the store in the world of Finnlock. Yeah, you
guys, you guys did have you said you were doing some like recently trailers
and like some stuff like that, right, is that what you're saying before
we get started? Well, that was that was more for like for ashen
and stuff. Like the previous time we came here, it was it was
mostly for trailers and stuff like that. But yeah, I mean like this
time, hopefully we have something you know, interesting soon. But you know,
I'm curious about like that seems like whenever I talk developers, it seems
like it's such a huge process just could create assets for media for people to
see stuff. You're all nodding, Uh, how much time does it take?
God, how long is a piece of string? It can it can
take a long time. You know, we've had trailers because we make our
trailers in house. We've had trailers be in house for anything up to two
and a half months with somebody or multiple people working full time. That's just
to create the trailer. And then you've got all of the different like versioning
for you know, whichever platforms want it, and you know sound mixing and
like it's just it's just yeah, it's a whole massive process. And that's
just like a trailer. Then like what it's say, there was like a
playable demo, Like is that a bigger ass on top of itself like that,
like you get laughing, we could I'll try, man feel free.
But yeah, I mean what's that like, yep, Making making something like
a playable demo is Yeah, it's a game launch onto itself and some basically,
Yeah, I mean, you're putting something out into the public. It
has to be ready, it has to be you know, tested, stable.
You know, you have to be like really confident with the section that
it is that you're showing, you know, and then there's all the different
like platforms that it's potentially going out on. So yeah, Like also,
usually when you're doing a demo is kind of when you're in the final stretches
of development anyway, and so you're already kind of stretched thin and you kind
of have to make some magic happen. Yeah. Is that your guys' experience
as well? Yeah? I mean I think at least in my experience,
like it depends a bit what your audience is. Like if you're showing it
behind closed doors to press, generally, there's like less tutorialization and sort of
like onboarding that you need to put into the build itself because you're gonna be
sitting there and you can kind of like say, hey, it looks like
you're struggling with this a little bit, right, But when you're like on
a show floor and the public is just streaming past, like that thing's got
to be nails, and you know it. Sometimes you're doing that like before
a lot of the game is really ready and you have to like figure out
how to make this one little chunk like robust and engaging quickly, and you
know that usually takes like at least I would say, a month of dedicated
time, and you're often having to work like out of sequence because you're you're
you know, like our first excuse me, our first presence was at Packs
East in twenty twenty three, I think, yeah, And at that point,
like you know, the core gameplay was there, but there was a
lot missing, so we didn't even show the garage of in the game,
which is like a really serious part of the experience, and it just wasn't
ready and we didn't know also how to like tutorialize it effectively in like a
you know, fifteen maybe thirty minute experience because you need it to be like
really really quick and like grab people and hook people and hook people that are
walking by too, Like it's sort of a different thing than building an introduction
to your actual game, like you're making a whole extra tutorial in a lot
of cases, Yeah, I mean, game deb is so nonlinear, right,
and even across every single discipline, And so for a demo like that,
you're showing a vertical slice a promise of what this game is going to
be. And so that requires even the most you know, finagely things like
u I user experience and bits like that. You might have, you know,
a perfectly rendered everything mo capped cinematic that works, but if the area
leading up to that cinematic hasn't been built yet, guess what, you can't
fucking show Yeah, or you or you're starting them right there in the cinematic.
Don't look backwards, just keep me going forward, you know. But
as much as that can be a real hassle while you're trying to tie off
everything, it can also be a good milestone when you're saying of like,
okay, we know we need to show kind of the whole thing by this
point. Let's make sure all the teams are really focused on this. Let's
dial in. And not only is that great for getting the public to understand
what your game is, but it's also great internal, right, like because
it's a forcing function, right yeah, at the like until the last year
of a game to have, at least in my experience, everything is kind
of like theoretical, like oh man, okay, imagine the art there,
imagine the audio there, imagine all that. Seeing the game come together is
a huge morale boost for the whole team because you know that everyone you're working
with is amazingly talented and they're working hard to get stuff in. But sometimes,
you know, you might have a discipline that checks things in regularly and
you see it go for like very crude to refined, to polish, to
ship a bowl, or sometimes it's like a placeholder pink block for months and
months and months and then boom, ship able asset right in there. And
for the team to be able to see that is like, oh, hell
yeah, we're making a video game. Hell yeah, I don't know,
it's it's an internal marketing asset as well. Yeah, yeah, totally.
Yeah. The team seeing like those massive milestone updates is like, it's so
good for morale because I think like in game deay, you tend to get
so like into what it is that you're doing. You lose all kind of
outside perspective and then being able to show you something and especially like letting you
know the public it hands on with a there's just like massive learnings but also
just like you know, a huge excitement. I think for the entire team
it does. The way you guys are described this doesn't make me think it's
like a lot of these big decisions have to like be this perfect alignment of
does it serve a marketing goal, does it serve a development goal? Does
it serve a team building or whatever that however you would describe that goal.
Is that something that is across all these different decisions can be all three yeah.
Yeah, And it does seem like a lot of times and the big
stuff it has to be all three yeah. Right. What's it so like
what things have sort of become like out of fashion? Like is it like
you know, like having these big demos. Are you do you expect to
keep making demos? Is it because of stuff like this that like, oh,
like people do respond to them? Or is it at a certain point
it's going to get so unwieldy to make these things that it's maybe not worth
it. I mean, always the best way to get people excited your game
is prove that it's fun, Yeah, play it right, and video of
that is only ever going to do so much. Pre Rendered stuff is only
ever going to do so much. All that stuff has a really valuable place
in marketing campaigns. But you get people like you get controllers in their hands,
that's gonna sell your game or break it. You prove it to yourself
too, right, Like you can do a bunch of external playtesting, like
during development, but at the end of the day, the scale of number
of players that you're seeing, like seeing come into contact with your games through
that is really pretty minuscule. And it's only through presence at like major shows
like packs or SGF for you know, Wazdi in the UK or whatever it
is that you actually get like a non trivial number of people just like smacking
into your game and beating it up and showing you where the weak spots are
and showing you where the strong spots are and proving to you and the rest
of the team that like, oh, there is some magic here, and
now we have a better idea of like what's connecting with people and what's introducing
friction into the experience and where we should be focusing our efforts. Yeah,
you guys all have projects in different like points on the timeline. Uh,
there's a lot of talk about the oxygen the room being subsumed by the biggest
games in the world and everyone just playing that stuff. Do you do you
do you feel that like as you're getting ready to launch something. Is it
that's something that people talk about or is it like that's the nature of the
beast. We just have to worry about what we can control. Yeah,
I think like we only we only worry about what we can do. I
think it's you know, there is the sort of global presence, but also
you know, being down in New Zealand, we can kind of just like
hunker away I think, you know, like tink away on on our thing
and then kind of come out with it. But yeah, like the the
big the big players, Like I mean, there's not really much you can
do about it, right, Like, I think it doesn't stop us trying
to make the best game that we can we can make, and so yeah,
like if anything, it just gives us like a you know, a
higher target to kind of reach for. And I think like as a as
a smallest studio, you have to be willing to, you know, like
try and foot it with him. Yeah, And do you guys feel like
you were able to like build some momentum at launch? I mean we we
got kind of sandwiched between two absolute Juggernauts, Final Fantasy Rebirth and Blotro.
Yeah, the biggest of Juggernauts. Yes, and you can't see that coming
obviously, is like hugely, hugely successful and it's amazing, and you know,
it was actually an opportunity for us because like they're also I mean,
they're way smaller than you are. It's basically one one guy, But it
was an opportunity for us to kind of boost each other. And like we
did a little cross promotion, like Frankie, one of our programmers, spent
a weekend making it so Blochro could be played on the ARCT device screen in
the car. We did like a tweet based on that, which was really
really fun. But I mean, honestly, like the Blochro demo was out
there and I had to like prevent myself from playing and he just chipped this
video game. But it's as like, you know, the big title is
like that have all the marketing budget. I think, Yeah, it's just
you know, you you have come so far in the in the journey,
and at that point, hopefully you have some pretty strong conviction about what you've
made and the way that it's going to connect with people, and you just
have to assume it'll find its audience, and you know, you do everything
you can to help it happen in terms of like marketing and press and et
cetera, et cetera. But yeah, you can't. You can't control it
all. Make a video game, put it out in the world. It
isn't ever done. You just release it. You hope for the best.
Yeah, I mean, is that the same for you guys over there at
Gearbox? I mean yeah, I mean we are dealing with budgets of that
size right when it comes to marketing and beats like that. I mean,
it makes me think of when we release Tiny Team as Wonderlands in early twenty
twenty two. There was a blurb in one of the reviews that like it
made my day because it was like, hey, this is a great refresher
after elden Ring, right right, because elden Ring comes out, you're like,
oh my god, like the biggest fantasy release of all time, and
we're releasing a fantasy game. But I guess just the timing worked out where
people were like, Okay, I've I've had generally my feel of this enormous
game, and now I'm gonna play something a little more lighthearted, a little
more you know, fizzy and and fun and that hit with people. But
that's not something that we could ever have targeted, right. I was gonna
say, like, how, like are you informed by any of this or
like does it go back to like, well, we got to work on
what we want to work on and maybe have to take fewer risks or take
more risks so we stand out like what's that I'm not in the room right
on those things? There's a lot of people who get paid very very well
to make those kind of like here's our competition, here's the things that you
know we need to move around, here's the people that might move if we
set a date that that sort of thing. I just get in there and
write really stupid jokes for the trailers. So you do tend to like it's
happening earlier in the process, like when you're picking your lease window. You
do try to be mindful of at least as far as you know what other
titles are coming out around then, and like do your best to avoid anything
that's going to take up all the oxygen. Like, you know, we
had about a week before Final Fantasy came out, and you know, we
relied on Keupler, a publisher to help us like pick that date, but
presumably they had some inkling that that might happen, and therefore it should be
this week, not the following week. Yeah, and then like more broadly,
when it comes to starting projects, picking like what is the best idea,
how do you all feel about like like the ability to take risks right
now? Yeah? I mean, yeah, it's is it a scarier time
than ever? Or is it just a new kind of kind of scary?
I mean my personal belief right now, at least, you know, with
larger games, with the dev cycles being so long, the idea of trend
chasing is just it seems like dead on right right. If I tried to
make a major competitor to the biggest games right this second, it would come
out in twenty thirty, So like what am I doing there? Like that's
totally the devices are different, the culture is different. Probably some of those
names are still there, but they look totally to imagine describing Fortnite right now
to people playing Fortnite three years ago. They won't even remember this current exactly,
Yeah, exactly. And so you really just have to play more to
what is your strength as a studio, as creatives, what gets you excited
the team, Because if a team's not excited about what they're building, then
why are you doing what you're doing? Right? Maybe goes back to that
idea of like what do you need a line to actually make stuff happen?
Right? That stuff you can't control. So you have your team, you
have your budgets, you have your ideas, and get all that stuff in
a line and then just go make something right. Yeah about right? Yeah,
I think someone said before like you just have to have your conviction right,
and like, you know, I think if you're starting work on like
a new projects, you have to sort of workshop it with the team and
kind of like find something. I mean, every every different student have have
their own way of like going about it, but you know, I think
like workshopping it and just kind of like coming to something that everybody kind of
collectively feels super excited about. Only then really can you kind of move forward
with it? And at that point it will kind of be you know that
you won't really be like, you know, trend chasing or anything like that.
It'll be something like unto itself. Yeah, I mean when it comes
to trends that it really does feel like you can't do much with that because
it is just going to change so fast. I mean, we do have.
It's weird because we have the stagnation of the same things have been popular
for at least five years now right before and it's been out since twenty seventeen.
Guy's longer than five years already, so like and at the same time,
if you were to try to chase those trends, it's like, no,
that's just not going to happen. Do you think that there is a
time that we're gonna get to where it sort of breaks the stranglehold that some
of these biggest games have, like where something comes along that surprises everybody and
maybe shakes things up. Or are we at a period now where things have
settled down in gaming and change is going to look different going forward? No,
I think like there will always be something brand new that comes out that
will just like completely change what the industry looks like. I think we've we've
kind of like historically had always like something that comes out. Maybe it's not
on the level of like the World of Warcraft or Fortnite or something like that,
but you know, these these trends do always kind of come in and
so yeah, I mean, like who knows what the next thing is,
right, that's the big question. Yeah, yeah, I mean be fair,
but that's a good question. But you guys looking forward to anything,
particularly yourselves, any games you're gonna play later this year, I can tell
you I want to play Astrobot. Every time I see that Hell yeah,
every time I see that video, I just get more and more excited.
Yes, it looks it's the only blood Borne content we're getting probably for real.
Yes, yeah, it's that kind of thing where I get really excited
about the prospect of something like that because Sony is reinvesting in a game that
I feel feels really fresh, with a million ideas, and it doesn't look
like a lot of their other stuff. It's like, man, what if
this one just takes off. I don't think it necessarily is going to take
over the world, but there's a chance it does better than it ever had
or any right to do. Like a couple of years ago because people maybe
are craving something a little bit different. But yeah, are you guys looking
forward to anything in particular? This is where I wish we weren't like shipping
a game and I had time to do anything other. Right. It really
is just that where it's like you are working on your own stuff constantly,
right pretty much? Yeah? I mean yeah, like I haven't really had
too much time to check out like the isg if like offerings and what's been
out so far. But yeah, I'll have to have to like do some
research on the on the fly home. How about you? For me,
it's playing everything the game over the last two years, right, Yeah,
that's okay. Yeah, so you're just starting on the timeline, Yeah,
exactly. Do you have to be like any favorites that you were like finally
I had I do have time for this, honestly. Blotto is the biggest
one with the our account and amount of time that that has frued over is
obscene. Another one that I'm really keen to to get to is another Craps
treasure. Yeah, that thing looks great. I haven't had a chance to
hit it yet though, but yeah, it's it's starting to work through the
backlog this summer. Are you Are you at a point where like you were
like playing games for research or are you like with these guys. I mean,
yeah, I'm working through my backlog. I mean I forbid Balder's Gate
from my house entirely because I know that when I play it, I need
to dive in fully and just go into a fugue state and emerge complete or
destroyed. I don't know, but I've been trying to get some like shorter
experiences in there, a couple like Steam games like Abiotic Factor and Silaco Sileco.
I don't I don't know it either, but yeah, Killer games absolutely
Killer just immediately grabbed me to the point where it's a problem right where I'm
like, uh oh, I want to invest twenty hours into this. I
have five see you. Yeah. Unfortunately, I just started playing like Rebooth
and I realized the hellish Mistite that I've made. Yeah, I mean that
is a game that every when I talked to it's like it's still going.
Yeah, it seems like one of the biggest single play games ever created.
Yeah, and I just have like zero time. So I started it and
now I'm going to forget everything and just resat it again at some point in
time. Does that Does stuff like that ever get you guys just developers,
where like you play something and you're like, oh my god, this game
has all of the content in the world. We have to compete with this.
I regularly like we'll see a game or play a game and I'm just
like, Wow, this makes me tired as a developer. Holy crap.
Yeah, you've done so much here. Yeah, And obviously like it's incredible
and as a player, I love it, But some things I look at
it, I'm just like, the time and effort and dollars that went into
this is like I do think about it in those terms a lot, where
it's the money per second of entertainment that was spent to make it, and
then I just have to pay seventy and then I'm gonna forget about it after
I play it on a like a weekend or something like that. Does that
that seems so out of tune? Like as developers, is that does that
ever get to you where it's like people are like going to play this through
through in a weekend after I spent years and we as a team spent millions
of dollars on it not for me, like I would absolutely love it if
somebody like blitzty game yeah in the weekend, right, Like it means that
I would just super into it and get enough of it. You're building it
for that experience, so like when that's okay, good exactly, Yeah,
yeah, totally. But yeah, like you know, for somebody like read
with with it pumping and I don't know how many more? Yeah, yeah,
I mean there's no way you can finish that game in a weekend anyway.
But now true, yes, absolutely, yes. I mean for me,
like, it's obviously exciting and flattering when that happens, but at the
same time time it's like, oh my god, how do I keep up?
Yes, that's what I would. That's how I would feel, I
think is I would. I would feel like the treadmill I was standing on
suddenly got turned back on when I wasn't expecting it. Yeah, And I
mean, so is that how do you deal with that you start making another
video game? No, I mean the actual answer is kind of connected to
your last question. Like I think a trend that's developed of the last I
don't know, probably ten years or so, is like kind of any game
turning into a game as a service, it's just kind of baked in and
expected that, like you're gonna continue supporting it and often with free content at
this point, and then you know often they'll be paid content even past that.
But it's just like the status quo and apparent expectation from from your players
at this point seems to be like, Hey, this thing is going to
get more and get better. And obviously it's exciting as a developer to like
ship a game and really know it and know how to make it and make
it well and then get to actually like flex those muscles instead of just being
like, ah, what if I detached all those muscles and went and found
new ones? That analogy got real strain. Sorry, that's perfect beautiful.
Get this guy doing some writing for you. Yeah, hey yeah, always
looking. But you know, it's like that that also gives the team time
to like bring players back and build add value to the game and stretch the
amount of playtime that there is or types of experiences you can have with it
in a way that's like way more sustainable and easier to reach than just starting
the whole next thing. Yeah, I wonder it's the thing that I think
a lot of people who play games assume is that the only time we ever
get live service games from developers is because a corporation came down and demanded it.
But I would got to think there's probably occasionally sometimes where it's like,
well that would help me keep up if I build the game that people are
playing forever, that would be nice. A steady drip, Yeah, exactly.
Is that something that you feel? Ever? It depends on the game,
right, Like, I definitely as I grow older and I have a
kid now, I really appreciate when a game is like, here's what it
is, not changing Turbo tiny Terry's Turbo Trip three hours. Hell yeah,
in a nice, beautiful I respect that, and like like Hades would be
the example of like when it's like here's the release. We might do some
quality of life fixes, but that's the content. And obviously they had more
ideas, as evidenced by Hades two being a good place to put them though,
right exactly funnel all that stuff in there. I I respect that a
lot, both as a dev and as a gamer is like, yes,
I want this experience and it's closed off. I always to your point about
like when I'm playing a game and I'm like, wow, you put assets
here and not there and everything like that. I'm always fascinated when it's later
in the game, when it's like, here's a whole new system, here's
a whole new section that we're rewarding you for putting your time in, because,
like the stats are, not even half of your players are likely to
finish your game, right, let alone do endgame content or engage with raids
and stuff like that. So when the love is there and the attention is
there, and like, you know, it feels like, oh wow,
I've unlocked a whole new game, it feels like, oh, you guys
liked this game, you liked making it, and you wanted to make more
of it, and it felt like the attention was there because from a you
know, return on investment, late game stuff is actually barely there, right.
It seems like that happens because there is an inflation of expectations what a
game needs to be to justify being a certain price. Do you guys think
that that has reached a point where maybe that could change, or maybe there
are enough people who do want shorter games, or is it kind of like
no, no, if we are going to ask so much from a player,
we do have to build a game that feels so big that it justifies
that even if the number show most people aren't going to play all that content.
I think it really depends on like what budget scale you're operating at.
Like, for you guys, I think the answer is probably no. But
for us or like you know, crow Country or something like, there are
definitely games out there that you see that are coming out that are like smaller
and scope and shorter player experiences, and people really value that and are connecting
with it and excited about it. So I think like it's it's sort of
a if you build it, they will come situation to an extent, you
know. I think also of like a Short Hike that was like sort of
a revelation when it came out of like, oh wow, this thing is
amazing and it's only a few hours long. Yes, and it that the
brilliance of that game is like just putting it on the tin like that,
Yeah, this is a short game. We're telling you that right now.
Yeah. So yeah, I mean, I think like there is an appetite
for it, but but a lot of your ability to target that as an
experience is like what your risk profile is overall. Yeah, how about you
guys. You guys feel like when you're building a game, you have to
have a certain amount of content to make it all make sense to certain players.
You know what it is. It's like when people buy a car,
they list all the features of why you should be excited to have the buy
the car, and then when people own the car, they like it for
different reasons. Do you do you feel like a lot of game development is
building the list of features that people get excited so it justifies the price.
I mean, I think like early on you kind of identify some of those
like key features and things that are going to make like the mess of gameplay
differentiators within your game, and then as you keep developing, you just keep
finding like new ones, and like I think maybe it's just like how how
development goes. Like sometimes you can keep some of those things in, sometimes
you have to like pull them out just to like timeframes. Like you know,
I think we were saying, like, you know, games for so
long as such a almost like a disparate set of features and it doesn't actually
feel like a game, like a like an experience until quite late into the
piece, and it's only then that you can go like oh god, we've
made like a huge mistake, or like hey, this part here is like
super fun. This needs to be what the what the thing is. And
that's kind of when you know, you either get the hack saws out or
like you know, you start like fitting things around those those key those key
like fun factors. Really, yeah, how do you manage that? It
feels like something that like if there isn't a strong guiding hand on the rudder,
that stuff could get out of hand pretty fast? Is that the case?
Yeah? I think it really can. You can end up in a
in a space where you know, if there isn't somebody just like checking the
game from the perspective of like an end user effectively, like throughout development,
things can extremely cookly go go off the rails. But I mean that's what
like direction is there for writers to make sure that you know, the game's
always always hitting in the in the in the right direction, Like I was
kind of equated to the start of game dev as you're hitting off in a
boat and you know that like the destination island is like it's somewhere, yeah,
and you know, as long as like you can you can have some
like sways in the path, but you know, as long as you're mostly
hitting in that right direction, you'll get there eventually. Is this what consultants
matter. I've never done consultant work in consultancy work in my life, but
it's like you need somewhere on the outside, even if like their perspective is
very singular, you seed someone to come in and just say something like shake
some stuff loose, that that external perspective is often really really helpful, Like
we did Mark reviews close to Ship, which is where you bring a journalist
and who writes game reviews professionally and then also provides this sort of like behind
the scenes service to to developer where they play through the game and write a
review and that they send only to you and then give you kind of like
an analysis of like, hey, here's some additional info about like what I
thought was working, what I didn't. And actually, in our case,
we ended up chopping off about like ten to fifteen hours of gameplay from that,
and it wasn't actual like mission content or anything. It was just because
of the like shape and size of the overworld map, because the mechanic and
pacific drive is like you go on a run when you complete it, it
sort of reveals the fog of war a little bit more so because the overworld
map had so many nodes in it, it just like was this tedious like
grind to actually progress to the next mission. And the game got so much
better by just removing a bunch of that like extra sort of buffer time,
and you know, like not that the game is now small, but that's
also part of why we're doing like the continuing content is because it makes the
value feel good to players and then they're more likely to recommend to their friends,
which I think, like you know, you also can get by just
making it an appropriate size and impressive size at the start. But like word
of math is so so valuable with so many games coming out with that.
Well, to your point about a strong hand on the rudder, it's also
important to not do the opposite and freak out over one bad right of course,
you know, test player or review or anything like that and go,
Okay, why do we get the feedback that we got right Oh that the
you know, that line didn't play and so they didn't know the context for
the sequence, or oh man, the enemies were broken in that one section,
and that sort of and that can that can be points, that can
be huge points. I mean, like I got I got a note about
a joke at the beginning of Wonderlands in one of those reviews that like changed
the tenor of another joke, and I went, I really like that later
joke. I'm not really attached to that first one. I'll just cut that
and boom. In later reviews, people are like, that's a really funny
joke. Yes, that's that's important, but you have to evaluate it.
If I if I only wanted that first one and didn't want that later one,
I'd make the different decision. Does it really come down to It's like
gamers and reviewers, we're very good at saying we don't like this, but
we're not very good at saying, and here's how you fix it. Oh
well, I mean they'll say it. Yeah, we won't stop ourselves ever.
Of course. It's a classic term in terms of getting quit is if
someone tells you it's wrong, they're right, right, they tell you how
to fix it, they're probably yes, exactly, I mean they you know,
we have a lot of experts, We have a lot of people who
have played a shitload of games, and so you always want to intake that
recommendation or you just don't take it as gospel. Yep, all right,
thank you guys. Think that's gonna be our first panel of the night.
Got a lot more couches come into you all evening long. We're doing it
once again here on Giant Bomb at Night Live from Los Angeles. We'll be
back here in about ten to fifteen minutes. It's boys' night. You're gonna
have a from the boys not here on Giant Bomb Live from Los Angeles,
Night two. We're gonna make it happen. I'm your host, Jeff Grubb
for giant bomb dot Com. Got I got the boys with me, including
Jason Finelli, Jesson. How you doing. I am fantastic on the day.
It's a summer game, so that's my man. You've been working.
I'm working hard, but not hardly working goodness. I have what twenty articles
for fortyferent outlets this weekend, So work for real, doing the real work,
good games to play. I just sit here and it's all good.
There's a Rubik's cube hanging over there to Taylor. Oh there you go.
You sold that before we're doing You have forty minutes out Mark we done.
How you doing? I'm good? And Mark Medina It's fine. I don't
I don't care what You're the first one I didn't ask. I guess right,
because You're like, this is my favorite kind of thing because I'm like,
nobody seems to know each other and we're all just like meeting for the
first time. I'm I'm that's thought it was gonna be the outsider, but
nope, we're all out. No exactly. It makes for a good couch.
Yeah. No, I'm feeling good. We're doing I g in live
this weekend. This isn't an ad, but it's it's been fun. I'm
really tired. We'll talk. I want to talk about like your experience.
Yeah, how you doing by Glad you're back. Jeffrey and Michael Grab How
you doing? Maybe? How you doing? Maybe I got you, I
got you some things I wonder now, INDs Dick Stiborg, How you doing
doing excellent? Jeff thank you so much for having all of us. You're
doing a bang up job. Appreciate it. It's you know, it's tough
being an influencer at Summer Game Fest. Yeah, but we'll see. We'll
see your Sir. Taylor Cock are you doing. Hello, I'm not in
the games in a shame work, so I'm just hanging out. Just showed
up. Yeah, I tried to stop you. You're you're Rubik's Cuban expert.
Oh there, it's cool. Five security guard film made it in Yeah,
he's been training for a long time. All right, Gimma, what
do you got for me? Okay, I hope it's or some sugar?
Of course I have some for jam. I got your baby, My god,
the best. I don't know if it's the best or not, but
I'm going to say it's the best Germany we have. I think it's still
my favorite. Actually time. It's the same we brought last year. Yes,
but I also I think that bag is actually still sitting in the fandom
office. I drank it. Yes, just go grab it. You have
a new one, exactly. I have some other stuff. Is alpha ctis
a chorus. You need to try them. This is one of our best
products, our best things. It is from Argentina. Yeah, I'm sorry
I didn't myself. Okay, Yeah, yeah, I actould everyone watched last
year they're watching this year. But yeah, give us our foreign exchange student
bring in some good stuff here. So how do I say it? Out
your place this time? That's okay? Yeah, absolutely, doors open.
I have the code. It's a robot hotel, so that's all you need.
How do I say this? Alpha hooris Alpha holis pretty good? I
pronounced Medina. Well yeah, yeah, I knew. I like, I
don't know, I switched places. Come on, Okay, so wait,
what is this? I know it's really difficult to describe for I mean,
it's like an ice cream sandwich, but not frozen. I don't know,
to cookies. It's sort of cookies with chocolate on the outside. And it
has to legit, which is one of our best things as well. I
brought you one. Uh, you need to try it as well, and
I have one for jan Uh. I got your game. This was for
you. I mean yeah, uh, they are not as well. They
could pay you. It's not going to be much, I mean because our
currency is not that great. So I don't know. Maybe yeah, I'll
take more than enough. I don't know. So what do you think?
I like it a lot. That's really tasty. Yeah, there are exact
kind of snacks. I like, it's an indescribable snack. Yeah, but
it's yeah, I mean that that's the easiest way to describe it. How
was the how was the trip to the States? Oh? I found out
we've got more gifts for you. Oh no, the whole okay, great
in March me. Oh no, it's when Irish time. That's a gift
for me, all right, I should open it? Yeah, yeah,
all right, I'll see it. Oh man, it's more wrapping paper.
All right, let's okay, Ballant Wonder World. Everybody get that I've reviewed
this game, but I'm glad to have yet another copy. I think I
have a p S five or maybe an Xbox copy at home. But that's
a switch one. And that's with more Okay, you take it real money.
And this is this currency in Argentina, right, that's worth melliums.
Dude, we don't even have that one. And this comes all the way
from the Wild Atlantic Way of Galway from one John Man. Wait what this
is from his stall which I picked it up from. Ok, but so
I talked to him about this. Is it a fish? Maybe I would
love for whatever it is to not be anything in the shape of that.
Ye. The actual USB drive is okay, Well, first it's first,
it's wrapping a picture of the in team. There's John himself, beautiful,
well one of the John's of course, there's mister Carmack and the rest of
the gang. All right, let's see here, there's more. There's like
something in here as well as the shirt. Take a let the shirt first.
All right, what size you? By the way, I'm a double
X. I'm a big boy O. Yes, this is the medium.
I really hugged the nipples. That's what I want to cool guys at the
beach. A fantastic all right, and then all the chainsaw Wait, no
way, did he really sign it? Thank you, John, thank you,
Lexie, appreciate it. Thank you so much. Oh man, Okay,
hold yeah, I'm holding this the rest of the night. All right,
let's go. You don't have to play so prominence. All right,
I'm playing Dikatana right now, so yeah, I know that's thank you for
that as well. John Romero. All right, let's uh, let's I
don't know, let's talk about whatever else except for Dakatana. Jason, how
you doing? Do you like Tatana? I don't like. I will say
it got a little bit better in this last level, yeah, mostly because
I was beating bubles fat like, do you minus the du Yeah, listen
that first those first couple of stages are just completely inexplained. They're more explicable
than the snacks of Argentina. It was. It's some wild stuff. Is
it better than ball in Wonderland whatever? That's that's sell your soul for the
music? Wonder World? Actually good, it's a little bit. Yeah.
I think it's a little bit worse than Baalen wonder World. Actually yes,
I think if I had to choose, that's how I compare every game.
Yeah, that's a better Any of you played Ballen wonder World? No?
Okay, le yeah, okay, yeah, I beat that game. There's
more to it. I haven't touched yet. I'll get to it eventually.
Of course I will do some speed run smart No please, I'm good.
So you did do some speed running with me and Astro you were party did
Yeah, that's that's like our only interaction. That's how we did it.
We just sell your stuff. So I appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah,
I know, we we That was a really fun like week of and
then they fixed all the speed run tricks and we just like we're like all
right, so get that. They like what happened? Was it? Was
like there was this seed run trick, yeah, punch off the ledge and
that you could do it with basically double boost. So we're getting all these
really long yeah. And then they took that out. Our times were locked
in. Yeah, and like the last couple of months they put it back
in. Oh they did, Yes, it's got to get back in there.
So all our times got crushed because of that because I was like locked
in the top ten, and then they it felt weird, like it's like
hundreds of thousands of players. Then it's like Mark from IG and Jeff games
Speedia people, we know you were not ahead of me. We are good
at video games. And then they fixed it and I'm like, no,
we're not. Okay, that's why I do when everyone's like Games Journal starting
good games, like you could go beat my Mountain run time, which for
many of most people still can't actually do. Yeah, that's a fun week.
Absolutely. You still doing a lot of speed running, like that's all
the time. Yeah, we were doing it today, you know, yesterday
we did it with Yacht Club, who's like I think after this we had
them at IG and Live. We did shovel Night. That's you know,
that's the only game they've ever made. So they just keep releasing different versions
of Shovel Night. We keep speed running. Very lazy. Yeah right,
yeah, like do something else? Come on? But yeah, absolutely.
But now I work on the guides team as well. So it's just,
you know, it's what's that work like these days? It's it's a it's
a grind, but it's fun. We love it. We have a we
have a good team at I g N and we just we're just we're all
passionate about it. We just play games until we hate them. That's usually
I would it's like to work on the guide, Steam can play it until
you hate it. I could second because I work one his guide's team is
a freelancer too. I never want to see sand Land again, see it
again? Did you work for I g N? Yeah? Yeah, I
did the guides for the vehicles, the characters. What's your name, Jason?
Okay, I'm sorry, I'm Mark. I work at I g in
are on the guide team. I'm Jason Finelli. I'm a freelance mercenary for
high Okay, games, journalism, nothing else, nothing else, nothing else.
Well, what's up, co worker? How's it going? I didn't
know, Jake? How you doing. I'm doing well. I feel like
being, you know, the star studded influencer that I am. On the
floor of the Summer Game Fest. It's like, you know, Jeff Keeley,
he's probably the number one most recognized guy out. He was deferential to
you today. I thought so too. Thank you for saying I didn't want
to. I didn't want to push it on you, but you know,
yeah, playing a lot of fun games. I still thinking about Jeff's presentation
from yesterday a little yeah, when you think of it, I keep thinking
about Lego Horizon. That man, there is just an energy and a confidence
in Aloy and Horizon as like a thing that exists and I don't and I
don't quite understand where that enthusiasm comes from for me, but I think like
the the era that we're in now of like this can we make it a
brand? Is weird and a little and can be a little off putting,
but it's also I like taking this thing and saying, hey, here's the
fun, G rated version of this game. So yeah, I did go
back and watch the trop because I was yesterday all basically have a conversation was
I don't get this game at all. I don't know how it happens.
And then I was like, you know what, I'm back at the hotel.
Let me just because we actually did a bit during it where someone was
hit me with a leaf blower, so I didn't actually even watch it the
first time. So I sat down and I looked at it. I'm like,
it looks cute and it seems like, you know, my concern was
how much Horizon stuff can they be polling from to fillut this stuff? And
it's like, well, they have an answer to that. That's what the
hot dog stuff, that's just from other lego things, and so they're going
to fill it in with that. I'm like, oh, this seems fine.
Honestly, it looks like it might be a pretty good time. I'm
like, I've kind of changed my tune a little bit after giving it a
more chance. But you watched the trailer again, you learned You're still not
you still like not don't know exactly what it is. I still don't know
how it happens. I'm like a lot of people try to explain. It's
like, you know, if they're trying to force the brand and millions of
players, and this will be a good gateway for children to get into this
franchise. I don't understand any of that, but once you're playing the game,
I would imagine a lot of that stuff just goes away, right,
You don't think about that well. And I've always thought as like, as
like a screenwriter, if somebody were to hand me the Horizon brand, I
think I would take the plot and I would just say, I'm not going
to touch this. I'm going to take iconic about the world, built something
new. And it kind of feels like that's what they're doing in Lego Horizon.
They're just taking the world and they're going to make something that just appeals
to kids, probably in a way that's more reminiscent of animated movies. The
game is animated like the Lego animated movies, which is great. Yes,
it lost like it's internalizing like good lessons from things around it, And I
like the decision to put it on switch that's cool, you know. So,
yeah, not an Xbox, but the walls down you might even think
about that, You're right, it was like, oh yeah, not an
Xbox. Huh, all right, well, it is ways of change.
It's not playing the wall cussing down. The CIA has not gone that far
right. They've not been able to make that happen. Weird, Taylor.
You not in the game's industry, So when you show back up these things,
is it like things are how you remember them, or is it weird?
It's a bunch of the same people, but losing people gradually over alongside,
which is always fascinating. It's like who is not here? But then
I get to meet people like Jake, Yeah, lovely and wonderful and everyone
here, and Jason, who I've talked to you eight thousand times that I've
seen sort of been like, Jason, I know you only across the room,
and that's fun. Talk to mother. That's what happened. The first
time I met him. I was facetilling my mom and Jeff walked up and
like, hey, Jeff, here's my mom. She's on the beach.
Perfect. Perfect. But that it's been like it turns out if you're not
working Summer game Festus Yeah, awesome and relaxing and like I just get to
get soaked about stuff and sit on my couch and play to twenty twenty four
hottest game Golden Sun for the game boid Man. Yeah, and uh,
just watch them. Announced video games which is and not have to worry about
writing about them. What got you super stoked? Oh god, I mean
I will tell you what got me not stoked. Is the Sad Dog game
with the dog that from the Grease people. Uh yeah, it looks amazing,
looks incredible, looks wonderful. That dog is gonna die. I'm not
gonna pay that the dog's gonna die. Yeah, it gets big though,
so yeah, yeah, but that's kind of worse. That whimper it made
was so real. That was a real wimp personally. Yeah. I feel
like they're gonna do the reverse. They're gonna kill the human and they control
the dog for the rest of them. Whoa the first legend? Okay,
Yeah, if you guys were making a game today and you put a dog
in it, you know people are going to assume you're gonna kill the dog,
right audience, It's like, man, I must see a dog die.
Is that happening? You get betted and I need to get skilled.
Yeah, that's on the cover of the Dog Dies. That's how that works,
right. What eppens to the dog in the game where we jump into
its head? Remember that trailer that we're jumping between the heads of all the
different there were several. Okay, I saw a lot of he gets out
of that situation alive, right, who. Yeah, every time I've jumped
in the wood jaw dog, it's been fun. Just a short term body
snatch exactly. Okay, so that can happen. Yeah, that makes sense
to me. So I g and lives happening it is. How's that?
Bet? I know we were talking before and you're like, I had nothing
to do with this, but you get to show up and it's sure,
it's fun. Yeah. Yeah, we decided to put on our own event
and everyone should go if you want to go. It's really hype. It's
I'm wearing two bracelets. I don't know what either of them mean. They're
the same bracelet. I'm just realized. It's like every time I walk in,
they just slap things on my wrist like they're like, it means you
can go places. But yeah, we we were like, you know what,
we miss E three And you know I've been at Igene since twenty fifteen.
Every year, you know, every year we come down here to La
the energy's here. You get to see all your coworkers and it's like it's
just this fun weekend, and then the pandemic hit and E three died a
slow death and uh, and then we were like, you know what,
let's just do it ourselves. I swear this is an advertisement. It's actually
really fun. We were like, is it going to be Firefest? It
wasn't. It's really good, Jake said he was there. It's an actual
avest. You want to not be firefest, but it's that's our goal.
It's like balance Wonderworld. It's like, no, that was okay, don't
too real. We that wall good thing that happened. It was like two
months ago and we were like, man, we gotta, we gotta,
we gotta make this good. We gotta make this good. And it's like
it's so cool because it's it's very fan forward facing and so it's like,
sorry, if I don't have a voice, I've been literally screaming at people
all weekend, so the MIC's for you, all right, Yeah, but
it's like we we just invited everyone we know with like seven thousand people are
there and just shaking hands and getting COVID. It's great. I mean,
you know, not like you're calling the shots, but do you feel like,
if this makes sense, this is working that's kind of the deal.
Is like when you're there, you're like, no, this this, we
might be onto something here, right, And so it's like I've seen creators,
I've seen game developers. I've seen people on Twitter being like, Okay,
I'm going to this next year, Like I wasn't sure, but now
I'm seeing the pictures and I think I think we might have something here.
Yeah. So now, so now we got a point where it's like,
Okay, we have Summer game Fest happening, and this is like a closed
off space. It's like a campus for people who are creators of media,
and I gen's kind of doing some of the fan forward stuff. Yeah,
you said, we've sort of replaced elements of E three plus because there was
never really a real fan facing element of that. Do we feel like there
is a place for like the deals, the backroom deals, the conversations where
like secret E three was happening. Has that like shown up anywhere else or
did that I'll just go to GDC? Do we think? I mean?
I think it's I think it's all the like play days. I guess,
like I haven't really been to the play days. I don't know if anybody
else has been, but it's like that kind of seems to be. The
vibe is like everybody wants to play days yesterday and they're like I played or
no today actually, and they're like, yeah, I've been playing games,
I've been doing whatever, I've been meeting with people whatever, and I'm just
like I'm just in this like it's basically a rave and we're just like like
and we're just like videos alright, It's yeah, we're we're trying our best
over there. But like tomorrow we're gonna have Phil Spencer there. He's gonna
do a post show for the Xbox thing. And it's like it feels as
close to E three is we're gonna get for for for now. Yeah,
and it's like we don't need to replace the whole thing exactly, which did
know a few little bits and pieces here and there to get everyone in town
that make it makes sense exactly. It's like, what are our favorite parts
of E three, Let's do that make it open to everybody, and everybody
should go if you want to have fun, Yo, mohou's been for you,
like covering the stuff, see stuff in person. I we know you
guys came last year, yeah, working, yeah, Yeah, it's been
it's been pretty good. I had a thirty six hour flight from from home,
so I had an incredibly fucked up thing. You just said, Yeah,
I had foot poison on the way, A little sprinkle on top,
all right, yeah, a fly that could have cured my foot. Oh
yeah, Yeah, I had a great flight while I was being boisoned with
with a two things don't sound like they go together, but it's been worth
it. This first day was pretty chaotic and we had a lot of appointments,
a lot of embargoes. I don't know why everything is so embargo.
It's very embargo. Yeah, I don't talk about anything. Yeah I could.
I could talk about Yars Rising everyone, which was a lot of fun.
Actually I'm very yrs Rising yours let Troy Vane okay, cool. Then
there's like five other things I can't talk about, which I mean, I
suppose it's nice because you put everyone on the same footing, give s like
the people who are writing content time to make stuff and go home and actually
do that and have a breather. It's still just weird. It's weird.
Those games have been announced, they have shown gameplay and trailers, but we
still can talk about them. I saw do you know Wakening today. It's
weird that they are doing the most blockbuster version off Dune, but with a
license and with things from movies. But it's an ulti late timeline. I
couldn't get to play. It was hands off. It was good, weird
but good. I tried some other stuff that is embargo as well. I
played a Parcel Corpse. I'm in love with that game. Yeah. It's
a combination between Tony Hawk, Jesse Radio and Crazy Taxi. You ride a
bike, you make deliveries. It's like this whole message about the gig economy
and the dev team were really cool. It looks great, it plays great,
and I think it's one of those games that like exemplifies what Summer Game
Fest could be about. What Jeff talked about yesterday that I don't know,
it's not the Triple A Fest or whatever and it can't be right. Yeah,
yeah, and I don't mind. This year we have played incredible smaller
games and I liked that vibe. I don't know, I have like a
positive energy around this Summer Game Fest. Last year it was trying to be
three, but I don't know something was missing. This year it is Okay,
Yeah, it's it's these games, it's these publishers, and I think
that's school as well. I don't know if it's going to stay this way.
Yeah, do you feel like it needs to grow in something bigger because
because they're just to justify itself for what? Because I'm not sure either.
We were way too many people today on campus and it got crowded. And
I came the first time on twenty twenty two. It was really intimate post
COVID and everything last year was bigger. This year they are using every square
inch of the campus. Yes, I was in the HQ cabanas today,
which didn't exist last year. I don't think, yes, I don't.
We don't know what the HQ stands for. Maybe high quality, maybe headquarters.
They're definitely cabanas, though I have no idea if going there. I
just walked in and they're like, wait outside, Okay, I'm sorry.
I saw yours rising just several yis. You walked places with a purpose.
You can get just anywhere. Yeah, just you have to just look like
you belong I got the badge. I just assume I belonged to Yeah,
now I got the chainsaw. Honestly, I remember, yeah, john this
is Johnny the Week. Let me in. You need to display a strong
romero I do every week wednesdaysh Summer Game Fist. They are going to let
you in. There were a lot of people being escorted by Jeff Keelly this
time around. Yeah. I don't know if they are making backdoor deals like
on E three, sure, but a lot of people being escorted by Jeff
Keeley. So that that's one thing I noticed from DC year specifically. Yeah,
yeah, it does. It does feel like, you know, Judges
Week mutated into this massive thing. It doesn't feel like E three turned into
this little thing. It's kind of like a whole other track of what's happening.
And it's at this point, like the embargoes aside, I feel like
it's just great that everyone feels like they have a reason to come out here
where the last couch was three developers that weren't at Summer Game Fest in anyway.
They're just in town for different reasons and they've all been able to justify
it and like that is probably what would have happened at E three. So
it's like, I think we're going to be all right in terms of the
industry being able to have that dynamism happen because we're all on person so that's
something. And then you know, we get the couches together and it's a
good time, and that's that's great as well. I tried the little game
from Bloomhouse. Feels are spot lights? Yes, so that that one looks.
That looks I'm gonna say, this is the technical term, shit hot.
It looks. It looks so cool. I'm like, really into a
house up. Yes, surely. And it's only being made by two people
like Joseph yesterday, just a fewty other bus but I could come to both
of them and they were really happy. I don't know, I don't know
that weird Bloomhouse initiative was cool. Yeah, I mean I didn't. That's
something that a lot of people been bringing up. Is this uh movie studio
that has a vision of like, here's your ten million dollar budget to make
a small movie, go make it. And that's great. That bringing that
mentality to game development from a publishing side is new and different than something like
private Division, which is like we're a big corporation. We make rock Star
games, so now we're gonna make little games that are gonna be massive and
it's like, what do you know that's not happening? So are you doing
faith that Blue Mouse can make? That makes sense? Yes, I don't
know. They say that the right words yesterday, you know, weird subversive
games, which is also a weird word to hear in a Jeff Kelley's stage.
Actually, so I add that it was a cool vibe and yeah,
those developers seemed like really happy and really grateful for all the cool things people
were saying. And the game was good as well. I mean it looked
cool. It was a little twenty minute demo. Of course, they say
it's it's a narrative based game. It's not a survival horror or anything.
But they made it modern in cool ways and retro in others. So I
don't know. I want to try those other games. Sam Barlow and Cronenberg
Crog. Yes, yeah, that's cool as hell. So I don't know
that it came out of nowhere and right now I'm wish listing everything on scene.
Yeah, we'll have a lease from a Bloomhouse song later to talk about
it, so that'll be a lot of fun. Yes, Jake, last
time you were here you were working for YouTube channel. You've left what's that?
What's that been like? Uh, it's been great. I will say
I have been the target of a mass harassment campaign which as as you're like
all based in logic and reason why your actions and not who you are as
a person, as a sweet like little cute boy on the internet, it's
just getting like head kisses, thank you. It is a little weird that
like I'm the target because I don't I don't think it's yielding the results for
them that they want to because you're an adult and don't give a fuck.
It's something like that. I think the Steinberg of it all plays a role.
But yeah, it's it's it's obviously there are a bunch of dumb dumbs
and it's and you don't even have you you can be a dumb dumb and
even recognize the dumb dumbness of them. But uh, all week I've had
people coming up to me that I really look up to in this industry,
you know what I mean, people whose work I've read for you years,
like Steven Tatillo or Patrick Klepek, like people that I really look up to,
and they've been asking me like, how are you doing? And honestly,
man, I am just like used to this kind of thing. I've
experienced it my whole life. But the truth is, the thing that really
stays with me is who stands up for me, who decides they're going to
do the work and say something and on my behalf and the people that do,
Oh, my God, in my good graces for frickin life, I
have so much love. I have so much respect for them. And I
end up having this conversation with myself about the standard that I'm allowed to hold
others too, because there are so many people in this space who I think
could get away with saying something that if I said the same thing, the
Nazis come for me, but they could say it and not be afraid of
that. And it gets under my skin sometimes that they won't do it for
me. Yeah, and you know, I want to believe these people love
me, but it's hard to believe sometimes. Yeah, there's a reason you're
here, and it's because we want you here Like that is that is the
whole thing of it. That's what you represented. We don't want your voice
ever to be silenced. You need to be louder. And so I'm I'm
glad you're here. And man, we got your back, right always.
The thing is I do worry about like because they don't come for me in
the same way. And so when I say stuff, I'm always like,
and it's God, when I turn off Twitter and go away, I'm gonna
stir them up, and they're going to go attack their usual targets, right,
And so that's the kind of thing I always think about it. And
so I'm like, I try to just not stir up the hornets. That's
these days, and like hope for the best. But it's like, how
are you feeling about it? Like do you feel like it's starting to taper
off? Do you feel like that? Because they never feel like I've really
built up in the first place. It's just it's a few idiots playing to
the same people over and over again. Right, Yeah, it's it.
It does not taper off, even when you think it is. Yeah,
And like my my mentions and my dms and even like I'll put a random
video on YouTube and I'll get the people that are, you know, saying
pretty much the most like heinous anti Semitic stuff you could come up with,
and it is a lot to take on. I think it's exactly what you
said it's it's some people can kick the hornet's nest, but when I do
it, it empowers a movement that is so powerful right now. And I
think we're at a time, just in our current cultural beat where this movement
does have a lot of power. It does, so that is tough.
But again, it's like, man, I'm on that website with some really
cool mother, you know, and and to be in the in the room
with them and to you know, be honored like having when you invite me
to things like this, that really means a lot to me. And I
gotta tell you this is this is gonna sound cheesy, but every so often
I get a message from somebody in my community who says, Jake, the
reason I watch you is because I learn a lot while watching you, and
that shit like radicalizes me. That's like I'm like, I've got to lin
to kill them now, I've gotta yeah, but no, yeah, but
it's I think at the end of the day too, it's like, do
I want my whole thing online to be that I'm the Jew? Not really,
So anytime I can come on and its just like talk about I realized,
I realized what my name and how I look like what that does.
But anytime I can come on and just kind of like talk about games and
be a contribute, a contributor in a real way in this space that isn't
defined by my identity that I had no choice in, it means a lot
to me, right, And it's like that's got to be a tough balance
because like, you don't ever want to run away from that stuff, right,
You want to own it and be proud, of course, and you
should be. But then it's like, yeah, I think there's like we
Haddea go on from Argentina yesterday and he was saying, like, you know,
I don't want to always be writing about how here's what video games are
like in Argentina, Like yeah, you just like want to have the same
starting platform as anyone else to be able to dip into your culture. Of
course it seems challenging, is it. Yeah, it is, especially since
like I am a writer and I've been professionally writing since I was eighteen,
and I feel like I don't get to own that. And the thing that
I get to own is I'm the loud, jewy guy. And it's like
and listen, listen, I love I love being that guy. I love
being video games young Larry David please like you know, it's my favorite SoundCloud.
It's like if I could open up like a Spike video game channel.
No that okay, then I'd be out of control. But yeah, no,
it is. It is tough, and I do find that even in
spaces like this, like the people coming up and talking to me, they're
talking to me about that, and I kind of wish I was like,
oh man, other people come up, you have you jump to a certain
place in the conversation. But like, I don't get to be Jake,
I have to be Steinberg. Yes, yeah, and that is something I
try to be mindful of. But it gets like, you know, I
want to support you want to be like, yeah, I understand, it's
awesome that you want you get to be who you are, and then at
the same time, it's like you should be able to just come on here
and talk about video well. And the truth is there's so much love out
here, and I think part of coming to events like this is the rejuvenation.
It's all of those people aren't here. It's an ending reminder that no
one wants them here. Everyone is so not invited, They're not It is
so tiny compared to like what it's actually happening in rooms like that out there
where it's like people are they're not even coming up exactly. So now Twitter
isn't real? Yeah right, well I think it's not real for a lot
of people, but for somebody like me, anti Semitism is in my life
in a real way, and I think I think people oftentimes think that it's
like, oh, it's this anonymous internet crowd, but no, no,
no, no, no, I am. I am out here facing those
people in my real life in a way that like, you know, I'm
I'm getting calls from my parents asking if I'm okay, right, and that's
that's all, you know, It's something to deal with, right. But
but it's because that that hatred is like is the same in real life as
it is on Twitter. So it's just an extension of that of course,
right right, right? Do you okay? So it doesn't taper off,
But do we uh do we have methods of putting them in their bucks and
shutting the lid? Ever? I think so it's such a balance, right
because you you when you respond, you know, you're making content for them.
Yeah, and uh, but at the same time, I have a
duty to that person that messaged me and said I learn a lot from you.
Yeah, And I think, at the end of the day, that's
the person I care about more. And at the end of and I gotta
say, I think if everybody was on the same page and doing what I
was doing, I would never be made a target. I'm may I like
somebody is like with a small an audience as me. The fact that I'm
being made a target is just I think a testament to how few people are
speaking up like and man, that bums me out. The fact that like
I'm one of those people out here, I'm like the third person on the
freaking list. Like it's uh, it like breaks my heart a little bit
because I want these again, this this industry, these people I look up
to and I love and I've admired their work forever. I want them to
show up for me. Yeah. When the when I see my name is
on the on those lists, I'd usually like, all right, I shut
the website. And I have that that is such a privilege that I have,
and I recognize that. And because it's like it isn't my real life.
In my real life, I walk outside and they're like there's another white
guy that's just like anybody else. So yeah, having to carry that around
all the time. I'm sorry, Jake, I am thank you for saying
that. I appreciate it. And just to just to give my my video
game flowers really quick. Gorilla Collective last night, that was a freaking event.
I loved that event. And Combo Devils that's the one. It's a
new platform fighter. They really understand animations and like what the hip box is,
what the hurt box is making that super readable. Freaking spoke to me,
dude, how to transcendent experience at that event last night. So Combo
Devil's check it out. That's anything else from like these other shows anyone that
like these smaller ones that like stuck out to anybody there are at the day
of the Dev's booth here at Playdays. There are two games. I got
to play four of them today. I'm going back for a fifth one.
Two of the four that I played, my sides were splitting from how much
I was laughing. One of them is building Relationships, the dating sin where
you play as a house. You play as a house and you just roll
on. Are you trying to date other houses? I've always wanted to be
a house. You have to find the batch. If I were, I
would have sex without the house. So I have some examples. They're handing
out stickers and the stickers have little sayings on them. So this one says,
hey, it's a windmill, and it says, hey, would you
blow me? This one and it says, my walls are a rock hard
for you? Well, this one says, can I feel your load bearing
walls? This one says will you use my back door? That's beautiful?
This guy making the game himself, I think there was a very small team.
The passion that he has for such a silly idea. He said he
got the idea from a game jam. He said it was called it was
The theme was construction deconstruction or something construction destruction, sorry, And he said,
what I could do buildings, I could do relationships. I could do
building relationships. And then that's where this idea came from. And it's just
silly, like even then, it doesn't sound like how we come up with
shows on giant bombers, Like we just said the dumbest thing and now we
have to make it even the like. So the dialogue of one of the
houses it's like go meet me up in the flower hill. I'm not gonna
walk that's for suckers. I'm gonna teleport and then bang it's going. Is
it like a visual novel, No, it's ere. You're walking around this
island, rolling around this an eventual like houses and eventually you get the ability
to jump with X and when every time it jumps you just hear a kazoo
sound. Just just course is the dating? How much does it? How
much does the a pr on this game? I was I was crying laughing
with the next to this, and you can feel his his his energy just
from my end. And this was on the summer game fest like no,
it was the day, Yes, it was the day of the it was.
It was one of the last ones, actually one of the one of
the later ones in the in the presentation, he's the one that like you'll
remember his presentation because he may crack a lot of funny, like I remembered
him as soon as I saw him. Go back and watch that part.
It's very funny. And then also while waiting, it is a game about
things that you do while waiting for something else. Okay, so one part
you're stuck in traffic, and you can give you these little it is kid,
just this little kid, and you have these little activities that you can
do while you're waiting in traffic. One of them is roll the window down.
As soon as you roll the window all the way down like a warrior
war No, it's it's it's it's there longer than that. It's like so
like I roll the window down and a bird HiT's on my head And I
get that that questa a bird shot on? Man? You did? Like
did you weren't aware that was a question. You're just doing this. There's
a little there's little stickers and you can press escape and it gives you like
a checklist of fat but they're vague clues. Sure right, like is it
raining birchse on your head? You can get out of the car and like
there's these three little ducks and if you go to each one and make them
follow you in a line, you get the mother duck quest Like little weird
stuff like that. I feel like you're describing a dream therapist. Later.
Yeah, it's like, yeah, bird shit on my head. I don't
know. Like the games that were at Day of the Devs, there was
those two there was Phoenix Springs, which is a really cool point and click
style adventure, very striking art style. The voice voice actress who in this
little demo was very very good. And then I also played After Love EP
which is from a Indonesian developer telling a story about grief and and like so
a boy and a girl. The girl dies in the very beginning of the
game, but then she comes back to him as a spirit. He's not
sure if she's real or not and she's guiding him. Very interesting game there
too. I did not get to play UFO fifteen. Yeah, that's tomorrow
hopefully for me. That is the Plunkey devs decided we don't want to make
one game, we want to make fifty. Yeah, so have fun with
that, right, and this is like I did, like fifty level games
all into one package. Yeah yeah, that looks really really cool too.
So those that day of the dev in general, both sides of it,
are got a lot of guess. Let me ask you, when you come
to these things, is it most fun to like to find these games,
to discover, to come of tell people about more than one hundred percent For
every Triple A announcement, every mind blowing thing I get from the franchise that
I expect. I love when my mind is blown even more by the games
I did not hear of until I got here. Yeah it is I love,
Like the Blumhouse horror is not my thing. I famously play horror games
by watching it on YouTube first because I don't trust my family history. So
I so to sit down to sit down with Blumhouse games, everybody, this
old ps one game I would have avoided when I was ten, and get
the crap scared out of me for a little while. I had fun.
I much fun. That is the one thing that I miss about coming to
these events is I mean, I remember back when Bashan was coming out,
just hearing whispers of this game on the Aprin floor of like, have you
guys check out? Yes, fucking thing out that it is? Like,
and it was, and it was just Greg standing beside a booth, yeah,
and a big wine is waiting for it. And it's been like,
wait, what the fuck is this? Because nobody, nobody had heard of
that game. I think people like Bashing at this point has become a sort
of like legendary touchstone of indie development. But like looking back, nobody ever,
like, you know, we knew Greg from the Game Spot days,
Like when on the show for it's like, have you ever seen this fucking
thing? Don't you feel like there's a degree to which the indie focused summer
games show actually justifies itself a little bit more than trailers and stuff that we
all would have watched anyways. Yeah, I like it actually. As somebody
that never went to E three watching this show, it made sense to me
all of a sudden why. I was like, Oh, I'm being shown
a ton of games that I have never heard of before, so that I
know what they are. Yeah, and those are the games that in the
next few years Jeff Keey's going to be able to rely on as well anyone
else putting on a show. And that's why this year he did shift to
be like, hey, let's care about these games from one or two developers,
because he's like, I know this year, for sure, that's all
I got. The next couple of years that might also be the case.
There was so much talk about like, oh, this game is made by
one or two people. Yes, yeah, that's calculated and it's a little
little cynical, but it's like that what else, what choice does he have?
But it got me thinking about back in like and this is gonna sound
insane, but back in like the Atari days when when you know there's you
know, pre Nintendo, pre any of this stuff, back when most games
were made by a couple of people. And uh, and it seems like
this weird sort of balancing the people to make doom, right, that's all.
That's all, yes, yeah, And so it seems like there's this
sort of shift happening where it's like, hey, wait a second, this
triplation is not sustainable at all, right, Like this all this stuff is
like, yeah, we can make a couple of those a year, but
there's so much importance that needs to be held up by these in the game
developers. And I don't mean that I like the individ developers have to step
up. I mean like it's cool, yes, like there's really interesting,
so much writing on when a game has like a three hundred million dollar budgets
like this has to sell a trillion copies or it's not going to work and
why why does that happen? Part of it is I always think of like
when people try to say corporations are doing this well. As consumers, we
demand certain things and we have a play in the marketplace, but it really
is those budgets have to be that big because they have to be massive swings
for these corporations. And I think we're in a period where it's like what
are we getting from the corporations that have stepped in and took like a company
like like I and made them have to be bigger and bigger and bigger to
the point where it got kind of out of hand and weird. And they
have been great games still, but it's we have to like maybe think about,
like why did that happen When people were making smaller games with a few
people and that was good enough, that was just gaming, and then the
corporation stepped in like, well we need to see bigger returns, and that
has only kind of it's not only been bad, but in this moment it
feels really terrible. I mean, go back to a time when a game
selling one hundred thousand copies was a massive smash hit. I mean they think
about like you know, an INDI even developer who spends three years making a
game that they sell for fifteen bucks and sell one hundred thousand copies, It's
like, oh wow, that justifies their next tame yeah, great, awesome,
And and you know that obviously doesn't happen for everybody developer but by any
charge in the imagination, but it would be rad if that was a more
consistent thing now, I think too. That also makes puts a little more
onus on the Triple A devs that their announcements that these things have to make
sense. I think Capcom yesterday had the announcement of Terry and My coming to
Street Fighter six, the first ever guest characters in Core Street Fighter. I
think that is going to blow the doors open for fighting games in general,
just seeing all these guests. I mean it's happened a little bit already,
but like you're going to start to see franchises that were considered islands start to
really infuse guest characters and these like backdoor deals and maybe it could end up
with the cap covers s K three, right, but I think they're going
to try to like take that energy and infuse it into Core street But yeah,
but I think I think Summer Games Fest is a perfect Capcom went from
DLC on discs to everything we do is the right decision, and I'm met
when that happened. Yeah, they're the one that figured it out, figured
it out. It was most on our world. You don't need took one
remakes, remake a good one, right, He's right. Monster Hunter World
seems to be the inflection point. It came in something out with that game,
something clicked, and Mapcom hasn't missed since twenty seventeen. Really, Marvel
versus Capcom Infidite was in twenty seventeen, and these fulls I met late twenties.
I did. I did review that game and give it a high score
because I was focused on the game play and not so much everything else.
Don't look that review up, but I also reviewed that game highly for the
moment. In retrospect, Yeah, that's like they're only miss in what almost
a decade. Doesn't it feel a little bit like pop music though, when
we talk about these these big Triple A developers. Yeah, there's a degree
to which, like what you were saying, the decisions being made, it's
like we're being trained to consume a certain kind of media. We have expectations
that are built into the art itself, and then I feel like these what
what I end up desiring at the end of the day is maybe I'm growing
and out of pop music a little bit. Yeah, And we're watching Jeff
Showcase last night, and man, that game about the woman working in the
garden, Like that's the one that sticks with me, you know, like
that first line she comes out and says, I don't belong here and her
delivery on it, yeah, yeah, and it makes me like I believe
her she was a fighter. I like, yeah, I wonder stop.
That's right. Yeah, that was very good. And again and it's just
there is something about like when I see that, you know, narrative third
person, there's something going on here where it's it's like barely registering in my
brain anymore. This is this is where I'm like, I'm hopeful and that
this is still Massive Corporation one of their big games. But it's like it's
different from Astrobot from PlayStation feels like, could this like teach them that there
is value to all these other genres if it does well but better than they're
expecting compared to what they maybe would have anticipated. And it's like, maybe
we can have more variety in what we approach, maybe take a few more
risks and really prioritize gameplay. And yeah, but it's for too long now,
it has been they have to have a certain level of product production values
to make it on me well, and I think I actually kind of appreciate
It's like the indie games can prove that something works and then you see a
game, you know, it's funny like like what was what was Fortnite before
it copied an indie game or you know what I mean. I mean copying
has always been in yea, yeah, So there's there's something to that where
it's like, man, if these games can be at Summer Game Fest,
find a big audience, prove success, will that have an effect on these
kinds of big games that we all kind of know what to expect at this
point with them, so hopefully. I mean, it's it's been cool to
see like these games in like hardcore, like really interesting perspectives and also you
know, especially here, but also thinking about the last year of game sales.
I mean, think about hell Divers, Like Hell Divers is a game
at its core about nonsense. It's just about doing silver shit with your friends,
multip do its thing. But the writing of that game has a very
serious perspect like a very like streamlined perspective. It's got to target and it
hits it's weird how it's a political video game. Yeah, weird. No,
it's not. It's just about you're telling me that is political. All
right, we're gonna wrap up this segment. That was a great time.
We got a lot more couch coming to you later here on Giant Bomb at
Night Live from Los Angeles. Thank you boys, thank you for the gifts.
Thank you Lexi. You'll be right back after this watch. You're pointing
that thing. It's still Giant Bomb. I'm still Jeff Grubb. Ship wanted
me to deliver this just I just I didn't want to make a big Thank
all the little people, all the gamers out there that made this possible.
Thank you Mary for stealing it from the Twitch offices. Ah damn shoot,
I'm decided to put together a good catch this time. Everybody, let's make
it happen. We've got a great crew with me. I'm still Jeff Grubb.
Here's Casper Bandi and everybody. How's it going. It's going great,
man, Thanks for having me, Thanks for being on you. I appreciate
it. Celia b Hi, thanks for having me. We've got Dave.
How's it going, Kim? Yeah, we're we just announced their game so
feeling pretty great. Yeah, I just played it. I had a good
time. I'm allowed to tell it. Tell people I played it right,
all right, ashta crawl with no Ash. How's going good man, I'm
doing great. Dave Austrey, Hey, you doing hell? You guys are
gonna stand in the gimmick the whole time. I love it. Not a
gimmick, everybody. Yeah, Trey Pow, please don't use that baseball battle.
Yeah, I think. Okay, I appreciate it. All right,
guess let's start with you. But how's it been going like being here talking
about the game. It's been good. I've had the best time. I've
been waiting for years and always telling Sony, you guys got to make a
Starship Troopers game, and so many people do make, you know, star
Starship Troopers s games. They're very cool. They're always fun to play.
It's always wonderful. But finally I've got a team at All World that made
Starship Troopers Extermination. Yeah, and it's got all the bugs. It's got
all the bugs from all five universes in the films, and it's got all
these and they've added everything in more armament, all the bugs, everything you
could think of all the little details. They asked me so many questions about
it, and they go, oh, we're gonna put that in. Oh
that's fine. That feels like the difference here where it's like the previous games
were like we're gonna play in this sandbox a little bit, and this one's
like we're gonna take those movies that Casper was in and like try to like
represent them right. All the movies, even the ones I wasn't in that
were Starship Troopers. They did that, but they've they've added all these bugs
in, they've added new ones in, but they have attention to detail that
was just amazing. They also as a company went out and watched rented a
movie theater watched our Ship Troopers before I was even involved, and just got
into it. I get up there. They all have t shirts on the
games, the toys, and they were like, we loved it this way.
The game developer, the head developer watched it twice when he was a
kid, when he was sixteen, and the main guy in charge of it,
Peter, he was he saw it in French first and still still the
satire that's perfect. That's amazing. That's the key thing that they understand that's
high level of difficulty there. Yes, absolutely I didn't get as a kid.
In these days. It's like all I could think about is Startship Troopers.
I'll give a satire. It is the satire now. Yeah, a
lot of the kids people didn't get it when they were kids, but it's
something that's held because of what Paul Verhoven and Ed Newmeyer were able to do
with their with their satire and their uh they're just so intelligent, you know,
they're they're great filmmakers and I love being a part of that. And
that's why I think it's still unfortunately has the political uh you know, commentary
is still relevant today, maybe even more so, maybe more so. Yeah,
but uh, you know that's the good thing because this movie gets people
to talk from all sides, and that's what we need to do. Starship
Troopers is always about inclusivity and getting everybody long. And what I like is
the arc. And when I joined Starship Troopers in the movie, I joined
too for a girl. This is what we do and uh, and then
I became a great soldier or a good soldier, and I followed the orders
and through the universe they had different things happening. But now they've got in
Worship Troopers extermination. They have me back as a general, and I still
want to get the mission. Dune's the best, the best of what you
can do. But the thing that's most important is the troopers. And it's
a sixteen player you know, it's on all platforms, and you get sixteen
person shooter. You get to go out there and you can work together and
help your team come back. You want to get them all there. You'll
die in the process, but you'll come back to another Trooper. There's so
many bugs, bug hoards they have, it's just unbelievable. I'm so excited
about it. If you can't tell, it's just a thrill to have the
honore of that they do for the film and the and the and the game,
and the same thing that I feel like they respect the gamers and the
movie people. Yeah. All The one that's got to be nice is it
likes to work with someone that feels like they fully comprehend what you guys were
trying to go for and respect your work. So when when I read the
script, I went Ednumeier who wrote RoboCop and Starship Troopers, and Paul Rohoven,
who directed both them. When I read what they wrote, what we
wrote in this, I went, he would be so impressed and so proud
of you. And Ed's one of my best friends who was in my wedding
party. He's just somebody I've hung out with. I've read all the Starships
Stroopers scripts that he's written, so I've been around him a lot. I
mean, he's a highly intelligent man. Is a genius, I Q saying
with Verhoven. So they're just super smart guys. But they they're funny,
and they have a dry sense of humor. And the humor isn't in making
fun of people. It's in, you know, making fun of you know
what we're willing to sacrifice. Yeah yeah, yeah, the human condition,
And so that's always been it's it's it's so wonderful that this is now being
done in a game with so much reverence and respect. And I I was
just blown away because I when we were doing Starship Troopers, I'm just shooting
dirt in the movie, I'm just shooting out of dirt or balls on the
stick or Veroven going. But it's Veroven impression I've ever heard. I can
do a good, good Verhoven. But what happens is now you win this
game and you can see the world that I you see the movie. You're
right in the movie right away, and these bugs are batter than ever there.
It's so intense. So can I ask you what's the what's the big
difference for you between working in the video game space and working in in Hollywood
on movies, Like what what like? Is there a different skill set that
you bring or that you had to learn, you know, for for movies
and uh, and then the game for me, you know, I got
to the collaborative. Uh. You know, the collaboration is still the most
key and important part of the process. And these guys were we go in
and we do the voice over what they wrote, and then I go,
hey, what if I I improvise some things as Johnny Ricos as I do
because my whole life, all I've had is people yell at me and my
kids growing up with people just yelling Starship Troopers quotes, going come on your
eggs, you want to live forever? And I'm like, yeah, I
want to live forever. And then you know, and and so like I
just yelling things and that's great, but try like this and then we did
we did all these other things. So I had so much fun. I'm
I'm like a big kid in the in the candy store with this. I
saw the trailer and I was blown away and I was in awe of what
they did and for me to be able to say that, I've been I've
been craving this. And when Starship Troopers came out and we saw it,
I went, we need to make that video game. And then Halo came
out and I was like, we still need to make that video game.
And then your game game and I was like, oh my god, you
said you were worked on a Starship Troopers game. We were just talking about,
like how when I was in a high school, star StarCraft came out,
Starship Troopers came out around the same time, and they're like almost like
one to like similar type of game. Then it's similar, right, and
you know, and then so you have all these things that are like it.
But then when I finally got to do something that, I mean,
I love all of them. I'm not in the gaming all of that,
and I think it's amazing. And of course we need to have all these
kind of things, and the variety is wonderful. But for me, I'm
fucking Johnny Rico man, and and I wanted to kill some bugs, and
I wanted to be in the Starship Troopers universe. And I'm back in it,
and anybody can be in it, and I get to be in it
with you. I'm your general. And I said more lines in this video
game than I did in Starship Troopers one and Freak combined. Really, yeah,
that's actually impressive. Yeah yeah. And so it's not just my lu
I'm going through. I'm in there with them. I'm talking it out with
them, and I helped guide and do things. And it feels like you
can see that I care about the troops, and I really do. I
genuinely you, because people come up to me and go, I joined the
military because of you, and I go, well, I thank you for
your service and I'm sorry. And the military love that. They have the
best sense of humor. But also people go, I became an actor because
of that, or I became a writer because of that, or you know,
I watched that with my dad. That was the first movie. Was
the first movie I saw naked, And I'm like, oh, yeah,
I get that a lot too. Celia how's it been going for you here
at Summer Game Fest? Pretty fine, It's been a blast. Our presentation
isn't till the fourteenth, so it's still a marathon as I'm trying to have
fun at the show, Like how does that get decided? Like where you're
going to show your stuff? Like it's got to be kind of like picking
yoursponse or like it was kind of looking at the schedule and like seeing everyone
and like what they're doing, and it's like, well, what is the
most convenient still in the block, but also gives me more time to edit
the whole presentation, right, and the fourteenth is it? So there we
go. But yeah, we're really excited. I'm speaking the presentation. It
is Shovel Night's tenth anniversary. Wow, I Rother, I didn't introduce myself.
I'm the marketing director for Yacht Club Games. We're the creators of shovel
Night, and yeah, this year is really exciting for us. So in
the presentation, we're gonna be talking about shovel Night, our experience so far,
and we have a ton of really cool announcements that we're going to be
showing off. Yeah, it's you guys have really really stuck this game,
because it seems like the players have stuck with it, right, Like,
yeah, just keep showing up for it, so kind of encourage you guys
to keep coming back to it. Yeah, Like, we plan to make
Shovel Night games for like as long as we can the hands can make it.
Yeah, we've always envisioned it as an all encompassing franchise and we're really
excited to share what we have on the horizon. But basically spoiler alert,
we plan to make Shovel Night games forever and ever. But besides that,
we also have our new ip Mina the Hollower. Yeah, yeah, La
Facts. We shared some stuff with you on that. It's a very good
game, my wheelhouse. It is so cool. It's our love letter to
the Game Boy color. I think it's funny because like Shovel Knight is like
using Nintendo terms is like our Mario and Me and I as Riselda. Yep.
So I'm so excited to share that with you guys. Soon we'll have
some updates wonder when. Yeah, but it'll be fun. So you kind
of hear you're like you said it's a marathon. Are you just like hanging
out with friends talking to people. Are you also doing work up until the
fourteenth, So I've doing some work, having some meetings, you know,
but like still trying to have fun. There's so many cool games like on
the show floor and like at events, and it's fun to hang out with
everyone and like catch up. It's been a little bit now that you know,
for real, It's like it's people seem more willing to come out to
this event than they have in the last several years. It's like, does
feel like I really clicked in the place this year? Yeah? It feel
yeah, I really feel like that. Like it's very reminiscent of the before
times, which is weird to say, but like you know, back for
you know, prea COVID era. So it's it's been nice to catch up,
Dave. You guys finally got the show off your game? What that
feel like? Oh? Yeah, pretty exciting, right, Like I can't
remember what exactly we talked about the last time we were here. Yeah,
I remember we talked about our vision, what we're trying to do exactly,
et cetera. Right, But what makes this really special is we've been working
three years for kind of this moment, right, and it's everything starts from
the announcement onwards. Right now, we're starting our beta in three weeks,
and then hopefully, depending on how that goes, we can look at open
beta and to release super exciting stuff, right, because I've been wanting to
work on something like this for like the last like ten years or something.
Right. Yeah, So, when I was working on StarCraft two, one
of my kind of biggest I guess issues within kind of myself was like,
man, this is such an amazing game, Like it's still my favorite game
of all time out of all the games that are released, because ours hasn't.
Yeah, But the problem with it, I think, at least in
my head, was it's such a shame that normal gamers can never enjoy the
core fund of this game because of the struggle of how difficult it is to
even get to the fund and what I mean by that. Yeah, Right,
So I strongly believe the core fund of Arts is something like the strategizing
the army versus army battle. I'm the army commander action things like these,
right, But in order to even have an army versus army fight, you
got to practice like these kind of tedious clicks over like you have to build
one worker from every base that you have once every twelve seconds. You got
to build a supply depot once every second. Like, there's just so much
to do, right, So if someone new plays a game like this,
they have to practice for like six months or years and then they can experience
the core fund. So the dream has always been, can we make an
RTS game that players can play and then within a matter of one or two
games they can experience that army versus army fights as well as like strategizing.
So like we had I believe his name was Drew playing today, So I
believe he was like twenty four years old or something like that. So he's
never played arts before, right, he sits down, plays the game.
After the first game, he's getting all the basics down, right, He's
building a massive army having big battles. So I wanted to test, like,
hey, can you try like building these butterflies that are good at killing
workers? So he built a few, and then I asked him to like
send it around to the back, right, and then as he's harassing the
workers, I told him to attack with your main army. And then he's
doing like this two prong attack. Right. But this is like in like
StarCraft or any traditional artists terms like quite like like only the like the more
experienced players can do something like this, right, yeah, right, but
he's doing it in his second game ever of playing any arts ever. Right,
So and then we see a lot of these examples in new players.
So just this moment is really really cool kind of thing, right, and
I'm top of that. We are a full remote studio, but we have
kind of team meetups twice a year, and we aligned the whole team to
be here for a team meetup at the same time as an announcement, So
our whole team was in the crowd watching the announcement and then seeing like those
the cinematics, hearing the music, the audio, and then seeing the gameplay
footage like that was like the like such an unbelievable experience. Yeah, like
the milestone you've been waiting for for a long time. It has been right,
Yes, absolutely, and so cathartic or like also invigorating. Now you
got to get back to work, is that kind of where we're at now?
Absolutely? Yeah, just last yesterday's dinner time, like everyone's just joking
about, like, okay, now we just have this massive amount of work
to do so, but we're all feeling very happy about it, right,
because one of the things that we strongly believe in is we really believe,
at the end of the day, making a great game, such as what
we're trying to do here, it really comes down to experts in their area
of expertise doing the best job that they can, and each of these disciplines
coming together and then we can do something cool. Right. And I really
believe that I haven't seen such a high ratio of very talented, passionate,
dedicated individuals that work super hard on their area of expertise, even if it
doesn't show that well to the public, Like this ratio is so high,
and I really believe this is how we were able to even get to this
spot in the first place. Yeah, it seems like the kind of thing
where when I when I saw it, when you showed it to me,
and now I've played it, you can notice it's like, oh, everyone
is just hitting that high level. The heart is so good, the animation
is so good, the interface is very easy to understand, and it's like
that only happens when most of the work has happened behind the scenes. And
now I could sit down and enjoy the felt today. Yeah, yeah,
what what what happens now? Like the beta in a couple of weeks you
said, was there like a chance? Was there an opportunity to get the
beta closer to this moment or has this always been the plan? Like we
want to have a little breather. Yeah, So surprisingly, we were all
kind of surprised because the day we started, we were supposed to give like
some rough outline of our schedule, right, and then this was actually the
schedule that we submitted, But we submitted that saying something like, yeah,
but when do games ever hit the deadlines that you said on day one?
Kind of thing right? And then the head of the company, head of
light Speed, Jerry, he told us something like, oh, yeah,
I completely understand there's no way you're going to hit that, but it's okay,
right, right, you missed it by six months, eight months or
whatever, it's all good, but don't miss it by like three years kind
of thing right. But sitting here today, are like, wait, how
do we do it in the exact time that we planned out? Kind of
thing right? It was ash right, Yeah, I will say this.
The entire team came and it was incredible to see that the publishing team was
also there, but they weren't actually after the theater because they were turning on
all of the amazing assets that we saw the website playbattleces dot com please check
it out, all of our content assets to actually show off the incredible work
that the development team has been doing for years to get to this moment,
and it really it shows really well about that vision that we had talked about
last time we were here a little bit, you know, the the NBA
jam of arts games, the ability to actually provide something that you can onboard
new users into playing in this but also maybe you know, those that are
veterans of arts can also enjoy, those who play MOBA can enjoy, those
that play other general strategy games it can enjoy. And I think this was
a great moment for the entire team to be able to showcase the incredible work
and also in an amazing short period of time from a development perspective, with
the level of expertise that David's talking about that everybody had kind of been working
towards this moment. So it's been a huge, awesome weekend. This is
just the beginning of our journey and you know, we're going to have some
people joining our beta pretty soon here in a couple of weeks, and we
can't wait for absolutely y yeah, Dave, Yeah, you're doing. What
do you guys got for us? What's happening over here? What's happening over
here? What's happening with you? Johnny Rico, Jersey, Johnny Rico.
I like that. We got Falling Aces. It's coming out soon tomorrow.
You're gonna get a look. We're gonna announce the release date at that their
PC gaming show. It's happening tomorrow after the Xbox thing, before the Xbox
thing. I don't fucking know. So we're gonna have a new trailer the
release date, and the release date's gonna be really soon. But I don't,
you know, I'm just I'm I'm just a little This guy is the
boss. This guy actually makes the game, and when he's not around them
usually going where's the boss? And the boss need anything? So, how
you doing boss? He's okay, I'm doing good. I'm doing good.
Yeah. You know, we've been putting a lot of work into this game.
Uh, you know, it's been a long time coming, uh looking
forward to it. Uh, and you know they're gonna have to wait very
long. Uh we can't. We can't spoil it, but it's it's gonna
be pretty soon. It's gonna be pretty soon. People gonna soon. Yeah,
okay, all right, okay, you guys have been on a little
bit of it. You've got Yeah, they're pretty sure. I dressed too.
They don't wear suits here, Hollywood money like you. Yeah, showed
you up a little bit. Yeah, the three piece Yeah exactly. Yeah,
my bug killed Tile counted on this. I think you guys would appreciate
that. I like it. I like it a lot. I know you
guys have been on a little bit of a tour, right, Like,
guys been showing this stuff off. How's the response been. It's been great.
I mean, everybody's been loving it. It's uh, you know,
what's not to like? You get to I mean other than the fact that
you get to beat up goons, you know, not our gag. We're
on top, right, so you beat them with the other gangs goons.
So it's you know, fall. This is the game wins if you haven't
seen, it's the comic book style brawl, the first person shoot away.
Everything is the weapon and you can pick up like all these fucking ship in
the game. You could pick it up and throw that clock, that lamp,
that play you can beat people over the head. But right there in
the Book of the Dead, Yeah, Nick, and I'm a congo bob
whatever you call it. Yeah, you can use pipes, We got fats,
of course, you got Tommy guns and stuff like that. You could
use all this to pretty much tear the city apart. And you know,
it's a detective story and you got to, uh, you know, you
got to figure out what's going on. And while you're doing that, you're
gonna have to beat this shit out of a lot of guys. Got good,
Dave, you're thinking about beating people up up publicly. Uh, you
did do that excellent billboard. But putting the industry in its place, I
didn't put nobody in his place, was just it was a nice tribute,
right. We gotta we have a lot of friends that work. We got
a lot of friends that work in a lot of studios that have been shut
down, a lot of friends that have been laid off or made redundant.
And you know, we had this opportunity to put a big billboard up in
the middle of Summer games Fest and we're thinking, should we do an ad
for one of our games? Nah? Funck that we hate money and we
love our friends. So I wanted to do a tribute to all the studios
that have closed out, everybody that's been laid off. And if anybody had
seen that billboard, whether it's the executives or people who just following everything,
I want them to know those devs are making new games. Those devs are
looking for new jobs, and you should fucking hire them. Yeah you want?
I want these people to stay in games, right, Kate Austin Roll
seven, come on? Yeah? Yeah? I like your gang. Yeah,
I like your gang a lot. You guys are cool. I mean
we're no Rico's roughnecks. You guys are welcome the rough necks any day.
We need more cannon fodder. So okay, so you guys can't sl the
date. I understand that. But like Zone Soon Soon whole episode one?
Early access cool? Early access? Yeah, how do you guys come to
that decision? I think I love we say early access for most of our
games. So if you're familiar with other games like Dusk a Medieval ultra Kill,
stuff like that, you know early access works really well for us.
Because we get to build the games with our players and their episodics, so
we get to polish it, release new stuff, polish that you know,
do features based on their feedback, and it's just a really great way to
develop games. Yeah, and it's seems like there's a certain type of player
that is like very down with early access, well because they're buying in you
know, they want to help the game. So the people that buy early
access, those are the people who care about your game the most, and
we always reward them because the price is always cheaper in early access, So
like you know, they're they're the best players, and they're the ones we
build the games. By the time the game comes out, you've got a
huge player base of people who are invested. Then your game's good because you've
been working with them to fix all the problems and give them all the stuff
they've wanted for years at that point. So it's a it's a good way
to do business. Is that something that sounds good to you, Tray where
you're like, okay, we get to yeah, absolutely, I mean,
like you know, you get the game earlier, you get it cheaper,
and like you know, we like to listen to a lot of feedback from
players. You know, it's very important to you know, kind of balance
out your game and understand what players want from from the game, you know,
so we take that feedback and we make it better. So it's very
important to us. Yeah, So, Celia, when you have multiple games
in the works and then you have fans also coming at you with ideas of
what they want, is it frustrated to be like, just just let us
work on these few games, let us get that out the door, and
then maybe we could talk about doing the next dream project or is it like
you guys do start working on stuff maybe a little bit more than you should.
L Right, how do you guys manage that? So just for full
count, we are working on Mean and the Hallow, We are working on
Chevel Knight, Poka Dungeons DLC, Cheval Knight Digs DLC, and you know
whatever else is on the horizon find out June fourteenth games. Okay, anyways,
So for that, I don't know. It's kind of those things that,
like, our community is extremely passionate and so are we, So they're
getting pumped about stuff. You know, how many times, like one of
our teammates will post a doc of a game that he thought of, and
then we all decide to take time out of our workday to go pitch ideas
for this imaginary game may or may not be making in the future. It
happens a lot. I've done it myself, and so it's kind of those
things where I'm it's okay to be excited. I think it's fantastic, and
like our enthusiasm is right there with them. And obviously we're working on CENTERP
projects as once as well, So yeah, we're soaked. But also yeah,
everyone be a you patient and you I mean you're an indie studio and
also a multi team like the studio as well, Like you have multiple projects
going at once. How do you manage that? You know, that's a
good question. I'm coffee. I'm there's this really tasty noodle spot on the
office's street. It's called Killer Nattle. It's delicious. I'm Besides that,
I don't know a lot of hope and dreams. We clicker heels. You
know, are there people who are dedicated to one project or it is so
we have I'm multiple teams. Okay, So keep in mind when people like
picture yacht club games, they tend to picture like a huge studio. We
are about twenty people, right like, that is it, and that's counting
marketing which is me, and then pr which is also me, and the
like accounting like in all the teams and everything, the sort of QWA included,
I'm so for that. We have an internal team that's focused on MINA.
We have an internal team that's focused on redacted statement check out June fourteen,
and then we have we're also working with our partners at Nitrum to work
on digs. So if everyone like has their hand in everything and we're just
we're as going as a well oiled machine, and the this like it feels
good, right like to have this many projects going on. It does.
It's a little bit like you know, it's just you're keeping with the pace.
It's a marathon, so you know, no one wants, you know,
the focus on everything is that you know, though we have our hands
full, you're not working too much. And like what's cool about our team
is that we're really close knit, so we're all helping each other out.
So it's not it's never too much work, but it is a little bit
of wearing multiple hats, David, as you guys ever, feel like you
wish you had multiple pokers in the fire or you're happy to just have your
focus on battle ass. Yeah, are kind of our hope is we want
to tackle one problem at a time kind of thing, right, because everyone
knows making a game is so hard, making a great game is even harder,
like closely impossible kind of thing, right, So that's why we want
to keep the scope focused. But one other thing I wanted to say though,
was I really believe we have a very unique art style that's very cool.
As many players I've seen in are cinematic, but so like the fantasy
is you are the battle ace inside the core, commanding all the drones,
right. And what's one of the things that's very unique about our art style
is there's a lot of like different types of bugs, like dragonflies are in
the cinematic, wasps are in the cinematic. We have hornets like Etcone to
say, take it in. So it feels like it's the first artist that
Casper can play. Yeah. So when you guys have this vision of getting
new players in there, has the response so far been I see that vision
just from what you've shown, or do you think it is going to take
people getting their hands on it. There's obviously a bridge they need to happen
there, right. Yeah, I think it's just been really positive from the
feedback that we're seeing so far. But what's been really cool is a lot
of people sending feedback in that this might be an rts that they might try
that you know, some of them either have fallen off from playing it from
the past, or those saying that, you know, this is something that
they couldn't have gotten into before, but it felt like this is something they
could actually try for the first time. And I think that's kind of our
vision and our goal of trying to make sure that those are about some of
the community members that we kind of bring on board, but also those that
have played in the past. But one thing I'll say is this too is
if you look at the arts genre, it kind of had a let's say,
a cap that while there was very big with something like StarCraft two previously,
but there's also you know, hundreds of millions of players that play things
like mobile or other games and larger broader strategy game and I think that this
game is poised to actually be the one that can bridge some of those communities
together and honestly, with the innovation that has been done in both uy and
control make it feel like something that they can get into that's familiar, but
also for all those core, you know, veteran arts players, something they
can still sink their teeth into and then really get into. So that's really
awesome. And I do love the theme. You know, we are battle
Laces and it seems like there's a fallen aces. We got to come help
each other. Yeah, kill them all. That was that's fun. I
like when you say that that's a good time, Casper, that you've had
this this very positive experience. It seems like with Extraction, do you envision
of world where you're like, maybe I can branch out to other video game
projects. I would. I would always love it. I mean I love
my daughter's really into it and it's a it's an incredible world, and especially
with my I mean with the way everybody's speaking here, it's so beautiful.
And to see that kind of community and just the way they're fully in character
and character right, I mean like selling character, like their character right,
good character, right. I like that. But the community that they created,
honoring a film that has always been something I've dreamed about you know,
having that come in is just amazing. And they got this new technology using
carnage where all the bugs when they die, they're going to stay there and
you can crawl on top of them. They used it to crawl over and
get it in, so it's like you can dig through them, you can
get them all fall down on. Yeah, they have it and it's there,
and it's there the whole time, and there's blood splatters there and they
stay, they don't disappear. It's so fun, it's so cool. I'm
like, I cannot tell you how excited him about this game. And I'm
not supposed to tell everything, but there's even there's a there's a shovel in
Starship Troopers three in the movie that you know, not everybody saw, but
it gets it's my introduction. It gets blown up through a bug and it
goes in and pales the soldier and I pull it out. That's my introduction,
and I said, give me a hand, somebody grab that foot,
and you know, you know I do this all this thing. They put
the shovel in the wall and I was like, oh, yeah, you
know, I pulled that out. They pulled it out so you can hit
bugs with it and you can do I just talked to them, and these
people are so into it. So they're like they're nerds and and I'm a
nerd, and I've been going to I've been going to you know, comic
cons from forever. I love comic books. I married a cous player who's
also just the sweetest woman in the world. My daughter's a gamer. All
this this is my whole world. Somebody asked me once, they said,
what do you think those people are comic cons that dress up? You know,
that's kind of weird. I go, what do you mean? That's
what I do for a living. It's the job, right, yess.
I'm like, it's the coolest thing in the world. Somebody, Oh,
yes, it is. And it's fun and and and that's what we're creative
and all these people are so creative. I'm just around geniuses and the people
I get to work with geniuses. This is for me. It's fun.
I want to be around that. I want it, and I want the
kindness and I want you know, I just want that camaraderie. It it's
beautiful, and isn't that what's kind of special about the game is like,
now people could kind of have that play that you get to play like you're
playing on film on stage, and now people could do that just in a
game in a safe space, right, And that's what I think they all
do. These people help inspire like films they you know, games now inspire
films. Films inspire games. There's there's such a crossover for all of it.
But you know, it's you get to have fun and we get to
live and we're and we're dreaming, we're creating, and there's something about creating
something that is just so magical and when you see people that are so good
at it. I'm here, I'm sitting on a couch with all these talented
people. I'm working with the most talented group for me, and and I've
always wanted the Starship Troopers thing, and they and then they do it,
and I sit there and I'm like, oh my god, oh my god.
And the like even the song in the trailer they put out the trail
that we have out. They have a Scorpion song. What's the first album
like bough By it but they didn't know that it's all coming together man,
And it's the first album I bought when I was a kid. So it's
just like this is all this weird synchronicity that I think that's happening. But
when they put in all that details and when they're talking about how they're camaraderie
and that's how beautiful is for me to just sit here and listen to it.
It's wonderful. I love it. I'm having the time in my life.
Yeah, that's that's I hope I keep doing more. Yeah for real,
Yeah, that's yeah, a lot opportunity to do that, I hope.
So. I did play a little bit of Extraction when it was in
early access, and the one of the things I really like about it is
like you get a lot of stuff where it's like four people can play together,
eight people, it's like sixteen. It's like, man, I'm gonna
actually like make a date out of this and like try to get a whole
crew together and like make a really big deal out of it. And that's
like that does like lend itself to like maybe we can get in there and
like actually do a little role playing, have a little fun in there,
and like have a make a meal a lot of it, yeah, and
have the people yell all the quotes from starts with Troopers and any of these
other great movies. You know, you can just add them in the different
flavor. It's like, you know, I throw in things from different things,
but from different movies or different games that I like. So I just
think it's fun to have that kind of thing. I'm playing tomorrow with my
daughter. We're gonna play live on her stream. We're gonna stream at three
pm. We're gonna stream us playing an extermination with a whole bunch of different
people. So you know, that's awesome. See if you can get the
man, Yeah, we'll squat up hell, Yeah, that'd be great.
Yeah. Dave be on fallow Ass like new Blood Publishing. How's that been
going. It's going great. You know, we're more of a studio now
than a publisher, you know, because all these people we published their games
and they wouldn't fucking leave, so we just hired them to be the development
is now. So we're making so many games. Everything is going good.
Ultra Kill is you know, it's it's beyond you know, it's gone beyond
our wildest expectation. It's not even finished yet. You know. We just
we remastered Dusk for no reason. Last year we did Dusk and Steam,
like, fucking why not? You know we're doing We're actually this summer,
we're bringing Faith. You know, the more this game, you know scary,
you know faith, everybody knows Faith. We're bringing that to Nintendo Switch
and we'll bring it to Japan. We're doing it in Japanese. We readd
all the that the voiceover, what's that like? Do you like work with
like a team to like localize it or yeah I got something some Jeopanese guys.
Yeah, yeah, they got under control. Yeah, they got wise
guys over in j Pain. Yeah. So yeah, it's called the Yakuza.
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, we can't tell them it's the fucking
Yakuza. Jesus. Nice guys, Nice guys trying to be coy. Yeah,
but it seems like this kind of outfit that you have, not the
one you're wearing my outfit, the new Blood out for you got going on
there. It feels like the kind of a thing that I want to see
more of. Do you expect people to kind of like replicate what you've been
doing? I mean, it's it's different. I Mean there's also been some
like really cool indie ship popping up late, like Blumhouse is an indie publisher
now in a slot is an indie publisher now? Who saw that coming?
So I think from the ashes of all these layoffs and other bullshit that's been
happening, there's gonna be a lot of new indie studios popping up and all
the new single A double A studios popping up, and a lot of really
good ship And it's up to you know, shows like this to elevate it
and you know, promote it. And you know, we do a pretty
good job of that at new Blood, you know, using social media,
use it, whatever we can do, you know, doing these things on
Steam and next Box and all these this that and whatever to really you know,
get these new indie outfits up and out there so they can they could
be the next new Blood. And it's weird to sit here and say the
next new Blood because you know, we've been around for ten years now.
I'm a fucking dinosaur. But you know, like, yeah, there's people
that can be like one day, I want to be like new Blood,
and I'm like, yes, you can. Absolutely. All you got to
do is make good fucking games and stick with your friends. Yeah, it
really does come down. It's like make the good games, right, make
the stuff that people want to play. It sounds easy, you know,
but it took us ten years to get here. Yeah, yeah, congratulations.
I think it's awesome. Yeah, thank you, Thank you. Trades.
It beneficial to have a goon like this in your corner, Oh yeah,
of course. I mean, uh, you know, I was just
kind of, you know, fucking around, just doing whatever on my own
with another guy, and uh, Dave. I got Dave's attention and he
picked us up, and uh, you know, now we're here, and
you know, everybody, everybody loves the game that we've talked to, and
uh, you know, I don't think it would have been to the state
that it was if we didn't have a lot of help along the way.
And like Dave knows what's fun, and he knows what the fans want,
and we know what the fans want. Now it's just good. Yeah I
didn't We got we have fun over at new Blood. You know, we
got in. New Blood's a big team. Now we're almost like thirty forty
people. You forget, and we've had you know, everybody's been working so
hard on Fall and Aces. Shout out to the team, Shout out to
everybody. On the QA team, on the dev support team, Shot the
Cavs, Scott Zombie, Lucas, everybody who's been working on the game,
Jason of course, the co creator of the game. With everybody that's home
working on working on the game right now because we got to get it out
soon. You know, they're you know, we're here having fun on this
fucking couch and their home, you know, working on the game. So
think they're the real heroes. I'm sorry. Yeah, so it's it's been
fun though, it's been fun. We have we have fun, we work
hard, we have fun, and it's uh, it's good, man,
it's good. It's good to be the boss. Yeah, it is a
it would be a ball. It's good to be the boss. And it's
great to be the ball. And everyone's feel good about summer game, Best
and White one's having a good time and yeah, yeah, absolutely, yeah,
all right, I think that's gonna do it for this segment, everybody,
we are gonna get out of here for now. We're gonna Toto,
it's gonna be Gobba Gul. It's good. We're gonna certain shows the right
show. We're gonna get out of here. Back with the Gobba goool right
after the kill them all. Oh my god, man, I don't think
so. Thirteen twelve, eleven, ten, nine A seven, six,
five four three two? Who lasting nasty? Who's with me? It's gonna
get it's gonna be very professional. I'm assuming I got the whole crew here,
that the concave is happening. We are going to discuss what's gonna happen
in video vams the next five years. It's all deciding now, all right,
this is the collusion you've been worried about. It's here. We're gonna
okay here, there's too many people. There's not enough. There's not enough
people. But what we're gonna do is, instead of me introducing everybody,
we're gonna just have everybody very gingerly announce their name and then move on to
the next person. Right, Yeah, right, yeah, let's start.
Yeah. My name is John Carson. I'm from the Indian former Carson Carson,
Carson, Carson Carson. My name is Brendan Groom from Past the Controller
play More Indies. My name is Charlie Walklds. I'm a freelancer. Charley
Charley, Charley Charley. I'm Jesse by Telly aka Young Elmo. I'm Tatum.
I do public relations for video games. I'm most Severa's I. I'm
a staff writer Fortaku. Boss. I'm Michael Hyam from video game website dot
com, Mychael, My, Michael Michael. I'm Alex man Aikin from Gaming.
You're talking about Alex, Alex, Alex, Nolex Alex. I'm not
here. I just want to say that giant bomb, Dug Trio you that's
what's happening. Yeah. Yeah, I'm Kenneth Stefford. I'm a staff writer
Kataku and a co host of Normandy f M. I'm Eric Van Allen.
I am a senior editor for Distructoid. I'm a co host of Normandy f
M, and I'm a co host of Action the Blood God Right right right?
Uh? These are the nasty boys. Yeah, couldn't be be well,
look are you gonna be nasty? Don't don't want a lot? Don't
why. I don't know. It's not for me to determine. Yeah,
I assumed you would be the nastiest. And since this came together, you're
like, I'm too good for this. I'm yeah. Ships shps changed,
you know, you you go those checks hit different checks hit different. You
know what I'm saying. So, uh, benefits? What's that not for
you? That? No, you go a couple of blocks, you go
to hit events for SGF I, g N Live. You know what I'm
always be selling buddy. Yeah, that's that's it's that's it's crazy. But
I'm here to do work. I'm not involved in the production that thing,
but I got mad respect for it. I've talked a lot of people in
mind, no one's involved with the production. Apparently you all just showed up,
but it was Yeah, that got put together on its own. Yeah,
it's just magic. Yeah, yeah, it's it's really weird to see
that thing come together. It's like a start contrast to how things we've always
done at game Spot. Has that been a game spot for like six seven
years? Uh So it's a it's really weird, but you know, see
different size of the industry. Opens your eyes. You you all nasty boys.
Is it the kind of thing where you got this this click where it's
you're making your own thing instead of like trying to break into other stuff.
Is it could have like your team, your crew behind you these fools?
Yeah, what are you saying? Damn high school? Yes, excellent,
that's terror group. Yes, that's what I should have said, of course.
Yeah, yeah, I don't know. So when we put this whole
vision of what this would look like together, I wasn't expecting it to actually
be this mob of humanity. I don't know what I thought it would be.
I thought we'd be able to fit everybody on a couch. That was
dumb of me. Clearly, when we rolled we rolled deep, We rolled
deep. Christ Yeah, hell yeah, we could also try and get everybody
on this couch work for the show. But a cash Jan, No,
he's saying no, Mike, say yes. Jan is shutting us down.
A lot of conflicting orders here. Yeah, I know me too. Yeah.
When I was at SGF earlier, we were seeing Mike Manati from across
the street. Now you know, I yell, it's Mike Manatti, and
then immediately all of the security guards around us started going, Mike Manatti.
Don't know who he is. They just like his name that much. I
don't know, it's that's been that kind of show. Uh, Okay,
So what do you guys want to do? What do you want to talk
about Mike? Yeah, Mina, Yeah, we'rena talk about Mike Manatti.
Yeah, all right, y'all talk about him all the time. We'll talk
about something new. We need. Listen, I've been a big fan of
Mike Manatti, but not anymore. We need we need less of this.
We'retoring on the Mike Manatti at least for an hour. Yeah, we need
to dismantle and destroy Mike Banatca. Yeah, if you plan to do that
real fast, if you if you say his name. We got to get
to start beef's. Can we talk about the etymology of the Nasty Boys?
Sure where that we didn't demine? The name is the worm Boys internally,
the what Boys, the Warm Boys, the worm Boys. Pretty all right?
Do you guys want to be the worm Boys instead of the Nasty Boy?
We can live. We can live with the Nasty Boys. We just
wanted to know how we got I think that we were talking and we were
in a meeting at giant bomb dot com, and I think Backlar said we
need to give him a name, and I think Chance said they nasty damn
And I'm pretty sure that's all there was to it. And they immediately was
like, yeah, the Nasty Boy, the w c W tag team group
like that, And then we were all like yes, like the w c
W tag team group. I think it was that that simple, brilliant and
then we were just like a big fan of it, like, yeah,
we got to bring the nasty boys on the stuff. That's that's the energy.
We like that. Absolutely it rolls off the tongue. I was just
saying, getting nasty, Okay, gett nasty. I'm sorry you just through
like seven people's like here before it gets to me. Yeah, understandable.
John. When I first met you, I was a sick in Dan Record's
bathroom. Yes you were. I brought you a gatorade, Yes you did.
Yeah, it's a same life better. I don't think you touched it
for like eight hours after I was sleeping. I slept basically that whole weekend.
Yeah, but thank you for being sick so I could chill on the
couch a little bit longer. Absolutely solidify myself as the second Young Elbow.
Yes, right, of course that's my father. Yes, uh call me
call me Elmo. Young Elmo is my father? Like you accept the young
Elmo name? Right? That was like not a problem. Oh yeah,
no, that was absolutely was great. But we're okay, well yeah we
uh, people don't remember Young Elmo got the name because you were sitting in
the back of the Brooklyn Show when we did GB Live and you were Elmo
the entire time. And that was the first time I met any of y'all.
Yes, like like Jane and I kind of knew each other, and
John was like, oh, yeah, come hang out. And then Dan
was like, someone needs to get in this Elmo costume, and I was
like, I'll do it. And then I sat there while Austin Walker explained
something to Dan and I was just sitting there next to Oh there's economics,
and I'm just sitting there next to Elmo. Yeah, yeah, crucially,
uh yeah, And now I'm Young Elmo. Yeah, absolutely, And whenever
we are talking internally, we're like, maybe Young Elmo can help us with
this. We do say anywhere Young Elmo is very wise. Yes, you
Elmo knows all. Do you guys ever asked yourself what would young Elmo do?
Yeah? I do. Personally. I don't know about these from w
w YE of course some arm bands. Yeah, yes, we'll start selling
those. That'll be the real racket. Moys. Is how you doing,
I'm chilling, Yeah, I'm here. I'm a little buzzed, nervous about
being surrounded by so many whites. Oh, that's what I want to do
him. Last time I chanted DEI at Boston, you got really mad at
me. Yeah, I see, I want to I want to haul past.
Can we chant that? Well? Okay, Well, a couple of
things we need to here. What are we chance? This is like the
twentieth time you've mentioned hall passes. What do you think that means? I
think it means I get away with things and I don't get canceled. Okay,
Yeah, what the when did I chant D D to you? No?
You didn't. I chanted at you? You got you got very mad
at me? Okay, Third, Bart, I got very mad at you.
Well you were working? Yeah, actually was Actually I think you and
Blessed had just done it and I came back from the bathroom and heard it,
and I'm like, I'm gonna get in on it. Fucked. What
what event was this again? Packs? Was it pass past? Packs?
I think it was a recent Yeah, okay, well you can't chat that,
can you? Okay? Can I just bat be in the glow of
you chance up? First of all, it was Michael and Nikki and me.
Oh that's right, there was there was. Oh, I know he
was definitely blessing. I'll check it. Canceling, somebody checked the tape right
now. Canceled, canceled, canceled, cancel open duck, canceled. It's
very good. I can cancel all the time. So what do you want
to hold chance that I want to What do you mean by that? But
yeah, I want to Chandy? Do you want the okay? Yeah,
one you can like nod your head along with the cadence. Okay, can
that's what you can n r e I Okay, that's what makes me so
okay. I have a question, a lot of questions. You can't say
it like you're in a safe space, all right, You're not. This
this one's for Kenn Shepherd. Can Ken Chandy d e I with us because
it's June, Well not just because of June, but can you say it?
You want to see me? You're just I think Ken Ken could do
it. That's part. He is part of the initiative. You know what
I'm saying. We all got to stick together for Yeah, intersectionally, that's
how you that's how you actually achieve greatness. The diversity is well no,
but ch ch ch chanz, we can all come together. We're not saying
chance, so Ken can Channa with us. I don't know if any you
know this. Who do you think Mike mcnatty's fvorite rapper is. I know
you don't want Michael Moore goofy which recent in recent months. You're not a
good rapper, but maybe not a right rapper, but it seems like a
good person, A good person. I know the answer. Hey, what's
up? I know the answer? You got another person on what's Mina's favorite
rapper? Miranda? Yeah, that's what he said, tate him. How
you doing? I'm chilling? Oh wait, I need a microphone they got.
Yeah, I'm chilling. Yeah, I've just been going for pretty good.
I mean I'm not really showing anything. I'm not really like pring anything.
It's more so just like seeing what's going on and just seeing all of
the wonderful boys, and uh, you know that's the best part of these
things. But most of you in most of you, not everyone's in New
York. Are most of you in New York? No? Raise your hand
up here from New York? Yeah? Okay, okay, so how oft
have you? Please pin your location? Can not say n y C.
But can say, yeah, exactly, I feel like I'm being police salot
on the street. You can say whatever you want, thank you. I
crucially I can't. But like, okay, So then how often do you
all get together and like nasty it up? Oh jeez, I like that
purpose Yeah, in person sometimes, but then you know, we also convene
online. We convene through spirituality. Sure, yeah, we ken and I
also convened like every other day because we work together. Sure, I see
that boy more than I see most anybody else in my life. Yeah,
but I think like about once or twice a month, we usually get together,
usually at your place. Are we talking about the New York City people,
specifically New York Contingtion? Oh yeah, I just they just come over
my apartment and like hang out, and they made me watch The Matrix for
the first time two weeks ago. I had never seen The Matrix and they
had to explain it to me because I literally knew nothing about the movie.
But he literally, he literally did not realize that Neo was the one.
So well, after watching the movie, it's it's that it's yeah, yeah,
like by the end of the movie. Okay, am I okay,
I'm never. Okay, Okay, I don't think he's ever been. Okay,
yeah, fair enough, you watch reloaded? No, I don't know.
I'm desperately trying to make him watch the other ones. He doesn't.
He's fighting me on it. Yeah. Yeah, he's been a little bit.
Doesn't seen any of the gibbling movies. What's the matrix? Well,
what were you doing? You're really gonna watch movies at all? Like you
do not watch movies? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, Okay, here's my
hot take. Movies are too long. Every movie should be forty five minutes
and not a minute longer. Okay, so can sol cancel care? Like?
Have you've seen Dune too? That movie's three hours long? Fuck?
No, I haven't cancel. Cancel, canceled, cancel. Okay, So
you want movies to be TV shows? Do you want TV shows to be
tiktoks like what Happens next? No? TikTok has permanently destroyed my brain in
a way I will never get back. The other thing he watched is Bravo.
Oh yeah I'm not. I'm not a job. I love Bravo.
Watch movie. I also watched Dune. Just doesn't just wait taste? Sorry?
The rock Dune isn't just on TikTok, He's on fail comps. Oh
YouTube fail comps. You. Sometimes we'll just get together and we'll watch like
a two hour fail comp. Why not. Sometimes we get together and we
also just watch battle bots for like, we have a game where I choose
which battle bots I think I could take in real life. All Right,
what's what's the toughest one you think you could take? What's that big one?
It's like really tall that has spinning it's called them. Yeah, yeah,
literally, is there like one you think would be like your kryptonite?
I mean any of them that shoot flames. I don't know if you know
this, but I burned. Yeah, okay, I got check later.
It's crazy. There's a battle bot that just has a gun. You could
take that, Yeah, glaucula spinning spinning disc ones. I could take those
out. You just like step Yeah, you just lop on them. It's
okay because at the top is not like, is that a battle pot that
just ship? They heard him talking ship? They can try. It's crazy,
is about to shoot fire? Do you think a battlebot's gonna have chat
GPT in it at some point? Yes? Oh? Absolutely? The battle
bots are going to get to talk to each other, and then they're gonna
get stuck in. They're gonna defeat. I have a question for Groub please.
If Giant Bomb made a battle bot and it was just called the Giant
Bomb, what would it do? It would have nothing to do with explosives,
it would it would? Yeah. I think it would probably be like
a big block that does just have like spinning hammers on it and stuff like
that, and it would like shout like really dumb things the whole time.
Probably it just as a speaker on it. It was a speaker. I'm
doing it. The robots chanted it's capital d E. I nevermind. Wait
when did it become When did it become a thing? I can't say,
Oh, we're still on this to this. I personally tried to see us
away from this all right. I think what's gonna happen here pretty soon is
we're gonna play a little game, all right. And I think, hey,
Jigsaw, we're gonna you're one splay game. Dan Record has a leaf
blower and he has been hit me with a week and it makes my face
look funny. I think what we're gonna do is we want to hit all
of you. I talked, talk to Kenneth already. We're not You're gonna
have me judge. Yes, uh, we're gonna hit all of you,
and we're gonna judge who has the funniest face. But I think first we
should decide who actually might have the funniest place. Bets on it. All
right, listen, you had you got ten k on your birthday and you're
taking this ship way too far now. I mean, I want to make
some more money, but he's on a winning street on this one. Been
going. I forced myself to stop when the hot season ended. Actually got
you cold turkey. You realize problem. This is what I can do.
Yeah. I actually did get my nephew like a bunch of money when I
saw him, because I'm like, I hate a big don't worry about it.
Don't worries it. Just get yourself, get yourself a translator. Yeah,
you'll be right, all right? Yeah, okay, so I think
my BET's going to be m Let's see here. When you got the two,
are you gonna wear both sunglasses? Why not? I think both sunglasses
are gonna Ops, that's a hat classes not toos in video games? All
right, don work too yeah, you could be though you want to be
really funny, you could put Ken's beanie on it. Do you guys have
any guesses? Who do you think is gonna have the funniest face? Charlie,
I don't know. I was cooking. Yeah, I actually was predicting
the future with this one. I was I got a haircut before coming here,
intentionally because I knew it would look good with the leaf So moys is
pretty pretty fun to get candid photos of. Yeah, sure, but Moyses
just looks photogenic, like it look just looks hands I'm saying, it looks
funny. Does I take it? All? Right? A little bit humor?
You want to have? Any would have been part this that I was
sure? That is not sure? That's shirting weapon. I'm not gonna shoot
something right, get out. It looks like a T shirt cat right,
you're out. You're out. Anyone else is your last off? Out?
Is that you as soon as you saw the leaf blower saying I don't do
that, hit like four times this it's huge, Okay, so we're doing
my best reaction gives material with this? Yeah, I think so. I
think if I can give an ac a tap to flyoff, and if you
want to try to create the next first game, I'm blinking you gotta be
an honor. Yeah, and lots of money. Yeah, I said,
when the boat sunglasses go off, all right, dad's gonna keep it.
I'm gonna go from person to persons to just be ready, and it's gipping
them like I am give you okay, So everyone else is getting hit.
All right, cool, we're good, We're good. Are we ready?
Camera? We're good? This one? Okay? So if you want to
play camera everyone watch out for these cuss wait crucially before we start, do
we need to move the microphones away from the leading sound? Like? Okay?
Are we working into the camera or looking at for production? Do what
you wanted to scale on? Was looking off camera? You decided? Yeah?
You know? Okay? Which one to think about viral internet sensations?
It's always good to perfectly craft them? Ready, camera ready, John curses
starting with you you're ready, jesus, good luck John, good luck?
Three to one? Union boy boy boy boy, I say, I thought,
very validated. Not you want it again? Can I get ahead?
Why was that one way? Jeff Jeff Grill turned to this lived gym guy.
It was crazy. I think I think it blew my drip into my
nail. Thank you so much, good guy chicken that Yeah, there are
tears in my eyes. I'm not saying that becomes a little leaf blower,
but because that was fucking insane something. Everybody came out of it like a
hired man three seconds in where you like, hit Nirvana, which is a
different level of existence, hit me, I can say myself. Incorporating that
into like a routine wake up in the morning was more effective, said what
kind of routine here? But the dentist anymore? All right, that felt
really erotic. Michael Higham. Probably who do you think I had the best
face? Okay, first thing I want to say is I think everyone looked
like a different person when they get blown Listen that that was the best of
us. Fuck, I remember when you're sleeping tonight. The best the best
first impression I think was Charlie. He's the one who up. Yeah.
Yeah, so I'm gonna give my I'm gonna get my my first place to
Charlie. Uh definitely not you know, a sort of a bias for my
co worker, but more than I think was the one than really not mean,
like, oh, I'm very loud. I did not take part in
that. That's really so. I think everyone had a balliant effort. Absolutely,
yeah, but I think I am going to go with moistes to varise.
Is this? That's me before I was once again all right, so
how's everyone feeling about video games? That's GF. What do you have you?
I guess having a good time? What's a video video game? I
don't know. I wasn't I wasn't playing, so I don't know what literally
what is a video game? But you no, I'm just protesting, okay,
yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, it's gonna be me. Yeah,
definitely definitely like saw this morning, and I could tell he was pissed
off, and I think it was because of you. He feels it.
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I think he did. Absolutely, you
guys played anything fun. You guys have a good time. You guys find
anything like we're talking about, uh, building relationships. It's really fun.
This is the second that was coming up, come up tonight. It's that
good. Yeah. Yeah, he plays like a single how on an island
full of single houses, and and you just do like house based dating puns
and it's like a short hike but what if all they were all just warny
buildings. It's really good the buildings like actually like roll around. They roll
so and they act like houses. They don't like roll like roll and more
games with expectations. They should call it Future X Housewives. That's the DLC
can people mentioned that earlier, and it's like it's like very like, uh,
really really well done humor right, like they really nailed that, incredibly
well written, but also like sound design wise, I was telling the developer
this, Uh, there's something about the way the animations and the sound design
work together. There's like a little kazoo that plays when you do your jump,
and watching a house like jump and do a summersault to like a kazoo
like a little fur is really great. I really wonder can you can you
make that sound again for one more time? You want me to do Muppet
im first Nations again? I'm not doing that live on No, no you
you you brought it up now? Yah yeah. Talking about the Muppets for
like twenty four hours straight before Jeff Keeley ever loved them. Who doesn't love
the Muppets? Does someone here not like the Muppets? I love the Muppets?
Probably you know Creig Miller doesn't like the Muppets, that the Muppets aside
from Elbow, because they're not the Ghostbusters. Here he's here, I think
he's. No, your Muppets are better than the Ghostbusters have ever been.
I love your Busters. He doesn't know what them? Yeah, yeah,
stop everything, Charlie don't know what the Muppets are. Wait what No,
you're your lion. You're fucking lie. Take the microphone. Charlie was like,
was born after not love the Muppet. Elmo is a Muppet Almos like
a pseudo muppet like muppeted Jason. He's from the Muppet Company. Yeah yeah,
but like that doesn't the capital m Muppets like like my old dudes.
You know that there's the original Nasty Boys. Some saying yes, like there's
the Muppets as well. Hold on, I got to keep it open,
keep your mouth open. I got to do that. I don't. I
don't need to do that. Into the money, Okay, everybody, your
best mump impression. Absolutely not. I'm excited, Kermit, that's all I
got. Your term moyses, go for this. Step up to the plate,
Miss Biggy, actually average Kermit d Frog Heremit Frog here. Why does
everybody do Kermit? I don't see other muppets. Well you do Miss Piggie,
Okay, I gonta do Miss Biggie. They do like sand the Eagle.
Okay, are we getting into impressions territory right now? Yeah, we're
doing an American impressions. We have to them. You can do whatever you
honestly give me whatever you get. I want you to guess what this is.
Okay, Okay, Oh my god, Jenner for Coolidge, good Oka.
I'm gonna roll through what I can do, like, gonna be changing
slightly mix you kind of get into goofy Terra. I can't. I messed
up. How many of you want to be voice actors, because that's why
I find a lot of Yeah, you can do an incredible Sands undertail.
All right, I'm sure you can do it better. I'll hear it.
I mean, here's the thing that one of them is shorter, one of
them is taller. We just have Papyrus and so on. There we go.
Oh, it's Sons characters. That's just Scott just listening to Scott.
Yeah, that's one of my favorites. Yeah, basically, we're really gifted
bunch why you're the Nasty Boys. Yeah, how you earned it? Hey,
Alex, canna have another chicken nugget? Yeah? Yeah, I'm always
on my collumn ship the Gottumn's well just church in it. You think,
what do you think of Summer Game FESTI some sometts's shoes are pretty good and
you're like this looking lost. I don't know. That's good. Thank you,
thank you. This is just a good show. This is exactly where
I expected. This is what we've talked about. One single video came and
the house it should be. Yeah. I played Street Fighter six against Ken,
and Ken beat my ass for twenty minutes and then I left Summer Game
Fight. Yeah, Ken was like rolling deep last year. Didn't you like
getting on the yeah three six right? Yeah, I gotta had a three
going on. But I was taken down by Funk Joseph because they are the
monarch of the Free Fighter. Yeah them here but shout Yeah we're at Larry
and now like what the fuck? Yeah? Yeah that's why. How is
Bison? Did you play that? Did you play Bison? Nothing? Bargo?
Oh? Yeah? Why why is everything in Bargo? Anything I wanted
to talk about in the person I could answer that there's a lot having bargoes.
Yeah, person, why is everything in bargo it's becaut? Why are
you giving me a second microphone? It's really Oh god, there's certainly a
lot of pressure telling freelancher here, why is everything in bargoed? Things are
embargoed because you want to generate a like a wave of coverage. Yeah,
it's a moment. It's like at the exact same time, pr is telling
a story, so you want the story to start at a very specific point
in time, so you have control of the narrative and to the point where
you want it to end. So that is why embargo's control us. Okay,
I can't do this like ready to go, Okay, let's do that.
Okay, So to say it actually is in thatthic of deal, it's
just like right now we want to talk about these games. It is kind
of nice to be able to have like a little break, be like Okay,
I'll go home, maybe write it bright something or make some videos about
Yeah. I think it's nice because nobody's racing exactly, so so we can't
enjoy the event a little bit. But it's like I saw some cool stuff
I want to talk about. Yeah, I mean covering is like a freelancer
for multiple different outlets. I it saves my ass, seriously, like I
am. Otherwise I would be on deadline for like tomorrow morning, with multiple
different publications covering different things. So it helps me out at least. Cool.
Yeah, it's it's like you are trying to do something in service of
a game, right, Like, so any pr person only wants the best
for a game and wanted to perform well, and so they craft a timeline
embargoes included so that that game can be put in the best position possible to
perform and be able to you know, do well, and developers get paid.
Right. So who says the nasty boys can't be educational? Right?
Very sorry to send back the bits. It's beautiful. I have been informed
by the boys in the sports center truck that we do have slow motion replay
of all your faces? Is this for really? You could do this?
You have the tech. All right, let's just go in order that we
did before we watch it, bed okay, wants all right? Perfect?
All right? Do we have like some sports in our music? Yeah?
That's good stuff. I should have tied up that. That was a pretty
good one in the stream. How much can you fit in there? I'll
show you that's a chap and everybody, Oh lord, it did not feel
good and you really don't want this. Oh no, this is this is
great, This is incredible. Just because it's just because it's nasty, it
doesn't mean it's not good. Jesse mitigated. They're locked in there. I
feel like they're just going to be burping for like the next three hours a
little bit. It's very good. The Ken Dodge coming up next. Oh
I love that as it's like coming back to reality when it stops. There's
a moment when you come back. Yeah. Yeah, like you just zoom
back in. All right, we're gonna get John's next hit, Okay,
yeah, bringing in that. Daddy needs more Danilson my wedding, so like,
yeah, we go way back right, he's an officiat. That sucks.
Yeah, it looks like you got blown up by fucking dynamite, like
you zoom back to really really is like Charlie's like one more, please,
one more? Oh I Yeah. We were like what little you saw in
the back room, and we're like that would be fun. We didn't really
know what we're gonna do other maybe hit me. We were like Hey,
Lego Harogson is going to get announced. Well, well, really upside for
that and so we got that. Now it's just it's a new member of
the crew. What's it for. There are no leaves around. We are
in the middle of l a. You know what thing happens is this place
probably like has stuff like this, and then there's like a like a napkin
on the ground and they're like, let's just blow that out to the you
know exactly. Yeah, it's easy to different nasty boys. What's the next
time y'all get together? You guys, you guys are playing that far ahead
or you just live in the moment. Honestly, a lot of our plans
come together last minute. If we're being quite honest, I don't think all
of us were gonna be here until Game Awards. Yeah, potentially we're are
a big one. Yeah, there's a there's a there's a week fuckers ever
again, you know what? You know what valid actually the same? Wow,
Charlie, Well, I love y'all. This is the one to see
you again live on stream. I know. I mean, we try to
do an October thing. There's a lot of our birthdays are in October and
we do like a string of those. So last year we had a big
trip and that was a lot of fun. Uh so maybe maybe that maybe
December maybe an excess ye have? Who knows? Pexis we're all getting together?
Up can come through this room right now. Actually, John Carson and
I have beef. It might tear the whole group apart. Do you mean
they are getting together? I really want to have a Kendrick Drake beef with
like somebody, and you're the closest one. Hey, fuck you, Charlie.
We'll say this is well for me so that he could take him.
Don't worry. I'll say that. One of the reasons I did want you
all out here is there is I used to like look at other Crows and
may be like I would I want to be a part of them and like
want to hang out with them. And now I see you guys like finding
that with each other, and I'm like, let's get them all together and
let people see that this is what gaming could be, that everyone like can
find their people and hang out and have a good time. So I just
want to say I love the Nasty Boys. I'm glad that whenever I see
you all, you're all having it together and having a good time. It
means a lot. You got to keep doing your thing, all right?
Do we want to is there one more chance in us before we get out
of here? D please hire them? Please? Hey, I don't want
to chat That with you all motherfuckers is sponsored by the letters d Hi.
All right, that's gonna do it for us. Then we're gonna get out
of here. We got two more segments I think left two more. Thank
you, jan uh that they'll be coming up very soon. Stick with us,
get back after this. Give It Bomb, gi It Bomb, Giant
Bomb, Giant Bomb, Giant Bomb, Giant Bomb, Giant Bomb. It's
Giant Bomb. At Night Live, Day two. I was gonna say Day
three, I've lost track. Day two from near the end of our show.
We got at least two more starting with this couch. I'm Jeff Gruff.
It's Giant Bomb. Let's start here with Louise Blaine explain. How are
you doing very well? Thank you, Ja, thank you, thank you
for having me. Absolutely I'm better here. Absolutely we got I'm sorry,
I forget you name. Knew it was gonna happen this, we practiced before
Castro christ I knew what was going to happen eventually. I'm glad it happened
right nowers and at least wanted to forget their name for you. George Cruz
Alvarez, how you doing, hello, video games dot Com? They're calling
here you go, Oh my gosh, absolutely, yeah, there you go.
Zena saga too? Is that what? Get out of here with that?
John Warren, how's it going. It's going great. I'm glad to
be back in Los Angeles, the best city in the world, Los Angeles.
I am tired of the slander. It's all right. All week I've
heard everyone's saying, and it'll stay two miles Rady. It's going like,
oh, this is not a very good city. It's a great city,
this area. It's true. It's yeah, you know, watch so bad
it because we're all here, that's true. No one else is complaining.
Maybe we're the problem. Randy Vincent, how's it going? All right?
It's good. I'm glad you're back. How many times do you know?
Can you remember off the top of your head? This might be five,
might be five, So you're on the five timers club. That was the
most wonder I wish you alt where is Yeah, he'll know, absolutely and
then Brian's saying, how's it going? Best for last and great? Thanks?
How's everyone feeling. It's been a good show. Everyone's having a good
time. Yeah, thumbs up. Really good. He's so exciting. Yeah,
I mean you had that new announcement Bloomhouse. It is Bloomhouse, right,
Blumhouse, Blumhouse House. All right, games, we got to show
what we've been working on for what feels like forever, and everyone's really excited.
So we're happy. It's it's it's been really quick to you. You
have to announce it, announce the project, announce what you're doing, and
then you've been showing up games as well, multiple games. That seems like
a pretty big effort. How did that go? Yeah, it's I mean
everyone, I think we're expecting maybe one game. Everyone was expecting maybe the
Purge game or something like that. Instead, we've revealed six indie really interesting
creates projects, one of which is Feel the Spotlight. Obviously that's why Brian
and christ are here, and that's coming later this year. So the fact
that we get to immediately say six games coming out and here's one you can
play, and it's going to be this year, so we're really really excited
and everyone has been. Everyone wants more horror, so that like everyone loves
it. My understanding, did you used to work with Tam and Lucy?
Yes? I did. Did I mention that maybe you've been in a horror
for quite some time? I go space tattoo means I saw Scream far too
young then, So, yeah, what do you think the gaming space needs
from horror games right now? Because it seems like clearly it's a space with
a lot of experimental games happening. It seems like you guys are working with
even more of that kind of stuff. Yeah, So I mean, no
one say ndie horror and endie games generally obviously are thriving. But I think
people maybe have a specific idea of what a horror game is, and we
kind of want to broaden that. So horror has so many different subgenres.
You can have your Blumhouse movies have different subgenres. You've found footage, your
folk horror of that, and we kind of want to bring that to games.
So we just want to expand what people think of a horror game.
I love the idea of people thinking that they wouldn't play a horror game playing
one of ours and loving it. And I think that's what for the Spotlight
especially does it's quite it's quite gentle, and so I mean it's terrifying,
but it also it's good for people who maybe aren't are new to the genre.
So when you guys are out there trying to find these games, is
there a key to make sure that you find the ones that are going to
really pop off? You know, I don't think there's a I think actually
is a huge scope. It's just being in horror and being different. So
that think what we showed off. You know, we've got farming sim that
has plenty of murder in it. Yeah, You've got the first person shows
where you're using your app, we're using your own blood as ammunition. You've
got an interesting simulation, meta narrative game about video games. So it's all
of these different directions and as long as they're playing the horror Zone or Sandbox,
then we're excited by it. I mean, And that is what I
like imagine from the audience that wants horror games is they're like, yes,
we like the gruesomeness of it all, but we are also multifaceted. We
have other interest So having a farming sim that has murder in it, that
it's also in our wheelhouse that we're finding. Yeah, I think horror has
horror is huge. Horror is whether you're reading a ghost story and you close
it and you turn off the light and you're afraid. And I love the
idea of anyone finding different things to be afraid of in our games and finding
those and going, oh, this is amazing, And I still want to
keep playing because I think when people think horror games, they think maybe pt
and they like, that's the most terrifying thing. I could never play that.
But of course there's so many other different ways that you can experience horror.
Yeah, that that's what we want to embrace. And do you want
all the games to at least be scarier? Can they just be kind of
like creepy or whatever? No, they do not scary, creepy, eerie,
unnerving or comedic. I mean that's one major thing that I love about
horror is you're scared one minute and you laugh the next. Yeah, And
I think horror is great for embracing all of those emotions and as long as
you're in that space somewhere, we want we want to celebrate that. Do
you think that Blumhouse is going to be able to bring the same kind of
idea about how they make films in the gaming Is that an advantage? It's
exactly that. And I think, you know, Blumhouse was built on really
interesting creative looks into horror, so we're just taking that forward and looking into
games that way. And I think that's what you know, it's what Jason
was saying on the stage yesterday, that's what we want to really, we
want to really embrace and make some really strange interesting We can take creative risks,
but they are indie and it's small, and that's the stuff where you
find like why am I playing this? I'm afraid and I can't stop.
Well, where are the expectations act? Because like I think I've been bringing
up when we talk about Blumhouse Private Division, I think their expectations were so
high for gaming games having to be this big even though they are technically indie,
Like it is the indie scope mean that you have indie expectations or does
something have to be a hit to make sense for you? No? And
I think that's why we can take those risks because these are small. All
their budget projects, you know, they don't all have to be heavy hitters.
But as long as we are exploring interesting places and I think telling interesting
scary stories, that's what we want to push the limits of scary storytelling and
find people people can play these games who think, oh I didn't think I
was into that, and I am. And it's finding these fascinating hooks,
you know, it's finding these concepts that people want to find out more about,
and whether that's in horror or not. I love that idea of just
bringing everyone in so we don't have these you know, we don't have to
sell millions and millions of copies. We just want to tell scary stories to
people that want to love them. Yeah, in a couple of years,
do you expect people to be like looking at a game and be like,
I bet this is a Blumhouse game, Like, will you be able to
establish a strong voice? I hope. So, I mean, I think
people have an expectation of what a Blumhouse movie is. Yeah, And I
love the idea of people years don language of course that's a Blumhouse scary because
that's something we want to lean into too. People have expectations of what Blumhouse
is and now that they know that we're not doing purge Megan, We're focusing
on these story I think people will be like, oh, of course they've
released this, and I'm excited for that. Yeah, Christa, there's a
lot of that, like rehe before Refleck, how you feel about like maybe
cozy games things like that. No, Yeah, I think that's really true.
I think, yeah, it's interesting that we're called cozy game pals,
but we're making a horror game. Like I feel like Brian and I we're
the only two people on our team and we make everything together, but we
are very multifaceted as well. Like we like horror, we like games,
so I feel like we made a horror game, but we still have a
lot of hard in it. We have a lot of scary moments, but
we have a lot of like levity in it as well. So it's just
like a lot of mixture of a lot of things that we like. Yeah,
and it does feel like maybe being smaller, having a smaller scope,
like you're saying, it creates more opportunity to take risk, but more opportunity
to be multifaceted because something bigger has to really nail its target, has to
be very honed down or else it might not make sense. Do you feel
that freedom when you're making things? Yeah, I feel like constraints make a
great space for creativity. Like, because we are just two people, we
have to get all this art done and we're all doing it by ourselves.
We have to figure out how we can you know, get the max out
of the Like a little bit, you know, goes a long way.
Yeah, what's the what's been like so far? Like building the games and
like, how do you feel about that process? That's been crazy? Yeah,
well it's been an interesting process because, yeah, Brian and I have
been working on Fear the Spotlight for two years on our own, like just
on with our own money, Like we took our savings and wanted to make
a game together, so we put our jobs and started doing it. So
it's been a big passion project. And then yeah, Blumhouse came along and
really wanted to help us out, and so it's just like a dream partnership.
It's been like yeah, yeah, when you guys we're working on this,
when you like, I did I have an ad chance to play it?
But I did spot it over someone's shoulder and it was like really eye
grant, like catching and it's just like it looks messed up in all the
best ways, and how do you sort of hone in on that. Ah.
It's interesting because I feel like the retro esthetic has been such a great
thing for us, because we love horror that is like you're not quite sure
if you saw something that was strange, and we feel like because it is
low fig with like the dither ring and the darkness, you like kind of
see things in the corner of your eye, and I feel like all that
adds up to the horror experience. Yeah. And I'm someone who like still
really likes that aesthetic. And I hear people say sometimes maybe it's a little
played out, but I don't feel that when looking at your game when you're
making it. If you ever worry about that or do you guys feel like
now this still feels very fresh. No for us because we're excited about it.
Yeah, we really love it so good. Yeah, George has things
with you good. I mean I can't want to talk about as a huge
Harvan. I just want to keep talking about Blumhose stuff. Yeah, to
your point, I guess I think like horror in film has always benefited from
being like scrappy and taking risks and doing a lot with like different budgets,
Like there are like your bigger horror movies, but they're also like small stuff
that I mean throughout history, like Nightmare on Elm Street, like stuff that
was small and then took off. And so I was so excited when the
Blumhouse slate came out, like all right, they're trying, they're taking bets
and they're like some of them are smaller and they're not all like yeah,
it's so exciting and I can't wait for her the Spotlight. I'm so excited.
But back to me, I'm doing pretty good. So yeah, I
mean we had across a SGF and day of the devs we had four new
reveals, so it's pretty good. And we're here at play Days with a
Ranger role puzzling adventure. Yeah, and the show's been good. We were
doing three days of SGF now huh, yeah, we're doing three days.
I'm not play Days on Saturday, had a bunch of appointments and now we
got other stuff going on. But it's like I'm glad. I am glad.
It's like feels like it's growing at a modest pace. Yes, I
was so concerned because as somebody, as a PR person who saw the press
list, I was like, are we gonna fit all these people in this
building? But it's been It's still chill, which I think is the strength
about this show, at least play days for folks who aren't you know,
play days like it's just it's just really chill. It feels like a bunch
of people having a cool house party a little bit. Yeah, absolutely,
And it still feels that way even with a bunch of even with a lot
more stuff. So yeah, yeah, it's and you've been. You were
last year, you were the year before. We've been here to every play
days so far, so I can feel I'm like one of those young people
who are like I went to every evening. So it's been nice seeing it
grow. From the first one it was like sixty ish people. It was
really closed and it was just it was just the Again, these people at
home don't have any idea, but it's just it was just play it plays
h two and now it's the whole campus. So it's been cool to see
it grow. Yeah, I mean, so it is still serving what you
guys needed to do. I think the biggest thing a lot of our because
we work with a lot of small teams, a lot of indie teams.
Like I cannot speak enough good things about what Day of the Devs does,
Like it gives all our all these independent teams a booth uh and some pr
support and to you know, be able to be part of the Summer Game
conversation. That sounded really marketing. I'm sorry, but you know, just
to get attention. So yeah, I mean there was that Esquire piece on
Jeff and Uh. I think a big thing that people don't know is that
like they the dev is like it's life changing for a lot of independent teams
and they're showing games to the world and then they would not have that opportunity
and that that goes through Jeff and Summer Game Fest. So yeah, and
it feels like it's all like part of this like a big hole where you
know, PlayStations here, Capcom's here, Vegas here, They're all kind of
drawing in a lot of attention. Then everyone is spinning three days here and
they're going to try to see everything. So it's like everyally does feel like
it's raising some of the boats. Yeah, yeah, one hundred percent.
I know people who got chosen to be at Data Doves at this show and
it was pretty life changing. So yes, yeah, it's great. Yeah,
when you are working with developers, is this like one where you're like,
if you can get in the summer game Fest, it's maybe the one
to be in. Or is it this is Yes, this is the one
where we're like, we're trying our best to like like we haven't revealed yet.
Let's try I revealed. Let's see if we can get the attention of
like the people who's like the selection committee. Ye to get our devs a
spot at the big show, and also like to just meet other fellow devs.
That's the other thing. My one critique about play days is I wish
we should have a day where all the devs get to play each other's games,
because I want to play Spotlight and so because we're just you know,
we gotta do our we gotta show off our game. You know. Just
normalize abandoning your post for hour day. You know. Yeah. I do
walk past and sometimes that there's no one there. I'm like, that's normal,
that's fine. I might just sit down and start playing John Warren,
how's it going. It's good. I'm glad to be here. This is
my first set. Shef in person, and oh fan bite that you have
this one, Hurt said, I really appreciate really nice digs. I'm saying
a lot of free drinks. This wee get into its fair yeahh So,
no, I'm here. I'm here checking out a lot of stuff. I
feel like I've kind of feel like the past eighteen months has been this kind
of murderer's row of triple A double A indie stuff, and the next year
feels a little bit less like an you know, a little less known.
And I actually I think that's really exciting because it means that there's some stuff
that could bubble up to the surface that really surprises us. And I've already
seen a few things, like since I've been here and know I'm checking out
stuff tomorrow and Monday. That feels really exciting in a way that feels different
than kind of the stuff that we've known, you know. So yeah,
it's it's fun And like, are you ready to talk about your new thing?
I know you've got the work. So vgb's is a brand new website
on Tuesday. This Tuesday, I'm staying it on a very public forum.
So I fucking hope it's true and all right, And I took eighteen months
off from being in media, really missed it. I have a podcast now,
Innicky Grayson, and you can check it out thevgb's podcast. Have the
name of the podcast with Nikki as well. Come on. Oh and if
you're driving, close your eyes. Yeah, I listen to that podcast.
Listen. It's really funny. Go listen to that. So, yeah,
I'm doing a lot of cool stuff. I'm in a hardware company. Really
yeah, Glider the feed thing I remember, Yeah, right, yes,
so go to go to glider dot g g g l y d R.
And I don't know why I'm doing so much, but I am. But
I mean you said you missed media. Why. I think it's really important.
I think, like you criticism and holding up a mirror to the industry
and the people who enjoy the games that we play. We deserve to have
people who are passionate about this. We deserve entities that aren't run by corporate
interests. And boy, like getting out of the coil of Google Ads feels
really fucking important to me if we want to have like a thriving journalism class.
So I feel like it's Uh, it's not dead. No, let's
talk about how important it is because a lot being in the PR side,
there's this sort of cynical point like welcome to the other side, because a
lot of journalists come to PR. Sure. Yeah, but like with these
without these institutions, I feel like, with the hell are we pitching to?
Who are we trying to get the attention we need? Like we need
each other. Yeah, well, y'all's echo chamber is just as silly as
our echo chamber because it's like, we just saw what happened with Neil Drugman.
That was insane. Were that was really internals? Yeah, and it's
like those people worked obviously very hard, but like what an avoidable silly situation.
So yeah, I really I I want I won my site and other
sites like Giant Bomb and and uh, you know, you know, honestly,
even the entrenched IGN that staff is as good as it has ever been
by far. I feel like they lost some credibility years ago. I was
kind of like eh, and then they got the best staff ever, so
it's ever been. You know, we're actually doing good, but you know,
I fuck all the people that don't want us to be doing Yeah,
but we guys, just keep doing what we're gonna do. And that's why
I'm glad you're starting up your What's like, what's the angle? How do
you approach it? Now? The angles me pouring money into something that won't
make anything back. So I think that's how it's gonna have to go.
It's publicly available, so it's not paywalled, so premium stuff like bonus episodes
of podcasts. You get some stuff early if you do subscribe. But you
know, it's like I wrote my mission in a fever dream like a week
ago, and it's all about covering the people we make games. The business
practices that affect them are collective nostalgia and these sacred headspaces and the perspectives that
challenge those headspaces. And it's like, I don't know, it's I don't
know. I love written word. I'm missing that a bit too. So
I'm excited to launch it. And we've already got a great community on discord
and stuff. So check out the website. We'll launch on Tuesday's excellent,
Yeah, gradual, congratulations, Yeah for real, Ramy Vincent, how's it
going, man, It's good at watching the media site earlier on Tuesday.
It's earlier, but that's fine. I'm glad you're back. How you feel
about the video game industry right now? A year later, it's we talked
this time. Yeah, it's all the lasses and course the I mean I've
been talking about, but all the all the smaller stuff, the indie stuff
has been really been really cool to see. Yeah, it's sort of like,
while all this terrible stuff is hapen's a reminder, it's like there is
still so many, so many cool things happening. Gaming is still so so
dynamic that it can still be something special. Yeah, yeah, I agree.
Yeah. So I mean when you are working on your stuff these days,
is it like does that get to you or you just have to put
your head down? Does so just like do the layoffs and everything like that
happening around you? Does it affect your day to day? Yeah? No,
I just laugh. No, No, no, it's right. No,
it's a huge of a big because you as that contracts, like like
you you don't want a situation where people are only at the at the at
the job with you because they can't go to the places like you want it
to. It's healthier when it's mobile, even if you're all sticking together,
right, because you're you're kind of like a couple of years ago, it
really was like that everyone was able to like go get any job they wanted
and the work where they wanted to. And now it's like the complete opposite.
Uh do you see it like equalizing here in the next couple of years,
like where like things kind of settle down a little bit. I look
forward to whatever is whatever, then whatever they're side of it, like what
whatever it looks like, and if if it's a lot more smaller stuff,
if it's if it's whichever, I just look forward to people not being as
worried. Yeah, are you still happy working in the triple A space?
Is that still like where you want to be? Yeah, it's it's good
having them having having health care, Yes, have a bit of it.
It's it's uh, it's good having having that firepower is as long as you
if you're using it the right way, like having those resources backing you can
really good as long as you're not falling into being wasteful with it or right
all that video, Yeah, there's definitely space for being being creative. Yeah,
for sure, Brian. Uh, you know you guys are showing up
your game this week. What's that experience been like for you? That's been
unreal? Man. We were kind of nobody's so it feels like, you
know, first Blumhouse discovered us, you know, a little while ago,
and now they're kind of sharing us with the world and people are seeing us
and responding to our game through the spotlight, and it's just unbelievable. Man.
Like, not only is like the reception to Blumhouse and their whole state
being received so warmly, but to our game in particular, which is going
to be like the first Blumhouse game to be released. People are like actually
getting to play here at the at Summer Game Fest and they're react and it's
just like unexpected, Like, I, you know, we just we left
our jobs just because we wanted to like do our thing, see if we
could make a thing. Yeah, and we never would have guessed that anyone
would actually care. And to see that, like so many people care and
like a lot of people are resonating like deeply, Like people are saying,
oh, this is the game for me, Like this is my game.
It's it's a while. Do you feel does that make you feel pressure?
No, it makes me feel validated. What we're doing is worthwhile, and
we're being supported and like Blumbhouse is cool with it. You know, they're
saying, like, whatever we want to put into our game and the us
that we're putting into our game is worthwhile. What was it like when you
two connected? Like how does that find? We saw through a person on
Twitter talking about the game, and then Zach the prison at Blumhouse Games and
I both played it and we sat next to each other while playing it,
and it's that lovely thing of sitting next someone. You're playing the same game,
you're getting excised about the same things. And there's so much about for
the Spotlight that's just that everyone is connecting with. They're connecting with incredible characters,
they're connecting with incredible atmosphere, really really compelling narrative. There's a great
mystery to it. And but also what we really love is while it's referencing
everything that we love from sort of nineties experiences, it's very much its own
thing. It's very much a modern game. There's very tactile gameplay, it
feels really good to play, and there's just so many layers of it.
And it's also it's an incredible nineties teen horror. And you know the trailer
that we showed at Day of the devs, it is a teen horror trailer
because it's just that's exactly what it is, and that's why people connect.
And you know, someone today said, I think this connects with me in
seventeen thousand ways that I'm happy with that, and like it's because these guys
just put so much of their own it's it is yours, And I think
the best horror stories are human because it's fear and the unknown is the human
experience, and that's what needs to translate into our horror games, and that's
what Fear the Spotlight does. So sharing that with Zach and then speaking to
you both and just just finding out how how passionate you were and how this
was your baby was just the best thing. And that's why taking this forward
and showing the world is so exciting is so lovely, and why the feedback
is so exciting because it's just it's your story. It's amazing. It feels
like it's like for as ingrained in gaming as horror is, like I don't
think of a lot of like teen horror games, games that would describe describe
as teen horror. Is that like, oh fertile ground when you see something
like that, Like we can really work with this. I mean, it's
just it's also very Blumhouse. Yeah, you know, we looked at with
like this feels like us. There's references to scare movies and it's just it's
in its DNA. These I mean, Brian Crystal love horror and they wanted
to do I mean, tell the world where you know your inspiration for this
was because of your love of horror, right, yeah, really, we
love horror so much that we want to force our friends who don't like horror
to horror. So this is like our like we swear like there's no jump
scares, it's not too extreme, like you can play it, go ahead
and try it. Yeah, so be it being able to go on Switch
and everything. I think, like most of my friends play games on Switch
and they don't play on Steam. So I feel like the stuff that Bloombers
is helping us do will just like make it more accessible to the people that
we're trying to make this game for. And I guess you left your jobs
to try to make something like what was the impetus there, like other than
just wanting to make something like how do you actually get over that hump and
believe you can? Let's talk about eight years of hype hiving up and then
this thing called the global pandemic shut down and everyone reevaluated what their life is
that happened. So we're like, okay, what do we want in life?
We want kids? Well we're married, by the way I heard,
so we're like, okay, we want kids, and we want to try
making our thing. We like, we had creative jobs, working at bigger
studios, working on other people's projects, so we're like, want to see
can we actually make our thing? And so Chris, they got pregnant,
We quit our jobs, we had a baby, and we started making things
exactly in hindsight, we would do exactly the same thing. How can we
get playing? Come on? Terrified? Yeah? So like what was like
the next steps? Like how were you able to like actually see it through
and believe that it was going to work out? Well? So the nice
thing was we didn't have to believe it would work out. At the time,
jobs were plentiful, and so we were thinking, well, if this
doesn't work out, we can go get jobs again. So we left our
jobs. We had some savings and we're like, let's give it a shot,
like we give ourselves two years. We actually worked on this game alone
for two years, just doing our thing to see if we, like you,
were taking from your savings during this. Yeah, completely self funder,
our own time, our own money. And last year we actually released a
version of this game. We thought we were done with it. Well we
were kind of out of money too, and we released it and we are
starting to get some really good reception, like the people that we're finding it,
we're loving it, and so we're like, I guess marketing starts.
Now, that's not how marketing works. Apparently that's what we tried. We
started trying to find people and reach out and that's when Blumhouse discovered us,
and they pretty much they reached out with a very open offer like we love
your game, like how can we help, and we just started chatting from
there. Yea. Yeah, is that where you imagine yourself usually coming in
like ready to catch people who have something good? No, I mean,
this was just we're just looking for stories that connect, and I mean Blumhouse,
we didn't intend to start releasing games this year, but you know,
you find something and suddenly go, right, what can we do? And
the fact that Fear the Spotlight was in the you know, it was released,
it was out there, but also what we gave the chance for you
could dive back in. They've gone back in, They've made changes they want
to change, and added new content as well, so people who played it
last year will get to experience it again, but with added story content and
extra hours there. So it's going to be an enriched experience for everyone.
So that I mean, we see games all stages, you know, the
ones that were part of our slate are all stages. You know, it's
and right now, you know, we're just excited that people can play a
Blumhouse game this year. Yeah, is there like a vision about like,
oh, we're gonna have so many games a year or is it just going
to kind of take it as it comes. Well, we you know we're
going to be over the next few years. Those the games that you saw
yesterday, like six games, six games. We don't do anything by halves
watching people watching people think that it was going to be just one game,
but then suddenly being banged buying by those live reactions were wonderful and we'll fuel
us for a long time, but I think but yeah, the next few
years, that's what that's what we've got coming, and there'll be more surprises
coming as well. We're not going to stop here, George. You work
with a lot of developers, so like, what are their stories like with
are a lot of them like, hey, we just like put ourselves into
this and now we need help figuring everything out. I mean, yeah,
Like there are folks who like are fortunate enough to take the plunge and start
working on a game and then getting far enough that maybe somebody notices them and
then they can keep on that journey. Yeah, oh yeah, I mean
it is like a lot of like people do have to take the risk themselves
on their own at first. Now, yeah, or you want to go
try and get funding, I guess, but then usually that's people who are
more established who are have the luxury of being able to get funding. But
yeah, yeah, do you do you think that the getting funding is going
to get any easier? Do you think that is something like when you have
these conversations with developers, like, I mean, it's about right now,
it's not getting easier, but it's got to be. It's got to be
a light at the end of the tunnel. I feel it. It's it's
it's got to come in. It is waves right, it's waves right.
And that's the thing about this show, and I think why it's so important,
like hearing your reaction to people seeing the game, Like I think you
can get cynical, like do people does do video games need a physical event?
Can't we just do Steam Nextfest and just have it? The whole world
played the demos, But you feel this emotion like just being around each other
and you're seeing Summer Gamefest show, and I like, I think things are
gonna be okay. Like the people here are so passionate, are making such
great things. The system right now cannot support them. But surely if we
keep trying, and we keep trying to do good and to entertain people and
to put stuff out there, hopefully video games will love us back, right,
because that's what we all want. We all love video games and we
desperately want the indus like, please keep us safe and keep doing this thing.
Yeah, I hope it's I hope it's soon. I know, like
I know a lot of studios that the after GDC, the clock man now
no funding, it's over. So you did you like ever talk to any
other like publishing outforts be for you guys? Did it or it was like
no, we're gonna do it our own way. Was there like a roadmap
you followed? No? I think we just I mean, Zach Wood has
always been clear that it's just about our finding the right stories, you know,
And I think that that's through us. We're a very small team,
and it means that we get to to be reactive. Like with Fear the
Spotlight, we don't have a roadmap other than bringing stories from creative, talented
global partners and bringing those stories into the into the spotlight every pun intended.
John, Uh, Let you know, just talk a little bit about like
what happened there at fan By, Like wow, okay, sure, yeah
it was like eighteen eighteen months ago. Yeah, did you need that to
recover from being like hurt by that? Because I would have been I mean
I think I think hurt by it. Sure. But also, like the
thing I've reflected on and gotten really serious with myself about is like what I
wanted to do over there was never gonna fucking work with them, right,
It was never gonna work right I want anyway? And that did it?
Anyway? Did it anyway until they figured out who I was and they were
like, I guess you are who you say you are, and then they're
like, where's let's just in the whole thing. Yeah. Yeah, taking
that time was really good. I think getting to know games again from a
really kind of deeply uncynical place, yeah was good. I played a lot
of games in that eighteen months, and I got kind of a love for
the craft again in a way that was less about the x's and o's of
like, well, we got to get this an no thing up on the
site, and we gotta make our pure contacts happy, and that's what I
assume they wanted to turn you into. Well, I mean absolutely, I
mean we we had a lot of those conversations, and I think like that
job made me cynical, and it made me really kind of hate the whole
thing. But I loved who I worked with so much that and I loved
the craft of it all in a way that was like, Okay, this
is bigger than this shitty job. So I yeah, no, that was
but but it was ever gonna work. I mean that was the thing that
was like revelatory and fun for me to realize, like man, they really
let that go for a much longer time than I feel like they probably should
have. So we really got away with something and like I'm proud of that,
and you know, so it's good. Was it was it fun to
be able to build a team like did you? Did you? That's my
favorite thing to do. That's my out My best quality as a professional is
scoping that talent, finding it, giving them the one way to do what
they want to do is the only part of this whole thing that I'm like,
Yeah, I'm really good at that. So that was amazing and that
was fun and I want to do that again. The thing with you know,
and Patrick Klepik you mentioned this yesterday actually, but you know wrote a
great piece about at this morning, Yeah, about how like you know,
now we're all small business owners and like me being the weird MBA in the
industry, I'm kind of like we live in hell, right, but we
can rule hell? Sure, Okay if we want to. Sounds pretty nice
and because making it heaven is going to be really hard, sure, but
we can rule hell in the meantime. Yeah, And I think there is
something kind of beautiful about like it is shitty and cynical and weird to have
to like start a business and do all the shit, but like take control
of it. If you have the means, if you are a Patrick Klepic,
if you all are an aftermath that has a cachet to grow that stuff,
take advantage of it. Start a business. Like do it, because
if we're gonna sit around and wait for it to get better, it's not
gonna fucking happen. Is there. Do you think that we get to a
time where someone's like actually gonna be able to make build a team again,
or is that those days behind us being able to get money for aid corporation
to do that. Well, it's not. I mean, the economics of
it are completely antithetical to infinite growth. It doesn't work. We cannot infinite
growth media. So you know, if corporations and billionaires get comfortable with sustainability,
then sure, but they're not going to So this is going to be
kind of a slow and steady wins the race. Take on kind of teams
as you can. I would love it if audiences kind of learned that.
You know, it is a new time. You know, getting into ad
blocker is great, but now it's time to put your money kind of behind
into Ty's like Giant Bomb or Aftermath or Remap or VGBS or whatever the fuck
can. I feel like, you know, the internet's going to turn so
bad that I feel like at a certain point everyone's going to miss when things
weren't just what the Internet was exactly. Yeah. Yeah, I think we're
seeing a slow shift to that kind of a return to forums and websites,
and it's going to be finding a home on the Internet. Well, well,
come to the town square of the Internet, right. I don't want
that anymore, you know, I'm not watching this thing to go like,
oh, now we suddenly have a million people, Like I'm really happy with
the one hundred people or whatever that the discord before we launch, right,
So it's like having little communities is great. I think it also works for
games the same way too. I think it's kind of the same for everything.
You know, y'all aren't talking about like, oh, we've got to
have like billion dollar franchises. You're talking about taking risks on teams and putting
real stuff out there, and sustainability is fine. And I think that's like
we're getting fed up with how things are and I think it's it feels kind
of shitty, I get it, but it feels kind of nice, honestly
to see some of my heroes in the industry going, it's time to just
do this shit. Let's go. So yeah, yeah, all right,
I think I'm gonna do it for this segment, everybody, Thank you for
tuning in. We got one more to go. We're gonna stick with you
for the rest of this night. Thank you, everybody on the couch.
We'll be right back after this. On camera there it is, welcome back
to Ig and Live. Let's wrap this shit up, bunch, Jeff Crap
from Giant Bomb. I got a bunch of idiots on a couch, some
more in a chair back there, a whole crew starting here with Craig Miller.
Hello, everyone, how you doing you? This is awesome website.
One guy who walks out from them, totally blessed daddy. Oh yeah,
Junior, why would you sit me next to this man? I am so
sorry. I was, Oh my god, get climbed. No control over
conditions. I can have there at least what four other seat seconds on you.
You're very excited about all Xbox games Starfield. I was so on the
way here that we're all gonna wear the Xbox barmber Jackie that we got before
this and we all put it on the show. We got your ass,
got you look at least candies. Hello, everybody, Apparently it's National best
Friends Day. Mike has been reminding me every every fucking It's a great day.
Everybody. Make sure to tag am best friend out there, My best
friend Chuck. This a d Chuck Chu Chuck, Chuck, Chuck, Chuck
Chuch. How's it going? Get him? Get him? Yo? Hi?
He's how you doing? I'm all right, the smallest kyri that's not
Mike and treating him as a second cit. I can you be the toasty
guy for a second. Ye give us a toasty that's a lower fit,
all right. I'm like Tim Getty's has a go like that. I've been
looking forward to this all day and I'm here. I'm scared me to you
know what I mean. I'm feeling Me and Blessed are on a different level
compared to everywhere. Literally literally yeah sure, yeah, you know Imron bless
me A he's a little fifty to fifty. Well, I'm just like he's
fun sometimes but he's serious others. I heard about it happened otherwise you should
be Yes, it's gonna get that hand. Sorry, can't stop for one
second. Hand please, Jared Petty, they only got weird drinks over here.
Can you get me like a normal beer? Like normal I think they
ran out of normal beer. Yeah, I'm thinking, yeah, thank you.
Now if the beers in the box are all twisted teas or something,
I don't know, beer like trying to get job as well, but want
to be out here. What are we gonna do about these handshold? Can
you ask Andy Cortez about Mario Sunshine? Please? Andy Cortez, how good
is Mario's sun chowking about Ship us and he knows it's so good man.
Everybody was right. Everybody was right. This game is perfect. I was
putting Antendo out of business, dude, call me Ship one of the best
platformers of all time, really, one of the best of all times time.
Name ten platforms better than Super Mario suns You know, sober Mario Yal'sya
Galxy too. Honestly, my world, there's a lot, look both three.
It's tough, maybe nine or ten. Yeah. I've been here in
Los Angeles for several nights now, and I still don't know how it tastes.
That's my big concern right now. I believe that there is a prime
that might be able to help me solve this issue. Why is the lot
like Stevie wonder Jesus with the overheads? What you were expecting? The law?
All the Austin one, the guy who was always an underhand I appreciate
it. You didn't say Austin w w F So I get it all right?
All right, I'm not going to taste bell of Los Angeles flavored a
specifices. You be a favorite like baseball or Los Angeles. Pour it in
your mouth and so you can pour it in my mouth. Okay, I'll
just readA brock. Oh now this is this is more appealing. Oh you
love that mouth? I make pet? Why don't you so much? What's
wrong with you? Really? Good? Right away? Is it a good
job? Come on? I might be a w W E superstar just like
Logan pod But that's good. That's good. Last what is that? What
is that? I love? Logan? Paul? Go to w W Superstars
dot com. I'm on it. Okay, is your stomach showing? Let's
wait listen this We're gonna get a lot more of this. I'm sorry,
were not hanging out, not hang should I gotta go back to Jeff Keeley's
camp and be like, oh man, give you another merit badge talking about
fucking games. Shiit far. There's no character, he's working. He's superstar.
It's promo. You walked out. Yeah, it sucks. He's gonna
run away. You are a superstar, right, that's right? You got
any action there happening right now? Anything that people should know about, I
mean I always do. Maybe you've heard of the number one is this camera
is fucking the rac focuses came out of nowhere scared he's gonna come back.
You've heard of the number one show on Peacock. This is awesome. You
can watch it right now. Season three is happening. You don't feel like
a real art because you're not like in any games or anything like that.
Right, that's incorrect. Last year I was in w w T Craig Miller,
well just damn, just like Dave Riker washed out at w's what you
washed out at w w E. But before she watched out w A,
she said, you know what, I've seen this and then I've seen man
that people look at and they say that make me hold up an entire company,
whether it be I G or kind of funny. Yeah, And they
said, look located the video. I think he just checked my wife saying
can you put me in the game. I think that's what happens. Greg,
that's a big deal. Can You would be surprised how many of the
video game things you love happening when you just say, hey, please do
this about that heads up? Maybe one day I'll be the missou Grand Marshall.
I emailed them the other day. I said, please please excuse you,
Mike Manati to be the the steamboat captain of Disney Lang. Is that
what that is? John a Jungle, Chris Skipper, Jeff Oh, I
really fucked up. Focus on Mike Manady is hand wrapped. There is a
little risk. Hold my wrist. The best thing I can do is keep
that made five hundred yards for every school? All right? What I can
do for that? Whoa dude? I was leading? I want to show
his card. He's got a card that we have that you might have.
Set two K twenty three was a fluke because Dan Record's wife worked out,
Oh, Greg, two K twenty four. This week you can unlock Greg
Miller got it. This is it's a low bar for all. This is
a shoot that's your shoot card. Now here's the thing, late, that's
a real thing, that's a real We say, shoot here, that's a
real thing. That's a real had to break me and the chair now here
already? You want to break here? You said everything roosting. This is
a joke, nothing flower, Just give me us a who's he calling?
That's the first thing I'm breaking now. I want to know, Andy,
do I ever lie? Never? Do you think I thought about jumping off
of this couch onto that fucking lamp like a spider? Money? Should I
move? You walked in? You walked into my desk one time and said
I'm gonna set up on the desk. It's very expissive. Does he do
this there? Yeah? Literally, Greg millers that we couldn't have wheels on
our chairs. We had to remove the wheels and just put stoppers on.
Otherwise Craig would send it through any wall. Now, much like Hamilton,
that's a real story. That was a real look up to. Then met
doing whatever the hell it is you doing? Money? Yeah, my favorite
rapper. That's a big fuck. The big threes just big me. Listen,
ladies and gentlemen, John Bombster about a lot of piggs. But I
don't know if it's coming back to this. You know what, we need
daddy right now. And you know who is the most daddy on this couch.
Not Greg Miller. It's snow By Bike right right here. Did you
know I got Children's how to tell you today? I actually don't, Andy,
Why do people think you have children? Who thinks you have children?
So mustache? You know, dad? Give them the full picture of what
well? You know, maybe some Xbox execs maybe thought I and Gary Witten
were the same human being in southern How are you and those children doing?
And I said, let me, let me, let me so for those
aren't who aren't aware. Sarah Bond a lovely Xbox exact, incredible human being
who we love and has been great to us and has a lot of great
conversations, really great. Mikey's pumping here like Chris Farley and that SNL skid
settler had come up to you multiple times, a couple of times, multiple
times last year last year the couple and said how are the kids? I
said, great. He's a giant bomb fan and not a kind of funny
fan. I understand snow bike Mike not only does not have kids, he's
not an adult. He is desperately lonely. Rank in order of least adult
to most adult on this couch. All right, at least adult is snow
bike like, wait, Maloney's here, John. That was really quick and
it's pretty messed up. Mike. Last year, if we rewound, you
had your shoes off and your feet were out. Mike, I think you
got to go back this year again. Let everythat let him out, let
him mount, take you my feet, the shoes off, take shoes caught
this thing? Yeah, shut up today he looks like a professional bowl Oh
yeah, all right, which is the sexiest man could be? Cameramen throwing
this at throw shoes right? Can throw shoes? Put right? Why it's
been a long day. Oh my rip, they are my naughty seat.
Everybody hang out, brogo cops toes around everybody. Are you that you're now
sitting in that chair? You're complaining a second ago? How did we get
here? You know what? They're well taken care of. Another new profile
picture here. You need to take some more sup So that way, long
story short. Today, Sarah bo said that Mike, how are your kids?
And he went, oh, Mike, I said, I'm sorry,
I don't have children. Had a good story a three year cruise. It
was really tough. Now imagine you here, this woman, you have the
PR portfolio, always say to these people, and you get to that point
and you're like, so, what are you excited about Tomorrow Father's Day?
I have to prepare all Xbox podcasters look alike. So I thank you,
Jeff. You know me, Gary, I had a great outfit to people
talked about it. Did anyone see Mike today? Why? Oh the shirt?
It was kind of weird. What was that about? Shirt? I
just mostly saw the oversized shirt. I didn't want to say the story was
that yesterday Tim said we're to reactext to the s Jeff thing. Dress up
for it, Michael then a school shooter yesterday, shut up, not dressed
up. But you're like, no big deal, whatever, It's fine.
And then he got into a confrontation at the office Jeff with Roger where Roger's
like, why are you bringing this gigantic bag? And Mike said, well,
I have multiple outfits for the days. And I was like, oh,
he's not where. First off, yesterday in the reaction. I'm like
every time Mike's like, I'm gonna go to the bathroom, like, oh,
he's gonna come back in a suit. Never did, of course,
never did very much in a hoodie the entire time. And then today I
got there after the fact because I was seeing him bargoed and I walk in
and I see Mike, and I want to even take credit for this.
Later, I ran into a kind of funny best friend fan who's also working
in the industry, who said I ran there still like Mike why he dresses
Adam Sandler because he was wearing it oversized Halo three. Sure, the respect
on the Halo two shirt and pajama pants. Okay, they'll loose track pants.
I weren't broken, wed new boots, new boots. The boots are
nice than what was I supposed to do. Remember remember when tug Funny was
in a break dancing. That's kind of what reminds That's what it reminded me
of. Looked like beg ye cup. Can I get another white claw?
Let's get this twisted, okay Richard drinking twisted teas? Yeah, let me
get it twisted. Not wrong? And there are so many six games Man
there's so many free Mega Man six is a Little Man xx Mega Man battles
incredible. Here's the thing, all right, every one of us here talks
about video games for a living live. All right, we're live right now,
and I'm not already upset about that. I regretted every day that I
chose this man as my business partner. You know what I mean? Hey,
guys, is like everyone's national track. I was supposed to tackle him
by now we're pretty sure, God damn. But we need to be able
to admit when we're wrong, you know what I mean. And some of
us need to be able to admit that live as it's happening. And I'm
happy that I'm able to now reflect on myself and know that I'm willing to
admit that I'm wrong. But I realized I'm wrong. Two or six would
be the first six game? Second you thought? Was there exactly? You
know what I mean? I was walking, I want this understood. That
wasn't dear six was it was those black ops? Was the one he got
excited? Yeah, yeah, we're all fantasy. I thought. I was
like yes, I was like, this is gonna be like one like the
first game with six in the title, besides Final Fantasy, Jody did that
the King's Quest six. Greg immediately who I was with Luke, He goes,
yeah, you're making a good point because I said you want was totally
on board with it, and then Tony corrected me. And then immediately the
child starts blowing up with all the six games. At the moment I saw,
I was like, I'm wrong. I admit I'm wrong. I understand
that I am wrong. And it did it hurt me to know how stupid
I can be, how confident I could be having said that, though I
did ask the question, oh sure, It's not like I was like,
oh, this is the first game with six in the title, unlike some
people that are like, oh there's a Mario card six the number. That's
weird. You should have done your heels in and acted like those other games
didn't exist. Like absolutely that there's fourteen Romance of the Three Kingdoms? What
is that? Even it's a good question, fourteen, there's only two fourteen
games. It's far fancy in that no one's ever actually played those games.
The money launderings, what the hell is that? You have no idea?
Absolutely not. But speaking of what things are like, what is don't you
day late Chip? Well, that's vascilline. First off, Right, it
does say it's it's he believes this is don't you de la che vassiline?
It says, right the thing let's say vaccanine. Yeah sure, yeah,
that's what that says. Apparently it's like a carmel mel it's a lubri can.
Yeah, it's lubric This is for a real good night, Ja Jerome
is solid sneak. I am so upset that we didn't see that camera.
Can we get a camera shot on this, because, oh my god,
the revenge. That was the most beautiful solid sting that I've ever seen in
real life. It's not a lot for me tonight, everybody. What was
that incredible? It must be the winds. Let's talk about sex with fucking
lubricant? Sure? Absolutely, yeah. What's your favorite kind the water bacon
grease, bacon grease. Yeah, yeah, that's that's how they do it
Missouri. Yeah, okay, first off, that's over the line. Sorry,
very respectable college football game, Towning. You really care about college football
because of Missouri? That's right, motherfucker. Do you remember Brad Smith?
All right? He was up for the eleven for one Brad Smith. Fucking
First off, Brad Smith remembers Brad Smith. He that's my tweets. Really
wow, I don't remember Brad Smith. It might be you can't. Who
lays their tweet? Greg? Remember when The Rock did the thing where he's
like, my good friend Greg Miller. Right, what's the most interaction you've
had with Dwayne Johnson? Just Twitter? Okay, you met? The back
and forth? What did you do? Geral music? You're the biggest.
I worked there and I left because it was me. Look at me,
look at me, fight succeeding left and right, blessing. Oh my god,
you know, like we're on. Dwayne Johnson was in this room when
he recognized you. Well, first of all, like that, Just so
you know, every four months or so, there's a little notification on the
calendar that says Greg contact Rocks people one Ryan your words, seven productions and
Rock has no idea. You are right? Why he made a video about
me so he know something. He listened to the podcast. He's responded and
sweets about it. But also that he said when he said Greg and your
boys, I was like, ask me wait on the Rock boy, thank
you? Oh man? What time is it that we go? Oh god,
no, boy, listen, I really don't know what the say you
fuckers anymore. I can't name some more six games? Damn go for what
did I break? There was a resident said you brought that when you almost
broke the table. You should I don't know. Somewhere here, Greg,
do you want a leaf blower in the face? No, sure, all
right, I'll be back now, all right, excuse me. Sure,
you gotta do what you gotta do. Of course I can do it if
we didn't have my besting on this another leaf lower. So I think he's
gonna let's just starting to realize that sitting next to Greggy is in the camera
shot. So it's like this is going to be. If you say no
to the leaf blower, that's not gonna come near you. You're gonna be
what the leaf flower? I just want to be out Yeah, I mean,
Blessed is like my understudy. He's like the guy. He's my rabbit.
I'll be out there reviewing video games and I'll be killed and he'll take
you the mantling, you know what I mean. Yeah, it's a little
guy. Take that wind blower here. I appreciate say tweeple. Damn it.
That's a lot of white claws. The white claws everywhere. Blessing wants
it as well if you want it hard. My question, how did he
get a second one? You look like Ray after the blow jub and Ghostbusters.
It's what you what's what you always wanted? There was the blow time.
You're right, Ron, it was at some point there I saw God
you bring this shut up? Yeah, and there's some things that need to
apologize for all the nine eleven eleven jokes. I mean, that's what are
you saying? He's like you wrongto something. No, I don't think you're
either my messages. Whether it was God in or Satan, no one could
tell. But my hair looks great, doesn't it. No, you should
start drinking that. This was Steve put up with every day every day.
I gotta be honest with you, guys. I've known Greg for most of
my life. At this point, that's scary to say as a true statement,
and it scares me. We do live shows all the time every once
in a while. Again, everyone here understands the fear that happens when he
starts, when his eyes get that look. You know what I mean?
Just let me off the leash. What can I destroy? There was no
better encapsulation of all this when before an AD read, Greg drops some nine
to eleven reference and Tim goes, what is all right? Well, now
I got a stall because we got to wait for the AD to come up
in the next thirty seconds. Actually was blessing. It was, I was
blessing. It's not like it was like an understudy. I mean like it
was a AD break that is always coming up at that moment right it was
nowhere else. It was Team Orange. If I was to ask any of
you, if your Team Orange, what would you say? You'd want to
interject at some point, maybe I said to bring up fuck, no one
sits, here goes, honey, gr you know one sits here goes.
Oh, let's dissect Howie Mandel's comedy. No one's talking about the most modern
comedian I am. Then until I run Olier. Excellent, you say Mondel
like Nelson Mandela, they were just the fucking goddamn trinks we give. You
can say, howe, mom, why is that why we have w W
F attitude? Out said, what's the bad one? That's not a great
one? One? Yeah, that's bad. You're not allowed to destroy that
either. Are you trying to challenge? Yeah, yes, I don't know
if he's loved, but I'm assuming he's not. No, that's try to
explode. You want to do that? Everyone in the weird thing that we
saw Mike's feet some fucking sandom bean Counter's gonna sit there, thirty seven dogs
for fucking w F attitude? Was that? God break that too? Okay,
everybody calm down? Was that not any like? I meaning? We
all? Ghostbusters? Frozen Empire? She got reviews? Georgian, I don't
remembering about it? That comped the three TVs? Target Man, great movie.
Here's the biggest thing. If you'll notice, I'm Greg Miller, w
W A superstar? What am I appearing on this week? Giant bomb?
What am I not appearing on? I g in dot com? I g
in dot com gave Ghostbusters a four out of ten? All right, So
if you're at home right now, going gee Wilkers, who shall I listen
to for reviews? Trust me? Brother? I g dot com? All
right? You do what happened? When are okay? What are we talking?
They are? Where's in your where's it going? Cake Junior showed up
shop. He was like, Yo had a worm in my brain. I
assure you that every fucking I g N reviewer of Goat's Buster Frozen Empire the
worm in their brain. For what's he like in meetings? A listen,
I agree with most of the world. There's not a lot of injustice.
We got you far is here? Just pretty good? You it's pretty good?
Right? We gotta ghosts. We got this thug if you never about
us back un in his stand Joe, No, no ship? Yeah yeah
yeah? Quest six there oh there it is. There's so many sixes.
We get hit in my face. Ha ha ha ha. Good listen.
You want to talk about bad boys? Oh bad? Once is good.
There's no there's no there's no better time to return to the cinema. No,
okay, yeah, why do you even care about movies? Why do
you care about your fucking bowllying? He what is this fucking thing? Movies
are so mid Hey, you're right, you're right. Actually, what I'm
done? Who is this cartoon character? This is Uncle Monkey in the corner,
just trying to ruin the part. I'm sucking out barbecue. I saw
firiosa do there? Yeah? Right, pretty good. Mike Carl from the
off with hunger for us right now, and he sounds like sh yeah,
he's got the sing. He's about the first person to say that. All
right. I think the only thing we could do now is party. Anything
else, but this cat smatch the DS now because it looks like it wants
to. It's just because it's not a Vita man. Come on, dude,
just relaxed. Wait? Is fucking peace Walker still the best game of
all time? Yeah? Do you mean that? Or is this a gimmick?
Has he ever worked to? I be bragging forth all the time.
It was my favorite game, peace God of War or peace Walker five or
twenty eighteen? Okay, yeah, all right, all right, and I
put Good of War up there, and I still feel that way. I
do love peace Walker. Yeah. Are you remember your fan outside of peace
Walker and peace Walker's yeah, yeah, yeah, what's yours? That's favorite
metal? Yeah? Yeah? Three's better? Three? Three or one?
One? Maybe two? Come on saying party? I would agree you like
the moment at yeah, Oh my good baby. And you're up there to
say free, thank you, get the hell out of it. You're thank
you so much for coming out tonight and watching we got before we get out
of while these maniacs continue to do their thing. No, I got thirty
minutes up to my show. I want to say thank you a bunch of
people, and thank you so much to Janet Shower for producing. Thank you
to turn My shown at Home, who really has helped out with a lot
of stuff. Thank you. Thank you to Zach, Wendy, Cameron,
Lucas, Ash, Janelle Ben. Other than thank you guys so much for
your help tonight. And then our Ja Gnado from the from the venue,
very very fantastic. Thank you Lucy James for your worst legs. She also
eat all the pizza. Dude, Let's can we just shart our fucking list
of problems with Lucy. Yeah, please name them all we don't need to
do. Thank you. Everybody is God, even to something. Thank you
Jeff Grug. Oh yeah, thank you Jeff Grub. Thank you Jack.
I want to thank you all for watching. We're gonna be back tomorrow for
a live show that you could watch from helm. If you're in the LA
area, come out to the bell Weather Theater. It's gonna be a great
time. Otherwise, on it, Paris Lily is on. He should later
respect me. Exceptverybody we're gonna get out of here. It doesn't accept my
good wit. Take care of yourself. I say goodbye, Tim Daddy stuff
my bike,