Games for Waypoint 101

#1

I really enjoyed this first Binary Domain podcast, and I’m looking forward for its second episode. That made me think of other games that could be played and discussed in the future. I can imagine there are many obscure (and not so obscure) games that could give us interesting podcasts.

  • Spec Ops: The Line. Easy answer, but that game took me by surprise when it came out. I would love some debate on the main squad’s evolution.
  • Psychonauts. It’s platforming may not have aged very well, but I love any excuse to go back to this game.
  • Metro 2033. It’s 9 hours, it’s a different game in many ways.
  • Ben There, Dan That & Time Gentlemen, Please!. What? They’re fun and short!

(I’ve looked around the forums for this topic and couldn’t find it. If for whatever reason I skipped it and this is a duplicate then I apologise.)

The Cyberpunk Stylings of 'Shadowrun: Dragonfall'
#2

Alpha Protocol is an obvious answer for me, although maybe a bit longer than optimal.

The Walking Dead. Hugely influential in the indie narrative space. Could do shorter, weekly episodes for every episode of the game? Would also work for Life is Strange or any other Telltale game.

Bayonetta or Vanquish would both be solid choices - they already said they were hoping to do Vanquish but timing with the PC release didn’t work out.

Maybe an Indie month once or twice a year where Waypoint 101 tackles several indies in a row? Bastion and Papers, Please would be neat.

There are a lot of older classics I might mention, but I’m inclined to limit suggestions to ones easily available on PC. There are a bunch of older RPGs I’d love to see tackled, particularly Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. (Otherwise I’d suggest Shadow of the Colossus, which is probably my #1 ‘everyone who is interested in video games as a medium should play this’ game.)

#3

throwing in Singularity as my suggestion. Good, short little jaunt with some really neat ideas. A bit derivative of Bioshock though, but it isnt like Binary Domain was a trendsetter.

#4

I’d second “Spec Ops” and “Singularity”. “Spec Ops” because I feel you could write about that one for ages and everyone’s reaction to it is so different that it’d be great to see everyone’s take. “Singularity” is regularly unfairly ignored for some pretty cool ideas. I feel “Psychonauts” is pretty well established already so there’s not a whole lot of ground they’d cover that hasn’t already been covered elsewhere. I’d really love to see some discussion with some weirder, cheaper titles, so stuff like “Ben There” would be great!

#5

I agree that Alpha Protocol feels perfect for this sort of podcast. It’s ambitious and tries many interesting things, it has an involved story, and it a great starting point to discuss choice making in games and what works and doesn’t. The only thing that is a detriment is the game is relatively lengthy.

EDIT: (it doesn’t hurt that I’m already replaying it).

#6

I think Patrick/Austin are planning to do some kind of poll or possibly their own forum thread to decide the next game once BD is done, but regardless:

Singularity is a good one. A really solid game that got completely overlooked at release.

That Dragon Cancer: A short game that I think would be particularly interesting to explore because it delves into a deeply personal experience, and the creators certainly don’t hide the fact that they’re both very religious. I think this would be an interesting one, since 1) you can beat it in a couple hours and 2) the game’s creators have a perspective that is probably pretty different from the Waypoint crew and most of their audience.

The Wolf Among Us: I remember really enjoying TWAU when it came out, more than TWD even, and I’m wondering if it still holds up. And i feel like there’s been plenty of critical analysis around TWD and very little for TWAU.

#7

I’m gonna throw out E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy, because last time I was involved in a Videogame Book Club kinda deal I suggested it as the first game and that whole thing just DIED. There was some brief replies that read like the last recorded moments of panic and confusion before the end of the world, then the thread went dead silent, got unpinned and the whole project was never mentioned again.

So I think it would be fun.

But as a bit of wildcard suggestion that I genuinely think would be a great pick, Artifact Adventure is a little old-style RPG built around making genuinely meaningful choices that impact your experience in huge ways. I’ve not made much progress, but said choices are generally very obvious in terms of setup and consequences, but it’s a neat little thing that deserves a look. I will say though: don’t be too hasty with the guy in the well.

#8

I would love to hear a deep dive on Va-11 HALL-A. It’s game mechanics are extremely light but the world and characters they built in that game deserve the thoughtful points of view that Waypoint offers.

#9

It’d be cool if they played the the Dreamfall franchise and talked about its gameplay and narrative evolution.

Even if the team just played the first game in the trilogy, The Longest Journey, that’d be enough for them to be able to delve into an interesting set of politics and explore xenophobia in games.

#10

KotOR 2 because I just want to listen to Austin talk about KotOR 2.

That game is pretty long though so I can’t see it being great for everyone’s schedule. It’s also so open ended that people could miss some of the best parts completely by accident. It does help that there’s a very specific canonical main character for that game though, because it would allow everyone to have the same main quest experience if they used that as the basis for how everyone had to play (you miss some story stuff in that game if you don’t play as a woman or skew to the Light Side of the Force).

Anyways. Waypoint 101 probably works best with 4-10 hour linear games. I would love to see this with a Max Payne game. They’re my favourite PC shooters (3 included) and hearing discussion about them would be cool!

#11

I’d love a Deadly Premonition deep dive if we’re continuing the theme of overlooked games that have a lot of flaws but do some really magical stuff. Would be very timely with Twin Peaks currently airing too, but I think that game has a LOT to discuss outside of it’s shared DNA.

#12

The following is not a serious suggestion. I just think the narrative that Waypoint 101 is all an elaborate prank on Rob Zacny is really funny.

Harvester

(a more serious suggestion would be Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, as that’s a short game that goes in some very dumb but increasingly/worryingly plausible* directions)

*Not that the tech stuff is plausible, but the fact that a world threatening crisis could be caused by someone trying to (DIRECT quote from the final boss of the game) “[…]make America great again.”

#13

Nanomachines, son!

#14

I don’t really have a personal suggestion right now (I’ll think on it) but I do think we should stick to games that can be completed within 10 hours (at least for the first few months). Limiting to games that can be completed in two long afternoons (so you only have to dedicate 1 day before each podcast) or 4 late-night sessions (once a week) is the best idea to get people involved.

#15

Alpha Protocol, E.Y.E and Kotor 2 are very good suggestions and might I add Freelancer, given how that has become a topic since the Star Citizen crowdfunding campaign

#16

Or in a similar vein, any of the “Descent” or “FreeSpace” games too. They’re a little easier to purchase these days than “Freelancer” (unless I’m an idiot who can’t figure out how to use the internet effectively)

#17

Yep those would be good too. As for freelancer, it is currently one of the top picks on the GOG community wishlist so it might be just a little while. Regarding where the licence currently is, I have no idea.

#18

I’m hoping they’re with Digital Anvil instead of Microsoft Game studios. Otherwise we may be sitting for a while clawing over used copies on Amazon.

#19

Dark Souls 2

Kidding, I know Austin has no desire to have that discussion. Although Patrick seems keen on it haha.

#20

Curious if their willing to do Visual novels like Clannad or Steins;Gate.