InRetroSpect Podcast » Articles

InRetroSpect RAW: Top 5 Sidekicks

Strider — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:00:11 +0000

RAW is a show from InRetroSpect that aims to choose a Top 5 of a certain video game topic within a certain time limit. Totally un-scripted, un-edited, InRetroSpect RAW is the purest of recorded debates. This time, Sam, Pete, Dan and Kris have twenty minutes to discuss who should make our Top 5 gaming sidekicks.

Through the Reticle: My Plinky Plonky Music Special

Marconi — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 12:00:19 +0000

You may or may not remember that in August of last year, Sam asked fellow podcasters, Paul, Pete, Kris and Dan to share with him their video game music highlights. This was the Plinky Plonky Music Special. After more than a year and to celebrate the 25th show of Through the Reticle, Sam has decided that it was time to do his own Plinky Plonky Special. Inspired by a recent play through of Rayman: Origins, Sam shares those pieces of music that have stayed with him after over two decades of gaming.

InRetroSpect RAW: Top 5 Locations

Marconi — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:26:28 +0000

RAW is a brand new series here on InRetroSpect. The aim of the show is for members of the InRetroSpect to choose their Top 5 of a certain video game topic, all within a certain time frame. Un-scripted, un-edited and put out just as we recorded it, InRetroSpect RAW aims to provide you with quick snappy debates and hopefully inspire you to have your own. You can join in to the conversation anytime at iTunes, the Zune Marketplace or at InRetroSpectPodcast.com. But for now and for the very first time, this is InRetroSpect RAW.

InRaiderSpect: The Trail(er) Begins….

Marconi — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:00:52 +0000

Digital Wanderlust: Imaginopolis – The Inbetween City

Strider — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:00:46 +0000

This month Strider travels to a place that sits between his child and adulthood, between imagination and reality, between a game and a program. Its been nearly 16 years since he last visited the place … what memories did he leave behind in Microsoft 3D Movie Maker? Find out…

Freeplay: Episode 20 Platypus, Puzzles and Pretty Colours

FrostieD — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:22:21 +0000

Have you ever tried to buy a game using the lint from the bottom of your pockets? No? Well I have and I can confirm that the folks down at your local gaming store do not appreciate such currency and will often look at you with a certain blend of bewilderment and contempt. However it is at this moment I recommend you put away your lint and say “No more will I pay for games! I am going to Freeplay!” then march out the store with your head held high and your mp3 player in tow as its time for a brand new episode of your favourite free gaming show!

After leaving Freeplay in the capable hands for Mr. Pete Willington last time round, this month sees the Dan shaped hole in Freeplay filled once more and not only that but he has only gone and found some free games from his travels!

This month Sam and Pete join Dan as they help a platypus climb up some tunnels with Chasm and shoot some retro shapes with a retro gun with Retro 4.

Also this month they discuss if sequels are creating new and exciting games or simply the same games but with shinier wrapping paper.

So now you have spent 30 seconds reading this humourous little article you may as well head down below and take a listen to what the guys think, its not like it will cost you anything is it?

To Play Chasm Click here

To Play Retro 4 Click here

Freeplay: Episode 17 Too Mean, Too Many & To the Lemmy

FrostieD — Fri, 06 May 2011 11:00:42 +0000

There comes a time in every month when each gamer decides that they can’t afford to buy any more games. It is this phenomenon – also known as the week before payday – that Freeplay was made for. Now that you’re down to your final pennies we show up to tell you that gaming doesn’t have to be expensive, it can be free!

This month Dan is joined by Pete and Kris to discuss a new selection of free games. First, we defy the laws of physics with Portal: The Flash Version, then we get our AK47 on with Alliance of Valiant Arms. Also we discuss whether or not having a store fit to bursting with titles is always a good thing.

All this and more of the usual chatter heading straight for your ears on this months brand new episode of Freeplay.

Warning! May not be suitable for children!

Play Portal: The Flash Version HERE

Play Alliance of Valiant Arms HERE

And you can get a head start on next month’s games HERE

Freeplay: Episode 16 Cubes, Cockneys & Cannon Fodder

FrostieD — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:00:08 +0000

So with Nintendo having finally let the 3DS out into the wild, those pesky marketing executives are now asking you to fork out your cold hard cash to enjoy their games. Well, at Freeplay we do things a little differently. This month Dan, Pete, Sam and Kris are joined by a special guest from Beefjack.com Greg Giddens. As always they are here to show you where to find the best games that will stand up to their money-grabbing counterparts.

This month we test our tactical and strategic minds by plotting our course through the world of Grow Cube and then set up camp to take on Warzone 2100. Then on top of all of this we discuss whether or not gaming can be considered the most intellectually and emotionally stimulating form of entertainment.

So what are you waiting for, open your ears, put away your credit card and watch your bank balance not change for the next 45 minutes.

Warning! May not be suitable for children!

For Grow Cube Click Here

For Warzone 2100 Click Here

And a big thank you to our guest Greg Giddens, you can see more from Greg at www.beefjack.com.

Digital Wanderlust: DREAMSCAPES – Do Gamers Dream Of Digital Sheep?

Strider — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:00:41 +0000

In this month’s episode Strider explores the dreaming landscape of the gamer, examining the relationship between dreams and video games and observing how it is changing the evolution of our subconscious.

So how does game playing affect our dreaming? To find out Strider interviews Xero, Marconi, FrostieD and Balaenidae to find out what it is they dream about. The results are quite surprising! Give it a listen and let us know your thoughts below.

It is important to note that the ‘interpretations’ made in this podcast are for fun, offering possibilities rather than confirmations and raising questions rather than providing answers. Dreams by their very nature are slippery things and as a consequence are difficult to grasp and indeed analyse particularly in a secondary reading.

Have a look at the questionnaire results, and let us know below what you dream about!
Have a looksy at a documentary about Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis and The Interpretation of Dreams
Liked Inception? Watch the superb documentary presented by Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious
Have a play of Mind Crime in which you have to design an urban dream maze to hide from projections.
Have a go at interpreting your dreams.
Visit the International Association for the Study of Dreams.

Bibliography:

Belic, R. (2010) ‘Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious’, Inception, DVD, Warner Brothers.

Dreammoods, (2010) Dreammoods, [online] http://www.dreammoods.com/ [18 March 2011]

Gackenbach, J. (2008) ‘The Relationship Between Perceptions of Video Game Flow and Strucutre’, Loading, vol.1.

Gackenbach, J. (2009) ‘Video Game Play and Consciousness Development: A Replication and Extension’ , International Journal of Dream Research, vol. 2, no.1.

Hurd, R. (2009) ‘The Science of Lucid Dreaming: The Electronic Media Effect’, Dreaming Lucid, [online] http://www.dreaminglucid.com/articles/The%20Electronic%20Media%20Effect.pdf [18 March 2011]

Peretsman, N. (2008) ‘What happens to your body when you fall asleep?’, Science Line, [online] http://scienceline.org/2008/02/ask-peretsman-sleep/ [18 March 2011]

Zimmer, H. (2010) Inception: Music from the Motion Picture, CD: Reprise.

Freeplay: Episode 15 Dinos, Dragons and Donks

FrostieD — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:00:02 +0000

So by now you have probably finished all those games you got from jolly St. Nick and as times are hard you can’t afford another splurge at your local gaming retailer. How then can you fill the gaming void left behind? Fear not as Freeplay returns this month with a look at those games that mean your flexible friend can remain firmly in your pocket. This month Dan, Sam and Pete escape an impending apocalypse with Dino Run. They fight some ghouls and goblins in Dungeons & Dragons Online and they find out why an MMO commands such devotion from its audience. Also Rich Grilloti from Pixel Jam games kindly drops in for a small chat!

Warning! May not be suitable for children!

For Dino Run Click Here

For Dungeons & Dragons Online Click Here

A big thank you to the guys from Critical Hit. You can enjoy their podcast here! Also a big round of applause to Rich Grilloti from Pixel Jam games for joining us on the show.

InRetroSolid Part V: Reaching Outer Heaven

FrostieD — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:00:20 +0000

All things must come to a end. Over the past few weeks InRetroSpect has taking part in an auditory ‘Wide Game’ to explore the Metal Gear Solid Series. This week the final part of the season of specials finally comes to a close. Once again all four hosts come together to look at the series as a whole and pulls it apart right in front of your ears.

Warning! May not be suitable for children!

Contains spoilers!

InRetroSolid Part I: Metal Gear Solid

FrostieD — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 13:30:29 +0000

How can one game change so much? How can one series span so much time and for that length surpass its own achievements? Well this is what the guys have challenged themselves to discover over the next thirty days. It is undoubted that Metal Gear Solid has altered the way we play games but over this month each game will be pulled and plucked apart to see what makes it tick, why we still like it and if they still hold weight today. It all starts with a special group discussion on the first major console release of the series Metal Gear Solid.

Warning! May not be suitable for children!

Contains spoilers!

Freeplay: Episode 14 Christmas, Christmas and Christmas

FrostieD — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 18:00:42 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen ’tis the season. The one where you’ll be forced to probably spend more money that most. When your purse sags under the weight of expectation. You never get what you wish for and nothing ever comes for free. This year is different! As for the very first time, the Freeplay gang trawl through lasts years games and advises you on the best free games of 2010. Also, find out how one podcast host can go a whole 60 minutes only saying Christmas once….enjoy!

Warning! May not be suitable for children!

Digital Wanderlust: Spyro The Luddite Dragon

Strider — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:00:41 +0000

This month Strider dusts off an old Christmas present, using Spyro the Dragon as a means to illustrate Neo-Luddism in gaming. Featuring extracts from the documentary ‘New Technology: Whose Progress?’

InRetroSpect Reviews: Closing

Xero — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 18:00:04 +0000

It’s the final episode of the InRetroSpect Review Show and Xero talks about why he put together the show and what he feels the show has tried to achieve, looking back on two years of retro games criticism.

Through the Reticle: I am Going To Learn How To Fly

Marconi — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 09:00:24 +0000

You really have to question the sanity of that lot in Fame. Jumping all over Taxis maxing absurd statements of immortality and breaking the laws of physics. It might be a hum drum musical to most but there is more in that song that sums up the absurdity of fame more than any other. And it is with lef warmers firmly in mind that this month Marconi examines why games don’t embrace fame like other mediums do!

Digital Wanderlust: Parkour Painting

Strider — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:00:10 +0000

Do certain words trigger a colour for you? Do some sounds make you taste? When you think of the numbers one to ten, do you visualise them forming a particular shape? This month Strider puts Mirror’s Edge through its paces to see how synaesthesia can change our perception of psychogeography in videogames. Featuring extracts from the BBC Horizon documentary Derek Tastes of Earwax. To find if you have synaesthesia, take the test!!

Freeplay: Episode 12 The Celestial, The Coma & The Chuckle Bros

FrostieD — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:00:23 +0000

There always some great alternatives around in the world, things we can do differently to section ourselves off from the crowd. Some people like to buy expensive perfume. Others just check into Boots every day and wack on some from the ‘Tester’ bottle. Some people like to spend their hard earned on food and drink. Whilst the frugal members of society just finish off what they started. Listening to Freeplay won’t make you tempted to take half eaten food, but it will put you miles ahead of the game when it comes to gaming on the free. This month, is no different.

The games discussed in this show are: Run Jesus Run……..

and Coma

Warning! May not be suitable for children!

Attempting Transmission

FrostieD — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:29:03 +0000

Politi-kart – Mafia Wars: Keeping It In The Family.

Popi Rouge — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:59:41 +0000

You could say I had a very productive morning on this rainy indescript Tuesday, having bought my first property and collected three gifts from a close friend. No ordinary gifts but three very expensive paintings: one a Dali, one Matisse, and a Warhol, all originals. Unfortunately all fictitious, two-dimensional and presented by an equally two dimensional Mafia king. Maybe it wasn’t a very productive morning simply another diversion on that great killer of time: Facebook.

We all do it.

We will all admit to visiting our own little profile, checking messages, clicking on a feed that is almost, but not quite, related to someone we know. Before long you’ve scrolled through an album of photos just to see what that ‘someone’ looks like, ‘accepted’ a tarot reading that will automatically update every week, and played on a variety of weird games. It is unsurprising then that there are currently 25 million of us playing Mafia Wars through Facebook. Not to mention that unlike a PS3 game or Xbox title, this is totally free. The very concept of the Mafia has been shaped into a game that specifically plays to the benefits of such a large social networking site. The creators have crafted a product that links connections with friends and family directly to a game; a game all about image projection.

Free to play and easy to join.

The Mafia is one of the most famous of all organised crime organisations. Whereas most of us know nothing about the real workings of Mafia culture, there lies an atmosphere surrounding the name created by fictional films, books and games. A dark romance, if you like, fuelled by this lack of knowledge. We are left to fill in the gaps using our own imaginations and thus the Mafia lends itself to remaining secret and yet possessing a very public world of fiction. ‘Public’ and ‘private’ correspond and compliment each other for the Mafia image. It is the same for anyone using Facebook (the clue is in the name): an allocated page to create your own ‘image’ without the world knowing the complex inner workings of your ‘self’. It captures your face, the surface and self-made image ready to present to the outside world. The game effectively encourages image promotion. You can ‘publish’ your criminal activities for all the world to see. This begs an important question; why is it that this game is socially acceptable to us whereas a similar themed game, such as GTA, must answer to the general public for influencing the youth of today towards violent crime?

The acceptable face of crime?

The answer lies not in any monitoring on Facebook’s part. True, to have access to your own profile there are age restrictions, but so too are retail games labelled with similar age restrictions. Surely Facebook, as a far more accessible tool, poses more of an influence and threat? Yet at the crux of this question lies a fundamental difference between the two games. Similar as they are in theme and aim, the role of the player lies poles apart. Throughout Mafia Wars you barely need to be involved, it is self propelling. At no point is any action taken. The dirty, dark, tension-filled atmosphere of an underworld society is transported into a glowing table of achievements and presents. When asked to perform a task, the player proceeds to view a gun being loaded with bullets, strongly resembling a ‘think’ tool for the program. It is as if you must wait for the computer to decide if you have completed the task correctly and fully. A human hand never enters to place the bullets into the gun. The entire game rests on the past and future tense as dictated by the game itself. Therefore no responsibility lies in the present, or upon the player. The in-action and lack of visible human involvement of the game distances its players in a way that makes them feel secure in its confines. This is true of the wider confine of Facebook, a tool used for sharing events and thoughts past, and those coming up. Not only that but a wider breadth of players can be involved, the player must rely on Facebook friends and correspondences and accept invitations in order to grow and gain strength, much like the workings of Facebook itself. When designing a game such as Mafia Wars it too has to adhere to the wider Facebook ‘genre’ and the new fiction of Mafia Wars can only be based within its marketed context.

Hold on, I'm thinking...

Facebook is easily accessible, leisurely and as noted earlier, it is possible to spend many hours procrastinating on just this one site, while it is also used fleetingly to reply to mails or check updates and Mafia Wars has to cater for both cases. And importantly it is a very easy game to play. There is no adrenaline rush as you complete a job which might have taken hours of your time in Grand Theft Auto, none of the old fashioned swearing and hurling the controller across the room in aggravation. Mafia Wars keeps you totally at its mercy, holding you with the addictive sense of achievement from doing nothing. That rainy Tuesday I also ‘mastered’ some new skills, warehouse robbery for example, all by just clicking a button. Never did I even see the inside of the warehouse, or the outside for that matter. Where is the danger? Mafia Wars is simple, and seemingly harmless.

The stark contrast of ‘action and inaction’ and ‘public vs. private’ that makes up the Mafia Wars game within Facebook (as it is important to keep it in the social network context) also holds a certain resonance with our political views today. It is almost as if we are secretly cheering and subsequently joining, a network based on criminality through our own disappointment in our government system. In a time of financial uncertainty, there is a small thrill in making millions of fictional dollars working for a fictional underworld culture. And through this there lies always in the background the knowledge that we are at war. The war abroad has become in a way a ‘Mafia’ image, it is spun to us through the press and no-one is certain of the truths under the fiction. Perhaps we feel that little bit more in control when playing our own small, two dimensional wars, after all, it is easy to feel safe within the confines of Facebook, surrounded by family and friends.