Giant Bombcast 04-16-2013

Man, I didn't know all those people who can't say my name right were sexist. Should'a told those bastards off.

just want to point out that you can buy a churro maker machine for about 200buck a simple version is about $120
that is all

wtf

I had serious Demon's Souls flashbacks when Brad rang the bell app.

Working at a Subway, not a fine restaurant but people still come in 5-10 minutes before close: yes, that waiter was fucking pissed at you. He wanted to choke you out and shit down your throat and then slap you in the face while you're unconscious.

But you tipped. He probably smiled and laughed and appreciated you for it.

Patrick, wear a cap! Clementine pulled it off.

I can't wait until the next PAX panel when someone runs up and puts a small vile in front of Ryan with a label that reads: Anonymous Human Saliva.

Laura Croft is a cool character, guys.

The female division of VGCW is actually great.

In this mailbag someone has sent the Giant Bomb crew a bunch of soiled mattresses!

Literally WEIRD!

Squirt is the poor man's 50/50. I gotta try and find a Coke freestyle machine now that they reminded me they existed.

i though the difference between coke zero and diet coke was marketing,

As in coke zero had masculine ads, and diet coke a bit more feminine ads.

Somebody please point me to whatever Mega Man FPS they're talking about that isn't the prototype that Polygon revealed this week. It's a mod or something? I am curious.

Those two things could not be more unrelated.

I always thought that the thing the Bombcast lacked was a good ombudsman.

@pingolobo: MEIN EYES

there was also a mailbag where he put one one. was quite fetching.

the bell segment was amazing. all bombcasts need a bell minute now.

what the hell is a 50/50 and if it's truly better than squirt where the fuck do i get one???

They're kinda related but regardless, I think it's much easier to just learn it once and know it rather than continuously not knowing it and always having to awkwardly stumble over "Lau-ra Lo-rah Lah-rah.. whatever"- especially when your line of work is centered around knowing stuff about videogames. I just don't get what's so hard about remembering the pronunciation; it's certainly not a lack of intelligence so it's kind of willful ignorance at this point.

Thanks for reminding me of Jeff Bell, jerks.

@humanity: The level of upset at name mistakes is still mountains out of molehills =P

Football has changed drastically in the past 100 years. I would say that it has changed fairly considerably in the past 30 years. In not just the style of game, but also the rules.

"E-sports" is not an apt term. Starcraft or Dota in no way reflect any kind of sport. Neither do fighting games, really. The term should be competitive video games or professional video games. Video games and sports are two things that every can do/play. However, professional video games or sports is something that only the most dedicated and talented people can do. Video games are not sports, so don't associate them with it.

Also, the broadcast tools for Starcraft and Dota have to get better. You never see Al Michaels manually switching camera angles or anything like that. He commentates while the director and the numerous cameramen deal with his commentary. Also, seeing the same UI that the players do is weird. They need to build a minimalistic UI that has different, and more useful information for the lay observer.

Way to not mention Pandora's Tower :( :( :( :(

'MK9 has the best story mode in any fighting game and a cast you care about'

HahahahHAHAHahhahahahahahAHhaha

10/10

Adobe Omniture? Don't talk to me about Omniture...

So wait is this a gaming podcast?

Highlight of the podcast was this exchange between Jeff and Ryan:

"You guys ever in an actual fan club? Not just some ironic fuckin fan club?"

"You mean have I ever really liked anything ever?"

"Yes...I guess...YES. First. Yeah."

"...I don't know...I don't know anymore..."

@patman99: I'm pretty sure both SC2 and Dota2 have everything you'd require to have 'cameramen' and someone switching the views for the commentator. Though having more than one camera guy is pretty pointless because you can move the view anywhere instantly.

One pretty important difference as well is that the camera can only show so much at a time, and it's all the commentators see. In that way it's probably easier if the commentator can move the camera where he wants, if he wants to talk about something specific. Though of course nothing's stopping them from doing so once in a while even with an extra directed camera.

Patrick should consider wearing a fez for a hat because they're excessively cool.

Maybe Brad should make use of the GG button instead of a bell.

Also wanted to share my favorite Mask film, the one from the 1960s. Supernatural drug related theme to it but it's one of the few 3d films that works well as all the moments where the mask is put on is the cue to put on the 3d glasses & the 3d moments in the film are all madness & dream sequences.

@chibithor: I've watched Dota and Starcraft casts. It in no way reflects professional sports (which, for the time being, is the gold standard). The fact that one commentator controls the camera and comments on the action is hokey and cheap. If "e-sports" ever want to be taken seriously, they need their broadcast standards to be brought up a whole bunch.

I can watch a football game with someone who knows nothing of the sport and just wants to have fun. Dota 2 and Starcraft casts are extremely complex to watch for first timers. The amount of jargon and the jumping between the action is, at times, very confusing unless you know exactly what is going on. Professional sports generally have little jargon or actual strategy in their broadcasts, saving that for special segments dotted in between the periods of play.

The viewer has to only see the action (with maybe a small UI showing essential data like score or something like that). The commentator's job is to only commentate while there should be a separate crew readying different camera angles or something. I'm not saying that e-sports casting is totally bad, but if it wants to be taken seriously, the standards have to be raised tremendously. It won't appeal to anyone outside of their core audience unless they do.

You aren't watching the major tournaments then, at least for SC2. They've had dedicated observers for the major tournaments for at least a year. The production can improve certainly but I don't think it's as poor as you imply.

As to the difficulty of understanding I'd say that there are intricacies we take for granted in major sports (the rules of lining up in football can be pretty complicated even) because we've never not had them as part of the culture. Not that these games aren't complicated, but that's part of what makes them good as well. The depth of strategy and gameplay is what keeps people coming back.

@patman99: All I'm saying is that the spectator UIs have that specific functionality you said they needed. And as I said readying separate camera angles is redundant because changing to that set-up camera angle and moving the camera there yourself are both one click away.

Whether that is a dedicated camera-person or the commentator is a different issue.

This was my favourite episode in a while, haven't laughed this hard at the BC for some time.

@geirr: ...You're going to get all high and mighty about someone else's interpretation of sexism, and here you are using the phrase 'colored'? Are you serious?

Goddammit I fucking love Giant Bomb.

So I'm new to the site and the podcast. Is the first hour of it usually just bullshit and the second hour about games?

Brad as Ombudsman?

We're all fucked...

@meaninoflife42: You sir are a god among men...

Man, all this talk about Creme Eggs. Do not get the hate. I can and have eaten six Creme Eggs in a day. It was awesome. Okay, so I immediately died from a diabetic heart attack, but IT WAS WORTH IT.

no, first 45 minutes are about any shit, then next 45 minutes is about specifically bullshit, then last 30 minutes are bell-ringing.

I'm not saying it's sexist, just someone that talks about there being are hardly strong female characters in games would atleast know the name of one of the few out there. I just don't get how someone in the games industry can't know Tomb Raiders name, I know he's in his early 20's but damn son.

It's a podcast not HERE IS 2 HOURS OF VIDEO GAMES. It's a more casual podcast. If you like the corporate style with commercial interruptions Gamespot has it. But the first bit is normally about Vinny's experiences and some story, then what they've been playing, followed by news, then finished with emails. Normal format. I decided not to go the ass hole route. Be glad lad.

I bought this the other day too out of curiosity while picking up La-Mulana on Steam and have put about 2 hours into it today and am slowing moving from "this is pretentious bullshit" to "okay, I'm starting to get the appeal". Regardless of the bigger metaphor the game seems to be getting to, there is some simple pleasure of climbing up a growing stack of blocks in a pure mechanical sense.

I thought it was interesting when Patrick said he was glad Antichamber had no story, because he hates it when games put in a story that you wish wasn't there. Have any of you ever played a game where you wished the story didn't exist? I could understand wanting the story in a game to be better, but wishing there was nothing seems weird to me.

Spitting Cadbury Creme Eggs into another person's mouth is not an image I wanted to ever have in my mind.

@alertthej: Pretty much. I feel like they cover games for more of the podcast during the heavy release months like fall and winter

yes. listening 2nd time as i missed some bits and pretty much all of this is rambling pointless gold.

i always love when they mention a game briefly then go back to the hilarious inanity.

jeff's "transition" and patrick's churlish laugh at god knows what were but two highlights. everyone was on top form and really into it i thought too (at least until brad fell asleep :( )

dl'ed the dinner bell app because of this. also gave mad props to Papers, Please.

devs: release less games so we can have more of these comedic riches.