By John Walker on September 9th, 2009 at 10:24 pm.
Okay, okay, you can stop the email campaign, the angry letters in the post, the furious sky writing – there’s a new podcast. Join Jim and John as they attempt to upset every listener from the young to the grumpy, while almost discussing videogames on a few occasions. Of course your Twitter questions fuel our rampant discussion, and indeed our dreadful manners.
People we’re mindlessly rude about include Norwegians, the Pope, people who comment on RPS, people who Tweet to RPS, anyone who is young, and Kieron. But we’re very polite about owls.
Matters of gaming discussion occasionally crop up. They include further discussion of GTA IV, some thoughts about the longevity of MMOs and the accompanying social responsibilities, why we stopped playing WoW, and thoughts on the possibilities for augmented reality games. And model villages. Oh no wait, that’s not games is it?
There’s also vital details on Jim’s plan to imprison criminals in petrol stations, and what games John’s dad plays. IMAGINE KNOWING EITHER OF THOSE THINGS!
Get the mp3 directly from here, subscribe to it by RSS with this, or get it on iTunes from here.
And Nocculi, send us your email address so we can interview you for discussion in the next podcast!
Meanwhile, here’s what Stephen Fry used to be like in the past:
I only got around to listen to 28 two days ago!
Must keep up with world.
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Do you ever start talking about video ga- oh there we go.
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You stopped again.
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What are the chances of getting transcripts of your pod casts posted for those of us at work who can’t listen and who , once they get home, are totally whipped by their wife so they cant even get on the computer in the privacy of their own home and do what they want to when they want to. (AKA me)
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I’d very pleased if you didn’t call them podcasts btw.
Sorry to be such a curmudgeon :)
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how about wireless public disturbances of the peace?
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Serondal – That’s a lotta work y’know. Just lock your wife in the cellar for an hour or so (or get a media player for your commute)
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Does Walker talk about how persevered with WoW until he reached level 40 so he could get a mount but then learned he needed a bunch of gold and then gave up in this one?
If not, why not?
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That’s why I quit playing Wow! How did you know ? :P
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Serondal – absolutely zero I’m afraid.
We do lots and lots and lots of writing on the site. This is the sound bit, and transcribing it would defeat its purpose. And I bet you could find 45 minutes over a week to listen. Go on.
jsutcliffe – Because I realised how many bloody times I’ve said that before and finally managed to stop myself : )
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John, are you sure this wasn’t some voice-editted Rum Doings? Your topic to avoid was games. You did so semi-successfully.
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I figured as much. Ah well.
I read most of Lost via transcription before I ever watched a single show and was hooked that way. Sadly the actual show isn’t nearly as good as it is in my head (But it is still pretty good)
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That’s why I quit WoW too in all honesty. I raised the question because I recently gave it another shot and have found all the changes to be very much to my taste; levelling is far easier now, and they’ve simplified a lot of the needlessly complex stuff. Good times all round.
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Serondal: It’s conceivable that RPS volunteers might transcribe the spoken words. Barring some sort of clever voice-recognition widget, it’d probably take a non-trivial amount of effort.
You’d lose something in the delivery too, I’d wager. Not even a voice synthesizer set to ‘comedic chipmunk’ would bring that back.
Finally: Rum doings is fascinating and lovely. I’m hoping it continues.
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Can never think of any good questions to send across twitter…
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Cheers David – we’re recording more Rum Doings tomorrow.
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Yay!
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Serondal, you read transcribed Lost? That’s frightening and amazing at the same time.
Run the podcast through voice recognition and see what happens. Dadaism, I expect.
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Yah it was when I first started this job. We were a start up company and weren’t getting much business so I’d literally sit there for 8 hours and take 5 calls (Now I take calls back to back all freaking day which makes things much faster) but for the first month I was reading lost transcripts starting from the first episode all the way up through the last episode aired at that time. It was durning the off season so when the show started up again I was totally caught up.
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:D
There’s something bizarrely admirable and utterly fascinating about that.
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Even for you two, that was exceptionally not about games.
I still liked it.
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It’s really just sad when I look back on it . The first few episodes I watched I was like “No no , you’ve got the voice all wrong! That isn’t how John Locke talks!”
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Hahah, I like it.
I suppose it’s not hugely different from reading a play (which for some reason I tend to prefer to just watching plays). But it seems different from that somehow.
There was a picture of an owl who got stuck in a wood-burning stove and was just looking out of the window-doors with its big eyes on the Midlands news today. I wanted to link it in relation to the podcast but sadly cannot find it.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/england/west_midlands/7277565.stm
??
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No that can’t be it that is from last year.
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Hahaha, no, but thanks for the effort.
This was just a photo sent in by a viewer showing the owl actual staring out of the stove looking scared and confused (I may be anthropomorphising a bit, owl expressions are pretty hard to read).
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Yay, Copenhagen and LEGO. When can we expect the tickets?
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(if anyone really wants to see the owl, you can watch the full episode here. The owl is near the end. http://www.bbc.co.uk/midlandstoday/ )
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Transcription-requesters: as a rough guide, it takes me around four hours to fully transcribe a twenty minute interview. I doubt many would be happy to transcribe a podcast each week.
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+1 for learnt the word augmented from Deus Ex.
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Lewis: top tip. Use Winamp, and set its global hotkeys up. I have play/pause set to tilde, and then skipping back 5 seconds to [
You don’t need to tab away from your doc to stop or rewind, and it speeds me up enormously. 20 min interview takes about an hour or so now.
Still not transcribing the podcast though : )
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That took some searching.
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That owl is lovely. :-3
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It’s pronounced “Turnkvist”. The crossed-out ‘o’ is the same as an ‘o’ with two dots on top (as seen in Swedish and possibly German, IIRC) in that it’s pronounced like the ‘ir’ in ‘bird’.
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I do wish you’d find another mechanism for taking reader questions hen you’re recording these things. Not all of us wish to be twitts.
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This is unheard of, I’m being flooded with RPS podcasts :O
Sehr gut Sir’s
Rum Doings is brilliant also
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Oh and guys? That’s two John and Jim podcasts where I had to dive for the MP3 player controls to skip forward to avoid spoilers for a game I haven’t played yet. Now I know I’m horrendously behind the times and all (hasn’t played GTA IV yet? BURN HIM!), but at least a casual warning would be really helpful.
And since it seems like all I’m doing in this thread is bitching, let me say “thanks for the podcast” as well.
Like John I’ve never had much luck getting into a GTA game. They ultimately feel sort of pointless, and there’s always this sense that something’s missing. I think what I really want is for them to be more like an RPG, where there’s a clear progression and rewards for moving forward. I also tend to get irritated (at least in 3 and Vice City) with the extended period during which the games are basically linear despite being set in a vast “open world.” How does GTA IV compare to those games? I have gotten the sense that the main character is a more interesting one to inhabit than previous leads (somewhat confirmed by John and Jim’s comments). Maybe that would actually keep me involved.
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You guys are behind the times! Minority Report beat you to the cereal box TV concept, although I can’t remember if they were also 3D.
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Vinraith – I think the worst we do is reveal that there is a twist in one story – not what it is at all.
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“And model villages. Oh no wait, that’s not games is it?”
Or is it?
http://www.bekonscot.co.uk/fun-and-games/virtual-village/
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Nice podcast guys.
But …
Don’t bash The Wire please.
Rant ON
I’ve been following it all summer on BBC2 and can honestly say it is one of the most absorbing, intelligent TV shows I have ever seen. Superficially, it may not seem like that what with the simple premise of cops vs robbers: it evolves into much more than that. The multiple, intertwining stories and engaging, human characters are the core of its magic. The political and moral decisions made by the characters are what captivates and the themes it explores are subtle, and bring each season of the show into focus. I saw someone once describe it as a visual novel and I would have to agree: it’s almost like the end of each episode is the end of a chapter in a book.
I will concede that it is very slow-paced compared to other TV shows (the police generally have one case to solve, and it lasts the entire season) and the use of technical jargon by police and lawyers, as well as slang and street-names used by other characters is off-putting. However, the payoff at the end of each season is incredibly rewarding if you persist. Also, unlike many other TV programs, the Wire gets better with each season, not the other way around.
If you don’t believe me, then watch this for a taste of what it is capable of.
Rant OFF
Sorry, just kinda saw red when you were discussing it.
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The Wire is indeed stonkingly, absurdly, wonderfully awesome.
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The Wire is aces, even better than owls.
Discussion of narratives in video games often comes down to the arbitary moral choice you must make; if you want an example of strong narrative with an utterly amoral core, no villians, only victims, no heroes, just people with varying degrees of ego, compassion and competence, the Wire is the gold standard.
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Re: The Wire. Clicked with episode 4 for me, I think.
The Chess scene in 3 almost killed me and the lady too. Impressively terrible, and I had to convince her it was worth persevering with after that show of sledgehammer idiot writing.
Still: Best TV show of the 00s, hands down.
I’ve told this to John every time I’ve talked to him about the Wire, so I’m not sure why he thinks people don’t say the first few are iffy.
KG
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I’ve in the beginning of season 4 of the Wire, and I am undecided as to whether it is better than Galactica. Season for season it is way more impressive but I am reserving final judgment until I finish all of it.
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I also liked The Wire immensely and found it enjoyable to watch over the five seasons but I do get slightly wary of being evangelical about it.
Excellent podcast once again. I have no problems with it being off track at all (yay for more Rum Doings tomorrow!).
If we go to Copenhagen can I take LSD then go to Legoland?
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Outrage! Did it ever occur to you that you have Norwegian subscribers??! Who singlehandedly pay for your outlandish salaries with my petro-kroners?
If this vile attack on an oppressed minority continue I will have to reevaluate my support.
sincerely
Bjørn ååååhh
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RPS London Loves Norwegians. Also, the Wire.
KG
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This is what happens with the Wire: you tell someone it is absolutely awesome. They don’t really believe you/humour you/watched the first episode but no further/whatever.
Then a few months later you’re talking to them and they tell you they’d started watching the Wire through the first season and it’s really good why didn’t you tell me it was this good.
I did this and since I wrapped up watching the final season last year I’ve had it happen to me a good half a dozen times. So I sort of give up on saying anything more about the Wire than recommending people watch it. They all come round eventually anyway.
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The secret ingredient is People.
Kellogg operates a large orphanage in Montana. If children don’t find a home by 14, they’re ground up and baked into sugary flakes.
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No we don’t. We HATE all Norwegians. ALL OF THEM!
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You guessed my age. You are truly the lords of the United Kingdom of Maths and Guessing
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Pah, they were actually one year off. Jim and John are truly the most rubbish at everything ever.
Also, Tei is indeed the best. Yes.
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Also I liked the reference to A&J :D
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You people are insane for not liking the chess scene in The Wire. Insane, I tell you!
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@John Walker
Ah, ok. I heard that much and it sounded like more was about to be revealed so I skipped forward. My mistake, nevermind then.
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Also, we British love us Norwegians (I’m part Norwegian) so that settles that. Or perhaps I’m bias.
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Seems RPS has something in common with Sony now: a hatred of countries starting with N. That PS3 Slim ad with the neckbeard got pulled after complaints by the Nigerian government.
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this is such a great podcast I just love listing to John Walker happy jolly voice
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Is there some connection between Copenhagen and LSD I’m not aware of?
Also bugger, why didn’t anyone tell me to twitter this before the podcast? :(
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Ok, late as and on page two but a card carrying Wire tosser moves on undimmed.
I would never say there’s anything wrong with the first two episodes. Never. The thing floored me with its density of awesome from the first episode.
And what on earth is wrong with the chess scene? It’s an obvious metaphor. And this is bad because…? It’s also an obvious metaphor being used as an obvious metaphor to explain the game to uneducated hoppers. Again, this is bad because…?
I’m at a loss to guess how it could aquire the tag “Sledgehammer idiot writing”. Have we seen ‘ER’ ot Law and Order, or CSI or even ‘The Shield’ lately? What do the nay sayers watch regularly? Nothing but this year’s slew of Dickens adaptations?
My question barrage isn’t rhetorical. I genuinely want to know. There is no way in the world it is ‘stop watching’ bad. If it is I’m missing some truly astounding TV and you all have to tell me about it.
(honestly, if that really bugs people I think the cause is lost. Every time it gets a little larger than life with Omar or something it’ll be “Ohhhhh God! I Can’t Stand it! Back to the nuanced subtlety of ‘Dr Who’ “)
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HURRAH. Another Adam and Joe listener.
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Heh I still occasionally have a god awful nightmare where I imagine I’m back at university and somehow still haven’t done my dissertation. The relief upon suddenly waking in a cold sweat and realising I’m not a student (Thank god) is then sadly eclipsed by the further realisation that I’m not a student and have to do shit things like work, pay taxes and be responsible (Sad face) instead of loafing about (arse).
Also I’ll agree that The Wire starts off slow, but it builds up (you have to consider each season like a 13 hour movie), and personally I couldn’t see the problem with the chess scene. Its clear if you listen to the conversations that they kids aren’t exactly clued up, where as Dangelo is, so it understandable that he’s going to couch his explanations in a form and manner they’ll understand.
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K.W Jeter
For some reason I had a copy of ‘Noir’ in sight when I listened to this despite reading it over a year ago. Wait, I figured it out; I’m a slob who never puts books away.
(Same pile: John Steinbeck, Margaret Atwood, Albert Speer, Elizabeth Hand)
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Thanks for another great podcast guys, but I’ve got to say that people badger other people about The Wire because it’s genuinely one of the best TV shows ever made (or certainly that I’ve seen). It’s unfortunate that the constant recommendations can grate but it’d be a real shame if it pushed people from ever getting into it.
Big time commitment but maybe you should watch season one and see how you feel.
Oh and agree that Tei’s comments never fail to put a smile on my face.
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Just to confirm: ‘augmented’ is a womb-level word.
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That was the most entertaining podcast I’ve ever listened to. Bravo! More tangents and less games chat.
Also, here amongst the bohos of South London Mad Men is the new series with which to bore your chums. (It is excellent)
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