The Impact Factor Ep. 57: The Cockroach Apocalypse
Podcast
Welcome to the 57th episode of The Impact Factor! The Impact Factor is what happens when two scientists, and two best friends, get together to talk about video games. Hosts Alex Samocha [biomedical scientist] and Charles Fliss [social scientist] sit down every week to discuss the week in gaming! Listen in for the news, views, and games that made the biggest impact!

Please send your suggestions and feedback to: impactfactorpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode Alex and Fliss talk about Overwatch, DOOM, Pokemon, Absolver, E3 2016, Xbox One Slim, Skylanders Imaginators, Battlecast, The Division, eSports, cockroaches, injuries and much more!

Smash Bros.’s Hand Health Epidemic by John Macone, Eventhubs

Subscribe to us on iTunes

YouTube page

For articles and reviews from Alex, check out: www.theimpactfactor.blogspot.com
For a blog about Japan, pop culture & more from Fliss, check out:

www.flissofthenorthstar.blogspot.com

Follow Alex @alexsamocha on Twitter. twitch.tv/megalodonphd
Follow Fliss @thecfliss on Twitter. twitch.tv/flissofthenorthstar

Intro song:

You Kill My Brother by Go! Go! Go! Micro Invasion, East Jakarta Chiptunes Compilations. Freemusic Archive. (Attribution Noncommercial Share-Alike License)
Transitions:
News & Views and Perspectives transitions from victorcenusa, Freesound.org (Creative Commons 0 License)
Experimental Methods transition from Sentuniman, Freesound.org (Attribution Noncommercial License)

News & Views

4/2/16-4/8/16

Phew, I’m lucky to even be writing this post this week. Enter the Gungeon is finally out and I’m totally obsessed. What game are you really into right now? I would love to know.

News & Views is your weekly infusion of great gaming content! I scour the web each week to find the articles, opinions, videos & more that are worth consuming. Check out the links below for stories about a blind gamer who excels at a highly competitive fighting game, how one pair of game developers are nearly halfway to simulating existence, and the rise of young eSports pros for a smartphone game.

And of course please check out the brand new episode of The Impact Factor podcast that was posted today! You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, or if you prefer other methods, check out our SoundCloud. We’re on YouTube too!

Spotlight

How to Shave Obama: Behind the baffling, nearly two-year-long quest to find Frog Fractions 2

Justin McElroy, Polygon

Worth Reading

Dwarf Fortress' creator on how he's 42% towards simulating existence

Wes Fenlon, PC Gamer

Meet the blind gamer with a Killer Instinct

Wesley Yin-Poole, Eurogamer

Why I cancelled my Wii U game

Brandon Sheffield, Gamasutra

The rise of Vainglory and a new generation of esports pros

Luke Winkie, The Daily Dot

SOMA - Crafting Existential Dread

Thomas Grip, GDC 2016 via GDCVault.com

With Comments

Turning in the Badge

Heather Alexandra, Giantbomb

Heather Alexandra writes a fantastic piece about violence in games. The Division’s subject matter continues to be divisive among professional game critics. She writes that the game displays a recurring power fantasy of legitimized violence. The Division not only allows you to wantonly kill other survivors, it actively encourages you to do so. I might just have to play this game at some point. The discussion surrounding it is just too fascinating not to.

Chasing Passion

David ‘dacidbro’ Broweleit, The Pop Tart Diary

I always love reading about success stories. More than that, I love reading about how people have used games to over come obstacles, stave off criticism, and escape dark times. Dacidbro’s story is a nice one and I’m glad he’s found his calling. His story reinforces the idea that games can be more than just a diversion or escape. Games can fundamentally change the core of your identity.

Idolm@ster and the mechanics of depression

Caty McCarthy, Kill Screen

Reading about games I have never heard of continues to be great. Caty McCarthy spotlights the old Japanese title Idolm@ster and its depiction of depression. McCarthy applauds the game for not focusing on overcoming depression or finding a cure as so many other titles (across all media) do. Instead Idolm@ster shows the past, present, and future of depression and accepting it as just a part of life. The game is able to transport the player to a world, a depression, that almost none of us will experience: being a pop idol. Really cool story.

News & Views

3/19/16-3/25/16

Happy weekend and Happy (almost) Easter to all who choose to celebrate! I’m looking forward to a nice couple of days ahead. I also made some plans for next week that have me super excited. Just got to get through the rest of today and I’m in the clear!

News & Views is my attempt to curate the week’s best video game writing. I feature great articles, opinions, editorials, and whatever else catches my critical eye. Check out the links below for stories about action game design from one of the best in the business, the cognitive dissonance of The Division’s violence, and the triumph of tragedy in Life is Strange.

And of course please check out the brand new episode of The Impact Factor podcast that was posted today! You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, or if you prefer other methods, check out our SoundCloud. We’re on YouTube too!

Spotlight

The demolition of Japan's videogame history

John Andersen, Kill Screen

Worth Reading

Platinum Games' guide to action game design

Christian Nutt, Gamasutra

Matt's Video Game Science Corner: Crafting Recipes

Matt Sayer, Unwinnable

Not Every Developer Is Convinced Let's Play Videos Are A Good Thing

Patrick Klepek, Kotaku

The Importance of Community

Forest Handford, Gamasutra

Composer reveals the original ending of Halo 2

Cassidee Moser, IGN

With Comments

How losing a tournament made this Magic card worth $15K

Ferguson Mitchell, The Daily Dot

I may not play it anymore, but Magic remains one of the most compelling card games (and card game communities) out there. I was savvy to this story as it unfurled, so it was great to see it in a concise summary form here. The story of how one card can be worth $15,000 is a great one. I remember trying to open a Tarmogoyf back when it was first released (then ~$40, now $130). No luck. Dangit.

The Triumph of Despair in Life is Strange

Ed Smith, Kill Screen

Life is Strange caught me by surprise. I knew I wanted to play it because I love playing interactive narrative games with my fiancée, but was so pleasantly surprised when the game was stellar. One aspect that stood out was just how deep the sadness was in Life is Strange. Ed Smith writes about how despair is represented well in the game, especially in how it undermines the black & white morality choice systems we’ve seen in similar titles. Beware spoilers, but well worth a read.

Explorer.GMK: An Excerpt From the Spelunky book

Derek Yu, Gamasutra

I got to (kind of) meet Derek Yu the other week!! It was so exciting. I did get to buy his book though! Not only is Yu an exceptional game designer (Spelunky is one of my favorites of all time), but it also turns out he’s not too shabby a writer as well. I highly recommend reading this excerpt from his book, as it touches on the core design foundation of Spelunky—one of the most influential titles of the past decade.

The Dissonance of The Division: From Saviors to Murders

Eric Van Allen, Paste

I’ve seen this argument a lot, but I have not tired of reading about it (yet). It’s hard to feel heroic when you’re ruthlessly gunning down people in the streets. Not aliens, not demons, not abstract forms. Real, living, people. For many, the gameplay’s interaction with narrative has troubling implications. You kill looters but then proceed to loot yourself. There are no non-lethal options to stopping foes. Some have argued about the racial undertones of the game’s attempt at distinguishing looters from friendly NPCs (they are wearing hoodies). I still have little to no interest in playing The Division, but man is there a lot of interesting things to say about it. So, congrats Ubisoft?

The Impact Factor Ep. 46: Half Bunny, Half Blob
Podcast
Welcome to the 46th episode of The Impact Factor! The Impact Factor is what happens when two scientists, and two best friends, get together to talk about video games. Hosts Alex Samocha [biomedical scientist] and Charles Fliss [social scientist] sit down every week to discuss the week in gaming! Listen in for the news, views, and games that made the biggest impact!

Please send your suggestions and feedback to: impactfactorpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode Alex and Fliss talk about GDC, PlayStation VR, Hearthstone, Xbox cross play, The Division, The Witcher 3, No Man’s Sky, Orbital, Broforce and much more!

Subscribe to us on iTunes

YouTube page

For articles and reviews from Alex, check out: www.theimpactfactor.blogspot.com
For a blog about Japan, pop culture & more from Fliss, check out:

www.flissofthenorthstar.blogspot.com

Follow Alex @alexsamocha on Twitter. twitch.tv/megalodonphd
Follow Fliss @thecfliss on Twitter. twitch.tv/flissofthenorthstar

Intro song:

You Kill My Brother by Go! Go! Go! Micro Invasion, East Jakarta Chiptunes Compilations. Freemusic Archive. (Attribution Noncommercial Share-Alike License)
freemusicarchive.org/music/Indonesi…s_Compilation/
Transitions:
News & Views and Perspectives transitions from victorcenusa, Freesound.org (Creative Commons 0 License)
freesound.org/people/victorcenusa/sounds/148785/
freesound.org/people/victorcenusa/sounds/148784/
Experimental Methods transition from Sentuniman, Freesound.org (Attribution Noncommercial License)
freesound.org/people/Setuniman/sounds/143994/

The Impact Factor Ep. 43: Tatsumaking Me Angry
Podcast
Welcome to the 43rd episode of The Impact Factor! The Impact Factor is what happens when two scientists, and two best friends, get together to talk about video games. Hosts Alex Samocha [biomedical scientist] and Charles Fliss [social scientist] sit down every week to discuss the week in gaming! Listen in for the news, views, and games that made the biggest impact!

Please send your suggestions and feedback to: impactfactorpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode Alex and Fliss talk about The Division, Destiny, HTC Vive, VR, Twitch chat, Battleborn, Bethesda, Uncharted 4, Crypt of the NecroDancer, Street Fighter V, Survivor & much more!

Subscribe to us on iTunes

YouTube page

For articles and reviews from Alex, check out: www.theimpactfactor.blogspot.com
For a blog about Japan, pop culture & more from Fliss, check out:

www.flissofthenorthstar.blogspot.com

Follow Alex @alexsamocha on Twitter. twitch.tv/megalodonphd
Follow Fliss @thecfliss on Twitter. twitch.tv/flissofthenorthstar

Intro song:

You Kill My Brother by Go! Go! Go! Micro Invasion, East Jakarta Chiptunes Compilations. Freemusic Archive. (Attribution Noncommercial Share-Alike License)
freemusicarchive.org/music/Indonesi…s_Compilation/
Transitions:
News & Views and Perspectives transitions from victorcenusa, Freesound.org (Creative Commons 0 License)
freesound.org/people/victorcenusa/sounds/148785/
freesound.org/people/victorcenusa/sounds/148784/
Experimental Methods transition from Sentuniman, Freesound.org (Attribution Noncommercial License)
freesound.org/people/Setuniman/sounds/143994/