The Impact Factor Ep. 77: Nintendo Switch, Creepy Mario
Podcast
Welcome to the 77th 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 Nintendo Switch, Red Dead Redemption 2, The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, PSVR, Sony smartphone games, the SAG-AFTRA strike, Friday the 13th the game, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Darkest Dungeon, Halloween, and why it is so dang hard to make a video game.

“Why It’s So Hard to Make a Video Game” by Tina Amini

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For articles and reviews from Alex, check out: www.theimpactfactor.blogspot.com

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

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

10/8/16-10/14/16

This dark, rainy Friday is a perfect endnote for a spooky October week. I’ve been plugging away at my Scare Fest 2016 list, now with over 10 movies seen and reviewed. Snuggle & Scream podcast made its Season 2 debut this week, in which Justine and I got to discuss Hush. We’re ever slowly creeping towards Halloween and I couldn’t be more excited.

News & Views collects the week’s best gaming and gamedev writing and puts it all into one convenient place. Check out the links below for stories about the geography of a MOBA battleground, how Thumper is a unique blend of rhythm with horror, the tale of a self-destructing game from the 1980’s, and a chronological look at the origin of Japanese role-playing games.

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

Could PlayStation VR be what virtual reality was waiting for?

Brian Crecente, Polygon

Worth Reading

Darkest Dungeon Ruins Its Endgame

Ethan Gach, Kotaku

Proving Grounds: The Geography of the MOBA Map

Josh Calixto, The Meta

The self-destructing game of 1986

Ben Bertoli, Polygon

Teaching My Nonna to Read Through Games

Gino Grieco, Giantbomb

Surviving and thriving as a game developer with chronic illness

Alex Wawro, Gamasutra

The Intense 'Thumper' Is Equal Parts Horror and Music Game

Patrick Klepek, VICE

1982-1987: The Birth of Japanese RPGs, re-told in 15 games

Felipe Pepe, Gamasutra

The Impact Factor Ep. 76: Asynchronous Spacewarp
Podcast
Welcome to the 76th 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 PlayStation VR, Oculus Connect, NYCC, Persona 5, Cuphead, Below, free games, Overwatch Halloween Terror, Darkest Dungeon, and why we should play “bad” games.

“Breaking With the Consensus, and Being OK With That” by Jeremy Parish
“In Defense of Playing Bad Video Games” by Patrick Klepek

Subscribe to us on iTunes

YouTube page

Discord Server

For articles and reviews from Alex, check out: www.theimpactfactor.blogspot.com

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

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)

The Impact Factor Ep. 47: Lightning Angel Is Bae
Podcast
Welcome to the 47th 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 PlayStation 4.5 rumors, PSVR, eSports, Telltale, Batman, Hyper Light Drifter, Firewatch, Mass Effect, Clash Royale, Salt and Sanctuary and much more!

“Branching dialogue trees poorly serve narrative games, says GDC panel” by Colin Campbell

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/