The Impact Factor Ep. 32: The Experience Experience
Podcast

Welcome to the 32nd 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 Game Awards, PlayStation Experience, Psychonauts 2, FF7, Street Fighter V, Ni No Kuni 2, Dark Souls 3, PS VR, Bound, Severed, Nuclear Throne & more!

Greg Miller’s Trending Gamer Speech

Subscribe to us on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-impact-factor/id993404882?mt=2

 
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

YouTube page: www.youtube.com/channel/UC_zpRq6h1O7d2MlMYWhNNjw 

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/

PlayStation Experience 2015

Special Article

PlayStation Experience (PSX) was a phenomenal event. As always here on The Impact Factor, when I attend a live event I give you a special report: a synthesis and reflection. Plus a ton of pictures. This one is no different! I’ll try to keep my written thoughts for PSX a bit shorter, since I have a boatload of pictures to get to.

PSX was a little different. As opposed to GDC 2015 or the Hearthstone America's Championship, this event I had company. I went with my lovely fiancée Justine. It was amazing. It changed the way I experienced every single thing: the demos, the show floor, the panels. Everything. At times, she offered a point of contrast. At others, she reinforced my observations. Having Justine there bolstered my excitement for what was great, tempered my reservations about games that weren’t, and gave tangibility to all of PSX’s odds and ends. So, if I can translate this reflection into something meaningful for you all, it’s this: bring someone along to live video game events. It strengthened every single moment I was there.

In only its second year of existence, PSX is a confident, fan-focused event that was well-worth attending. PSX was the first fan-centric gaming convention I’ve attended, as GDC for the people making & publishing games. It was with this mindset that the conference’s structure made perfect sense. Sony did a great job at making fans, like myself, feel like they are an important part of the company’s future. There was a certain amount of honesty that permeated the event. Many games were there at very early stages of development, smaller independent games were given a substantial amount of floor space, and game developers were everywhere. I had more conversations with developers at PSX than I did at GDC. It was a great feeling.

PSX was all about bringing fans close to the people who make PlayStation possible. That’s not just the game devs, although I did see David Jaffe, Tim Schafer, Yoshinori Ono, and Katsuhiro Harada on the show floor. It was the PlayStation executives too. I stood a foot or two from Shawn Layden, Adam Boyes, and Shuhei Yoshida. In each case, the only reason I didn’t talk to them was that they were already engaged in conversation with other fans. It was surreal having that kind of access to the people who run PlayStation.

I want to comment briefly about the culture of the show, too. PSX was unexpectedly pleasant. A few bad apples aside, people we interacted with were pleasant & welcoming. They just wanted to share their passion for PlayStation with others. Signs posted all around the event cultivated this inclusive culture. It was a culture that respected all levels of gamer skill, too. Never once did a fan or a dev critique our gameplay. More often than not, they would offer words of encouragement or helpful tips. PSX was all about letting the fans know that, if you want to play games, there’s no better and more inclusive place than PlayStation.

It’s clear that PSX is one long informerical for games. Initially, I thought this would be off putting. I thought that it would make the games feel hollow. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case at all. From what I’ve read online, PSX felt a lot more like a PAX than an E3. Sure, people were trying to sell me things, but never pushed too hard. Some of the booths were a little corny, but they added to the visual spectacle of the show floor.

Finally, a few quick thoughts. PS VR is a solid experience that has me interested in buying into our VR gaming future (with reservation). Bound, Severed, & Eitr were some of my favorite demos. The themed photo ops are hilariously fun to do. The panels were hit or miss, most felt a little too disorganized to be worthwhile. The keynote was a little underwhelming in terms of game announcements, but was fun as hell to experience in person. PSX was a blast and, should it be nearby again, I would attend without hesitation.

For more of my PSX impressions and reflections, check out The Impact Factor podcast on Friday 12/11, in which I’ll discuss PSX in grand detail! But now let’s get into photos from the event!

We picked up our badges the day before PSX started. Got a sweet bag of goodies!

In line waiting to enter. We showed up at 7:40am for the 10am keynote.
People had been waiting since 9pm the previous night. It was a very long line.

First view inside! Sweet (gigantic) banner over the badge check-in area.

As we made our way up to the 3rd floor for the keynote, we got to see the PSX Live area.
Very cool little set-up.

After much waiting we finally made it into the keynote room! Got pretty sweet seats.

PSX had a bunch of these collectible cards you got for going to booths, panels &
demoes. This is the rare card for attending the keynote!

The crowd erupted when Final Fantasy 7 Remake was shown. The place vibrated.

Street Fighter V showed off its final character, and confirmed the 6 DLC characters. Whoo!

Two Psychonauts announcements in one weekend? Be still my heart.

Hard to see here, but the Rez Infinite PS VR demo was nutty. The glowing
neon suit was a nice touch. (We got to play the demo of this one, whoo!)

Out onto the show floor! The giant interactable wall for The Last Guardian was
neat. Just wish there was more TLG at the show!

Most booths were understated, but not Battleborne's. We got to pose with
some of Gearbox's new crazy characters.

Our first appointment on PSX Day 1 was PS VR. We traveled upstairs & got
to demo Rez Infinite. Good thing we made RSVP's.

Justine looking very futuristic. We came away excited for our
VR gaming future.

Dark Souls 3 had an impressive display. By pressing down a sword in the
front, the body shot out blood. Awesome.

Got to meet Greg Miller from Kinda Funny! He's a pretty cool dude.

Probably my favorite area of the show floor. So many good games.

Speaking of, Eitr was super fun. The dev ran me through a
few things before I got going.

Justine was on the opposite side, playing some Hatoful Boyfriend.
A must buy.

We went to panels, too! Here we are at the Uncharted 4 panel. Very cool
to see Nolan North, Laura Bailey & Troy Baker.

The future of fighting games panel was pretty rad, too. If nothing else,
seeing those three interact was great.

Lines were everywhere, but none of them too bad. The demoing set-ups
were all pretty nice. This is Destiny's SRL booth.

A nice pair of signs found around the event. Really loved that PlayStation put
the effort into inclusiveness at PSX. Their work showed.

Day 1 swag! Plus lots more not even pictures. Free posters, shirts, postcards
pins, bags, etc. The check-in reward system was a fun way to move around the
show floor. Walked away with $10 PSN credit + 3 free games, too!

Day 2. More PlayStation to be had.

The autograph wall. Very cool.

Cooler still, The Impact Factor made its mark at PSX!

We couldn't NOT do a photo op. Uncharted, Dark Souls, Battleborn,
Fat Princess, God of War. Yup.

Day 2, finally waited in line to play Dark Souls 3. That counter is total player
deaths at PSX. I only died once in my 12 minutes!

I really liked the way the PSX booths were set up. Lots of
diversity, some functional some aesthetic. ABZU was awesome, too.

Lots of PlayStation characters around the show.

What better way to end PSX than with a little Capcom Cup finals!
The venue got pretty full. Very cool to see the pros play in-person.

Do It Live: The Hearthstone Americas Championship & Attending eSports

Special Article

I was awoken by the quiet bleeps and bloops of Portal 2’s “Halls of Science,” the ring tone I’ve had set as my alarm for the past couple years. It was pitch black outside. I staggered out of the room and into the bathroom. Within a couple minutes I was ready to go, scarfed some cereal down, and began my walk into the cool, dark & foggy morning. It was Saturday and I was on my way to the train station. I had somewhere to be. That place? The Hearthstone Americas Championship.

Living in San Francisco certainly has its perks. A couple weeks ago Blizzard announced that the Hearthstone Americas Championship would take place in the city at the Folsom Street Foundry. Admission was free. The doors opened at 9:30am Saturday and Sunday October 10-11. I wanted to take advantage of my geographical privilege: it was finally my chance to see competitive Hearthstone in person. I’ve been playing Hearthstone since April 2014. I find that I routinely spend a couple hours each week playing Blizzard’s excellent digital foray into digital card games. But that’s not all. I have watched hours and hours of Hearthstone eSports. I know the players, I know the strategies, I know the decks. It’s great to see what decks the pros bring and follow along with their plays, seeing if I make the same mid-match decisions.

The Hearthstone World Championship presented a perfect opportunity for me to finally see eSports live and in-person. eSports is something I’ve written about before in relation to EVO and fighting games and a frequent topic on The Impact Factor podcast. Despite huge strides towards broader viewership this past year (with several events even making their way onto ESPN’s SportsCenter), eSports still exists within a relatively small niche. For me, though, my eSports media consumption has far surpassed that of traditional sports. I love baseball, but nine times out of ten I’ll choose to watch competitive Street Fighter over nine innings on the diamond.

The choice by the greater gaming to community to title competitive gaming as ‘eSports’ is one I fought against for quite some time. It draws a lot of unhelpful comparisons to traditional physical sports that often derail conversations about the eSport scene. Regardless, the connection between the two does provide a foundation upon which I’ll relate my experiences at the Hearthstone America’s Championship. My fascination about how the two would compare all but solidified my decision to wake up at 6am on a Saturday morning to attend the event. Allow me to briefly write out some broad comparisons below. I’ll support a lot of my observations through pictures, plus who doesn’t want to see a bunch of photos from a Hearthstone tournament venue?

Camaraderie

The first, and most striking, parallel I noticed at the event was the bond shared by the audience. While waiting 2.5 hours in line everyone was talking Hearthstone. I came solo, but that didn’t stop me from hopping into topic after topic as the crowd talked about the game, the tournament scene, and strategies. The energy of people in line was not at all what you’d expect from a bunch of people who had wokne up before the crack of dawn. We talked about our highest rank in Hearthstone’s ranked mode (I had the highest of all those around me, so yeah I guess I rock), what decks we thought would dominate in the forthcoming matches (Patron Warrior, Demon Handlock and Combo Druid), and more. We were all connected by this card game, and the bond was pretty strong.

That said, it’s a feeling that any traditional sports fan can relate to. I’ve felt the same way sitting in Busch Stadium during a St. Louis Cardinals game. Of course it depends on the people you find yourself sitting next to, but I have a lot of fond memories of talking baseball with those around me. Everyone’s excited to be there and they share the bond of baseball. Thinking about my experiences with physical sports made me all the happier about my time at the Hearthstone America’s Championship. I’m glad that people who might not otherwise be able to experience this camaraderie at a football or hockey game can find this bond here.

Engagement

The crowd at the Hearthstone America’s Championship was the most engaged ‘sports’ crowd I’ve ever seen. Before I get any deeper into this, let me note: I understand that this observation isn’t perfectly controlled. At most, there were 200 or so people at the event. Sporting events can draw a crowd of 40,000. Still, the crowd was absolutely fixated on the screen. Side conversations were minimal, and most of those that were happening were discussing the game. The crowd reacted dramatically to the plays on screen: from gasps to cheers to applause. It was a great feeling. Everyone was there to watch the games. This has not always, or ever, been the case at traditional sporting events. I mean this not as a criticism, either. It’s part of their atmosphere. But eSports, or at the very least this one event I attended, felt totally different.

The Pros

The Hearthstone America’s Championship felt casual in all the right ways. As I’ve written above, people were friendly, the crowd was engaged, and the atmosphere was inviting. One thing I didn’t expect, however, was that this extended to the pros and casters of the event. Walking into the venue I was greeted with pros and casters and Blizzard employees just hanging out in the middle of the room. Fans, myself included, were able to go up and talk to some of the best competitors in the Hearthstone scene. For example, I had a brief conversation with the infamous Trump. I was able to wish competitors like Hotform and Purple and JAB good luck as they walked a couple feet in front of me. The accessibility between the fans and the competitors was not something I expected at all. For lack of a better word, it was crazy. And cool. And deeply impactful. For brief moments, I didn’t feel like just some fan, I was a part of the Hearthstone eSports scene.

Attending the Hearthstone America’s Championship was phenomenal. I feel so lucky I was able to attend. I wouldn’t hesitate to attend Hearthstone eSports events in the future. If you get a chance, I’d recommend going to one too.

That’s enough words from me, though! You can look forward to more of my thoughts on this week’s podcast. But now onto the photos!

My walk to the train station. It was pretty eerie.

The line in front of me when I arrived. I was about the ~12th person there. 7:05am.

Banners hung above my head in line. It was a nice touch.

A Blizzard community manager gave the first few people in line free pack codes.
Shoutouts to CM_Whirthun.

The line got pretty long as we got closer to the start time.
It went down the block and curved into the alleyway.

Finally made it inside! Greeted by Hearthstone posters.

A little walk further into the venue brought me to the viewing space and
the casters desk.

No chairs, but there were barrels and a fireplace!

Another look at the viewing space, this time with giant screen included!

Reynad and Purple hanging out before the matches start.

The Foundry filled up pretty quickly.

Quick selfie before the games start. I was tired, but excited.

There was this camera that swooped by overhead. Sometimes
pretty closely overhead.

The first game was about to begin! Trump vs JAB.

The players went to a closed off area upstairs for their matches.

The crowd was pretty darn focused on the screen.

TrumpW! It wasn't meant to be.

Even the pros watched. Some chose to do it from their
exclusive balcony.

New casters for the next game! Wanted to give you all a closer
look at the casting deck in action.

No chairs after waiting 2.5 hours standing in line was a little tiring,
A lot of the crowd chose to sit. Not me, though.

It was neat being so close to the competitors. Here, Nias &
Hotform talk after their match.

As if you needed more proof that I was there, here it is! Went back
and watched the stream archive & played where's Waldo for myself.

Maybe a clearer look at my plaid shirted self!

I left a little before the day ended. Got some sweet
Hearthstone swag as I left!

Sights and sounds from the venue.