Furidashi Game Design Academy

4. Crunchy Roles

With the recent news of Cyberpunk 2077 being delayed yet again, Lauryn and Nicholas talk crunch, burnout, and how to begin to deal with the chronic labor issues that plague the video game industry. Also discussed: hapless level designers and how you actually build diversity.

Chillrant 2 - Camera Aesthetics, or Final Fantasy 7 Remolded

Nicholas opines on Final Fantasy 7 and how the feel of the original seems to be missing from the recent remake. Also discussed: third person camera, the virtues of cinematic pacing, and teaching the player the pleasures of anticipation.

3. Gaming Player Psychology

In this continuation episode from their previous discussion on MMO history and design, Lauryn and Nicholas delve into applications of player psychology research as embodied in Bartle's taxonomy of player types and VandenBerghe's "Big 5." All that and a lengthy digression on social dynamics in Japanese education and localization!

Chillrant 1 - Granularity

Nicholas waxes nostalgic over the X-wing and TIE Fighter games as a way to get into the question of granularity in gameplay.

2. The MMO Social Club

Lauryn and Nicholas wax melancholic while talking about MMOs and the accidental invention of seemingly undefinable social relationships in online gaming.

1. Avoiding the Apocalypse

In this first episode Lauryn and Nicholas discuss 2007's Bioshock, ludonarrative dissonance, and what it means to make choices in games with real moral consequence. All this, as the world seems to be falling apart around us.