DGC Ep 409: Dead Rising (part two)

DGC Ep 409: Dead Rising (part two)

Author: Brett Douville and Tim Longo November 6, 2024 Duration: 1:07:14

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 2006's Dead Rising, a Capcom game. We talk about the evolving intro, strategies for play, saving those left behind, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
A few more hours

Issues covered: the evolving intro, grinding, the man with the paint can, mastering the level, misreading the map, varying weapon types, the evolving introduction, "I have to restart the game because I want my hair back," bucking the trend of zombie games, a gradually more porous map, keys that are keys, building up the run, skill and level checking the player, finicky quest logic, keys that aren't keys, putting timers on quests, randomly spawning zombies, needing to fail for the game to work, losing survivors, the fantasy fulfillment of the zombie, NPCs unable to traverse like Frank, the game fighting me on pathing, the story going places, being one-shot by a clown, what you get from killing psychopaths, "it's just MegaMan!," revisiting creators, the hero archetype, cleaning up Frank West, achievements that unlock gameplay things, achievement philosophy. 

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Dark Souls, Keiji Inafune, MegaMan, Rogue, Castlevania, XBLA, Blue Thunder, Resident Evil (series), The Walking Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Shinji Mikami, Evil Dead 2/Army of Darkness (obliquely), Raph Colantonio, Arx Fatalis, Arkane, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, Deathloop, Kurt Russell, Big Trouble in Little China, Brendan Fraser, The Mummy, Indiana Jones, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Final Fantasy XV, Ratchet & Clank, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. 

Next time:
More Dead Rising!

Twitch: timlongojr
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com


Dev Game Club is a conversation between two working game developers who have been there. Each week, hosts Brett Douville and Tim Longo pick a classic video game from the past-often a title that shaped design thinking or introduced a new technical standard-and break it down from their professional perspective. Their discussions go beyond nostalgia, examining how these older titles functioned, why certain creative decisions were made, and what lasting impact they left on the industry. You’ll hear specific analysis of game mechanics, narrative structure, and technical achievements, all filtered through decades of hands-on development experience. The goal isn’t just to reminisce but to extract tangible lessons that are still relevant for creators and deeply interesting for passionate players today. They invite you to play the game in question alongside them, then settle in for a detailed, insider’s post-mortem. This podcast offers a unique blend of critical appreciation and practical insight, treating video game history as a living textbook. It’s for anyone who loves games and wants to understand the craft behind them on a deeper level. New episodes release regularly, diving into a different influential game from the archives.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Dev Game Club
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