DGC Ep 411: Dead Rising (part four)

DGC Ep 411: Dead Rising (part four)

Author: Brett Douville and Tim Longo November 21, 2024 Duration: 1:29:23

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we conclude our series on 2006's Dead Rising. We visit the end of the game a bit and then turn to our takeaways, before tackling a reader question. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Finished the game!

Issues covered: the enemy mix, just being a journalist, being interrupted by Otis, the arrival of the army, captured by cultists, constant use of the chainsaw, adding an enemy and its impact, greater XP rewards, state changes and controlling the state change, an ongoing narrative, how games end, overtime mode, the helicopter arrival, how new game+ or post-game works these days, frustration with unplugging the bombs, vehicle troubles, reach exceeding grasp, having the wrong feelings, the wall mission, early replay to skills gather, the bomb cyclone, the open world structure and its rogue-like nature, picking the good inspiration, weapon variety and payoff, finding new things to do on your run, conducive to achievements, systems over mechanics, different kinds of mastery, getting little bang for buck from first person or special moves, zombies as level design, tuning and balancing, item progression, humans as the real enemies, psychopaths, little survivor stories, balancing silliness and poignancy, when you've changed your mind, individuating the clones, adding humor, using more and less of the language, moving to systems over mechanics, moving away from design documentation, iteration over inspiration, defensiveness, solving for growing team size with documentation.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Dark Souls, MegaMan, Fallout, Bethesda Game Studios, Morrowind, The Witcher 3, Grand Theft Auto, Lost Planet, Monster Hunter, Dragon's Dogma, Resident Evil (series), Dawn of the Dead, Gears of War, Vampire Survivor, Robotron 2084, Fatal Frame, mystery dip, Republic Commando, George Lucas, The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, Robin Williams, William Shakespeare, Harley Baldwin, Starfighter (series), Soren Johnson, Sid Meier, LucasArts, Halo, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy VI, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time:
??? TBA ???

Errata:
You do not in fact have to carry all the queens at once. Brett may not have advanced Isabela's conversation enough.

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
Podcast Episodes
DGC Ep 448: Deadly Premonition (part three) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:12
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 2010's Deadly Premonition. We dig into the game further, particularly talking about how its open world works for us as opposed to the repetitive tasks o…
DGC Ep 447: Deadly Premonition (part two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:52
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 2010's Deadly Premonition. We revisit the Twin Peaks of it all, and then discuss some of the more mechanical aspects of the game, particularly the profi…
DGC Ep 446: Deadly Premonition (part one) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:46
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on 2010's Deadly Premonition. We first set the game in its time, and talk a bit about Japanese creators breaking out and establishing more auteurist inclina…
DGC Ep 445: Portal Bonus Interview with Erik Wolpaw [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:57
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we add to our series on Portal by interviewing Erik Wolpaw. We talk about his pre-Portal career, burnout, and success on small teams and large. Dev Game Club looks at classic vid…
DGC Ep 444: Portal (part two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:57
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on Portal. We talk about the ending part of the game, the increasing difficulty, the cake, and the boss and declare ourselves Still Alive. Dev Game Club lo…
DGC Ep 443: Portal (part one) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:54
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we kick off a short series on 2007's Portal. We talk about the year it came out, a bit about Valve and the Orange Box, before talking about the game's development history and the…
Discord Game Club Ep. 11 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:11:04
Tim is traveling this week, so we are reaching into the Discord Game Club interview archive. This time around, BioStats and Calamity Nolan interview one... Brett Douville, who happens to also co-host Dev Game Club and is…
DGC Ep 442: Papers, Please/Cart Life (part three) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:05
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on a pair of empathy games, Papers, Please and Cart Life. We spend some more time with Melanie and her coffee hut before turning to our takeaways, shared b…
Discord Game Club Ep. 10 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:00:47
It's again the doldrums of summer this week, so we are reaching into the Discord Game Club interview archive. This time around, BioStats and Calamity Nolan interview one Timothy Longo, who happens to also co-host Dev Gam…
DGC Ep 441: Papers, Please/Cart Life (part two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:34
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on empathy games, returning to discuss a little more about Papers, Please before digging into Cart Life a bit. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games a…