It’s a veritable menagerie of idiots in this week’s Giant Bombcast as we’re joined by Alex Navarro for discussions about Grand Theft Auto IV: Greater Toronto Area, 50 Cent II: The Dollar, synthoids, the Harlem Globetrotters of pizza, and more! As always, you can send in your questions to bombcast (at) giant bomb (dot) com.
The Giant Bombcast continues its slow-motion explosion with Jeff and Ryan’s thoughts on Lost: Via Domus, Rainbow Six Vegas 2, an Ice Cube side-scroller, Guitar Hero: Beatles, Ed Boon, Blu-ray versus HD downloads, the flavor of Scottish girders, technofear, and more!
In our inaugural episode of the Giant Bombcast, Ryan and Jeff discuss delicious WoW-inspired energy drinks, the hidden depth in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the brilliant filmography of Mark Dacascos, and much more. Send any and all questions/drink recommendations/death threats to bombcast at giant bomb dot com!
Today is the soft launch for Giant Bomb (dot com), which is the totally awesome new video-game website that Jeff Gerstmann, myself, and some other highly excellent dudes have been working on in secret. I think Jeff does a good job of introducing Giant Bomb on the site itself, and I urge you to roll over and give it a look. Please keep in mind that this is just the beginning. We have some grand plans for this venture.
On a related note, the Arrow Pointing Down Podcast will be transitioning into the Giant Bomb Podcast over the course of the next week or so. We’ll have a new name, and probably some new theme music, but fear not, it’ll still be the same sidebar-heavy discussions about video games, milkshakes, and the Sylvester Stallone film Cobra.
As promised, the latest episode of the Arrow Pointing Down Podcast, featuring Internet celebrities Ryan Davis, Jeff Gerstmann, and Alex Navarro! Join us as we discuss the top news stories in the world of video games, new releases, and drinks!
And we’re back! Sorry for the lengthy absence, it’s been a busy week and a half–went to Disneyland with my special lady-friend for her birthday and grappled with some interesting professional developments–but I won’t get into too much more detail about that right now.
I will say that I started playing Bully for the 360 today, and despite some technical shortcomings, I’m enjoying it so far. Again, you’ll hear plenty about that, France’s tallest drummer, and of course, stupid, stupid drinks on the next Arrow Pointing Down Podcast, which will be rolling out this Wednesday, which is technically today, if you want to be a dick about it. Damn it’s late.
Until then, gaze into the unsettling comma-shaped eyes of this baby mannequin I saw in Downtown Disney. I dare you not to go utterly insane.
Your new favorite podcast that is sometimes, tangentially about video games is back! This week beverage enthusiast Jeff Gerstmann, freelance gigolo Alex Navarro, and I bask in the afterglow of GDC, guzzle horrible energy drinks, contemplate legal action against McDonald’s, declare Cobra a 2008 Oscar winner, and so very much more! Join us, won’t you? Afterwards, be sure to check out Will Wright’s talk at GDC 2008.
Got a question for the Arrow Pointing Down podcast posse? Drop us a line at podcast at arrowpointingdown dot com!
UPDATE: The initial syncing issues have been fixed, mostly, kinda! It’s all a learning experience for us here, folks!
Bold fashion choices get made by GDC attendees, says the guy with the mustache rollercoaster on his face.
I’m honestly having trouble putting my thoughts about yesterday’s events into anything too cogent, and unfortunately the crummy weather will probably prevent me from making it to the show at all today. There are a few, specific things that I’d like to share about my GDC experience, though.
While waiting in line with Jeff to see Sid Meier talk on day one, we’re approached by an enthusiastic young PR representative for 2K Games, current publisher of Sid Meier’s games. In the process of congratulating us for attending the best session of the show, it is revealed that he believes Arrow Pointing Down to be a new “media outlet”, a belief that comes up in a few other conversations over the course of the show. And how can you blame them? With podcast dominated by analysis of Gatorade, half-ass webcam videos, and spastic blog posting, it should be apparent that I AM THE MEDIA.
On day two I saw Louis Castle, co-founder of Westwood Studios and current VP of creative development at EALA, talk about the processes, or lack thereof, that went into making Boom Blox. Like many of the sessions I went to, I found it really interesting, but not in a way that can be retold. It’s a real “you had to be there and you also had to have a pretty serious interest in the game development process” thing. I walked away from that session more excited about Boom Blox than before, and with the feeling that, despite his apparent brilliance, my man Louie C. does not get the respect he deserves.
Probably the highlight of the whole damn show for me was hearing Will Wright talk last night at a private event. Open bar and some amazing-looking food (which I stupidly missed out on) aside, Will Wright is a goddamn captivating public speaker. It’s a cliche thing to say, almost as cliche as mentioning that it’s a cliche, but Will Wright simply sees the world differently from the rest of us, and he’s extremely good at articulating what he sees. Explaining why every Russian space mission has a handgun and a bottle of vodka on-board, and drawing comparisons between Gilligan’s Island and the Seven Deadly Sins, it’s shocking and humbling how Will Wright’s mind works, even when discussing what most would regard as pop culture ephemera. He is entertaining and insightful, and after finally getting to see him speak in person, I can really understand why people feel compelled to deify the man.
Had a number of really great conversations at the Will Wright event, though my personal favorite was when I was accosted by an imposing Australian man who shouted “WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO GET YOU TO COVER OUR GAME” at me before introducing himself as the lead designer on The Force Unleashed for the Wii. The answer: uhh, show it to me!
There’s probably a whole lot more, and I’m already preemptively kicking myself for not making it to the Portal Postmortem session with Erik Wolpaw, but that ought to pretty much put a bow on GDC 2008 for me. See you there next year!
You can check out Jeff Gerstmann’s blog for an idea of what I did with my first day of the 2008 Game Developers Conference, or you can check out these sweet video vlogs!
This first one was recorded at Moscone North, right before Rob Pardo spoke about the multiplayer philosophy of Blizzard’s games.
And then this one was recorded at Henry’s Hunan, the best Chinese restaurant in the known world.
Now I’m in the Sony blogger’s lounge, and I think I’m going to call it a day. But before that,
BREAKING NEWS: GameTap’s Giancarlo Varanini is eating four pot stickers. More news on this situation as it develops!
MORE BREAKING NEWS: There’s apparently no audio in these clips. Use your imagination, and feel free to submit your own audio track! Peace!
Though the Game Developers Conference doesn’t start in earnest until today, I got my first taste of the show last night, going to an EA-sponsored event for some heavily embargoed demonstrations of a number of games being produced by Battlefield commanders DICE. It was nice, but it was a kind of typical industry party–the venue was far too swanky and night-clubby for the crowd, the bar was open for better social lubrication, and and hostesses circulated tiny food around the room on trays–but this being my first event post-GS, it was still kind of surreal. I’m so used to representing a larger organization at such events, it’s dangerous knowing that the only reputation I can now tarnish with my untoward behavior is my own.
PODCAST UPDATE: The response to the pilot episode of the Arrow Pointing Down Podcast has been phenomenal so far, though I wanted to address a few things. First, the Arrow Pointing Down Podcast is now available on iTunes! Second, we know the first episode sounds like shit–this was an extremely impromptu experiment, and to quote Jeff on the topic, “We need crystal-clear DAT quality recordings of us talking about meaningless bullshit.” The next episode will sound better, promise.
Well I’ve already managed to burn through Ken Levine’s GDC session, so best I get moving. Expect some kind of Day One wrap-up, and if you see me at the show, holler!
