Giant Bombcast 08-17-2010

[0] folks it's tuesday august the 17th 2010 you're listening to the giant bombcast i'm ryan davis joined by jeff gerstman hello hi brad shoemaker howdy and in place of uh vinnie caravella who is off doing secret special business on assignment we have uh mr fantastic himself Jeff Green.

[1] Hello.

[2] Jeff Green.

[3] Hey.

[4] Hi, guys.

[5] Formerly of – that's some good radio voice you have.

[6] Hi there.

[7] Formerly of a million different places.

[8] Yeah.

[9] Currently of this room.

[10] Yes.

[11] I am currently a hobo.

[12] In fact, Vinny, he's your intern, right?

[13] No, Vinny is our main video producer.

[14] Oh, wait.

[15] Matt Kessler was our intern.

[16] Sorry, Vinny.

[17] Matt is gone.

[18] I've actually met Vinny.

[19] Yeah, that's kind of rude of me. What is it about Vinny that says intern to you?

[20] It's the hair.

[21] Okay.

[22] You know, I said earlier that I wasn't going to cut anything for content.

[23] I'm going to have to cut that.

[24] Anyway, but the internship is...

[25] Coming up, right?

[26] Yeah.

[27] This is actually our first day sans intern.

[28] So really it's sort of fortuitous that I, unemployed, walked in here to join Bob.

[29] We can teach you a thing or two about the games writing business if you're willing to take.

[30] If you want to sit at the feet of masters, then this is the place to do it.

[31] And the thing we just learned last week is that you can make those guys get you sandwiches.

[32] Really?

[33] I can make you guys.

[34] Yeah, he's got a master of picking up sandwiches.

[35] Wait, make sandwiches?

[36] Yeah.

[37] Right?

[38] An artisan intern.

[39] All right.

[40] Things are looking up as possible.

[41] We're trading up.

[42] I'll leave you on your resume anyway.

[43] Fantastic.

[44] And a few sandwiches.

[45] So Jeff Green is here to talk to us about games and stuff.

[46] Yeah.

[47] And what have you.

[48] And whatever he feels like.

[49] Yeah.

[50] How you doing, Jeff?

[51] Let's talk about games.

[52] I'm doing all right.

[53] This is my first day not employed in like a long time.

[54] And it feels pretty damn good.

[55] Yeah.

[56] I have to say.

[57] I understand you had a weekend of ice cream and bacon.

[58] I did.

[59] Did you combine the two?

[60] I didn't.

[61] I know I should say yes.

[62] I appreciate the candor.

[63] And actually, because it was New York Super Fudge Chunk ice cream, Betty Jerry's, and actually bacon, that would probably work.

[64] That might work.

[65] Don't you think?

[66] Absolutely.

[67] I threw some bacon on some hot dogs over the weekend.

[68] That would work.

[69] Did you wrap the bacon around the hot dog?

[70] No, it was already...

[71] Put it on.

[72] I don't know.

[73] There was a whole bag of pre -cooked, chunked -up bacon in my fridge.

[74] Oh, so it's not even strips?

[75] No, it's not even strips.

[76] It's not crumbly necessarily.

[77] It's little pieces.

[78] Chunk bacon?

[79] Yeah, yeah.

[80] So I was just like, all right, I'll pour this onto this hot dog and eat it.

[81] With a bun, too?

[82] Yeah, with a bun.

[83] I'm not savage.

[84] I got standards.

[85] I know a lot of people are weirded out by the pre -cooked bacon, but...

[86] Pre -cooked, like, cut -up bacon seems even more suspect to me. I think they probably sell it for like, yeah, put it on your salad.

[87] Oh, no, I get the purpose of it.

[88] A garnish.

[89] Is it refrigerated at least?

[90] Yes.

[91] Okay.

[92] Because I know a lot of that pre -cooked stuff comes like, you're just on a shelf somewhere.

[93] No, no, this is refrigerated.

[94] I mean, I don't think they sell it refrigerated, but once you open it, it's like, hey, keep this cold.

[95] Come on.

[96] Come on.

[97] Don't be an idiot.

[98] Yeah.

[99] Don't die.

[100] We don't want you to die.

[101] We want you to buy another bag of this bacon and then die.

[102] And slowly die.

[103] Right.

[104] Right, so a lot of ice cream and bacon.

[105] It was pretty great.

[106] I got the sympathy, the wifely, your unemployed sympathy thing.

[107] So she actually went to the store to buy me ice cream.

[108] Wow.

[109] It wasn't even like I brought it home.

[110] You really should get out of work more often.

[111] I don't think I get to milk that for very much longer.

[112] Yeah, about the fourth day when you're just like, you know, sweatpants and stubble.

[113] Okay, you're going to like make some moves and make it happen in the street.

[114] Like, what are we doing?

[115] Yeah, you know.

[116] Thank you for making some time in your busy schedule.

[117] Actually, before we turn the mics on, you guys told me that this is kind of a sort of common first way station for the recently unemployed.

[118] Yeah, we've had a couple of folks that...

[119] Whether unemployed or transitioning between jobs, it's definitely...

[120] We've had our share.

[121] Yeah, absolutely.

[122] And we welcome them.

[123] The unemployed have time to kill.

[124] They're easy to book.

[125] No one has totally exploded and talked a lot of shit about their former employer yet.

[126] Really?

[127] They haven't.

[128] We have high hopes.

[129] I see them.

[130] Okay.

[131] Yet.

[132] Let me crack my knuckles and get started.

[133] No, I'm not going to do that.

[134] If we're going to do that, we have to take them to the bar first.

[135] Exactly.

[136] Let me tell you a thing or two about a thing or two.

[137] I can't believe you guys have your own bar.

[138] We can't believe that either.

[139] It's dangerous.

[140] And this isn't even like, you know.

[141] You guys watch Mad Men, right?

[142] It's not like an office cart.

[143] You guys have a bar.

[144] Like a real bar.

[145] I'm afraid that people envision a car table with some liquor in the corner.

[146] You'll be able to take that freight elevator to get into that bar.

[147] We're going to have secret, crazy...

[148] parties down here.

[149] You can totally have industry parties.

[150] I think that's the thing is that like I told people and we're like and we have this bar and they're like yeah you guys mentioned that an awful lot.

[151] What's up with that?

[152] It's like we take them here and we show it to them like oh okay yeah.

[153] Now I get it.

[154] Yeah.

[155] Well I feel like we established a weird reputation early on of being drinkers.

[156] We went to it was you and I went to 2K to see Bioshock for the PS3.

[157] That's right.

[158] It was like 11 a .m. And Charlie's like, I mean, we got some drinks.

[159] I think we got some drinks in the back or something if you guys want.

[160] It's true.

[161] You guys do have that reputation.

[162] In fact, I'm sitting here.

[163] There's no alcohol on this table.

[164] No, but Jeff does have a can.

[165] I have super malts.

[166] But it says here the non -alcoholic quality malt drink with B vitamins.

[167] So the can looks awesome for starters.

[168] It looks like.

[169] And where did this come from?

[170] The UK.

[171] This was brought hand delivered from the UK.

[172] Actually, I've always thought it was ironic for having that reputation.

[173] We run one teetotaling podcast.

[174] We never drink during this thing.

[175] At least twice a year.

[176] When we go on the road.

[177] Maybe twice a year.

[178] When we go on the road, it gets a little.

[179] But then it's more of a social thing and we have guests and a lot more of that kind of grab assing.

[180] I'm not really a fan of the drinking and podcasting.

[181] I'm really not.

[182] It seems like the sort of thing that can go bad real fast.

[183] I think it could.

[184] Right.

[185] Yeah.

[186] You can start talking loudly.

[187] You guys didn't want that to happen.

[188] No. God, no. You guys didn't drink during the rodeo, did you?

[189] We did not.

[190] We were actually a very caffeinated podcast.

[191] There was a lot of coffee and Diet Coke.

[192] That's a better way to be.

[193] The problem is since we record kind of later in the day.

[194] trying to establish that...

[195] Oh, Jeff's sniffing it.

[196] You want to be on your game when you're podcasting.

[197] This is true.

[198] This can, though, this looks like communist Russia drink.

[199] It's a pretty awesome can.

[200] It tastes a little beer -y.

[201] Very malty.

[202] Getting a little malt flavor.

[203] It is super malt, after all.

[204] Wait, so there is a beer taste to it, even though it's not alcoholic?

[205] Yeah, I mean, a little bit.

[206] Let's say they're in the same ballpark.

[207] All right.

[208] I like it for the can.

[209] Yeah.

[210] So, Jeff Green.

[211] Yeah.

[212] Yes, sir.

[213] Let's take the topic to games.

[214] Let's do that.

[215] Finally.

[216] Yeah.

[217] Ten minutes into this podcast.

[218] Video games.

[219] You know, I listened to it last week, and the spider thing went on for, like, a long freaking time.

[220] Yeah.

[221] When you weren't here, that spider was...

[222] Ugh.

[223] I can't believe we're talking about it again.

[224] Yeah, let's not do it again.

[225] I'm just saying.

[226] Let's just want to talk about spiders in games.

[227] How about the spider in the video game?

[228] Hey, now.

[229] Yeah.

[230] He had guns for legs.

[231] Yeah.

[232] That spider would be way scarier to see.

[233] Way scarier.

[234] That's why I'm trying to kill all these spiders before they evolve those.

[235] Did you actually remove the corpse of that other spider?

[236] Yeah.

[237] Vinny gave it a proper burial, actually.

[238] Really?

[239] Vinny the intern?

[240] Yes.

[241] That's one of his assigned tasks, actually.

[242] I can just see all the comments.

[243] This guy's a cocksucker.

[244] He doesn't know who Vinny is.

[245] What's his fucking problem?

[246] Sorry, I didn't memorize them.

[247] I know.

[248] That's fine.

[249] Jeff Green's a mover and shaker.

[250] He doesn't got time for everyone's names.

[251] I don't have time for the little people.

[252] Says the unemployed guy.

[253] Building bridges.

[254] Making friends.

[255] Yeah.

[256] Well, so the main thing I've been playing, you guys are all talked out about it already.

[257] So we probably shouldn't talk about it.

[258] Talk about it.

[259] We'll talk about StarCraft.

[260] Yes.

[261] It's like everybody else.

[262] I knew that's what you were going to say.

[263] Yeah, I know.

[264] That game's pretty good, right?

[265] Now we have a license to talk about StarCraft.

[266] Actually, but the other one is Dragon Quest IX.

[267] So, yeah, I don't know if you've talked about that at all.

[268] We have not talked on...

[269] We made the intern.

[270] Yeah, we actually gave that one an intern.

[271] Yeah.

[272] It's a good game.

[273] You know, I saw it, and I've messed with it some, and it's a very...

[274] I got a very traditional JRPG vibe off of it.

[275] It is.

[276] Which is, you know, either you like that or you don't.

[277] It is, but I can't put my finger on it, but it's got things about it that are not as annoying as a lot of those JRPGs can be to me. Is it like the – because for me, it's ultimately like there's that grinding repetition of dungeons, dungeons, dungeons.

[278] There is that, but it seems like it has great personality, and I think they are making good use of the Akira.

[279] Toriyama.

[280] Toriyama.

[281] I was going to say Kurosawa.

[282] I'm like, that's not the funny drawings.

[283] But wouldn't that be a cool game?

[284] Akira Kurosawa's Dragon Ball Z. Yeah.

[285] Are you kidding?

[286] Someone make that happen.

[287] But I think it looks great in that game and on the DS.

[288] But if it's still...

[289] Well, it's still very grindy.

[290] I actually didn't think it was until I got to the second boss.

[291] I was thinking, everybody says this game is grindy.

[292] And it's like, totally not.

[293] And then I got my ass handed to me. And went online and was like, I can't beat this boss.

[294] And I said what level I was at.

[295] And it's like, oh, dude, you need to be like six levels higher.

[296] So then I just had to run around the fucking world and just, you know, beat up the same monsters over and over again.

[297] Have you done any of the posse up stuff?

[298] Have you gotten friends together for that stuff?

[299] Oh, you mean real life?

[300] Oh, no, no, I don't have any real life friends.

[301] I mean, there's the tag mode stuff.

[302] What they do is there's some kind of like...

[303] They were trying to have it at Best Buy or something like that.

[304] Yeah, they did.

[305] They did good things about that.

[306] Yeah.

[307] Meetups, right?

[308] One of them had a meetup recently.

[309] What, a Dragon Quest IX meetup?

[310] Yeah, or it's in the cards or something.

[311] I don't get how that works, but...

[312] It seems like...

[313] It's like in Japan where they all get together with their PSPs to play Monster Hunter and...

[314] Yeah.

[315] On the train.

[316] Sit on the floor.

[317] There's something about the personality of this one that I...

[318] It just appeals to me. That's a level five joint, right?

[319] Yes.

[320] Yeah, and there's a...

[321] semi -decent story.

[322] I mean, it's traditional, but, like, early on, somebody dies.

[323] I'm not going to say that when I'm spoiled, but I wasn't expecting it, so I was like, oh, okay.

[324] Well, I had a wonder, since you can construct all of your characters, I wondered how in -depth the story could actually be.

[325] Well, it was like an NPC, but, yeah.

[326] Was it Blue Slime?

[327] No!

[328] No, not Blue Slime!

[329] It was Metal Slime.

[330] Oh, my God!

[331] I thought he was unkillable!

[332] Damn it.

[333] Four hit points and nearly unkillable.

[334] That's some weak metal.

[335] All right, Jeff, I'll open it up.

[336] Let's talk about StarCraft.

[337] StarCraft.

[338] We'll let you lock gaze with Brad Shoemaker across the table here.

[339] Are you completely in love with it?

[340] Say it kind of slow.

[341] We can read some readings from Jeffrey on StarCraft.

[342] You're like, I think, 200 more multiplayer games into it than I am.

[343] I'm still in the practice league.

[344] Oh, so you actually are playing multiplayer, though.

[345] Like everybody on my friends list, I must have like 40 or 50 people on there, mostly thanks to Facebook.

[346] But all of them played the campaign, and now they don't even sign on anymore.

[347] All of my friends on my friends list are playing World of Warcraft.

[348] Yeah, so it's just like, there aren't a lot of people on there for that.

[349] Like, man, wow.

[350] StarCraft II did make me go back to WoW.

[351] I don't know what that effect was.

[352] That's probably by design.

[353] That's probably some subliminal messaging within Blizzard's world.

[354] Yeah, it's like, hey, isn't this game slick?

[355] Don't you like it?

[356] We make another game you might be.

[357] You finish this one, but come over here and check out this one.

[358] This one never ends.

[359] I can see Stargraft 2 is going to never end.

[360] I mean, if you care about it, if you're going to be anal about the achievements.

[361] There's a lot of achievements in that game.

[362] And they're pretty good ones, too.

[363] I mean, they're pretty smart about it.

[364] They don't all feel that cheap.

[365] There's a lot of interesting, unique, and some really good multiplayer achievements.

[366] There's one for destroying a transport fully loaded with units.

[367] If they're stupid enough to fly a transport near you full of units and you take it down, that's a pretty good achievement.

[368] Brad, I want to ask you, how has your social experience been in multiplayer?

[369] The way people are communicating?

[370] Positive?

[371] You're talking about general interactions with...

[372] Like during game, in game.

[373] Like the random faceless players I'm running into?

[374] Not a whole lot of hate speech.

[375] Mostly cordial.

[376] A decent amount of rage quitting.

[377] Depends on what level of politeness you're looking for.

[378] Definitely not everybody will GG you when you win, but at least they're not cursing you out.

[379] I've had games where no one says anything, and that strikes me as just weird.

[380] It is kind of weird.

[381] I'm playing with another human, and we can't even say hi.

[382] Type, hey, what's up?

[383] Right.

[384] It's like playing the AI.

[385] What's up is I'm trying to win.

[386] That's what.

[387] You're messing up my build order.

[388] I had that one time.

[389] I did the general GLHF and dude was just like, why?

[390] And I was like, because it's polite.

[391] And he was like, but I want to crush you.

[392] Why do you care if I have fun?

[393] It went on for like five minutes.

[394] Wow.

[395] Was he serious?

[396] Yeah, he was totally serious.

[397] He was totally serious.

[398] Did you win?

[399] No, he won.

[400] Was he a robot?

[401] Yes.

[402] I'm not here to have fun.

[403] I'm here to crush you.

[404] To crush you.

[405] Obviously, he was not there to make friends.

[406] Yeah.

[407] I don't get that common.

[408] I mean, just basic GL.

[409] I don't need to say it every time.

[410] But the last time I said it, which was yesterday, I just typed GL.

[411] And the guy wrote back.

[412] Shut the fuck up.

[413] I'm concentrating.

[414] And I wrote nice and then a smiley face because I thought he was kidding.

[415] Sure.

[416] He can't be that much of an asshole.

[417] And then he never responded again.

[418] And I was like, wow.

[419] Okay.

[420] He is that much of an asshole.

[421] In the time it took him to type that, though, you totally screwed up his deal.

[422] He probably threw his billboarder off.

[423] I don't like three supplies.

[424] Then you go two racks.

[425] So we're a couple weeks into StarCraft II multiplayer having gone wide.

[426] How do we feel about just kind of the multiplayer balance of the game and the tactics that people are adopting?

[427] Because it seems like the evolution is happening.

[428] It seems like it is active.

[429] I am starting to see terms being thrown around for certain tactics and strategies.

[430] There are some pretty vitriolic threads on some of the higher level forums.

[431] Are people complaining that the missile turrets are overpowered?

[432] Am I hearing that?

[433] I don't think I've seen a lot of that.

[434] They are pretty damn strong.

[435] But I've seen people making the argument that Terran players are getting better over time because they're finding more ways to exploit that race.

[436] And Zerg is at a huge disadvantage right now.

[437] People have been saying this for forever in StarCraft 1.

[438] People are going apeshit about how unbalanced Monday Night Combat is right now.

[439] Any game that features that level of strategic complexity, somebody's going to cry.

[440] If it's a thing that you're playing, somehow you're being fucked.

[441] Especially if you're losing.

[442] Specifically if you're losing.

[443] I hit the button!

[444] What the hell?

[445] I'm feeling pretty good about my standing, though.

[446] Are you still...

[447] I'm not trying to blow my own horn.

[448] Are you still platinum -laying?

[449] Yeah, I'm third -place platinum right now.

[450] A couple more wins will probably push me into Diamond, but have not been able to eke it out yet.

[451] Are you consistently one race?

[452] Yeah, Protoss.

[453] But that's just because I haven't bothered to learn the other two.

[454] I mean, I can't sacrifice.

[455] What do you mean?

[456] Well, so far, really, just Taren, and that's just because of playing the...

[457] Yeah, it makes sense, too.