Half-Glass Gaming [Episode 36] : The Berlin Interpretation
We kick off this episode all full of fury, as Josh has quite a bit to say about bumper stickers. If you thought our billboards conversation back in Episode 11 was intense, buckle up! We’ve even got the origin story of the “My other car is a _____” bumper stickers. We also touch on Ayn Rand’s obsession with the color yellow, Bronson Pinchot’s glory days (the 1980s), and the mysterious allure of Steve Buscemi. And before we settle in, we recommend a little indie game called Siralim.
After the break, we dig deep into the roguelike video game genre, which is unique in that a congress of game developers actually met in Berlin to create a hard definition for the term. This would become known as “The Berlin Interpretation.” Why Berlin? Oktoberfest, obviously.
With such a concrete definition already established, we’re able to definitively answer questions like “Why is ToeJam & Earl a roguelike when Skyrim isn’t?” or “How roguelike is Diablo III?”
We also take a peek into the evolution of the genre, from the pre-Rogue origins to the Western decline and resurgence, as well as the Japanese Mystery Dungeon craze in the 1990s. We then look at the post-Spelunky indie roguelike boom and recommend some of our favorites from the genre’s long history.
Get ready for some ear-tingling action: Half-Glass Gaming’s 36th episode is here!
Ich bin ein Rogue!
Perhaps I’m strange, but I think I might enjoy attending a German video game conference more than I would enjoy Oktoberfest. Thank you for another excellent episode regardless.
I for one am glad roguelikes are popular again. Binding Of Issac is one of the best games I’ve played in years.
I’m with you. Binding of Isaac is fantastic.
Hey man, just wanted to let you know that the site was down for me yesterday. Seems okay now though.
I just came here to check on that. It was down for me as well. I think it’s fine now, but I haven’t tried to listen to the podcast yet, lol.
Sorry about that. Looks like I’ll have to spend more time complaining to GoDaddy. Perhaps they’re punishing us for last week’s episode?
No problem. Just wanted to make sure you guys knew about it.