PC Gaming Community http://www.immortalmachines.com Immortal Machines http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en-us Mon, 5 Jan 2009 08:51:09 -0500 webmaster@immortalmachines.com Mon, 5 Jan 2009 08:50:54 -0500 webmaster@immortalmachines.com FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.9) unlicensed version http://www.feedforall.com Immortal Machines PC Gaming lives at Immortal Machines, bringing you PC Gaming news, features, commentary, and our podcast. The site is run for PC Gamers by PC Gamers. Immortal Machines Clayton Cannon webmaster@immortalmachines.com games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines yes no http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/immortalmachines.jpg http://www.immortalmachines.com PC Gaming lives at Immortal Machines, bringing you PC Gaming news, features, commentary, and our podcast. The site is run for PC Gamers by PC Gamers. 48 48 Circumstances dictated an extra week off before bringing you Episode 28, but don’t worry, we’re back in full swing and the fruits of our labor are here for your savoring. You may recall that in the last episode I talked a bit about Cyber-Wing, the Herzog Zwei-inspired indie PC title released late last year by Martian Arctic Games. Well, Martian Arctic founder Devin Passage was good enough to agree to join us for this episode of the show, and he weighs in on all manner of things ranging from the state of indie development / publishing, to piracy and DRM, to basket-weaving. I’m totally lying about that last one. It was a real pleasure to have Devin with us, and I hope he’ll come back again when it’s time to pitch his next project. A great many links were promised in the course of the recording, and I present them in no particular order: Sins of a Solar Empire Mods: Sins of the 13th Tribe Sacrifice of Angels Requiem Distant Stars Gilfor’s Tales Flotilla and Gravity Bone Crosus Due to Devin’s inclusion in the show, we didn’t do an indie or mod segment this time around (consider the whole show your indie segment, really), but we did give Total Annihilation a fond remembrance in our retro section, and that spawned another small list of links for your pleasure: Spring, the originally TA-based open-source RTS engine The TA 3.1 Patch TA Universe and Unit Universe You can also look forward to some brief unhappy commentary about both Ubisoft’s apparent burning desire to drive away its PC gaming base, and Bobby Kotick’s belief that the best way to retain the creative talent that drives the industry is to sack them. We recorded before the lawsuit news broke, so there’s no talk of that, but I suspect we may revisit it in the future. Let me be clear as I tried to be in the show: we’ve been hard on Infinity Ward about Modern Warfare 2 because we think they deserved it, but that doesn’t equate to us wishing them ill. Finally, listener mail, in which we are accused of being fabulously wealthy. If only. ;) Anyhow, enjoy, and we’ll probably see you all again around St Patty’s Day. Immortal Machines welcomes you to… The Coldest Place on Mars. Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock] Participants are Robert [Trebor], Bryan [Smoof], and Devin Passage from Martian Arctic Games Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/The_Coldest_Place_On_Mars.mp3 Sat, 6 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST Immortal Machines Circumstances dictated an extra week off before bringing you Episode 28, but don’t worry, we’re back in full swing and the fruits of our labor are here for your savoring. You may recall that in the last episode I talked a bit about Cyber-Wing, the Herzog Zwei-inspired indie PC title released late last year by Martian Arctic Games. Well, Martian Arctic founder Devin Passage was good enough to agree to join us for this episode of the show, and he weighs in on all manner of things ranging from the state of indie development / publishing, to piracy and DRM, to basket-weaving. I’m totally lying about that last one. It was a real pleasure to have Devin with us, and I hope he’ll come back again when it’s time to pitch his next project. A great many links were promised in the course of the recording, and I present them in no particular order: Sins of a Solar Empire Mods: Sins of the 13th Tribe Sacrifice of Angels Requiem Distant Stars Gilfor’s Tales Flotilla and Gravity Bone Crosus Due to Devin’s inclusion in the show, we didn’t do an indie or mod segment this time around (consider the whole show your indie segment, really), but we did give Total Annihilation a fond remembrance in our retro section, and that spawned another small list of links for your pleasure: Spring, the originally TA-based open-source RTS engine The TA 3.1 Patch TA Universe and Unit Universe You can also look forward to some brief unhappy commentary about both Ubisoft’s apparent burning desire to drive away its PC gaming base, and Bobby Kotick’s belief that the best way to retain the creative talent that drives the industry is to sack them. We recorded before the lawsuit news broke, so there’s no talk of that, but I suspect we may revisit it in the future. Let me be clear as I tried to be in the show: we’ve been hard on Infinity Ward about Modern Warfare 2 because we think they deserved it, but that doesn’t equate to us wishing them ill. Finally, listener mail, in which we are accused of being fabulously wealthy. If only. ;) Anyhow, enjoy, and we’ll probably see you all again around St Patty’s Day. Immortal Machines welcomes you to… The Coldest Place on Mars. Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock] Participants are Robert [Trebor], Bryan [Smoof], and Devin Passage from Martian Arctic Games Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] 2:12:20 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no On this edition of the Immortal Machines Podcast, your time managed cast of Robert [Trebor], Eric [Ravenlock], Bryan [Smoof], and Clayton [Voodoo] discuss what it takes to setup some time to play games. Do you have to wait till all your chores are done, make sure the kids are tucked in, not play on nights when a new episode of your favorite TV show is on, or any of a myriad of items. Are your game playing choices based on how much time you have in a given evening, do you just schedule a series of evenings to pay, or do you just play on the weekends? All these questions are discussed and more. For the Retro Section the classic Monolith game Blood is poked and prodded to show just how much fun it was to shoot, kill, and kick around severed zombie heads like soccer balls. Next up in the Indie Section the much heralded Cyber Wing is examined and we all find out how much fun it is to change from a Mech to a Jet with very little fuss. Also knocking down palm trees while chasing the bad guys and shooting ‘em with twin arm mounted Gatling guns is just plan destructive. In the Mod section the fantastic user created addition to the game Company of Heroes, Eastern Front , which adds the Russian side to this classic WWII RTS is played and praised. It is always amazing what the moders can do with some time, patience, and a good SDK. So click on das mouse comrade to download and play World Enough and Time for Games http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/World_Enough_and_Time_for_Games.mp3 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST Immortal Machines On this edition of the Immortal Machines Podcast, your time managed cast of Robert [Trebor], Eric [Ravenlock], Bryan [Smoof], and Clayton [Voodoo] discuss what it takes to setup some time to play games. Do you have to wait till all your chores are done, make sure the kids are tucked in, not play on nights when a new episode of your favorite TV show is on, or any of a myriad of items. Are your game playing choices based on how much time you have in a given evening, do you just schedule a series of evenings to pay, or do you just play on the weekends? All these questions are discussed and more. For the Retro Section the classic Monolith game Blood is poked and prodded to show just how much fun it was to shoot, kill, and kick around severed zombie heads like soccer balls. Next up in the Indie Section the much heralded Cyber Wing is examined and we all find out how much fun it is to change from a Mech to a Jet with very little fuss. Also knocking down palm trees while chasing the bad guys and shooting ‘em with twin arm mounted Gatling guns is just plan destructive. In the Mod section the fantastic user created addition to the game Company of Heroes, Eastern Front , which adds the Russian side to this classic WWII RTS is played and praised. It is always amazing what the moders can do with some time, patience, and a good SDK. So click on das mouse comrade to download and play World Enough and Time for Games 1:47:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no I promise this will be our last digital distribution episode. Okay, no I don’t. I promise it will be our last one for at least a month? …We’ll see how we do on that, I guess. We’ve spent a lot of time over the past several months extolling the virtues of digital distribution – the frequent sales, the convenience, the portability – and all of those virtues still hold true. It was time, though, to inject a little balance into the equation and start talking about one of the major downsides of digital distribution: you never really own what you buy anymore. Of course, as you’ll hear, maybe you never did to begin with, and it’s just more obvious now. Still, with the recent beta impressions of OnLive hitting the web, it was time to talk about purchasing games vs. purchasing access to games, and the path we feel the future will take. Join us, and see if you agree with our assertions. Time is also given to Terry Cavanagh’s (if I may say so) brilliant VVVVVV in our indie segment, our retro gaming discussion starts off talking about Tomb Raider and ends up in places I can’t say I’m proud of (really, Warren? You wanted to see this naked?), and we take a look at the UT2004 mod Air Buccaneers, if you’re in an airship kind of mood. Also, from our list of recently played games, allow me to direct your attention to the D1X-Rebirth mod for Descent, in case you want to lose your lunch in 6 degrees of freedom. Oh, and this. What the Hell, Dwarf Fortress. You blow my mind. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Here_Today_Gone_Tomorrow.mp3 Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST Immortal Machines I promise this will be our last digital distribution episode. Okay, no I don’t. I promise it will be our last one for at least a month? …We’ll see how we do on that, I guess. We’ve spent a lot of time over the past several months extolling the virtues of digital distribution – the frequent sales, the convenience, the portability – and all of those virtues still hold true. It was time, though, to inject a little balance into the equation and start talking about one of the major downsides of digital distribution: you never really own what you buy anymore. Of course, as you’ll hear, maybe you never did to begin with, and it’s just more obvious now. Still, with the recent beta impressions of OnLive hitting the web, it was time to talk about purchasing games vs. purchasing access to games, and the path we feel the future will take. Join us, and see if you agree with our assertions. Time is also given to Terry Cavanagh’s (if I may say so) brilliant VVVVVV in our indie segment, our retro gaming discussion starts off talking about Tomb Raider and ends up in places I can’t say I’m proud of (really, Warren? You wanted to see this naked?), and we take a look at the UT2004 mod Air Buccaneers, if you’re in an airship kind of mood. Also, from our list of recently played games, allow me to direct your attention to the D1X-Rebirth mod for Descent, in case you want to lose your lunch in 6 degrees of freedom. Oh, and this. What the Hell, Dwarf Fortress. You blow my mind. 1:47:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no On this edition of the Immortal Machines Podcast, your more awake than usual cast of Robert [Trebor], Eric [Ravenlock], Jeremy [Lord Don], and Clayton [Voodoo] have the delight and pleasure to talk to ISOTX’s Community Manager, Rhea Monique, about their first commercially released FPS/RTS game, Iron Grip: Warlords. The questions we ask - yours included! - are what you would expect from a bunch of PC game playing geeks, but the answers that were returned allowed for a much better understanding of the game’s background, play style, and what future plans are in store for the Iron Grip Universe to keep their fans excited for more. As usual, we have also included our famous / infamous “What We've Been Playing” segment, which is actually quite a full plate - and later, Eric gets to respond to a listener’s email concerning the purchase price of PC games on the Steam holiday sale. So get that right mouse button in motion, open that context menu, and download some! http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Isotx.mp3 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST Immortal Machines On this edition of the Immortal Machines Podcast, your more awake than usual cast of Robert [Trebor], Eric [Ravenlock], Jeremy [Lord Don], and Clayton [Voodoo] have the delight and pleasure to talk to ISOTX’s Community Manager, Rhea Monique, about their first commercially released FPS/RTS game, Iron Grip: Warlords. The questions we ask - yours included! - are what you would expect from a bunch of PC game playing geeks, but the answers that were returned allowed for a much better understanding of the game’s background, play style, and what future plans are in store for the Iron Grip Universe to keep their fans excited for more. As usual, we have also included our famous / infamous “What We've Been Playing” segment, which is actually quite a full plate - and later, Eric gets to respond to a listener’s email concerning the purchase price of PC games on the Steam holiday sale. So get that right mouse button in motion, open that context menu, and download some! 1:12:38 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no On this edition of the Immortal Machines Podcast your dedicated cast of Robert [Trebor], Eric [Ravenlock], Adam [Grifter], Jacob [MagGnome], Jeremy [Lord Don], Clayton [Voodoo], and now three time offender J Arcane return to discuss the crazy digital distribution sales than have been going on for the month of December. In Retro land, fond memories that were first though forgotten are recalled when discussing Funcom’s The Longest Journey. Backing into Indie games comes next with a very special review of Gratuitous Space Battles along with Tuper Tario Tros, and an update to Spelunky. And then a final wrap up with what we have been playing. So if you can stop buying games for a damn minute from Steam, GOG, or wherever, right click on the link and download this, that last IM podcast for 2009. ...I'd Buy That for a Dollar!! Hosted and Summarized by Robert [Trebor] Participants are Eric [Ravenlock], Jacob [MagGnome], Jeremy [Lord Don], Adam [Grifter] and J Arcane as himself! Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Id_Buy_That_For_A_Dollar.mp3 Fri, 1 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST Immortal Machines On this edition of the Immortal Machines Podcast your dedicated cast of Robert [Trebor], Eric [Ravenlock], Adam [Grifter], Jacob [MagGnome], Jeremy [Lord Don], Clayton [Voodoo], and now three time offender J Arcane return to discuss the crazy digital distribution sales than have been going on for the month of December. In Retro land, fond memories that were first though forgotten are recalled when discussing Funcom’s The Longest Journey. Backing into Indie games comes next with a very special review of Gratuitous Space Battles along with Tuper Tario Tros, and an update to Spelunky. And then a final wrap up with what we have been playing. So if you can stop buying games for a damn minute from Steam, GOG, or wherever, right click on the link and download this, that last IM podcast for 2009. ...I'd Buy That for a Dollar!! Hosted and Summarized by Robert [Trebor] Participants are Eric [Ravenlock], Jacob [MagGnome], Jeremy [Lord Don], Adam [Grifter] and J Arcane as himself! Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] 2:21:23 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Well, it's that time of year again - time to look back at 2009 and decide who's been naughty and who's been nice, and pay respects to those who are no more. We didn't want to do any actual GOTY awards, since CoG staff and users have already handled that ably, but we did want to talk about the year in games, so that's what we've done. Some genre specifics, pleasant surprises and disappointments are all covered, and then at the end we realize that we forgot to talk about MMO's. The level of regret on this point is... low. ;) You'll also get to hear about some neat indie stuff, both web-based and downloadable, as we run through Emberwind, Continuity and Dreamside Maroon. Our retro segment delves into the dungeons of the Sword of Fargoal, a trip I highly recommend you take. (The direct link to the Windows zipfile, until they get their site back in order, is here.) And I promised Jeremy I would link to Planet MULE, so now I have. Go... do the stuff one does on Planet MULE, after you're done listening to the show. Looking back, it's actually been a pretty stellar year for PC gaming, and nobody in our group seems to be coming away disappointed. Let me take a moment to wish you and yours a lovely holiday season - we'll be back just before the New Year to ring it in right. In the meantime, Immortal Machines presents... The IMmies! Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock] Participants are Jacob [MagGnome], Jeremy [Lord Don], Adam [Grifter] and returning special guest J Arcane! Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/IMmies.mp3 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST Immortal Machines Well, it's that time of year again - time to look back at 2009 and decide who's been naughty and who's been nice, and pay respects to those who are no more. We didn't want to do any actual GOTY awards, since CoG staff and users have already handled that ably, but we did want to talk about the year in games, so that's what we've done. Some genre specifics, pleasant surprises and disappointments are all covered, and then at the end we realize that we forgot to talk about MMO's. The level of regret on this point is... low. ;) You'll also get to hear about some neat indie stuff, both web-based and downloadable, as we run through Emberwind, Continuity and Dreamside Maroon. Our retro segment delves into the dungeons of the Sword of Fargoal, a trip I highly recommend you take. (The direct link to the Windows zipfile, until they get their site back in order, is here.) And I promised Jeremy I would link to Planet MULE, so now I have. Go... do the stuff one does on Planet MULE, after you're done listening to the show. Looking back, it's actually been a pretty stellar year for PC gaming, and nobody in our group seems to be coming away disappointed. Let me take a moment to wish you and yours a lovely holiday season - we'll be back just before the New Year to ring it in right. In the meantime, Immortal Machines presents... The IMmies! Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock] Participants are Jacob [MagGnome], Jeremy [Lord Don], Adam [Grifter] and returning special guest J Arcane! Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] 2:37:42 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no We've made a big deal before out of how versatile a platform the PC is, how its very nature as an open system means that it can house experiments and experiences that consoles simply never can, so long as they remain shackled by static hardware and strictly governed content requirements. Mods rest at the very heart of that divide, allowing PC gamers to take the games they buy and tweak them, mold them, sometimes completely reshape them into something new, something uniquely their own. As it happens, several of our crew have a history of tinkering in the mod world, and you'll get to hear all about it in this episode. The discussion runs long and there's a lot of news to cover, so the Retro segment takes a vacation this week, but you do get a discussion of Igneous in our freeware segment, and a look at the very elaborate Sins of the 13th Tribe BSG mod for Sins of a Solar Empire. We also point you to the ongoing CoG Child's Play drive, which you should already have donated to. If you haven't, go do the right thing. We'll wait here. A few other random links I promised I'd post: * Go play Quake in a web browser! * Check out this remake of Maniac Mansion! * A 3rd person UT3 mod with hot air balloons and cities in the sky! * We like RockPaperShotgun, and so should you. ...More to come as I remember whatever else I forgot. Get settled in, kids, this one ain't short. Immortal Machines presents... Mod Squad. Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock] Participants are Robert [Trebor], Jacob [MagGnome], Jeremy [Lord Don], and very special guest J Arcane! Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Mod_Squad.mp3 Tue, 8 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST Immortal Machines We've made a big deal before out of how versatile a platform the PC is, how its very nature as an open system means that it can house experiments and experiences that consoles simply never can, so long as they remain shackled by static hardware and strictly governed content requirements. Mods rest at the very heart of that divide, allowing PC gamers to take the games they buy and tweak them, mold them, sometimes completely reshape them into something new, something uniquely their own. As it happens, several of our crew have a history of tinkering in the mod world, and you'll get to hear all about it in this episode. The discussion runs long and there's a lot of news to cover, so the Retro segment takes a vacation this week, but you do get a discussion of Igneous in our freeware segment, and a look at the very elaborate Sins of the 13th Tribe BSG mod for Sins of a Solar Empire. We also point you to the ongoing CoG Child's Play drive, which you should already have donated to. If you haven't, go do the right thing. We'll wait here. A few other random links I promised I'd post: * Go play Quake in a web browser! * Check out this remake of Maniac Mansion! * A 3rd person UT3 mod with hot air balloons and cities in the sky! * We like RockPaperShotgun, and so should you. ...More to come as I remember whatever else I forgot. Get settled in, kids, this one ain't short. Immortal Machines presents... Mod Squad. Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock] Participants are Robert [Trebor], Jacob [MagGnome], Jeremy [Lord Don], and very special guest J Arcane! Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] 2:13:36 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no What's in a number? What's in a number? Maybe nothing is in a number? Maybe a number is just a number. For Robert [Trebor], Eric [Ravenlock], Clayton [Voodoo], Bryan [Smoof], Adam [Grifter] and Jeremy [Lord Don] we all toast the 21st edition of the Immortal Machines podcast with our presence, participation, and spirits. On this most auspicious of occasions we go through the podcast paces with our banter ever increasing as we make more and more toasts while the discussion of PC games continues on. We start out with what games we have been playing which winds up becoming quite an interesting dialog about Modern Warfare 2. Next up is the Retro gaming segment that covers everyone’s favorite third person Norse hack and slash, Rune. The Indie gaming segment discusses the 2D action shooter GunFu Deadlands complete with bullet time! Then we come to the new and shiny Mod Segment where the Dawn of War Firestorm over Kronus mod is covered, WAAAGH!!!!! Finally some of the latest in PC Gaming News is discussed by all and believe me, this you do not want to miss. So grab a tasty beverage and some snacks and give Coming of Age a listen. Hosted and Summarized by Robert [Trebor] Participants are Eric [Ravenlock], Bryan [Smoof], Adam [Grifter] and Jeremy [Lord Don] Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Coming_of_Age.mp3 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST Immortal Machines What's in a number? What's in a number? Maybe nothing is in a number? Maybe a number is just a number. For Robert [Trebor], Eric [Ravenlock], Clayton [Voodoo], Bryan [Smoof], Adam [Grifter] and Jeremy [Lord Don] we all toast the 21st edition of the Immortal Machines podcast with our presence, participation, and spirits. On this most auspicious of occasions we go through the podcast paces with our banter ever increasing as we make more and more toasts while the discussion of PC games continues on. We start out with what games we have been playing which winds up becoming quite an interesting dialog about Modern Warfare 2. Next up is the Retro gaming segment that covers everyone’s favorite third person Norse hack and slash, Rune. The Indie gaming segment discusses the 2D action shooter GunFu Deadlands complete with bullet time! Then we come to the new and shiny Mod Segment where the Dawn of War Firestorm over Kronus mod is covered, WAAAGH!!!!! Finally some of the latest in PC Gaming News is discussed by all and believe me, this you do not want to miss. So grab a tasty beverage and some snacks and give Coming of Age a listen. Hosted and Summarized by Robert [Trebor] Participants are Eric [Ravenlock], Bryan [Smoof], Adam [Grifter] and Jeremy [Lord Don] Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] 1:54:20 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Every story has a beginning -- sorry, I'm kidding, I'm not actually going through with that. The 20th installment of Immortal Machines seems a momentous occasion, though, so we did want to do something a little bit different and special. Toss on your rose-colored glasses and take a trip with us back in time as we reminisce about days, systems, and games gone by. Many hands are on deck this week to share a little bit about our roots - the games and machines that got us into PC gaming years (sometimes decades) ago and will keep us there for years to come. Our retro title goes about as far back as it is possible to go, delving into the history and ramifications of Spacewar! Also discussed are the delightful and short Small World, the surprisingly authentic Doom Roguelike, and Abandonia, home to wayward titles from a lost age. And, of course, the usual smattering of news and commentary (actually, quite a bit of news) to get you through the day. If you happen to subscribe to our iTunes feed and you like the show, head over there and give us a rating, that'd be swell. Without further ado, Immortal Machines presents... Origins. Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock] Participants are Robert [Trebor], Jacob [MagGnome], and Bryan [Smoof] Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Origins.mp3 Wed, 4 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST Immortal Machines Every story has a beginning -- sorry, I'm kidding, I'm not actually going through with that. The 20th installment of Immortal Machines seems a momentous occasion, though, so we did want to do something a little bit different and special. Toss on your rose-colored glasses and take a trip with us back in time as we reminisce about days, systems, and games gone by. Many hands are on deck this week to share a little bit about our roots - the games and machines that got us into PC gaming years (sometimes decades) ago and will keep us there for years to come. Our retro title goes about as far back as it is possible to go, delving into the history and ramifications of Spacewar! Also discussed are the delightful and short Small World, the surprisingly authentic Doom Roguelike, and Abandonia, home to wayward titles from a lost age. And, of course, the usual smattering of news and commentary (actually, quite a bit of news) to get you through the day. If you happen to subscribe to our iTunes feed and you like the show, head over there and give us a rating, that'd be swell. Without further ado, Immortal Machines presents... Origins. Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock] Participants are Robert [Trebor], Jacob [MagGnome], and Bryan [Smoof] Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] 0:53:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no We've been anticipating this for awhile - we asked for your questions, we gave out copies of the game - so I'm going to keep the preliminaries short. We spoke to Runic about Torchlight. They answered your questions. There were a lot of them (people on the call, and questions being answered). We had a lot of fun. We hope you'll listen and enjoy. On the Immortal Machines side: Eric [Ravenlock] - Host Clayton [Voodoo] - Producer Jacob [MagGnome] - Cool Guy On the Runic side: Max Schaefer - CEO Travis Baldree - President / Project Lead Jason Beck - Art Director Adam Perin - Tech Artist John Dunbar - Zombie Pyrotechnician Wonder Russell - Minister of Public Relations Falcor - Dog Thanks to everyone who submitted questions, we did our best to hit as many as we could. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Torchlight.mp3 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:00:00 EST Immortal Machines We've been anticipating this for awhile - we asked for your questions, we gave out copies of the game - so I'm going to keep the preliminaries short. We spoke to Runic about Torchlight. They answered your questions. There were a lot of them (people on the call, and questions being answered). We had a lot of fun. We hope you'll listen and enjoy. On the Immortal Machines side: Eric [Ravenlock] - Host Clayton [Voodoo] - Producer Jacob [MagGnome] - Cool Guy On the Runic side: Max Schaefer - CEO Travis Baldree - President / Project Lead Jason Beck - Art Director Adam Perin - Tech Artist John Dunbar - Zombie Pyrotechnician Wonder Russell - Minister of Public Relations Falcor - Dog Thanks to everyone who submitted questions, we did our best to hit as many as we could. 0:53:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no With all the positive PC game experiences, there are also sadly, some very bad ones as well. In fact those experiences are so horrible that it leaves an indelible mark on one's game psyche. Some have had fortunately only one or two, but most out there have had three or more. In this, the 19th edition of the Immortal Machines podcast, Clayton [Voodoo], Eric [Ravenlock], Robert [Trebor], Jacob [MagGnome], and Mike[Bandango] lament over what three PC games gave us so much grief, pain, and a quick return to the store for something else to play. Before this trip down this "via del la Rosa", we talk about the games we have been playing since the last podcast which has a nicer ending. The Retro Gaming segment covers the classic action third person RPG from 1996, which is none other that Blizzard North's Diablo. The Indie Game segment discusses Lucidity and The Three Musketeers, no not the candy bar. We finally wrap up with a coverage of PC Gaming News where items such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2's lack of dedicated servers, Left 4 Dead 2 Achievement list is released to the public, the "to be released" PC game Torchlight by Runic, and more. Immortal Machines presents... Box of Chocolates. Hosted and Summarized by Robert [Trebor] Participants are Eric [Ravenlock], Jacob [MagGnome] and Mike [Bandango] Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Box_of_Chocolates.mp3 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:59:00 EST Immortal Machines With all the positive PC game experiences, there are also sadly, some very bad ones as well. In fact those experiences are so horrible that it leaves an indelible mark on one's game psyche. Some have had fortunately only one or two, but most out there have had three or more. In this, the 19th edition of the Immortal Machines podcast, Clayton [Voodoo], Eric [Ravenlock], Robert [Trebor], Jacob [MagGnome], and Mike[Bandango] lament over what three PC games gave us so much grief, pain, and a quick return to the store for something else to play. Before this trip down this "via del la Rosa", we talk about the games we have been playing since the last podcast which has a nicer ending. The Retro Gaming segment covers the classic action third person RPG from 1996, which is none other that Blizzard North's Diablo. The Indie Game segment discusses Lucidity and The Three Musketeers, no not the candy bar. We finally wrap up with a coverage of PC Gaming News where items such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2's lack of dedicated servers, Left 4 Dead 2 Achievement list is released to the public, the "to be released" PC game Torchlight by Runic, and more. Immortal Machines presents... Box of Chocolates. Hosted and Summarized by Robert [Trebor] Participants are Eric [Ravenlock], Jacob [MagGnome] and Mike [Bandango] Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] 1:58:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Geez, you step away from podcasting for an extra half a week, and the world goes crazy in your absence. This is perhaps an overstatement, but there actually was quite a bit of news to break on the PC front while we tried to get our schedules together, so that takes up the bulk of this installment of the podcast. Among the topics discussed are a potential sequel to Planetside, yet a few more PC delays (and let me change my stance here a bit from what I took in the show proper and say "bring 'em on, I've got plenty to play already"), the clever subversion of nVidia's attempts to lock PhysX integration out for people who also have an ATI card installed, and a wealth of goodies about digital distribution, including some talk from Brad Wardell about Stardock's DD numbers, and perhaps the most insane downloadable sale yet (now over, sorry) from Direct2Drive. Probably some other stuff I'm forgetting, too. Unfortunately the little dust-up between Randy Pitchford and indie devs over Steam's treatment of "the little guy" happened just after we recorded, but let me suggest that given the evidence, we probably would have ended up siding with Steam on this one. If I'm wrong about that I'm sure my cohorts will reprimand me. Quake II is our retro title this week, and the consensus seems to be that iD builds great engines so that other people can build great games. The freeware / indie segment touches on a few things, The Shivah, RunMan and ASCII Portal being the stars, but I was also asked where I get these wonderful toys, so at the risk of making myself obsolete let me humbly suggest that you add Bytejacker, RockPaperShotgun, TIGSource, and IndieGames to your browsing habits if this sort of thing interests you. Oh, hey, we mention it in the episode, but if you happen to subscribe to our iTunes feed and you like the show, toss us a rating over there, hmm? It'd be appreciated. We may have some exciting news coming soon, too, so keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, Immortal Machines presents... Fit To Print. Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock] Participants are Robert [Trebor], Bryan [Smoof] and Warren [Mayhem] Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Fit_To_Print.mp3 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST Immortal Machines Geez, you step away from podcasting for an extra half a week, and the world goes crazy in your absence. This is perhaps an overstatement, but there actually was quite a bit of news to break on the PC front while we tried to get our schedules together, so that takes up the bulk of this installment of the podcast. Among the topics discussed are a potential sequel to Planetside, yet a few more PC delays (and let me change my stance here a bit from what I took in the show proper and say "bring 'em on, I've got plenty to play already"), the clever subversion of nVidia's attempts to lock PhysX integration out for people who also have an ATI card installed, and a wealth of goodies about digital distribution, including some talk from Brad Wardell about Stardock's DD numbers, and perhaps the most insane downloadable sale yet (now over, sorry) from Direct2Drive. Probably some other stuff I'm forgetting, too. Unfortunately the little dust-up between Randy Pitchford and indie devs over Steam's treatment of "the little guy" happened just after we recorded, but let me suggest that given the evidence, we probably would have ended up siding with Steam on this one. If I'm wrong about that I'm sure my cohorts will reprimand me. Quake II is our retro title this week, and the consensus seems to be that iD builds great engines so that other people can build great games. The freeware / indie segment touches on a few things, The Shivah, RunMan and ASCII Portal being the stars, but I was also asked where I get these wonderful toys, so at the risk of making myself obsolete let me humbly suggest that you add Bytejacker, RockPaperShotgun, TIGSource, and IndieGames to your browsing habits if this sort of thing interests you. Oh, hey, we mention it in the episode, but if you happen to subscribe to our iTunes feed and you like the show, toss us a rating over there, hmm? It'd be appreciated. We may have some exciting news coming soon, too, so keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, Immortal Machines presents... Fit To Print. Hosted and Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock] Participants are Robert [Trebor], Bryan [Smoof] and Warren [Mayhem] Produced by Clayton [Voodoo] 1:20:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Seattle has never looked more attractive than when inside a convention hall, filled with video gamers of both the PC and Console camps. Our intrepid PAX travelers Clayton [Voodoo] and Eric [Ravenlock] share their tales of PC games, PC goodies, and PC gals, all up close and videoed with Robert [Trebor] and Jacob [MagGnome]. From the halls of PAX we swing into the what will be known as the best Batman PC game ever made, Batman: Arkham Asylum and give our early, and very favorable impressions of this superhero translation of the Caped Crusader in rather dire circumstances. Funny how he can never just have a "normal" day at the office? But then again can you see Batman sitting being a desk or in a cubical? No, I could not either. From superhero to super spy the Retro Gaming segment discusses "No One Lives Forever" starting our favorite female sleuth Cate Archer. To live in the 60's again, oh the joy! And what does UNITY and H.A.R.M stand for? Turn in and find out. From the streets of London we move on to the land of Indie game with a discussion of Canabalt and Osmos with all the gaming goodness and playing pleasure. We finally wrap it up with our DWGAS segment covering topics such as free to play DDO, used game "conspiracy" not being isolated to just Gamestop, 2D Sonic, a new IP from Lucas Arts, and a pirated version of Batman give those naughty gamers the gas. So stop playing your marathon game of Solitaire and give us your ears. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_Paxalicious.mp3 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST Immortal Machines Seattle has never looked more attractive than when inside a convention hall, filled with video gamers of both the PC and Console camps. Our intrepid PAX travelers Clayton [Voodoo] and Eric [Ravenlock] share their tales of PC games, PC goodies, and PC gals, all up close and videoed with Robert [Trebor] and Jacob [MagGnome]. From the halls of PAX we swing into the what will be known as the best Batman PC game ever made, Batman: Arkham Asylum and give our early, and very favorable impressions of this superhero translation of the Caped Crusader in rather dire circumstances. Funny how he can never just have a "normal" day at the office? But then again can you see Batman sitting being a desk or in a cubical? No, I could not either. From superhero to super spy the Retro Gaming segment discusses "No One Lives Forever" starting our favorite female sleuth Cate Archer. To live in the 60's again, oh the joy! And what does UNITY and H.A.R.M stand for? Turn in and find out. From the streets of London we move on to the land of Indie game with a discussion of Canabalt and Osmos with all the gaming goodness and playing pleasure. We finally wrap it up with our DWGAS segment covering topics such as free to play DDO, used game "conspiracy" not being isolated to just Gamestop, 2D Sonic, a new IP from Lucas Arts, and a pirated version of Batman give those naughty gamers the gas. So stop playing your marathon game of Solitaire and give us your ears. 1:41:15 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no It has been said that to understand the present, one must look to the past. Game developers and publishers seem to have taken that to heart in a very serious way as of late, shifting attention away from the creation of new properties (though we've had some wonderful examples of those as well), and putting sizeable workforces behind re-creations of old favorites. The last years have seen us graced with new iterations / re-imaginings of Bionic Commando, Mega Man, Klonoa, Sam and Max, Monkey Island, Battlefield 1942, and just this month, the granddaddy of all FPS's, Wolfenstein. And when they aren't pulling directly from the nostalgia pool with a title, developers are happy to take inspiration from designs of ages past, as with the exquisite re-tooling of the Metroid formula in Shadow Complex. Far from rebelling against this attempt to re-sell us our childhoods, the Immortal Machines podcast crew welcomes it with open arms - if you can do an awesome thing right, please, feel free to do that awesome thing more. (You do have to do it right, though. Bionic Commando Re-Armed? Right. Bionic Commando dredlocks? Maybe not so right.) This week, Eric [Ravenlock], Adam [Grifter], Clayton [Bacalou], Bryan [Smoof], and Jacob [MagGnome] dig back through their memory banks to come up with other gameplay styles we'd like to see given the Frankenstein treatment, because we think there just might be life in them yet. What's old is new again! Or so we hope. Our freeware/indie segment takes a brief trip into last weekend's Steam sale of Droplitz before continuing the Metroid-remade vibe with the delightfully short (and delightfully hard) "In 60 Seconds", and for the retro title we take a look back at Battlefield 1942 before the Frostbite engine and XBox Live got their paws on it. Also, as per usual, a look into what we've been playing and some surprisingly lengthy news discussions (damn you, WoW) scattered throughout the show. As always, if you want to get in touch with us, podcast@immortalmachines.com is the address to send an email to, or just toss your thoughts in this here thread. Which you may notice we explicitly command you to do, this time. Be gentle. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_Play_It_Again_Samus.mp3 Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines It has been said that to understand the present, one must look to the past. Game developers and publishers seem to have taken that to heart in a very serious way as of late, shifting attention away from the creation of new properties (though we've had some wonderful examples of those as well), and putting sizeable workforces behind re-creations of old favorites. The last years have seen us graced with new iterations / re-imaginings of Bionic Commando, Mega Man, Klonoa, Sam and Max, Monkey Island, Battlefield 1942, and just this month, the granddaddy of all FPS's, Wolfenstein. And when they aren't pulling directly from the nostalgia pool with a title, developers are happy to take inspiration from designs of ages past, as with the exquisite re-tooling of the Metroid formula in Shadow Complex. Far from rebelling against this attempt to re-sell us our childhoods, the Immortal Machines podcast crew welcomes it with open arms - if you can do an awesome thing right, please, feel free to do that awesome thing more. (You do have to do it right, though. Bionic Commando Re-Armed? Right. Bionic Commando dredlocks? Maybe not so right.) This week, Eric [Ravenlock], Adam [Grifter], Clayton [Bacalou], Bryan [Smoof], and Jacob [MagGnome] dig back through their memory banks to come up with other gameplay styles we'd like to see given the Frankenstein treatment, because we think there just might be life in them yet. What's old is new again! Or so we hope. Our freeware/indie segment takes a brief trip into last weekend's Steam sale of Droplitz before continuing the Metroid-remade vibe with the delightfully short (and delightfully hard) "In 60 Seconds", and for the retro title we take a look back at Battlefield 1942 before the Frostbite engine and XBox Live got their paws on it. Also, as per usual, a look into what we've been playing and some surprisingly lengthy news discussions (damn you, WoW) scattered throughout the show. As always, if you want to get in touch with us, podcast@immortalmachines.com is the address to send an email to, or just toss your thoughts in this here thread. Which you may notice we explicitly command you to do, this time. Be gentle. 2:20:30 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Are you a multiplayer PC gamer who is into comp stomp, teams or just plain old vanilla death match? In episode 15 of the Immortal Machines podcast this topic is fragged and sniped at by the 'Usual Suspects', Clayton [Bacalou], Robert [Trebor], Eric [Ravenlock], Bryan [Smoof], Warren [Mayhem] and Jacob [MagGnome]. After expending all available ammo we switch gears and discuss PC gaming with a desktop versus a laptop and even throw in some netbook comments to make sure its feelings are not hurt. An emotional walk down memory lane is experienced when the Retro Game segment covers Grim Fandango which transitions to lighter fare with the Indie Game segment discussion of Audiosurf and Darwinia. Finally in 'DWGAS' we leave our parting comments on IGN's top 25 games of all time (sic), two new WoW races to be introduced (puke), along with other nauseating items like Games for Windows Live 3.0 (DOA). http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_Multi_Player_PC_Gaming_In_All_Flavors.mp3 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:15:00 -0500 Immortal Machines Are you a multiplayer PC gamer who is into comp stomp, teams or just plain old vanilla death match? In episode 15 of the Immortal Machines podcast this topic is fragged and sniped at by the 'Usual Suspects', Clayton [Bacalou], Robert [Trebor], Eric [Ravenlock], Bryan [Smoof], Warren [Mayhem] and Jacob [MagGnome]. After expending all available ammo we switch gears and discuss PC gaming with a desktop versus a laptop and even throw in some netbook comments to make sure its feelings are not hurt. An emotional walk down memory lane is experienced when the Retro Game segment covers Grim Fandango which transitions to lighter fare with the Indie Game segment discussion of Audiosurf and Darwinia. Finally in 'DWGAS' we leave our parting comments on IGN's top 25 games of all time (sic), two new WoW races to be introduced (puke), along with other nauseating items like Games for Windows Live 3.0 (DOA). 1:29:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Ladies and gentlemen, our pastime is one apparently always under fire of one sort or another. We suffer through draconian DRM schemes and the constant threat of hardware incompatibility only to see our exclusives bundled up and given to the X360 or the PS3. We wait months, maybe more, for a delayed port of the game that years ago would have come first on the PC, only to see that they haven't even put mouse control in the menus and the multiplayer doesn't work. We are treated as thieves by the companies we buy from, and as snobs by our console-playing brethren. The history of PC Gaming is long and storied, but at the end of the day, has it come to this? Don't worry, we're not here to prophecy the death of the PC. There are plenty of overpaid analysts to do that for you. But man, sometimes it just feels like we get the short end of the stick. This week, Bryan [Smoof] leads Eric [Ravenlock], Robert [Trebor], Clayon [Bacalou] and Warren [Mayhem] in a brief lament over the state of the PC's often seeming sidebar status in the Console War. When we're not whining about that, though, we also talk about some new free user-created content for Left 4 Dead (Dead City, Dam It!, and Death Aboard - and you can find a lot more where they came from), the very Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-esque "How to Raise a Dragon", and a smattering of recent news, and also take a lovingly terrified look back at Aliens vs. Predator 2. Oh, and Eric pimps his new column with Bandango, just a little for good measure. ;) http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Dont_Tread_On_PC.mp3 Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:15:00 -0500 Immortal Machines Ladies and gentlemen, our pastime is one apparently always under fire of one sort or another. We suffer through draconian DRM schemes and the constant threat of hardware incompatibility only to see our exclusives bundled up and given to the X360 or the PS3. We wait months, maybe more, for a delayed port of the game that years ago would have come first on the PC, only to see that they haven't even put mouse control in the menus and the multiplayer doesn't work. We are treated as thieves by the companies we buy from, and as snobs by our console-playing brethren. The history of PC Gaming is long and storied, but at the end of the day, has it come to this? Don't worry, we're not here to prophecy the death of the PC. There are plenty of overpaid analysts to do that for you. But man, sometimes it just feels like we get the short end of the stick. This week, Bryan [Smoof] leads Eric [Ravenlock], Robert [Trebor], Clayon [Bacalou] and Warren [Mayhem] in a brief lament over the state of the PC's often seeming sidebar status in the Console War. When we're not whining about that, though, we also talk about some new free user-created content for Left 4 Dead (Dead City, Dam It!, and Death Aboard - and you can find a lot more where they came from), the very Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-esque "How to Raise a Dragon", and a smattering of recent news, and also take a lovingly terrified look back at Aliens vs. Predator 2. Oh, and Eric pimps his new column with Bandango, just a little for good measure. ;) 1:22:18 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Marking the 13th episode of the Immortal Machines podcast we just had to ignore all those references to scary movies and just talk about pure, unadulterated, adrenalized PC gaming from the latest to what we have been playing, to Indie games, and then dialing it back to Retro gaming. Oh the comfort of having so much history of PC gaming to keep you warm on those cold nights, even in July! This week, Eric [Ravenlock], Clayton [Bacalou], Robert [Trebor], Bryan [Smoof], Adam [Grifter] and Warren [Mayhem] talk about Digital Distribution with a focus on LucasArts games being added to Steam tremendous line up, issues with older games being released via DD without any noticeable bug fixes, and what we would like to see happen with Digital Distribution come 2010 and beyond. During the Indie segment, Eric discusses Trine and just how much fun a 2-D side scrolling game can be. On the Retro Gaming end, Robert discusses the joys of shooting off body parts of terrorists, one limb at a time, playing Soldier of Fortune. Oh the gore! Oh the horror! Oh the fun!! There is plenty more to listen to so get with it, stop reading this and download the fraking podcast!! http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_Thirteen_Is_Not_So_Scary_After_All.mp3 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines Marking the 13th episode of the Immortal Machines podcast we just had to ignore all those references to scary movies and just talk about pure, unadulterated, adrenalized PC gaming from the latest to what we have been playing, to Indie games, and then dialing it back to Retro gaming. Oh the comfort of having so much history of PC gaming to keep you warm on those cold nights, even in July! This week, Eric [Ravenlock], Clayton [Bacalou], Robert [Trebor], Bryan [Smoof], Adam [Grifter] and Warren [Mayhem] talk about Digital Distribution with a focus on LucasArts games being added to Steam tremendous line up, issues with older games being released via DD without any noticeable bug fixes, and what we would like to see happen with Digital Distribution come 2010 and beyond. During the Indie segment, Eric discusses Trine and just how much fun a 2-D side scrolling game can be. On the Retro Gaming end, Robert discusses the joys of shooting off body parts of terrorists, one limb at a time, playing Soldier of Fortune. Oh the gore! Oh the horror! Oh the fun!! There is plenty more to listen to so get with it, stop reading this and download the fraking podcast!! 1:25:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Sometimes it just is not easy being green. ...Wait, that is not quite what I meant. Gaming is not, compared to many other things, a complicated hobby. Expensive, sure, and diverse, but not complicated. We like playing games. Give us a keyboard and a mouse and a monitor (or a controller and a TV) and we're set. Mix in real life, though - jobs, families, travel, the general grind - and suddenly things are not so simple any more. This week, Eric [Ravenlock], Clayton [Bacalou], Robert [Trebor], Bryan [Smoof], Jacob [MagGnome] and Warren [Mayhem] talk about the burnout that we all occasionally feel when our urge to game wanes or, worse, gaming starts to feel like a chore... and what to do about it. Luckily, of course, it is not all doom and gloom, and our retro segment includes a lot of fond memories of Serious Sam, coming soon in revamped glory to an XBox 360 near you via XBLA. In our freeware and indie section, 8-Bit Killer and Hinterland: Orc Lords are the primary targets, with mention also made of recent updates to Spelunky and Zeno Clash. As always, if you want to get in touch with us, podcast@immortalmachines.com is the address to send an email to. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_Keepin_It_Up.mp3 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines Sometimes it just is not easy being green. ...Wait, that is not quite what I meant. Gaming is not, compared to many other things, a complicated hobby. Expensive, sure, and diverse, but not complicated. We like playing games. Give us a keyboard and a mouse and a monitor (or a controller and a TV) and we're set. Mix in real life, though - jobs, families, travel, the general grind - and suddenly things are not so simple any more. This week, Eric [Ravenlock], Clayton [Bacalou], Robert [Trebor], Bryan [Smoof], Jacob [MagGnome] and Warren [Mayhem] talk about the burnout that we all occasionally feel when our urge to game wanes or, worse, gaming starts to feel like a chore... and what to do about it. Luckily, of course, it is not all doom and gloom, and our retro segment includes a lot of fond memories of Serious Sam, coming soon in revamped glory to an XBox 360 near you via XBLA. In our freeware and indie section, 8-Bit Killer and Hinterland: Orc Lords are the primary targets, with mention also made of recent updates to Spelunky and Zeno Clash. As always, if you want to get in touch with us, podcast@immortalmachines.com is the address to send an email to. 1:16:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Well, we just couldn't stay away, and as hinted at last week, we've already got another big ol' recording for you to chew on. It's not 93 megs, mind you, but it'll keep you busy for a couple of hours. ;) Clayton [Bacalou], Eric [Ravenlock], Adam [Grifter], Jacob [MagGnome], Robert [Trebor], and Peter [iHap] round out an all-star cast this week, and E3 again gets the lion's share of attention, with respect paid to franchises returning and... well, I was going to say "and new", but really it's mostly franchises returning, isn't it? That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, as there are lots of flawed gems out there that a sequel could put just the right polish on if they do it well. Unreal Tournament also gets some well-deserved love (with a little thrown Diablo's way as well, for reasons I can't right now recall) in our retro segment, and a new piece on freeware and indie titles touches briefly on TribesNext, Dwarf Fortress, Dungeon Runners, FreeRealms, Cave Story, and Spelunky. This is something new this week, but look for more to come - Bandango has inspired us and we're runnin' with it! http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_E3_Part_Deux.mp3 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines Well, we just couldn't stay away, and as hinted at last week, we've already got another big ol' recording for you to chew on. It's not 93 megs, mind you, but it'll keep you busy for a couple of hours. ;) Clayton [Bacalou], Eric [Ravenlock], Adam [Grifter], Jacob [MagGnome], Robert [Trebor], and Peter [iHap] round out an all-star cast this week, and E3 again gets the lion's share of attention, with respect paid to franchises returning and... well, I was going to say "and new", but really it's mostly franchises returning, isn't it? That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, as there are lots of flawed gems out there that a sequel could put just the right polish on if they do it well. Unreal Tournament also gets some well-deserved love (with a little thrown Diablo's way as well, for reasons I can't right now recall) in our retro segment, and a new piece on freeware and indie titles touches briefly on TribesNext, Dwarf Fortress, Dungeon Runners, FreeRealms, Cave Story, and Spelunky. This is something new this week, but look for more to come - Bandango has inspired us and we're runnin' with it! 1:59:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no We've been gone a long time, baby, but we missed you. I promise we'll never leave again. (That was probably a lie, but we want to mean it!) There were grand plans - grand plans! - for this episode's content, but then recording delays and E3 ensured that we spent a great deal of time talking about the potential (for success and failure) of things like Project Natal, Sony's motion control device, and OnLive! Also discussed was the strange relationship PC and console games seem to have to each other these days, growing more and more alike in almost all respects and yet somehow becoming even more distant from each other in others. Clayton [Bacalou], Eric [Ravenlock], Adam [Grifter], Jacob [MagGnome], and Robert [Trebor] join us this week - we're also recording an encore episode very soon to make up for lost time and to cover the rest of the things we wanted to talk about here but didn't get to. What can I say, we ramble. Also, we forgot to mention that if you have something you want to ask us, tell us about, complain about, or otherwise make known, podcast@immortalmachines.com will do the trick. Of course you can just post here too. ;) http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_Movers_And_Shakers.mp3 Tue, 9 Jun 2009 20:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines We've been gone a long time, baby, but we missed you. I promise we'll never leave again. (That was probably a lie, but we want to mean it!) There were grand plans - grand plans! - for this episode's content, but then recording delays and E3 ensured that we spent a great deal of time talking about the potential (for success and failure) of things like Project Natal, Sony's motion control device, and OnLive! Also discussed was the strange relationship PC and console games seem to have to each other these days, growing more and more alike in almost all respects and yet somehow becoming even more distant from each other in others. Clayton [Bacalou], Eric [Ravenlock], Adam [Grifter], Jacob [MagGnome], and Robert [Trebor] join us this week - we're also recording an encore episode very soon to make up for lost time and to cover the rest of the things we wanted to talk about here but didn't get to. What can I say, we ramble. Also, we forgot to mention that if you have something you want to ask us, tell us about, complain about, or otherwise make known, podcast@immortalmachines.com will do the trick. Of course you can just post here too. ;) 1:37:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Part of being a gamer is hearing about games that may never see the light of day. In this recording, we discuss these ambitious projects such as Warcraft Adventures, Starcraft: Ghost, Crusader: No Mercy, the Sin episodes, Conquest: The Vyrium Uprising and Mythos. We also cover the collapse of 3D Realms, the beta sign ups for Starcraft 2, the release of the Radeon 4770 and talk about the classic Descent series. This podcast's cast are Bryan [Smoof], Eric [Ravenlock], Robert [Trebor] and Clayton [Voodoo]. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_Unrealized_Ambitions.mp3 Sun, 10 May 2009 22:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines Part of being a gamer is hearing about games that may never see the light of day. In this recording, we discuss these ambitious projects such as Warcraft Adventures, Starcraft: Ghost, Crusader: No Mercy, the Sin episodes, Conquest: The Vyrium Uprising and Mythos. We also cover the collapse of 3D Realms, the beta sign ups for Starcraft 2, the release of the Radeon 4770 and talk about the classic Descent series. This podcast's cast are Bryan [Smoof], Eric [Ravenlock], Robert [Trebor] and Clayton [Voodoo]. 1:16:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Every day it has become apparent that the PC Gaming industry is seeing the very big return of small development houses, better known as the Indies. In this podcast we discuss that topic as well as have a lengthy discussion about the hardware choices every PC Gamer has to make. While this recording was postponed by a week, we definitely made up for it as its length is just over two hours. This podcast's cast are Adam [Grifter], Bryan [Smoof], Eric [Ravenlock], Jacob [MagGnome], Robert [Trebor], Warren [Mayhem] and Clayton [Voodoo]. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_This_Cyclic_Industry.mp3 Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines Every day it has become apparent that the PC Gaming industry is seeing the very big return of small development houses, better known as the Indies. In this podcast we discuss that topic as well as have a lengthy discussion about the hardware choices every PC Gamer has to make. While this recording was postponed by a week, we definitely made up for it as its length is just over two hours. This podcast's cast are Adam [Grifter], Bryan [Smoof], Eric [Ravenlock], Jacob [MagGnome], Robert [Trebor], Warren [El Enojado] and Clayton [Voodoo]. 2:03:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Do new games necessarily need innovative approaches to be fun? We try our best to answer that ever present question. Along the way, topics such as Titty Physics, how female and gay characters are treated in games and the role of sex in making a game successful are brought to the table. This podcast's cast are Adam [Grifter], Bryan [Smoof], Eric [Ravenlock], Jacob [MagGnome], Robert [Trebor] and Clayton [Voodoo]. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_Unnecessarily_Newfangled_Anatomies.mp3 Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines Do new games necessarily need innovative approaches to be fun? We try our best to answer that ever present question. Along the way, topics such as Titty Physics, how female and gay characters are treated in games and the role of sex in making a game successful are brought to the table. This podcast's cast are Adam [Grifter], Bryan [Smoof], Eric [Ravenlock], Jacob [MagGnome], Robert [Trebor] and Clayton [Voodoo]. 1:30:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no In this podcast we talk about what each of us have been playing, how games endure the process of consolism and the progression of digital distribution. Also, in this podcast, we introduce the Retro PC Gaming Moment where Robert covers a older PC Game title. This week we discuss Duke Nukem 3D which turns into an inevitable conversation about Duke Nukem Forever and strippers. This podcast's cast are Bryan [Smoof], Eric [Ravenlock], Jacob [MagGnome], Peter [iHap], Robert [Trebor] and Clayton [Voodoo]. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_Inevitable_Progression.mp3 Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines In this podcast we talk about what each of us have been playing, how games endure the process of consolism and the progression of digital distribution. Also, in this podcast, we introduce the Retro PC Gaming Moment where Robert covers a older PC Game title. This week we discuss Duke Nukem 3D which turns into an inevitable conversation about Duke Nukem Forever and strippers. This podcast's cast are Bryan [Smoof], Eric [Ravenlock], Jacob [MagGnome], Peter [iHap], Robert [Trebor] and Clayton [Voodoo]. 1:20:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no We welcome Javier[violent] back to the Immortal Machines podcast. Also joining us in this episode are Robert[Trebor], Peter[iHap] and Clayton[Voodoo]. It has been approximately one year since Immortal Machines has been founded and what a year of PC Gaming we've had. In our discussion we cover what we hold as our single favorite games, our views on how to properly execute DRM on the PC Gaming platform, the upcoming Watchmen movie and that concocted top ten list that PC World put out. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_One_Year_Later.mp3 Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines We welcome Javier[violent] back to the Immortal Machines podcast. Also joining us in this episode are Robert[Trebor], Peter[iHap] and Clayton[Voodoo]. It has been approximately one year since Immortal Machines has been founded and what a year of PC Gaming we've had. In our discussion we cover what we hold as our single favorite games, our views on how to properly execute DRM on the PC Gaming platform, the upcoming Watchmen movie and that concocted top ten list that PC World put out. 1:58:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no We welcome Peter[iHap] to the Immortal Machines podcast. He will be joining us from this podcast forward along side John[Ten19], Robert[Trebor] and Clayton[Voodoo]. In this podcast we go over the Dawn of War 2 beta, the Homeworld series, Company of Heroes, Sins of a Solar Empire and quite a few other games that have been keeping us busy. We also cover the topic of the recent move of Immortal Machines into Colony of Gamers. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_Fourth.mp3 Sat, 7 Feb 2009 22:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines We welcome Peter[iHap] to the Immortal Machines podcast. He will be joining us from this podcast forward along side John[Ten19], Robert[Trebor] and Clayton[Voodoo]. In this podcast we go over the Dawn of War 2 beta, the Homeworld series, Company of Heroes, Sins of a Solar Empire and quite a few other games that have been keeping us busy. We also cover the topic of the recent move of Immortal Machines into Colony of Gamers. 1:00:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no On this podcast we interview Blair Fraser, director of Ironclad games. During the past year they have made an amazing journey. We cover topics ranging from how his team is doing, what they do for fun, how they bleed off stress, what motivates them and of course about the coming Sins expansion - Entrenchment. We enjoyed talking with Blair quite a lot and we hope you enjoy it as well. Please, don't forget to rate the podcast. All feedback is appreciated. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_Entrenchment.mp3 Thu, 22 Jan 2009 23:30:00 -0500 Immortal Machines On this podcast we interview Blair Fraser, director of Ironclad games. During the past year they have made an amazing journey. We cover topics ranging from how his team is doing, what they do for fun, how they bleed off stress, what motivates them and of course about the coming Sins expansion - Entrenchment. We enjoyed talking with Blair quite a lot and we hope you enjoy it as well. Please, don't forget to rate the podcast. All feedback is appreciated. 1:00:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no Here we have the first podcast of the new year, Aught Nine. In this podcast we cover what each of us did for New Years Eve, what we've been playing since the last podcast recording and also which games we are each looking forward to. Aught Nine features John [Ten19], Robert [Trebor] and Clayton [Voodoo] as they share their thoughts, opinions and insights on the topic of PC Gaming, Dick Clark, Miley Cyrus, AGP Video Cards and little kittens you can put in your pocket... http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal_Machines_Podcast_Aught_Nine.mp3 Fri, 9 Jan 2009 12:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines Here we have the first podcast of the new year, Aught Nine. In this podcast we cover what each of us did for New Years Eve, what we've been playing since the last podcast recording and also which games we are each looking forward to. Aught Nine features John [Ten19], Robert [Trebor] and Clayton [Voodoo] as they share their thoughts, opinions and insights on the topic of PC Gaming, Dick Clark, Miley Cyrus, AGP Video Cards and little kittens you can put in your pocket... 1:10:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no With the new year comes the relaunch of the Immortal Machines podcast. Today I present to you Zero, our second 'test' podcast where we get acquainted to the tools of the trade. Our first 'test' podcast was not recorded so any humor is lost to the ether... On this podcast we introduce ourselves; Ten19, Trebor and Voodoo. We also cover a bit of history of the site, how each of us got into PC Gaming and what we feel about the current state of PC Gaming. A schedule of podcast recording hasn't been determined yet but our next podcast recording date is set to Jan 6th. If any of you are interested in getting involved in this podcast, send me a PM either through this site or though CoG. http://www.immortalmachines.com http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Immortal%20Machines_Podcast_Zero.mp3 Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:00 -0500 Immortal Machines With the new year comes the relaunch of the Immortal Machines podcast. Today I present to you Zero, our second 'test' podcast where we get acquainted to the tools of the trade. Our first 'test' podcast was not recorded so any humor is lost to the ether... On this podcast we introduce ourselves; Ten19, Trebor and Voodoo. We also cover a bit of history of the site, how each of us got into PC Gaming and what we feel about the current state of PC Gaming. A schedule of podcast recording hasn't been determined yet but our next podcast recording date is set to Jan 6th. 1:30:00 Immortal Machines games, pcgamer, videogames, pc games, video games, pcg, computer games, immortal machines, pc gaming yes no