[Episode 22] Mod Squad

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:

…More to come as I remember whatever else I forgot. Get settled in, kids, this one ain’t short.

Hosted & Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock]
Participants are Robert [Trebor], Jacob [MagGnome], Jeremy [Lord Don], and very special guest J Arcane!
Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

[Episode 21] Coming Of Age

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.

Hosted & Summarized by Robert [Trebor]
Participants are Eric [Ravenlock], Bryan [Smoof], Adam [Grifter] and Jeremy [Lord Don]
Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

[Episode 20] Origins

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.

Hosted & Summarized by Eric [Ravenlock]
Participants are Robert [Trebor], Jacob [MagGnome], Mike [Bandango], and Bryan [Smoof]
Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

[Interview] Torchlight!

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.