Matt Chat Thread

[GuiltyofBeingTrite]

Anyone else feels that Matt usually talks in a way as if his audience was mostly casual gamers than actual gamers that like old games? Like how he mentioned that third game had skill trees similar to WoW, it feels like he is looking for some "relevant" example instead of saying that everything is shit.

He is an undergraduate professor, so he might be really used to teaching to novices, shot in the dark there, though. He's really good at it.

 

[circ]

Indie or not, every single one of those blobbers looked like real turds.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Infinitron]

Vault Dweller

 

[Infinitron]

 

[HoboForEternity]

no video this week?

 

[grimace]

no video this week?

https://youtu.be/2ZbR0TqbiN4



Matt's back!

 

[grimace]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUqY-oSys6s

Matt Chat 362: Dr. Cat on Origin Systems

Have you ever wondered what it would've been like to work at Origin during the heyday of Ultima? Well, here's a guy that was there, and he's here to tell you all about it. If that isn't enough to get your attention, I think you're on the wrong channel. ;P

Don't forget - Dr. Cat's Legends of Gaming Livestream is Dec. 17th!

 

[HoboForEternity]

is furcadia a furry game?

 

[Infinitron]

is furcadia a furry game?

Yes, Dr. Cat is a furry, as the name might suggest. Origin had all sorts of odd characters working with them back in the day, like Nystul the hobo wizard. A consequence of Richard Garriott's LARPing background. Harvey Smith had a few things to say about those people in the great Dishonored interview Polygon did a few years ago:

Fitting in with his new coworkers becomes a full-time job for Smith. Aside from the young guys, the "crazy, no-perspective" kids who've never had a job, there is another breed of designer Smith bumps up against that leaves a lasting, negative impression.

"There were people in the mix that didn't like video games," Smith said. "Origin had become this place where there were not only the negative EA influences but also there were guys who had signed on because they were history buffs or part of an organization that dressed up like knights on the weekends. And that's great, those are great influences but in a particular way that hurt Origin because nobody was thinking about the gamers' experience."

 

[Hobo Elf]

is furcadia a furry game?

Yes, Dr. Cat is a furry, as the name might suggest. Origin had all sorts of odd characters working with them back in the day, like Nystul the hobo wizard. A consequence of Richard Garriott's LARPing background. Harvey Smith had a few things to say about those people in the great Dishonored interview Polygon did a few years ago:

Fitting in with his new coworkers becomes a full-time job for Smith. Aside from the young guys, the "crazy, no-perspective" kids who've never had a job, there is another breed of designer Smith bumps up against that leaves a lasting, negative impression.

"There were people in the mix that didn't like video games," Smith said. "Origin had become this place where there were not only the negative EA influences but also there were guys who had signed on because they were history buffs or part of an organization that dressed up like knights on the weekends. And that's great, those are great influences but in a particular way that hurt Origin because nobody was thinking about the gamers' experience."

Between reading about the degenerancy of Origin and seeing how much of a chucklefuck Molyneux actually is, I'm starting to think that the evil EA bogeyman might only be half the reason why these companies eventually went under. But I still want to believe in a pure Westwood.

 

[Infinitron]

Between reading about the degenerancy of Origin and seeing how much of a chucklefuck Molyneux actually is, I'm starting to think that the evil EA bogeyman might only be half the reason why these companies eventually went under. But I still want to believe in a pure Westwood.

Well, they made some pretty great games with that kind of team. It just failed to scale up at some point.

 

[grimace]

Between reading about the degenerancy of Origin and seeing how much of a chucklefuck Molyneux actually is, I'm starting to think that the evil EA bogeyman might only be half the reason why these companies eventually went under. But I still want to believe in a pure Westwood.

Well, they made some pretty great games with that kind of team. It just failed to scale up at some point.

Perhaps we'll learn more during Dr. Cat's Legends of Gaming Livestream on Dec. 17th!

 

[Mustawd]

is furcadia a furry game?

When Matt mentioned it briefly, I looked at some google images and was excited as it was an isonetric 2D MMO. Then I go to the website and see this:

D:

 

[HoboForEternity]

i wonder what he does with all of his cats 0_o

jk, jk. he seems a cool guy enough and respect his work and how is he comfortable to his little niche. will watch the second interview later.

anyway Mustawd any luck contacting jeff vogel to appear? he's in my top list to see on the show. aside from VD, but VD exiplitly state he won't appear on any audio/video interview

 

[Mustawd]

I sent an email. Never heard back. But let me try again.

 

[Mustawd]

Sent email.

 

[HoboForEternity]

is Mustawd matt or just his helper?

 

[LESS T_T]

Dr. Cat's Legends of Gaming stream will start in an hour or so: http://twitch.tv/doctor_cat

A bunch of oldies will show up:

CURRENT SCHEDULE (all times PST):
11:00 Graeme Devine (7th Guest, Quake 3, Chief Creative Officer @ Magic Leap)
11:30 Richard “Lord British” Garriott (Ultima, Shroud of the Avatar)
11:45 David Lubar (Creative Computing, Fantastic Voyage, River Raid 2, Frogger 2)
Noon Bob Bates (Infocom, Legend, Activision, Atari, Zynga)
12:30 Dr. Richard Bartle (MUD, MUD 2)
12:45 Matt Mihaly (Achaea, Earth Eternal)
1:15 Damion Schubert (Shadowbane, Star Wars: The Old Republic)
1:30 Robert Clardy (Syngergistic Software: War in Middle Earth, Conan, Thexder)
1:45 John Taylor (Islands of Kesmai, Air Warrior)
2:15 Brian Green (Meridian 59)
2:30 Jordan Weisman (Battletech, Virtual World Entertainment, Wiz Kids)
3:00 Jeff Dee (D&D, Villains & Vigilantes, Ultima VII, Masters of Orion, Sims Castaway Stories, Bethorm)
3:30 Dave Rohrl (Word Whomp, Plants vs. Zombies)
3:45 David Mullich (The Prisoner, Heroes of Might & Magic)
4:00 Scott Adams (Adventure International)
4:15 Bruce Shelley (Civilization, Age of Empires, Railroad Tycoon)
4:30 Scott Miller (Apogee/3D Realms, Duke Nukem 3D)
4:45 Ed Fries (led team that created the Xbox)
5:15 Chip Morningstar (Habitat)
5:30 Randy Farmer (Habitat)
5:45 Tom Hall (Commander Keen, Doom, Anachronox)
6:00 Jennell Jaquays (The Dungeoneer, Judge's Guild, Coleco, iD)
6:00 Rebecca Heineman (Bards Tale III, Tass Times in Tone Town)
6:30 Greg Corson (A-Maze-Ing, Virtual World Entertainment, NEC, Sony)
7:00 Chris Crawford (GDC Founder, Eastern Front, Balance of Power, Tanktics)
7:15 John Romero (Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, Ravenwood Fair)
7:30 Brian “Squirrel” Eiserloh (Anachronox)
8:00 Jason Kapalka (Popcap Games, Storm Crow Gaming Tavern)
8:30 Talzhemir (Furcadia co-creator, Cavemaster, Bethorm, Quicksilver)
9:00 Dewi “Farrier” Morgan (Doom Editing Utilities, Thud, Furcadia)
9:30 James Ernest (Cheapass Games, Kill Dr. Lucky)

Maybe list (might also drop in if they have time during the day):
Ken St. Andre (Tunnels & Trolls)
Rick Loomis (Starweb, Nuclear War, Tunnels & Trolls, Ace of Aces)
John Romero (Doom, Quake)
Brenda Romero (Wizardry, Train)
Eric Goldberg (Paranoia, MadMaze, Tales of the Arabian Nights)

Come join Dr. Cat and co-host Steve Meretzky (of Infocom fame) for a 12 hour live stream on Twitch TV. We're celebrating the 20th anniversary of Furcadia, the longest continuously running MMO on the net. There'll be plenty of great stories from the last forty years of computer game development, as well as RPGs and boardgames!

 

[HoboForEternity]

damn matt is taking a damn long vacation.

also TIL matty has a doctorate 0_o it would be awesome to attend lectures by him i think.

 

[Infinitron]

Yeah, he's an English professor at a university.

 

[HoboForEternity]

yeah, his youtube persona at least is the antithesis of your stereotypical academia. i always thought he has a dominantly journalistic background rather than academia. this just make the dude cooler than ever.

 

[Mustawd]

Sent email.

Never heard back from Vogel. I guess dude hates free marketing.

 

[Infinitron]

damn matt is taking a damn long vacation.

In this episode, Dr. Cat chats with me about transhumanism, the 1986 Ultima Remake, and the shenanigans of publishers, distributors, and retailers.