Iteration 219 - Tech vs Magic

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We start this week's iteration off with a talk about what it means to play and improvise, from a philosophical perspective. Josh recounts some more adventures from Dwarf Fortress. Ryan downloads some new mods for his Minecraft world, and is inspired to ponder the difference between magic and technology.

Iteration 218 - Magic and Blood

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We start the podcast off with talking about the adventures we have personally had in video games this week. Josh plays Dwarf Fortress and rebuilds his old fort, getting tips from Ryan on better defences. Ryan plays Minecraft with the Thaumcraft mod, and experiences video game bliss. And another review from Zoey, this time of the film the Road to El Dorado. And this movie inspires our main topic this week, which is blood magic, and how magic always seems to cost something. We ask why it should cost anything to use magic, and if you were designing your own world, what choices should you make as to the cost of magic?

References and Recommendations:

The Road to El Dorado: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138749/

Iteration 217 - Succession and Transition of Power

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Esquimalt to get a new TV studio space, so the entertainment industry in Victoria is expanding! We talk a bit about the return of the Necromancer class into Diablo, and about how we think a company decides which content to monetize, and which content to make free. Ryan achieves all the achievements for Samhain in the Secret World. Zoey reviews Alice and Wonderland, with a little help from her dad. And for our main topic, well we just couldn't resist the US election, so we try to put a storytelling slant on it. We talk about voting systems like the electoral college. We talk about how power is gained, held, and maintained in our fantasy realms.

References and Recommendations:

Tres Laughin with Josh TreLeaven: https://treslaffin.blogspot.com

Made You Look Media: https://vimeo.com/madeyoulookmedia

Iteration 216 - Adaptation versus Repetition

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and also here: https://archive.org/download/thesimulationist/Iteration216-AdaptationVersusRepetition.mp3

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We open with a meta discussion about the future of podcasts and all media. And we ask what media is going to be like when we can simply download memories of experiences that are as good as actually having them. Then Ryan brings us a thought about comedic duos, comparing the Yogscast goons to Abbot and Costello. Josh plays some more Dwarf Fortress and admires the aesthetic of a bare-bones graphical style. Ryan plays the Secret World's Halloween content. For our main topic, we talk about the value of adaptation.

References and Recommendations:

The Stoned Ape: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna#.22Stoned_ape.22_theory_of_human_evolution

Iteration 215 - Romancing a Q

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We start with a tangent on Doctor Who. Then we do the rest of the podcast. We struggle with the question of whether to be happy that Ewe Bolle has been put in his place. Josh plays Dwarf Fortress and labours at digging through aquifers. Ryan watches Sleeping Beauty with Zoey. Ryan brings up the idea of what happens when the most powerful political entity in the area is an evil fairy queen. And then we talk about as many examples as we can think of when the love interests in a story have an age difference in the hundreds or thousands of years, and how that's dealt with in fantasy and science fiction. We also talk about what it really means for elves to have such extended lifespans.


References and Recommendations:

Han Solo film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3778644/

Iteration 214 - The Lamentations of the Nerdy

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We begin the podcast this week with a bit of a rave by Josh about how cool he finds the Men in Black franchise, but also a conspiracy thought about why a shadowy organization would make a chart-topping R&B dance number. And a discussion comparing and contrasting the worlds of Ghostbusters versus the Men in Black. Then Ryan brings us a discussion about race. We talk about the crows in Dumbo, and Ryan talks over Josh a bunch and it's not particularly satisfying, but hopefully Josh got his point out, even though neither of these guys are equipped for making judgments on what actually is and isn't racist. At this point, we try to make an awkward transition into an analogy between being from a culture that is being appropriated and a comic book nerd whose Batman isn't quite the same as the old Batman. Ryan expresses his inability to properly give a rating to the Batman Versus Superman film.

References and Recommendations:

Galavant! (TV series): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3305096/

Batman Versus Superman: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2975590/

Iteration 213 - Do Not Temporally Resuscitate

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Go here: https://archive.org/details/thesimulationist for an archive of some recent iterations.

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In this iteration, we talk about Disney's Pinocchio, time travel, and various video games. Josh plays Minecraft, Code Name, and Forbidden Island. Ryan watches Pinocchio with Zoey, and Canadian horror flick The Drownsman.

References and Recommendations:

Interactivity Board Game Cafe Victoria: http://www.ibgcafe.com/

Roll for Initiative: http://www.rollforinitiative.ca/

Pinocchio (1940 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032910/

Legends of Tomorrow (TV series): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4532368/

The Flash (TV series): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3107288/

The Drownsman (2014 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3450134/