Iteration 206 - Being Poisoned Sucks

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We talk about whether and why the film Kung Fu Panda was a better representation of Chinese culture than some Chinese-made films. Then Ryan brings us a conspiracy notion questioning how we know whether the little details haven't been altered. From inventing a fictional baseball player and inserting him or her into history, to inventing an entire new historical sport. We share our adventures in simulations this week: Josh watches Event Horizon and plays Dwarf Fortress. Ryan gets food poisoning and is inspired to talk about poison in role-playing games and stories.

References and Recommendations:

Kung Fu Panda (2008 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441773/

Kung Fu Panda Should Have Been Made in China (2008 article): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/11/AR2008071103281.html

Event Horizon (1997 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119081/

Iteration 205 - Beauty and the Beast

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In this iteration, we begin with talk about the Waghi tribe of Papua New Guinea who uses The Phantom as a sigil that they draw on their war shields. Then we talk a little bit about Suicide Squad, and the fan-made version of Metroid 2. Josh gets back into Dwarf Fortress, and gets annoyed with it. Josh plays some board games at Interactivity! And for a main topic, we discuss the Disney film the Beauty and the Beast, mainly about the role of Gaston. Ryan thinks Gaston gets short shrift, but Josh is a bit less forgiving. Ryan wants to take the sorceress to task, but Josh thinks the castle staff had it coming. And we ask about the extent of the Beast's curse, and why it seems to extend to the surrounding countryside, because it causes the people to forget the castle.

References and Recommendations:

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

Critical Role: http://geekandsundry.com/shows/critical-role/

Iteration 204 - Flavours of Evil

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This week we're excited about Starbound, a new video game we found out about from Kickstarter. We talk about microfiction as it appears in commercials. And we talk about education, conspiracy theories, and ideology. Josh plays D&D at roll for initiative, and reviews Stranger Things. Ryan finally gets started on the Game of Thrones television series, and he absolutely loves it. Ryan and Zoey review The Secret Life of Pets. And for our main topic, we talk about flavours of evil, different kinds of villains and degrees of villainy.

References and Recommendations:

Starbound (video game): http://playstarbound.com/

Roll for Initiative (local face-to-face gaming event): http://www.rollforinitiative.ca/

Stranger Things (television series): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4574334/

Game of Thrones (television series): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944947/

The Secret Life of Pets (2016 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2709768/

Iteration 203 - The Superhero with a Thousand Faces

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We start this week's discussion off with our thoughts on the new trailer for the Justice League movie. Josh reports on Being John Malkovich, Harmonquest, and a documentary called Marwencol. Ryan reports on the Fantastic Four movie, and speculates whether it needed the particular IP, or whether it would have been a better movie if it had been a standalone movie with its own unique characters. From there we just talk about superhero stories. And veer into Hitler toward the end, just because.

References and Recommendations:

Justice League (2017 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0974015/

Being John Malkovich (1999 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120601/

Marwencol (film and book): http://marwencol.com/

Venger Satanis (RPG books): http://vengersatanis.blogspot.ca/

Iteration 202 - Omniscience and Large Numbers

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We start by talking a bit about Ghostbusters, and then take a swerve into theology for some reason, and about what it would mean to be omniscient. Dwarf Fortress gets an update. And we talk about the real-world events going on in Turkey, and translating coups to a role-playing world. Zoey brings us a review of Ghostbusters. And for our main topic, we talk about the concept of large numbers, omniscience, and managing information in a role-playing game.

References and Recommendations:

Epic Rap Battles of History: Ivan the Terrible vs Alexander the Great https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVbH1BVXywY

History Bites: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0231028/

Iteration 201 - How and Why to Change a Battlefield

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We start with a discussion about Pokemon Go! Ryan watches the Emperor's New Groove again. Ryan plays more of the Secret World. And for our main topic, we were inspired by boss fights from MMORPGs and we ponder the question of how to make big battles more dynamic and interesting and awesome over time.

References and Recommendations:

Beyond the Pale RPG: http://beyondthepalerpg.tumblr.com/

The Secret World (MMORPG): http://www.thesecretworld.com/

Iteration 200 - Magic with Personality

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We start with a discussion about why we think movies bomb at the box office. Then Ryan and Zoey review Finding Dory (2016 film). Josh reports on Love and Friendship (2016 film). Then Ryan points out all the plot holes in Men in Black 3.

Then we talk about how summoning monsters from other planes works, on a technical level, and the variants in which you can summon the same version of the monster every time. And we conclude with a discussion about intelligent or semi-intelligent magic items, and how to deal with them as players, DMs, and storytellers.

References and Recommendations:

Finding Dory (2016 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2277860/

Love and Friendship (2016 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3068194/

Lindybeige: https://www.youtube.com/user/lindybeige