Tales from the Backlog

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I somehow missed Alan Wake along the way. I remember playing the AWE DLC in Control, watching Alan's face superimposed on the screen, thinking "who the hell is this guyOHH Yeah okay they did those games too". I knew I'd need to play Alan Wake at some point, and here we are. This game is not good, but it's a hell of a lot of fun to talk about. Hope you enjoy the discussion! As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!

Guest info: Nick Coffman (he/him)

Check out GG Tribune https://ggtribune.com/

Check out Hollywood Time$ https://www.hwoodtimes.com/

Listen to Stand N' Watch https://www.hwoodtimes.com/podcasts

Follow on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/nickcoffman.com

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Podcast Start

0:18 Introductions

4:30 Our Histories with Alan Wake and Remedy

7:58 Top-Level Thoughts About Alan Wake

12:57 Story Setup and Alan the Writer

21:01 Stephen King and Art Come to Life

29:24 Twin Peaks and Presentation

38:58 Gameplay and Combat

58:49 Metanarrative Fiction and the Creative Process

1:03:16 Sound and Music

1:08:28 Miscellaneous Thoughts

1:12:46 Who Should Play Alan Wake?

1:21:34 Nick's Writing and Podcasts

1:27:50 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous

1:30:05 Spoilers- What Happens

1:43:46 Spoilers- Art, Artists and Creativity

2:01:17 Spoilers- The Signal & The Writer

2:09:51 Spoilers- More Noteworthy Stuff

Music used in the episode is credited to Petri Alanko unless otherwise noted. Tracks used: Main Menu, Welcome to Bright Falls, Generic Battle 15, Children of the Elder Gods (Poets of the Fall), Manuscript, War (Poets of the Fall), Tom the Diver

Check out Dave on Geeks & Grounds discussing Look Outside: https://geeksandgrounds.com

Check out Dave on Date With Us discussing Doki Doki Literature Club: https://datewith.us

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson

Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

Longtime listeners of the show will agree with me here when I say- I never thought this day would come. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Capcom, 2017) always seemed like it would be too scary for me, and I would never play it as a result. But, I said the same thing about Resident Evil 4, so here we are. Not only did I play Resident Evil 7, I had my eyes open enough of the time to remember stuff and bring it to the podcast! I hope you enjoy the discussion I had with Baron Jones of LV1 Gaming. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!

Guest info: Baron Jones (he/him)

Check out LV1 Gaming https://lv1gaming.com/

Check their YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@LV1Gaming20

Follow on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/baronj67

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Episode Start

0:19 Intros

4:02 Our Histories with Resident Evil

9:52 Top-Level Thoughts

18:09 Story Setup and Meet the Bakers

31:56 Ethan, Disempowerment and Tension

43:06 First-Person Perspective and Presentation

50:20 A Stressful, Uneven Ride

58:27 Boss Fights and Flowers for Level Design

1:08:14 Who Should Play?

1:10:34 LV1 Gaming

1:17:16 Spoiler Walls and Patron Thank-Yous

1:19:03 Spoilers- Jack's Domain

1:35:54 Spoilers- Marguerite's Domain

1:44:35 Spoilers- Lucas' Domain

1:50:34 Spoilers- The Boat House, The Choice & The Story Shift

2:09:28 Spoilers- Ending Sequence

Music used in the episode is credited to Akiyuki Morimoto, Satoshi Hori, Miwako Chinone, Brian D'Olivera and Cris Velasco. Tracks used: Go Tell Aunt Rhody, A Loving Message, Welcome to the Family, Safe Room, Garage, The Choice- Love

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson

Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

For some, the halcyon days of PC gaming involved D&D-based RPGs with unwieldy UI and gauntlet-shaped mouse cursors, and that is precisely what SKALD: Against the Black Priory (High North Studios, Raw Fury, 2024) is calling back to with its mix of sword-and-sorcery fantasy and cosmic/Lovecraftian horror. It's well-worth your time if you're nostalgic or even curious about that era of RPGs, while not being nearly as obtuse or and without relying on advance knowledge of early D&D systems. This episode's guest, Phil Morgan, has an extensive history with that bygone era of CRPGs, even appearing on this podcast to discuss the original Baldur's Gate, so we had a great conversation here. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!

Guest info: Phil Morgan (he/him)

Listen to Deleted Saves https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/deleted-saves/

Check out Phil's art: https://philmorganart.com

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Podcast Start

0:18 Introductions

6:02 Our Histories with SKALD and Its Inspirations

10:11 Top-Level Thoughts about SKALD

18:15 Story Setup

22:13 Pixel Art and Writing

30:43 Subverting D&D Tropes

37:29 Role-Playing

48:38 Combat

56:54 Controller vs Mouse/Keyboard

1:04:54 Music and Sound

1:09:35 Closing Thoughts and Who Should Play?

1:13:48 Deleted Saves and Westland

1:18:37 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous

1:23:08 Spoilers- Early Game Quests

1:38:27 Spoilers- Horryn

1:47:37 Spoilers- Firgol

1:57:06 Spoilers- The Story Expands

2:07:04 Spoilers- Ending Sequence and Thoughts

Music used in the episode is credited to Surt R. Tracks used: Against the Black Priory, The Curse of Knowledge, Sellsword's Honor, Horryn's Plight, Shores of Idra, Tomes Bound in Skin, Bane of the Starstrider

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson

Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

Everyone's got that game, book, movie, etc that a longtime friend has been recommending for years, decades or more and you just haven't quite gotten around to it. One of those for me and one of my oldest friends was Telltale's series of games based on The Walking Dead. For many reasons, despite believing that the games would be good, I just waited a wild amount of time to finally give them a shot, and hey- we did it! And I brought that friend back onto the podcast to give season one the deep dive treatment. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!

Guest info: Aaron Angle (he/him)

Check out A Top 3 Podcast https://atop3podcast.fireside.fm/

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card

0:35 Introductions

5:19 Our Histories with The Walking Dead

9:21 Top-Level Thoughts about The Walking Dead

13:57 Story Setup, Characters, Tone

27:21 Choices and Consequences

46:19 Puzzles and QTEs

51:18 Art, Music and Sound

1:01:46 Who Should Play?

1:04:14 A Top 3 Podcast

1:07:23 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous

1:09:06 Spoilers- Episode 1

1:25:35 Spoilers- Episode 2

1:40:23 Spoilers- Episode 3

1:56:01 Spoilers- Episode 4

2:11:09 Spoilers- Episode 5

Music used in the episode: Clementine, Twist of Fate, Terror Mysterious, Folk Loop, Mother and Son, The Guantlet, Jewelry Store

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson

Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog

Games gather reputations for a variety of reasons, but one of the most unique among those are the games that are so hard to purchase that above all, they have a reputation for being expensive. Panzer Dragoon Saga (Team Andromeda, Sega, 1998) is one of the top examples of that phenomenon nowadays, after only tens of thousands of English-language copies were pressed, Team Andromeda was shuttered quickly after the game's release and Sega now claims to have lost the source code. All of this may leave you wondering...what is Panzer Dragoon Saga like as a game? I was certainly left wondering that, and Chris Coplien of Retro Hangover was up for the task of discussing the game behind the massive price tag. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!

Guest info: Chris Coplien (he/him)

Check out Retro Hangover https://linktr.ee/retrohangover

Follow on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/retrohangover.bsky.social

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Start

0:24 Introductions

5:13 Our Histories with Panzer Dragoon Saga

13:16 Top-Level Thoughts

20:41 Story Setup and Worldbuilding

28:16 Pacing and Storytelling

33:41 Visual Presentation

39:04 Music

43:05 Combat

1:07:41 Exploration and Side Quests

1:16:37 Who Should Play?

1:20:12 Retro Hangover Podcast

1:24:40 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous

1:26:37 Spoilers- Setting the Stage

1:42:26 Spoilers- Some Big Themes

1:51:53 Spoilers- A Philosophical Dilemma

1:59:16 Spoilers- Uncovering a Very Familiar Trope

2:17:28 Spoilers- Revisiting the Dilemma and Ending

Music used in the episode is credited to Saori Kobayashi and Mariko Nanba. Tracks used: Behold the Precious Wings, A Premonition of War, Metamorphosis 1, Atolm Dragon, Rest, Area 3 Background, Wandering, Breath of Life

Panzer Dragoon Story and Lore Walkthrough https://youtu.be/BVc7QxiAO1k

Max Derrat's Development History Video: https://youtu.be/sIqM80qEY8s

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures