Hey all so I went a fantastic event last week called Comics vs Games 2, this event started last year first had comic artists team up with video game creators to make games. This year is a bit different instead going for games that use comics as inspiration.

Some of the games featured were

Where is My Heart by Die Gute Fabrik – Denmark / Germany
Storyteller by Daniel Benmergui – Argentina
Gorogoa by Jason Roberts – United States
The Yawgh by Damian Sommer and Emily Carroll- Canada
Cumulo Nimblers by Farbs and John Martz
Comics vs Games 2 Curated and organized by Matt Hawkins and Adam Robezzoli of Attract Mode
Hosted by Jennie Faber and Henry Faber of Bento Miso

Hosts: Lance, Chris, David and Aaron

This week we tackle Sly Cooper And The Thievius Raccoonus! A platformer that tries to be too many things in a toon-shaded environment.

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Hosts: Lance, Chris, David and Aaron

This week we tackle Wing Commander: Privateer! The original sandbox space simulation game set in the popular yet forgotten universe of Wing Commander. Enjoy!

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Hosts: Lance, Chris, Jeremy and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses NeXbox, COD Ghost, E3 Keynotes, Lance being wrong (again), Monaco, Multiplayer, Insight in Progress and much more! Enjoy!

Hosts: Lance, Chris, David and Aaron

This week we tackle Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri! A game with real sense of future history. If you like Civilization you’ll love this!

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Hosts: Lance, Chris, Jeremy

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses some interesting NexBox rumors, the end of the Wii and the future of Achievements. Enjoy!

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Aaron and Peter

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the end of LucasArts, Microsoft being insensitive (maybe), GDC and Gears of War Judgment.

Hosts: Lance, Chris, David

This week we tackle Gunstar Heroes! A game that’s twenty years old and some liked it, others not so much. Enjoy!

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Hosts: Lance, Jeremy, Jenny, Chris

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses PAX East, the straight white male gamer, Lance’s big surprise and much more! Enjoy!

Hosts: Lance, Jeremy, Jenny, Peter<

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the ongoing saga that is Sim City, Polygon's review process and how do you introduce your kids to gaming. Enjoy!

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Aaron, David

This week we tackle The Lost Vikings! The game that defined all of Blizzards gaming strategy to this very day. Enjoy!

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Hosts: Lance, Jeremy, Jenny, Chris

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the PS4 announcement and the ongoing issues with Sim City.

Hosts: Andrew and Daniel

Connery makes his last appearance in an EON production, fighting Blofeld in the exotic and mysterious city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Find out why Diamonds Are Forever is a flawed but fun Bond adventure.

Hosts: Andrew and Daniel

George Lazenby takes the reigns for his first and only appearance as 007. This movie gets a bad rap, but take a listen with Daniel and Andy as they explain why it’s actually one of the best in the entire series. By the end, you might just have a different view of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Aaron, David

This week we tackle Zelda 2! A game many have considered a classic but probably haven’t played in forever. Enjoy!

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Hosts: Lance, Jeremy, Chris

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses Destiny, Colonial Marines, Oscars and much more! Enjoy!

Hosts: Lance, Jeremy, Chris

On this weeks adventure the gang chats about those pesky XBox rumors, games they’d like to see in the next-gen and much more!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Zelda 2!
Jeremy – LA Noire Bloopers
Chris – Minecraft School

Read more articles from Lance

Hosts: Andrew and Daniel

The last of Connery’s initial run as Bond, and he seems to be running out of steam. Or at least Daniel thinks so. Andy might be more inclined to like it. Either way, get your best ninja suit on as Bond visits Japan and takes on Blofeld inside a volcano!

Hosts: Lance, Jeremy, Jenny, Chris and David.

On this weeks adventure the gang has a very special guest, the embattled David S Gallant! He tells us in his own words what the heck happened to him this week. We also chat it up about the recent announcement to an announcement that Sony made and speculate that it’s the PS4.

Save State Picks-
Lance – Unolingo
Jeremy – Applebees Social Media
Jenny – Trek And The City
Chris – Football is DND
David – Anti-Chamber

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Aaron

This week we tackle Blaster Master! A game that introduced the world to jumping tank physics. Enjoy!

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Hosts: Lance, Jeremy, and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the end of THQ and boobs!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Justified
Jeremy – YOLO Generation & Sopranos High
Jenny – The Wheel of Time

Hosts: Lance, Jeremy, Chris and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the announcement of Disney Infinity, Ultra High Definition and much more!

Save State Picks-
Lance – MineCraft and Blaster Master
Jeremy – Space Team
Chris – Dawn & Marra
Jenny – MineCraft

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Aaron, David

This week we tackle Resident Evil! You know, the almost first survival horror game. The game was groundbreaking in 1996 but how well does it hold up? Listen and find out!

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Hosts: Lance, Jeremy, Chris and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the Xi3 Piston and their picks for 2012 game of the year! Enjoy

Hosts: Andrew and Daniel

Bond-mania hit its height with the 1965 release of Thunderball. Bond goes looking for nuclear warheads in the Bahamas, and finds plenty of underwater adventure. Does Thunderball hold up as well today? Find out with the Fanboys!

Hosts: Andrew and Daniel

In perhaps the most famous of all the 007 films, Bond must extricate himself from…a farm in Kentucky? Listen in to find out why Dan and Andy are deeply divided when it comes to Goldfinger!

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Aaron, David

This week we tackle Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee. You know, J.R.R. Tolkien’s favorite game because it damn’s industrialism, greed and meat by-products. The game is routinely listed as one of the best from the original PlayStation era so how did it hold up? Listen and find out!

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Hosts: Andrew and Daniel

Bond finds himself ensnared in a dastardly plot hatched by the agents of SPECTRE. Find out why Andrew and Daniel both agree that From Russia With Love is the best of all Bond films!

Hosts: Andrew and Daniel

James Bond’s famous film career started 50 years ago with Sean Connery in the leading role. Take a trip back in time to the first Bond film, the one that started it all, Dr. No!

[Ed. Note - Show is on iTunes! Subscribe!]

Hosts: Lance, Aaron, David

This week we tackle Doom. The game where scientist make a portal to Hell on Mars and it breaks lose! We put the game through it’s paces and learn something along the way.

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Hosts: Lance, Jeremy, Chris and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses Mass Effect 3 and only that! We basically use the show to discuss one of the years most controversial games. If you haven’t played be warned we spoil the hell out of it.

Hosts: Lance, Jeremy and Chris.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the timing of the forthcoming XBox, Wii Clock Speeds underwhelming, Nintendo Power shutting down, Wii Mini and a bunch of dudes discuss sexism in gaming.

Save State Picks-
Lance – First Level!
Jeremy – Back To The Future Episode 1
Chris – Bang!

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Aaron, David

In our very first episode we tackle Punch-Out! AKA “How Little Mac Grew Up And Learned To Stop Worrying About The Bull Rush”. Let us know what you think! And if you have any suggestions for games we should play email us!

Still waiting on iTunes approval but our feed is ready to rock if you want to manually add the show.

Hosts: Lance, Jeremy and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses Open Feint shutting down, Wii to Wii U Nightmares, Sony’s credit and much more!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Angry Birds Star Wars
Jeremy – Wire Fox Terriers!
Jenny – Style Savvy Trendsetters

Hello there! It’s with great pleasure that I am able to announce the newest show to our little site here – First Level! We’ve been banging around this idea for a while now and we feel ready to spring it on the world. So what the hell is it?

First Level is a show that endeavors to look at a games design, creativity and generally it’s package as a whole by just it’s first level. Does the first level properly set the player up for the challenges ahead? Does it showcase the design of the game well? Is it a glorified manual? These are some of the things we hope to answer.

To help answer these questions and more we’ve gotten a great group of people together. If you listen to Bonus Level Radio you already know two of them, myself and Chris. Some of you who’ve been dying to hear us more have finally gotten your wish. The other two members are entirely new people to our site – Aaron and David. Both accomplished game designers and ready to rock this show.

Our first game will be Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out for the NES. We chatted up about what constitutes the first level in that game and we decided to play it up until you win the first belt. This game is available on both the Wii and 3DS Virtual Consoles (as well as ahem other places) and we highly suggest replaying it so you can be fresh for our conversation.

As with any new show around here we are slowly but surely getting it out there so you can all easily add it to your favorite podcatcher. I hope to have everything up and running prior to our first show but don’t hold your breath. Until then enjoy the theme to the show! (Which I put up here to help get the show up on iTunes)

All of us are on the twitter and we encourage everyone to follow us. We are going to have a show specific account as well so look for that.

Lance
Chris
Aaron
David

Still waiting on iTunes approval but our feed is ready to rock if you want to manually add the show. If you have a game you would like to see featured email us! We’ll add it to our list!

Hosts: Lance, Chris and Jeremy.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses CODBLOPS2, Halo 4, Wii U launching, XBox rumors and much more! Enjoy!

Save State Picks-
Lance – 3DSXL
Chris – Grammar!
Jeremy – Amazon Black Friday Deals!

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Jeremy and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses Elections, Silicon Knights, Wii U, SWTOR going Free To Play and much more!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Taken 2
Chris – Cloud Atlas
Jeremy – David’s Pizza and Assassin’s Creed 3′s Multiplayer
Jenny – Harvest Moon A New Beginning

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Gloria, Jeremy and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses Star Wars, Borderlands STDs, Ouya for re-ah, awful Nintendo commercials and much more!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Letterpress and Dishonored
Chris – Deep Sea
Jeremy – Key & Peele
Jenny – Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward
Gloria – Corgi’s!

Also because we haven’t done this in a while check out the list of rejected show titles this week -
Prequel Defender
Holocost Defender
Historicaly-ness
I Need to watch TV better
Nintendo SuperPAC
Cum and Sadness
the return of the soundboard
I’m never going to live this down, eh?
Games Journalism: Bigger and Huger
Lance: Books are Dumb.
Words are Dumb. Word Games are Dumber.

Hosts: Lance and Chris

On this weeks adventure it’s just Lance and Chris! Listen as they talk about the rumored iPad Mini, IGN’s sale and much more!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Pitch Perfect, Bike Baron, Sons of Anarchy
Gloria – Corgi’s!
Chris – Castle In The Darkness, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Jeremy, Gloria and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses Cliffy B’s departure from Epic, EA’s departure from ethics, Nintendo tearing down their own hardware and much much more. Enjoy!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Listen to find out.
Jeremy – Sushi Rolls
Gloria – Corgi’s!
Chris – Seven Psychopaths

Don’t forget that we now have video to accompany the podcast. Watch to see the strange sexual tension Gloria has with Corgi’s.

Hosts: Chris, Jeremy, Gloria and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the Mass Effect Trilogy, if we would watch game competitions on TV, XBox Live rewarding players and much more!

Don’t forget that we now have video to accompany the podcast. If you watch every week you will see Gloria’s love of Corgi’s.

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Jeremy, Gloria and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the departure of BioWare’s founders, a new PS3, Kickstarter changing it’s rules and 10 pieces of video game music to have sex to. Enjoy!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Paper Monsters
Jeremy – American Psycho
Gloria – Corgi’s!
Chris – This American Life
Jenny – Closure

Hosts: Lance, Jeremy and Gloria.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the Wii U, iPhone 5 and the Kindle Fire HD. Enjoy!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Parks & Recreation (Season 4 now on Netflix Streaming)
Jeremy – The Prestige
Gloria – Draw Something

Hosts: Lance, Chris and Jeremy.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses movies, magazines, real stores and Australia. Enjoy!

Save State Picks-
Lance – The West Wing on Amazon
Jeremy – John Williams

Hosts: Gloria, Chris, Jeremy and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses Onlive’s Bankruptcy, a 2012 Vita Price Cut is too early, Borderlines girlfriend mode and much more!

[Ed. Note - The beginning got cut off due to a YouTube error. Sorry!]

Save State Picks-
Jeremy – NJDOT
Chris – Mercenary Kings

Also if you are so inclined here is the video of this weeks show! The first bit got all screwed up by google but the rest is great!

He’s not always this well dressed

My latest guest to Folks to Know is someone that I’ve known about for awhile but not until a recent game release by him that I knew that he’d be a perfect guest. David S. Gallant recently wrote a game in TWINE, a program that allows you to create interactive stories that let you choose your path. David’s game followed his life getting into the Toronto indie game scene and the people he met and the games he made. One excerpt has him tweeting at Craig (Superbrothers) Adams of Sworcery Fame from across the room because he’s too nervous to approach him. This part really reminded me of my recent ToJam experiences with the Toronto Indie community and how David’s story needed to be told, albeit in an archaic format.

Dave and I talked about his upbringing with parents that were quite tech savvy and both held jobs at Microsoft. His parents looked at video games as a waste of time so David had to be smart about his gaming at home. Using QBasic he made a math game framed with you controlling an X-wing and to find the coordinates for the tie fighters you’d have to solve math problems. The few games that he did play were Commander Keen a platformer by the guys who would eventually make Doom and form id Software.

The original Space marine

Growing up his gaming experiences were generally in multiplayer shooters like Quake and the original Team Fortress. He even for brief stints was actually part of communities and did work with clan websites.

David had gone to school to become an English teacher and acquired a full English degree.  As time passed he thought less on becoming a teacher and at some point actually wrote for table top rpg’s during the release of Dungeons and Dragons third edition which was open sourced, through the open gaming licence. He wrote for small publishers like Green Ronin and admittedly has made more money doing that then his game making career.

Some of his prior work

I ask if he actually got a chance to actually play any DnD but unfortunately that was rare. I tell him about how my friends have had trouble trying to setup games. We both agree the time commitment is something extremely hard to do, especially on such a consistent basis.

Dave tells me more on how he worked as an unofficial game journalist, a title I can understand. He had written for a couple of Playstation focused blogs and even dabbled in podcasts. That path was not meant to be as he got an internship with Ryan Creighton from Untold entertainment and creator of the adorable game Ponycorns. After 7 months of interning, David had entered the Ludum Dare (An accelerated game jam) and made Escapeout. A variant of the classic breakout that got him ranked 54^th for humour out of 599 games entered.  David from that point continues to make more and more games including a valentine card for his wife that I recommend you take the 5 minutes and play through and try not to say AWW. Also the most recent Tojam had him on Apocalypse Later based on an old pc game called Yoda stories.

These events give a very good example on why David crossed over from writing to game making. Writing is a very passive exercise that often doesn’t get a response. But a video game is much easier to present to someone. The appreciation is much more apparent and consistent, Dave says. Because mostly everyone can write but not everyone can make games.

We go on to discuss how a lot of games follow a very Hollywood budget and format and that some smaller games seem to better utilize the idea of what a game is, instead of emulating film. Dave equates this to the chances smaller developers can take without the high level of risk. Soundshapes and Dyad are great examples of things that can only exist as games since there a set of rules that you have to learn and build upon. Dyad as I’ve talked about before teaches the player through experience to navigate and anticipate new movements. Soundshapes though not as demanding has you create soundscapes as you move through levels that control the rhythm and David tells me there’s also a creation tool that is extremely intuitive. We go on to discuss how even super popular games like Modern Warfare can show you moments only a game can offer. The one we bring up is the post nuke scene where you drag your body around till you die of radiation poison, the moment is powerful because you still have control of your character but your movements are severely limited till you eventually succumb to your injuries.

Emotionally engaging

We both agree that the no Russian level from Modern Warfare 2 was a lot weaker because it involved a senseless violent act without any real justification to your action. An extreme act is fruitless without being earned.

Intellectuality lazy

We get around to discussing the Toronto indie game scene and I ask how he thinks the expansion of Rockstar Toronto and the already massive studio of Ubisoft Toronto will affect Toronto’s indie scene. David says that he thinks they’ll be able to cohabitate as Toronto is uniquely crafted with heavy tax incentives for both parties, plenty of feeder schools for students to do either and how they appeal to two different markets of video gamers’. Also the strength of Toronto’s DIY community is unmatched.

When asking about big studios helping smaller devs like XBLA and Sony’s pub fund Dave tells me that he thinks that Sony has done a much better job with their indie devs, giving them more freedom and to try things that are little more ambitious. This is extremely apparent by all the negative things you hear about XBLA development compared to how Shawn McGraith for example told me on the last Folks to Know.

Dave explains what he’s working on lately and he tells me how he’s been doing some mentoring with Dames making Games for Jeuxly, an event that has women who’ve never made a game to make games with the assistance of people like David. He also helped flesh out some of Damian Sommer the Yawgh (Who hasn’t at this point). He developed these connections through working out of the ever amazing Bento Miso, where we actually conducted this interview. (Thanks to Jen and Henry Faber)

Dave looking like he’s from the future

Tax Rush is a game David is working on, a Canabalt style runner but with the additional feature of inputting numbers to fill out your tax forms. Dave has a dream to find away to make tax form filling out somewhat pleasant for people that seem to outright hate it (like most of us). It’s an extremely ambitious and neat Idea that can possibly be a downright game changer. He tells that in Anna Anthropy’s new book Rise of the Video Game Zinester that a game about Tax’s can’t be fun, so this is his thrown down to prove her wrong. Shots Fired.

Read more articles from Chris

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Jeremy and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses a change to BioShock Infinite, Day Z getting a full blown release, Gamestop’s bet on the future and much more! Enjoy!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Jurassic Park Builder
Jeremy – He made it up on the spot.
Chris – Super Street Fire
Jenny – Finding Shepard (A Mass Effect Fangame)

This week on Folks to Know I got to talk to someone really interesting and recently in the console spotlight, Shawn McGraith creator of the PSN exclusive Dyad. Dyad is a “tunnel racing puzzle shooter” that has you constantly learning new rules up until the end of the game. I can continue attempting to explain it but you best click here for the best possible explanation.

Hey?

You still with me?

Good.

Onto the man behind the game.  Shawn is a self-described tinker, he tells me he’s been fooling around with power tools since he was 3 and made his first game by 14. Shawn goes on about in the sixth grade, his schooling was broken up into a half year working in shop class and the second half working with computers. Being naturally adept and inquisitive about how stuff works, Shawn stayed after class and with the help of an awesome teacher, was allowed access to materials that helped nurture Shawn along.

Actual picture of Shawn, with his cool beard.

During the following semester and dealing with computers, Shawn again showed his curiosity and messed around with some games source code. The same teacher again realizing Shawn’s passion for learning, lent him a book about C+ which Shawn took home and devoured.

Not the Shawn Mcgraith I met, but a Shawn McGraith nonetheless

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. He told me about a teacher that believed Shawn was really dumb and used to tell him so quiet often. One day in grade 9, Shawn forgot a permission form to go on a field trip and was left at school with the teacher. The teacher left Shawn unattended at a computer and by the end of the day Shawn had made 3 games. Wandering back to dismiss him the teacher noticed Shawn playing a game, inquiring about its origins Shawn explained how he made it along with two others. The teacher after that passed Shawn with reasonably high grades.

I asked about what Shawn did post high school and he says how he dropped out before finishing and went to work for Microsoft. After working there for a bit he dabbled in some other more local companies all the while working on the earliest version of Dyad which was supposed to be a 1 of 3 Playstation Minis. Dyad was described as too good of an idea to not expand on, and so the development of this 4 and half year project commenced. It was thought that perhaps Dyad would only take a couple months to complete but he kept on putting more and more into it. And even two years into development he thought there was only one more year left to make it. The development process was described as half a day of coding and the other spent to playing the game and refining it over and over again.

Early on Shawn was introduced to people from Sony by friends and since then Dyad was destined to become a PS3 exclusive, when asking if there would be an XBLA version I was told “less than half a 1%”. Simply for the fact that Shawn doesn’t want to do that type of tedious conversion and he rather be creating something he’s passionate about. I am told that a Ps-vita version maybe a possibility that would come free with a purchase of the console Dyad. The only other thing stopping him from putting it to Vita is that it has to be the PS3 version to a T, no downscaling or limitations.

During the four year dev cycle Dyad was set to be shown off at PAX East, but Shawn being Shawn didn’t just bring what he had completed of Dyad so far but the inception of the Dyad machine as well. The Dyad machine was a six week project that aimed to turn Dyad into a functional racing cabinet. This video along with this story does the Dyad machine more justice than I could.

The Dyad Machine

Part of the funding for Dyad was done through the OMDC (Ontario media development corporation) which helps financially support start ups. Its a fascinating process on how Shawn describes how the money is fed back into the government by the expansion of his company and the collection of taxes, It’s an avenue that doesn’t seem to get utilized for a lot of Toronto indie devs.

I asked about the process of making a downloadable game and the challenges the industry possess to developers. Trophies were brought up because Dyad has a specific trophy mode in it. Shawn says how initially he didn’t want trophies in his game and how Sony would of allowed this to happen, unprecedented in this age of console rigidity. He explains how trophies is what’s so wrong about modern gaming, saying that a game should be fun and how fun is the natural response to learning. He goes on explaining how boredom is the natural response to lack of mental stimulation. And what trophies add a useless external reward for doing something un-engaging.

“It makes the world a shitty place.”

Shawn with some doing figured out how to implement trophies ethically. He says how some gameplay would never be used and to literally force it onto players would seem obstructive. This is where the trophies are a stand in for gamers to get the most out of Dyad without just grinding away at an empty uninspired goal. Dyad is also the first PSN game to have a platinum trophy, which he explained help organize the amount of points required for trophy distribution.

We then talked about his involvement with other Toronto indie devs and I’m told that he actually used to attend ToJam a couple years back as well as deal with the Hand eye society.  One of his ToJam games A Game About Bouncing is actually being converted to Playstation Home, Sony’s Second Life simulator. Shawn really hasn’t been involved in the Toronto indie scene as much mostly due to putting out Dyad but hopefully will see more of him in those circles soon. It’s not like the man isn’t keeping busy, he says that he recently has been working on a board game for the past couple days and already thinking about new game ideas.

I inquired about some of the commercials used for Dyad’s release where he got Tim Rogers to promote his game in this humourous little commercial. Tim, a friend of Shawn’s, is known for his somewhat long form writings about games and is defiantly someone with a lot of interesting things to say.

Tim Rogers iphone game Ziggurat

Asking the cliché question what game really intrigued toward him video games. He said Tetris for NES was his. A game of unparallel reliability, we discuss its storied history and I interestingly find out Shawn has never played Angry Birds and to be honest might not be able to recognize it on site. This is clearly a man dedicate to his craft and doesn’t bother with things of mainstream appeal.

Throughout Dyad’s development Shawn has appeared to stand his ground and do what he thought was cool. Dyad is a completely uncompromised start to finish vision of what Shawn wanted. He tells me how he could of gotten Dyad on disc release and made more money but he wanted it to get to as many people as possible and selling it digitally appears to be the format for that. The process of making DYAD has defiantly changed Shawn, he hopes for the better.

I end are chat by suggestively asking if he could somehow put Dyad on my future PS Vvita, Shawn shrugs and responds with a “just wait”.

(Editor’s note: DYAD is $15 on PSN and free demo to see if you’ll like it)

Read more articles from Chris

Hosts: Chris, Jeremy and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses some stuff. I honestly don’t know since I wasn’t there! Enjoy!!

Bento Miso at capacity

So it looks like these interviews are going to be a constant. I’m ok with that since I still get to talk smart and awesome people.

This time I met Henry Faber, part owner of Bento Miso, Cofounder of Bento Box and all around great guy. Bento Box is a web consultation team started in 1999, comprised of Henry, his wife Jennie and Dann Toliver. They help fortify start-ups, giving them the support they need to leap, learn, and adapt. Bento Miso (where we met) is a collaborative workspace for web and game designers, often called co-working. Henry and his crew started Bento Miso up in January 2012 and have had amazing success with the Toronto creative community. Currently they have 75 people with  monthly memberships, they hold events with noted indie game developers like Christine Love of Digital: A Love Story and Benjamin Rivers creator of Home, have game with friends nights and some of the most excellent coffee (free with membership).

Some of the best game writing I’ve seen in a long time

I asked about how he and his wife first met and Henry explains they met over alpha testing Habbo, a Finnish social networking site aimed at teenagers. After carrying on a long distance relationship they eventually met and been together for about 10 years.

the Swedes love Habbo

Henry and I discuss how recently a lot of anti-feminism has been going on through the internet, mainly centring around Feminism Frequency. Anita Sarkeesian the creator creates YouTube videos about feminism in popular culture. Recently she put together a kickstarter project to do a video series about women in video game tropes. There has been a blow back in the form of misogyny and disgust. [Ed. Note - We discussed it in this weeks BLR.] As two males who think equality is important we believe these forms of misogynous should be ignored and should just treat women equally. As Henry explains he never really considered women in the world place as anything more than just the norm and in his ignorance he says he may have been part of the problem. He explained that if you don’t acknowledge the differences between men and women you miss why women may have a hard time.

Anitaès fully funded kickstarter

Henry hopes to have Bento Miso be a welcome place for everyone in a safe and comfortable environment. A partial reason to opening Bento Miso was inspired by Zoey Quinn and Cecily Carver of Dames making games.

These Dames definitely do make games

The conversation turns to Tojam 7 and the game his group worked on. With the help of Jenni Faber, Eric Emery, Maggie McLean an, Dann Toliver they put together Euphrates. A story based choose your own adventure where you play seven generations of humans moving from a desolate Earth to a new liveable planet. Each generation carries three stages, one as a child, second as an adult and lastly as an elder. Your decisions will affect your outcome. It seems extremely ambitious and I hope to play a completed version sometime in the future.

As we continue to talk I’m struck that Henry with all his inherent smarts and good sense does all these things to help and nurture this unique and amazing community. At one point I ask about his evil intent, with all this good will his response the closest thing to a “soylent green” moment. He explains that diversity breeds better and more interesting things. If we can get different people from different walks of life they could stimulate innovation. So the closest thing to soylent green is better games for everyone else.

The conversation shifts on how such a community can exist and how Toronto seems to be a perfect nesting ground for smart folks to get their name out there. Henry describes it as “good roots” and he brings up not only Toronto but how all of southern Ontario is enjoying the creation of some great looking games, from Dyad by Shawn Mcgrath , Guacamelee by Drinkbox studios ,and Sound Shapes by Quesy Games.

Luchador and Metroid style gameplay

Henry brought up Christine Love, an indie game dev whose games are more an interactive stories than games. Games like Digital a love story (it’s free) have you playing through BBS boards developing relationships and end up solving conspiracies. Her game Analogue: A Hate Story recently got on Steam and sold so well it eventually got on the top 11^th spot for sales. Henry uses this game as an example that broke the mold with an unconventional game type that did surprisingly well. For Henry its all about sustainability, making sure the work your doing keeps you continuing that work. The question that’s often posed to Henry is “I wish I could work on X” unto which he responds why you aren’t working on X. If you want something you have to make time for and stop pushing it in the periphery.

A game about mistreatment of Korean women

Jeff Minter, Henry says, is another game dev that builds sustainability and is content with his niche. Minter, a developer from England, releases very weird, quirky and visually insane games called Space Giraffe that has a solid fan base. His games aren’t top selling but they do make enough for him to continue his life style living in the British countryside taking care of his Llama and Sheep farm. Yeah that’s a real thing. The important thing that Henry tries to get across is don’t get into this field with the intent of getting rich; there are a lot more lucrative ways to get there. You should instead do it because it’s your passion.

Henry points to the back of the room where a younger kid is diligently typing away on his laptop. I’m told he’s a student from a local college that’s doing his co-op at Bento Miso. When first arriving Mark (not his real name) wasn’t interested in game development but Henry insisted he come out to Ben Rivers talk. It was a catered event and a bunch of people talking about design. The following day Mark sends an email to Henry saying how transformative going to that event was and how he has attended every other game night since then. Mark is one microcosm of how Bento Miso pays its forward helping the community.

We both bring up Damian Sommer, an up and coming game designer that I interviewed on the last Folks to Know.  Henry says how he convinced Damian to sell his most recent and unreleased game, The Clown Who Wanted Everything. We both wait patiently for this release and Henry tells me he’s even wrote a story for the latest version of The Yawgh (Damian’s collab game with Emily Carroll).

As we draw near the end we both swoon over the Guys With Pencils podcast that continues to still get great people. Henry leaves me with something Miguel Sternberg said about the need of a workspace.

Miguel Sternberg told Henry “if only there was a place we could hang, like a bigger place.“

That’s a bigger place

Read more articles from Chris

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Jeremy and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses a controversary, a patch being pulled, a patent troll and a loot death. Enjoy!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Basement Bugs and Big Brother!
Jeremy – The Dark Knight Rises
Chris – Moon Intern
Jenny – 999

Video coming soon….

I again got some time to chat with another awesome person, Damian Sommer, a DIY video game designer. I first heard of Damian while attending Comics vs. Games an event in Toronto where one comic creator and one game designer make highly polished multiplayer games. It was a neat assortment of games but one stood out, The Yawgh. The Yawgh is a multiplayer choose-your-own-adventure game with amazing art by Emily Carroll and some top notch game writing. I met Damian for the first time a while after. Very quickly during ToJam 7 as he showed me a multiplayer wizard duel game that was actually pretty cool called A Spiralling Decent Into Madness. Finally, I decided for us to meet so I can properly fanboy over his work.

Amazing from The Yawgh by Emily Carroll

Damian has been making games for a while and has put out some real interesting ones. Games like Context Insensitive a platformer that continues to add controls to your keyboard till it becomes a clusterfuck of remembering where your key placements are. Damian also worked together with Craig Adams from Superbrothers to make Eye pilots, a game where you hook a device up to your head and your only control is the movement of your eyes. A Friendship in Four Colours is a co-op platformer that builds rules between partners that can lead to your friend’s death. Just from this short list you can assess that Damian has a knack for mechanics and pissing you the fuck off.

Damian and I started off by discussing Derek Yu’s last game for XBLA, Spelunky. A procedural generating side-scroller that leads you deeper into various types of caves with only your wits and caution to keep you safe. Also you look like Indiana Jones. Damian has completed the PC version (free) a while back and gives me tips on how to not suck so hard. One specifically was not to blow up a sacrificial alter that are full of spiders, all important things. Damian also suggests checking out the Spelunky wiki to understand some of the more opaque systems in Spelunky.

Spelunky with friends

As we talked more about systems in games the conversation turned to Fez, a recent indie darling that ran into mostly positive reviews. We both acknowledge the games merits but Damian points out how once you figure out one type of puzzle involving tetris pieces it became as simple as plugging in the symbols for numerous other puzzles, therefore really taking away any further challenge. When Damian first figured this code out he was elated but continued use of the code got boring.

As I mentioned earlier, Damian worked with Superbrothers to make Eye pilots (a completely insane game) we got talking about one of Superbrothers more notable games, Sword and Sworcery, one of the best IOS games of recent date. He tells me how the game was partially inspired by Carl Jung’s Red Book. Carl Jung was an exceptional psychologist that worked with Freud, went crazy later in life and wrote a mammoth sized book exploring consciences and dreams. It’s completely ethereal and unfiltered as Jung discuss the world of magic. A fascinating read if you can get passed the price tag.

Some of the crazy in the Red Book

I asked more about The Yawgh and I’m told it was inspired after a free PC game of similar origin called Dungeons of Fayte. Same as The Yawgh your tasked with the arrival of a big bad and you must prepare by boosting your states. Both games are awesome but unfortunately The Yawgh so far has no online, so I suggest checking out Dungeons of Fayte.

Since discussing Comics vs. Games we got talking about the game community in Toronto and the conversation takes us to Bento Miso. Bento Miso is a workspace for Web and Game Development, Damian has really taken a liking to the place and informs me he and friends will be there soon to try to playthough 4 player mode of Spelunky.

People at Bento Miso brainstorming

Henry Faber, part owner of Bento Miso, told Damian about Artemis. A game that Damian explains, simulates a spaceship bridge by networking several computers together. One computer runs the simulation and the “main screen”; while the others serve as workstations for the normal jobs a bridge officer might do, like Helm, Communication, Engineering, and Weapon Control. If you listen carefully you can hear Lance (our EIC) salivate at this game. [Ed. Note - true story]

We get down to brass tax as I got Damian to tell me about his current and most ambitious project to date and his first commercial release. The Clown Who Wanted Everything where you play as the titular clown go through various platformer levels. The catch, you have no abilities aside from walking. There are power ups through each level that allow you to complete the level, some are as simple as double jump while others are mobile portal devices. There are tons of items/powerups and Damian still has not hit his limit and continues to add more and more.

The Clown Who Wanted Everything

The game looks exciting and I’m happy to see such an inspired and good natured person enter the world of getting paid for what he’s most assuredly good at. We can all thank Henry Faber for convincing Damian to put this game for sale. Damian tells me how every stage is crafted after a new item is made and how awesome the implantation of each would work.

We discussed more game design and philosophy and we go on how Super Mario Bros World 1-1 is genius in how it explains its rules without saying a word and utilizes no tutorial. I asked what he would recommend for people that are interested in making games. He said just make a game, copy an existing game (i.e. tetris) and find a program that is comfortable for you. He uses Multimedia fusion two himself but he also says to check out Dames make games for any more specific tutorials.

We finished by both equally fanboying over Daigo “The Beast” Umehara, one of the best Street Fighter players of all time.Moment 37

If that interested you then you should check out more from EVO, it’s the world cup of the fighting game world.

Now I’ll await the release of The Clown Who Wanted Everything, but I simply just want this game.

Here’s some new ones!

Read more articles from Lance

A while back I had the privilege of talking to a fellow podcaster in the meat space for too short of a time; Adam Hines, one half of The Guys with Pencils Podcast. Every week, he and his co-host Andrew Murray get creative types from Toronto (and beyond) to discuss the nerdy things in life and their trade. Some of their esteemed guests have been Miguel Sternberg creator of They Bleed Pixels, Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes of Super Meat Boy and Henry and Jennie Faber creators of the awesome Bento Miso work space.

Adam is also an animator and has used his experiences to wrangle some of their amazing guests. I’d best describe him as a man who knows his craft but wants to hear how others do it themselves. Listening to Guys with Pencils each week continues to inspire me with guests that are all driven in their own way to succeed. Even with such a wide array of awesome people Adam and his cohort continually deliver commentary on their own and get the realest answers out of their guests. Adam isn’t just a smart guy but also aware what’s going on in the current climate of games. We got onto the current streak of misogyny in games and theorized that some people are just dicks and the anonymity of the internet only adds to that.

At one point Adam tells me he sometimes just looks at his wife and says “sorry” when those kinds of stories are in the news. Moving the topic to a more positive light, Adam talks about how The Sims are one of the few that include women without degrading them. This is due mostly because they don’t enter unrealistic body types into the equation.  Also The Sims franchise are just really fun and procedural games.

We then get to the meat and potatoes of any good gaming conversation, we discuss Adam’s favorite game. It’s not surprisingly Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a classic and loved by most in the gaming world. Adam goes on to describe the reasons for his love of the game, his love stems from where he was in his life. He was a young kid living outside of Ottawa in a Rural town 20 minutes from the closest convince store. Not having a large friend group, Adam lost himself in a magical world that I’d say was transformative to him as a gamer.

He admits that the game if we went back to play it wouldn’t hold up to modern Zelda interpretations but that hardly matters, we all remember are first.

We talked more about childhood pastimes and Magic: the Gathering was brought up. Adam says he enjoyed it at first for the art and social aspect when he was younger but now as an adult he played the XBLA game and has fallen for the rule sets and game mechanics that Magic provides. This is the one point where you can see true enjoyment in Adams face as he smirks subtly whilst he recounts being tempted to buy real life magic cards.

“The Sword totally does have fire on it”

I ask Adam about what comics have caught his interest and he emphatically brought up Invincible, a super hero story written by the creator of the walking dead. The book follows the rise of a superhero but with real life consequences and if a character is dead they stay dead. It’s a far cry from the revolving door for dead characters that both Marvel and DC employ so readily.

We then bemoan recent movie going experiences as they are bogged down by Ad’s, iphone games, Ad’s, tedious intros and more Ad’s. Then we finish off our lovely conversation by both agreeing that Saints Row the third is the dumbest smart game ever to exist

PS – I interviewed Adam and his crew awhile back during Tojam 7, check it out.

Read more articles from Chris

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Jeremy and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses voice acting in games, a $99 android console, Call of Duty going Free to Play and much much more! Enjoy!

(Sorry about the lateness, had some technical issues to work through on my end)

Save State Picks-
Lance – Basement Bugs
Jeremy – Basement Bugs
Chris – Spelunky

Also if you are so inclined here is the video of this weeks show! The first bit got all screwed up by google but the rest is great!

Hosts: Lance, Jeremy and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses a rude reporter being all trolly, Wii U’s price point, Vivendi getting out of gaming and Infinity Blades Success. Enjoy!

(Sorry about the lateness, had some technical issues to work through on my end)

Save State Picks-
Lance – Where’s My Water?
Jeremy – Pocket Planes
Jenny – Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut DLC

Hosts: Lance, Chris and Gloria

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the leaked documents regarding the Xbox 720, we chat a bit more about E3 but with perspective, the new Surface, Portal 2 for education and Blizzard making a huge mistake. Enjoy!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Atomic Robo
Chris – Indie Game The Movie
Gloria’s Candy Of The Week – Walkers Crisp’s

Hosts: Lance, Jeremy and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses E3 after E3! We recap all of the biggest news items from the show and try to give some perspective on all of it. Who had the best show? Microsoft? Sony? Nintendo? Ubisoft? We discuss it all and choose a “winner”. Disagree? Leave a note below and tell us why. We’d love to hear from you!

Save State Picks-
Lance – Beauty and The Beast
Jeremy – CLANG and DLC Quest

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Gloria, Jeremy and Jenny.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses E3 before E3! PrE3! Even though the show starts today some news has already leaked and we go through it. We discuss some strong rumors floating around and then get right in it with our predictions for the show. Who has the best ones? Who is going to be right? Listen and find out!

Was going to wait to do an update with more but I said screw it. The Luigi one is too good to not share.

Also when was the last time you checked out our wallpaper archives? It’s well over a thousand images to decorate your confuser with. All free and all hosted by us! Just click the header image above and it’ll whisk you away to a wonderland.

Read more articles from Lance

Our buddies in the far east (Ice Block Films) sent this over to us early this morning and I just had to share. If you’re a fan of the game you’re going to love this. Or not. I don’t speak or think for you.

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Gloria, Jeremy, Jenny and Justin.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the concept of game cloning and whether or not it’s bad or not. 38 Studios troubles end just as Bioware’s begin. Once again Porn is destroying young men and the 360 is banned in the USA. All that and much more on this awesome packed episode!

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Gloria and Jeremy.

On this weeks adventure the gang discusses the new Wii U controller, 38 Studios collapsing, Voice Acting in games and Call of Duty. All that and we bring back fan favorite “Name That Game” for another go. Enjoy!

[Ed. Note - click the images to embiggen. Also if the audio isn't showing up hit refresh. That seems to be working for some people.]

The only time Alex wasn’t Running around to help someone

The Rockstar: Interview with Renaud Bedard

So I was able to have a long talk with Renaud Bedard (the programmer behind Fez). Listen on as I make a fool of myself trying to hold back my glee talking to such an intelligent and nice dude.
Download audio file (Renaud-Bedard-1.mp3)
Part 1
Download audio file (Renaud-Bedard-2.mp3)
Part 2
Download audio file (Renaud-Bedard-3.mp3)
Part 3

Bedard TOjam entry about animals, words and battle

Download audio file (Em-Mcginley-1.mp3)
Part 1
Download audio file (Em-Mcginley-2.mp3)
Part 2
Download audio file (Em-Mcginley-3.mp3)
Part 3

The New guys: BlockRock by Numlock

One of my favourite group of devs at TOjam was Numlock. This seemingly innocuous group did not take themselves seriously in all the best ways. There game called BlockRock is about a 3D turret defending the planet from a hail of asteroids, meteors and comets. the unique bit of gameplay has you changing perspective from three different sides of the planet fighting off various waves of space debris (this feature was cut due to feature creep). The turret itself is the most impressive part of the project, each shot makes the gun shudder as pistons flare up and pumps are depressed. It’s truly just a joy watching the different moving parts of the Turret in action.  At one point during our conversation I suggested putting my face on the incoming asteroids, unto which they would put in on the wishlist but fear of feature creep might cut it from the end product. I commented that only one of their team members seemed to be doing work while the two animators (Andrew and Karl) sat around shooting the shit with me, they said that the teammate doing all the work in question is pretty much the reason the game will get finished. Honesty is always appreciated. Listen to the interview for more awesome.

Download audio file (RockBlock-by-Numlock-1.mp3)
Part 1
Download audio file (RockBlock-by-Numlock-2.mp3)
Part 2

The Numlock crew are people I'd like to drink with

The idea came from Colin Weick’s  “a game without violence in it”. The player finds seeds during the post-apocalypse and begins trying to regrow the world. As you plant various seeds different plants grow. There was an idea to have world ending events but this was cut near the end and instead it became this oddly relaxing seed planting game.The guys at Capybara are a different lot than most of the Tojam crowd as they come from a known and relatively well liked developer. Games like Critter Crunch and Sword and Sworcery have put them as indie darlings. While talking to Charles Randall he told me about his game past, first working at Bioware, Digital Extremes, Ubisoft Toronto and finally where he resides currently at Capy. Charles explained that he prefers a smaller team where it doesn’t take 3 years to see the end of a final project. Interview with the crew here.

Download audio file (Seed-Planting-by-Capybara.mp3)

Corporate Scum

Download audio file (Skitter-by-Jack-Don’t-Know-Shit.mp3)

The Educators: Quench by Axon Games

Quench is hex-based game the revolves around a drought that makes your job as the weather kind of a pain. You’re tasked with spreading rain and other elements to spread life to this barren wasteland. Axon is a relatively new start up wanting to make games with an educational slant and severe anti sun messaging. Listen for more info.

Download audio file (Quench-by-Axon.mp3)

behind those Sweet Smiles a Rage that burns with the fury of a Thousand Suns

The Mashups: Rad Dudes by Professor Action and Super Sharks

An awesome little team with a sweat art style and a neat mechanic to boot. In the game you can only reload your gun (infinite ammo) by juggling it in the air as your muscle man character fires automatically. the game also allows a second player that you can juggle guns back and forth to keep off waves of robotic enemies. A fun game that ended all too quickly. I’m keeping my eye on this one.

ProfessorActionToJamInterview

Me creeping on Adam Hines work

Overall TOjam was an amazing experience that I will participate in a greater capacity next year. Also here’s just more pictures of my 3 day adventure.

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Gloria and Jeremy.

On this weeks adventure the gang gets some live on the scene reporting from the ToJam festival, we discuss the Wii U’s perception problem with traditional gamers, BioShock Infinite gets delayed and we tell you why gaming sales took a dive in April. All that and much more, enjoy!

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

Guest: Adam

On this episode Jeremy has a myriad of technical difficulties, which results in the show getting derailed; Lance talks about the definition of a spoiler while Just explains why the Smashing Pumpkins are Billy Corgan. Special Guest Adam Tate also joins the show and adds some eloquence to an otherwise rambunctious shit show.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/05/10/pop-culture-and-pilates-21-spoiled-pumpkins/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/05/07/bonus-level-radio-126-draw-something-with-helen-kellar/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/05/07/bonus-level-radio-126-draw-something-with-helen-kellar/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 13:59:08 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8231

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Jennifer and Jeremy.

On this weeks adventure the gang talks about how Microsoft maybe on the verge of changing gaming forever, is it a good idea to for existing franchises to pivot into MMOs and Mr. Miyamoto has some things to say about the Vita. We also chat about The Avengers!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/05/07/bonus-level-radio-126-draw-something-with-helen-kellar/feed/ 2 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/30/bonus-level-radio-125-lets-them-have-more-flexible/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/30/bonus-level-radio-125-lets-them-have-more-flexible/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:42:51 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8227

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Jennifer and Jeremy.

On this weeks adventure the gang talks about Adam Sessler’s G4 departure, Nintendo’s departure from profits, their departure from their tradition stance on online transactions and LucasArts departure from BattleFront 3. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/30/bonus-level-radio-125-lets-them-have-more-flexible/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/27/wallpapers-42712/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/27/wallpapers-42712/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:35:22 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8223

This week is the Nintendo 64 week of wallpapers. Quality over Quantity!

Read more articles from Lance

• First Level 011: Sly Cooper And The Thievius Raccoonus
• First Level 009: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
• First Level 008: Gunstar Heroes
• First Level 007: The Lost Vikings

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/27/wallpapers-42712/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/26/pop-culture-and-pilates-19-gigolo-joe-whadya-know/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/26/pop-culture-and-pilates-19-gigolo-joe-whadya-know/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:32:46 +0000 Justin http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8213

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

Does Justin really need 8 hours of sleep? The nuke race: who will win?! Will people really have sex with android prostitutes? Find out on this episode of Pop Culture & Pilates!!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/26/pop-culture-and-pilates-19-gigolo-joe-whadya-know/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/23/bonus-level-radio-124-all-i-heard-was-cum/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/23/bonus-level-radio-124-all-i-heard-was-cum/#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:13:04 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8209

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Gloria and Jeremy.

On this weeks adventure the gang talks about how to save the Playstation Vita, Valve maybe not having a meeting with Apple CEO Time Cook, how Steam maybe devaluing games and thats a good thing and some more Valve stuff to boot! We also reference this article so you should read it first and I promised to link everyone to this as well. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/23/bonus-level-radio-124-all-i-heard-was-cum/feed/ 1 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/18/pop-culture-and-pilates-18-ray-of-blight/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/18/pop-culture-and-pilates-18-ray-of-blight/#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:32:18 +0000 Justin http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8199

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

On this episode, Lance and Justin discuss Madonna’s new album, “MDNA,” and its epic drop in sales after debuting at the number 1 spot on the Billboard 200. A Kentucky man travels to Tennessee to go on a crime spree of stupid proportions. Oh yeah, and New York City gets ANOTHER sports team, which leaves Newark, NJ in the shitter (not that it wasn’t in the shitter already). Much love, NJ.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/18/pop-culture-and-pilates-18-ray-of-blight/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/16/bonus-level-radio-123-i-con-kree/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/16/bonus-level-radio-123-i-con-kree/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:34:33 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8195

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Gloria, Jeremy and Jennifer.

On this weeks adventure the gang talks about Valve’s secret meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Valves secret thing, the beginnings of a potential PAX backlash, Miyamoto admitting something and threesomes. Yes that kind of threesome. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/16/bonus-level-radio-123-i-con-kree/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/11/pop-culture-and-pilates-17-the-end-of-innocence/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/11/pop-culture-and-pilates-17-the-end-of-innocence/#comments Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:28:13 +0000 Justin http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8185

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

On this episode we tackle some pressing questions that have plagued society for ages, or…minutes. Is Dwight Howard a douche? Is Stan Van Gundy a douche? Who’s douchier? Justin and Lance also bicker like school children.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/11/pop-culture-and-pilates-17-the-end-of-innocence/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/04/pop-culture-and-pilates-16-down-the-rat-hole/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/04/pop-culture-and-pilates-16-down-the-rat-hole/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:51:51 +0000 Justin http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8180

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

Consigliere: Jay

Pointless bickering. Blasphemy. Alien-spawned British politicians and racist reactions to The Hunger Games. Bonus: Lance impersonates Queen Elizabeth. Enjoy.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/04/pop-culture-and-pilates-16-down-the-rat-hole/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/02/bonus-level-radio-122-painted-with-kinect/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/02/bonus-level-radio-122-painted-with-kinect/#comments Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:23:28 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8176

Hosts: Lance, Gloria and Jeremy.

On this weeks adventure the gang talks about the looming war with used games, THQ having some hard times, Silicon Knights, OMGPop’s CEO being a douche and much much more. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/04/02/bonus-level-radio-122-painted-with-kinect/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/30/saved-by-the-cell-53-rip-cassdroid/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/30/saved-by-the-cell-53-rip-cassdroid/#comments Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:38:47 +0000 Peter http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8116

Host: Peter

Cassy Wright Jolly

11/18/1981 – 3/25/2012

It is with a very sad and heavy heart that I reflect on the passing of my co-host Cassy Wright Jolly (aka Cassdroid). She was a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister; but to me she was someone I talked about cell phones and tablets with each week for an hour and some change. She was really only supposed to be on the show for one episode as a guest but for some reason she enjoyed it and kept coming back each week. She brought her love of Android and the Android community to each and every show and made sure that the listeners and I knew her thoughts and view points on the various topics we discussed over the last 6 months. Cassy had a big heart and loved her family very much. I feel blessed to have known her and to have had the opportunity to share this podcast with her. All of my thoughts are with her family and friends during this trying time.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/30/saved-by-the-cell-53-rip-cassdroid/feed/ 6 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/29/billion-dollar-game-idea-stunts/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/29/billion-dollar-game-idea-stunts/#comments Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:15:52 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8157

I recently came to the conclusion that I won’t be making video games for a living. It’s sad but true (not really as what I do now is amazing). As a pup I dreamed up tons of games ideas. Some probably original, some probably not. I thought of the idea of a Nintendo Mascot fighter in 1992! Just like everyone else. But I’ve had other ideas I thought could be fun games or games that should be remade. Which led me to think “why not share here on this obscure blog no one reads!” I’ve also had the distinct pleasure to talk to a few game developers because of BLR and maybe – just maybe – one of them will read this. How cool would it be if they made the game? Or even better a rebuttal on why this idea would not work. That would be pretty damn cool to me. Not even having the game made but why my idea sucks! I’m strange that way.

Today’s idea isn’t original but an update to an obscure classic. The game was released for the PC in 1990 and is called Stunts (also known as 4D Racing in some areas). The game was an early 3D racing game. It had multiple cars and tracks and all of that. But it contained a few features far ahead of it’s time that should’ve become standards on all racing games – Track Making and Replays.

Admittedly those aren’t killer features nowadays. Lots of games have them but they tend to be tedious to use and cumbersome to a new player. No, what they are doing wrong nowadays is what Stunts did so right back then.

First let’s take a look at what the game was.

Special wasn’t it?

So imagine the following game with me. A new Stunts. We’ll call it something catchy and appy. Something like Stunts with Friends or Stunts Go!. Stunts Go! isn’t a big game, not even close. It’s a dollar game or ad supported for mobile devices. It uses the same basic premise of the original game. Multiple cars, multiple retro opponents. The design of the opponents avatars is reminiscent of the old VGA days. Their names should be just as cheesy – like Maxx or Lazerblast or Zero Cool. To get the player into the feel of the game there needs to be an Avatar editor. The player needs to be able to create a unique looking avatar (for reasons I’ll get to). Might be smart to supply a few options as well. Could even offer more avatars as a micro transaction as well, bolstering the bottom line.

To avoid licensing real cars you can give the cars names that writers of late 80′s science fiction would call them. Again, their name should be retro but futuristic at the same time (I’d love to see one named after the 6000 SUX but that’s me). A Sedan is a Sedan and an open wheel racer is an open wheel racer so who cares? You’re not selling Gran Turismo. I would avoid the temptation to sell more cars, as I’ll explain later. Add more cars but do it free.

Gameplay is pretty simple as there are three modes. World Tour, Multiplayer and Editor. World Tour is where you have to race against all of the stock AI opponents against stock courses. The courses are used to train you on how to handle each car and the different types of terrain you’ll be facing. There should be around 6 computer controlled opponents over 18 courses. Simple but effective.

Multiplayer and Editor is what this game is truly about. Editor mode players can create their own tracks. They have a stock range of things to choose from, roads, turns, bridges etc. Exactly how the original game did it. In fact the editor should be similar. A large grid where each piece takes up one square. Larger pieces can take multiple squares but it is all confined inside of the larger grid. It’s simple to use and even simpler to use on a touch device. Don’t limit how many tracks people can make either. That’s annoying and people hate that shit.

Multiplayer is both expansive and simple. Simply you get to race your friend. You don’t need 15 people on one track like it’s a Kart Racer, just you and your bud. If you can’t do it over 3G or WiFi you need to at least be able to do it over blue-tooth. Their created avatar is how they are seen in the game. Since different cars will have different driving mechanics this is why you can’t sell cars as DLC. It would break the game.

But what makes this a billion dollar game? Combining both the Editor with the Multiplayer and with a little social on top. There is a leader board inside the game where people can vote up or down (Reddit style) their favorite user created tracks. And anyone can race them! The same thing can be done for user made avatars though there should be a flagging system here for penises. There are always penises. Combined these leader boards with social media so people can share their favorite tracks and such as well.

Sadly I don’t quite think I have your attention. Nothing about this game is that great is it? It’s a simple racer with some social tweaks. But I believe the depth to the game comes with the user generated courses and avatars. Your job as developers isn’t to make new cars or new tracks but new terrain for the Editor. The developer acts a curator to the user generated content instead of being forced to constantly one up itself. You put your users to work. Imagine if Rovio did something like this. Instead of a handful of Angry Birds games and constantly having to sputter out new levels they could be focusing on new birds and obstacles and using 200,000,000 people to create new levels.

However, this only makes the game a million dollar game by my calculation. What puts it over the top? Bugs.

Yup. Buggy software. But with a purpose you see. Check out this video -

These types of crashes are why I remember the game 22 years later. The developer called them bugs and tried to patch them out. I disagree and say it’s an important feature.

Most people don’t like NASCAR. It isn’t that great of a sport. But everyone everywhere loves a good crash. The devs of Burnout figured this one out by rewarding the player for crashing.

Stunts with Friends is a typical racer and follows all the normal logic of racers. But when you crash at 220 mph (340 kmh for my northern friends) you have a decent chance of the car being launched into orbit for no reason. Remember the replay feature I listed at the beginning? This here is why you implement it today. You don’t say the point of the game is to make ridiculous courses only to have epic crashes but you subtly encourage it via replays and specific “bugs”. Plus you have a leader board for replays. People will want to share their best crash.

Lastly I don’t think this game needs to look all that great. A low polygon count gives it a fun retro feel while maintaining accessibility. If it looks too good you run the risk of people thinking it might be too much of a simulation type game. Keep it simple to encourage the use of the Editor and allow your user base to expand the game for you.

A game like this will target the type of gamer that plays both Angry Birds and Draw Something. This isn’t God of War or Call of Dut and isn’t trying to be. It’s a casual game that anyone with a mobile device can play.

-Lance

PS – If you make this game all I want is it for free. Don’t make me buy it. And if it goes big time and you make 200 million off of it you better pay off my student loans and buy me a nice house. Other than that it’s the Internets to use!

Read more articles from Lance

• First Level 011: Sly Cooper And The Thievius Raccoonus
• First Level 009: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
• First Level 008: Gunstar Heroes
• First Level 007: The Lost Vikings

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]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/29/billion-dollar-game-idea-stunts/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/28/pop-culture-and-pilates-15-the-kitten-who-killed-boxing/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/28/pop-culture-and-pilates-15-the-kitten-who-killed-boxing/#comments Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:54:44 +0000 Justin http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8153

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

On this Episode Lance and Justin discuss convicted murderers who receive cute kittens in an Indiana correctional facility. Additional topics include: Facebook’s ironic hardlined stance on privacy, Michael Bay’s misguided Reboot of Ninja Turtles, and the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Judge Jeremy Brunson presides while the eye of Big Brother is ever watchful.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/28/pop-culture-and-pilates-15-the-kitten-who-killed-boxing/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/26/bonus-level-radio-121-sheppard-shoots-first/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/26/bonus-level-radio-121-sheppard-shoots-first/#comments Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:20:56 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8113

Hosts: Lance, Chris and Jeremy.

On this weeks adventure the gang talks about Zynga making it rain, Mass Effect 3′s ending controversy, Steam vs XBox and EA shutting down some more servers. All that and Lance forgets a story. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/26/bonus-level-radio-121-sheppard-shoots-first/feed/ 2 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/23/wallpaper-friday-32312/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/23/wallpaper-friday-32312/#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:00:59 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8106

Oh look two weeks in a row!

Read more articles from Lance

• First Level 011: Sly Cooper And The Thievius Raccoonus
• First Level 009: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
• First Level 008: Gunstar Heroes
• First Level 007: The Lost Vikings

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/23/wallpaper-friday-32312/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/23/saved-by-the-cell-52-the-angry-bird/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/23/saved-by-the-cell-52-the-angry-bird/#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:20:51 +0000 Peter http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8096

Hosts: Peter and Cassdroid.

This episode marked the 1 year anniversary of the launch of Saved by the Cell. It was our first announced and scheduled LIVE show and we had some great chat room discussions going on during the broadcast. We talked about the FAA reexamining the use of portable electronic devices during take off and landing, Google trying to use its wallet to increase Google Wallet adoption, and a ton of rumors that are most likely untrue. We partnered with Rovio to coincide the launch of Angry Birds Space and Saved By The Cell’s 1 year anniversary so we thank them for that (OK so it was just a coincidence). We did however get a visit from The Angry Bird at Cassy’s house which fired the chat room up and made for some great LIVE moments. Be sure to tell all your friends about the show and keep on listening LIVE every Thursday evening or listen to the new podcast every Friday.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/23/saved-by-the-cell-52-the-angry-bird/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/20/pop-culture-and-pilates-14-kony-island-special/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/20/pop-culture-and-pilates-14-kony-island-special/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:46:26 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8084

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

Welcome to episode 14 boys and girls. On this episode Billy Corgan goes insane (again), Justin makes Lance watch the Prometheus trailer against his own will, and the founder of Invisible Children (the group responsible for Kony 2012) is caught doing something so inexplicable the cops don’t even know what to do with him. Oh, and the show interrupted by a transmission of of epic proportions.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/20/pop-culture-and-pilates-14-kony-island-special/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/19/bonus-level-radio-120-the-entertainment-720/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/19/bonus-level-radio-120-the-entertainment-720/#comments Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:52:01 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8079

Hosts: Lance, Jeremy and Jenny.

This week the gang is done two members while they are out on assignment. IN their absence we chat about Diablo 3, XBox rumors, and charity. Great episode!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/19/bonus-level-radio-120-the-entertainment-720/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/16/wallpaper-friday-31512/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/16/wallpaper-friday-31512/#comments Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:47:42 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8067

Read more articles from Lance

• First Level 011: Sly Cooper And The Thievius Raccoonus
• First Level 009: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
• First Level 008: Gunstar Heroes
• First Level 007: The Lost Vikings

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/16/wallpaper-friday-31512/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/16/saved-by-the-cell-51-impromptu-live-broadcast/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/16/saved-by-the-cell-51-impromptu-live-broadcast/#comments Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:09:45 +0000 Peter http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8059

Hosts: Peter and Cassdroid.

This week we did an unscheduled live show. I think that the test went well and we got some participants involved in the experience. We discussed Verizon’s 4G home internet service, Windows Phone Tango’s ‘official name’, how an iPhone/iPad found 780 pounds of meth and we give an update on what is going on with the man who sued AT&T in small claims court. Please listen in to next week’s show which marks the 1 year anniversary of Saved By The Cell! As soon as we lock down what time we will be doing the broadcast next week we will let you all know about it so you can participate in the NEW Saved By The Cell Live Show.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/16/saved-by-the-cell-51-impromptu-live-broadcast/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/13/pop-culture-and-pilates-13-my-brothers-stinker/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/13/pop-culture-and-pilates-13-my-brothers-stinker/#comments Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:43:27 +0000 Justin http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8051

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

Lance and Jeremy move the show forward while Justin continually pops, cuts, and pinches farts. Jay passes silent judgment, provoking a different sort of eruption. Topics include Fionna Apple, secret government space planes, celebrity sex tapes, and Howard the Duck.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/13/pop-culture-and-pilates-13-my-brothers-stinker/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/12/bonus-level-radio-119-on-lances-face/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/12/bonus-level-radio-119-on-lances-face/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:17:03 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8046

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Jeremy and Jenny.

This week we discuss, Peter Molyneux’s exit from Lionhead, GDC happenings, Mass Effect 3 and more! We also play a little game. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/12/bonus-level-radio-119-on-lances-face/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/09/saved-by-the-cell-50-the-new-episode/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/09/saved-by-the-cell-50-the-new-episode/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:03:44 +0000 Peter http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=8037

Hosts: Peter and Kyle.

This week Google decided to make a ton of branding changes to their market, Apple literally released a new iPad and we bring you up to date information regarding all of it. Our guest Kyle brings his love of Apple to an episode that has a lot of Apple stories and it makes for a great ‘fair and balanced’ view of mobile news. We discuss Google Wallet, Google Play, the New iPad, iOS 5.1, Apple trying to make licensing deals with handset makers and a lot more. Be sure to listen in each and every Friday for brand new show filled with the mobile news your ears need to hear.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/09/saved-by-the-cell-50-the-new-episode/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/07/pop-culture-and-pilates-12-justins-secret-unmasked/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/07/pop-culture-and-pilates-12-justins-secret-unmasked/#comments Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:58:11 +0000 Justin http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7992

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

Welcome to episode 12 ladies and gentlemen! Admittedly, the majority of this episode is shit. However, if you listen long enough, Justin reveals a deep and dark secret. The consequences of this secret have probably resulted in him being flagged on a list produced by the Secret Service. Not an exaggeration.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/07/pop-culture-and-pilates-12-justins-secret-unmasked/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/06/a-game-to-try-the-fourth-wall/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/06/a-game-to-try-the-fourth-wall/#comments Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:51:40 +0000 Chris http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7960

Have you ever wanted somebody to make a game based on the intro level to Mario 2 where you fly into the right side of screen and come out the left? Well a bunch of students over at Digipen have done just that with their most recent project called The Fourth Wall.

The Fourth Wall follows the adventure of a wizard boy to become a Gandalf-like figure in this unique Puzzle/Platformer. The unique gameplay element is this blue aura that outlines the screen and locks it so you come out one side of the screen by going in the opposite side, much like this one episode of Star Trek: TNG “Where Silence Has Lease” (at 23:54 if you have a NetFlix account). As the game progresses your wizard ages and gains the ability to control the blue aura. This allows for further manipulation of the levels and for some quite remarkable visual puzzles. The game isn’t horribly difficult and can be completed in about ten minutes, but a few of the puzzles hit the same part of my brain that lights up when I solved a particularly nasty puzzle in Portal 1 or 2.

In order to spice up the variety in the game, lava pits and black pigs that act as moving trampolines act to help and hinder you. The lessons you learn are given out in a precise way that has you learning the tricks of the game while never feeling overwhelmed. Both the visuals and audio are mostly minimalist, only ever showing real variety near the end of the game with a song written by one of the students of the project that’s actually pretty good.

The Fourth Wall is a great sidestep in exposing a neat little gameplay element that has laid dormant in this age of third person/fps shooters and hopefully will be utilized in a bigger project in the future. You can download The Fourth Wall here and learn more about it at The Fourth Wall’s blog.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/06/a-game-to-try-the-fourth-wall/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/05/bonus-level-radio-118-mad-max-of-canada/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/05/bonus-level-radio-118-mad-max-of-canada/#comments Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:37:07 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7981

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Gloria and Jeremy.

This week we are very happy to have award winning designer Logan Fieth join us for a few minutes. He is the game designer of the award winning game The Fourth Wall. He is a great guy and we can’t wait to have him back on again.

We also discuss a recent Capcom Failure, the price of being an independent game maker and Quebec joining the side of the Reapers. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/05/bonus-level-radio-118-mad-max-of-canada/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/02/saved-by-the-cell-49-underwater-3d-shark-projection/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/02/saved-by-the-cell-49-underwater-3d-shark-projection/#comments Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:53:44 +0000 Peter http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7963

Hosts: Peter, Cassdroid, BK Jolly, D Hacker, IvyDroid and DarkestSpawn.

We are joined by a houseful of Android enthusiasts which leads to a great conversation and an amazing show title. We discuss AT&T Throttlegate, Verizon telling the FCC why they support locked bootloaders and deliver a wrap up of all the things that got revealed at Mobile World Congress 2012. We also present a PSA on why you should ensure your texts go to the correct number and that autocorrect has not goes awry. This panel of participants brings up a lot of great ideas and is sure to bring a ton of laughs. Be sure to subscribe using the links below and listen in every Friday for the latest in mobile news.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/03/02/saved-by-the-cell-49-underwater-3d-shark-projection/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/29/pop-culture-and-pilates-11-tragedy-of-lance-plagueis/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/29/pop-culture-and-pilates-11-tragedy-of-lance-plagueis/#comments Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:00:03 +0000 Justin http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7956

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

I think the entire team of Pop Culture and Pilates agrees that this could very well be our best episode yet. Fiery conversations, mostly due to Lance’s insanity, regarding Star Wars, Test Tube Hamburgers, and Chris Brown awaits you….Jedi

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/29/pop-culture-and-pilates-11-tragedy-of-lance-plagueis/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/27/bonus-level-radio-117-forged-by-gorganord/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/27/bonus-level-radio-117-forged-by-gorganord/#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:45:56 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7949

Hosts: Lance, Chris, Gloria Jeremy.

On this very special edition of Bonus Level Radio we chat about Facebook Gaming’s decline, David Jaffe standing up for himself, weather ballooning Mass Effect 3, Commando, Lord of the Rings and much much more. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/27/bonus-level-radio-117-forged-by-gorganord/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/24/saved-by-the-cell-48-club-glasses/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/24/saved-by-the-cell-48-club-glasses/#comments Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:50:34 +0000 Peter http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7940

Hosts: Peter and Cassdroid.

Hell has frozen over and pigs must be flying because Blackberry Playbook OS 2.0 has been released and that tablet finally has email capabilities. We battle our own personal sicknesses to bring you an episode that covers California’s app privacy, Ubuntu on Android, T-Mobile asking the FCC to stop Verizon from buying spectrum, Apple iPad and iPhone release rumors and an international story that screams Saved by the Cell. Cassy also announces her plans to create the ultimate club goers accessory and we answer listener questions. Remember to use the links below to subscribe to the show.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/24/saved-by-the-cell-48-club-glasses/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/21/pop-culture-and-pilates-10-koopa-troopas-revenge/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/21/pop-culture-and-pilates-10-koopa-troopas-revenge/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:59:31 +0000 Justin http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7933

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

On this episode of Pop Culture and Pilates, we talk about serious matters: racial prejudice in the NBA, debris from the Tsunami, and Justin’s dating preferences. We also probably say one or two questionable things without realizing it. Our apologies.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/21/pop-culture-and-pilates-10-koopa-troopas-revenge/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/20/bonus-level-radio-116-punch-lance-in-the-face/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/20/bonus-level-radio-116-punch-lance-in-the-face/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:50:00 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7929

Hosts: Lance, Chris and Jeremy.

In this weeks adventure the gang is down one member as Gloria was away on assignment. We chat about PAX East sticking around Boston for the next decade, Apple getting very serious about gaming, Black OPs getting it’s sequel and the Vita. Viva La Vita!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/20/bonus-level-radio-116-punch-lance-in-the-face/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/17/welcome-back-wallpaper-fridays/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/17/welcome-back-wallpaper-fridays/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:15:33 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7881

Not that it ever really left but I’ve been very slack in my weekly commitment. Hopefully this mega post will fix that for you. 31 traditional wallpapers and 2 mobile ones! That’s right I’m going to endeavor to have at least one wallpaper specifically designed for our mobile devices. This won’t be one of the desktop ones cropped either as that doesn’t always work. These will be specific only to mobile.* As always let us know if you love it or hate it.

Mobpapers!

Android
iPad
iPhone

Android
iPad
iPhone

*Side note. There’s no archive yet for these like there is for the desktop versions. We are working on it and hope to have one soon but be patient with us!

Read more articles from Lance

• First Level 011: Sly Cooper And The Thievius Raccoonus
• First Level 009: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
• First Level 008: Gunstar Heroes
• First Level 007: The Lost Vikings

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/17/welcome-back-wallpaper-fridays/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/17/saved-by-the-cell-47-simultaneous-release/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/17/saved-by-the-cell-47-simultaneous-release/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:07:22 +0000 Peter http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7896

Hosts: Peter, Cassdroid and BK Jolly.

This week we cover a ton of mobile news and take a little break to discuss the latest episode of SNL where Verizon’s 4G LTE network gets poked fun of. Peter also goes off on a music tangent to promote Karmin who was the music guest on the same SNL episode. We talk about the FCC killing LightSquared’s LTE aspirations, how even FOX News is calling out AT&T on their crazy data plan and price hikes, when Android 5.0 will be coming out, and how Apple has more money than you. All and all it is a fun episode where we talk in depth about what’s going on in the mobile world.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/17/saved-by-the-cell-47-simultaneous-release/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/16/pop-culture-and-pilates-09-back-off-bugaloo/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/16/pop-culture-and-pilates-09-back-off-bugaloo/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:52:48 +0000 Justin http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7876

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

Hello and welcome to Episode number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Ok, unlike the Beatles song, we’ll refrain from repeating that for 7 long, arduous minutes. In this epsiode we discuss Nuke-u-lurr energy, Clive Barker’s coma brought on by a dental visit, and Jack Douglas (Aerosmith’s producer) recruits Stephen King to help Stephen Tyler write lyrics on the band’s newest album.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/16/pop-culture-and-pilates-09-back-off-bugaloo/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/13/bonus-level-radio-115-more-expletives/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/13/bonus-level-radio-115-more-expletives/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:36:42 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7871

Hosts: Lance, Chris and Gloria.

In this weeks adventure the gang is down one member as JB was on assignment. We chat about Double Fine disrupting the way all video games are funded, David Jaffe being David Jaffe, Call of Duty Elite being grand success and a showdown for the ages brewing. We also debut our new format that we all think you’ll enjoy!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/13/bonus-level-radio-115-more-expletives/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/10/saved-by-the-cell-46-not-mathematicians/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/10/saved-by-the-cell-46-not-mathematicians/#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:25:50 +0000 Peter http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7857

Hosts: Peter, Cassdroid, D Hacker and BKJolly.

This week we talk about the Google Wallet vulnerabilities that can easily be avoided by turning on PIN or other lock screen security, or by not losing your phone. We are joined by two guests D Hacker who is working hard on bringing ICS to the Droid Razr and Droid Bionic and BK Jolly who is a developer that has been on the show before. We all discuss the influence of the iPhone on carrier profits, whether consumers would have a better experience if there were more carriers or less carriers, and a really cool app that all hipsters should have called Transparent Screen. Somewhere in the middle of the episode we get into a Jaws like scar comparison scene comparing our data usage for the month and it leads to a mathematical blunder that could only happen while recording a podcast late at night.

Just for clarification if you were to download 10GB of data a month for 8.3 years you would use 1TB of data. If you did that for 83.3 years you would download 10TB of data. Math error corrected!

D Hacker’s ICS ROMs for The Bionic and Razr can be found at www.mydroidworld.com or www.droidrzr.com Please remember that at this point these ROMs are Alpha and not all features will work as it is a work in progress.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/10/saved-by-the-cell-46-not-mathematicians/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/08/dustforce-review/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/08/dustforce-review/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:24:14 +0000 Chris http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7840

Dustforce is the first release by Australian game makers, Hitbox Team and they
come out swinging with this astounding debut. Much in the same vein of Super Meat
Boy and N+, Dustforce is a side-scrolling platformer that requires precise control.

In Dustforce you control 1 of 4 custodians straight out of the Naruto universe,
with abilities to defy gravity, wall climb and move with the speed and agility akin
to a cross between a ninja and a Jedi. The goal is to clear a level of all dust while
also defeating any enemies along the way. Afterwards the player is graded under
completion and finesse, completion is cleaning everything in the level while finesse
makes sure you never break your flow or drop your accumulating combo.

Right off the bat, you’re given all your abilities; double jump, light and heavy attacks
and dashes, all of which are used in tandem to keep your momentum. For example
jumping while an enemy is in front of you, you can strike them with a heavy attack
that will give you the ability to add an additional jump to your double jump and then
dash for the last bit of momentum. It is gamepad supported and this in my opinion
is essential in order to play, the lack of control on a keyboard is ill-suited for a game
that requires such precision.

Until now I’ve only spoken about the mechanical soundness of the game but
don’t think I’m grazing over the excellent art and music. The in-game art has a
painteresque style showing various shades of light colours that all look slick and
fantastic. The music (which I just bought) provides a soft touch of whimsy and
melancholia to a game that is very demanding. It’s almost like the visuals and the
mechanics were designed in contrast of each other in order to put the player into a
relaxed state to help deal with the extremely challenging levels.

Challenging platforming isn’t the only thing to worry about, there are various types
of enemies that loom. All seemingly innocuous things that have been covered by
garbage turn feral. Books and stone gargoyles turn into flying obstacles while foxes
and bears come to break your combo. Most large deposits of enemies are located
at the end of many stages; fortunately you’re given an area of effect attack if your
combo meter reaches a certain level. It’s a well-implemented move as it lets you
finish a level in style as you gracefully land in slow motion after vanquishing your
enemies.

The levels are set in a hub world called the Nexus where various level designs are
all expertly intermingled into one. Each of these levels are gated by a key that can
be acquired by getting a Double S rating in previous levels. This is one of my few
complaints for Dustforce as the only way to progress is to get the best possible
rating. I understand the design decisions behind it because it really makes every
key feel truly earned but I find that it limits the more casual players pulled in by
the gorgeous game art and ambient music. This is my only hang up about Dustforce
but perhaps overall playability is not what Hitbox was going for. What I found is
Dustforce is not harder than games like Super Meat Boy, but instead demands more

of the player with the grade level required to move on.

In the Nexus you’ll also find multiplayer that lets you play local co-op with promises
of playing with your Steam friends online. The multiplayer is broken up into survival
and king of the hill where the custodians face off against their dirt spreading
counter parts in what can be described as highly chaotic. I only wish that the online
component was completed by the time I wrote this review.

Now I won’t say Dustforce is for everyone since it requires a specific kind of
dedication and skill but for those looking for a challenging and rewarding
platformer, look no further. Personally, I find I am a bit of a masochist and enjoy this
type of challenge even though I’ve already broken one gamepad playing. And if this
game isn’t your fancy, I implore you to check out the awesome soundtrack here. It’s
only a couple of bucks and definitely good for sweet ambient background music.

Dustforce was a great debut game for Hitbox and now anticipation for their next
project is high.

 

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/08/dustforce-review/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/07/pop-culture-and-pilates-08-how-to-make-an-american-quilt/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/07/pop-culture-and-pilates-08-how-to-make-an-american-quilt/#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:43:32 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7843

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

Welcome to episode number 8. In this episode, Jeremy gets up early on a Sunday morning to do the podcast while donning a ridiculous looking quilt that looks like it came straight out of a Grandmother’s basement in 1975. Additionally, a sloshed jibroni version of Sean Astin operating a zamboni brings about porn litigation.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/07/pop-culture-and-pilates-08-how-to-make-an-american-quilt/feed/ 1 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/03/saved-by-the-cell-45-free-playbook-no-shoulder-pain/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/03/saved-by-the-cell-45-free-playbook-no-shoulder-pain/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:47:25 +0000 Peter http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7829

Hosts: Peter and Cassdroid.

This week’s episode is so jam packed with content you’d have to be crazy to fall asleep and miss a second. If you are a developer, we give you some information on how to get your hands on a free Blackberry Playbook and we guarantee you that you will not get “iPad Shoulder” pain while using it. We cover a ton of rumors surrounding Windows Phone 8, a release date for the iPhone 5 and some new Android devices. The subject of cell phone tracking on kids and carriers is discussed and Google+ has discovered that Cassdroid is not Cassy’s birth name. We’d tell you more about the episode, but we feel it’d be best if you just listened to it.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/02/03/saved-by-the-cell-45-free-playbook-no-shoulder-pain/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/31/two-games-from-2011-that-are-pretty-dope/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/31/two-games-from-2011-that-are-pretty-dope/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:45:13 +0000 Chris http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7730

Here are two games that I would say are my number 2 and 3 for 2011, enjoy.

Best Game to play alone in the dark both literally and figuratively: Dead Space 2. I nearly forgot about Dead Space 2 because of its early January release. It seemed like a game that was made to be forgotten but this horrifying mass of teeth and puss made sure to stay as a poignant staple of 2011.

Dead Space 2 is not a game changer, its actually one of the more iterative games of the year. It makes large improvements on everything the original Dead Space started.
First of all the game looks great and not just because of smoother textures and more graphical overhaul, though those do help. I’m referring to the well-crafted world that was made in DS2. Every detail seems to have gone over with a fine tooth and comb. From the way Isaacs’s suit removes his helmet to detailing on random walls and even the monsters of the game that interact with the environment in very well meaning ways.

This leads into the enemies and how they were designed in conjunction with Isaac’s arsenal. Most of Isaacs’s weapons can be used effectively against all enemies but you’ll find certain weapons that work best on certain enemies. So knowing this you go into the game trying to counter pick weapons to deal maximum damage to their appropriate enemy. The creators make a meta-game out of weapon management as well as enemy management. The areas you search through are often tight corridors and linear hallways that funnel you into engrossing enemy encounters. I touch more on this in my article from earlier last year over here.

Many people boast of how scary DS2 is, on this point I disagree and instead label it as a very tense game. Another thing DS2 does well that it never pulls you out of the action as cuteness are done in engine and you don’t realize that you have control of Isaac till your hanging of a giant monsters tendril. It also has one of the best cold openings of a game in the last couple of years only trumped by Mass effect 2’s opening.

Dead Space 2 maybe a game a lot people will right off as just another sequel that is linear as all hell. And though that is true, that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most cinematic, visually engaging and great games of 2011.

Saints Row: the Third

Or put simply – “Most Batshit insane Fun game of the Year”

No game this year, hell any year, values your time more than Saints Row: the Third. At no point are you given something to do that isn’t fun/insane, even the slow moments that all sandbox games run into are removed or remodeled. For example, Every time you fall into water you are immediately are offered the ability to warp to shore even though you can swim. Even the already amazing act of jacking cars ala GTA style is made simpler and way more entertaining by taping one button and you fly through the air and kick out the front window into the driver’s seat. Your computer homies do this also with some hilarious gravity defying jumps. The game doesn’t gimp you with the slow progression of acquiring weak weapons like pistols and instead after your first mission in the game in which you sky dive through a plane, your given a predator drone straight out of modern warfare.

The game rewards your playtime by offering upgrades much most other games, with one key difference. Most of the final level of these upgrades would appear game breaking in most other games. Examples like infinite ammo, explosive rounds or you no longer take damage from bullets are just a few.

Even the actual story based levels are mostly feeling unique and fun with only a few exceptions. At one point in order to prove your bravery you’re forced to drive at high speeds while fending off a tiger in the passenger seat. Other moments have you going through a Tron-esque world as a toilet with a mega buster; this also includes a text adventure and some Atari based tank battles. You’re also forced into a Wrestling match against a group of luchadors with your wrestler teammate (voiced by hulk Hogan) and a chainsaw.

The writing is top notch and they never seem to miss a beat to make you actually chuckle. Your character also has 6 different voices to choose from in the character creator not including playing the entire game with a zombie voice. All of the voices are written in a distinct way with different lines of dialogue based on the voice. An example is my British male who constantly says “Bollocks” while my eastern European lady constantly refers to the homeland. The level of detail and minutia in an open world game is unheard of. Then again, I haven’t played Skyrim yet.

I could probably gush about SR3 all day but I feel I’m taking some of the surprise away from you fine readers. So I’ll close it up, everything about this game is crafted for your enjoyment, Saints Row the Third maybe the smartest dumb game of all time.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/31/two-games-from-2011-that-are-pretty-dope/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/30/bonus-level-radio-114-future-segue/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/30/bonus-level-radio-114-future-segue/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:14:37 +0000 Bonus Level http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7821

Hosts: Lance, Chris,Gloria and Jeremy.

In this weeks adventure the gang is joined by two very special guests, Matt and Woodley from HitBox Team! They are both key members of the team behind the new hit game, Dustforce. It’s a great interview and we are very glad that they could join us.

We also chat about Blizzcon skipping this year, THQ going downhill fast, some new hard information about the next gen as well as some strong rumors and much much more. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/30/bonus-level-radio-114-future-segue/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/27/wallpapers-12712/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/27/wallpapers-12712/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:15:38 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7817

POO!

Read more articles from Lance

• First Level 011: Sly Cooper And The Thievius Raccoonus
• First Level 009: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
• First Level 008: Gunstar Heroes
• First Level 007: The Lost Vikings

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/27/wallpapers-12712/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/27/saved-by-the-cell-44-hiccups-vs-app-inventor/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/27/saved-by-the-cell-44-hiccups-vs-app-inventor/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:50:21 +0000 Peter http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7801

Hosts: Peter, Cassdroid and JW Tyler.

This week the SBTC crew is joined by author and technology enthusiast JW Tyler. Since our guest has lots of knowledge about Google’s recent announcement regarding App Inventor being transitioned to MIT and the open source community we talk at length about that topic. We also discuss the shake up at RIM, Cassy gives her two cents about HP’s WebOS open source timeline, Google’s unified privacy policy and a whole lot more.

If you want to maintain your ability to root, ROM and jailbreak your devices please visit https://www.jailbreakingisnotacrime.org and voice your support and help the EFF convey how important it is to keep these capabilities legal.

Please check out JW Tyler’s book App Inventor for Android.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/27/saved-by-the-cell-44-hiccups-vs-app-inventor/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/24/pop-culture-and-pilates-07-mousewife-to-mombshell/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/24/pop-culture-and-pilates-07-mousewife-to-mombshell/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:39:56 +0000 Justin http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7794

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

On this episode we discuss the legitimacy of the WWE as an art-form and why the company insists on its racist portrayal of minorities. The newest Van Halen single, “Tattoo,” is discussed at length. Why did Eddie Van Halen replace bassist Michael Anthony with his fat teenage son? Why was the video for “Tattoo” shot by a child? Lastly, why has Alex Van Halen ALWAYS resembled Anakin Skywalker from his death scene in Return of the Jedi? *This includes the period of time in his 20s when he was wearing a neck brace while playing drums.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/24/pop-culture-and-pilates-07-mousewife-to-mombshell/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/23/bonus-level-radio-113-that-was-a-thing-that-happened/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/23/bonus-level-radio-113-that-was-a-thing-that-happened/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:03:12 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7788

Hosts: Lance, Chris,Gloria and Jeremy.

In this weeks adventure the gang is joined by a very special guest, Nick from Krang Games! Nick is an independent game maker and we were lucky enough to be able to pick his brain for a few minutes. It’s a great interview and we are very glad he could join us. We also chat about how MegaUpload and Modern Warfare 3 are connected. Resident Evils return. How Dave Cutler is NOT Dave Coulier and much more.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/23/bonus-level-radio-113-that-was-a-thing-that-happened/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/20/saved-by-the-cell-43-it-could-be-bigger/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/20/saved-by-the-cell-43-it-could-be-bigger/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:48:01 +0000 Peter http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7776

Hosts: Peter, Cassdroid and Lance .

This week Lance stops by to add a little “fair and balanced” perspective to the show. He defends Apple, professes his love for Windows Phone 7 and declares that the Kindle Fire is the only viable Android tablet. We discuss Apple’s education announcement, new AT&T and T-Mobile data plans, a cool firmware to drop on your old iOS device and an iPad 2 scam that is taking Canada by storm. All this and more on an uplifting and heartwarming episode of Saved By The Cell.

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/20/saved-by-the-cell-43-it-could-be-bigger/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/17/pop-culture-and-pilates-06-bubble-boy/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/17/pop-culture-and-pilates-06-bubble-boy/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:00:24 +0000 Justin http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7767

Hosts: Justin and Lance.

Judge: Jeremy

Welcome to Pop Culture and Pilates 2012! On this 2012 Inaugural episode we introduce a new co-host who has super powers. Dear Leader dies in North Korea, which leads to the population being punished for insufficient mourning. In addition, Justin divulges that he’s suffering from a dermatological ailment that only afflicts 2% of the population. Happy New Year everybody!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/17/pop-culture-and-pilates-06-bubble-boy/feed/ 2 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/15/bonus-level-lounge-nx07-blr-112-pre-show/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/15/bonus-level-lounge-nx07-blr-112-pre-show/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:00:44 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7763

Hosts: Lance, Chris and Jeremy.

We may or may not start releasing our “Pre-Show” conversations on a regular basis. This maybe something NO ONE likes or wants to hear. But that’s exactly why this feed exists. For random fun stuff. So enjoy!

]]> http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/15/bonus-level-lounge-nx07-blr-112-pre-show/feed/ 0 http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/15/bonus-level-radio-112-lips-arent-working/ http://www.bonus-level.com/2012/01/15/bonus-level-radio-112-lips-arent-working/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:00:20 +0000 Lance http://www.bonus-level.com/?p=7755

Hosts: Lance, Chris and Jeremy.

In this weeks adventure the gang is down one member (she was on the proverbial assignment) but that doesn’t stop us from kicking ass and chewing bubble gum! This week a member of our team gets hacked, the Kinect sells like a beast, Blizzard makes a surprise announcement, On-Live is getting Googlefied and some strange PS4 news as well! Enjoy!

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