Videogames Archives

RPadTV 3000 Episode 7: Jon Radoff

Beamable CEO Jon Radoff is one of the smartest people I’ve met in the videogame business. I remember meeting him in San Francisco at my favorite coffeehouse (shout out to Farley’s!) and enjoying his company while also feeling kind of dumb (in a good way). He’s one of those guys that has a deep understanding of many interesting subjects. One of those subjects is the metaverse.

Technologists, nerds, futurists, and geeks are all talking up the metaverse and how it’s the “next big thing” for the Internet. While the technology is exciting and potentially very cool, it’s also confusing and intimidating. There are many definitions of what the metaverse is and while some of them are from people that genuinely understand it, there are some people pushing dishonest definition of what the metaverse is for self-serving reasons. This makes the very concept of the metaverse difficult to comprehend for “normal” people.

With that in mind, I wanted to have a conversation with someone that’s highly intelligent, good at communicating heady concepts in terms that most people can understand, and heavily involved in the metaverse. Jon Radoff was the first person that popped into my head.

In the latest episode of RPadTV 3000, Jon Radoff talks about what the metaverse is and why it’s important. Some of the points we chatted about include:

RPadTV 3000 Episode 3: Karen Chu and Chris Kohler

Good Job Brain showrunner Karen Chu and co-host Chris Kohler are the latest guests on RPadTV 3000! I was lucky enough to know these cats when I lived in San Francisco and we were all part of the games media. At the time, Karen was at 1Up and Chris was at Wired. I respected them as peers and enjoyed their company as friends. One of their favorite leisure activities was pub trivia and they were able to parlay their love of trivia into the ultra-successful podcast Good Job Brain.

In addition to sharing the story of Good Job Brain and how the podcast has evolved, Karen Chu and Chris Kohler talk to me about:

RPadTV 3000 Episode 2: Jose “Don Fubar” Sanchez and Joey Abitia

Jose “Don Fubar” Sanchez, Joey Abitia, and I have been lucky enough to attend numerous pro-wrestling events, including several WrestleMania and Summer Slam shows. All three of us are lifelong wrestling fans and were thrilled to attend so many amazing wrestling events. With zero exaggeration I can say that I’ve had some of the best times of my life with these two gentlemen.

Millions of people know Fubar from the Electric Playground — the longest running show about videogames. He’s parlayed his following from Electric Playground into a successful (and hilarious!) Twitch stream. I’m normally not a fan of gameplay streams, but Fubar’s is supremely entertaining and I watch him play several times a week. You should too!

Joey recently launched a YouTube show called Infinite G. It started as a way for Joey’s son, Gio, to stream his Fortnite gameplay, but transformed into something more. It’s a really precious father/son show that’s surprisingly honest. You get to see the love and challenges of single father raising a son during a crazy time. Naturally, there’s a ton of pro-wrestling and videogame content in each episode.

In addition to talking about the Don Fubar Twitch and Infinite G, the three of us discuss:

Marcus Beer is on Twitch and You Should Watch Him

Millions of GameTrailers fans know Marcus Beer as the Annoyed Gamer. Thousands of people in the videogame business know Marcus Beer as “that angry yet dashing PR fellow.” I know him as my excellent friend Marcus, an intelligent and charming rogue that’s outstanding to have drinks with and even better for intensely nerdy conversation. You can be part of his nerdy conversations in his all-new, all-different Twitch stream, I Am Beer.

There are many reasons why you should tune in and watch Marcus Beer stream on Twitch, but if you need more convincing then keep on reading.

Best Game of 2020: Final Fantasy VII Remake

Many people became hardcore gamers in 2020 due to ~~BOSH~~ COVID-19. With many parts of the world on lockdown, playing games was a great way to be entertained, pass the time, and retain a bit of sanity. Thankfully, there were tons of great games to play. For me, the best game of 2020 was Final Fantasy Remake.

Before I get into why FFVII Remake was my choice for best game of 2020, let’s discuss an honorable mention. I’m super late to the party, but I’ve been enjoying a little bit of Hades recently and aim to play more of it in 2021. This action-RPG is made by one of my favorite independent studios, the outstanding Supergiant Games, and is the ultimate realization of the company’s style. It’s a delightful game with thoughtful storytelling that’s perfect for long sessions and equally excellent for when you want to slay a bunch of baddies for a few minutes. Well done Supergiant!

Pokemusings Pokemon Go Edition: The Lake Trio and International Cooperation

At the end of November, Niantic brought the Lake Trio back to Pokemon Go. Originally, the Lake Guardians appeared as level five raid bosses, separated by region. The Americas had Azelf, Africa and Europe had Mesprit, and Asia-Pacific had Uxie. It was the same this time around, but there was one huge difference: remote raid passes.

10 Thoughts on Final Fantasy VII Remake

Final Fantasy VII Remake is arguably the most anticipated RPG reboot in videogame history. The original was responsible for popularizing Japanese RPGs in Western markets. For many gamers, it was the first Japanese RPG they played and holds a very special place in their hearts.

As for me, I enjoyed the original FFVII, but not nearly as much as some of my gamer friends. At that point in my game life, I already loved Japanese RPGs, including a few Final Fantasy games. I liked it, but played better Final Fantasy games before and after it.

However, I came to love the world of FFVII through the outstanding PSP game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and the great anime Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. They really fleshed out the world of FFVII, making sense of some things and expanding on others.

Like millions of gamers, I was thrilled for Final Fantasy VII Remake when the trailer dropped in 2015. Now that I’ve beaten the game and replayed several chapters, here are some random thoughts, using the trusty RPadTV binary system. [Time to equip your spoiler materia!]

I Hope Aerith Lives in Final Fantasy VII Remake

Final Fantasy VII Remake has been an incredible success for Square Enix. The game has been acclaimed by critics and gamers alike. The company announced that it shipped 3.5-million units in the first three days of release. With worldwide acclaim and commercial success, it’s the perfect time for Square Enix to go all The Last Jedi on fans by screwing with their expectations.

Similar to how The Last Jedi is a modern take on Star Wars (1977), Final Fantasy VII Remake is a modern take on a beloved old game (1997). Even though “Remake” is in the title, it’s more of a reboot than anything else. That reminds me, if you haven’t finished the game yet, there will be light spoilers below. Please activate your spoiler-ward materia before you continue reading.

Pokemusings Pokemon Go Edition: Perfect Pokemon and PVP

Player-vs.-player (PVP) battles have given Pokemon Go a new dimension. They’ve also added another layer of confusion. Recently, I had conversations with two hardcore Pokemon Go trainers and was surprised to learn that they only use Pokemon with perfect individual values (IVs) in PVP battles. While that makes sense in no-limit Master League, there are several cases where perfect Pokemon are suboptimal in Great League and Ultra League.

The issue is combat power (CP) — a nebulous stat created by Niantic (and a number that too many players focus on). Great League has a CP cap of 1,500, while Ultra League has a CP cap of 2,500. Due to how CP is calculated, there are many Pokemon that would be more effective with a 0 attack IV than a 15 attack IV.

To help you understand this issue, let’s take a look at the formula used to calculate CP.

Pokemusings Pokemon Go Edition: Understanding Breakpoints

With Rayquaza raids coming back to Pokemon Go, some local trainers have been wondering what counters to use. Thankfully, the recent Swinub Community Day gave trainers access to the best Rayquaza counter — Mamoswine with powder snow and avalanche. Having the right Pokemon is essential, but how much should it be powered up? Enter breakpoints.

What Are Pokemon Go Breakpoints?

A breakpoint is the level required for a Pokemon to do additional damage. Damage calculation in Pokemon Go is rounded and doesn’t scale linearly. For example, a 15-attack Mamoswine at level 26 does the same damage against Rayquaza as a 15-attack level 28 Mamoswine. Powering up a 15-attack Mamoswine to level 29 allows it to inflict more damage than its level 26 or level 28 counterparts.

Trainers can optimize a team by seeing the amount of damage their Pokemon will do against a specific boss using handy tools like Dominkzen.com. This allows trainers to efficiently use stardust and candy. To help you understand breakpoints a little bit better, let’s stick with the Mamoswine vs. Rayquaza matchup.