Official Tom Towers Seal

Final Fantasy 7: An Oral History

Not only does it features "oral" in its title (which is a word that sounds like "aural"; Phil Fogg's favourite descriptor for reviews on the show), but also because it's one of the few pieces of long-form writing in videogames that deserves its reputation as being good, not simply long.

The key to successful videogame criticism is verbosity. Even popular "short" videos on YouTube, such as Game Maker's Tool Kit, work on the principle of taking a subject that may be covered in a few minutes, then finding a way to wax lyrical verbosity for ten or more minutes about it instead. 

But the development of Final Fantasy VII and the impact of its success on SquareSoft is a subject substantial enough that it actually justifies tens of thousands of words of commentary. 

Kevin Cloud, Staredown Champion

In this footage Kevin Cloud, one of id's original creative team, proves he is the master of the no-blinking competition for not blinking for 121 seconds (first blink at 10 seconds, second blink at two minutes and eleven seconds). That's over two minutes without blinking. The average adult human blinks ten times per second, which means that Kevin Cloud saved over 20 blinks in the first 2 minutes of this video.  Outstanding.

This is the kind of video game Journalism that keeps you listening to the Game Under Podcast.

- Phil Fogg.

VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action

I'm about a third of the way through Sukeban's Game VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, which many have compared to Papers Please, my GOTY of 2014. I'll cut to the chase, this "ain't no" Papers Please.

Which isn't to say there is not something noteworthy of the game. So not to spoil future impressions, I'll say that if you like the Trauma Center franchise, this game is right up your alley.

Umm... I think this is taken out of context.

Umm... I think this is taken out of context.

As with that series, beware that there is more text than gameplay, and at times you will feel like you are playing a clicker if you are prepared to skip the copious amount of text.

More impressions in a future episode of The Game Under Podcast.

- Phil Fogg

Valve Fined $3 Million For Breaching Australian Consumer Laws

3 January 2017
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today fined Valve $3 million for breaching Australian Consumer Laws relating to false and misleading statements to consumers relating to their return policy.

Valve, which had a reported revenue of $3 billion USD in 2015 and has over 2.2 million Australian customers,  "...formed a view …that it was not subject to Australian law…and with the view that even if advice had been obtained that Valve was required to comply with the Australian law the advice might have been ignored” according to Justice Edelman, who determined the penalty. He also noted that Valve had ‘contested liability on almost every imaginable point’

In addition to the fine, Valve must also publish information about Australian consumer rights on their website, implement a compliance program for their staff and system and cease making their representations to Australian consumers immediately.

For more information: ACCC Website

Rod Sims, Chairman of the ACCC (Not the creator of The Sims).

Rod Sims, Chairman of the ACCC (Not the creator of The Sims).

Douglas Adams Video Game History

Game Informer's podcast typically publishes a weekly panel of their review staff talking in the usual prescribed format. Ocasionally they go above and beyond, as they did this week when, "Ben Hanson interviews Gary Whitta, Double Fine's Tim Schafer, Emma Westecott, Robbie Stamp, and Infocom's Steve Meretzky about sci-fi comedy writer Douglas Adams and his work in the game industry."

Even if you have no interest in Douglas Adams it is both informative, touching and entertaining to listen to (I have not watched the above video format). I hope you get something out of it as well.

- Phil Fogg

Doom 2016 Documentary

Danny O'Dwyer's, Patreon-funded, documentary series, NoClip, covers the development of single games with extensive interviews with the creators. His best work so far covered Rocket League, his most recent interview series covers the development the 2016 re-boot of Doom.

It is a game that surprised both myself and co-host Tom Towers, and one we will likely discuss in an upcoming show.

- Phil Fogg

AOL Keyword: GUP

We're back to discuss the current state of the indie game development scene, with final impressions of Virginia and That Dragon Cancer. Click Here.

Trigger alert to humans.

Pancakes.

Pancakes.