Episode 152 - Arc

Erik from Imaginary Game Studios joins Ben this week for, to Norah's chagrin, a math-free conversation about curved paths. After discussing a little game design philosophy as it relates to the games Ben has been playing (Stellar Wander DX and the Pragmata Sketchbook Demo), chatting about Erik’s first viewing of the 1983 movie Brainstorm, and dispensing with the miscellaneous “what have we been up to” pleasantries, they move on to the definition accompanied by a brief homophone detour. In the video games segment, they apply the Kübler-Ross model for processing grief to Ben’s experiences with the multiplayer third-person extraction shooter developed and published by Embark Studios, ARC Raiders. To close out the program, Erik asks Ben to share the life lesson he learned from the 300+ hours he invested in playing the game.  *** 00:00:20 - Germ factories, the next project, cosmic horror gardening, and a dumb memory joke 00:05:45 - Getting older, an unorthodox method for attracting bats, and stale game mechanics 00:07:56 - Ship combat, pastry mining, lengthening, pushing buttons, and minimalist games 00:13:28 - Getting out of hand, Ben’s thoughts on the Pragmata demo, and production costs 00:17:57 - Crayon fingers, different big daddy, compact level design, and accidental purchase 00:22:01 - Douglas Trumbull’s divorce from major film directing, and renting a laserdisc player 00:28:39 - Tackling concepts in relatable ways, way too high, CQ, and not choosing favorites 00:32:16 - It’s a sled, a math-heavy definition, stocks, Canadian energy, and the homophone 00:40:04 - Watch-along videos, misunderstanding the premise, and lucrative retirement plans 00:44:25 - They prefer sandwiches, SURPRISING NO ONE, copyright law, and arc versus arch 00:48:46 - Erik’s excitement, Billy has depression, texts from Ben, and the Kübler-Ross model 00:52:27 - Denial, anger, 65 minutes versus 300 hours, Warframe, and exploring and collecting 00:56:27 - Erik gets Ben back on track, bargaining, industrial plumbers, and on to depression 00:59:34 - Acceptance, Buddhism, psychological healing, the Hairpin Bandit, and matching 01:03:04 - B.F. Skinner, public service message, back to bargaining, and session improvements 01:06:14 - ARC Raiders life lesson, Erik’s retort, a beefy Nicolas Coppola, and nothing positive  *** Follow Two Vague on… Our website: https://www.twovaguepodcast.com On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/two_vague_podcast On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twovaguepodcast On Substack: https://twovaguepodcast.substack.com/ On Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/twovaguepodcast.com For show appearance and other inquiries, contact us at [email protected] -AND- …for all of your PRI and 2VP merch check out the Partly Robot Industries store at TEEPUBLIC! https://www.teepublic.com/user/partly-robot-industries Follow Andrew / Partly Robot Industries on… His website: https://partlyrobot.com/ On Instagram: https://instagram.com/partlyrobot On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@partlyrobot On Substack: https://partlyrobot.substack.com/ On Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/partlyrobot.com On Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/partlyrobot On Microcosm Publishing: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/artist/andrew-coltrin On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/partlyrobot And his TREE o’ LINKS: http://linktr.ee/partlyrobot Please consider helping Andrew out with a pledge for or a purchase of Nerd Emergencies ...And Other Misunderstandings: A Comix Showcase of Neurodivergent Perspectives, his latest zine offering featuring the creative comic musings of dozens of neurodivergent artists and allies: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/partlyrobot/nerd-emergencies *** References, Links, and Tags Follow ALL the shenanigans of Imaginary Game Studios… 
On their website: https://www.imaginarygamestudios.com/ 
 On their Discord: https://discord.gg/YyDD7ECtdJ 
 On their YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@caxtnova Check out the Rogue Climber trailer here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZbTXcHa3is Rogue Climber on Steam - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2673440/Rogue_Climber/   For more information on Steller Wanderer DX (developed by Dream Builder Studios and published by Leoful)... https://stellarwanderer.com/index.html https://store.steampowered.com/app/1401630/Stellar_Wanderer_DX/ #Podbean #DIYPodcast #ApplePodcast #VideoGames #Trivia #Comedy #Talkshow #2VP #TwoVaguePodcast #PodernFamily #InterviewShow #GamersofThreads #Gamer #PartlyRobot #PartlyRobotIndustries #TeePublic #MicrocosmPublishing #NerdEmergencie #RogueClimber #ImaginaryGameStudios #StellerWandererDX #DreamBuilderStudios #Leoful #Pragmata #Capcom #ARCRaiders #EmbarkStudios