PODCAST · leisure
Platforms and Pitfalls
by Rowan Carmichael
Each month we take a topic, and discuss it using 5 games as examples of those highs and lows.
Episodes
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PnP Mini 2 - Boons and Busts feat. Slay The Spire.
Once you have two, it's a pattern, right? This month in PnP mini we talk about how Slay The Spire tries to get you to take on boons that are just as likely to bust your run later. In contrast, we also talk about how the "Great Force" power up in Mario and Luigi: SuperStar Saga taunts you to take...
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PnP Mini 1 - Filler Enemies
This month we are looking at how games help us relax. This is a bit of a warm-up episode to help up get back into the swing of things.
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Rant 6 - Bleed 1&2
We love games here at Plat and Pit, but a lot is going on right now for us, so we are unable to craft our regular shows for a while. In the meantime though, we would still like to make some things, so we will have these bonus rants for a while on all sorts of topics that might not suit our usual...
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Rant 5 - Melty Blood
We love games here at Plat and Pit, but a lot is going on right now for us, so we are unable to craft our regular shows for a while. In the meantime though, we would still like to make some things, so we will have these bonus rants for a while on all sorts of topics that might not suit our usual...
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Rant 4 - Collectables
We love games here at Plat and Pit, but a lot is going on right now for us, so we are unable to craft our regular shows for a while. In the meantime though, we would still like to make some things, so we will have these bonus rants for a while on all sorts of topics that might not suit our usual...
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Rant 3 - Rush Tactics
We love games here at Plat and Pit, but a lot is going on right now for us, so we are unable to craft our regular shows for a while. In the meantime though, we would still like to make some things, so we will have these bonus rants for a while on all sorts of topics that might not suit our usual...
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Rant 2 - Media Literacy
We love games here at Plat and Pit, but a lot is going on right now for us, so we are unable to craft our regular shows for a while. In the meantime though, we would still like to make some things, so we will have these bonus rants for a while on all sorts of topics that might not suit our usual...
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Rant 1 - Dark Souls and diffcourse
We love games here at Plat and Pit, but a lot is going on right now for us, so we are unable to craft our regular shows for a while. In the meantime though, we would still like to make some things, so we will have these bonus rants for a while on all sorts of topics that might not suit our usual...
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 44 - Simple Inputs
This month we are looking at how games make their controls easier, and the implications of that. We looked at Flappy Bird, Rhythm Heaven Megamix, Negative Nancy, Reigns, and Vampire Survivors.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 43 - Ports and rereleases
This month we are looking at how games are ported and rereleased, something not quite as trivial as perhaps you might expect. We looked at Final Fantasy IX, Persona 4 Golden, 3D Super Hangon, Street Fighter III: Third strike Online Edition and the Final Fantasy I Pixel remaster.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 42 - Avoiding Fall Damage
This month we are looking at fall damage in games, and more specifically, how games let you avoid it. We looked at Just Cause 2, Breath of the Wild, Risk of Rain 2, Dark Souls III, and Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 41 - Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
This month we are looking at Persona 4 Arena and its enhanced expansion, Ultimax.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 40 - Bosses and Core Loops
This month we are looking at how the bosses relate or don’t to the core loops within the game. We looked at Cuphead, 30XX, Wizard Of Legend, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 39 - MP Systems
This month we are looking at one of the ways in which games restrict your ability to do things, MP systems! We looked at Blue Reflection, Persona Q, Persona 5 Strikers, Tactics Ogre, and Chrono Cross. paragraph
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 38 - Customization and Content
This month we are looking at customization in games and how those systems impact or are impacted by the We looked at Diablo 2, Wild Arms XF, Deeprock Galatic, Fallout New Vegas, and Fighting EX Layer
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 37 - Title Screens
This month we are looking at title screens! Yes really. There was a change in plans as we were unable to do the planned episode, and this has been on our lists for a long time. We looked at NieR, Saban’s Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, Asura's Wrath, Blue Reflection, and Superflight. In this...
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 36 - Negative Feedback Loops
This month we look at negative feedback loops, a partner episode to positive feedback loops, so looking at games that try to stop you either gaining too much advantage or falling too far behind. We looked at Mario Kart 8, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Curse of the Dead Gods, Ultimate Marvel Vs...
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 35 - Speed and Tension
This month we are looking at how speed can be used to create tension and drama. We looked at Sonic, Bayonetta, Tekken 7, SUPERHOT and Bangai-O.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 34 - Crossovers
This month we are looking at crossovers! We are going beyond Smash to look at games that rather than bringing in lots of characters to one system, how these games’ systems intersect and merge. We looked at Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Cadence Of Hyrule: Crypt Of The…
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 33 - Positive Feedback Loops
This month we are looking at positive feedback loops in games. These are loops where the more you something, the more you can do it! Sometimes known as the snowball effect We looked at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Torchlight II, Darkest Dungeon, Slay the Spire and Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 32 - Secret Collectables with Like This, Like That Host, Conor
This month we are looking at secret collectables in videogames We looked at Donkey Kong Country 2, Super Mario Sunshine, The Messenger, Breath of the Wild and Super Metroid. To help up we had Conor, host of the upcoming podcast Like This, Like That join us.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 31 - Inner and Outer Loops
This month we are looking at inner and outer loops in run-based games. What’s an inner loop? An outer loop? A run-based game? All your questions will be answered in the episode. We looked at Hades, Shiren the Wanderer, One Step From Eden, Cadence of Hyrule and Monster Hunter World.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 30 - Double Jumps in 3D games
This month we are looking at double jumps in 3D games. Much like our other double jumps episode, we are really looking more at midair movement options in general. We looked at Jumping Flash!, Super Mario Odyssey, Sonic Adventure 2, Devil May Cry 5 and Doom Eternal.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 28 - Fabula Nova Crystallis - Lightning Saga (Minimal but present spoilers)
This month we are looking at the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy games. This month, with Jack’s assistance, we look at the “Lightning Saga” consisting of Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Check out our guest Jack on twitter!
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 27 - Queer Male Bodies with Jeremy Signor
This month we are looking at queer male bodies in games. This is a little outside our usual realm, so we brought on the wonderful games writer Jeremy Signor to help us out. We looked at Dragon Age II, Altered Beast, Strange Flesh, Tokyo After School Summoners and Tusks: The Orc Dating Sim.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 26 - Famicom Disk System with Doors and Dungeons
We’ve had a small change of plans due to things outside of our control. Rather than speed and tensions, this month we are looking at video game history a little with the Famicom Disk System. We looked at Castlevania, Kid-Icarus, The Legend of Zelda, Yume Kojo Doki Doki Panic and Murasame-jou....
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 25 - Sequelization
This month we are looking at sequels and how they maintained or change from the works they came from. We focused much more on direct sequels as opposed to more broad “entries in mostly disconnected franchises” which a similar but different topic. We looked at Disgaea, Mass Effect 2, Street…
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 24 - Double Jumps in 2D
We are back to our regular non-dominant strategies this month with something super accessible, double Jumps! Although really we are looking at mid-air-activated mobility options… which does not quite roll off the tongue so easily. We look at Super Ghouls and Ghosts, Super Mario All-Stars, Sonic...
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Bonus - Addendum 2
Answering questions, chatting and looking both back and to the future
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 23 - Final Fantasy VIII Dominant Strategy Round Up
This month are continuing our dominant strategies series, a long-form series looking at dominant strategies and how games prevent them. This is sixth and final of five intended episodes, and where we will wrap up on all the techniques we’ve discussed so far. If this is your first episode, head…
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 22 - Meeting the Challenge
Sometimes games just let you do things... until they ask you to actually try.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 21 - Consistency mitigation
This month are continuing our dominant strategies series, a long-form series looking at dominant strategies and how games prevent them. This is third of five intended episodes. In this episode, we focus on how games encourage players to try new things, buy always giving them different tools to…
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 20 - Updates and new content
Looking at how games use content and patching to encourage players to change up how they play, beyond simply balance.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 19 - Risk Encouragement
In this episode, we focus on encouraging players away from the typical dominant strategy of never taking risks. We look at Bloodborne, Bayonetta, Final Fantasy XIII, Battle Moon Wars and Final Fantasy VIII
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 18 - Repetition Mitigation
No one wants the thing that feels like "the best tactic" to be just repeating the same nonsense over and over. We look at games that try to prevent this occuring.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 17 - Game of the Year (2014-2018)
This month we look at past games of the year from Polygon, IGN and Giant Bomb, and try to learn what makes a “Game of the Year” game, and use that knowledge to fail to predict Game of the Year from any of these. At the end we also include our own personal Game of Note, not a best, but just one…
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 16 - Asymmetry Few vs Many
This month we look at how asymmetric gameplay, focusing on titles that use or allude to a single person or small team playing against a larger team. Pac-Man Vs, Dead By Daylight , Crawl, Werewolf (and variants), Spy Party
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 15 - Combo Systems
This month we look at how combos, why games have them and how they can be used both to empower a player but also encourage them to play in certain ways. We looked at Melty Blood, Killer Instinct, Devil May Cry 5, Bravely Default and Final Fantasy XIII.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 14 - Conversations about games
This month we talk about… stuff…. Both of us are in great moments of change in our lives right now, either moving between countries or to opposite sides, so unfortunately our traditional format wasn’t really possible in the time we had. So, this time we spoke about some of the conversations that...
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 13 - Open World Narratives
This month we take more a narrative focus looking at how open worlds are used to tell stories. With special guest, Jack Richardson. And we talk about Horizon Zero Dawn, Final Fantasy XV, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII and Yakuza 0
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 12 - Escalation
This month we look at how games escalate, how they keep pushing us to inevitable end points. We looked at Tetris, Cthulu Saves the World, Slay the Spire, Universal Paperclips and Lethal League.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 11 - Antagonistic Co-op (TasGDS Liveshow)
Continuing in our unintentional series of experiments, this month’s episode is actually a liveshow we did for the Tasmanian GameDev Society. We looked at antagonistic co op, where your friends are a part of the challenge! Using Overcooked, Snipperclips, Super Mario 3D World, Kane and Lynch: Dead...
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(Update) Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 10 - Japanese Western RPGs with Doors and Dungeons
The original file was broken in a few ways, here is an updated and fixed version This month we look at the the rather curious middle ground genre of the Japanese developed Western RPG. Since this episode is a little less design focused but with a greater emphasis on history than our own knowledge...
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 9 - Bitstorm Edition
This episode the team from Bit Storm takes over the show and mixes up the format a little. Ben and Trevor discuss the evolution of point and click adventure game interfaces, discussing games like Space Quest, Monkey Island, Unavowed, Leisure Suit Larry and more.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 8 - Game loops and Time
This month we look at the relationship between game loops and time. Using Monster Hunter World, Granblue Fantasy, Persona 4, Rogue Legacy and Asura's Wrath to look at how games design themselves around the time we spend with.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 7 - Season 1 Addendum
Opening Season 2 of Platforms and Pitfalls we talk about our last six episodes, answering questions we received over the time, and addressing points that only came to us with the power of hindsight.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 6 - Final Fantasy VIII
Breaking our usual form, this month instead of talking about a topic using 5 games, we are talking about 5 topics focusing on one game, Final Fantasy VIII.
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 5 - Grappling Hooks
Looking at grappling in Ocarina of TIme, Bionic Commando (2009), Umihara Kawase Shun, Worms and Devil May Cry 4
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 4 - Traversal
Looking at Infamous Second Son, Gravity Rush, The Witcher 3, Journey and Persona 3 Portable
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Platforms and Pitfalls Episode 3 - Item Durability
This month we look at item durability systems. Looking at The Witcher 3, Fire Emblem 7/Awakening/Fates, Riviera The Promised Land, Firefall and Dead Rising, and they use this unpopular system to make their games more engaging. Feel free to contact us or leave a comment via any of the following...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Each month we take a topic, and discuss it using 5 games as examples of those highs and lows.
HOSTED BY
Rowan Carmichael
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Platforms and Pitfalls have?
Platforms and Pitfalls currently has 52 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Platforms and Pitfalls about?
Each month we take a topic, and discuss it using 5 games as examples of those highs and lows.
How often does Platforms and Pitfalls release new episodes?
Platforms and Pitfalls has 52 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Platforms and Pitfalls?
You can listen to Platforms and Pitfalls on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Platforms and Pitfalls?
Platforms and Pitfalls is created and hosted by Rowan Carmichael.
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