Monday, November 16, 2015

Episode 110: Obsession

This is episode 110 of Roguelike Radio, where Andrew Doull, Darren Grey and Mark Johnson talk about the depths of their Obsession.

You can download the mp3 of the podcast, play it in the embedded player below, or you can follow us on iTunes.





Topics Discussed:
  • The obsessive traits that make us like roguelikes
  • The other obsessive things we do, such as Mark's bullet hell world record and poker history, Andrew's board game design, and Darren's writing.
  • Darren's 440-line poem based on ADOM (which is now on Steam!)
  • Bad games and obsession
  • Obsession triggering the desire to make roguelikes, in particular UnAngband and UnBrogue for Andrew, and the lure of giant projects to the obsessive mind
  • Darren is a snob!
  • Obsessive play in roguelikes, in particular taking on challenges and speedruns and community competitions
  • Jellymancers in Brogue, drakeling spitters in ADOM, platinum runs in ADOM
  • Tedious play in roguelikes and how obsession makes us power through them
  • Having time for obsessions when we're boring grown-ups
  • Obsession and chronic physical and mental health issues
  • Addiction, and the negative traits of obsession
  • Some of our favourite obsessions that we recommend
  • Developers working with enthusiastic players in a virtuous circle of obsession
  • Comment below on your favourite obsessions!

This episode also feature a welcome return to Andrew's kids shouting in the background! :D

    Join us next time when we interview the designers behind Invisible Inc.
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    14 comments:

    1. Davion FuxaNovember 16, 2015 at 2:15 PM

      Did someone misplace the embedded player?

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Darren GreyNovember 16, 2015 at 2:21 PM

        Whoops... should be back now.

        Delete
      2. Andrew DoullNovember 17, 2015 at 3:28 PM

        I approve of the upper casing of the first letter of obsession in the middle of a sentence.

        Delete
    2. JosephNovember 16, 2015 at 9:08 PM

      Wrote 80k for ToME. Not obsessed though...love it Darren. :-)

      Since redirecting my obsessive personality to writing I've been MUCH happier. Finishing books has been great, getting my ass kicked by Roguelikes turned into an unhealthy obsession after awhile. Not quite having the mind to create a truly great RL on my own was also a terrible realization.

      But like I said, starting to write least year was a huge shift. A great one.

      Obsession is great if it's directed!

      Not quite done listening to the podcast, did you guys talk about addiction at all? Chemical addiction? Gaming addiction? They often go hand in hand with obsessive personalities.

      ReplyDelete
    3. JosephNovember 16, 2015 at 9:11 PM

      I never stopped making card games. Gotta get that game dev fix once in awhile. :-)

      ReplyDelete
    4. JosephNovember 16, 2015 at 10:17 PM

      Thanks for the shout out Andrew!!!

      That's exactly how it happened. Escape my miserable existence by hanging out on Rogue Temple and designing/playing RL's.

      I'm still doing better since about 2013.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. JosephNovember 16, 2015 at 10:25 PM

        If anyone is out there is sick in bed with an old laptop and a crappy web connection, get into Roguelikes. They are great. The community can be great. Making them is great too.

        Delete
    5. JosephNovember 16, 2015 at 10:47 PM

      Hey Mark when I first started hearing about URR I thought, "Okay, another guy with a mega project I'll never hear from again..."

      Then the magic started happening.

      I'm super pumped for you.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. AnonymousNovember 17, 2015 at 3:00 AM

        Ha, rest assured, I don't think you were the only person to think that :). Thanks, I greatly appreciate it! I can't wait to put out this release once it's done and give people something to actually DO in the world...

        Delete
    6. Andrew DoullNovember 17, 2015 at 8:48 PM

      Having a re-listen to this and I think we successfully engaged with what is obsession (or more specifically what are our obsessions) without necessarily answering the aesthetic experience question I also raised. Worth a revisit at a later date.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. TheIndieOceanDecember 30, 2015 at 11:13 AM

        To go off at a tangent: how did you get into being treated for sleep apnoea? How were you diagnosed? I've been told that I hold my breath in my sleep but that seems like a weak thing to take to a doctor.

        Delete
      2. Andrew DoullDecember 30, 2015 at 11:43 AM

        I mentioned I wanted treatment for snoring while I was at an ear, nose, throat specialist for an unrelated issue. He asked the classic sleep apnoea question which is 'do you fall asleep during the day?'. I answered yes; got a referral for a sleep study and was diagnosed.

        Delete
    7. EdDecember 5, 2015 at 5:03 PM

      Good episode! If you guys are open to suggestions, I was wondering if you might be able to get Tarn Adams back on the show. Given that the new version of DF is all about procedurally generated culture, I'm sure he and Mark could have a pretty fascinating discussion about building worlds/cultures/societies/histories etc. And I think there's been a lot more development of DF's adventure mode, which is the more purely roguelike bit, so it could be interesting to hear how that's coming along too.

      ReplyDelete
    8. mclarkDecember 19, 2015 at 7:44 PM

      what were the recommendations again? are they posted somewhere? babylon 5 and...an novel called Q? or is it queue? and no, not everyone has read The Player of Games. that's on my list now.

      ReplyDelete

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