Fluff 'n Fury with Roadkill Software

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Here's a sample of the full show notes - make sure to click through and check them out.

Content Warning

At around 10:32, whilst discussing sandbox games, Jackal brings up the fact that titles like RimWorld allow you to safely explore very taboo subjects like cannibalism. We felt that it was important to keep this discussion in the episode; not because we support cannibalism, but more because we thought it was important to have the discussion about the fact that games allow us to build a fantasy world where we can explore these ideas and see what they are about.

At 34:16, when describing the beginnings of the project, Bird mentions that the game started out life as

sort of a $h!t post
- Bird

Please listen responsibly.

Show Notes

Squidge was MIA when we recorded this episode, so he isn't on this one. But Jay was on hand to interview Jackal and Bird from the Roadkill Software team. At the time of the recording, Roadkill Software were working on a brand new PC title called Fluff 'n Fury.

Fluff 'n Fury

Before they got sidetracked, Jay wanted to know about Fluff 'n Fury. And the Roadkill folks described it as:

It's basically an FPS shooter, sort of in the vein of Half-Life - well not really Half-Life. It would be a little unfair to call it Half-Life; more like a campaign of some sorts.
It'll also will feature a diverging cast. So you'll have to go through several different play-throughs to find every single level. And it will include some non-FPS segments as well
- Bird

Immediately, it sound rather intriguing and reminded us of the branching story-path of Sonic Adventure and similar titles - but with less in the way of embarrassing voice acting and audio levelling issues, we hope.

All this talk of mixing up the play styles had us talking about sandbox games, and how the sandbox genre - if you can call it that - is likely one of the most innovative in the industry right now. Being able to throw a player into a world with tools, vehicles, basic rules, and allow them to invent their own fun is truly game-changing - if you'll pardon the pun - with the greatest of them being Garry's Mod.

Favourite Sandbox Titles

A discussion of sandbox games would be incomplete without talking about some of our favourites. So Jay posed the question

What are some of your favourite sandbox games?
- JayBirdPavlov VRSubnauticaJackalRimWorldStellaris

And this discussion on sandbox and sandbox-like games brings up the topic of being able to explore different ideas, political stances, behaviours, and taboos without worrying about any real-world results or potential side effects of those actions or thoughts.

It's not like you endorse this thing in real life, but what could happen in a diplomatic way if you go for it.
- Jackal

Another example that we bring up is the Postal series. We're all in agreement that very few (if any) players of those games endorse the ideas of over-the-top situations and behaviours in those games, but it does allow the player a safe space to explore the absurdity of the situation.

And of course, Jay takes a logical extreme using a recent release as an example:

At the time of recording [Pokémon Legends: Arceus] has just been released. Is that game endorsing running around, capturing [wild] animals, and stuffing them into small metallic boxes?
No. But it is encouraging people to go out into the world and have a look around at what there is to see and what there is to do.
- Jay

The Thunder Plain Games

For those who are new to the pod, we have a section called "Thunder Plain Games" which might be vaguely reminiscent of a certain programme on BBC Radio 4 - but for copyright reasons, it is completely different.

Imagine that you are in Final Fantasy X, and the Thunder Plains) is a place that you get banished to. And what we're going to do is we're going to open a portal to the Thunder Plains and, very nicely and politely, boot you through it. You will get help, maybe it will be tomorrow, maybe it will be in a week, maybe it will be in an hour.

To stop you from getting bored, we've said that we'll keep the portal open and we'll throw through up to three video games and everything you need to play them - including an Internet connection. The only rules are that you can't ask for help, because help is on the way, and you can't tell anyone that you're in the Thunder Plains.

So our question is: were we to do throw, boot, or yeet you through the portal, which games are we throwing through with you? And both Bird and Jackal obliged with the titles that they would take with them:

BirdMinecraftJackalFallout 2 (with the Restoration Patch)

...

Full Show Notes

Make sure to check out the full show notes for more discussion on the points we raise, some extra meta-analysis, and some links to related things.

What have you been playing recently? Do you agree with the anonymous review that Chief read during this episode? What would you take with you to the Thunder Plains?

Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, leave a comment on the show notes or try our brand new contact page.

Links

Here are some links to some of the things we discussed in this episode:

Support us on Ko-FiOur Facebook pageUs on TwitterRoadkill Software on TwitterFallout 2 Restoration ProjectDogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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