Len, Jon, and Mike are joined by Freehold Games' Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat to discuss Caves of Qud. In a world where rogue"lites" and rogue-adjacents have blown up, what is the niche of a true, traditional roguelike? We also dig into the procedural generation of its post-multiple-apocalypses world and dreamlike writing style.

Three Moves Ahead 625 - Caves of Qud

Len, Mike, and Sin gather 'round to sing the praises of our favorite strategy and tactics games of the year, as well as trying to identify the ever-elusive narrative throughline.

Three Moves Ahead 626 - 2024 Wrap-Up

Len, Mike, and Nerium gaze down the road ahead at the most interesting and promising strategy games coming out (we hope) in 2025, from the heavy-hitters to some indie oddities.

Games Discussed: Civilization 7, Kaiserpunk, Two Point Museum, Tempest Rising, Alliance of the Sacred Suns, Europa Universalis 5, Beyond These Stars, City Tales - Medieval Era, Demonschool, Falling Frontier, Dino Lords, Kingmakers, Menace, Slay the Spire 2

Three Moves Ahead 627 - Look Ahead to 2025

Len, Fraser, and Sin gather to try and figure out what the heck happened with Civilization 7. We discuss why it's such a let-down for the legendary series, and whether or not it's just time for civilization to end.

Three Moves Ahead 628 - Sid Meier's Civilization 7

This week, Len sits down with Philip "BeoMulf" Mulford, a professional RTS esports caster. We discuss how you get that gig, how you develop the skills for it, and how it compares to traditional sportscasting. We also dig in a bit to the recent 0.3.0 patch for Stormgate and how the first big graphical refresh, automated control groups, and fully rebindable hotkeys change the experience.

NOTE: We found out after the show was recorded that Philip will be handling the main stream for the CHOC tournament on Sunday at https://www.twitch.tv/beomulf. You can find out more at https://playstormgate.com/news/stormgate-for-choc-charity-tournament

Three Moves Ahead 629 - RTS Shoutcasting and Stormgate 0.3.0 with BeoMulf

Len, Mike, and Luke dust off their Indy hats and take a close look at Two Point Museum. We discuss how it's such a great fit for the formula Two Point Studios built over their previous two games, how you make a museum game without presenting a tacit endorsement of grave robbing, and why crime never pays.

Three Moves Ahead 630 - Two Point Museum

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Caroline Marchal, best known for her work on Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, and As Dusk Falls. They discuss whether narrative games should show all paths to players, should we care if characters walk up stairs correctly, and how Heavy Rain was built for non-gamers but enjoyed the most by gamers. This episode was recorded on September 6, 2024.

Games discussed: Tetris, Sonic the Hedgehog, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, Phantasmagoria, Grim Fandango, Ryzom, Omikron, Fahrenheit, Heavy Rain, Detroit Become Human, As Dusk Fall, Beyond Two Souls

Designer Notes 87: Caroline Marchal - Part 1

Len is joined by special guest Casey Explosion to talk about Cataclismo, a horde defense RTS with a unique, LEGO-like base building mechanic. We touch on the aesthetics, the tactics, and the story, as well as Casey's latest indie recommendations for 3MA listeners.

Casey's Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/caseyexplosion
Casey's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CaseyExplosion
Casey's Steam Curator Page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/28340174-Casey-Explosion/

Get 20% off your first month at Patreon.com/3MA with code: 37E8A

Three Moves Ahead 631 - Cataclismo

This is a free preview of this month's Patreon episode. Check out the extended version at Patreon.com/3ma!

Len, Lambert, and Lorris have gotten some hands-on time with the Actually Really Announced game Europa Universalis 5! We discuss our impressions, our praises, our gripes, and even some of our most precious wishes.

Three Moves Ahead 632 - We Played Europa Universalis 5! (No CB Megacast 11 Preview)

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Caroline Marchal, best known for her work on Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, and As Dusk Falls. They discuss how much a narrative game should acknowledge that it is a game, if a 50/50 player split for a binary choice is desirable, and whether you are in the shower or under the shower. This episode was recorded on September 6, 2024.

Games discussed: Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, As Dusk Fall, Old World, the Sorcery! series

Designer Notes 88: Caroline Marchal - Part 2

Idle Thumbs 149: A Divine Exodus of Snakes

Idle Thumbs is an independent podcast network whose podcasts span comedy, pop culture and entertainment, video games, and TV.

Idle Thumbs 149: A Divine Exodus of Snakes

Idle Thumbs

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