Episodes

  • v1.022: Swimfantasy Theatrhythm
    Nov 9 2023

    Music games are all the rage these days! Also, I'm selling a bundle of 2 Rock Band drumkits (markedly used) and a crate of unopened DJ Hero turntables for $9.99 USD. Please like and comment if you're interested. Outro music by I Am Jemboy

    YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

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    2 hrs and 50 mins
  • v1.021: One RNG to rule them all with Paul Sottosanti
    Oct 18 2023

    Paul Sottosanti, game design veteran and certified cool guy joins Regal and Swimfan to talk about the role that randomness, variance, and luck affect games, mostly from a designer's perspective, in both general and case-specific terms.


    0:00:00 Who is Paul Sottosanti?

    0:29:18 Basic concepts and a tangent about the popularity of games

    0:43:00 Drawing cards

    1:20:00 Build complexity

    1:42:27 Play-by-mail games

    2:22:29 Horizontal progression and strategic diversity

    2:39:45 Damage range

    2:54:14 Rapidfire topics

    Outro music by Cyranek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46LF80G6nB4

    YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

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    3 hrs and 22 mins
  • v1.020: The Most Dangerous Gamer
    Sep 19 2023

    1337 G@m3rz UNITE!! We broadly discuss the difference between people who consider themselves "gamers" and people who simply play games, the effect this has on the industry discourse, and the icky associations the label carries. 0:00:00 Intro and patch notes 0:17:19 The influence of the online discourse about games 0:40:45 Identity and gamerism 1:18:55 The use of games 1:47:25 Finding your voice 2:02:10 The use of gamers Outro music by DatManOvaDer: https://soundcloud.com/datmanovader/throwback-funk

    YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

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    2 hrs and 41 mins
  • v1.019: Card games with Andrew Yip, former Game Director of Legends of Runeterra
    Sep 6 2023

    Yip schools us on TCGs, CCGs, DCGs, and all other card-based games.


    0:00:00 Introductions, who the heck is Andrew Yip, and the LoR experience

    0:17:33 History with card games

    0:49:01 Hanging out in settings and MMOs

    1:05:51 Mana, variance, and all its implications

    1:41:31 Different players, different skill expression

    1:53:44 Back to mana (color pie, mana flood)

    2:05:32 Making losing fun and making the game approachable

    2:24:51 Can more interesting games be made if we didn't try to make more money?

    2:37:56 Single player TCGs

    Outro music by BotanicSage: https://soundcloud.com/botanicsage/16bit-magic-sped-up

    YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

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    3 hrs and 1 min
  • v1.018: Is it wrong to steal from NPCs?
    Aug 15 2023

    Do not trust Swimfan to inspect your door, physical or digital.


    0:00:00 Intro and patch notes: nets

    0:06:15 The joy of thievery

    0:12:16 Why are steal games less popular and sometimes more frustrating than combat games?

    0:39:39 How do the NPCs or the game itself handle ethics?

    0:50:30 Singleplayer vs multiplayer

    1:18:22 Society in the apocalypse

    1:34:20 Ethics (in singleplayer games)

    2:01:40 What makes a good thieving game?


    Outro music by Nathan Miller: https://youtu.be/_tPeNHBy5GQ YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

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    2 hrs and 32 mins
  • Regal Raves #2: Against the Storm thoughts and a proposal for endless mode, plus other changest
    Aug 8 2023

    babby's second video. but babby's, like, 18th audio!

    0:00:00 What is Against the Storm?

    0:16:51 What sets ATS apart and its core mechanics

    0:27:19 Some ideas for high level changes

    0:54:14 Endless mode

    Against the Storm on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1336490/Against_the_Storm/

    YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

    You can attempt to contact me at regal@openbetas.com. I will probably check it at least once in my lifetime. Probably.

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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • v1.017: The Tetris Affection
    Jul 31 2023

    Even your parents want to play! 🙄


    0:00:00 Intro and patch notes: death note

    0:16:00 The universal nature of simple games

    0:35:45 Solitaire and games as a way to fill time

    0:59:24 Tetris, platforms, and popularity

    1:07:00 Randomess & replayability

    1:14:05 Wordle

    1:30:00 Pokemon GO

    1:54:04 What can we learn?


    Outro music by beat_shobon: https://soundcloud.com/beat_shobon/mario-paint-but-you-can-dance-to-it

    YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

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    2 hrs and 32 mins
  • v1.016: More than a bird, more than a plane
    Jul 10 2023

    An episode about superpowers in which we learn that we should never under any circumstances tell Swimfan any of our secrets.


    0:00:00 Intro and patch notes: positive religious relationships and experiences

    0:10:10 The rules

    0:17:30 Saving and loading as a superpower

    0:59:10 What it's like to be older than one human lifetime

    1:11:49 What would we do?

    1:36:20 Superpower #2: mind reading

    2:01:00 Superpower #3: simulate until end of season


    YouTube.com/@OpenBetas

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    2 hrs and 18 mins