After a month-long break (missed us?) explained by poor planning on the host's part, the Negative World Podcast returns to tell you all about the International Negative World Meet-up 2011 that took place in the Big Apple.
Listen to Anand, Mr_Mustache, Abdooooo and Guillaume talk about what it is like to meet with people you've never seen before, but have talked to for years; and discuss party games, arcade games, food, karaoke, and hot, sweaty (censored).
Thanks go to Mrs_Mustache and Jargon and his wife for participating in this very special trip, and HUGE thanks go to CPA_Wei and Deathly_Hallows, the New York City residents who had to put up with us.
As usual, the theme music comes from Negative World's owner and dictator, Zero. The rest of the soundtrack is taken from Mario Kart 64 and Savage Garden's repertoire.
Comment on the topics, the podcast, the guests, the host, etc. on Negative World! Or, be a weirdo and post them on Facebook or Twitter instead.
I'm at the part when we discuss the ball game incident... I don't know what I was thinking last night, I was probably only half-listening to what I was editing. I could have cut that part out...
I really wish I was on this podcast just because debating E.T. with Anand would have been awesome! I'm willing to concede certain points - that it was an ambitious game, that it made more sense if you read the manual, that the mystique that has developed around the game outstrips it's actual horribleness - but it doesn't change the fact that pretty much everyone who played E.T. back in the 80s had the same experience. Walk a few steps, fall in a hole, fail to get out of the hole, turn the game off in frustration, go outside, yell at passing bird.
EDIT: Great podcast, guys. It certainly had a bit of that "listening to other people tell inside jokes" feel to it, but I think anyone who knows you guys from the boards will be entertained by it. Outsiders might have more of a problem.
Initially, I was a bit bored with the introduction segment (the inside jokes flew over my head like a jet and I felt like I was just dropped into a closed conversation), but once you guys started talking about the games I was all ears. Anand (or ehNAHNd, as Gui would say it, lol) was really great throughout the whole podcast, and Gui's, 'Stache's, and Abdooooo's combined efforts helped to balance out the the discussion.
I have to say though, Anand, I wanted to reach through the podcast and choke you for bashing Mario Kart Wii. For one, the game DOES run at 60fps, at least when playing online and single player. It is a shame that they couldn't get it at 60fps for local multi though. I do enjoy Double Dash quite a bit, and mostly for the reasons that you gave in the podcast, but I feel that the level design in Mario Kart Wii is more varied and engaging. It is also one of Nintendo's few examples of a really well implemented online component. Plus, I love wiimote controls for racing, so for me, it's not even a contest.
Anyway, I enjoyed hearing about all of you guys' whereabouts in NYC and it sounds like you guys had a blast. Someday, I'll have to join you all and partake in such festivities.
God damn, I talked over people a LOT on this podcast. Like, appreciably more than usual. Mustache probably didn't want to risk another case of laryngitis. (We both got it in NYC from trying to yell over each other.)
@kriswright Brothers from different mothers, dude! Double Dash was soooo fresh and fun. Love that game. MKDS was a great game, too, but I was sad that they stripped out DD's innovations. The giant banana peel and spiky green shell don't deserve to be forgotten.
Looks like we'd be dangerous co-op partners, too. Well, arcade owners would like us, at least.
And we can totally have it out about E.T. one day! I will never claim that it's a great game, but it was at least unique and playable. I don't remember getting stuck, either, even though I was, like, a fetus. And I have no familiarity with this 'going outside' phenomenon that you speak of.
@casper884 Finally, some controversy! I was so disappointed that the Metroid Prime debate didn't cause more...
I really don't like Mario Kart Wii. But it does do certain things very well. The online is smooth and playable (if feature-shy, even in Friend-only matches), the track design is pretty good (if too visually busy towards the end), the downloadable Challenges are cool, the motion controls and tricks are decent, and the Time Trial implementation is fantastic. I think, as with many franchises (Zelda), your personal 'favorite' comes down to your personal priorities.
For me, Mario Kart has always been largely about local multiplayer, with a focus on both racing and battle mode. MKWii stripped out two-player GPs, the single-player GP was a marathon of frustration, and 3-4 player splitscreen racing was choppy and hard to follow. Also, the tracks were incredibly wide and the spammy new items were irritating. Every corner of the local multiplayer screams of 'compromised for online play'.
Case in point, Battle Mode. I mean, do we really even have to discuss that clusterfuck? Imagine the grief of going from "Yes! They're finally bringing Battle Mode online!! I'll never need another online game!" to "What. The. Fuck. Is. This. Shit."
No offense. My ire is reserved for the game, not it's supporters.
Smash Bros. was not played in NYC??? Mind blown. So I may have missed the reason, but why was Smash Bros. not played? Too cliche?
Abdooooo was quiet as usual! But I don't think it's entirely his fault. When Anand is on the podcast, he dominates! Oh Anand. Well, at least you are cognizant of it now, that's a good step forward.
Cool mention of the game reviews at the end. Though you acknowledged Casper when mentioning Nintendogs but not Roy K. when mentioning Steel Diver. Ah, no worries, no worries, it's all good my friend.
@Paleo_Orca Haha, when Stache said that, I knew he was talking about the review you posted. He loves to stretch things a bit.
I listened, it was enjoyable. Only thing I noticed was Anand needs to slow down by like 300%, its like he is always in a race to say something. By slowing down, you will not talk over people as much, which is really rude and annoying.
I feel like this was a really good episode, in no small part due to the fact that you guys all met in person and got used to each other and could goof around and make in-jokes and everything.
I actually turned off the podcast when it got to the outro, so I didn't even know Gui mentioned the reviews. Thanks, Gui!!
Also, roy, regardless if you were cited as the author of a review or not, they are always of high quality, and personally, you're one of my favorite reviewers.
Oh, god, I shouldn't have said that. The rest of the editors are going to kill me now.
Oh, before I forget, the Mrs_ said I was wrong on both her "Favorite" and "Least Favorite" things. You can never speak for a woman. She'll be in here...sometime. Sleepyville now..
This podcast does not give a fair representation of what its really like to be around us. We talk over each other a LOT more, and nobody ever stopped to say "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
@gamewizard65 But that's why I talk so fast, in theory. To say what I have to say quickly and then give other people a chance to speak. Plus, at 33% speed, the pocast might have been 4 hours.
No, but Skype is actually kind of artificial. You can't visually SEE when someone else wants to say something. So, if you start a lot of separate thoughts, you'll probably end up talking over people. On the other hand, if everyone decides to wait and see what others have to say, you get a lot of awkward pauses. You can't really time your phrases like in a normal conversation.
@Mr_Mustache Ooo, lemme guess! I think her favorite was... Strawberry Fields, and her least favorite was... J&H?
For some reason, Skype is not built to handle four-way simultaneous talking. Quadplex.
I can't believe that we stayed up almost all night for absolutely no reason.
For one, the game DOES run at 60fps, at least when playing online and single player. It is a shame that they couldn't get it at 60fps for local multi though. I do enjoy Double Dash quite a bit, and mostly for the reasons that you gave in the podcast, but I feel that the level design in Mario Kart Wii is more varied and engaging. It is also one of Nintendo's few examples of a really well implemented online component. Plus, I love wiimote controls for racing, so for me, it's not even a contest.
