“I think this choice is obvious. I’m going to go to the world of Halo.”
Axel1324
Summary – Worlds Review with a Journo
This episode starts off special, with an introduction to a guest panel member, a video game journalist going by the name “Phasma.” The group would be answering questions this time around about the worlds of games, specifically their environments, including visuals and sound design. They would answer what their most vibrant game world experience is, what their most dreadful game world experience is, and what game world they would want to live in. That last one caught my attention especially. Throughout, they would read sections from an article Phasma wrote about the game Song of Iron, with a cringe comedy twist.
The Journalist
Before I get into the meet of the video, their guest is worthy of mention. “Phasma,” or Angela Gerric, is a writer and editor for seasonedgaming.com, a site dedicated to gaming journalism, complete with its own podcast. The usual cast welcomes her warmly to the show, noting a strong reputation and equally strong writing ability. The article in question that they would read in sections with each intermission regards her review of Song of Iron. Of course, the comedic twist I mentioned had her grinning, giggling, and cringing a little too. Each panel member was to try and read it in their most “seductive” or exaggerated voice while they blasted Careless Whisper alongside their narration. Like I said, cringe comedy, but it reminded me of Deadpool, and generally had me laughing too hard to study at the time.
Impressions – Colorful Worlds
This crew of four went on to share some of their best and worst gaming environment experiences with their viewers. Some of them were unsurprising, others downright shocking. The first question had me grinning ear to ear. When you hear “most vibrant game world,” what does your mind turn to? I had to really think about that one. In my case though, Starcraft II, a game I was playing at the time of first watching this episode, kept surging to the forefront, yet I turned to Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as worlds that came to mind. For the cast though, Zelda shocked me with Flight Simulator. You heard that right, the same Microsoft flight sim most people know. Then again, who wouldn’t want to fly a jet or plane of their choice over their house?
Most Dreadful Game World came next, and I was unsurprised to hear Mad Max make that list according to DoggyDog. A post-apocalyptic world with nothing but deserts and radioactive wastes would be kinda bland to some. What made me sad was when Axle through out Dark Souls as his answer to this one, but it made sense. Too dark, difficult to see, dreary were some of the reasons that cropped up. I had always seen it as challenging, but Axle’s answer does make sense. Between these first two questions, I got an interesting and enlightening perspective on how others may view individual games in different ways.
The last question was the most entertaining of the three. “What game world would you want to live in?” Oh, so many choices came to mind. Starcraft, Skyrim, Mass Effect, Halo, the list goes on. Yeah, I have a strong love of fantasy and science fiction. There are a ton of worlds I might consider living in if given the option. Who wouldn’t want to be a power tripping sci-fi Spartan, or the most powerful dragon magic wielder in the hardy north? Axel got me grinning with this one. Not long after my mind turned to the universe of Halo, that was the answer he gave. Being a former soldier, he found it would be interesting to be a marine or ODST in a world where they have interstellar travel, contact with alien beings, and after the big war from the first three games, the ability to become a super-soldier with the right training. That answer was a fun parallel.
Conclusion – Strong Impressions
I pulled a quote from Axel on the main page that fits well here, and was in fact said at the start of this episode. “I believe that video games are the greatest art form that we as a species have created so far.” I wholly agree with the man. This episode gets you thinking about the colorful array of worlds and environments you can explore through video gaming, and yeah, I get why he said it. With what other art form can you create from scratch your own fictional world and give someone free agency to explore it? Of the first three episodes, this one had the strongest impact, and did a great job of setting the mood and expectation for the rest of the series. Gaming is all about having fun folks, and this series is sure to remind you of that.
