Hello and welcome to another Side-Quest episode of Talk This! It’s Dangerous to Podcast Alone! We’re talking about Madelyn’s choice of topic, which happens to be pacing in games. How do games manage pacing with the chaotic force known as the player? Chaotically.
As always, you can listen to our podcast basically anywhere you want. Check it out on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Pandora (or head over to our episodes page for even more options). Or just listen below!
The Topic
Are games too long??? Just kidding. But what makes for good pacing in a game, and how does that often differ from pacing in a movie or TV show? What does a developer need to consider when handing the reigns over to a player? When does bad pacing actually bother us and why does it not for other games?
The Actual Discussion
We talk about games that we think have perfect pacing and games that don’t. Among those games that don’t, we talk about why those pacing issues either did or did not bother us. We talk about side-quest bloat, and why more and more games seem to be leaning towards open world mechanics. Also, we talk about the chaotic entity known as the player. All fear them.
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Enjoy the episode! Tell us what you think in the comments or on social media. Make sure to check out last week’s episode and look forward to next week’s where we’re talking about Cooking Mama and Animal Crossing.
And don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel for the Play This! series, Flashback Fridays, Clickbait Boyfriend Behind-The-Scenes, and other random content! There’s a new video about Trails of Cold Steel on there! Give it a watch and….maybe a like?
Make an effort this week too, if you can.