First Wall Rebate

We are joined this episode by Nick Montfort for a discussion of interactive fiction. We get his takes on the role of interactive fiction, resistance to the form by members of the gaming and literary communities, and the Apple IIc he keeps in his office.

Nick is the author/programmer of Book and Volume, around which we anchor our conversation. Be sure to visit his website at nickm.com, and look for his upcoming book with Ian Bogost on the Atari VCS called Racing the Beam. Thanks for listening.

We turn this episode over to Selena Salihovic and Jeff Hutchins, friends from the Writer’s Edge, for their report on the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle. They braved legions of sweaty nerds, long lines, and snot-nosed little kids to bring us this ground level view of the conference. Listen as they narrate their experiences with Princess Peach cosplayers, the free-form tournament system, and Game Boy chiptuning rock stars.

As usual, get in touch and keep checking back for new episodes. Thanks for listening.

This epsiode was produced in conjunction with our friend Mez Breeze via her wonderful site, Augmentology.

She elegantly writes:

“This podcast is the first in a series of rolling podcasts which will discuss issues relevant to synthetic ecologies. In this pocast, Trevor Dodge and Shane Hinton chat about First-Person Shooters and what it means to inhabit and play within these types of synthetic environments.

In this podcast, central issues under discussion by Shane and Trevor include:

• Differences between single and multi-player experiences in First Person Shooters and other platforms.
• Acknowledging simulated experiences within Wolfenstein, Doom, Half-Life 2, Halo, Bioshock, Battlefield: Bad Company, Call of Duty 4 andGears of War.
• Wider analysis of specific game variables including the mechanics of cut-scenes, immersion levels and violence coding[s], physic engines, biological reactions, destructible environments, FPS artificial intelligence, ethical agendas, Wii tactility and narrative extensions.”

Thanks to Mez for the opportunity to contribute, and keep your ears peeled for more episodes soon — both here and in the growing Augmentology canon.

Our first FWR Book Club episode is now complete. As some of you already know, the selection for this episode was Digital Culture, Play, and Identity: A World of Warcraft Reader, edited by Hilde G. Corneliussen and Jill Walker Rettberg. This episode is composed of responses that we collected from friends and listeners both here at the site and in our Facebook group. Many thanks to those of you who took time to write in.

Our next Book Club selection is Gamer Theory by McKenzie Wark, available for reading both online and in the traditional dead-tree format.

In Episode 005 we talk Grand Theft Auto IV in a noisy hallway, wandering through such topics as:

The narrative structure of the game and comparisons to Edgar Allan Poe’s vision of story crafting.

Graphical representations, the timelessness of game space, and fear of art overtaking reality.

Troubling characters based on stereotypes and Three’s Company.

More episodes are coming soon. Thanks for listening.

The dust has settled on the personal interferences, vacation plans, and marathon sessions of Grand Theft Auto and Metal Gear Solid that have blocked our podcast progress for the last few weeks. We invite you to explore FWR Episode 004, in which we:

Record in a tiny closet during the Writer’s Edge conference in Portland, Oregon, and forget to introduce ourselves.

Discuss the portrayals of war in games in reference to the Call of Duty and Metal Gear Solid franchises.

Think about the labor issues involved with the recent controversy regarding voice actors in Grand Theft Auto IV.

Look for our GTA Blowout episode soon, and thanks for listening.

This week we get back on schedule with a bonus two-fer and very informal Episode 003. Shane gets way up on the mic and Trevor really hates it when E disses Powell’s. Some of the things we informalize on:

In-house podcasts from Microsoft, Bungie, Insomniac, and Capcom.

Easter eggs after credits (in Iron Man), ownership, individuality, Ronald Reagan, and labor unions.

Shock jocks, vinyl, enhanced podcasts, and fear of a fragmented reality.

Be sure to leave us a comment here at the blog, in our Facebook group, or at the Gmail address on the right. If you’re a reader as well as a gamer, you should probably get involved in the first FWR Book Club discussion that we will be fostering through the month of June, 2008. Thanks for listening.

In the first of two episodes this week we present an industrial-strength Epsiode 002 looking at gender issues and Objectivist philosophy in BioShock. Along the way we also discuss:

Netwurker Mez and Abby B.’s thought-provoking feedback, and the FWR Book Club.

Confusing stereotypes and relationships in Grand Theft Auto IV (see Daniel Floyd’s Video Games and Sex).

Another round of podcast reviews: Cheapy D complains on the CAGCast about their stagnant 11,000 member listenership and some interesting analysis of the new Indiana Jones flick by the 1up Yours crew.

As always, be sure to leave us feedback in the comments section of the blog, in the iTunes Music Store, and in the First Wall Rebate group on Facebook. We look forward to your input.

Episode 001 of FWR is now ready for your consumption. This week we discuss the thorny issues of intellectual property, copyright and ownership, and cast an eye towards the future of digital media distribution. Trevor manages to say “very” at least 30 times and Shane rescues the podcast from the Skype goblins.

But more specifically:

We discuss feedback on our Facebook forum by Netwurker Mez (read about the Versional) and Abby B. on last week’s show.

Join the FWR Book Club by checking out Digital Culture, Play, and Identity: A World of Warcraft Reader, Edited by Hilde G. Corneliussen and Jill Walker Rettberg.

Trevor’s podcasted Games and Lit class: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3

We welcome your comments, questions, and criticisms here at the blog, our Gmail address, and our Facebook group. Thanks for listening.

This is Episode 00 of the First Wall Rebate Podcast. Here are some of the things we talked about:

Sloppy energy drink analysis on Giant Bombcast.

Brilliance of the Game Theory podcast.

McKenzie Wark’s A Hacker Manifesto and Gamer Theory.

Heather Chaplin’s excellent article on Grand Theft Auto IV at NPR.

Our theme song, the title of which Shane horribly mispronounces, is Sitges Savepoint by Random. The music used to transition toward the end of the show: Ballistic Panic by Nullsleep. Both are available via the Creative Commons directory at 8bitpeoples.com.