The Upper Memory Block Podcast from billybob

[Jobydrone]

I won a copy of Roller Coaster Tycoon from PC Gamer magazine, for submitting an entry to a contest they were running to develop a game idea in 100 words or less.  The actual grand prize for the contest was a trip, and a meeting with a game publisher, and some other stuff.  My entry was apparently too risque for actual consideration in the contest (my game idea was an open world third person game a la Grand Theft Auto called "Crack Ho") but some editors thought it was funny and clever enough to warrant an unofficial prize of some games they had lying around the office...Rollercoaster Tycoon and some other swrods and sorcery game I forget...

[billybob476]

Episode 23 is out!

http://umbcast.com/episode-23-kings-quest/
---
Hello Blockers!

Welcome to episode 23. This time around we're talking about the huge Sierra adventure series that started back in 1984, King's Quest.

Before we get into this huge topic, we have a few small items of news to cover:

Ken Allen put out a very interesting podcast where he discusses how he came up with the music for Space Quest 4. Also, it turns out that he will be able to rearrange his own creations despite the fact the rights are owned by Activision through mechanical licensing.

Secondly, big news on the GoG.com front. System Shock 2 is now available for purchase for 9.99 USD. I definitely need to give this one a whirl since I didn't get a chance to play it when it originally came out.

So that's that for the news, now we get on to our main topic, Roberta Williams' King's Quest series. I talk about the history of the series and cover some interesting points of each of the eight games in the series.

Buy King's Quest 1, 2 and 3 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/kings_quest_1_2_3

Buy King's Quest 4, 5 and 6 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/kings_quest_4_5_6

Buy King's Quest 7 and 8 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/kings_quest_7_8

Next time around, I'll be covering my first puzzle type game, Dynamix's The Incredible Machine.

Enjoy the show!

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/023-UMBCast-Kings-Quest.mp3

[Rico]

Ahh, King's Quest.  Love those games!

[Bromptonboy]

Yes - they were classics.  Loved all the Sierra games.  Anyone else remember that brief experiment with 'Sierra On-line'?  The Prodigy like BBS service to play games, etc.

[billybob476]

Do you mean Sierra's Imagination network? I believe it was bought by someone.

[Bromptonboy]

Do you mean Sierra's Imagination network? I believe it was bought by someone.

That might be it.  I recall being able to create an avatar, and playing chess, backgammon, etc.  You could also chat and get hints for games.

[billybob476]

Yeah that was it.

[billybob476]

Episode 24 all about The Incredible Machine is out!

http://umbcast.com/episode-24-the-incredible-machine/

---

Howdy Blockers!

This time around, we're talking about Dynamix's 1992 puzzle game, The Incredible Machine.

This week in the news:

Death Inc Kickstarter

Mage's Initiaition Kickstarter

Back in February, the Guys from Andromeda podcast interviewed Jim Walls, creator of Police Quest and he announced his intention to kickstart a new Police Quest style game.

Finally, Lord British has something to say at http://www.lordbritishpresents.com/

A few links from listener emails:

BJ Used to read this interesting eductionial software magazine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Kidsoft

King's Quest fan remakes from Father Beast:
1, 2 and 3 from AGD Interactive:
http://www.agdinteractive.com/games/games.html
Episode based remake:
http://www.tsl-game.com/episodes.php
IA King's Quest 3 remake:
http://www.infamous-adventures.com/kq3/

Finally, on the The Incredible Machine. We discuss all the usual suspects and cover the whole series of games.

Buy The Incredible Machine on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/the_incredible_machine_mega_pack

Next time we're going to cover the awesome LucasArts space sim: X-Wing. I'm super excited for this one!

Enjoy!

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/024-UMBCast-The-Incredible-Machine.mp3

[billybob476]

Just FYI everyone, my next show will be covering the X-Wing series from LucasArts. That's X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and X-Wing: Alliance. I know some of us here definitely have some fond memories of these games being the Star Wars fans that we are!

As always, comments can be sent to podcast@umbcast.com

[billybob476]

Big one this week! Episode 25 all about X-Wing is out!

http://umbcast.com/episode-25-x-wing/
---
Hi Blockers!

This week, we're talking about the incredible space sim series, X-Wing.

Before we talk about that, the news:

The team that brought us the original Planetscape: Torment are kicksarting a new game, Torment: Tides of Numenera.

Lord British told us what he meant to. Check out his new game on kickstarter, Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues.

Finally, the developers working on the new Shadowrun Returns game, which raised 18 million dollars last year, released 20 minute of alpha gameplay footage. Looks like they're on track.

Next, a quick email talking about Humungous games and where you can get them today.

Finaly we get to X-Wing. We talk about the story, gameplay and tech focus. In dev story, we go through the history of the series and a bit about each of the sequels. Then we hear a few listener memories of the games.

Buy X-Wing on eBay

Buy X-Wing on Amazon

Next time, not only is it the podcast's 1 year anniversary, but we will also be discussing the awesome Fallout series!

Enjoy!

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/025-UMBCast-X-Wing.mp3

[Rico]

Man, I loved that game and Tie Fighter too.  I want a modern version of the game that holds on to the game play, but just updates the graphic engine. 

[billybob476]

For sure, there was something about the gameplay of X-Wing and TIE Fighter that other space sims just couldn't capture.

[billybob476]

Episode 26 all about Fallout is out! It like it was fate that I got delayed releasing to the day the Lucasarts news came out.

http://umbcast.com/episode-26-fallout/
---
Happy anniversary Blockers!

Yes, it's the one year anniversary show where we are talking the great 1997 Interplay game series, Fallout.

First though, lots of news this week.

A cool film kickstarter focusing on the history of the UK gaming scene.

Tim Schafer's Double Fine Adventure has an actual name, meet Broken Age.

Retronauts is trying to reboot themselves outside of 1up.com.

Larry reloaded is scheduled to release in May!

Telltale Games is no longer working on their previously announced King's Quest game.

In business news, Disney shuts down Lucasarts.

Father Beast points out some fun Star Wars based arcade games found at http://www.bruneras.com/

Finally, we get to our main topic, the Fallout series. I get deep into the gameplay, dev story and all the rest.

Buy Fallout on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/fallout

Buy Fallout 2 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/fallout_2

Buy Fallout 3 on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/22370/

Buy Fallout New Vegas on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/2028016/

Next time, I'll be covering the 1993 Origin game, Strike Commander.

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/026-UMBCast-Fallout.mp3

[PaulECoyote]

brilliant - Fallout is one of those holes in my gaming history and having it covered like that was very informative :)

[billybob476]

THanks Paul, Fallout was a fun one to cover.

Before tomorrow's show on Strike Commander, I sat in the 4th chair for the Elder Geek Game Club where we talked about the indie adventure game Primordia. It was a lot of fun!

Game Club - Primordia