Nation of Gamers

Although it is one of our favorite game genres, rhythm games are in steady decline. Viacom's announcement they were divesting Harmonix has been the talk of the industry, and we're eager to delve into the subject of the future of the genre. In fact, Wes seems very concerned that game sales numbers indicate the decline of all fun. But we're quick to point out the weakness of pretty much any opinion he expresses. In the process, we'll debate where we think the industry is heading, and whether the growth of first-person shoots and sports games are a threat to the market. Lest we forget... DUCKS! [display_podcast] Nog Blog: Endangered Species Help John Mazz on his volunteer trip to Ghana! Episode Graphic by Joni Godoy

You'll notice something a little different about this week's episode. Instead of rambling on and on, we're trying a more focused show. You won't hear about our weeks or what games we've played. Instead, we're jumping right to the topic. Hopefully it'll make a show a little leaner and meaner. We'd love to hear what you think; feel free to let us know what you think of the change. We're not sure it's permanent as of yet, and we'll continue to play with the format until it feels right. This week we talk about cognitive dissonance, otherwise known as stuff just not making sense. Does the show make sense? I dunno, maybe there's some cognitive dissonance at play there. Who knows? I don't. Man, it's hard to write funny copy for the new show format. Instead... MORE DUCKS! That duck was short, sweet, and to the point. Kind of like this episode! [display_podcast] NoG BloG: Cognitive Dissonance

Really, what more needs to be said? [display_podcast] [GAME] Super Meat Boy [GAME] Dream Chronicles [GAME] Castlevania Lords of Shadow

This week we read a bunch of emails. That was fun! You should send more! We'll read them and it will be fun! Yeah, so there's no special fun time silly post today. I'm a little under the weather. But I don't want to leave everyone in the cold, so watch this instead! [display_podcast] [ARTICLE] Duke Nukem Forever was brought back to life [HAUNTED VIDEO GAME] Majora [CONTEST] Eat Smart For Life Dailyburn.com giveaway

We are back and we're playing Need for Speed World! Joining us this week is fellow gamer, Avidya. Need For Speed World is giving away 1000 SpeedBoost to all its users in April. Use this code: EGBZ-LUPC-6GXJ-BKWS [MP3 AUDIO] [SITE] Need for Speed WorldLatest Update Notes[VID] Need For Speed World - Free Multiplayer Racing Game by Avidya[VID] Need for Speed World - Team Escape (All In) from Pauleh[VID] Short Attention Span Gaming #2 by Eric Fullerton[SITE] NFSUnlimited[SITE] NFSCarsNeed For Speed on Twitter

This week, we here on NoG talk about everything for which we are thankful. Well, everything we’re thankful about in games. That’s why there’s a picture of a headcrab. Actually, I think headcrabs kind of look like turkeys. Turkeys are related to Thanksgiving, therefore this image is not completely and totally random. Man, now I’m hungry. Roasted headcrab and bullsquid dressing, all drenched in gravy made from that stuff barnacles puke after you kill them. Ooh, and mashed potatoes. Yum. [MP3 AUDIO] Nog Blog: Happy Thanksgaming [IMG] The fabled Robotic Duck Gunner by Nastyman_N[IMG] Duck-shot by Keenan

Although it is one of our favorite game genres, rhythm games are in steady decline. Viacom’s announcement they were divesting Harmonix has been the talk of the industry, and we’re eager to delve into the subject of the future of the genre. In fact, Wes seems very concerned that game sales numbers indicate the decline of all fun. But we’re quick to point out the weakness of pretty much any opinion he expresses. In the process, we’ll debate where we think the industry is heading, and whether the growth of first-person shoots and sports games are a threat to the market. Lest we forget… DUCKS! podPressShowHidePlayer('1', 'http://deadworkerspartynetwork.com/uploads/nog/nog_ep031.mp3', 290, 24, 'false', 'http://deadworkers.com/network/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/vpreview_center.png', 'Standard Podcast', 'Dead Workers Party'); Nog Blog: Endangered SpeciesHelp John Mazz on his volunteer trip to Ghana!Episode Graphic by Joni Godoy

You’ll notice something a little different about this week’s episode. Instead of rambling on and on, we’re trying a more focused show. You won’t hear about our weeks or what games we’ve played. Instead, we’re jumping right to the topic. Hopefully it’ll make a show a little leaner and meaner. We’d love to hear what you think; feel free to let us know what you think of the change. We’re not sure it’s permanent as of yet, and we’ll continue to play with the format until it feels right. This week we talk about cognitive dissonance, otherwise known as stuff just not making sense. Does the show make sense? I dunno, maybe there’s some cognitive dissonance at play there. Who knows? I don’t. Man, it’s hard to write funny copy for the new show format. Instead… MORE DUCKS! That duck was short, sweet, and to the point. Kind of like this episode! podPressShowHidePlayer('1', 'http://deadworkerspartynetwork.com/uploads/nog/nog_ep030.mp3', 290, 24, 'false', 'http://deadworkers.com/network/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/vpreview_center.png', 'Standard Podcast', 'Dead Workers Party'); NoG BloG: Cognitive Dissonance

Really, what more needs to be said? podPressShowHidePlayer('1', 'http://deadworkerspartynetwork.com/uploads/nog/nog_ep029.mp3', 290, 24, 'false', 'http://deadworkers.com/network/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/vpreview_center.png', 'Standard Podcast', 'Dead Workers Party'); [GAME] Super Meat Boy[GAME] Dream Chronicles[GAME] Castlevania Lords of Shadow

I know you’re all expecting some jokey post about games addiction, but we here at Nation of Gamers take it very seriously. For example, take the plight of our very own Wes Wilson. You may notice that he’s missing from this week’s show. He’ll probably be gone for the next couple of weeks as well; it sort of depends on when the doctors release him. You see, Wes has been diagnosed with acute games addiction. He has been understandably reluctant to talk about his problem. In fact, the rest of us in the DWP had no idea there was a problem at all. In fact, we had no idea he even played the game he has become addicted to. The game in question is Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force. Not even Elite Force 2… just Elite Force. Here’s a picture of Elite Force, just so you know what I’m talking about. Weird, right? I don’t even think Wes likes Star Trek that much. And let’s face it; even Star Trek fans hate Voyager. Well, except for Seven of Nine. But I’m getting off track. When asked about his addiction, all Wes can do is shout “I’M CUCKOO FOR STAR TREK VOYAGER: ELITE FORCE!” over and over and over again. It’s really annoying, and that’s the main reason we didn’t want him on the show this week. I know the show is pretty bad already, but that would make it so much worse. Anyway, please keep Wes in your thoughts and prayers over the next couple of weeks. Also, the post image is totally not a bad ‘shop, but is an actual picture of Wes taken in the sanitarium. This week we talk almost exclusively about games addiction. Spencer and Brent really got into it over this. Seriously, Eric threatened to spray them both down with the hose so they’d stop fighting. Enjoy! [ARTICLE] NoG BloG: Gaming Addiction[ARTICLE] Valve confirms DOTA 2

You kids these days and your video game characters. You think they’re so great! Well, I was a kid in the 40′s, and our video game characters were worth a hundred of yours! I say characters, but really we only had one. Yankee Joe! It was 1944; the height of World War II. I hear kids today whining about how they’re sick of WWII games, but back then it was all we had. Yankee Joe fought the Nazis to save the world. Yankee Joe didn’t waste time with words or humanitarian aid. He killed Nazis. Over and over again. There was no reward; killing Nazis was reward enough. There was no score; only the sweet taste of dead Nazis. Yankee Joe only did one thing, but he did it well; he killed Nazis. Now we didn’t have any fancy Nintendo or Sony Playstation. After all, we were at war with the Tojos. Instead, we drew dots on the radio and pretended it was the moving pictures and that we had video games that hadn’t been invented yet. I don’t think this post is really working, so I’m gonna cut it off here. This week we talked about video game characters! What makes them good? What makes them bad? Who really cares? Listen in and fun will be had by all! [GAME] Enslaved[GAME] Qrank[ARTICLE] NoG Blog: Poor Character[ARTICLE] 15 Most annoying video game characters[ARTICLE] 50 Great Video Game Characters (empireonline.com)[ARTICLE] 50 Great Video Game Characters (screwattack.com)Fellow Huntsvillian doing a 24 hour gaming marathon for the Children’s Hospital of Alabama on Oct 16th, and he’s accepting pledges. He’ll be ustreaming his marathon.Check out our new Minecraft podcast!

Look, I don’t have time for this. I’ve got eight stacks of glass that need to be delivered to base camp 3 pronto. They’ve already been delayed, and the customer is gonna be ticked off as is. I know we’re supposed to be recording a podcast, but I’ve got more important things to do. You see that glass tower in the distance? You think that thing is going to build itself? I’m burning daylight here; torches won’t attach to glass. Okay fine, we’ll record, but I’m not talking about anything other than Minecraft. And we have to make it quick; there’s building to be done. This week we talk about Minecraft. Sure, there are a few other games mentioned, but really this is another Minecraft episode. If you don’t play Minecraft, you may want to skip this episode and START PLAYING MINECRAFT instead. Seriously, I think this obsession is going to last a while. [GAME] Hydrophobia[GAME] Civilization 5[GAME] Final Fantasy XIV[GAME] Minecraft[ARTICLE] Rock Band 3 Keyboard Bundles Not Available for PlayStation 3[ARTICLE] The Wii Tablet[ARTICLE] Thousands of SC2 accounts banned[ARTICLE] Beyond Good and Evil HD

Row 247 It has been days since I’ve seen the sun. I stopped trying to count the hours; it’s impossible to track with no clock, this deep beneath the earth’s surface. I had thought to count the number of times I needed to sleep, but I find I’m filled with some unholy energy that lets me work unceasingly. Instead, I dig, and I count rows. Two hundred forty-seven rows I’ve dug so far, tearing corridors four meters high from the living rock. I don’t know why I must dig; some nameless horror compels me onward. If I stop, something terrible will happen. If I cease digging, some mother will awake to find her children slaughtered, or some hunter will return to his village to find it a blackened husk. Beasts pursue me; fell beasts. Perhaps as long as I dig and they chase me, others will be spared. Row 562 My hands are bleeding from the digging, but I feel somewhat safer. Beside the horrific beasts, there are riches to be found; vast mineral troves that I’ve bent to my will. It is ingenuity that sets man apart from the lesser creatures of the world, and it is that ingenuity that has allowed me to enlist nature herself to my cause. Iron becomes tools, diamond becomes weapons. So armed and armored, I feel somewhat safer, though nothing can stop the crawling fear in my gut. Row 598 Success! For the first time, I dare to hope that I might survive this waking nightmare! I broke into some natural cave, warned to it’s occupants by the hideous moaning they elicited. I slew them all, returning them to the hell whence they came. They walked like men, but smelled of death. Perhaps I have seen my fate should I fail. I am spurred on. I’ll dig forever if I must to leave this cursed land. Row ??? I fell into a deep natural ravine, and I’ve completely lost my bearings. My neatly ordered rows are nowhere to be found, and I fear I may be truly lost. What’s more, I’ve run out of torches; I currently write by the light of a nearby pool of magma. The heat is atrocious, but it’s better than the dark. Wait, I hear a hissing- WOAH! That was intense. This week we talk about Minecraft, and Civilization V, and game controllers, and other things as well. Community member in good standing TheOrangeDoor has a pretty cool project going, so definitely check that out. Maybe next week we’ll talk about something other than Minecraft, but probably not. [GAME] Minecraft[GAME] Civilization 5[ARTICLE] LEGOlden Wrench (donate to this awesomeness!)[ARTICLE] Burnt By APB? EA May Just Help You Out[ARTICLE] The First KINECT TV Ads Revealed[ARTICLE] PayPal Freezes $750K in MineCraft Dev’s AccountEpisode art by LynchMob10-09

You may not know this, but the Dead Workers Party is totally still in beta. That’s the reason why we frequently crash, and we occasionally act up. Let’s face it; we’re certainly not feature complete. Eric’s memory utilization is awful. Wes has some wicked terrible logic loops. Spencer makes this really weird screeching sound output that we can’t figure out how to fix, even though he insists that’s the normal sound he makes while talking. And Brent… well, Brent killed seven people last week. That certainly wasn’t in the design docs. To show our appreciation for sticking with us through these troubled times, we’re pleased to announce that all beta testers will receive 10% off when they purchase the release version. Unless of course the beta version of Brent kills all of them. We’re not liable for that, by the way. READ THE EULA, PEOPLE! This week we talked about beta testing. Oh, and did you hear what happened at GOG? What a bunch of crap! Oh yeah, and we talked about Minecraft in the first of what promises to be THOUSANDS of hours of talking about Minecraft. [GAME] Minecraft[GAME] Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale[ARTICLE] What’s Happening With Good Old Games?[VIDEO] Office tour of PopCap Games[VIDEO] TF2Ware (Team Fortress 2 Wario Ware Mod)Episode graphic by BETA NSA MSC RTM from BETA ROK 75

This week we read a bunch of emails. That was fun! You should send more! We’ll read them and it will be fun! Yeah, so there’s no special fun time silly post today. I’m a little under the weather. But I don’t want to leave everyone in the cold, so watch this instead! [ARTICLE] Duke Nukem Forever was brought back to life[HAUNTED VIDEO GAME] Majora[CONTEST] Eat Smart For Life Dailyburn.com giveaway