Three Moves Ahead

Our most frequent guests in 2012, designers Soren Johnson, Jon Shafer, and Dave Heron return to 3MA to talk to Rob about their favorite experiences of the year.

2013 opens with a look at Shenandoah Studios' <b>Battle of the Bulge</b> for iPad. Everyone agrees that it is shiny and beautiful, but does it work as it should? Is it even a Bulge game at all? Listen as Troy, Bruce and Julian work out what makes Battle of the Bulge a near perfect match of design and platform. <p>Gameographies of major players at Shenandoah <u><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/679/john-h-butterfield" target="_blank">John H Butterfield</a></u> <u><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/337/joseph-miranda" target="_blank">Joe Miranda</a></u> <u><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/681/eric-lee-smith" target="_blank">Eric Lee Smith</a></u></p> <u><a href="http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2012/12/28/john-butterfields-battle-of-the-bulge-rejuvenates-an-old-rogue/" target="_blank">Bruce's review</a></u>

Troy and Julian welcome freelance writer and co-proprietor of the <u><a href="http://www.shutupshow.com/" target="_blank">Shut Up, Sit Down Show, Paul Dean</a></u>, to talk about house rules and modding in board games. Why do we do it? What counts as a mod of a board game? And how do you get other people to play them? Creativity, design, drinking - Troy is good at one of these things, but a fine chat is had.

<u><a href="http://renaissancegamer.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rowan Kaiser</a></u> rejoins Rob and Bruce to talk about War in the East, while Bruce has been busy with the Don to the Danube expansion. Rowan has thoughts about approaching the hardest of the hardcore wargames from a newcomer's perspective, while Rob is laboring under the most epic misconception in 3MA history. Bruce is a little bit disappointed in the new scenarios, and he and Rob discuss their ideal Eastern front scenarios. Then the panel talk about Matrix prices, and what they mean for the genre.

Troy and Bruce welcome original panelist Tom Chick back to the show to talk about solitaire boardgames, starting with the new Phantom Leader for iPad and then roaming through 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Levee En Masse, some Lovecraftian thing and Ambush. What makes a solitaire board game distinct from a computer game played against an AI? When do theme and production values matter? Plus the return of the Geryk outro tunes.

Rob is joined by Shawn Andrich, Evan Lahti, and Phill Cameron to talk about Planetside 2 and the past and future of the large-scale shooter. At what point does the scale start to turn a shooter into a strategy game, and does Planetside hit that level? Everyone suspects that Planetside would be more strategic if only there were a commander role, and Rob and Shawn are reminded of the old Battlezone games. Evan is impressed by how diverse the experiences and battlefields are in Planetside 2, but everyone has doubts about the F2P economy and the progression system. The group also talk about the ArmA series and Natural Selection 2's blend of RTS and FPS.

Rob and Troy welcome freelancer John Peter Grant to the show to talk about one of the greatest real-time strategy games ever made - Ensemble's Age of Mythology. The art, the story, the balance, the structure -- everything is examined in a deep and wide-ranging conversation about why this game still stands as a landmark title with a lot to teach the modern RTS developer and player.

Last seen way back in <b><a href="http://www.idlethumbs.net/3ma/episodes/episode-37">Episode 37</a></b>, Chris Park from Arcen Games returns to the show to talk to Troy, Michael Hermes and Shannon Quesnel about <i>AI War: Fleet Command</i> on the occasion of the release of <a href="http://arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_Current_Post-6.000_Beta">Version 6.0. </a> Chris talks about how theme and vision dictate patching, the particular skills that a hardcore niche audience can bring to an indie game and how Steam is the best promotional tool they have.

<b><a href="https://twitter.com/robdaviaugamer">Rob Daviau</a></b> joins Rob and Julian to talk about components, game enhancements, and theme. How does component quality factor in design decisions, and how much should they support theme? Why do we get so attached to the sensations that accompany a game, to the point where it can profoundly affect the quality of our experience? Why did War of the Ring nearly get Rob Zacny pulled over at the border?

Derek Paxton comes back to the show to talk with <b><a href="http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/">Tom</a></b>, Rob, Bruce, and Troy about <b><a href="http://www.elementalgame.com/fallen-enchantress">Fallen Enchantress</a></b>, his massive revision of 2010's Elemental: War of Magic. He explains how he started reshaping Elemental, and how the project grew along the way. Tom is already a big fan, and even suggests that Fallen Enchantress may be close to Master of Magic-levels of greatness. Rob and Troy are a bit more reserved, and some arguments break out over diplomacy, the early game, and the tactical combat. Derek details his thinking on each of those points, and goes a long way to explaining why Fallen Enchantress works the way it does.

In a perhaps dangerously detailed discussion of League of Legends, Rob and Julian talk to Rhea "<a href="https://twitter.com/ashelia">Ashelia</a>" Monique and <a href="https://twitter.com/themirai">Julian Williams</a> about the recent League of Legends championship. They talk about the new ways pro teams are playing the game, and the connection between the pro game and the regular ranked play. They also talk about the importance of casual play and bringing in new players, and discuss the different ways StarCraft 2 and League of Legends approach that issue.

Dave Heron and Jon Shafer return to the show to talk about XCom: Enemy Unknown with Julian and Troy. They talk about the streamlining Firaxis has done to the franchise and how it has paid off. How do the strategic and tactical levels meld? Is the voice acting any good? How replayable is it? And listen to their inevitable list of nitpicks. <a href="http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2012/10/12/xcom-enemy-unknown-some-thoughts/"><b>Troy's thoughts on XCom</b></a>, <a href="http://www.pcgamesn.com/article/not-xcom-enemy-unknown-review"><b>Rob and Joe Robinson talk XCom</b></a> and <a href="http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/xcom-enemy-unknown/1226388p1.html"><b>Rob argues in favour of its simpler design</b></a>

Klei's <a href="http://www.above49.ca/">Nels Anderson</a> and Firaxis' <a href="https://twitter.com/deftmunky">Scott Lewis</a> join Rob and Troy to talk about fog of war and hidden information in game design. They talk about <a href="http://www.markoftheninja.com/">Mark of the Ninja</a> and how information-gathering becomes a key game phase, and how games like Civilization use fog of war as a way to keep the player focused on a small, manageable area at the start of the game. The group discuss other ways to represent information-gathering, touching on games like Wargame, XCOM, Panzer Corps, and even 2006's Chromehounds. <br><br>Apologies for any audio issues. We lost Scott Lewis's audio track to a software glitch.

Bruce and Rob welcome Jake Solomon, lead designer of Firaxis' new XCOM, and interrogate him mercilessly. Jake explains his design choices and the trade-offs he faced in adapting and updating X-Com.

Michael Hermes joins Rob, Troy, and Julian to talk about FTL. Why FTL understands why we like space, its lovely simplicity, and why unfairness is cool.<br><br> <a href="http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2012/09/20/ftl/">Read Troy on FTL</a>, then read Rob on his rendezvous with <a href="http://pc.gamespy.com/articles/122/1225788p1.html">death</a>.

This week, Troy and Bruce talk to Jon Peterson, author of the epic gaming history tome, Playing at the World: A History of Simulating Wars, People and Fantastic Adventures from Chess to Role-Playing Games. They talk about the turning points in the evolution of wargames, when a wargame becomes a role playing game and the important task of collecting and compliling gaming’s long and often small scale history.

This week, Troy, Julian and Bruce welcome back frequent guests Rob Daviau and Bill Abner to talk about the touchy subject of trying to teach games. Though the focus is on board gaming, there are useful lessons about how to approach communication, building the right mindset for the pupil and the challenges of trying to read, teach, play and compete all at once.

Julian and Rob are wrapping up their vacation when they realize they should probably record a show. An underwhelming board game and their simmering frustration with long campaigns leads to a discussion of what they want from scenario design. They consider the tension between their desire a self-contained, quick-playing scenario and their resentment of puzzles and narrow solutions.

Bruce, Troy, and Rob discuss Take Command: 2nd Manassas and why it is one of the best tactical Civil War games ever made. Along the way they discuss what they want from wargames, mission structure, and how few games really address the real challenges of battlefield command. The group lapse into a Tim Stone-induced reverie as they discuss games that have dealt with command and control from the perspective of a Napoleon or Lee. Apologies for sound quality issues: Rob’s microphone was having a disastrous day.

Bruce, Troy, and Rob discuss the changing landscape of game financing, or at least they try to. The end up discussing Kickstarter almost exclusively, the return of <a href="http://tomvsbruce.com/">Tom vs. Bruce</a>, and their feelings of optimism about what crowd-funding can mean. Troy douses them with the cold water of reality. They also contemplate the strange meta-game of Kickstarters, and Ian Bogost's <a href="http://www.bogost.com/writing/kickstarter_crowdfunding_platf.shtml" target="_blank">skepticism</a>. Nobody can pronounce OUYA.

<a href="http://blendogames.com/" target="_blank">Blendo Games</a>' <a href="https://twitter.com/blendogames" target="_blank">Brendon Chung</a> joins Rob and Julian to talk about Flotilla, Atom Zombie Smasher, Gravity Bone, and his approach to design. Rob and Julian are fascinated by his willingness to conclude a game when it is at its best, and Brendon explains why that is and the things from his own games that he wants to revisit. Rob is crushed to hear of the lost, X-COM style metagame for Atom Zombie Smasher.

<a href="http://www.designer-notes.com/" target="_blank">Soren Johnson</a> and <a href="http://www.crypticcomet.com/" target="_blank">Cryptic Comet's Vic Davis</a> return to talk about artificial intelligence, its limitations, and their changing views on what to do about it.

<a href="http://www.designer-notes.com/" target="_blank">Soren Johnson</a> returns to talk spies, espionage, and covert action with Rob and Julian. They then subject espionage mechanics to forty minutes of interrogation, torture, and unkind words. Then they remember the one game they've played that has spies and espionage that they don't hate. Suspiciously, Rob's microphone fails midway through the show. Happenstance or sabotage from an enemy agent?

Sixth Beatle Soren Johnson returns along with new guest, Cliff Harris from Positech - designer of Gratuitous Space Battles and the new Gratuitous Tank Battles. This week, how does the idea of unit customization fit with general design principles? At what point is this mechanic an intrusion into good 4x game design? Where do designer and player expectations collide?

With everyone very busy and very tired, a shorter and smaller show than usual this week. Troy welcomes Pokemon trainer and DS guru <a href="https://twitter.com/nadiaoxford" >Nadia Oxford</a> to the show to talk about the weird mixture of <em >Pokemon</em> and <em >Nobunaga's Ambition</em> in <em >Pokemon Conquest</em>. How does it differ from other Pokemon games? Do the strategic and tactical levels work? As the 3DS slowly pushes the original out of the way, what is legacy of the DS as a strategy platform?

<a href="https://twitter.com/demiurge" target="_blank">Cory Banks</a> joins Julian, Troy, and Rob to talk about fiction and world-building in strategy games. They talk a lot about Endless Space and whether or not its fiction is undercooked, and how it affects the rest of the game. Does having an interesting world make for a better strategy game? Is Civilization just abstracting human history, or is it doing world-building of its own? The gang considers Alpha Centauri, and what its fiction added to the game, and what the poor fiction of Rise of Legends and Kohan took away. Julian explains why Warhammer's fiction works so brilliantly.

Popcap's <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/greenspeak" target="_blank">Jeff Green</a> joins returning guest <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/davidvheron" target="_blank">David Heron</a>, Troy, and Rob for a discussion of the <em>Civilization V</em> expansion <em>Gods and Kings</em>. Together, they discuss why Civ V was so controversial, how G&K changes it, and whether its major changes seem quite as meaningful now that they've put some time into it. Be sure to listen to the episode for details on a little contest to give away some spare Sins: Rebellion keys. Which we should have done last week, but we forgot. Because we're disgraceful. But still pretty great.

Ironclad's Blair Fraser and Stardock's Chris Bray join Rob, Julian, and freelance writer <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/the_katbot" target="_blank">Kat Bailey</a> to discuss the new <em>Rebellion</em> stand-alone expansion to <em><a href="http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com/" target="_blank">Sins of a Solar: Empire</a></em>. Kat wants to know what the hell to do about Advent culture. Rob wants to know why <em>Rebellion</em> looks so good. Blair wants everyone to know that the story of SoaSE guides its ongoing direction. Then Blair and Chris tease us with the greatest idea in the history of gaming.

<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/Slasher" target="_blank">Rod "Slasher" Breslau</a>, eSports correspondent for GameSpot and a panelist on <a href="http://www.onemoregame.tv/index.php/shows/lo3.html" target="_blank">Live on Three</a>, joins Julian and Rob to help them with their recent conversion to the cause of eSports and pro gaming. They discuss the difficulties of getting into the pro gaming scene, how it evolved, and the different forms of success embodied by StarCraft 2 and League of Legends. They also describe why eSports appeal to them, and how it speaks to them as strategy gamers.

Better late than never, freelance friends <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/jason_wilson" target="_blank">Jason Wilson</a> and <a href="http://renaissancegamer.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rowan Kaiser</a> join Rob for a love-in on Warlock: Master of the Arcane. They discuss how much it improved with patches, how its trans-dimensional map is both amazing and wasted, and how it solves classic problems of the fantasy strategy game. Big thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/jonathandownin" target="_blank">Jonathan Downin</a> for taking on production duties this week.

<a href="http://quartertothree.com">Tom Chick</a>, SMG studios designer <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/davidvheron" target="_blank">David Heron</a>, and <a href="http://jonshaferondesign.com/" target="_blank">Jon Shafer</a> join Rob to reflect on their various issues with "fun" and how we relate to games. It's a rambling discussion about what we want from games, how we want to talk about them, and whether enjoyment is possible without fun.

<a href="http://quartertothree.com/" target="_blank" class="liexternal" >Tom Chick</a> comes back to the show to join Rob and Troy for a look back at one of the great real time strategy series – Timegate’s <em >Kohan</em> games. What made Kohan unique and what games, if any, have followed on its original ideas? Is Kohan 2: Kings of War really an inferior sequel? Cities as offensive weapons, the tricks around force posture and the mysteries of who the Kohan are are explored. Also, another one of Tom’s stupid quizzes.

This week, Bill Abner from <a href="http://nohighscores.com" target="_blank" class="liexternal">No High Scores</a> returns to the show along with new guest Dirk Knemeyer from <a href="http://conquistador-games.myshopify.com/" target="_blank" class="liexternal">Conquistador Games</a>. What do they have in common? Both have better OOTP league teams than Troy does. The trio talk about the improvements in <a href="http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/out-of-the-park-baseball/downloads.php" target="_blank" class="liexternal">OOTP 13</a>, what makes the OOTP series so special and enduring – if sometimes confusing, and why sports management games are some of the purest strategy games available. Bill sets Dirk straight on some things, Dirk complains about not finding stuff and Troy owns up to the worst free agent signing in baseball history.

<a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/2370/lee-brimmicombe-wood">Lee Brimmicombe-Wood</a> returns to the podcast so Bruce Geryk can talk more about bombers and commanding in them, in the recently released board game <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/27101/bomber-command">Bomber Command</a>. And this time, we let them talk it all the way through! More on design decisions, simulating the air war and balancing history and play.

Jan Haugland from Turbotape Games drops by to talk to Rob about the art and science of designing a modern naval sim. Radars, ships, scenarios...is Naval War: Arctic Circle the spiritual successor to Harpoon that I have been waiting for?

<a href="http://jonshaferondesign.com/" target="_blank">Jon Shafer</a> joins Rob, Troy, and Julian to talk about challenge in strategy games. What kind of challenges do we want from strategy games, and how does it get botched? Why are people still surprised when AI opponents aren't very clever? Why are they so hesitant to take on multiplayer? What's the difference between good scenario design and unfair scenario design? How amazing is Unity of Command? Seriously, you guys.

PC Gamer staff writer <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/Thomas_Senior" target="_blank">Tom Senior</a> and freelance writer <a href="http://poisonedsponge.wordpress.com/author/xthepoisonedspongex/">Phill Cameron</a> come to Rob's podcasting island, bringing with them rifles and steam-powered ironclads. Things swiftly turn violent as they discuss Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai, and some of the Total War series' longstanding contradictions. How does balance function in Fall of the Samurai, and how does the campaign structure let down the setting? Why does the AI behave as if it's not sure if it's in a game, or a history sim? How does Fall of the Samurai change the role of gunpowder weapons?

We heard the people, and we brought Three Moves Ahead directly to the masses who gathered at PAX East. But what if you missed it? Will we punish you for your lack of dedication? Yes, but you can still listen to this episode. Listen to Rob forget to introduce himself or the panel, a panel that includes Troy, Julian, Paradox's Chris King (Victoria II), Stardock's <a href="http://jonshaferondesign.com/" target="_blank">Jon Shafer</a> (Civ V), and Hasbro's <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/robdaviaugamer" target="_blank">Rob Daviau</a> (Risk Legacy). Why is this such a good time to be a strategy gamer, and how can we make it better?

Rob welcomes freelancer <a href="http://renaissancegamer.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rowan Kaiser</a> and designer <a href="http://jonshaferondesign.com/" target="_blank">Jon Shafer</a> to talk about Crusader Kings 2. They swap stories, discuss the impact of making a family-based strategy game, and question whether there's all that much crusading going on here.

<a href="http://www.idlethumbs.net/" target="_blank">Idle Thumbs</a> visits Three Moves Ahead to start discussing plans. As Sean Vanaman mandates a Far Cry 2 episode quota, Troy and Rob begin to realize they have made a deal with a Kickstarter devil. Still, there is more that unites the podcasts the divide them. The panel discusses what their respective podcasts are really about, and what they hope to achieve with a podcast network. Idle Thumbs discusses the surprising cost of running a successful Kickstarter. Honestly, this is more a conversation between new partners than a proper episode. There is a lot of thinking out-loud about our intentions, rather than a cohesive topic. It's kind of what you might expect from this group of people. Don't worry, though, regular programming resumes next week.

As is appropriate for a week where you join a group of podcasting super-friends, the regular panel of Bruce, Troy, Rob, and Julian gets together to discuss co-op gaming. They share old war stories, co-op and learning, what they want from co-op, and how co-op games employ adversarial and story elements. Julian tells a story about collaborative board gaming, Bruce strangles him.

Rob and Troy look at the <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/idlethumbs/idle-thumbs-video-game-podcast" target="_blank">Idle Thumbs Kickstarter</a> and conclude that maybe these crazy kids know what they are doing. Maybe Rob and Troy are crazy kids themselves, and maybe they have a plan so crazy it just might work. They have partnered up with <a href="http://www.idlethumbs.net/" target="_blank">Idle Thumbs</a>, finally giving Three Moves Ahead and its community the home they deserve as a part of the Idle Thumbs network. You have questions, and Rob and Troy have some answers! But never forget that Three Moves Ahead remains an independent podcast. It's like it joined an awesome podcast commune led by our talented, brilliant friends. Friends who love 3MA as much as we do, and who have some great plans to help it grow. Don't forget to retweet, and ask us questions via email and Twitter. We'll do a proper introduction to the Idle Thumbs network next week!

The Russians are coming, and they're bringing Tom Chick with them to talk about Wargame: European Escalation. Bruce, Troy, and Rob take the field to share their enthusiasm for Wargame and how it makes some smart revisions to its predecessor, RUSE. They discuss its clever approach to LOS rules and unit spotting, how it blends wargaming with RTS, and the orgy of period detail it includes.

Hold onto your black t-shirts and skim lattes! It's all iPad, all the time on 3MA, as Bruce declares the iPad the greatest platform for strategy games, and Julian explains why the real story of the iPad announcement is the iPad 2 price drop. Then, this being Bruce and Julian, they fall to arguing minutiae about specific games, like Titan. Rob wants to know whether the iPad will ultimately move in the same complex direction as a lot of PC strategy games did, but Bruce and Julian think the iPad interface limits complexity. Then Bruce admits he's sick of board game conversions.

Rob Zacny gets a well earned week off and lets the old people run the show as Troy welcomes Bruce Geryk and Tom Chick to talk about Illwinter's new game Conquest of Elysium 3. It's a strategy game, it's a roguelike, it's an adventure. Tom talks about how the developers can make the game more engaging, Troy is the only person who thinks it's pretty ugly and Bruce demonstrates that only he has an ear for music. But everyone agrees that they really like Conquest of Elysium 3.

<a href="http://tinysubversions.com/" target="_blank">Darius Kazemi</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespy.com/" target="_blank">GameSpy</a> Editor-in-Chief Dan Stapleton return to 3MA to discuss Jagged Alliance: Back in Action. Darius wants to know where the role-playing went, while Dan got heartily sick of the pause-and-go system in larger battles. Rob is going to murder whoever came up with the inventory system. All in all, they had an okay time.

PC Gamer's <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/elahti" target="_blank">Evan Lahti</a> and game designer <a href="http://tinysubversions.com/" target="_blank">Darius Kazemi</a> parachute into 3MA to liberate it from Rob and Bruce. Their only weapon is a frightening knowledge of Jagged Alliance 2, but that just might be enough to get the job done. Darius explains why it is his favorite game, and makes a good case for it being the coolest game ever. Evan sees Jagged Alliance 2 as a game the defines 1990s' design, typifying the mix of ambition, quirkiness, and technical simplicity characteristic of the era's best offerings. Rob loves its portrayal of guerrilla warfare, and how Jagged Alliance was willing to punish hubris. Listen to war stories, Easter eggs, and memories of the strange cast of characters that comprise Jagged Alliance 2.

Freelance writers <a href="http://agroen.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Andrew Groen</a> and <a href="http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/user/3230" target="_blank">Charlie Hall</a> join Rob for a conversation about King Arthur 2: The Role-Playing Wargame. Everyone digs the setting, but opinions begin to diverge about the quality of the battles, and whether KA2's elements even hang together in a way that makes sense. Rob and Andrew can barely remember losing a battle, but Charlie creates his own challenges by trying to win cleanly. Is King Arthur 2 actually a good game, and is there hope for Neocore to finally get this formula right?

Recent <a href="http://www.gog.com/" target="_blank">Good Old Games</a> releases have gotten Rob thinking about what he wants to rescue from the past (besides Troy, that is). Julian doesn't think the distant past is the big problem, it's the games of the late 90s and early 2000s. Everyone agrees the LucasArts situation is a disgrace. Troy says Alpha Centauri doesn't hold up all that well, and is swiftly nerve-stapled and loaded into the Punishment Sphere.

<a href="http://www.jenncutter.com/" target="_blank">Jenn Cutter</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespy.com/" target="_blank">Dan Stapleton</a> return to 3MA to talk about <a href="http://www.paradoxplaza.com/" target="_blank">Paradox Con</a> with Rob. They discuss War of the Roses, Gettysburg: Armored Warfare, Arctic Circle, Salem, and Napoleon's Campaigns 2, as well as some prominent no-shows.