Digitally Uploaded

June 2023 Podcast: What makes a good sequel? And how can narrative be more accessible?

Welcome to the June 2023 edition of the Digitally Uploaded podcast! As usual we've got a great show for you planned. 

We start by chatting through all the big releases in June. It's dominated by one particular game, but there's a lot of other interesting stuff coming too! 

Then we talk about sequels - what makes a good sequel? Should it be a direct continuation of its predecessor, or something totally different? And is it okay to reuse elements, such as the same in-game world?

Finally, we talk about narrative accessibility. With games becoming increasingly large and dense, what can and should developers do to make sure they're bringing audiences on the journey with them?

Thanks as always for tuning in, and have a great month of gaming ahead!

May 2023 Podcast: Our favourite Final Fantasy moments of all time... also what the heck is wrong with AAA games?

Hello everyone, and welcome to the bumper podcast we have for you for May!

In addition to talking through all the big games coming out this month (it's dominated by one game in particular... can you guess what game?), we also chat through two big topics:

Firstly, with Final Fantasy XVI just on the horizon (and the Pixel Remasters just out on console), we ask ourselves what were our favourite moments of the series, from its early days right through to the most modern releases.

Then, in light of the horrible releases of Redfall and Forspoken this year, we also ask: while AAA-grade remakes are doing just fine (consider Resident Evil 4), why are the big publishers struggling so much to have original ideas?

Enjoy the banter, and we'll be back next month!

April 2023 Podcast: AI is ruining games, and good writing might just save them

This month on the Digitally Uploaded podcast, we grapple with the thorniest of issues currently plaguing video games: The role that AI is increasingly playing in the "creative" side of development. In short, it's a problem. Potentially, a very big problem.

Then, to be more positive, we talk about excellent writing in games. What are some of the games over the years that have really stood out to us as examples of just purely good writing?

All that, plus our usual wrap of the most interesting-looking games coming out this month. Kick back and enjoy the two-hour show... and thanks as always for tuning in!

March 2023 Podcast: The Game Boy/GBA games we want on Switch. Also, Soulslikes and Wo Long!

This month on the Digitally Uploaded podcast, we have a bumper episode where we talk through the GB and GBA games that we'd love to see on Switch. How do games from that era hold up, or are they just for the nostalgic, and will we get the full breadth of creativity that was released for those consoles?

Then, in honour of the release of Wo Long, Koei Tecmo's latest Soulslike, we chat about that genre again. Specifically, we ask the question: what helps a Soulslike from a developer other than FromSoftware stand out? What does FromSoftware do that so many other developers struggle with?

Enjoy our two-hour podcast, let us know what you think, and we'll be back next month for more!

February 2023 Podcast: Our favourite snacks for gaming, and game music we’d go to a symphony for

Welcome to the February episode of the podcast!

As always, we've got a cracking episode for you this month. We start out by discussing the games of the month as always. Then we move on to our favourite snacks & drinks while gaming, before capping things off with a chat about game music in symphonies; what works and what do we prefer to have as part of the gaming experience?

As always let us know your own thoughts, and have a great month in gaming!

January 2023 Podcast: Everything we loved playing last year, and a chat with Lached Up Games!

We are back for another year! The January episode of the Digitally Uploaded podcast is a big, two-hour special, and we have a special guest on this week!

We start the episode by talking about the big game releases in January (and there are some surprises to look forward to!), and then we each pick our three big games of the last year that stood out to us as highlights.

From there we have a chat with Lachlan, of Lached Up Games. He recently released his latest game, My Mad Scientist Roommate Turned Me Into Her Personal Robotic Battle Maiden?!?, and we chat with him about that game, the Australian game dev scene, and plenty more.

Thanks as always for tuning in, and we'll see you at the next one!

December 2022 Podcast: The challenges of open worlds, and named character vs. self inserts!

Welcome everyone to the last podcast of 2022, and we have a bumper 2-hour special for your listening pleasure.

First of all, we talk about the last wave of games to land in the year (there's more than you think!), and then we chat about the challenges of open-world games, and taking formerly linear adventures and moving them into those open spaces.

Finally, we talk about the two approaches to characterisation - named characters (where player choice over character creation might be limited) vs. character creation (where the developer has no idea what kind of character you're controlling). What are the pros and cons of both, and which do you prefer?

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. The Digitally Uploaded podcast has really taken off this year, and we love having you all as listeners. See you in 2023!

November 2022 Podcast: What’s the best approach for sequels & what forgotten games we want back!

Welcome to the month's podcast, everyone! As always we've got a great show to share with you this month. We kick things off by discussing all the big releases happening in November (there's a lot). 

Then we chat about sequels, and specifically, what is the best approach to take. Should a sequel assume that players have played the previous titles, or should each sequel be self-contained?

Finally, we get a bit nostalgic this month, and each pick three game properties that have been put on ice, and we'd just love to see them back. What would you pick?

Thanks as always for tuning into our show!

October 2022 Podcast: People need to better understand how games are made, also rhythm games!

We've got another big, 2-hour episode of the podcast for your listening pleasure this month!

In addition to our usual wrap of all the games coming out this month, we chat about a lack of understanding about how games get made and published. This is of course in response to the GTA VI leaks from a few weeks ago, but it does seem to be a timeless topic - why do people not better learn about how games are made? 

And then we also chat about a favourite genre of ours at DDNet - the rhythm game genre! What are its strengths and weaknesses as a genre, and how awesome is this new tuba-playing rhythm game that is doing the rounds right now?

Thanks as always for tuning in everyone and let us know your own thoughts on this episode's topics!

September 2022 Podcast: Handhelds to dominate gaming & the issues we have with endless updates

Welcome to another massive episode of the DDNet podcast! This month we kick things off with a look at all the big releases happening (it is a lot!) as usual... then we talk about handhelds. With competition heating up to bring Steam handhelds to market, will we even need consoles and PCs soon?

From there we talk about endlessly updating games. Is it a good thing that games are updated now and previous versions of those games are purged from existence? We would argue that that's not so cut-and-dry.

Thanks as always for tuning in, and do let us know your own thoughts on these subjects!