![[Write-in Thread] Firelink Episode #53](https://img5.xaiju.com/storage/8/mr/uc/d38796-019e9102-7635-709c-bf30-cc49e2480a21.png)
[Write-in Thread] Firelink Episode #53
Added 2025-02-05 15:14:30 +0000 UTCThis week on FIrelink we'll be discussing the current fate of BioWare, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and what else we've been up to this past week!
Send in your thoughts, questions, or topics you'd be interested in us discussing! We won't have time to read and discuss everything, and please keep posts topical, safe for work and not huge walls of text.
Submissions close at 3 PM CT on Wednesday, February 5th.
Comments
Absolutely relevant since I hear it mentioned from at least one of you once a week: It doesn't matter how majestic and intimidating you find Jack's 'stache. A full beard is just a mustache waiting to be free. Be brave; stay true. *** To acknowledge I missed the cutoff. Someone feel free to spread the Good Word next time since I can't myself.
JollyBrancher
2025-02-06 03:04:12 +0000 UTCWhat makes a game good if it isn't fun?
Chris Morano
2025-02-06 00:52:46 +0000 UTCShareholders will ruin most companies. It forces companies to look at the next quarter not the long term, because shareholders get litigious around failures.
Chris Morano
2025-02-06 00:41:12 +0000 UTCAh, I see your point. Sustaining the storefront ecosystem itself, that makes sense.
TooManySpreadsheets
2025-02-06 00:40:11 +0000 UTC@TooManySpreadsheets I'm more saying that, if AAA goes under like people keep saying they should/will, I can easily see other investors pulling out of smaller studios because "if the big guys couldn't stay afloat, what hope do our investments have?" This is on top of the idea that indie-to-AA studios won't have their audiences increase by a large enough margin, if at all, to sustain marketplaces like Steam, Playstation, or Xbox to stay open if the heavy hitters are no longer profitable. For every indie hit there are 5 AAA hits and people don't seem to acknowledge that fact
Ryallen
2025-02-05 23:27:13 +0000 UTCPicked up M&L Brothership last week and got to the first Hammer Rally. I've played many annoying minigames (jump rope in Mario Odyssey and FF9 for example) but this one set itself apart: 100 hits in a row for the max reward, but on every hit you have a screenshake and bright flash you cannot turn off (beside reducing brightness) AND because the Switch is on its last legs, it stutters a LOT. @Marty or anyone that played Brothership, did you try your hand at the Hammer Rally? Any other specific minigames you especially hate in other games?
EvilOverlord
2025-02-05 23:00:40 +0000 UTC@Ryallen, are you saying that there's just one theoretical pool of investors for funding games in general, rather than separate pools for different levels of investment? I would hope that "indie publishers" like Devolver Digital have a more sustainable long-term model because they can make smaller investments on more projects, rather than the moonshots that large publishers make on their massive AAA games. I'm not that familiar with the economics of game investment beyond what SW and folks like SkillUp have covered.
TooManySpreadsheets
2025-02-05 22:48:27 +0000 UTCHave you heard of the rumors that Capcom is planning to remake Resident Evil 6? Think it's a worthy attempt to fix a mistake, or a waste of effort on something best erased from the "canon"?
TheKeeperofChaos
2025-02-05 20:53:32 +0000 UTCI donβt have a specific question this week, I just wanted to say Iβm interested to finally be able to hear Nick talk about kingdom come deliverance in more detail.
Inverse Skies
2025-02-05 20:48:31 +0000 UTCWhen the Dragon Age series creator, David Gaider, left Bioware, he said the studio had fostered an atmosphere of "quiet resentment" for its writers. All the higher-ups could ask was how to have less writing, and Veilguard is the result. It is a game that resents its lore, characters, talent, and ultimately, itself.
Bookworm776
2025-02-05 19:58:33 +0000 UTCI hear from reviewers KC:D 2 is great if you're into the niche, detailed mechanics. What're good games to compare it to 'enjoying detailed systems' to know if we'd like KC:D2?
Blistered Soul
2025-02-05 18:43:02 +0000 UTCCheck out Jenna's Big Game Hunger if you like the game pitch segments on Dev Heads. Listened to Jack's ep for the first time last night
jahr
2025-02-05 18:02:37 +0000 UTCWith avian flu and rising chicken/egg prices, how do we hold those in power responsible? Nick's KC:DII poultry pugilism punishment should match the crimes.
jahr
2025-02-05 18:00:22 +0000 UTCDo you guys consume much in the way of games-related creators/outlets/channels/streamers/etc. on your own time or for fun? If so, what are some of your favorites?
plz help
2025-02-05 17:24:08 +0000 UTCWhat is the worst case of you guys falling for the hype for a game in a genre you don't like and regretting spending money on it? I'm feeling this with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, not a genre I enjoy but I feel the urge to try it.
Shua
2025-02-05 17:14:10 +0000 UTCI need to know KC and Nick's Desert Island Games.
Steven Simzak
2025-02-05 17:10:06 +0000 UTCShould we even be worried about how big companies are doing when their employee turn over is at record highs? I would be more interested in seeing Bioware break up into smaller studios so that they had tighter more focuses games.
Cameron Gore
2025-02-05 15:58:17 +0000 UTCSo I've been playing Dragon Age Veilguard, And I've got this crackpot theory that this game was supposed to be EA's first published game using AI-generated dialogue.
Far Too Many Frogs
2025-02-05 15:57:23 +0000 UTCDo you think that a top-to-bottom Mass Effect remake in Unreal is their best chance of success? The have almost no goodwill left, my guess is this is already in the works
LookItsAnEric
2025-02-05 15:55:18 +0000 UTCHow often do you feel enticed to play/review games completely removed from your scope of interest due to high praise? KC:DII seems like a great game review wise and I'm curious, but I lack the enthusiasm to pull the trigger on buying due to it's aesthetics and story pitch not exactly grabbing me.
JikoDays
2025-02-05 15:52:17 +0000 UTCKingdom Come Deliverance II looks like a lot of fun based on what I saw from Jenna and Nick yesterdayππ
Lil' Cass
2025-02-05 15:43:47 +0000 UTCNot just that, for every Balatro there's a hundred games that are similarly really good but didn't sell gangbusters and people don't talk about them for one reason or another. I think it's worth addressing that fact just as a grounding exercise, that a game can be great and not receive any attention so we can't rely on the indie-to-AA space to sustain the industry
Ryallen
2025-02-05 15:40:33 +0000 UTCThat's a really interesting thought. I'm wondering if we aren't headed into another industry crash. If AAA fails, would that open the way for (even more) digital garbage when the bar drops? The indie space is a wonderful thing, but for every decent game there's about 10 Hunt Down the Freemans'.
Aeden Braddock
2025-02-05 15:36:54 +0000 UTCSony state of play predictions? Personally im holding out a lot of hope for marathon just because bungie does gunplay so well that i want them to knock it out of the park.
Klaiton Alicea
2025-02-05 15:25:28 +0000 UTCHas Nick contacted those indie publishers for Yahtzee yet :)?
Will Cooling
2025-02-05 15:23:48 +0000 UTCWe're more than ten years removed from the last great BioWare title in Inquisition, we have a bunch of new studios stepping into fill BioWare's niche, including Larian and Warhorse. Does it even matter that BioWare is circling the drain?
Jacob T Kitty
2025-02-05 15:22:04 +0000 UTCI spoke about this in the Discord server but I really think a frank discussion about the possible/eventual failure of the AAA industry would affect the indie-to-AA industry. I'm of the belief that the games industry would suffer immensely, as AAA games attract investors who also fund smaller studios and indie-to-AA studios don't have the reach, broad appeal, or public exposure to sustain the games industry by itself despite what most influencers keep saying
Ryallen
2025-02-05 15:21:16 +0000 UTCPlease let me know how good the turnips in KC:DII are out of ten thanks babe x
Andrew Millward
2025-02-05 15:18:30 +0000 UTC
