1. Will the hottest guys on the gayest podcast ever become unbusy to make a 1) audio podcast 2) video podcast?

d_void999

I can tell you that a positive announcement about the podcast is imminent. I'd tell you an exact date but my psychic abilities are rather pathetic at this point in time.

As for an LBP contest, we're working out the details, but if you've got some ideas for a level then get to work. I promise to try and position myself as the head judge and give an unfair amount of points to people who flatter me within their creation. Heck, even if you have non GayGamer themed levels please share them with the world. There is currently a thread in the forums that people are using to post their completed levels. Check it out, and I may stop by your corner of the planet.

What do you think about an idea of selling back downloaded games to the online stores like the playstation store and xbox marketplace. Games that you've played hundreds of times and no longer want, do you think there should be a kind of trade in policy?

Daniel

While I can't ever see the big three offering money back for downloaded games, I don't think it is beyond the realm of possibility to hope for trade-in plans. Perhaps you get half your points back so you can apply them towards a new game. One slight issue is that with a trade-on policy, indie game developers who are looking to strike it big with a game will find their wallets even lighter. Less money floating around the digital download world means less money for publishers. I guess when it comes down to it, money makes the world go round, even the online world.

What is your least favourite game genre and, without changing its essence, what would make it appealing to you?

Steve

I am not the biggest supporter of first person shooters. While I won't ignore them completely, every time I hear a new one announced I let out a little yawn. If a FPS wants to grab my attention, then I suggest they all take a long hard look at Bioshock, because that was a game that even a FPS hater could love. Often times, with an FPS I have no connection with the character, especially when the game is trying to imply that I am the character. Clearly I'm not a gun crazy warrior, so either put me in the body of someone with a story to tell or take the Bioshock approach and surround me with characters that ooze personality. I've said it before, I play most games for their stories, and usually running and shooting from point A to B does not an engaging narrative make.

I took this question to my wonderful co-writers and here's what they had to say:

Sgt Sausagepants: Sports. No question.

It needs something to make it less ordinary. IE the players need to be robots or werewolves or robot werewolves... you see where I'm going with this.

Tiny Dancer: Fighting games. Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat, DOA - that stuff. Just doesn't interest me, and besides which I can never tell if I'm actually playing or just mashing buttons at random. I don't know what could be done to make the genre appeal to me more, since its the basic rhythm and noise that turns me off. A good solid story mode helps tons, and being able to gain experience and level up my fighting abilities would go even further. But at that point I'm playing an action RPG, aren't I? Why not just give me my +2 Broadsword of Compelling Violence and set me free...

Navi Fairy: My least favorite genre would probably be sports games. I don't really follow any sports so the teams and players are all foreign to me, as well as most of the plays and strategies. But one thing I was thinking about when watching my brother play Madden one time was that I would actually really enjoy a sports game if it was presented as a strategy RPG. Football (American) I feel would work especially well as an SRPG where you could go through and individually assign each player their movement or position blocking or whatever, and then when you select to end your turn the play is run and you see if you successfully anticipated the other team's moves.

Asterick: Ultimate least favorite are shooters. I don't know what they could do to a shooter to make it fun for me expect modifying it so much that it is no longer a shooter. See: Fallout 3.

Wootini: I really never took to platformers because I can't stand the repetition. All the running and jumping. And if you fall in a pit, you have to start all the way over at the very beginning. I found it terribly frustrating. What's interesting is that some developers are already incorporating some of the changes I would like to see. Like the Castlevania games turning from hardcore platforming to a more exploratory RPG kind of thing. Or Paper Mario's leveling up. I still find them kind of repetitive, but they're not as bad as they used to be.

Dawdle: I'd have to say realistic simulation racing games. I really can't think of much you could do that would improve the experience for me: my dad's been trying to get me to care about tuning up cars forever and it's just never stuck, in real life or on screen. Toss in some turtle shells or laser beams and you've got something I can get behind.

I also have to admit that Guitar Hero/Rock Band/SingStar have almost no appeal to me, outside of a social outlet. I'm probably just too much of a music snob to sit back and enjoy them without turning my nose up at some of the song choices.

Game-Boy: I've mentioned previously that I'm not the biggest fan of JRPGs. I think what would make them more appealing to me would be a change in scenery. I'd love to see a turn based JRPG that would look at our culture/world as we know it, and craft a narrative around something much more relatable than traditional sci-fi/fantasy fair. No dragons, space demons, lasers, swords bigger than the character holding it, you get the picture. To see real places, settings and characters types might not sound that extraordinary, I think that it would certainly stand out in the genre and at least pique my interest. The Yakuza series and first installment of Shenmue might be the closest thing to realizing something like this

Anyone else loving the different gaming habits of us crazy fellas?

So, whats up with that whole Watchmen prequel game?

M Rice

Like many of you, when the latest issue of EGM arrived in my mailbox, the Watchmen cover story stood out. While details are still a bit scarce I can tell you what I know. Watchmen: The End is Nigh will be a downloadable game for PS3 and 360, and will be broken into chapters. The game will serve as a prequel to the movie and feature Night Owl and Rorschach as playable characters. Expect a mix of fighting and puzzle solving with cut scenes told in an animated comic book format. The game itself is being developed by Deadline Games, the developer behind Total Overdose and Chili Con Carnage.

As for this Watchmen fan's take on the game. I'd rather see it flesh out events that won't be covered in the movie rather than trying to tack on a back story that most won't consider a vital part of the game. I'd also like to play as Ozymandias. You know scratch all that, how about setting the game in the era of the Minutemen. That would be a unique approach since I'm betting their screen time in the film will be quite limited.

That brings us to the end of another mailbag. Let us know in the comments section what genres you'd want to change and start getting the creative juices flowing in Little Big Planet. See you next week!