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PODCAST

Total Pebble Knockdown

Total Pebble Knockdown

In weekly discussions that result in absolutely no clear answers, Nathan and Alex delve into the endless choices that make up games. What can we learn from video games, storytelling, and the real world, and how can we apply that to tabletop games?

leisure games

All Episodes

00:33:04

145. Let’s Clip Out the Blown Out Butts

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2025/01/21

NOTE: Apologies for the audio issues. Much of the episode is done in voice-over since the original audio was so poor.On the show today: There are many reasons why we stop playing games. Some of those reasons are a natural end to a great experience, some because they are unplayable and some are far more complicated. Nathan lays out his 7 cases of why we stop playing a game, from best case to worst case.

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00:57:44

144. I'm a Bad Uncle

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2025/01/14

In the course of a year, we often play many games that are not new releases. In this episode, Nathan goes over 5 games he played in 2024 that released before the year that really impressed him. And quite a variety it is. We discuss a survival crafting game, a card game, secret horror title, soul-like and open-world shooter. A little something for everyone.

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01:05:40

143. Spider Graph, Spider Graph

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2025/01/07

On the show today:It's that time to play Save, Bury, Reboot. What games do we save from destruction, which will we throw into the E.T. pit and which will get a whole new coat of paint? Bonus: we have some other game related things to bury while we are here. Now that 2024 is behind us, we can look at our Steam spider graphs to see what kind of games we really got into this last year. What were the 6 major tags on our playlist this year and what games took up most of our time? Every year, people

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01:21:42

142. The 2024 Advent Calendar, Part 2

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/12/16

On the show today: Welcome to part 2 of our December Advent Calendar. A topic for every day of the month. On this episode, we give you 9 more to get you through until Christmas Day. 17. The Peasant Railgun is no longer possible, but that's not the only D&D shenanigans that have been destroyed by D&D 2024. Today, we ask if anyone had even heard of Ladder+Saw=Infinite

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02:01:09

141. The 2024 Advent Calendar, Part 1

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/12/03

On the show today:Welcome to part 1 of our December Advent Calendar. A topic for every day of the month. On this episode, we give you the half. That's right, you get 16 whole conversations in one giant package! Like how Santa has packages... 1. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and bad first impressions 2. Valve changes Steam’s season pass guidelines – https://www.gamesindustry.biz/valve-updates-guidelines-for-season-passes-on-steam , https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/seasonpass ,

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00:59:46

140. DMV, Please

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/11/19

On the show today:Nathan returns to Palworld. Nearly a year ago, the game rocked the video game industry with record sales. But we haven't really played it since February. So, what is it like now? Lucas Pope is a talented game designer with unique ideas. Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn are critically acclaimed games with accolades aplenty from gamers. However, today Nathan has a criticism sandwich for Pope and it has everything to do with game interface and UI. Could you play your

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00:48:52

139. Owning Our Mixtapes

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/11/16

On the show today: It's the 10-year anniversary of the "Too Much Water" meme from IGN's Pokemon review. Sometimes a bullet point of game analysis misses the context you need. And sometimes the point is not warranted. Let's discuss which one this was. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/too-much-water Can you play D&D by yourself? Also, should you? One Quora answer explains how you could theoretically make it happen, but whether it seems fun or interesting is worth exploring

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00:59:23

138. Rob Moss

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/10/29

On the show today:Survival crafting and horror sound like a match made in spooky heaven but after Nathan tried the demo for upcoming Project Mist, he started asking if these two should ever be near each other. We discuss why the mechanics of these genres has trouble meshing. Jump scares are just not as scary as horror can be by building atmosphere. We talk about the idea of tension and release and some games that prove to be scary without relying on jump scares. Mascot horror has probably showed up

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00:58:22

137. Bob Slenderman

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/10/22

On the show today: Urban legends are sometimes rooted in truth, but sometimes they become self-fulfilling prophecies. Take the case of the Goat Man of Pope Lick Creek. A monster that is said to lead people to their death by crossing a trestle bridge may not be real, but the consequences of that story are just as bad. USA Today – https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/05/16/pope-lick-monster-dangers/84444718/ Mr. Ballen – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLPGMZvqxV8&t=62s Atlas

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01:21:21

136. Pain the Floof

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/10/15

On the show today: Alex has played over 70 hours of Warhammer: Space Marine 2. Having already been familiar with Space Marine back in 2011, Alex wanted to discuss how the new game follows up with the story and mechanics of the first, so he's going to do that. Dredge has an interesting mechanic called Panic, which accrues when you stay up too late at night. Suddenly you see things that aren't there and get attacked by monsters that don't exist. This is similar to sanity meters in other games and

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00:58:09

135. I'm Scorchin' It

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/10/08

On the show today: WikiHow can theoretically teach you things, but can it help you avoid a TPK? We look at the article and ask if we can learn anything from the article. Avoiding a TPK – https://www.wikihow.com/Tpk-Dnd Card mechanics have been used in many ways in video games. Sometimes you construct a deck to use against other decks. Sometimes the decks are constructed to do battle or are built over the course of a run in rogue-likes. However, I was a Teenage Exocolonist uses it in a very

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01:10:22

134. When the Question Hit My Head

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/09/24

On the show today:Dave the Diver was an indie darling last year and Nathan got to play it on stream this month. Having continued to play it far after our monthly stream, he found that many of the advances hinted at the beginning get paid off far later and entice players to keep moving forward. Let's discuss how Dave the Diver incentivizes players from the beginning. Deep Diving with Dave - https://youtube.com/live/KaD_UjScZ6w?feature=share Is it okay to be a bad DM? One Reddit question asks

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01:13:48

133. Steampunk Gerbil Ball

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/09/17

On the show today: Elon Musk took issue with the Fallout slogan "War Never Changes" back in May. Instead of simply complaining, we take a moment to look at how players can see the same information in different ways and how to better inform players to the themes of the game. https://futurism.com/elon-musk-fallout-tweet https://x.com/girldrawsghosts/status/1815417466509463757 Josh Sawyer (of Black Isle and Obsidian fame) had a video talking about breaking game balance in Fallout: New

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01:37:24

132. A Stream Needs a Flow w/ DC Lasair

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/09/03

On the show today:DC Lasair is here to explain how he runs tabletop game streams, the tech he uses, the way he structures games and how to move story along when you are playing live. How long can you hold an audience's attention? What do you have to go over with your cast ahead of time? How much prep do you need? DC has run many charity livestreams. How do you set those up? What resources are available? What kind of incentives can you give for donations? Also, there is a cold cut beard

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01:12:04

131. Deer Mimicry Skills

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/08/26

On the show today:Oh Deer asks you to act like an NPC in a video game lest you get shot by an increasingly unhinged hunter. The TPK crew played this to hunt each other for sport and came away with a sense that it was unlike other gaming experiences because of it's structure. What does it feel like when you have to act like you are not playing a game? Getting a player acclimated to a new game can be a daunting task. Tutorials and training can become too overbearing or sparse for players to

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01:06:08

130. AAA User’s Manual RPG

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/08/12

On the show today:It's not used very often, but tremorsense is an extrasensory ability some monsters use in D&D. There are some interesting scenarios that utilize this, but it's often a secondary thought. What is tremorsense? What are some fun ways to utilize it? Also, could there be something similar for water? Flanking maneuvers are common in warfare, but less common in RPGs. But they can provide good tactical advantages for you as a player. They can also backfire on you or be

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00:50:23

129. Avongers Ensemble

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/08/06

On the show today: We recently made a pros and cons episode on modding games and it got Nathan to thinking about something. What if he modded a game he had already played and beaten several times? And so, this is a tale of playing the modded version of KOTOR. Can you actually categorize all video games into "Parkour" and "Menu"? A Calvin & Hobbes meme seems to think so, but it might not be as simple as all of that. Let's discuss what these terms actually refer to and if

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01:08:25

128. Druck of the Law

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/07/30

On the show today:Space is really big, but you might not want to play a game in it. There are games that bypass the enormity of the great void, but others insist on making you traverse it. How can we mitigate this vast nothingness? And why would you travel 45 minutes to a space station on the other side of the galaxy? Games often punish you when things go wrong. However, there are some that insist that you succeed regardless of your ability. The fail state is non-existent. So, is there a better

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01:03:41

127. Be a Carrot

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/07/23

On the show today:The Exit 8 is not a long game, but it's not a bad thing. Can you imagine an Exit 80 just to pad the runtime? Some gamers want to maximize the amount of content, but it doesn't always apply. What do we want to experience in a game and how long is too long? Traditional thinking is that villains are more interesting to play than heroes, but perhaps that's just because heroes were not written with complexity. Instead of just reacting to the villain's dastardly plans,

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01:16:25

126. Snack Horse

Total Pebble Knockdown ·

2024/07/16

On the show today:Green Hell may have the most extreme level of survival mechanics Nathan has ever seen. It is unapologetic in how many ways you can die and presenting you with a world that wants you dead. It can be frustrating and will likely make you paranoid. It is also one of the best survival crafting games he has ever played. Why does this level of mechanics work so well for Green Hell and why can't you recreate it for other games in the genre? Mods can break a game but they can also

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96 results

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