Is this the Beginning of the End for Live Service Games?!? ft. Alec Taub

What's up, everyone? Welcome to the Single Player Experience, the best podcast since pizza was invented, the best things since pizza was invented. As always, I'm your host, Sebastian Mauldin, and joining me today is an absolute rock star, an absolute mega star, because he has never been defeated in Mario Kart. He is the master of all things destiny. He is the wonderful individual that has conquered the latest Star Trek convention. In Las Vegas. Ladies and gentlemen, my guest today is none other than Alec. Alec, how you doing today? I am fantastic. Thank you for that intro. Man, I told you I'm fired up today. I'm so excited to have you on the show. Alec, you know, like this, it's, I know you've been on the show several different times now, but every time you're on, it's a, it's a vibe, it's an energy and I'm, I'm all here for it. Hey, I'm happy to bring the vibe and the energy. So Alec, are you doing well today? Yeah, I'm doing pretty well. You know, I, uh, got to watch the, or I've been catching up slowly on strange new world. So it's been nice to be able to do that today as well as get some new job applications out there. So, you know, fun times. Yeah, for sure. For sure. Alec, you know, like, before we get into all the video game stuff, like, you're, there's a show that people have been recommending to me, but like, I'm not, they're not, they're kind of light into sci fi, whereas I know you're a sci fi, like, buff at this point. Like, people have been recommending this show called The Orville to me. As a Star Trek person, is this like, basically like, off brand, like, Star Trek, or is this like, an actual good show? So from the people that I've talked to who have watched it, that's what they've said. Um, I have a friend who is a huge Trekkie. A shout out to Mike. He... Swears that the Auroville is maybe some of the best Star Trek related content that is out there right now. Um, so definitely give it a whirl. It's on my list. If I could ever get through my backlog of TV shows, I'm going to eventually get there. But it is hard. It's hard to watch everything. It really is. So what's the top three shows on your backlog right now? So I, so about a month ago, I had started rewatching The Next Gen, because I hadn't watched, it's been probably 5 or 6 years since I've gone back through it. So, that was on there, The Expanse is another one, because I've heard such great things about it, um. My girlfriend and I had started a couple episodes and again just hit the backlog. And then, uh, the new season of Futurama. So I've seen, I've seen two episodes thus far. I don't know if any more have come out but it's, it's definitely on the list of, uh, what I need to work through. So as a guy who really enjoyed like Futurama back in its initial run and then like its rerun after they after they decided to bring it back. Do you feel like the first two episodes of this new like this new season like feels like the same embodiment of what the the old show is? Oh, a hundred percent. Okay. It's yeah, it really hit the nostalgia factor. Um, and I love that they keep hammering how many times that they've been canceled. Yeah, exactly. It's like classic Matt Groening. So it's been, it's been wonderful to, to have Futurama back. Okay. Okay. So I know like, uh, most of the original cast is back, but I have to ask about my favorite character. Did they bring back Dr. Zoibird? They did. Dr. Zoidberg is here. Yes. Yeah. Zoidberg is probably my favorite, like, character in that era of, like, TV, basically. Oh, yeah. I quote Zoidberg on the daily, especially when I complete any task. I'm like, Hooray, I'm useful. Yeah. I love it. I absolutely love it. So, Alec, you know, it's always a joy to have you on the show. Let's... Let's get to a new topic of the show and that's spicy takes. Let's get spicy real quick, Alec. Okay. So in this, in this like segment of the show, I'm going to ask you for a spicy take. It can be video game related. It could be all encompassing on life, but this is a take that is, you know, some might consider it a hot take, so to speak. Do you, do you have one for me, Alec? Do you need a moment to think about it? I have a spicy take, but I'm afraid to say it. I wonder what it is. I'm so curious. So, my spicy take is that gaming communities are, at the same time, one of the best things, and also one of the absolute worst things on planet Earth. Like... They are this interesting dichotomy of people who find really cool things in games, and they, you know, show you new builds, or show you a bug that's hilarious, you come across things, but then you have the members of the community who want the game to absolutely burn to the ground, and are, you know, grabbing their pitchforks, and are trying to rile up the community as much as possible, and it's, uh, it's, it's, This, it's so weird. It's so weird to see both sides of the, to see both sides of the aisle because it's like, oh my God, it's the passion though, you know, like, you know, we, we gravitate and we find something passionate about it. And I think people express passion in so many different weird ways. Oh, 100%. A hundred percent, like, uh, I know that we're talking a little bit before this, but yeah, like I was saying how Destiny right now is in this really weird spot with the community where there are members of the community who are trying to defend devs. And then you have other members of the community who think the devs are just the worst people that have ever existed. And this. The clashes that are happening are something to behold in comment sections, uh, regardless of whether, regardless of medium, like even on their, uh, their community posts. It's just people just, they are, it's, it's Wyland. I bet it is. I bet it is. You know, it's, you know, like, um, here's like, I had an idea about this and like me and a couple people were talking about this like concept. What if like we get to a future, there's a game that comes out and like all of its new features are all of its new components like after the base game is out are basically voted on by the community. Like by the committee of like community members and such that are the community like they upvote like, Hey, like we are going to nerf this character by like 20 percent like y'all for this and against this we'll leave this up for like two days and we'll see we'll come back to it if you vote yes, that character has been nerfed. Well, what kind of what kind of world would we live in do you think it'd be more peaceful you think it'd be more pandemonium there. It's really hard to say I think. Yeah. Like, that's one of the beauties of indie developing, right, is because you are sort of the sole developer of your product in a lot of cases, especially outside of, you know, distribution companies, then it, because you are the creator, you can really have that connection with fans and fans can really influence those decisions that you're making because there's not all the red tape in between it. But I mean, yeah. There was a there's I think it's an interesting discussion because it's one of those things where especially in the destiny community. Yeah. Like, I just don't think people, especially depending on the size of your audience. It's impossible just to make everybody happy. Yeah, for sure. Like, uh, there's a big problem right now in destiny to PVP with, uh, uh. With Titans. Specifically, there's a subclass of Titan called, uh, well, Arch Titan. And the Arch Titan is dominating the Crucible landscape so much that it's really pushed the other classes out. And so you have... Very vocal part of the community who's saying, Oh, they need to nerf this at all. They need to nerf that. No, they need to change this. And then you have members who are Titans who are like, well, this is we're, we're good. We're good right now. So don't touch it. Like, leave it. Just let us have our fun. And then maybe we can change it down the road and the clashes that are happening over it. It's just hilarious to sort of watch it all unfold all the time because the arguments are always the same. So that's right. Yeah, and I, like, I think the voting is good for sort of the majority of the community, but you're always going to have outliers of people who are dissatisfied with one change or another. Yeah, that's, you can't please everybody. It's just that simple fact, right? Yeah, yeah, and I think part of it too, especially in games, nerfing is so hard to do. Um, I think you're... It's such a dangerous line to walk, because I think the only way that you can sort of successfully nerf things is bring everything up around it. Um, because when you have one item that's sort of dominating a meta, it just sort of ruins the experience for all of the other items. So when you then nerf that one item that people become really attached to, it then causes all kinds of issues. And so it's almost better to sort of lift everything up as opposed to nerfing, but then there's that whole discussion of, okay, well, then what do you buff and how much do you buff it? And it's just. It's all chaos. It's all just chaos. Yeah. That's, that's, I don't know. It's like, whatever you do, you just can't please everybody at that point. You're, you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't like there's, there's really no in between on it, especially for like something that's living, breathing, like destiny to like, Oh yeah. So that kind of brings me to an interesting question like, which community do you think is upset the most right now? Do you feel like it's Destiny 2 or because you're a part of that community? Or like, do you feel like it's the Diablo 4 community? Like right now? Oh yeah, yeah. Uh, it's so hard to say. I think Overwatch 2, they have a claim to fame. Oh my gosh, yeah. I think there are so many communities that have set up such high expectations. And now I should say, I don't want to defend. certain decisions that have been made across all three communities. I think there are, I think there's, there's wrongs on both sides of every aisle. Um, but yeah, it, it really is. There are a lot of communities right now who are not satisfied with where, with where their favorite games are heading, which I get. Like, it's, you know, you spend as much time and energy as you do into a game. And then of course, when. Changes are made to the system that you're used to. It's difficult to adjust to it. Especially if you feel like those changes are unjust. So, so do you feel like we're entering in a new era of live service games? Like, do you feel like the, like, are people being like tired or people getting saturated on that, that market? Yeah, I think we're reaching a point and I've, I've had this discussion a lot with my friends and destiny is I think a lot of the outrage around destiny is people have played destiny now for nine years. Um, it's been a live service game since what 20. I'm trying to remember when destiny to came out, I think it was 2018 2017. Yeah. So they've been dealing with a live service game in a seasonal model since then. Um, and. You know, you have seasons that deliver, and you have seasons that don't deliver, and you have content that people really like that got vaulted, and you have content that people really didn't like that's still in the game. Um, and I think if you've played a game that long, uh, and especially have put in the hours that a lot of members of the community end up putting in, because it's one of those games where it's like, if you start playing it, you can't put it down. I think people are just sort of fed up with every aspect of it, whether it's PvP or PvE. Um. And I think, uh, the same goes for a lot of these live service games, is the longer these seasons seem to go on, the more people seem to keep playing it, the higher the expectations are, and I think it's hard for developers to raise those expectations. And then on top of it, you know, I think you can only play... Uh, the same kind of content for so long before you sort to expect something different. Um, which is not really the, what I think game devs want. I think they want to establish something that players know and something that they know how to create and have really tried to perfect in terms of the system. But then, you know, the communities want to grow and do something different. And I think it's hard for devs to... Be able to switch gears like that. So it's this really weird dichotomy of burnout and devs. I don't think quite knowing what to do. So, so it's, here's a, here's a weird thing. Um, I want to ask you is like all these live service games seem like they, like the community is like pitchforking they're up and they're up in arms right now, but like. Fortnite's not having that problem, like, with their narrative or anything like that, and I'm not, I don't play Fortnite, so I can't, like, speak personally to, like, I can't say the community's not a hundred percent, like, mad about something or anything like that, but, like, publicly, at least, it seems like no one is up in arms and yelling at the rooftop, we need to shut this thing down at this point, so I'm like, why, why is Fortnite succeeding, at least, like, from a community base, like, perspective, whereas like these other ones are really struggling. Do you feel like it's the constant drip of content? I think it's probably the constant drip of content, but I think it's also cost. So in the case of Destiny, right, you have a 60 base game for what was the Lightfall expansion, and then you have the seasonal pass and the dungeon pass, and All of these passes that you're consistently buying, plus all the vaulted content. Um, So when you're purchasing all this content, like, when you're ending up having to spend something like 180, 200 on this game, you start to be a bit more scrutinous with it. And it is, you know, every three months having to fork out what is now, I think, 15, but then Bungie's store isn't set up right, so you end up spending 20 for a 15 product, and it's just sort of a nightmare. Um, I think, uh, I think it is cost, uh, you know, in terms of Fortnite, the only thing that I think that you pay for in Fortnite is the cosmetics. Yeah, I think you're right. So, I mean, they have access to new seasons and new content. I know there's a seasonal pass model for them, but that seasonal model is based on, I think, Cosmetics, I don't know if it determines access to the special characters, like I know you can grab Darth Vader and those kinds of things. Um, but yeah, since I think it is more cosmetic based, and the base game is sort of free to play, I think most people are generally happy with it. I mean, you saw it with, uh, Warzone. Uh, Warzone went through... Their player drop off, because they switched maps, which people didn't like, they switched whole systems for that, and then on top of it they had a cheater issue. But I remember, I remember before that people loved it, um, because it gave them everything that they really wanted in terms of, uh, a free to play game that didn't require you to have to spend the money, as opposed to something like Diablo or Destiny or, um, I don't know about Overwatch either, but, uh, yeah, I think it's, I think it's a cost, a cost issue with expectations. Okay, okay, I, I can see that. So, here's a, here's the thing I wanted to ask you based on all this information. It's like, like, with reaching an oversaturation point, like, Does this make you worry for the like the future for all these like you know live service games because you do have like like here let me list out some it's like you have the suicide squad which kind of got it was supposed to come out this year and like the reception upon the trip like the trailer was so terrible that they moved into the next year you had skull and bones which was been in development hell for a very long time now ubisoft is like rescheduled that out for next year but at this point it feels like it's being sent out to die and they like PlayStation, like we had like several different games, Knockout City and all those, all those type of games, just like unfortunately closed their doors and no longer working on those. And then you have like PlayStation devoting 60 percent of like their upcoming like budget, you know, going towards live service models. Like, do those kind of feel like dead on arrival? Do you feel like that's a good initiative to have in this like landscape we're in right now? I'm like, I'm so confused. I. I personally think that the issue with a lot of these live service games is they're just getting pushed too early. I think a lot of AAA developers are very quick to release games. And I don't think that is a fault of the developers as much as it is boardroom members. Um, but like Battlefield 2042 is like the perfect example of... The set expectation was this is this battlefield supposed to play like battlefield four and it's going to be 128 player maps and everything's going to be wonderful and I, I bought the hype. I've been a long time battlefield player was really excited to play it and then I fire it up and it was far from anything that had been advertised. I mean the environments were Not detailed at all. They were very lifeless. There was very little cover. It just felt like it was incomplete. Um, and then in the course, in the interviews that have come after that, and the reports that have come after that was members of the development team at dice knew it was incomplete and had been pushing back against the board to, you know, get those dates extended. But because of it. You get what we had in Battlefield 2042, and I think it sort of feels that way with a lot of games that are coming out, especially from AAA developers lately, is you're getting, even though we're getting games into our hands a lot quicker, and that's been incredible, at the same time, they still probably need more work. And I think the expectation, especially from games like Grand Theft Auto or the Witcher or um, even Diablo, I think they've set the bar so high that when we are not finding games that are coming out with that content, like right off the bat, I think the, especially for the cos point that has gone up, I think a lot of consumers are just so dissatisfied, especially when. Then after you get, you pay in the case of what I did, I paid a hundred dollars for Battlefield 2042. And then you get the whole, Oh, now come by our season pass or, Oh, now come by this or come by this cosmetic. And you're just sitting there going, what, why fix this? I'm not going to give you more money. Um, and so I think that's, that's sort of the problem with the live service games is that I think they're falling into the pit of. Uh, the sort of a multitude of reasons of burnout plus underwhelming results. And I think there's like, you've talked about really an oversaturation of a lot of game types. I mean, how many battle royales are on the market right now? I'll tell you so many, so many at this point. And, and I definitely get the appeal. Like I get the appeal of companies wanting to do that. I mean, they, those games make good money, but at the same time, I think consumers are starting to get to a point where they're a little fed up. With, with where their money is going. Yeah. And then, um, like. You know, to add on to this component, like with everyone making like with all these companies making these live service games with this, like the landscape kind of shifting underneath their feet as well as like, we're starting to see like single player games like it have this big renaissance right now, like, yes, Zelda Tears of the Kingdom selling like crazy Baldur's Gate 3 is taking over everything right now. It is amazing to see it's like, yeah. Baldur's Gate, like a game, like the game that was put out during the summer where we thought it was going to be the quiet time before like Starfield came out, is now like the biggest game in the world. It's like the rock star that just rose up and just put out this pop hit that everyone can't stop singing at this point. It is, it's a game that like so many people probably, myself included, had never played Baldur's Gate 2 or Baldur's Gate 1 and this game is like Life now, like this, like, it's, it's here, it's like, it's the, it's the new king that was promised, so to speak, it's, it's so, it's so cool at the same time to see all this, like, how do you feel about, like, all the, the single player renaissance just swooping in, whereas, like, even amongst all the, like, uncertainty with, like, the, the multipliers, like, landscape right now? Oh, I love it. I mean, I am so, I, I grew up in the whole single player game. Focus. I mean, uh, whether it was the heck, the original call of duties, I know that they broke ground for multiplayer, but the campaigns were so much fun. Um, so I grew up on those, the original halo campaigns, uh, elder scrolls, oblivion, elder scrolls, Skyrim, the original GTAs, like those original campaigns were absolutely everything. And so to be coming back around to more of a single player focus game, I think is really answering a lot of the. things that people have wanted in the market. I think a lot of people, as we've sort of just like noted, are a little fed up with multiplayer games at the moment. So to have something that is so strictly single player, so narratively focused, um, has been awesome. Not to mention all of the reprises that are going on as well. I mean, we had, um. Oh, what was it? Oh, it's gonna drive me nuts. We had... Didn't come out this year. Resident Evil 4! Yeah, RE4. It was just recently reprised and people just absolutely adored it. And again, it's a totally single player focused game. Um, so to see that... MetroProm as well! Yeah, Metro Prime as well. And so to see those games sort of shine again and to see really this focus on coming back to these really narratively focused really like gameplay mechanic focus games without all of the multiplayer matchmaking and everything else involved is really awesome. Yeah, it's a man it's it's crazy like I don't know if I'm if I'm a studio right now if I'm like, I find out feel comfortable like staying the course at this point, like, I don't like, I don't know. I'm like, I might shift. I'm like, I might shift if I'm like one or two years into development. I'm like, can we can we make a lot of this concept into a single player experience at this point? As are do we kind of like move, move and keep doing what we've been doing at this? Like, I don't get it. I really don't. I think that's the hardest decision in the world right now. Yeah, I think, and I think a big part of it too is also IP focused. Yeah. I mean, you see it, Bethesda's taking a big risk right now. Yeah. They have delayed Fallout developments. They've delayed Elder Scrolls developments for something that is totally different and new. Um, and so to... Sort of forsake the, the fallout 76 route and then go for a totally single player focused experience and something like Starfield is so exciting to see. And so I'm, I'm hoping that more companies are willing to take that risk, that they're willing to sort of put down some of the more popular IPs and go for something that's totally different from everything that we're seeing right now. I, I don't think like give me a better example, but I don't think in recent memory. I can't remember any game having this much pressure on it than Starfield like Starfield feels like it has the weight of it feels like it has the weight of the empire of Xbox on it like because of the the drought of their first party exclusive lineup and the feel like the I say what you will about like a like Halo and everything like that that game did not live up to expectations. Yes. And then Redfall happened and then like, Outside of, yeah, Red Ball happened and then outside of Forza, I'm like, they haven't really had a big victory outside of that. So it's, it's hard to think of a game that has been this highly publicized outside of cyberpunk. Which again, another game that had its own issues, but like, it's really hard to, or I know, well, Zelda, of course, was another extremely highly publicized releases as any Zelda releases, but yeah, I can't. The very much the weight of Xbox is gaming platform is, I think, going to be very reliant on whether Starfield can land or not. And that's going to be, yeah, that's what I was just like, it's like, that's so much pressure. It feels like you just like. He, like, Xbox put all the chips on the table in Las Vegas and just said, let it roll, baby. It just, like, let it roll. Please be a son, baby. I, I'm gonna make a prediction that might not age well, but... It's my decision to take! I, I adore Bethesda games. I absolutely love them. But what is well known amongst Bethesda games is they are buggy. So I have a feeling that this is going to be a very polarizing release for a lot of folks. I think there's going to be a lot of people who are really happy with it, who are like, this is what I wanted out of a space exploration RPG, and this is amazing. And then you're going to have people who are not as familiar with the Bethesda IP who get on there and go, what am I playing? What am I playing? Yeah, I was, I remember talking to my brother once about, um, there was, uh, with the original Skyrim release for testing for internal testing, they couldn't get Skyrim to run. So they had to, they had to release it on its test mode because that was the only way it could run. They could not run it in release mode. And that's how Skyrim released. Um, so based on those things. Plus all of the Fallout 76, plus Elder Scrolls Oblivion, plus the Fallout 4, I'm like, this is gonna, it's gonna be a spicy release to say the least, and I think, I think overall, at like, at the end of the day, kind of like Cyberpunk, despite the bugs, it's gonna be an incredible game. You're gonna get incredible narrative storytelling, you're gonna get incredible gameplay, but you're also gonna get a lot of bugs. Yeah. I'm going to go the opposite for you, like, I think it's, yeah, I think it's going to be like, I think it's going to be polarizing in the system where, like, I think every, I think it's going to be a polished experience. Cause I don't think Xbox can afford a buggy mess right now, but I, yeah, I, so I, I think like that game's probably done now, except for like just polishing, polishing, polishing at this point. But yeah, I think that. It's going to, I think like it's game is going to be pretty pristine. I think that 30 frames per second thing is going to affect a lot of people because it's a shooter game for a lot of it. And then I think like it being the fact that you can explore a thousand planets. I feel like a lot of those planets are going to be lifeless and have nothing to do on them. And I feel like that is really going to hamper a vast majority of people's experience with the game. Yeah, sort of the no man's sky thing, Exactly. No, I, I mean, I wouldn't doubt it. I'm, it's gonna be really, really fascinating to see how. This releases, like, typically I'm very quick to pre order Bethesda games, but this one I'm like, I, I have been burned so many times lately with pre orders that I'm like, I'm just going to let it release, maybe let it even sit for a year, depending on how the reviews are, and then come to it. Because it usually, it seems like every game that drops nowadays, especially from AAA developers, unless it's good off the bat, that it's like, come back in a year. It's all polished up and fixed. I think for the drama aspect, like, for both sides of the fence, like, the, like, for all the issues that you listed out with Bethesda's history, and then my theory, I'm like, this is probably my most anticipated, like, game this year, and I adore Spider Man. I think Spider Man, like, Spider Man is probably, like, the most Sebastian game there probably is coming out this year. It's just, like, The drama, the tea, the mat, like the anticipation for how good or bad or everything in between Starfield is going to be like, and how much is riding on it. Like, I'm just a spectator at the casino. Like, well, Xbox is shaking its hand right now with the dice and I'm like, Oh my goodness. Are they going to go? Oh, they're going to do it. Like, Oh, like, like that is how I feel right now. Like, like, I think about it and I like get excited because I'm like, I need to know, like it is. Uh, it is almost like a Game of Thrones like cliffhanger level of like, of like, Oh, snap. If they fail at this, it is, it's, it's not just Halo Infinite. It is. It feels like everything. Like, it feels like, yeah, it feels like this is the generation on the line for Xbox and Oh, for sure. Yeah. So I'm like, I, that drama, that level of. Of anticipation for me. It's gotten to a point that fever pitch, like it's the bowling pot that is bowled over now. I'm like, I need to know how this is going to end. Like I'm in it now. So yeah, Starfield is Starfield is my most anticipated game now. I'm like, Oh, I need to know, I need to know. Oh, a hundred percent. I mean, Xbox is in such a tough spot. I mean, you have everything Nintendo does that just seems to turn to gold, and then all of the exclusive Sony releases, like things like God of War, which came out earlier this year, which again, did not miss. They are in a very tough spot, especially after Halo Infinite. Even though I do have some gripes with that community as well, but it's, it's interesting. It's going to be really interesting to see and I, I really hope for everybody at Bethesda and Xbox that it lands because I personally, again, love their studio, love the work that they've done. Really excited and really hope that Starfield is that sci fi experience that we all want, of being able to explore an open world and have those narratives and have the cool combat things and design your own ship and bully the adoring fan. Like, we always want those kinds of aspects, but yeah, it's gonna be, it's gonna be a very spicy September. I, like, I know Game Pass is probably going to, like, and completely, the servers for Game Pass, they better, like, up those because, like, they better, like, they better up those because, like, it is less than, as of this recording, so, like, this is, we're August 10th when we're recording this right now. It is going to be September 6th when Starfield officially releases and They better be ready because like the floodgates are going to be like open for people who are interested in this game to see if it's going to succeed, fail for people who just want to play a good video game. Like that, there's going to be like a wave of people like old school black Friday, kind of like people rushing through the gates of those servers. It's yeah, I, I, I can't wait to see what type of like. Drama in ensues. If this if this, because it has to be a game of the year contender. It's like it's, yeah, it has to be, yeah. Any, anything less than that is considered like, yeah. Like a misstep at this point. A misfire. Yeah. This is sort of the perfect storm of an enormous studio with high expectations. Yeah. An enormous platform with high expectations. And if it is anything less than absolutely stellar. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure. Xbox fans are gonna be burning down the gates, Oh yeah. They really are. They really are, you know, like, and, you know, as like the other Xbox studios have to be like waited on bated breath thinking to themselves like, please don't let this fail because like, then that wait, that wait, like the hope of the new saviors like switches on to fable like coming up and then like, can fable be the the savior that was promised at that point and it's like, yeah, it's Starfield has so much riding on it. It's so interesting. Oh, yeah. And not only that, but especially for those other studios. If Starfield lands and lands well, then people are interested in whatever Microsoft has to sell. Yeah. So, for those other studios, they need Starfield to succeed. Because like you said, like either the pressure falls on them, or their sales are also going to tank. Because their s They're going to be somewhat reliant on whether Microsoft can deliver a good product or not. Um, because if Microsoft can't, then it's, it's, yeah. Then Xbox is going to be very dead in the water. Yeah. Oh, this whole generation. And it's, that's sad. I hope, I hope for their sake and also for mine, because I really want this game to be good. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And not only that, but like the. One of the great, uh, hilarities of my time has been the, the whole PlayStation versus Xbox versus Nintendo versus, you know, PC debate. And it's, and part of the enjoyment of that though, is that you have so many different platforms that have so many different access to great items. And so, you know. Having that competition is healthy, but at the same time, it's also really good to be able to be like, Hey, you know what? I want to go play a Bethesda product or, Hey, you know, I want to go play Spider Man and, and have those, those games be good because they're all trying to one up each other in terms of, uh, where their games are. And for us as consumers, it's great. It really is. This is magnificent. Yeah, it's magnificent. So, you know, I gotta ask you like. I want to get to another, the next topic of the show, because we have a very interesting segment. It's something, nothing, or everything. I'm gonna read out a couple of news stories, and you, Alec, are gonna tell me if this is something worthwhile, if this is everything, like the whole existence of gaming is riding on this. Like, this is a very important story, or like, you know, this is nothing at all, nothing of note. So, like, Baldur's Gate, You know, I want to start with like Baldur's Gate 3. This game, it's already everything. Already everything. That is, that's so funny because I, I, I'm already with you. Like, it feels like it's just everything at this point, but yeah. Um, yeah. So Baldur's Gate 3 had, had a very interesting story, um, where basically. It had, it had like saves that were bigger than a lot of indie games out there like the save files were bigger than a lot of the indie games completely like, is that something nothing or everything like how, how, like, how cool and also like. I guess you could say intimidating that is for like a hard drive. Yeah, I would say that's definitely, it's definitely something, um, like, so to, I've had this discussion a lot with people because they ask me why are games so big? And typically games are So big because you have to so like if you develop a let's say you develop a first person shooter for an xbox game right xbox has such set hardware that you know exactly what you're getting you know exactly how every xbox well Every Xbox, you know how every Xbox is going to run for like the next five years. So when you develop a game, you're like, okay, cool. I'm going to use these textures. I'm going to have this many items in my environment. I'm going to have this lighting set up and that's going to dictate your frames per second. So typically, like, especially with something that's a PC game, that's why like war zone is like 300 gigabytes. Cause they're having to account for. This large bandwidth of hardware across all of these different systems. So to hear that a save is, like, bigger than some indie games is like, what? It's crazy, isn't it? Like, I'd be curious to see what all the save data is about. I assume it's about, you know, uh, player interactions and, uh, sort of the information that it needs to... Store, but I don't know. Obviously, that's what save data is, but I, uh, yeah, that's, it's really something because I think it also highlights this, this really big thing that my brother and I were talking about, which is this, this, this sort of shift in hardware, um, that's sort of occurring. Like, I know everybody has to update their PC every three to five years and you need to yada, yada. But I think, again, it sort of highlights how much space do you need for a game and how. That affects your GPU and how that affects the whole price of your PC in general. Like if I buy a Steam Deck, how much space do I need on my Steam Deck for a Baldur's Gate save? So that's, yeah, I think that's definitely something and it's definitely something consumers should keep an eye on. Cause yeah, that affects, it could potentially affect a lot. Yeah. Here, here, let me further the story and let me add a little, little spice on top of all this. So, I'm reading a report from The Gamer written by Joshua Robertson and like, he wrote, According to the game's most recent hotfix, a lot of players in Boulder Skate 3 were doing so much in their own adventures that their personal stories, databases, were getting too big and causing all sorts of issues such as crashes and glitches. Obviously, Boulders Gate 3 is a game full of personal choices and the game takes into account all your decisions, even in the side quests and optional content. So all of you completionists out there were doing too much and cramming your databases so much that things needed fixing. It also probably doesn't help that save scumming is quite popular thing to do in a choice driven game titles such as this, which is the act of saving your game before a big decision in order to potentially reload your game if an outcome isn't what you want it to be. So, like, that's also, like, attributed to this. Interesting. Yeah, I, that, that makes more sense now. So they're just stacking saves on saves on saves on saves on saves. Cause, you know, you have the people out there who they make a decision and they're like, no. No, I save and then they work through the three other things. And they've saved on top of that save. And they're, you know, 50 hours into the game. And that's, yeah, okay, that makes more sense. But holy moly. But still, I'm like. Like, there's what, like, I think they said, what, like, close to 17, 000 lines of dialogue in this game, and it is Okay, yeah! And like, every little decision, like, matters. Like, if you kill someone later, like, that plays, uh, early, that plays a factor. Like, all the side quests also integrate with, like, the main quest. Like, and they play a part in the main quest later, and Whether it be a little part or a big part, or like, everything matters in this game. It feels like Game of Thrones, like, but a video game It really is D& D, I love it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I'm like, this feels like... In a weird way, you know, like, everyone was praising, uh, like, Zelda Tears of the Kingdom's game mechanics, and, and it was revolutionary, but, like, this feels like it's doing, like, the impr like, this is, like, ze to the level of Zelda's impressiveness of, like, ga like, Zelda was game mechanics, but this is, like, storytelling and character progression, and character, like, and, and character development, and it feels like they're, like, putting that same level of, like, Development towards that those facets and almost balancing the scales a little bit like, yeah, it's weird. It is. It's a weird thing. Yeah, it's it's really fun to see that, though, because it's to to have a game that's so focused on what it knows it wants to be is phenomenal. Um, and that's what made Zelda so incredible is they knew from day one. What's going to make this fun is people playing with physics. Um. And so they just built on top of, okay, if I were to play with physics, what can I, how can we make everything interact with each other? So people can build their, their, their Mecca robots and stuff. So it's great to see another, another really focused, okay, we are a story driven game. So let's go as big as we can in terms of, uh, being able to tell a story. So that's phenomenal. That's really cool. It's like, so. You know, before we move on to our next story, like mm-hmm. do you feel like you're gonna jump into a Boulder Skate three? Oh, yeah. Oh, oh, for a hundred percent. I know it's, it's on the list. So not only that, but it's got like a 97% on meta critic. It beat tears of the Kingdom man. Like, which, what? It's unbelievable that Tears of the Kingdom is, is the, the second highest rated of game this year. So to see a game that's, that's up there like that, I mean, that's. This, yeah, that's really second to none, like, that's incredible. I, I didn't think this was, like, I didn't think this was possible this year, like, I thought if any game had a chance, it was Starfield, just because, like, a western RPG, based on all the things we said earlier, like, if it lived up to the highest of highs, I thought it was, like, possible, like, that it would be, like, those two going toe to toe, but, like, Is there a chance we might live in a world where Boulders get 3's game of the year for 2023? I would love that so much. That would, that would make me so happy to see that, because that game, like, the hype around it and the joy that it's giving people is phenomenal. So to, to see a D& D... Style game be the, be the number one game in the world. I can, I can live with that. So cool. Like what world are we living in though? That this is a possibility that Zelda game comes out, a Spider Man game comes out, like you got a Todd Howard, Western RPG that comes out and like a final fantasy 16 dropped this year, a Star Wars game dropped, you know, like a Metroid game dropped. And then like the game of the year might be a D and D game. That would be wonderful. I love it. I absolutely love it. Like, oh man, that's, that's so fascinating. So I want to, so moving on to the, to the next thing is this something, nothing or everything Devolver Digital had a showcase. Did you hear about this? No, I didn't. Okay, so Devolver Digital had a showcase, um, a couple of days ago, where it had what they called Devolver Delayed. It's a cheeky take on game announcements, where they basically had a showcase of games that they're delaying until next year. I love Devolver Digital, but like, included into that, um, was like... The Plucky Squire, which looks absolutely amazing, um, Freelives Stick It to the Stickman, Sam Egg's Skate Story, Freelives Angry Foot, and the Air Etch Pepper Grinder are all being pushed to 2024. The showcase had a very cheery vibe that felt like it was reminiscent of Nintendo's Direct. Like, is this something, nothing, or everything? I wanna say that's everything. I love it! As a developer, I love it! Like, delays are never fun. Reporting delays are never fun. And as we highlighted earlier, your community will tell you about how it's not fun. So, to see a company actually be so transparent and, and almost make fun of themselves for the delay is wonderful. Like that, I really wish that was the approach to how these delays are occurring as opposed to, nothing kind of cracks me up more. That when a game gets delayed and you get on social media and it's like reading a funeral eulogy or something about, we are so sorry, you know, this happened. And then, you know, we made these expectations and it's not at the point that we want it. So like reading those suck. So to see that instead that they're having fun with it, that's wonderful. I think that's That's phenomenal. I wish, I wish that was more of the approach. Cause I think it gets the community behind it more as well. Man, I like that. I thought this was, this was fine. It gave a good vibe. They, they did confirm that they still have games coming out later this year. So I'm like, if you have to delay a game, like, and break news to people, like this is a fun way of doing it. Yes. Totally agree. Totally agree. so, I want to move on to the next story here. And this is one that I, I had to have you on for. Because, Destiny 2 has, you know, replaced the late, great Lance Reddick. With, um, Keith David. For everyone listening who don't know, who doesn't know who Keith David is. Phenomenal, like, actor, especially voice actor. He's been the voice of, um, Spawn before, like. Um, he's also was the Arbiter and, um, Halo, like the Halo series. He played, um, let's see the president and Rick and Morty for all you Rick and Morty fans out there. He's been in Saints Row. He's been in like a Mass Effect as, um, David Anderson. And, uh, he was the Black Panther in the animated Avengers show as well. So I'm like, he was mongled in Young Justice. Like, this dude's been in the Proud Family. He was the bad guy in the Princess and the Frog movie. Like, for all you Disney fans out there. Like, this guy's been killing it. Like, absolutely killing it. He was my childhood, basically, is what I'm finding out right here. My whole damn childhood. But, um, yeah, he, so he is replacing the, like, great Lance Reddick as the character. And correct me if I'm wrong, is it Zavala? Yes, Zavala. Yeah. Is this something, nothing, or everything? So, it is definitely something. Okay. It is... It has been really tough. Uh, everybody who plays... Destiny and who has played it, especially over the last 9 years. I've only been a part of this community for a year now. Uh, have dipped my toes into Destiny 1 recently and started playing through some of those campaigns and... Zavala is, like, the guy. He is... He is the leader of the Vanguard. He is the, the voice of wisdom. He is like the focus and, and Lance Reddick very much embodied that. Like he, his voice acting with Zavala was incredible, but like he also to a degree led the community. He was a Destiny player himself. He loved to talk to Destiny fans about his experiences, recording what it's like to be Zavala and all, and everything surrounding it. And he's, Zavala is such a beloved character. That, uh, I think a lot of folks were really struggling with how do we move forward? Like, do you kill off Zavala? Uh, there was a debate whether to just stick Zavala in his office because technically he has an office in the tower and they're like, well, if we just stick him in the office, then we never lose him. Um, so. To recast him with the incredible Keith David is, is I think the right play. I think, I think Bungie made the right call there. Um, I'm, I'm so happy that we get to continue to have Zavala continue on as a character. Um, and, you know, losing Lance was really rough for the community, but I think Keith is really going to fill that role well. So, I'm really excited for Keith to be there, and I'm also really excited to still hear Lance in game. Uh, because I know that they're going to keep a lot of his voice lines in for stuff that he's already created, and I think they said that there might be a couple of his voice lines in next season. So, I'm, I'm really excited to, uh, to see Zavala continue on, especially through another incredible actor. Okay, everyone, before we continue, I'd be remiss in saying that Keith David also voiced the one and only Goliath from Guard Rolls. Yes! Like, yeah, I was about to say, probably one of the most iconic roles of all time as Goliath. But, um, yeah, like, so, so wonderful. But, um, I want to ask you, so, like, Zavala, like, the way you're describing him kind of reminds me of, like, Is he the Charles Xavier of, of like, Destiny 2, basically? Yes. Of the Destiny universe? He, he is the stoic, brilliant, cool guy. Like, he is the guy who is so cool under pressure. And this, this season in particular, I know there are a lot of folks who had an issue with sort of the drip story mechanic. Beyond the point. The stories that were told this season, the cutscenes that we got, particularly between Zavala and other characters, I think was. Unbelievable. In fact, there's, uh, I don't want to spoil anything for anybody in case anybody hasn't played it, but there is an interaction in one of the story missions between Saint 14 and Zavala, and Saint, uh, is sort of, he's another leader in the Vanguard, but he's seen as, he's like, he has a, a PVP content thing called Trials of Osiris that he runs, but from a story standpoint, he used to be the leader of the Vanguard, and there's this incredible exchange between the two of them, um, that sort of goes about, That talks about the difficulties of leading, the difficulties of losing people under your command and, you know, how do you go about sort of overcoming everything that's going on at the moment? And so, uh, yeah, Zavala really is sort of that, that Professor X. He's the, he's, you know, the, the full leader of this group and has sort of been the stable, I hold everything down, but at the same time, he's a Freakin badass and it's, it's so cool to be able to, to have such a, a transformative character like in the, as sort of the lead of, of, of everything about it and the community's respect for Zavala has been unbelievable. I know when Lance passed, a lot of people put on their salute emotes and went up to Zavala and saluted for hours and just the, the love, the outpouring of love that people have for that character has been incredible to see. I love that. It sounds like, you know, like, you know, this, it's always tricky whenever you have like a real life person pass away who played a beloved character because I'm like this, you know, this whole situation kind of reminds me of the debate that happened when Chadwick Boseman passed away and with the Black Panther situation. Should they recast him? Should they retire that mantle of like T'Challa and everything like that? They went the opposite direction to where they retired Chichalas, like the, the whole mantle for, for his character. But like, it, it's so interesting to see like how different, how the response is for the other side of the foot to where like the, to see the recap, like recasting this character, this beloved character. A hundred percent. I know, I, I might be biased too because one of my, Zavala is my favorite character to, to have him in the series and to have Lance be, one of the reasons I love Zavala is because of Lance. I mean, Lance's work across all different kinds of mediums has been incredible to experience. But, uh, yeah, to. One of my, uh, one of the things I remember telling my friend before Lightfall dropped was, man, if they kill off Zavala, I would be so bummed. Oh, no. To lose Lance like that, like a couple months later, was like, oh, come on. That's real rough. Yeah. But yeah, it's, it's, I'm, I'm happy to see Zavala continue on and I'm, I'm happy to see Zavala continue on through, uh, such a legendary actor as Keith David. I mean, I would be lying to you if I told you I did not adore The Arbiter. I mean, The Arbiter is such a fixture of my childhood and, and especially as I got older and started to understand the lore around Halo. And it not just being a big, bad space Marine killing aliens and actually understanding the arbiter story. I remember when I played Halo two and being disappointed that, Oh, I have to go be the covenant. I don't want to be the covenant. And then growing up a little bit and understanding the entire backstory of everything, the arbiters going through, it's like, Oh my God, this is incredible. So I, to, to play another bungee product with Keith David in it is really, really exciting. So I, I. Yeah, wish him all the best in that role. Oh, that's good, man. That's good. I hope he's everything y'all want him to be. Cause like, I, you know, I'm so curious because like, he also played another beloved character in video games, and that was like his role in Horizon, the Horizon series, like for Ben West and Horizon Zero Dawn, and I'm like, I'm so curious on if like, That kid that his role in that like game is also going to be recast at this site at least but or whether or not they're actually going to just have the you know, like Find a way to write that character out of the story. So, yeah, it's, it's, it's definitely interesting, but I'm glad the, I, it seems like the reception for this online has been very positive for the destiny community. So I'm, I'm very glad everyone's happy there. I got to ask you for this next, um, story, we have a review round up for a game called Atlas fallen. Have you, have you heard about this one? Okay. Atlas fallen is like a. It is basically the newest RPG from Deck 13, which is like a company based in Germany, is owned by Focus Entertainment. It is, it is an action RPG that was, that is kind of like a mixture between like, um, it's sort of appeals to Devil May Cry fans. It's like, yeah, so it has, it has some really cool vibes. Um, but It is, let me see if I can, I'm trying to figure out how I can describe this game. It's like, I'd probably say it's very reminiscent of like Lords of the Fallen. Have you played that game before? No, I've played Lords of the Fallen either. Okay. So like, it kind of has, uh, some, some like hack and slash elements, but it also kind of has like some, some cool, like, um, Magic, magical elements and kind of to me, it feels like if I'm looking at these characters, it sort of feels like a mythology, like magical version of almost destiny, like the way that these characters move around Atlas falling and such like that you, um, so yeah, it's. It feels like kind of like a more mythological, mythological version of Destiny, so to speak, but like, it feels like this. It looks like it's a single player game, more so than it is like a multiplayer game but I could be mistaken there. Um, but anyways, so the review roundup, like, It seems like this game is kind of just mid, um, it, it based on legit. It's based on reviews. It's good. Like, um, yeah, sure, sure. All this to say like scream rant, gave it a four out of five, IGN 10 push square seven out of 10, um, RPG site right now. Six to six out of 10 games. So I'll give it a two out of five. It is so. Yeah, so it seems like, just to read a little bit from like, uh, IGN's review here, just a snippet. Atlas Fallen is a solid open world RPG with plenty of platforming and large monsters for you to fight. Putting aside its weak story and the console's version's gritty graphics, there's a hidden gem of excellent combat, robust exploration, and surprisingly deep customization to uncover in the sinking sands of its Wilderness. Um, Games Hub, the one who gave it a two out of five, basically said, the first time you're given a chance to surf down a sand, um, sand cover mountain and atlas fall, it is invigorating. You immediately want to do it again and again if, and you can. Anywhere there's sand, you can surf, slide, and leap great distances while admiring the, The static horizons, a moment like that doesn't exist in the game's combat, though, when it's lackluster combat makes up the bulk of Atlas's Fallen's loop. It makes it a much harder to work up the motivation to continue exploring everything else the world has to offer. So kind of middle of the road there, like it seems like if you're into this game, you know, like maybe Maybe wait for a sale or maybe just try it out, you know, if you got big bucks to spend. Yeah, that's what it sounds like to me. It sounds like even though the combat's a little, it's going to divide opinion a little bit. I mean, yeah, it sounds like definitely a game that you'd want to pick up in a sale or just keep an eye on in general. I mean, if it's something, I've always had the opinion that if you're really interested in it, you should just buy it anyways, because at the end of the day, you'll, you'll know whether you like it or not. Um, and you know, depending if that's at full price or not, but you know, I mean, yeah, it sounds like I generally speaking, it seems like to me that if a game is at least or six or a seven for most people, then I would give it a play. I bet that's something that I would take a chance on, especially because I come more from the, initially from the GameSpot side of things, where they were once upon a time, they were a little stingy with their ratings. Now they've sort of gotten a bit more liberal with giving people higher reviews. Um, I think, uh, generally anytime that I came across a game that it was a six or a seven, even though it wasn't, Perfect. I generally enjoyed it. So yeah, that's something that I would give a play to. Okay. Okay. That's, uh, that's solid. I, you know, I'm, I'm right there with you. Try it, try it out. If you are interested in it, if you like it, hopefully you'll, you'll love it. But, um, yeah, so the, our next story, um, Twisted Metal revs up and breaks records on Peacock. The, have you, have you seen the Twisted Metal show at all? I haven't seen it yet. I had an interest in it though. So it's, The most binged original series record like recorded on Peacock basically right now. Okay. Yeah. Um, I'm gonna be honest with you. I've watched all 10 episodes of the show. Okay, what'd you think? I am surprised I'm gonna say this, but I really enjoyed it. Okay! I really enjoyed it! That's, that's, I cannot tell you how reassuring that is, as, as a enormous fan of Halo. And then to get the TV show that we got, which... Yeah. To put it bluntly was so far off of expectations that it was maybe one of the most disappointing things I've ever seen in my entire life. So to to go from to go from that I especially when it was announced I was like oh boy like That's, that's, that's a tough one. I really hope that they land that. So to hear that you're, that you enjoyed it is reassuring. This, okay, so put like this, this is very popcorn flicky type of show. Like, don't go in this thinking you're gonna get like the Bear Succession, Ted Lasso level of like, of like cinematography here. Like, you're not getting the masterpiece. You're not getting like House of the Dragon level like, of like. Can I get an Oppenheimer? No, for sure, you're damn sure not getting an Oppenheimer. You're for sure not getting an Oppenheimer. But, um, it's... It's hot. It's hot. It's got heart, you know, it's got some heart like the characters really resonate with me. It's like I, it feels like if it feels like a goose goofy, like twisted metal version of Mad Max in a way that yeah, so I'm like, it's not. It's not great, but it's not like bad. It's the only show this year that I wanted to rewatch after it was done. Wow. Alright. Yeah, so it just got me in the right mood, I guess. The right mind frame. I was just like, it's fun. It's just fun TV at this point. It's like, I'm like a person who loves like heartfelt storylines or like really in depth storylines where everything matters. This is not that, but it is very much like... They're trying, and that's more than I can say for a lot of video game stuff, period, like, as far as, like, movie to TV adaptations and stuff like that. This is better I. e. Halo. Exactly! Exactly! Oh, Resident Evil! The Resident Evil show as well. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Uh, yeah, I heard such bad things about it that I didn't even give it the time of day. Whereas opposed to Halo, I Again, Halo was such a huge part of my childhood, so for that to have released... And I think for those that haven't had a relation to Halo, it probably was enjoyable for them. And that's great. I'm happy that those people were able to enjoy it. But it's like, when you actually have an interest in the lore, and Master Chief is taking off his helmet. Like every two seconds you're like and there's like I think a grand total someone put together one of those like warthog compilations you get like a warthog for a grand total of like five seconds over the 10 episodes you're just like no no this missed my my expectation of what I wanted but yeah so to hear that I'm happy that it sounds like it was fun and that, which is what you really want about a Twisted Metal. I remember playing it as a kid and not really, I know it has actually pretty deep lore. I had a friend who was telling me about the Twisted Metal lore the other day and I was like, holy crap, really? But to hear everything else, I was like, so to hear that it's fun, I'm like, okay. I can I can live with that. I can live with that. I'm gonna be honest here, like, we live in a world, like, I I can't believe we live in this world, but like, this is my second favorite adaptation based on a video game this year, and we got the and we got The Last of Us this year, we got Mario this year, we got another Resident Evil type of show. I'm like All these, like, the, um, Gran Turismo, I think it's coming out, like, later this week or something like that to that nature. It's like, I never thought, I thought this would be the worst out of all that batch. And I, I like this more than Mario, like, and I actually enjoyed the Mario movie, but like, I think this is better, like, but. Yeah, so this is, yeah, I, I think if people, if you're interested into, into something that like has some heart, that has some character development, some really, Anthony Mackie's really great in this, like, um, yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. And then like, um, I think Stephanie Patriz is also like one of the roles she played, um, um. In Brooklyn nine nine as well. So like also really, really good. And then like, if you're a professional wrestling fan, Samoa, Joe play sweet tooth and this is all like, yeah, it's, it's got all sorts of craziness to it, but I really enjoy it. Alright, I'll have to give it a watch. Yeah, uh, give it a two episode watch. Cause that first one, it might not hook you. But that, like, that second one, you maybe see if you like it. But, yeah, that's an hour. So each, each is like 23, roughly 23 minutes. So like, Okay. Yeah. So it's like season one of, of, of next gen then. Yeah. That's exactly how I'm gonna recommend it. I'm like, don't do the one episode, maybe the two. Maybe the two. If you don't like it of the two episodes, it might not be for you, but I digress everyone. Um, so I had a major question because we got an absolute rock star here and a destiny fanatic. Is there a game out right now that can, that can basically twist your arms off the, off the grip that Destiny has on you, basically? Uh, Baldur's Gate has been, I have a friend who really wants to play it, my dad has been playing it, so it's on my list of games that I'm like, okay, that's a game I need to purchase. So Baldur's Gate is there. Uh, the Jedi Survivor that came out, that game is also there, as well as there was a Star Trek game that came out, uh, two months ago by the same people who, or, it was two months ago? It was like a month or two ago, uh, by the same people who made the Telltale games, and it is a point and click adventure, and that game I have been really meaning to double back around to, so, uh, there are, there are a couple of games that can do it. Thank you for watching! It's just whether, whether it will happen or not is, uh, who knows, who knows. So, is, is the Star Trek game, is it called Resurgence? Yes, that's the one. Resurgence, yeah. It looks good. I, I wish I was like, super huge into Star Trek because this actually looks good and I like Telltale. Like, I like everything that they do for the most part. Everything that I've heard from everybody who's played it so far, uh, I mean, they're all big Trekkies, but they've loved it. So, I, that, that was really encouraging to me, as opposed to Star Trek Online, which really splits people right down the middle on whether they love it or hate it. Yeah. So, um, to hear that the general consensus is people loving it, I'm like, alright, I can get behind that. Alright, um, to give, uh, give the people a taste of, like, your next appearance on the show, I gotta, I gotta question for you to stew on in the me of, like, until we get to that point. What is a IP besides, like, Star Trek that you would love to see in a hi as a high budget video game? So, we're actually getting it, which I'm really, really excited for, which is the Indiana Jones. I have been an enormous Indiana Jones. It is my favorite series. I would be lying if I told you that it wasn't. I'd be lying if I said that I like Star Trek better than Indiana Jones. Those original three, so we'll take away the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the Dial of Destiny. Even though... Even though I think both have their moments where they are really good. In fact, I will go as far as to say that I think kingdom of the crystal skull is actually a good movie. If you overlook a couple of things. Yeah, I know it's bad. I'm drinking the copium on that one. That wasn't your spicy take? I will say aside from Shia swinging on vines and, uh, Some other plot points that were, generally I think the reason that movie is not good is because of Mutt. I think people really don't like Mutt Williams. Okay. They've tried to like the movie, I've tried to really like the movie. Like, I really like. I really think the scene when they're in the Area 51 cargo bay is phenomenal. I think, uh, Indy's banter generally throughout the entire film is phenomenal. It feels... And this is what, uh, even though I think Dial of Destiny is a good movie, it doesn't feel like an Indiana Jones movie. And I think the reason it doesn't is because you don't have Lucas and Spielberg making it. And for them, Indiana Jones has always been a Lucas and Spielberg, let's have a fun movie kind of vibe. And that movie is... Like, at the end of the day, King of the Crystal Skull, despite its flaws, is still a fun adventure. And it's still full of all the things that make an indie film feel like an indie film, even though it is a little bit ridiculous. But yeah, those, those original three movies are, like, that, that, that, that, those are everything to me. So, to see that, uh, and to have played things like, um, uh, Uncharted. Yeah, to play Uncharted or, like, the original Indiana Jones games that I grew up playing, like, um. God, what was it? The Emperor's Tomb. To have played those games as a kid and now to see that Bethesda's making a full on Indiana Jones IP and to hear that Todd Howard is such a huge indie fan makes me really, really, really excited that hopefully that game lands like an Uncharted, that we can play through a whole adventure and do all the, the classic indie things that, uh, he does in those films. You know, the crazy thing is, like, I had a, I had a guess, like, um, a couple of episodes back where we did a major topic to where we talked about, like, based on Indiana Jones and the Dallas Destiny's, like, uh, box office, which, you know, has, has been great. Like, yeah. Yeah. Do you like, do you feel like they stay the course and like, if they're early on into development cycle, do you feel like this game still is going to be produced? Or do you feel like you pivot at that point? And because like the, is it, is the market still there? Is it, I guess is like, is that what the movie showing? I really hope so. I really, really, really hope so. But I think it's how they market it. I think if, if I think it's part of the reason I think Dial of Destiny does not sell is. Unfortunately, and this is not a knock on Harrison, but Harrison is 80 years old and watching it and watching an 80 year old Indy run around on an adventure. I, I would be lying to you if I told you that before that movie came out, I thought it was appealing and I would also be lying to you if I thought that the movie could potentially be good. Because just given how. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull went down and given how people, uh, seem to not necessarily be over the indie character, but I think it's so far removed from its original concept of sort of this swashbuckling hero going around doing indie things that I think that that it's a really hard sell to a lot of audiences. But at the same time, I think if, if Bethesda comes out and makes a game where you have, you know, a young indie beating up Nazis on some ridiculous adventure for some idol or something. I think people can get behind it. I think it's just all going to be about what they're actually trying to do. Cause yeah, I think it's, it's, it's a, it's a hard movie to make now. I think it's a hard movie to make given. that Harrison is Indiana Jones. And I think if you were to recast him, I think the reception would be incredibly poor. And I think it's, it's really hard. I think part of the appeal of what Indiana Jones is, is the time piece that it takes place in. And it's, it's just everything about it, I think, is so unique that it's, it's going to be hard to capture that, that sort of lightning in a bottle that they managed to capture with those first three films. So here, here's a, here's like a worry of mine with Indiana Jones, like the game, like, it is, it feels like a damned if you do damned if you don't situation to where you like, like, is this going to be Indiana Jones enough for the people who want this game, and then for. The other side of the fence, like let's say like early generation, like of, of people and of the gamers, is that a known IP enough to where it's going to get them off of the stuff that they're playing and want to check this out. And then there's the other fence, the other hard side of the fence, where you have Sony who have created this blockbuster IP with uncharted. Your game is going to naturally be compared to Tomb Raider and uncharted. You have to deliver. An experience that's not only to that level, but probably supersedes those because you are a note more notable IP that is that trans figures, just video games. Like at that point, like. I don't, I don't know if they can nail that. Do you? I, yeah, I don't know. I don't know. It's going to be, it's going to be really hard. Um, and, uh, it'll be interesting. Again, it brings us all back to that original discussion that we were having with Starfield is, yeah, are they going to land it? And it's with Bethesda games. It's, it's shoddy. So, so let me ask you, like, this, this is an interesting question. As an Indiana Jones fan, uh, and with everything that, like, we just talked about with Indiana Jones, would you prefer that to be a smaller, like eight hour or less experience? Or would you prefer like a actually big, meaty game with that IP? Oh yeah. That's tough for me personally, given that it is Bethesda, I kind of hope that it's sort of an open world. You go on an adventure and you do things kind of game, but at the same time, if it is sort of a more focused eight hour experience, I'm. I'm very down with that as well. Um, as long as we get to sort of, you know, as long as like my whole, the whole reason that I love Indiana Jones is kind of like how you were talking earlier about, um, about twisted metal. They're just fun adventures. Like if you shut your brain off for just like two seconds and you just. except the fact that they're going to be chasing some item for the whole film, and they're going to do ridiculous things, and they're going to have those sort of like, where's your ticket kind of moments, and they're punching people out of zeppelins, and you know, they, they, if they, if you're just sitting there enjoying the tropes, then it's going to be a fun adventure. And so as long as... As long as we get those moments in a game, I think regardless of whether it's an open world or whether more, if it's more of a confined experience, then I think I would probably be satisfied with that. But I also know that I, I will probably be biased. So it's hard for me to say, to be blatantly honest. Man, there's, uh, Xbox is in such a weird, like, a weird but interesting situation, like, historically speaking, I don't think there's, like, ever been a company that's been, like, on the razor's edge like this with a whole bunch of IPs, like, that I've ever experienced in my, in my lifetime. Yeah, they're, they're making bold decisions, which I appreciate. I'm really excited that we're not getting sort of, we're not getting the MCU stuff. We're not getting sort of the same experience over and over and over again that they're actually, they're, they're making some bold decisions and whether those bold decisions work out for them is a totally different discussion. So Alex, I know, I know this has been a longer episode, but I got, you got. Enough energy for one last segment. Oh yeah. I got, I got all the time in the world. All right. So everyone, you know, our next segment starts with a simple question. And that question is, are you ready? Because it is time for a pro nerd trivia portion of the show. When we asked our esteemed guests, five questions, I'd say five, five, five, five, five questions based on five different categories, randomly chosen. By destiny, so to speak. Star Trek. I like how he's already hoping for it. So, Alec, are you ready? I am ready. I'm ready. Alright, alright. If he gets to all five questions, you already know if you heard the show, he will be entered into our Pro Nerd Hall of Fame. Right now, there's only one entrant. I believe Alec is going to be the second. We shall see, though. Here we go. Our first category. It is a doozy. It is an absolute doozy. It is our second least answered category in all of, in all of our categories. It is Lord of the Rings. Oh, okay. The Realm of Middle Earth. Okay. Alright. So, here we go. Who, which actor, played Samwise Ganji? Which actor played Samwise Ganji in the Lord of the Rings movies? Sean Austin. You absolutely got it correct. I could see his face and I'm like, I know who it is. What is his name? What is his name? That's a hard one, man. That is a hard one. It's like, especially considering it's been some time removed from that franchise. Like, it's not like it's like those movies are out right now. That's, that's a deep pool at this point. All right. So our next category is a, is a category we don't get too often, but this is the interesting one. It is the realm of the magical world of Disney. Okay. Okay. Disney. Okay. So here we go. What is the name of Andy's neighbor in Toy Story? What is the name of Andy's neighbor in Toy Story? I have no idea. Spoiler alert, everyone, if you remember Toy Story, this was the neighbor that had all the weird toys. Oh, is it Sid? It is absolutely Sid. It is absolutely Sid. I was like, who is Andy? I'm like, where was that from? Yeah, now I feel like an idiot because that's obvious. So he is 2 for 2 everyone. He is 2 for 2. He's doing really well. Alright. So, our next category is... I love it. I absolutely love it. All right. So our next category is in the realm of the MCU, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Okay. MCU. All right. So this is a fun, always a fun topic. We always get kind of crazy situations here. All right. Which character cut Thanos's head off? Which character cut Thanos's head off? Spoiler for anyone who hasn't watched this movie. That was Thor. That is absolutely the god of thunder, Thor. Should have gone for the head, Thor. Yes, yes. All right, so that is three down. You, you're on a roll here, right? Yeah, yeah, we're holding on. We're just, we're hoping for Trek. Let's see if you actually did it. Uh, you did get... Star, but not Trek. You actually got Star Wars. Okay. Star Wars. I have not lived down the fact that I have missed this question last time. I said the T 38, which was a Russian tank. Oh my goodness. Alright, so who in Star Wars killed Qui Gon Jinn? Oh, Darth Maul. Yes, he is 4 for 4, everyone. He is so close. He is tasting glory right now. Mowing these questions down. I love it. Darth Maul, ah, might be one of the best parts of that movie, by the way. Oh, 100%. Not to mention, Darth Maul, uh, as a character. The things they did with him in Clone Wars and Rebels. Oh my lord, they are just some of the best stories told in Star Wars. Yeah. Absolutely impeccable outside like let me ask you a side question real quick like, um, rebels really good. I love rebels. Did you watch? Um, did you watch? Um, dang indoor and or? Yes. Oh, God. Oh, yes. Yeah, I think I think and or is maybe one of the best pieces of Star Wars we've ever we've ever gotten. Oh, I'm right there with you. I would take it over some of the movies I think and or is unbelievably good. What is your favorite Star Wars movie? So I am a sucker for A New Hope. I think it is, I know this is going to sound ridiculous, it is the most artsy of the Star Wars films. Um, but like, if you go back and watch it and just look at the set pieces that were created by Ralph McQuarrie, my jaw, my jaw just hits the floor. Like, um, I think one of the most brilliant. One of the most visually stunning scenes of all time is watching, um, the Millennium Falcon go into the Death Star. And just the, the matte painting that is on that is just chef's kiss. Like every time I watch that film, even though there are things throughout that film where I'm just like, Ooh, but there are, there's just those moments where it's like, I wish I could go back and experience it again, that I could watch it from a clean slate and just take all of that in and get sucked into that, that universe. Yeah, I, I love, I like a new hope, but it's not my favorite. I think my favorite is rogue one now. Oh yeah. I love rogue one. Yeah. And it's that the scene at the end to me is like a historically great scene where Dartley, you see Vader and like, Oh, it feels like a horror movie at that point. I'm like, yeah, but like, I'm, I feel like an asshole like in real life, because like, I'm. Uh, like, as soon as I see Vader, like, I know I shouldn't be rooting for him, but I am at that point. Like, when I see Vader, I'm like, get him! Tear him down! I'm like, I'm almost like Palpatine, strike him down! My favorite part of Rogue One is Krennic all the way through. He is so sarcastically great. Like every line that he delivers, he is so ridiculously ambitious and he's fighting, he's fighting with Tarkin the whole film and just the little things that he says, like when he's talking to Galen in the very beginning of the film and he's telling Galen or Galen's telling him, oh yeah, my wife passed and blah, blah, blah. And then Galen's wife comes running across the field and he just goes, it's Lyra. back from the dead. It's a miracle. Those, those lines have, have made him like one of my all time favorite Star Wars characters or that scene where with when he's with Vader and Vader tells them don't choke on your aspirations. Like it's those things that I'm like, this is This is like top tier Star Wars right here. It is. It is. And I, I know like, that's like, it's almost like a hot take that that's my favorite Star Wars movie, but like, it's like, it has, oh man, such good acting, such good like drama, like you, it's like, you know, it's almost like a tragedy story, but like, it plays like a hopeful, ambitious story at the same time. It's so, then the cameos like, ah. It makes me want to watch that damn movie today. Oh, I'm like, man, I just like, I need to fire up that microwave with some popcorn in it. Just let it rip right now. It's so good. All right. So, all right, here we go. The last and final question comes in the realm of action movies. Action movies. Yeah. Action movies. Okay, so let's, let's take a beat everyone. This is for all the marbles. His question in the realm of action movies, the matrix code in the matrix came from the came from recipes from which kind of food? Let me read out the question again for everyone. The matrix code in the matrix came from recipes for which kind of food? Man, that's brutal. This is a tough pull everybody. So I'm gonna keep reading out the question because this is the the matrix code in the matrix came from recipes for which kind of food? So basically which type of food did the matrix code in the matrix come from? So is it a type of cuisine or a specific food? I guess I would call it cuisine and genre of food, I guess, you know? I'm gonna go with Japanese. Ace food? Let me see. Let me see. A bit more specific than that. Okay, a bit more specific. So, so I'm just, I'm telling you, it's a bit more specific than the Japanese, Chinese, like Mexican or anything like that. It is very much like a subsection of food, but... So, I feel like this is a weirdly, like, weirdly worded question, so I kind of feel like giving you another question in this genre, by the way. I wouldn't be opposed. I think we're gonna do that, because I don't like the wording in this question, but like... I'm curious, what was the answer? It was sushi. Oh, that was actually my guess. That or was it? Yeah, I was like, that's crazy. That's why I was like, I want to say it's Japanese, but I could be wrong. Yeah. So is actually sushi. Okay. So yeah, we're going to go with another question here. But like, that is. That's so weird. I like, I didn't like the way that question was like worded, but here we go. Um, let's see. Ooh. All right. This is still, this is still action. I'm just refreshing and giving, giving another, by the way, I was just like, it's not giving you a break on the category. It's just giving you like a break on that, that particular question. Yeah, I bet. I bet. Oh, let's see. All right. Okay, what is the name of the fictional land where frozen takes place? I don't know how this ended up in action movies, by the way. Oh, crap. I like how you sound, crap. Oh, boy. Arendale is absolutely crazy! He absolutely did it. We have a new entry into the hall of fame, everyone. Alec has officially emerged as a new champion of champions, everyone. We have two, count it, two entries into our pro nerd hall of fame. Alec, Alec, congratulations on your, on your new status as a, a hall of famer at this point. Hall of famer. That's pretty cool. Yeah, so, so I'm gonna refresh this really quick because I'm like, I'm so curious on why this showed up is like, I want to see what the band wild. Okay, so I don't get it because like the next question on this says, which famous Pulp Fiction scene was filmed backwards. That seems like an action movie, like, that seems like an action movie, like, question, by the way. Um, so I'm like, I, you want to know the answer to that before I do that again? Okay. Mia's overdose scene was like filmed backwards in Pulp Fiction. Interesting. Yeah. I didn't know that either. Um, okay. So refreshing the question again. Um, the Matrix question and then, okay. All right, so, what, who did the cat in the classic movie, The Godfather, belong to? Was it Don Corleone? That's a very good guess. That is incorrect. No one. The cat was a stray. The cat was a stray! Love it. Yeah, but like, those feel like action movie questions. Yeah, yeah, those are action movie questions. I think we got a frozen question. It's like, okay, so like, what was the top grossing movie in 2014? That is an action movie question. 2014? Yeah. Trying to remember what was it. Avengers was 2011. Yeah, Avengers was, um, and here, let me give you some choices here, cause this spices up. Alright, so, A, you would have The Hunger Games, Mockingjay Part 1. B. The Lego movie. C. Captain America Winter Soldier. D. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Ooh, yeah, that's rough. That is a rough one. You got two Marvel movies. You have a very good animated movie. That, you know, animated movies sell like blockbusters. And then you had like, the, at that time, The Hunger Games were going kind of strong around that time. Yeah, probably would actually maybe go with, uh, I want to say that it's either the Hunger Games or the Lego movie. Ironically, um, I'm going to say Lego movie. Oh, you would have been incorrect on that one, like Guardians of the Galaxy. Okay. Like came out swinging. It was like the top grossing, not only action movie, but the top grossing overall movie in 2014. Okay. That's interesting. Like, I love that movie, by the way. Oh yeah, that Guardians is phenomenal. So I'll take that. I'm just curious. What Star Trek question would I have gotten? Hold on. Like, hold on. Here, okay, I might forcibly go to the Star Trek ones here. Alright, here it goes right here. Alright. If it's not original, if it's original series, I'm screwed. But if it's the other things I can, I can pull it off, I think. Okay, this is a, I wouldn't know this answer if someone gave me multiple choice, but like, which Deep Space Nine, which Deep Space Nine crew member goes MIA during the course of the series? Which Deep Space Nine crew member goes MIA during the course of the series? Which Deep Space Nine crew member goes MIA during the course of the series? Technically, Cisco goes MIA at the very end of the series. So, gonna guess Cisco? That's what it says right here, Benjamin Cisco. Yeah, Benjamin Cisco, yeah. At the very, at the very... End of the series, he goes M. I. A. For those that haven't seen it, no spoilers, but yeah. Captain Sisko is the main focus of the series and the series ends on, it technically wraps everything up with every character except him. We, we still to this day don't know what good old Sisko's up to. All right, all right, so very briefly, what's the best starting point for Star Trek? Like, would you say, For people to go, like, old school, do you think, like, these new, like, newer shows are a good jumping off point? What's the best starting point for a newbie? So, I, I am very biased towards 90s Star Trek, so I would say the next generation is always probably the best place to start, just given that probably from start to finish you get the most consistently good Star Trek. Okay. With the new series though, particularly with Strange New Worlds, I think Strange New Worlds is the first Star Trek series that we've had in a while that really captures, um, the essence of what Star Trek is in terms of storytelling. So, strange, if you want something modern, Strange New Worlds is like, perfect for that. And then if you want something that's a bit more like, this is, like, it was really funny to... Because I started with Next Gen, watched all the way through Next Gen, because my dad used to watch the movies with us, and we'd watch episodes with him. So then for me to go watch all the way through it was a lot of fun. And during COVID, I watched all of Voyager, I watched all of Deep Space Nine, and I started the original series. So by the time I started the original series, I had seen all of 90's Trek. Um, And the f it was when I started re watching Next Gen again that you see the similarity between the first season of, of Next Gen and the original series. And you can really feel Gene Roddenberry in the first season of Next Gen and how they're able to develop off of the things, the staples that Gene sort of set up and grow from there. So. Next gen season one is at times a little rough to watch because the, I don't think they quite had the budget or the special effects options that they had later in the series. I don't think the technology was quite there either. So there's times you're watching it and you're going, what the, what, what is that? Like, I remember there's one particular one of like some fish people and you're just looking at this thing and you're like, what the heck am I watching? But like. As a series, it's phenomenal. So, uh, Next Gen is great. Deep Space Nine is my favorite. I think it is, uh, everybody I've talked to has always described it as Star Trek for adults. It is like, it really delves into topics that are like, serious. I know there's a, in particular, a big focus of deep space nine is there's a war that breaks out in the third season, the third or fourth season. And because that's such a, you know, such a monumental focus, there's a lot of discussion about gray area and PTSD and how people are sort of coping with everything that's going on around them. And for me, that, that actually really helped me with things like anxiety. So it was really, it was, it was. Such an important series for me to watch, um, that, yeah, I always recommend that if anybody is interested in Star Trek, the first season of Deep Space Nine is a little rough, as with most Star Trek things, but like, once you really start to get into the nitty gritty of it, there's a particular episode in, I want to say it's season six of Deep Space Nine called In the Pale Moonlight, and that is maybe one of the greatest Bye. Bye. Bye. episodes of science fiction that has ever been told. I mean, I get goosebumps just thinking about it now. So that sounds really cool. Like that sounds like at that time, like what the red wedding means to a lot of people now. Yes. Yes. That sounds so good. There was, uh, cause in this particular episode, the war is not going well. And the, and the, uh, federation is losing. And so there is a, there is a, there is a line that is crossed. And at the very end of the episode, Cisco, he's doing this personal log. And the whole episode is based off of him talking you through his logic for why he did this thing and why it was necessary for, which. The whole galaxy to, to succeed and why it had to be done. And he's, his conscious is just dropping out everywhere. As he's talking about it, should I have done this? Should I have not at the very end of it? He's like. No, I did the right thing. He's like, I, I, if I was given the choice to break all the rules again and really cross that, that moral red tape, would I do it again? Oh yeah. And then he deletes his, his whole, uh, his whole log. And it's like, Oh, that's cool. It's an, it's unbelievable storytelling. So 10 out of 10 recommend, uh, watching deep space nine. That is so cool. So, uh, out of the retro stuff, like, all the retro, like, Star Trek, would you prefer all that stuff get remade with modern day technology, or would you prefer it to have, like, the same, with the exact same story, and everything like that, or would you prefer remade live action same technology, or would you prefer an animated version with the exact same story? Uh, probably the animated version, I think. That'd be cool. I think, um, Star Trek has always had such a deep history in animation. Uh, they had the original animated series. Which, after the original series ended, you had the animated series. And they brought back all the original actors for it. And, and at times it's cheesy, but it's, it's really fun to watch. So, I, I, I would love to see a return to that classic Trek animation of, uh, going on these adventures. That's really cool. That's really cool. Before we go, Alec, I got two final questions to ask you. The first one is, where can the good people find you? So they can still find me at our, our, our Cygnus accounts, even though those will be changing names soon. So follow us. Keep following us. Uh, we are working, my brother and I are working on starting another company, and we have another game in the works that we're really, really, really excited to, to be, uh, developing here soon. I apologize for all of our, our Cygnus fans. Unfortunately, we had something internally happen that we just couldn't control. Which eventually led to sort of the dissolving of our company, but, um, we hope that we haven't lost you and we hope that we can give you a new game here really soon that is going to hopefully defy the expectations of things that we set up previously. Okay. Okay. And then on my final question is... What is one meal you're looking forward to having, uh, like, uh, like that you're actually, like, salivating for? Like, what is, what is that one meal? Because I'm in a dinner type of mood right now. Like, yeah. So I, my birthday is actually next weekend. And yeah. And for my birthday, uh, my family members were kind of like, well, what do you want to do? What do you want to do? And from my house, there's a little Italian deli that's probably about 10 minutes away and they make. One of the best sandwiches I've ever had in my entire life. So we're all going to go there for lunch. So I'm really excited to get my, uh, my roast beef and Swiss, uh, Italian sub. So do you put any weird like toppings on this? So, Oh no, no, no, no. So they, they, they, uh, they go with sort of their setup of an Italian sub. So it's got the balsamic, it's got the, the, the lettuce, tomato, onion, like. Like, I like simple. I'm like, yes, give me just mayo, balsamic, lettuce, tomato, onion, Swiss cheese, and roast beef on good bread. It really is second to none to have sort of a really good deli sandwich. I like that. I like that. So you're turning 21, you're going to have this sandwich and you just really... And it's just good times from there. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I wish I was turning 21. Oh man. And so do I. Yeah. I wish I could have that level of energy again, but no. Yeah, yeah. Back then, what was sleep at that point? like, what? What was sleep? I'm like, we were just game all night at that point. Like, oh yeah, no, I felt it. Even on this last, on this last Vegas trip, you know? Mm-hmm. it was, you know, I, everybody in my group was like, yeah, so we're gonna do this club call that starts at nine 40, and I'm like, Bedtime? That's bedtime! I'm like, 940? Like, I have a flight that leaves at 6am, I gotta leave for the airport by like 4. 30, I'm like, where's the sleep? Yeah, exactly. I was thinking like, I'd like go to IHOP or with you around 940, you know, like. I was like, we can go to IOP, maybe grab a drink or something and then go home, like go to the hotel, like chill, that sort of thing. Yeah, I'm like, I'm too old for that. No, no, no. I'm like, I got to go to bed. I mean, I have to drive after I fly. I know, I feel you, I feel you. It's like they're, they're talking bar crawls and stuff like that. You're like, the only crawl I want to do is crawl my ass into bed. Yeah, for sure. For sure. So everyone, thank you so much for listening to this episode. This single player experience has been a fun one. You know, I really enjoyed this Alec man. Thank you so much for being here. Yeah. Thank you for having me as always. It's Such a pleasure to be on the show. So anytime you need me, just let me know. Oh, for sure. I guarantee guarantee this is that this is the first of many. Like I love having you on the show. So everyone, thank you so much for listening to this episode of the single player experience. As always, you can catch this on all your favorite podcast platforms. Thank you for all your support.

So that's a wrap for today's show. I want to give a special shout and thank you to Alec Tob from Cigna Studios for being on the show today. I also wanna let you know about the single player experience Discord server. It's the perfect place for single player gamers to talk about the good single player games they've been playing lately, and to get video game recommendations. Think of it kind of like a book club for single player gamers. The link to join will be in the description. Once you're in, feel free to share your video game backlog list. Talk about the good games you've been playing, or give your feedback on the show if you have a game that you think should be recommended or that you think I should talk about. Let me know in the single Player Experience Discord server. I'll see you there. Before we go, I just want to thank you so much for listening to today's episode. Stay safe, stay gamming, and I hope to catch you in the next one. Peace.