Iteration 218 - Magic and Blood

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and also here: https://archive.org/download/thesimulationist/Iteration218-MagicAndBlood.mp3

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We start the podcast off with talking about the adventures we have personally had in video games this week. Josh plays Dwarf Fortress and rebuilds his old fort, getting tips from Ryan on better defences. Ryan plays Minecraft with the Thaumcraft mod, and experiences video game bliss. And another review from Zoey, this time of the film the Road to El Dorado. And this movie inspires our main topic this week, which is blood magic, and how magic always seems to cost something. We ask why it should cost anything to use magic, and if you were designing your own world, what choices should you make as to the cost of magic?

References and Recommendations:

The Road to El Dorado: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138749/

Iteration 217 - Succession and Transition of Power

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also here: https://archive.org/download/thesimulationist/Iteration217-SuccessionAndTransitionOfPower.mp3

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Esquimalt to get a new TV studio space, so the entertainment industry in Victoria is expanding! We talk a bit about the return of the Necromancer class into Diablo, and about how we think a company decides which content to monetize, and which content to make free. Ryan achieves all the achievements for Samhain in the Secret World. Zoey reviews Alice and Wonderland, with a little help from her dad. And for our main topic, well we just couldn't resist the US election, so we try to put a storytelling slant on it. We talk about voting systems like the electoral college. We talk about how power is gained, held, and maintained in our fantasy realms.

References and Recommendations:

Tres Laughin with Josh TreLeaven: https://treslaffin.blogspot.com

Made You Look Media: https://vimeo.com/madeyoulookmedia

Iteration 216 - Adaptation versus Repetition

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and also here: https://archive.org/download/thesimulationist/Iteration216-AdaptationVersusRepetition.mp3

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We open with a meta discussion about the future of podcasts and all media. And we ask what media is going to be like when we can simply download memories of experiences that are as good as actually having them. Then Ryan brings us a thought about comedic duos, comparing the Yogscast goons to Abbot and Costello. Josh plays some more Dwarf Fortress and admires the aesthetic of a bare-bones graphical style. Ryan plays the Secret World's Halloween content. For our main topic, we talk about the value of adaptation.

References and Recommendations:

The Stoned Ape: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna#.22Stoned_ape.22_theory_of_human_evolution

Iteration 215 - Romancing a Q

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and also here: https://archive.org/download/thesimulationist/Iteration215-RomancingAQ.mp3

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We start with a tangent on Doctor Who. Then we do the rest of the podcast. We struggle with the question of whether to be happy that Ewe Bolle has been put in his place. Josh plays Dwarf Fortress and labours at digging through aquifers. Ryan watches Sleeping Beauty with Zoey. Ryan brings up the idea of what happens when the most powerful political entity in the area is an evil fairy queen. And then we talk about as many examples as we can think of when the love interests in a story have an age difference in the hundreds or thousands of years, and how that's dealt with in fantasy and science fiction. We also talk about what it really means for elves to have such extended lifespans.


References and Recommendations:

Han Solo film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3778644/