Thursday Mar 14, 2024

Episode 104 - Lukas Eggen Interview AND Quilts and Cats of Calico Review

We have a special episode this week hosted by Ben and Norah!  After dispensing with the formalities, Ben has a great interview with journalist Lukas Eggen from the Las Vegas Review-Journal to share.  Lukas has a new Kickstarter project that he is working on that will hopefully reinvigorate games journalism by going back to a traditional investigative reporting philosophy… “Game On!”  Ben’s interview style is very conversational, but he does have a couple of thought provoking questions up his sleeve.  Following that, Ben and Norah talk about their experiences with the game Quilts and Cats of Calico from Monster Couch (available now on Steam for the PC and Mac).  Please be patient with Ben as he is still workshopping his “on air” review style.

00:00:02 - Tucson is just okay according to Norah, defending Ben, and on to the interview!
00:02:09 - A warmup conversation with Lukas, and what we are playing or looking forward to
00:06:18 - Lukas’ first review code, thoughts on KtJL, and what gamers really want
00:09:23 - Ben’s first review code, PopCap beta testing, and Lukas’ disappointment sets in 
00:12:06 - Lukas’ start in journalism, gaming trajectory, and current position at LVR-J
00:17:29 - Journalistic integrity past and present, cable TV, entertainment, and bias in news
00:20:18 - Talking about the “Game On!” mission statement and what it means to Lukas
00:24:00 - Physical vs. online news pipelines, doing the work, and old fashioned news views 
00:27:05 - Hat choices, Lukas’ beat, game industry focus, and gaming news diversity
00:28:54 - Does Lukas consider himself a member of the video games industry?
00:30:40 - Ben’s suggestion to sell magazine subscriptions, and Lukas on meeting Greg Miller
00:33:19 - Go to Kickstarter for more information on Lukas’ not so secret project “Game On!”
00:35:01 - Norah’s thoughts, interview styles, and Ben thanks David Letterman 
00:36:02 - The embargo has lifted, Ben’s review formula, and the audiovisuals of QaCoC
00:39:02 - Cat behaviors, taco costume, creating cats, and the Calico game mechanics
00:41:10 - Quilt tessellations, game pieces, gameplay loop, and ways to score points in Calico
00:45:40 - No smallpox, 10-15 minutes per, playing online, and story mode is underwhelming
00:49:41 - QUILT WAR, “Pass and Play,” easy to learn difficult to master, and game complexity
00:52:23 - How life works, text size can’t be changed, and Norah asks about the age to play
00:57:32 - Norah’s thoughts on the tutorial, thank you to Monster Couch, and closing remarks

Check out the “LAN Parties” podcast on your favorite podcast service or listen to it here…
https://www.reviewjournal.com/podcasts/lan-parties/

To help Lukas get his “Game On!” magazine fully funded go here...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2103037101/game-on-2
As of the publishing date of this podcast there are only 26 more days to go, so if you are interested in supporting a fresh perspective in games journalism, please consider supporting Lukas in his endeavor! 

For all of Lukas Eggen’s social media and journalism stuff… 
https://linktr.ee/LukasEggen

Follow Two Vague on…
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On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twovaguepodcast
On (ex-)Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwoVaguePodcast

For show appearance and other inquiries, contact us at... twovaguepodcast@gmail.com

 

A BIG thank you to Krzysiek for Monster Couch for providing us with our FIRST review code! 


Ben’s Review of “Quilts and Cats of Calico”

The FORMULA…
Audiovisuals (AV) + Game Mechanics (GM) + Story and Narrative (SN) = a video game experience

Ben’s importance percentages = 20% AV + 35% GM + 45% SN

AV - Audiovisuals - (8) - The game is very cute and definitely fits into the cosy, country home category of graphic design which absolutely compliments the game perfectly.  Likewise, the top notch quality songs and background music fit the theme and mood, but I would have liked more than 3-4 songs total.  The cats that roam around and fall asleep at the top of the screen, but they will sometimes intersect with decorative items placed around the game board.  It would have been neat if the cats would knock stuff down like “normal” cats do.  You can also create and DRESS UP your own cats which was the FIRST thing I did with my review copy. Mango and/or Bash will join me in game while they are likely napping in real life.  This may sound ridiculous to a non-cat lover, but I wish there were more pattern and body customization options, but it’s good enough for government work.

GM - Game Mechanics - (9) -  For the details on the game rules and gameplay loop check out the Calico rules which can be found here… https://www.alderac.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Calico-Rules.pdf .  The whole concept of the board game is very well thought out, so the video game adaptation works wonderfully it this area.  Game rounds are about 10 min per human player, which also hits a sweet spot for me.  The scoring system can be a little more advanced in the board game (with achievements), but they keep it simple here.  

SN - Story / Narrative - (5) - The story mode is NOT the high point of the game, and the story dialog is barely worth paying attention to.  In addition to playing the game against a single AI opponent, there are also missions that will require you to fill your quilt board with a limited number of tiles, or fulfill certain button or color goals, but there really is nothing very compelling about this mode.  I’m not entirely sure how to make it more essential to the game.  Perhaps if there were avatar or cat customization options given as rewards for completing story missions it might be worth playing.

UP

  • PASS AND PLAY - In addition to online play, there is a local “pass and play” option if you wish to select more than one human player for the 4 available players.
  • Calico is one of those amazing “easy to learn, difficult to master” games that is complex enough to hold your attention, but not so much as to alienate players.
  • Simple yet fun gameplay with option to play 3 player games with online matchmaking

DOWN

  • There is no setting to change the text size.  I tried to show the game to Norah on my MacBook, but the goal tile description text was too small for her to read.
  • The 3-4 background songs do get repetitive after playing for a while
  • The graphic style of the main game vs the story mode don’t compliment each other, and the  story mode is not as robust or necessary to play as I would have hoped.

DO BUY… if you want a family friendly strategy game.  Heck buy the physical version too while you are at it!  It would make a wonderful addition to any game night!
DO PLAY… if you are a fan of board games; Calico and it’s video twin are wonderful, well crafted game experiences.

Ben’s FINAL VERDICT aka the MATH on Quilts and Cats of Calico!


(8 * .20) + (9 * .35) + (5 * .45) = 7 out of 10… things.

 

References, Links, and Tags

Check out the catalogues of boardgames from AEG and Flatout Games…
https://www.alderac.com/ AND https://www.flatout.games/

Monster Couch’s “Quilts and Cats of Calico” has been released as of March 5th!
https://www.monstercouch.com/quilts-and-cats-of-calico/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1993180/Quilts_and_Cats_of_Calico/

#Podbean #DIYPodcast #ApplePodcast #VideoGames #Trivia #Comedy #Talkshow #2VP #TwoVaguePodcast #Calico #QuiltsAndCatsOfCalico #MonsterCouch #LukasEggen #LANParties #LasVegasReviewJournal #Kickstarter #GameOn

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