Drinking from the Flame: A Dark Souls 3 “Let’s Play”, Episodes 1-5
Evan has been drinking hard and playing hard. What started as a standard “Let’s Play” soon drove Evan to grog. His wife wishes he’d stop recording so many episodes in […]
Video Review: Redout (PC)
Check out Evan’s latest video review! He’s terrible at racing games, so should you trust his review? Probably not! Evan’s YouTube channel
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 128 – Best of 2016 Part 1
In this episode: We recount our favourite games, comics, movies and TV from the first half (give or take a few months) of 2016 and also gush about one of […]
Victory Pointers 016 – GenCon 2016 with Sean Carroll
We are joined by Sean Carroll of 93 Made Games to chat about Gen Con 2016 from the perspective of a publisher attending for the first time. Sean Carroll – […]
GEEKY SHIT: The Four Horsies of the ‘Pocalypse, art toys by Bigshot Toyworks
Bigshot Toyworks sits at the intersection of great design, cool IPs, and excellent production. Their work on Maddie, the Cthuloid My Little Pony inspired character, was followed up in 2015 […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 127 – Lung Transplants and Emergent Storytelling
In this episode: We talk about emergent storytelling in games as Aaron has been playing Rimworld and encountering silly situations brought about by zany colonists. We also chat about things […]
Review: Silence! The Elder Speaks (PC)
As a toolset for budding game designers, RPG Maker has long been a staple of the scene. Silence! The Elder Speaks joins games like To The Moon in building a unique […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 126 – Social Geekdom
In this episode: We gather together to talk about the social aspects of our geeky hobbies, spurred on by the release of worldwide hit Pokemon GO. In our round up: […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 125 – Ask Jackson Anything
In this episode: It’s Jackson’s turn in the hot seat as we ask him all the burning questions we’ve been holding on to, like: what’s that burning sensation? How many […]
Catfishing with Kitty Kisses : Mediocre role-play, or inept deception?
Note: Please do not harass any of the parties involved in this odd situation. This morning offered one of the strangest experiences of my online life. I was told by a […]
GEEKY SHIT: Durarara!!x2 – Orihara Izaya 1/8 scale Psychedelic Ver. by ALTAiR (Alter)
Of all the villains modelled on The Joker’s brand of “anarchy for interest’s sake”, Orihara Izaya is easily the most stylish. The fact that he’s a villain at all is […]
Victory Pointers 015 – Designing and Publishing with David Harding and Phil Walker-Harding
We are joined by guests Phil Walker-Harding and David Harding (in a rare back-to-back appearance) to chat about their different paths taken in designing and publishing games, getting your foot […]
Drinking from the Flame: A late-comer’s love affair with Dark Souls
Warning: This article contains extensive spoilers for the Dark Souls series, and many terrible Dark Souls puns. I make no apologies. Unlike many other recent converts who have been drawn […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 124 – More Like BORED Games
In this episode: Adam returns to the podcast to talk about E3 and all the hype for video games out of it. I lie, we actually just talk about food […]
Victory Pointers 014 – BorderCon with Joel Finch and David Harding
We were just in Albury for BorderCon, an annual board game convention that attracts plenty of board gamers from the surrounding states. While we were there, we caught up with […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 123 – Watching Over You
In this episode: There’s going to be some Overwatch in this episode. No escaping it. We talk about ethical game design, particularly in relation to representation and monetisation. We also […]
Victory Pointers 013 – Designing Experiences and Tabletopia Playtesting with Philip duBarry
We are joined by consummate game designer, Philip duBarry to talk about designing games around experiences, working with intellectual property, getting games published in the era of Kickstarter, playtesting on […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 122 – Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
In this episode: First up, we’re super sorry we’ve been away for a while. This episode was recorded quite a while ago, but a combination of hardware failures and incredibly […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 121 – A Marriage in the Key of Mother 3
In this episode: Be warned! This episode contains full spoilers for Mother 3! Welcome to an intimate evening with Evan and Kat, as they discuss their relationship with the 2006 JRPG, […]
Victory Pointers 012 – Designing for Kids and Networking with Peter C Hayward
Kim’s game, Monstrous, is now being shipped to backers! We also chat about shipping games, dexterity games and designing games with kids and families in mind. In the second half […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 120 – Influential Books That Are Not Mother 3
In this episode: As foreshadowed, Adam is back for a fiver on the podcast as we talk about influential books in our lives (that are not Mother 3). In “what […]
The Mechanics of Failure (XCOM2)
Let’s get this out of the way – XCOM2 – a turn based tactical combat / strategy game – is an extraordinarily well crafted game, and is right now the […]
Victory Pointers 011 – Game Industry Conventions
Kim and Sye have been busy attending some game industry conventions, GAMA in Las Vegas and the Australian Toy Hobby and Licensing Fair in Melbourne, so we catch up with […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 119 – Have A Little Faith
In this episode: We chat about the representation of faith in games and other media, which is code for “Evan gives a lecture on the representation of faith in Mother […]
Victory Pointers 010 – Kickstarting Publishing with Allen Chang and Alistair Kearney
We are joined by Allen Chang and Alistair Kearney from Rule & Make to discuss collaborating on designs, focusing on the core of games, Kickstarting a publishing company, communicating with […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 118 – Things That Come In Threes
In this episode: We celebrate our 3rd anniversary by chatting about our favourite trilogies and other things that come in threes. We also take some time to answer some listener […]
Review: Pharaoh Rebirth+ (PC)
Thanks to Degica Games and their efforts to bring a growing catalogue of Japanese indie and arcade classics (Mushihimesama, RPG Maker, Crimzon Clover, Muv-Luv, and many more) to Steam, we […]
Victory Pointers 009 – Design Philosophies and Collaboration with Matt Dunstan
We are joined by Matt Dunstan to discuss finding a community, collaborating on designs, how we come up with game ideas, working with publishers, and recognizing different philosophies of game […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 117 – Out of Town at GX Australia
In this episode: We take a trip out to Sydney for GX Australia (and some tasty late night Thai desserts at Chat Thai), Australia’s first queer gaming convention. Features chats […]
GEEKY SHIT: Transistor Figure, and Val & Beholder Vinyl with Mimic
Some of my favourite recent pieces have been developed by Bigshot Toyworks, including Monkey with a Gun, and The Four Horsies of the ‘Pocalypse (review to come). Here I’ll be looking […]
GEEKY SHIT: Adventure Time Puff Jake N Lil Finn and Lady Rainicorn Med Figures by Kidrobot
As some of you may be aware, I consider Adventure Time to be one of the most important shows of our generation. The way it plays with fantasy tropes using […]
GEEKY SHIT: Doronjo (and Oda-sama) 1/7 scale figure by Amakuni
You might recognise Miss Leopard (alias: Doronjo) from my previous figure review, which took a look at PLUM’s release, and as such I’ll keep the exposition short. She’s the protagonist […]
GEEKY SHIT: The First Hellboy, Statue by Mondo
A couple of years before Mike Mignola would begin publishing stories featuring his iconic half-demon supernatural detective, there was a sketch of a character with the same name in the […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 116 – The Wars in Our Stars
In this episode: We finally get around to chatting about Star Wars Episode VII at length, since Evan was the last holdout who had not seen it. We talk about […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 115 – Coming Up 2016
In this episode: We are joined by officially new host (AKA replacement Adam) Jackson to chat about what we are looking forward to in 2016. We talk about the movies, […]
Victory Pointers 008 – CanCon, Looking Back at 2015 and Ahead to 2016
We are at yet another board game convention, recording at CanCon 2016. We take some time to take stock of what we’ve achieved in our game design journeys in 2015 […]
Victory Pointers 007 – Seeking Excellence with Jamey Stegmaier
We are joined by Jamey Stegmaier to discuss seeking excellence in board game design. We discuss setting expectations, blind playtesting, how our views on excellence have changed, and figuring out […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 114 – Our Favourites of 2015
In this episode: Adam is back! Who knew scheduling a podcast for Australian and American timezones would be so tricky??? In this episode we look back at the year 2015 […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 113 – The Incredibly Late Christmas Episode
In this episode: This episode was recorded all the way back in mid-December, but since I was busy holidaying back home in Malaysia and then eating way too much over […]
Victory Pointers 006 – Designing Board Games in Malaysia at KotakCon Mini
One of the things we want to do on this podcast is examine what it’s like to make games outside the European and American hotbeds of the industry. I was […]
Victory Pointers 005 – MeepleCon 2015
One last convention related podcast to end the year. Sye and I checked out what was on at MeepleCon, and chatted with Mathew Utting (organizer of MeepleCon) and fellow game […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 112 – Mastering Nothing with Sharona
In this episode: Sharona (of Popculture-y) joins us to chat about the Netflix original series, Master of None, representation and food. We also chat about what we’ve been up to […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 111 – Hobby Enablers
In this episode: We gather around the sharing tree to share how we indulge our consumerist popular media interests via online tools i.e. we chat about what we use online […]
Victory Pointers 004 – Convention Pointers from PAX Aus 2015
We close out the month with the last of our PAX-related podcast episodes. Join us as we share our experiences at the convention and also share tips on how to […]
Dial H: A Graphic Novel Review.
I’ve long been a fan of China Miéville’s work. Not that it’s always easy to read, mind you. Long, convoluted plot lines, outlined in jagged paragraphs, with incredible characters in […]
The Action Points Podcast! Episode 110b – PAXtraordinary Convention Food Wrap Up
In this episode: We’re joined by Ken Lee of the Hyper Pixelcast for a wrap-up of PAX Australia and what games and experiences delighted us at the convention. We also […]
Victory Pointers Episode 003 – Indie Board Game Designers at PAX Australia 2015
Aaron interviewed some indie board game designers, publishers and artists while he was at PAX Australia 2015. Listen on to find out what’s going on here in Australia. Episode link […]
The Mother Series: Non-Human Characters and Humanity
The Mother series of JRPGs offers incredible depths of thematic discussion thanks to its enormous cast of characters, and tens of hours of gameplay. I intend to slowly pick away […]
GEEKY SHIT: (NSFW) Matoi Ryūko (Senketsu Kisaragi ver.) and Kiryūin Satsuki (Senketsu ver.) figures by Good Smile Company
Good Smile Company has given us two of the most impressive figures available from the Kill la Kill series in the form of Ryūko in her ultimate Senketsu Kisaragi uniform, […]
Session Report: Incubator Meetup – October 2015
This last Incubator event was our second ever daytime one, and though we has slightly less people attending than the first one, we still saw a whole bunch of different […]
