The Backrooms Podcast

Tutorials can be awesome, but they can also be suck-tacular. They can be brief, or overly drawn-out. They can sometimes hold your hand, and they can sometimes be Dark Souls. The one thing that most games have in common is that they each have one, even if you might not realize that it's there.

In today's episode, the boys use what *some* might call "QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS" to determine how different games approach teaching new players their mechanics, as well as engage in a broader discussion about how we as individuals go about learning.

I hope we teach you a thing or two...

In 2015, 343 decided it was in the players' best interest to remove local co-op capabilities from Halo 5: Guardians. This was the beginning of the end of gaming with your friends together in the same room. Nowadays, AAA games tend not to support local multiplayer, so the boys decided to take a trip down memory lane in the oh-so distant past of before 2007.

We are retconning our first episode; it is no longer cannon. But unfortunately, we have to deal with poorly executed plotlines; some so bad, that even one of the greatest experiences can be ruined by its own writers.

Indie Games have been rising in popularity over the past few years, & this is a great trend to see. Nowadays, the boys feel as if the creativity we see in the industry is only offered by the independent developers. Concepts, mechanics, design, & stories that offer a more unique experience are more likely to be found in this space.

What do you do to pass the time? Do you have any specific interests or hobbies? If you do, great! That's exactly what we are here to talk about. Hobbies can fall anywhere between just having a simple interest or taking up a large chunk of dedication and enjoyment, to being a lifestyle or a complete definition of your Self. Which one are you? Come join us on a deep dive of the importance of having some hobbies, what can be considered a hobby, & some of our own lame hobbies.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and with it comes the important dialogue that is never had. The boys have both direct & indirect experiences with mental health conflicts, and it is fitting to start here, in the first room of Sub-level 3, as we descend further into The Backrooms. We ask our listeners to make a promise. If you know someone who may struggle with mental health, please check in with them, and say hello. If you need someone to vent to, message us on social media, we will listen.

The United States has transitioned away from the 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to 988 – an easy-to-remember three-digit number for 24/7 crisis care. In the UK, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is open from 6:00pm to midnight every day on 0800 689 5652.

Bugs are some of the best parts of the gaming experience. It could also completely break an experience. When a game is buggy or broken, it can ruin our enjoyment & break our immersion. However, some of the best moments in gaming history would not be here without the use of bugs & exploits. Hell, even some old games are still played, and in the spotlight, due to their unintended exploits.

Everything must come to an end someday, thanks to our friend, Entropy. However, when should a story end? The boys discuss different ways writers & developers have either hung onto their favorite stories for too long, or cut off a series or character too early. Maybe there are some movies, shows, & games that should have a sequel or spin off, but maybe there are some that we're better left alone. And maybe Disney needs to chill with all these damn Marvel spinoffs that are starting to make absolutely no sense.

Everything becomes "retro" at some point. Regardless, the boys are taking a step back in time once again to talk about their golden age of gaming, the early 2000s. Now, is this really retro? Probably not to most people, but that doesn't matter because we're talking about it anyways. Let's take a moment to enjoy this trip down memory lane to discuss games and consoles of our childhood and their influences, and maybe some actual "retro" games.