GameMarx Podcast

GameMarx, you are so close

     

This show is to the XBLIG community as two 50-something divorcees are to marriage - it isn’t the best, but what other options do you have? There are no other XBLIG podcasts and this one is regular, and hosted by people who really know what they are doing. However, the show often derails into long rants about WinRT and other stupid moves that Microsoft has made (there is a lot-of Microsoft-armchair-CEOing). The guests are usually forgotten half-way through the show and aren’t asked questions anymore. Reviews go on WAY too long (thankfully I think they are getting rid of them soon).

That said, the hosts are genuinely likeable and are almost like a nerd version of the Howard Stern Show. Mike is legitimately funny, Dylan is an easy and humble foil, and Cecily adds a female angle but is often tasked with quieting a fussy baby that is up way past her bed time (I am not joking).

I am glad that the show exists. The XBLIG community is interesting in that its members are competing for recognition, legitimacy, and money.
As an XBLIG developer myself I am grateful that they cover news and changes to the service. I wish there was more gossip and shaming of people from the forums (maybe have a thread-to-read-of-the-week segment). I wish GameMarx would offer deeper information about algorithms and tips for developing your games (don’t worry about alienating people who don’t program because they would never listen to this.) I wish someone would have warned me about the XML limits of running your game on the XBOX before I spend 10 hours making a parser; or how to best manage and detect memory limitations.

The guests they invite are really good and are key members of the community who either had a recent hit or have been doing this for a long time. So I am thankful for that. However, I wish they would ask them more post-mortem style questions. Like “describe your most complicated algorithm” or “what tool was most useful for you?”, “what books or online tutorials would you recommend” and then ask them to describe it in detail so that we upcoming developers could learn from them.