EXP Podcast #20: Resident Evil 5 Debriefing

Grab you shotgun and your thinking caps, because this week, we are devoting the podcast to a thorough discussion of Resident Evil 5!  We put in some marathon couch co-op sessions, analyzing everything from the control scheme to the game's character development.  As we discuss in the show, Resident Evil 5 quickly became a controversial game in a number of respects.  The game has sparked debates over everything from game design to social responsibility, so we take some extra time to delve into this surprisingly complicated game.  We encourage everyone to read the show notes for some background on the ethnicity discussion, as some very smart folks have calmly, patiently, and rationally explained the issues behind the game's imagery.  These are some charged topics, but as always, we welcome feedback and discussions.  Feel free to send us an email or post your thoughts in the comments.

Some discussion starters:

- When does a control scheme move from being a "style" to simply being outdated?  If you have played the game, do you think RE5 crosses this line?
- Resident Evil has always featured arbitrary, yet constant rules.  To what extent do you appreciate "game-eyness" in your video games?  What do you think about the "if-then" gameplay we discussed?
- What kind of co-op games most effectively make use of two-player teamwork: do structured, explicitly-designed two player challenges or more free-form, player initiated cooperation make for better cooperation?
- What are games' obligations towards social responsibility?  How can games address complicated issues like race, class, gender, and politics?

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- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed.
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Show Notes:

- Run time: 50 min 16 sec
- N'Gai Croal's original comments on the RE5 Trailer: "Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal On The ‘Resident Evil 5′ Trailer: ‘This Imagery Has A History"
- Shawn Elliot: "Primal Fear: Haunted by Ghosts of Predators Past"
- Shawn Elliot: "Racial Imagery in RE5 Trailer?"
- Evan Narcisse on Crispy Gamer: "Thought/Process: More on Resident Evil 5 and Uncomfortable Echoes"
- Music provided by Brad Sucks