What is The Commune?
We're a group of gamers, and we're always looking for new gamers to join us. Every month or so, we pick a game to play. We chat about the game together, and we record podcasts, record videos, and write essays. You can reach The Commune in the following ways: As for me, I'm Greg Livingston, but I go by Golem. I organize things around here.

Interview with Ben Ruiz

About the game Aztez.
View Ben Ruiz's web site
From or related to Episode 22 of the podcast.
Recorded on Apr 3, 2014
Uploaded on Apr 11, 2014
Download or listen:
Ben Ruiz writes a blog, he's a combat consultant, and right now, he's at work on Aztez, a beat 'em up with a strategy edge. And, as it turns out, he does interviews. (As a side note, some of our discussion relies on his outline of The History of Beat 'em Ups. Also, keep your ears peeled for my mispronunciation of Aztez.)

First, he reviews the roles of various player incentives; how does health work in a game? How about score? Ben outlines different incentives as ways to approach players at different skill levels.

Then, he addresses the mechanics of beat 'em ups. What mechanics do beat 'em ups employ to approach depth, pacing and variety? This part of the discussion collects a broad spectrum of action games, from First Age beat 'em ups to the Third Age.

(Censorship follows NPR rules: sex is okay, but leave out the cursing.)
 

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