This week, The GG Podcast returns with the latest chatter in esports and the gaming community. The call-in guest this time is… Rick Fox? Jace Hall and Todd Roy hold down the fort while Rick calls in from business on the East Coast with the LA Lakers and Kawhi Leonard. The trio delves into DOTA 2’s prize pool, Dr DisRespect’s apology, the loot box debate, and more.
You can listen to The GG Podcast Episode 6 - The Lost Roys in its entirety below.
This week the show kicks off with a small chat about Dr DisRespect, his apology, and recent drama with Kotaku. The squad chats about whether the apology was enough, personal experience with Doc, and the dangers of being “always on” in a persona.
After that, The GG Podcast talks about the DOTA 2 International prize pool. Having raised over $25 million off crowd funding, they debate on the pros and cons of crowd funding. Jace questions the economy of the DOTA 2 competitive space, where it seems like everything leads up to the one big prize at The International, as opposed to a steady flow of prize money through the year. Rick shares enthusiasm for the model and both compare and contrast the strategies of Valve with that found in a system like the League of Legends LCS.
The trio then delves into crunch in the gaming industry. Having been in game development with Monolith Productions, Jace Hall shares his personal view of the difference between personal, self-induced crunch out of passion for the project, as opposed to company-enforced crunch. The
Crunch in the game industry. Jace, as a publisher, shares his experience on crunch, and the difference between personal self-induced crunch and enforced crunch. Moreover, the reasons for crunch are discussed, including an underestimation of workload vs the deadline, the dangers of pushing the deadline back or cutting content to make it, and additional content based on testing feedback with the same deadline in place.
Finally, the trio delves into the hotly contested debate of loot boxes. An email question asks the common question: Are loot boxes gambling?
Be a part of the conversation and tell us what you think....
— The GG Podcast (@TheGGPodcast) July 3, 2019
ARE LOOT BOXES GAMBLING!?
If you wish to elaborate, please email us at [email protected] ?
Rick and Todd speak to the points that seem to make all loot boxes a gamble, comparing it to a raffle. Where the buy-in is always the same, the value after the purchase makes it a risk akin to gambling. Meanwhile, Jace plays devil’s advocate, arguing that regardless of the after-purchase value, the buy-in is always the same and you’re always guaranteed to get something. Hall compares it to a comic book that becomes rare later on and after the initial, static-valued purchase.
You can catch The GG Podcast every Wednesday at 12PM PST. Be sure to subscribe at PodcastOne to be informed when new episodes go live. You can also follow The GG Podcast on Twitter and email them at [email protected] with listener questions and feedback.
