Quantcast

Call for Papers: PopMatters Celebrates The Jam in Massive Special Section

Moving Pixels Podcast: The Evolution of Hack and Slash

This week the Moving Pixels podcast looks at the evolution of the dungeon crawl from its social aspects and etiquette to its mechanics and playstyle.

Dungeons & Dragons might be its low tech form, but video games have not strayed far from the formula of getting some friends together, killing some monsters, and collecting loot.  From Gauntlet to Diablo to Torchlight, the hack and slash game is an experience both social and individualistic, steeped ironically in both greed and co-operation.


This week the Moving Pixels podcast looks at the evolution of the dungeon crawl from its social aspects and etiquette to its mechanics and playstyle.
  


This podcast is also available via iTunes.


 

More discussion of dungeon crawls:


Elf Shot the Food: The Inevitability of Discord in Co-Op Gauntlet by G. Christopher Williams


Double-Edged Sword: Making Mistakes in Diablo II by Andy Johnson


Diablo 2: Still Grinding After All These Years by L.B. Jeffries


Review: Torchlight by Mike Schiller


Champions of Norrath: Realms of Everquest: Gold Rush by G. Christopher Williams


 

Our podcast contributors:


G. Christopher Williams is the Multimedia Editor at PopMatters.com.  You can find his weekly updates featured on Wednesdays at PopMatters and also at the Neuromance blog.


Nick Dinicola is also a regular contributor to the Moving Pixels blog.


Thomas Cross contributes frequently to the Multimedia section at PopMatters.com, and he also pens the Diamond in the Rough column for GameSetWatch.

Comments
Now on PopMatters
Short Ends and Leader: 'Battleship': What Did You Expect?
'Battleship': What Did You Expect? (Short Ends and Leader) [Mon, 2:00 pm]
East Meets Least: 'Thirteen Women' (Short Ends and Leader) [Fri, 4:00 pm]
'Man to Man' is an Early Talkie that's Not Stagey at All (Short Ends and Leader) [Fri, 4:00 pm]
Calling Out to Carroll...Baker: 'Bridge to the Sun' (Short Ends and Leader) [Fri, 4:00 pm]
Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist (Mixed Media) [Fri, 12:00 pm]
Paranormal (Radio)Activity: 'Chernobyl Diaries' (Short Ends and Leader) [Fri, 11:00 am]
'Men in Black 3' Looks Back, Again (Reviews) [Fri, 9:20 am]
Poliça: 11 May 2012 - Rochester, NY (Reviews) [Fri, 6:25 am]
'The Witcher 2' Does the Exposition Dump Right (Moving Pixels) [Fri, 6:00 am]
  1. The Top 10 Overplayed Songs You Hate by Artists You Love (Sound Affects)
  2. Tea with 'Sherlock': Investigating the Investigators (Features)
  3. Sunk? This 'Battleship' Stunk! (Short Ends and Leader)
  4. Tenacious D: Rize of the Fenix (Reviews)
  5. Top Ten Lost Midwest Punk Singles (Sound Affects)
  6. 20 Questions: Kate Bornstein (Features)
  7. 10 Pieces of Cinematic Art That Require Revisiting (Short Ends and Leader)
  8. Like 'Doom', In Heels (Moving Pixels)
  9. Punk Rock's Pet Sounds: An Interview with Bomb the Music Industry! (Features)
  10. She's a Rainbow: A Tribute to Donna Summer (Features)
  11. Counterbalance No. 82: U2's 'Achtung Baby' (Sound Affects)
  12. 'Albatross': A Not-So-Weighty Coming-of-Age Meets Mid-Life-Crisis Film (Reviews)
  13. Counterbalance No. 83: The Stooges' 'Fun House' (Sound Affects)
  14. We Will Avenge Them Or… Be Avenged?: The Individual in the US Experience (Features)
  15. Go Goth!: Ranking the Burton/Depp Collaborations (Short Ends and Leader)
  16. The Queen and Her Crayons: An Interview With Donna Summer (Features)
  17. Best Coast: The Only Place (Reviews)
  18. The Best Canadian Records of the Year? The Fun Agony of Voting for the Polaris Prize Long List (Sound Affects)
  19. Flash Points: Mommy's Breast, Marriage Equality and Why Chipotle Is King (Features)
  20. Something’s Wrong with the Black Widow! (Graphic Novelties)
  21. Sergio Leone: Something to Do with Death (Columns)
  22. Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music (Reviews)
  23. Sherlock Holmes, Dirk Gently and the Case of the Eccentric Detective (Columns)
  24. Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist (Mixed Media)
  25. In Support of Supports (Moving Pixels)
  26. In Defense Of... Rock Radio: A Force in Popular Culture (Columns)
  27. Flash Points: Chicks, Sluts and Facebook (Features)
  28. The Cult: Choice of Weapon (Reviews)
  29. Willie Nelson: Heroes (Reviews)
  30. Garbage: Not Your Kind of People (Reviews)
PM Picks
Announcements
Ratings

10 - The Best of the Best

9 - Very Nearly Perfect

8 - Excellent

7 - Damn Good

6 - Good

5 - Average

4 - Unexceptional

3 - Weak

2 - Seriously Flawed

1 - Terrible

© 1999-2012 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters.com™ and PopMatters™ are trademarks
of PopMatters Media, Inc.

PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
PopMatters is a member of BUZZMEDIA Music, MOG and Guardian Select.