The HotSpot - To the Moon - 12/2/11

Is this douchebag (Tom) still with the company?

First hotspot I've ever watched and it was great :D

God, hotspot is becoming so good : D Love "To the Moon" , Cried and Cried....so awesome everyone should play this, and i have to thank Gamespot for giving me the opportunity to play this game, because i never would have know about it if it wasn't for you.

whut, I think it's heavily implied they got to the moon. It fades to black as the moon is in sight...Well, unless you're refering to the fact that it's all an artificial memory.

tom is so hawt

@RyuRanVII I like that you mentioned PS:T because all the references the crew could come up with when talking about good story-telling and story itself was Bioshock, The Witcher 2 and Enslaved. First of all, I can't say for the other two, but Bioshock ? Granted, it has a great atmosphere, but a good story ? Those are two different things. To talk about story, I would have mentioned Heavy Rain, and for story-telling Mass Effect 2. But most importantly, they only mentioned modern games. When you say PS:T, you also have to make the connection : Infinity Engine, and thus, Baldur's Gate, which is a "real" game (coming from Bioware, very good story-tellers). And if you go further back in the history of games, you have to remember those point-and-click adventures (exactly like TTM) like Secret of Monkey Island or Discworld, with very funny moments and great universes, and that despite the fact that Discworld isn't an original IP. At that time, the "indie-scene" didn't even really exist, but it didn't need to. So why did studios stopped doing that ? I can't believe that there isn't a large audience of gamers that despises the same old FPS formula reappearing every month on the shelves with a different packaging. So is it just that they don't have to try anymore because their audience forgot all about the great games of the past, which had to have a real story in order to succeed because graphics weren't enough to bring a story to life ? I'd really like to know the answer.

This one's gonna win the "best video game that's not a video game" award.

Oh yeah! It's Hotspot day today.

(cont.) [SPOILERS] You have literally no control over the progression of the story, or where it progresses. Once you do make the move to change Johnny's memories, nothing changes because of the brilliant twist that propels the rest of the game forward. When Johnny's memories are finally actually changed, you're not in control of that change - in fact, you're struggling futilely against it. And then you end up being wrong all along. [/SPOILERS] Just thought I'd say my piece a day before this podcast post goes into the archives.

@TomM_GScom @TomMcShea @Kevin-V Hey, I've been having problems getting into Paypal off the game's site so I just ended up watching it on youtube (I'm still gonna pay full price for it, though - it's entirely awesome!), and I totally agree with you that the game is an incredible experience, truly thought provoking and emotionally resonant. However, I do feel the need to point out a flaw I see in your thinking when you compared TTM's story to others in games. The basest problem I have with that comparison is that there is no real reason TTM should *have* to be a game. Having watched it on youtube, my mouth gaping at the second car accident, getting choked up at Johnny and River's first meeting, and laughing uncontrollably at the second act's silliness and the awesome Plants vs Zombies reference. I didn't have to play TTM to get how incredible it is. In fact, since I didn't have to slog through the puzzles and the orb searching myself, I feel I experienced the story more purely. Most story-heavy games made today, like The Witcher 2, Bioshock, Mass Effect and Skyrim would have been decidedly lesser experiences, were they not games. I belive this is because they supply one feeling that is entirely devoid in TTM - Agency. (cont.)

Also, sorry for the double post but in the game it shows Johnny re-experiencing his wedding (after landing on the moon which it doesnt show) and it shows the house being completed, and them sitting next to the lighthouse.

Great find Shaun! Just finished it as well and it was superb!

also super excited about the skyrim spoilercsat :D

really surprised to see how emotional the GS staff have gotten by simply explaining the game .....but yeah the game is awesome ..

Hilarious and thought-provoking podcast, gentlemen. My friend from Budapest says that "Anya" is Hungarian for "Mother", though I can't be sure it's officially connected. It'd make a nice connection, whereas mothers look after their young ("Who'll look after us...?) and lighthouses can be personified as caring, guiding figures. I guess it's also backwards, since Johnny and River look after Anya.

Thank you GS for letting me know about this game, and thank you for the great spoilercast. It was very interesting to hear you all discuss the themes and meanings of the game. I haven't got anyone to discuss it with yet, but this was certainly the next best thing :) I also cried, something I don't think I ever have done in a game. The thing that tore me the most up was the moment you realized what all those paper rabbits mean, what River was trying to signal to John.

I would really love this story told in a Studio Ghibli anime. It's a bit of a shame To The Moon is held back by the limitations of an RPG maker, if it had the cohesive production values of say, a Braid or Bastion, it could very well be this year's indie breakthrough (although I guess that's Bastion already).

For people who enjoyed . And vice-versa. Deep, philosophic, emotional and memorable stories are very rare in videogames.

What could be more beautiful than watching the Gamespot crew discussing about an indie game made on RPG Maker?

Can we PLEASE have a Witcher 2 spoilercast now?

I felt compeled by To The Moon the first time i saw it on the site and now because of this podcast I'm defenitly sure I'll be playing very soon Awesome show guys keep it up

@TomM_GScom Tom please don't take this the wrong way and I had a hoot listening to this podcast and am really interested in this game. But while you guys spent an hour raving about this game, it only gets an 8.0 and games like Skyrim (which you said is inadequate in story telling) gets 9.0? Is it because that the plot is the only aspect where To the Moon shines?

Cool factoid guys: Rosalind is actually a satellite for the planet Uranus, how the Moon is a satellite to our planet! Isn't that neat?

Ok, I'm now playing TTM, and I was wondering if anyone else noticed the reference to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy? It's called The Pilgrim's Guide to Origami. Couldn't find anyone mentioning it by googling, so thought I'd post it here :)

Oh yeah, for those that are still on the fence about the game, GO GET IT! After you finished the game and cried for about 5 minutes, you will know that it's worth it.

I know a lot of people already mentioned the thought-provoking story, hilarious dialogues, and interesting characters, so I leave those unsaid. What really impressed me is the music. Without the music, the game wouldn't have been as special as it is. I seriously think the music in To the Moon is on par with Bastion's soundtracks. Both incredibly well done, and both games wouldn't be the same without the music.

Just played through, yeah it is about 4 hours long and so worth it. Great story, a little depressing at times but it's a perfect blend of comedic moments with dramatic moments which shape it into one amazing adventure.

wth? 2 hotspots in 1 week? AWESOME

I hadn't heard of this game till Gamespot highlighted this, and for that... thank you! The music in this game is the most effective I've heard in years.

Anya in russian means grace or favor. Anya in sanskrit it means the inexhaustable. I don't know if that helps but there you go.

where do i get this game? Its not available via steam and i dont find it in ebay. Anyone can help me?

I would love to play this game, but i cant afford to experience strong emotions and sadness now. Im glad though that these kind of games still have great acceptance for gamers.

wow, an hour long video? Jeez, no thanks. Plus, I can't play games with that old graphics, no matter how good the gameplay is.

Why does Kevin talk with his eyes closed?

good show

@TomM_GScom D: I had no idea. Bummer!

@carolynmichelle Oh cool, thanks for the hint, will do :)

Bring back the snafus!

I just played through the game in one sitting, definitely a tear-jerker in the most positive of ways, but also never too dramatic to skip on a funny joke along the way. I think one of the reasons it works is that its compelling story is condensed almost without filler into the game's play-time. Too often you see games that do have good stories (not necessarily particularly emotional or complex ones, but entertaining ones like the Uncharted series) but lose their effect because of padding segments in between. To the Moon is almost all story, almost everything you do is to press its compelling story forward and given its playtime, I think many a game couldn't fill an hour with just their stories, let alone four. I personally could've done with even less gameplay, as collecting these memory pieces and then hadouken the protective barrier felt kind of contrived as just a way to somehow make it interactive to be able to call it a game.

Anya Jenkins is a character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. From wikipedia, "Within the series' narrative, Anya was originally human, but spent over a thousand years as a vengeance demon, wreaking havoc by granting the wishes of women who had been wronged by men. The character becomes human again in her first appearance, and is forced to learn what it means to be human again in subsequent episodes." Both Firefly and Buffy were written and directed by Joss Whedon.

@cyberxspeed I'm of the opinion that the ability to complete this game comfortably in a single sitting really worked in its favor rather than against it, as I walked away from the screen feeling completely satisfied. Everything concludes itself so expertly in its 4 or so hour span that anything more would have just been padding.

I've watched the whole thing not having played the game yet (I don't mind being spoiled). Now it really got me interested. Just not sure if $11.99 is worth 4-5 hr game.