Pixel Vision
Pixel Vision
E23 Iron Harvest
0:00
-1:03:22

Ben and Tao gear up to destroy everything and take no prisoners in dieselpunk real time strategy (RTS) barn stormer, Iron Harvest 1920+. Ben goes on the attack while Tao rallies to defend as they discuss RTS versus base-building, retro-futurism, parallel histories and the rising [insertgenre]punk trend, destructible environments, micro-squad management and balancing enemy AI, and Nvidia Geforce Now issues. As always, they cover the gritty questions, like: how many employees constitute a ‘small studio’? Is there such a thing as a grating language? Is everything better with legs? Was cowardice the reason Ben dodged every invite to a multiplayer game that Tao sent? (We may never know.)

Some story spoilers, warnings given in advance.

Content Warning: PEGI 12. Machines! The acrid stench of war! Casual cursing.

Clarifications:

  • Turns out there really was a bear rescued by Polish soldiers, called Wojtek, who ended up going to war: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twr38iHXYVw

  • According to their own website, King Art Games do indeed have 70+ employees: https://kingart-games.com/page/1-about-us

  • When Tao says C&C, he means Command & Conquer (1995)

  • Company of Heroes is a 2006 real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. Company of Heroes 2 was released in 2013.

  • Cossacks: European Wars is a real-time strategy game made by Ukrainian developer GSC Game World, released on 24 April 2001.

  • ‘Red Alert 2’ is Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, released in 2000.

Audio extracts:

  • War Horse (2011)

  • HBOs ‘The Pacific’

  • Dawn of War 2

  • Starcraft 2 Wings of Liberty theme

  • Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings theme

  • Warcraft 3 Reign of Chaos theme

  • Frostpunk Theme by Piotr Musial

  • Age of Empires Soundtrack - Track #1 - Conquest

  • Nancy Sinatra - These boots are made for walkin’

  • Tombstone feat. Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp

  • Gandalf Leaving Edoras - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

  • Hercules (2014)

  • Miss Congeniality (2000)

  • Iron Man feat. Robert Downey Jr.

  • Age of Mythology OST - A Cat Named Mittens

  • Rawhide by Frankie Laine

  • The Simpsons - Look At All These Idiots

  • Cossacks - European Wars OST

  • Salutations from Subnautica OST

  • Red Dead Redemption 2 - harmonica

  • Telegram notification sounds

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