The Fork In Your Ear Ep#195: Should You Choose To Accept.... Frankenstein Audio Version

The Fork In Your Ear Ep#195: Should You Choose To Accept.... Frankenstein Audio Version *Note Episode Recorded 5-31-25* In this episode of "The Fork In Your Ear," Tim and Nate dive deep into the world of gaming, kicking off with a humorous discussion about technical glitches and browser compatibility before moving onto their personal top 10 most-played games. Tim shares his meticulously tracked list, revealing surprising entries like Final Fantasy XV (a divisive choice he ardently defends, particularly praising its infamous secret dungeon) and Metal Gear Solid V (highlighting its open-world gameplay). He also breaks down his gaming hours across PvE, PvPvE, and PvP genres, revealing a significant lean towards PvE, despite his "Halo guy" persona. Nate, on the other hand, anticipates Destiny 1 as his likely top contender. The hosts lament the lack of comprehensive historical data from older consoles, particularly for classic titles like Halo and StarCraft. The conversation then shifts to recent video game news: Apple Arcade's First Studio Acquisition: Apple Arcade has acquired the two-person team behind Sneaky Sasquatch, marking their first game studio purchase. Tim expresses skepticism about Apple's claim that this isn't the start of a trend, speculating on a potential rebranding or platform launcher for Apple Arcade. Fortnite Returns to iOS: Fortnite is back on Apple devices, with impressive performance and optimization for older iPhones. The hosts praise Epic Games' granular installation options, which allow players to selectively download game components and even other players' skins. Randy Pitchford's $80 Game Comment: Gearbox Studios CEO Randy Pitchford's controversial remarks about game pricing ignite debate. While acknowledging the tone-deafness, Tim and Nate discuss the context of his statements and the evolving pricing models in the gaming industry, with Nate offering his ideal pricing structure for different game types (standalone, with monetization, MMO, PvP). Anti-Cheat in PvP Games: The hosts delve into the persistent problem of cheating in PvP games. As a Rainbow Six Siege player, Tim commends Ubisoft's innovative "Mouse Trap" and "Shield Guard" anti-cheat systems, which actively penalize cheaters with increasingly severe input lag and segregated matchmaking. Nate expresses his desire for other developers to adopt similar robust anti-cheat measures. Palworld's Legal Setback: Palworld lost a US lawsuit against Nintendo regarding specific gameplay mechanics. While the "ball-throwing" mechanic was deemed too similar to Pokémon, the ruling against "gliding with an animal" baffled the hosts, who pointed out its prevalence in other games. They ponder the implications of such legal battles for smaller studios against industry giants. Join The Fork Family On Discord: https://discord.gg/CXrFKxR8uA Find all our stuff at Remember to give us a review on iTunes or wherever you downloaded this podcast from. And don’t forget you can connect to us on social media with, at, on or through: Website: http://www.dynamicworksproductions.com/ Twitter Handle: @getforkedpod eMail Address: theforkinyourearpodcast@gmail.com iTunes Podcast Store Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dynamic-works-productions/id703318918?mt=2&i=319887887 If you would like to catch up with each of us personally Online Twitch/Twitter: Tim K.A. Trotter’s Youtube ID: Dynamicworksproductions Tim K.A. Trotter’s Twitter ID: Tim_T Tim K.A. Trotter’s Twitch ID: Tim_KA_Trotter Also remember to buy my Sc-Fi adventure book “The Citadel: Arrival by Tim K.A. Trotter” available right now on Amazon Kindle store & iTunes iBookstore for only $2.99 get a free preview download when you visit those stores, it’s a short story only 160-190 pages depending on your screen size, again thats $2.99 on Amazon Kindle & iTunes iBookstore so buy book and support this show!