Bajo and Hex, hosts of Australian TV shows Good Game and Good Game Spawn Point - AMA

Do you still talk to Junglist?

I have seen him at events from time to time. We're not superbestfriends. But we're cool. -Hex

When he was released, you received an unfathomable tsunami of impulsive and misguided hatred. How on earth did you live that down? Did you ever consider quitting?

edit: Just saw your twitter header background. I hate to be that guy, but it looks like you're leaning back too much, a common symptom of being overbowed (or been overbowed in the past and kept the habit).

I remember one shoot-day in that first month, I walked into the make-up room and sat down, and just as the make-up artist was about to start I just burst into tears. She didn't know what to do and I was a mess. I'd just found out what 'rule 34' meant and I was terrified that people could be so mean, and be so motivated to try and destroy a person's career without even knowing anything about their situation. I know it sounds naive - and of course I did a lot of growing up very fast that year, as far as the internet is concerned. It was hard, because I was so excited to get a job working on a show I loved so much - I mean, for anyone that would be a dream come true. I just wanted people to judge me based on my work - and I feel like I was being slammed before I'd even had a chance to do anything - let alone 'prove myself'. But our producer, Syd - she said to me "let your work speak for you" - and so I did. I stuck it out. I worked hard. And here I am. FRONT PAGE OF REDDIT. -Hex

No, I do see him from time to time though. - Bajo

Follow up question, what happened to junglist and what is he doing now?

I expected a question on this, so I think I should reply. I won't say anymore on this though, we've said so much already in the past.

Even after all this time, people still come up to me now and then, and ask me this on the street which only shows how confusing it was for our audience. I completely understand that and I'm sorry it still remains an issue for some. What I don't understand is when a person comes up to me and says "why did you sack him to get a girl on the show"? That BLOWS my mind, that people actually think that could happen and I reiterate - that was absolutely not the case. It's is fair to say my view on the events differ greatly to Jung's.

Our team have moved on, I've moved on, and I don't see how any good can come from going over it all again really. I don't think he and I will ever be friends again, but Jung is a very talented games writer and presenter, I genuinely wish him all the best with whatever he does next and I have enjoyed what he has done since.

looking back, I try to remember the joy we had shaping the show together in those early days, in our tiny tiny studio, with our tiny tiny budget and our epic cool wall. - Bajo

Do you guys hate having to work with the "abc kids hosts" in those abc3 specials? Or are they bearable because they hate themselves and are dead inside for playing their "wacky alter egos"?

I LOVE these specials, and look forward to them each year.

I am the oldest I think though, and definitely the least fit! But the team who make the specials are annoyingly talented, and it's a blast every time.

Kids tv is super exhausting, honestly I dont know how they keep up the energy! I have much respect

• Bajo

GREETINGS, ALL! :D -Hex

bring p_nutz back!

P_nutz is the stuff of nightmares and also he smells a bit weird -Hex

Pnutz made a brief cameo in last weeks ggsp! his eye keeps falling out :( - Bajo

Dear Bajo and Hex,

You do a wonderful show and it I must say it's really fun watching it after a hard day's work snugged into my bed every Thursday.

• Bajo and Hex, do you personally visit reddit? If so, what are your favourite subreddits (no stalking I promise)

• Have games and how you play them changed the way you expected them to as you got older? Or, was is it different/better/worse in ways you did not expect?

• What games are you both addicted to right now? My favourite bits from the show are probably when you play games together and are really focused into it and we get to see the things you do to each other. For example, seeing Hex or Bajo (can't remember) crawling to meet each other in DayZ only to die shortly afterwards. Then Bajo took all your gear Hex. I was laughing ;-)

• Last one I promise - Your favourite moment in gaming and/or just general life so far in 2013?

Take care Bajo and Hex. Thanks for the AMA :-)

• I don't frequent reddit unless something is sent to me really - I wish I did, but I just can't seem to find time between social media, flipboard, snapchat and the million other things I check on my phone/PC before starting to game for the evening
• I remember staring at the back of the box of an old atari 2600 game, in awe as I tried to make out the pictures on the box art, to the blocks on screen. I never had any idea that games would end up as incredible as they are now. I believe this will be known as the century of gaming, where it became less of a pass time, and more as a part of life for most
• addicted to right now? Neverwinter, and still Fire Emblem awakening! And DayZ! That moment where Hex and I met in DayZ is one of my all time favourite gaming sessions with Hex. There was so much joy, and so much pain. I wish we could game side by side/online all the time
• Favourite moment is the first hour of The Last Of Us. Followed by the Elizabeth song in Bioshock infinite :) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmZ1de8v5LM)

Bajo

Think you answered dot point 4 with dot point 3!

Edit: You've edited your post now so all is good!

sorry, reddit noob! - bajo

Whats your favorite weapon in Day Z? mines makarov.

old lee enfield never lets me down! except when i have to reload -Bajo

• I'm not a huge redditor... I check front page from time to time, but I use tumblr a lot and generally the good cat gifs filter down eventually... :P
• I don't think I could have ever fathomed what games would be like. I think my 'perfect game' is still yet to be created, though. And part of me feels like I won't truly be satisfied until we have some form of functioning virtual reality that completely places you within the game world. I mean hearing, seeing, feeling... it's only a matter of time. I just hope it happens in my lifetime. Even if I'm a 90yo grandma firing a virtual bow and arrow at an army of foes.
• I don't know that I'm 'addicted' to anything at the moment - I've been having some pretty satisfying, self-contained gaming experiences. I tend to go back to large-scale RPGS when I need a fantasy fix, though, like Dragon's Dogma.
• My favourite gaming moments were peppered throughout both Tomb Raider and The Last of Us - to list them all would probably be massively spoilery - but those are the two games I've given 10s to this year. It's because there were just so many of those moments - that when I got to the end, I just wanted to start the game all over again almost immediately. -Hex

Been wondering since the review of Bioshock Infinite - What made you decide to remove half of a rubber chicken?

I just didn't connect with the story or the character of Elizabeth in the same way that others did. I mean I loved it - 9.5 is still a massive score - but it wasn't the game that I will walk away from this year as being my most affecting experience. :) I've had a lot of people ask me about that score! I get the same feeling when I see other people be all like "Eh, The Last of Us wasn't that great." I'm like... WHAAAAATfgdghl LSMFASL kdsfl are you serious????" But at the end of the day, games effect different people in different ways. Bioshock Infinite was visually spectacular, the gameplay was tight and the story was complex and engaging with some beautiful moments. But for me - not quite a 10. :) -Hex

Bajo, you killed me in the bhr dayz server.

You are a monster.

Question over.

ty for the beans - Bajo

[deleted]

Ty for watching and ty for buying our book. So lucky to have this job - Bajo

How do you feel about games like Saints Row still being banned (until the rework) in Australia despite the new 18+ rating they made for this kind of games? Are Australians that much more sensitive than others, or is the review panel being made up of the wrong kind of people?

Hey! We actually discuss this in our wrap-up show, Pocket Edition. I'm not entirely surprised it was refused classification. The thing is, we always knew that having an R18+ rating wouldn't simply stop all games from getting banned. What it allows us is a higher level of violence in games. Hence why MK9 was resubmitted and got through. HOWEVER... things like sexual violence that is depicted, or 'interactive' and not justified by context, or is related to incentives or rewards - as well as drug use that is related to incentives or rewards... that stuff is still not allowed in games sold in Australia. Even WITH the R18+ rating. And, I think that's still an important line not to cross... don't you? So, while I understand why people are upset, the classification board are still acting within the guidelines and games like Saint's Row can easily edit out sexually violent content etc and resubmit. I believe the ability to use 'anal probes' (I feel the need to use quotations on that for some reason) was one of the issues. I'm happy to do without that in my game tbh. -Hex

Thats fine and there's nothing wrong with that. But you have to keep in mind that everyone views media and art differently, and to say what's good for you may not be for someone else. There's always going to be something that will push the boundaries or test the limits of what's acceptable or in good taste, its very easy to pick and choose what's convenient and say "this is okay and this isn't" but its alot harder to look at something neutrally and see what social value it has. You can't have your cake and eat it too. And I don't see why the government can't treat consumers like adults if it has an R 18+ rating and saying: "You have the common sense and hindsight to purchase this" but to take it away and ban it has this paternal, or arrogant vibe to it and they're saying that people who play video games are only children that need a nanny state to help them.

I see where you're coming from. But for me, sexual violence is definitely more confronting than physical violence. Especially when it's not technically 'justified by context' - and it's super hard to justify in Saint's Row's case. That game is so crazy I guess it would be hard to 'justify' anything! It's tricky ground to cover. In another game you could say 'well this is in a war situation and it was part of the narrative that after fighting for his life against foes that were trying to kill him, he took so-and-so as a human shield then shot him in the head'... but Saint's Row would have a tougher time saying 'well, he is running around shoving anal probes into random civilians because... well obviously it's hilarious'. Imagine you are the classification board.... how would you react? -Hex

I love the saints row series because it pushes the boundaries - having said that, if you try to make a joke about something like anal probes and it just comes across gratuitous/wrongtown, then I think the joke isn't funny enough to get go into the acceptable territory. It's hard to say if this is the case with SRIV, especially as we haven't sat down and played it.

I'm not saying they're playing it safe, but it's early days for our R18+ rating too. It sounds like we're going to get an edited version assumedly removing drug names and the probe. This along with State of Decay (which I am actually more upset about!) is proving to be an interesting test for our new guidelines. I understand the outrage, but I'd suggest to try not to get angry yet, wait until we see the game, and understand the full context of what was actually removed/edited. Then we can talk about these issues with clarity and facts - Bajo

How far in advance do you receive copies of games for reviewing, and are your game experiences affected by playing on incomplete versions of these games? Also, what thing from this year's E3 has gotten you excited the most?

Thanks for doing this AMA! I'm a big fan.

Thank you very much for watching, and all of you in fact

Depends on the platform, game, publisher and how much we harass them! Sometimes it's day of release, sometimes it's a few weeks before. We never review the game unless we're told it's 'review code' and if we find a bug or it loads a bit slower, we take that into consideration as well in the review. if we're ever unsure about an issue, we always say so. When we get the BIG ones (batman, gta.. games like that) a little early, a part of my bows down to honor the mighty cthulhu that I have this job

From E3, I'm most pumped for Dark Souls 2. Even if there was no E3, or if dark souls 2 wasn't at E3, this would still be the case

Bajo

I figured you would be excited for Dark Souls 2 considering how passionate you seemed about the first one from your review. Thanks for the reply!

I did a hands on impressions with the e3 demo IF YOURE INTERESTED http://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2013/06/24/3788351.htm

How long does an average episode of GG or GGSP take to film and how long would you play a game on average before you review it?

weekly turn around, with a bit of pre and post production on the year.

Mondays we finish of reviews, log footage, swap games, read scripts and sub everything after a production meeting, Tuesdays we make GG and GG:pocket, wednesdays are GGSP and any green screen stuff, then Hex and I are off to review for the rest of the week, while the gang shoot field stories and finish off the rest of the show. We check edits remotely usually which is my favourite part of the job.

changes week to week but that's the general schedule

Bajo

Silly question, but do either of you ever feel stressed or rushed with this schedule?

TV is stressful and frantic even for hour weekly shows. I'm usually stress city monday nights (especially if it's a big reivew), but it's a fun kind of stress. - Bajo

Forgot to say hi. Hi everyone! here is my cat drinking tea with a beanie on and a blanket in front of a heater - Bajo http://instagram.com/p/biz0eOR4xf/

Can I pet your cat? ;-;

ONLY I GET TO PET

The segments that Goose does are excellent. I'd love to see more newsmagazine style features in other shows, and I watch Good Game specifically for these segments.

How does the show come up with the subjects, is it up to the host/presenter, or is the research done by assosciate producers and the like?

We have a really great team of gamer/producers (lol, legit role) who are always on the look out for topics of interest that would make for a good story. We also have long production meetings where we all get together and discuss ideas. Everyone on the team is a gamer - which makes it easy for them to be aware of what's current and relevant within the gaming community or industry. Personally I'm loving the 'postcards' segment at the moment. They're made with such love - and when you've spent that much time in a particular digital world - you have your own memories and experiences of it. It's nice to see that so lovingly portrayed in those segments. And I think Goose does a great job. I know I'm bias, but whatever! -Hex

Goose is fantastic!

Goose is radsauce and he lets me touch his beard sometimes - Bajo

Specs on your PCs Bajo and Hex?

I'm running an Nvida gtx 680, about a TB worth of solid state drives, mechanical keyboard with a detachable numpad, G35 gaming headset (getting a bit crummy) logitech g9x mouse (it's a bit too small for my hand now tho I'm feeling, love the design though), watercooled CPU (worth it, fairly cheap to do but ack buy the right one/take it to the shop!), an IPS 1440 p monitor (I can never NEVER go back to 1080p, and while some say IPS monitors aren't great for gaming - I think it's fabulous, with no refresh rate problems, only a little light bleeding. I figure, staring at the thing so much - best to buy the best all round monitor for my aging eyes), Quad core (I wish I had octocore :(), 32gb ram (some say you only need 16, I say dont take the chance and listen to what some say). It's time for a video card upgrade soon, but prices are insane and have been for 2 years. The 7 series isn't much of a step up from a 680, better off with 2x690s. I used to run ATI cards, and I love them, but I find the drivers dont come out quick enough for me as a reviewer, to get the max settings out. I also run a second monitor, and have an amazing chair with super back support XD - Bajo

Just one gig of SSD?

You mean 1T? Shit that's a lot. Must be expensive.

ahh yes, 1T, edits. They're not too pricey now days for the 256 - highly recommend

Sounds like a hell of a setup.

it has taken much time to amass, and not cheap which is why I eat tuna for 6 months of the year.

Where did you even find a 1440p IPS monitor?? I have two 1080p IPS Dell displays and I love them (both picture quality and hardware design), but 1440p...

I only got it a month ago - they're pretty common now i think - Bajo

I think you have a fairly modest setup Bajo, do you have any problems with the processor?

nope!

Have/can you do a review of battletoads?

If I can ever finish it, I will - Bajo

I have a copy on Sega Mega Drive, but my console doesn't work anymore... That's like 30 games that are just going to be lying around till I find a new console or sell them.

i got a $50 megadrive emulate console thing online. it plays all the oldmegadrive games, but the wireless controllers are BAD - Bajo

What's your opinion on the ridiculous price difference with both games and electronics between Australia, and say, the US?

hate it, but you can almost always find stuff cheaper online now days, the window is closing

What is the relationship between you guys like outside of the TV show. Do you still socialise together, and if you do how much? How often do you play games together at home? You seem like good friends on screen and I was wondering how it carried over to your lives.

Bajo and I are superbestfriends. :D Sometimes he hermits a little to much and I have to drag him out into the world, but I do it because I adore his company. His humour and creepy laugh is infectious - couldn't live without it. -Hex

Gif or Jif?

I say 'Gif' but Bajo says 'Jif' - which I heard is technically correct but every time he says it I shudder a little. -Hex

If you could play any individual game again for the first time, which game would it be?

Oblivion... and the MUD that was the first game I ever became truly hooked on. I still remember that first session. Just typing 'look' and seeing someone's description pop up and boggling at the fact that that was a real person who was standing in front of me, roleplaying that character. Everything was so exciting. I felt so new to that world... I can never get that feeling back. :( -Hex

Hey Hex & Bajo. I love GG and GGSP - they are the only two shows that my boyfriend and I watch religiously on a weekly basis... and he's not even a gamer.

There was a major shit-storm here last week re: sexism in games. I'm not going to ask you about that but I will ask you:

Do you get treated differently because of your genders even though you are both doing the exact same job?

And Bajo, have any issues been brought to your attention since Hex joined the GG team that used to be more peripheral for you?

Hex - my grey car is also called Gandalf. Oh, dear, I think I'm getting a bit star struck even though I see your guys FB & twitter feeds and Bajo's youtube channel regularly.

I have more twitter followers than Bajo which I would say may have something to do with the fact that I am female... haha, but other than that, no - not really. My experience of working in the industry is pretty great, I don't feel like I get treated any differently at all by collegues or industry peers. Obviously I've come up against some of the typical crap in online gaming situations that many women have, but I prefer not to dwell on that too much. I get a lot of news reporters asking me to tell my 'horror stories' of how I've been harassed online... but you know what? I mostly game with my mates and everyone is cool and if some random gives me crap I just block them. I feel like a little too much negativity is being placed on that side of things at the moment. Obviously it's a serious issue that needs attention - but I'm not going to make myself the poster girl for it. This is my industry. I'm proud to be in it. I am always happy and keen to weigh in on any gender-related issue (how women are represented IN games, for example, which is another issue entirely) - but I am also a PERSON who just enjoys gaming and most people don't care whether I have a penis or a vagina. :D -Hex

Is it weird that as a 30 yo I like GG spawn point as much as regular GG?

Bajo you're awesome, Hex, I love you. :D

I am 32 and I love it <3 It's my dream that one day kids might look back on GGSP in the way I look back on show from my youth, I hope we do it well enough that this might happen.

• Bajo

Hey guys, love the show! Just wondering what your thoughts are on the PS4 / Xbox One at the moment. Do you guys have a preference on either console (based on exclusives or features in general)? And finally, are you excited as I am for the first reveal of GTA V gameplay in like, 2 hours?!

Edit: Saints Row 4 censoring question answered above - removed.

I am so pumped for GTAV. I loved GTAIV except for some of the writing, and I loved everything about RDR except for the drawn out conclusion - I hope GATV is PERFECT and has lots of freeroam MP options - Bajo

GTA V GAMEPLAY IN 2 HOURS!!! WHY AM I HEARING THIS NOW?!

PRESSES REFRESH CONSTANTLY - BAJO

[deleted]

Games, movies, books... elves. I have always loved medieval fantasy and I guess some part of me is always trying to make at least part of my life reflect that world. I collect fantastical objects, I ride horses, I am learning to play the harp and took up archery as part of my transformation into a legit fantasy creature... because one day when that portal to another world opens up - I WILL BE READY -Hex

Will you review Dota 2 when it comes out of beta?

I'm not sure but I have like 1000405938u405923342254353 friggin gift copies of it in my steam box and I keep trying to give them away but MORE KEEP COMING -Hex

Hey Guys, really happy you're doing this AMA.

How do you guys not go insane from the almost incomprehensible Ask Good Game questions on Spawn Point? Whenever I see it on TV I have a really hard time actually understanding it.

Keep on making a great show :)

It's my favourite part of the show, reading those letters and making the noises - Bajo

Hey guys! As a guy who co-hosts a tech show on USyd radio (SURG FM), I really respect and envy the work you two do :) Love the show, looking forward to seeing you down at PAXAus!

What's your take on the Aussie game industry? We've had a lot of major studios close in recent times (Pandemic, Krome Studios, Team Bondi) - is there a long term future for AAA development here?

Unfortunately we just don't have the kind of budget or resources to compete, at the moment... but we're starting small and it will develop. We're doing REALLY well on the mobile gaming front and that's a really great achievement and an awesome start. It's a foundation to build on. :) -Hex

Who does the voice for DARREN? Can't help but think they also do voice over work for triple j occasionally as well.

Darren is eternal - Bajo

Hey Bajo and Hex, I dream of being a game journo and knowing that you guys are in the industry I have to ask, what qualifications do you or other game journos have? From Julian

my qualifications were basically a lifetime love of drama, film and tv, computers and games which all came together one day to get a job on this show. I think if you were going to be a games journo, I'd suggest if you're already a huge gamer, writing as much about games as you can and submitting it for peer review to mags/other outlets/community sites. Then if you dont feel youre up to publish quality, look at study from that point on. I'm not a career expert though, by any means. TV is a crazy madhouse job, and very different from print/web obviously. - Bajo

Hey guys. I was wondering 2 things:

• how many hours a week do you work, and is it all on one episode per week? Do you record gameplay footage at the office, or do you do it at home?

• what are both of your career goals? Do you hope to use your experience on GG for other hosting gigs, or is GG your future as far as you can see?

Thanks! Your show is the only thing my wife and I watch on free to air TV!

• from normal work hours to bonkers, depending on the game, time of year, episode, and screen migraines. We do the show weekly
• I hope I get to do this show forever in some form. I really do. I also want to create my own fiction drama show, and also make a game one day. - Bajo

Have you received any feedback from a developer or publisher about a review, either positive or negative?

haha yeah the odd publisher/developer who wasn't happy with our review. It must be hard from their point of view, they put their lives into their work, maybe for many years and if the game isn't received well - that can be their livelihood. It's also hard because games can be so subjective. We try to be fair, honest, and listen to all feedback we get to make sure we're not ever crossing any lines - Bajo

What does it take to play and review video games for a living?

a lot of luck! - Bajo

Q. What is the game/s from your childhood that stand out?

I remember Another World.. so challenging, so intriguing, so beautiful - Bajo