We revel in the FMV cheesiness with Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 Commander’s Challenge, get your picks for the best fighting game characters of all time, and drop as many F-bombs as humanly possible.
Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 Commander’s Challenge Review: EA, Xbox 360, $10
AsciipOrtal - Windows/Mac, Platformer, Joe Larson – LINK
Time Fcuk - Flash, Platformer, Edmund McMillen/William Good/Justin Karpel – LINK
Bit Fortress - Windows, Shooter, Davioware – LINK
Free Indie Countdown Game Links: Station 38, Alchemia, Waker
This week’s music is from the Pterodactyl Squad Compilation. Download it here: LINK














Ugh, sucks. I can’t watch this episode as the new player you use is making the video too laggy for me.
Hey – you can switch the video quality from HD to “high” or “low” in the bottom right corner of the player. That should help.
I had tried that, but then I realised even videos on Youtube were doing that so I’ve rebooted and the video works fine now. Thanks anyway. :D
I’ll watch the episode now and give my response.
Was still a bit laggy so have put it on low quality, and even now it’s still minorly laggy and, of course, not so good video quality.
I don’t much like the new player, but if others are fine with it then I guess it’s okay. Don’t mind the show’s new design, though.
Kickass!!
Bytejacker is a perfect match for Rev3!
Hi there, here I am again writing a text message, I think there wasn’t. a text message joke this time.. strange huh. Anyway, the show was great, my pick is the time tuck, a superb gameplay ! The question i have is the new design… I find it… no so bytejackerish, i may be wrong :)
I actually always hated the old titles. I put them together literally the day before we launched the show and just rushed them out. I spent more time with the new ones and I’m a lot more comfortable with them. I wanted sort of a “retro/grungy/WipEout” vibe to the whole thing and I think I nailed it enough to be happy for a while.
Also: man up and webcam in next week, dude! COME ON.
I definitely got the Wipeout vibe from the graphics, and I do dig it… to a degree.
I LOVED the graphics for each of the segments (radar, feedback, free indie countdown, free indie rapid-fire), not so wild about the beginning and end Bytejacker graphics with those four images lined up. Makes it seem like the show is only those four things, and come on, we know it’s so much more. I know motion graphics are a bit of a mindless time suck, but I’d rather the beginning/end graphics be their own rad thing that fits into that icon set and encapsulates the entire energy of the show.
ALSO, I already emailed Jon about this but SUPER CONGRATS on the Revision3 switchover. I don’t mind the ads (even though GameFly is sort of the exact opposite of Bytejacker, which is all about DOWNLOADABLE games) knowing that it means you guys are making some scratch and can use it to make the show more awesome. The HD camera is very exciting and I can’t wait to see it put to use at the next con you report at.
Finally, I’m at work right now so a video comment will wait till later, but off the top of my head I’d say my favorite level is the sixth garden in Flower on PS3. Anyone who has played it knows what I’m talking about.
Play Video Comment
Oops, not sure why that surfaced as ‘Toadsanimet’.
I gave my answer to this week’s question and feedback on the ‘new’ Bytejacker, both its design and the new player.
Play Video Comment
I will call the guy who comes in every week to do the ‘woosh’ noises. He’s expensive, but you’re right, he’s totally worth it.
Okay, awesome and thanks Anthony, it’s obviously good to see you respond to feedback. :D
And yeah, the ‘woosh’ man is totally worth it.
@Toadsanime for your edification:
Achievement1: Dropped 5 F-Bombs in under 10 minutes. (Which he was way too happy about.)
Achievement2: Get fired from Revision3 in under 10 minutes.
Ah, thanks for that Joe!
Now I know, and knowing is half the battle!
Hey Toadsanimet !
do you mean this sound: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?rogzftaz1ft (that sound at the start of the melody )
MertenNor
The cell stage from spore.
I played the cell stage over and over and disregarded the rest of the game.
I’m totally with you on this one.
I enjoyed the cell stage of spore more than the entire game!
Hell Temple in La Mulana. If you can call it a level. I suppose you kind of can.
Even tho they weren’t allowed to watch the episode (potty mouth) they boys know what the best game this week is:
Play Video Comment
My own children…
Play Video Comment
Play Video Comment
XDDDDD!!
omg, the little one(sorry didn’t get the name) rocks!!
he’s my favorite! he got balls, you know!
)))))))))))))))))
Shit, I can’t believe you’ve been picked up by Revision3. Congrats guys!
Thanks, dude!
Toadsanimet, you’re not the only one that has problems with the new player. It stops buffering/playing for me every minute. I can make it continue playing by changing the quality.
The show itself was great as always! I like the new style. Also, my favorite level was Braid’s Elevator action of world 6. It was so hard, but at the same time so cool to complete it.
yeah i’m having similar problems with the new player, but pausing the video and letting it load up solves it for me. you guys should try doing that.
Sorry, at work. have to do a text comment for now.
You should lengthen the show by 15 minutes. I know that’ll push you over YouTube’s limit, but there are ways around that, aren’t there? I mean retrovision scope doesn’t have any problems with 2 hour long youtube videos.
I say you should lengthen the episode because you clearly didn’t have enough time to laud ASCIIpOrtal. I mean you didn’t even mention the fact that it’s available for Mac and Linux. I did that for you, man! For you! [sniff] And you didn’t even seem to care…
The music and sounds are killer and really make the game in my mind. Steve is awesome. And professional. I’d give him feedback and he’d get back to me that day or the next day with a revision. Most of the time I felt that I was the one slacking.
Lard, I forgot to mention the wardrobe. It’s not exactly effeminate, but I like it. You may have noticed that I pretty much always wear a button up shirt. Years of being a teacher and missionary left we with a habit of dressing up, which is why I don’t wear more gaming related T-Shirts. But If I could pull something like that off I might get to wear more T-Shirts.
I tried the open button up with a T-Shirt underneath for a while, but that felt too … “Hey, Buffy! He he he.”
On second thought that wouldn’t work for me. Long sleeves make me sweat.
So hold up Joe, you’ve been a teacher, a missionary, a balloon guy and now an indie game developer? Good grief man, why don’t you do something interesting or unusual with your life ;p
Seriously though, you’re a pretty inspiring dude.
…
Thank you, man.
You know, living it you don’t see it that way. It’s just stuff I did, you know. But when you say it that way, i guess you’re right. Not tooting my own horn here, just agreeing with you, but I really am awesome. Thanks for reminding me.
That must be why this song is stuck in my head: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6Vze7ZlLH8
Play Video Comment
To clarify, I mean The Milkman Conspiracy from Psychonauts – not any of those other Milkman Conspiracies.
Ih man, that level was so good.
Oh man, that whole game was so good.
Oh man, I totally have to download the Brutal Legend demo…
Awesome, dudes! I would have never guessed that your “big announcement” would be this, I thought it was just going to be a cash prize for the best free indie, but this is slightly more awesome.
It’s weird, cos I only found out about Rev3 a few months ago through CO-OP, and even before then I thought it was just some school site (revision) so it’s good that I knew about this before you got signed!
The new graphics are really great, and the new sounds are perfect (please don’t put that sound back in [Toadsanime] , I got annoyed by it ages ago… it really starts to grate on you, and change is good, right?) and the sponsorship stuff handled well (I find I get annoyed by shows like the Digg Reel where they try and link everything even if it’s a really bad link, you guys did it really well, though).
I really think also that you should try and make the show longer, I always think that right at the end, you’re just rushing through the free indies, so I agree with Joe to expanding it to 15 minutes (can’t you just contact Rev3 to partner your YT account, like Diggnation and Film Riot, so then you can post longer videos?)
Apart from that, brilliant as usual, hope lots more people join the site ’cause of the partnership, and good luck for the future. :)
Been thinking about my points for a while, and they’re really unfair (in my opinion) so here’s a re-iteration.
I don’t really want to suggest things about the content of the show, I of course have no idea what you want to do with it – so I’ll leave that alone. It’s too awesome as it is. All I was saying with the time-limit is that if that was restricting you from making longer shows, then you can change that now, although that’s probably not a problem since you’re not posting on YT anymore (or you’ve just forgot :S)
SO, IN CONCLUSION this is probably the most awesome thing ever. In the universe. Congrats!
Yeeeaaahh.. I’m not a big fan of the new player… actually, not even a little one… I’d say the original was better, but maybe I just don’t like change.
It took about 20 seconds to load for me… I got nervous that it would never after about 10, but it’s ok.
I was kind of saddened by adverts, though. :( I mean… GO Daddy?! :’(
Great show, though.
What’s wrong with GoDaddy? Cymon’s Games uses GoDaddy and it survived the /. locust storm which killed my old host. TWICE! No, THREE TIMES! And forced me to move to a difference server.
The only problem with GoDaddy is their shallow, sexist adverts, which I am opposed to entirely on principal.
I agree with Joe. It is extremely shallow and sexist for GoDaddy to use someone as sexy as Anthony Carboni to sell their service.
Hey, chicka, bumb bump
Hello there !
The new flash player looks cool, that’s for sure, BUT !
But I’m a linux regular user (ubuntu these days). Until this very last one, videos were playing flowlessly (better than anywhere else, actually)
Unfortunately, this new player isn’t so good in action, as the picture “glitches” insanely as soon as I go fullscreen.
:-( Sad. Saaaaaaaaad.
Got me a terrible eadhache, actually.
(for info, the glitches brought in the text : “We revel in the FMV cheesiness with Command and Conquer: “, only, like 1/10th of a second, 3 times a second)
Painful. paiiiiiiiiinfuuuuuuul ! (I won’t mention the bit fortress images that just made my eyes and brains melt in a blink in these conditions)
(great show, as usaul, BTW)
Wow, pitting Edmund against Joe. Not cool Anthony, not cool.
This is one of your best showings for free indie rapid fire ever. I’ve played both Time Fcuk and ASCIIpOrtal already and bit fortress looks pretty damn incredible so I’m going to give that a play. Man this is going to be a tough choice this week but I’ll probably give it to Joe because he can make balloon animals.
I forgot to mention my favourite level, which was from Braid. The absolute final level (1-1) had me thinking about it for weeks after I had completed it. Total mind fcuk.
Play Video Comment
Oh, Anthony…. I love how you forget that Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 Commander’s Challenge is on PS3 also… lol
If you want footage that is decent from Speed Highway, here you go http://bit.ly/PQO7j
Oh and the music is cool! xD
Play Video Comment
Psssh… I left that out on purpose as a test to see who had my back. YOU PASSED.
“What do I win?”
“NOTHING NOW GET OFF MY SITE!”
*sad panda*
Play Video Comment
I did want to say the Scarlet Devil Mansion from classic shmup Touhou’s Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, but the fact that more than half the game(about 4 stages) takes place inside the mansion. The other half is that Bytejacker doesn’t care about Japanese indie(Doujin) games,(Since you never put up my submission for best videogame music) even if it’s a MASSIVE cult following.
Play Video Comment
Nicely played Tye!
*phew* I was worried we were supposed to pronounce that game as “time fuh-sook”
Also, I watched the podcast version on my iTouch and the achievements were perfectly crisp, so that’s all good. Frankly, though, I’m a little surprised you didn’t review “You, Me & the Cubes” on WiiWare this week. Seems like the exact kind of surreal puzzle game that Bytejacker loves so. Then again, you did just do a WiiWare two weeks ago…
Honestly, it was for purely technical reasons: we wanted to do everything in the first HD episode at the full 1280×720 so we could get our workflow down. Obviously we can’t do that on the Wii, so we went with C&C, which I think is just as solid a choice – though obviously very different.
Once more, with less feeling (because it’s early)!
Play Video Comment
Dude, I’d be really surprised if 20 people didn’t just go buy Flower after that.
I for one totally want Flower now after that, though unfortunately I lack a PS3.
I guess I did love flOw, though.
man, now i want ps3 so badly. i knew flower was awesome, but THAT awesome! i’ll go watch some videos on youtube.
Here’s a pretty decent video of the level:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQCZqncDkUQ (part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzUW2NlArAA (part 2)
Believe me when I say it’s much more exciting to play than to watch, especially because this guy gets lost at one point and misses a TON of hidden stuff in the level (and didn’t play in widescreen). Thatgamecompany really hit a beautiful balance between scripted events and user control. Jon, if you’re going to use this in the episode I say go with some footage from the middle-to-end of the part 2 video, it’s the most visually exciting stuff, I think. Also, Jon, yes, the Scarecrow stages in Arkham Asylum were awesome. My favorite part in the whole game is the cutscene before the final Scarecrow encounter. Everyone whose played it knows EXACTLY what I’m talking about.
Play Video Comment
Thanks for the links!
Play Video Comment
[...] all did their worst and I was still here for the true believers at Indiegames, TIGSource and Bytejacker. Not to mention the explosion on twitter, for which there are still crackles being heard. [...]
Hi guys. I can’t watch show in Poland. Video is just not working :(
That’s by design. TAKE THAT, POLAND.
I kid, I kid. I’ll check into that. Thanks for letting us know!
Play Video Comment
[...] Time Fukc is a response to that issue, a game about realizing your getting lost in a world you created, but [...]
Did anyone notice that the poll is still last weeks games? Is there somewhere else we’re supposed to vote now that you guys have moved on to Rev3? Or are you just going to neglect bytejacker.com?
Site caching error – some people were getting the wrong poll. Cleared out, should be good now. Sorry to all who were effected.
Play Video Comment
3) Arkham Asylum
2) Sands of Time
1: Tomb Raider 2
Hey, congrats on getting to Rev3.
I like the new look of the show, it’s not bad, althouh the 20s waiting time on the new player is quite annoying.
Also (kind of random):
http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/06/20/giant-cowboys-stadium-led-wall-caught-playing-xbox-360-during-do/
Man, I envy whoever made that stadium…
So how does the whole “voting” and “video comments” thing work with Rev3. Obviously you’re getting to keep your site, for now. is there talk about moving those features over to Rev3?
Play Audio Comment
congrats on getting onto Revision 3!! you’re amongst some very good shows
Gah I wish I had a webcam :(
Ah well. Maybe if I mention it, somebody else will agree and webcam it for me because Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy, from Yoshi’s Island, is the best video game level ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS7b-PL9p4E&feature=related
hey guys, first off congrats on the whole revision3 thing, its a great opportunity for you so i hope it all goes well, secondly the new look is cool, at first i was all ‘what, whats this?’ then as i realised they were the 4 sections of the show i was pretty chuffed with it all so good job on those, i saw anthony mention new graphics on facebook so im glad it looks great.
i hope to be a regular commenter (and when i get my webcam re-running a frequent video commenter) as ive been watching the series since like the start but have taken a bit of a back seat sadly and i apolagize for that but hey, new commenters are welcome right…right?
next thing: OMG CONGRATS JOE! you have done an awesome job with asciipOrtal, youre hands down one of my favorite things about bytejacker as a dedicated commenter and part of the show and its great to see a true connection between a show and its viewers so good job and its definately my pick for free indie of the week!
my responce to this weeks feedback question…i would have to say the entire brinstar level from super metroid, everything from the blue rocky area you drop down into at the start (the opening from the original metroid) to the red soil is just awesome and has one of my favorite tracks from the entire game, it has a number of sequence breaks to commit which just adds to the awesome, so yeah…brinstar from super metroid. hopefully i can voice or video comment bymoday to have something worth using in the show but for now this will do
once again, anthony and jon, great job on the show and congrats with the whole revision3 thing, you guys are the best.
see yah
lordoflazy
p.s- sorry for the essay
Hi, though I’ve only started watching Bytejacker because of Waker. I really found the show to be extremely interesting. The most interesting part of the show is the free indie rapid fire, which provided me with knowledge of how the best indie games are designed, which is very essential for me, for I will be making tonns of games in my school.
Anyway congratz for getting into Revision 3!
I really enjoyed the few episodes and is happy for you guys to be there!
Thanks Joe and Ian for being so thrilled by our game last week! I’m glad that nobody actually realized that they were being educated while playing the game. :D ( and of course you guys aren’t our targetted audience for the educational aspect)
Finally, before i tried AsciiPortal, I was thinking of how it could look like if I was to design it myself. And hell cool! I totally didn’t thought about the point of view, of how more of the other side of the Portal could shows up when you are looking from different angle.
That was definitely a brillant design! For that, I would definitely pick AsciiPortal for this week :)
ASCIIpOrtal, a hit with the programmer nerd crowd.
Chang You, I’d like to get to know you and your project better. Contact me. http://cymonsgames.com/contact-us/
Congratulations on your win for free indie rapid fire, everyone involved deserves a massive pat on the back. I can’t tell you how cool I think it is to make an educational game that teaches through gameplay like that. I wish you all the best with your research and I hope to play, and vote for, your games in the future :)
I like the new look. The ads felt fake and out of place, but you need to support yourself somehow, and the rest of the show is good, so I can live with that.
My biggest complaint is that big revision3 logo in the upper right of the video. It’s very big and ugly.
Thanks :) , actually, I am not conducting the research.. I was only at Gambit for my summer holiday to make this game (Actually on a internship program) I was in the team of summer interns just making the game for the research. The research itself is not handled by us interns.. It was great to be given this opportunity, and I am so excited at the amount of publicity the game is getting!
Of course I will be still making games for my school projects, and hope I can show them to you guys in the future! :D
Play Audio Comment
yeah, i had to resort to a voice message, video kept freezing and im just a big ol’ ball of fail at the internets :3
Yeah…can’t really see the video…just keeps loading with those stupid green circles. Never actually starts.
My favorite video game level:
“Bottom of the Well” in Legend of Zelda: OoT
Really terrifying, but keeps you engaged. What’s cooler than getting attacked by screaming zombies that freeze you? The bloody skulls with hair on the walls.
I think it’d be really nice to be able to download old episodes of Bytejacker via bittorrrent. Are you thinking about uploading some older episodes to the Vuze network or are there going to be contract issues in the way?
Anyway I love the show and hope you guys keep up the good work.
P.S. My teeth fell out again and the empty holes scream when I sleep…
Thanks for the props Jay!
Glad you’re liking the show. All of our episodes are available in iTunes so you can feel free to download them there. I also believe that you can download them from our previous host blip.tv if you look us up on their site.
Thanks so much for watching!
Yeah but worst is that it’s not possible to watch show via podcast in central europe :(
I couldn’t watch this and the latest episode in iTunes. I had sound but the video would freeze just after the commercials. Just thought you might want to know.