Matt Morgans

dude, awesome video, def do more of these!!!

This is so awesome omg! Cant wait! 😄

Hi everyone!
Earlier this year, I wrote a whole series of in-depth character & lore articles about the historical figures featuring in Total War: Three Kingdoms. When the release date was delayed, that series ended up stopping as other things took priority. Now, with one week to go before release, I'm resurrecting it, and I'll be writing a new one every single day until release! The first up in this week-long deep-dive into Three Kingdoms lore is Sima Yi, the nemesis of Zhuge Liang whose sons would go on to end the Three Kingdoms era! https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-sima-yi-strategist/
If you want to know more about the characters in Three Kingdoms, look below for all the series entries so far! I'll be adding each new article to this comment thread when it goes up throughout this week, so stay tuned! Plus, keep an eye on the VGR YouTube channel tomorrow... something a bit different from our usual podcast fare is on its way! 😉
Cao Cao - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-cao-cao/
Dian Wei - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-dian-wei/
Dong Zhuo - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-dong-zhuo/
Gongsun Zan - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-gongsun-zan/
Guan Yu - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-guan-yu/
Huang Zhong - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-huang-zhong/
Liu Bei - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-liu-bei/
Liu Biao - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-liu-biao/
Liu Zhang - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-liu-zhang/
Lu Bu - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-lu-bu/
Ma Teng - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-ma-teng/
Kong Rong - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-kong-rong/
Sun Jian - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-sun-jian/
Yuan Shao - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-yuan-shao/
Yuan Shu - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-yuan-shu/
Zhang Yan - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-zhang-yan/
Zheng Jiang - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-zheng-jiang/

Hi everyone!
Earlier this year, I wrote a whole series of in-depth character & lore articles about the historical figures featuring in Total War: Three Kingdoms. When the release date was delayed, that series ended up stopping as other things took priority. Now, with one week to go before release, I'm resurrecting it, and I'll be writing a new one every single day until release! The first up in this week-long deep-dive into Three Kingdoms lore is Sima Yi, the nemesis of Zhuge Liang whose sons would go on to end the Three Kingdoms era! https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-sima-yi-strategist/
If you want to know more about the characters in Three Kingdoms, look below for all the series entries so far! I'll be adding each new article to this comment thread when it goes up throughout this week, so stay tuned! Plus, keep an eye on the VGR YouTube channel tomorrow... something a bit different from our usual podcast fare is on its way! 😉
Cao Cao - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-cao-cao/
Dian Wei - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-dian-wei/
Dong Zhuo - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-dong-zhuo/
Gongsun Zan - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-gongsun-zan/
Guan Yu - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-guan-yu/
Huang Zhong - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-huang-zhong/
Liu Bei - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-liu-bei/
Liu Biao - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-liu-biao/
Liu Zhang - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-liu-zhang/
Lu Bu - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-lu-bu/
Ma Teng - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-ma-teng/
Kong Rong - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-kong-rong/
Sun Jian - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-sun-jian/
Yuan Shao - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-yuan-shao/
Yuan Shu - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-yuan-shu/
Zhang Yan - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-zhang-yan/
Zheng Jiang - https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-zheng-jiang/

Absolutely. I'm a big fan of the Total War series, which of course is a very historical franchise (Warhammer games aside!) - I've been writing a series of character profiles for the upcoming Total War: Three Kingdoms looking at the literary and historical backgrounds of characters who will be featuring. (I also did a series for Battlefield 5 looking at the historical battles which inspired battles in the game.) I haven't written any Three Kingdoms ones for a while, as I've been busy with other news, but I'm getting back to it today to finish the series ahead of the game's release!
Here's an example, but you can find the rest on the Total War news page: https://www.vgr.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heroes-dian-wei/

As Jacob and I discussed, we felt that lootboxes probably should be banned. Banning microtransactions, on the other hand, is probably unnecessary, but there should certainly be more regulation of predatory practices involving them. The problem with this bill in particular is really the framing of it and the approach that it's taking in confronting the issue; by framing it as protecting children rather than addressing specific practices it calls to mind the moral panics in the US during the late 80s and 90s around violence in video games and so on, and it suggests that the senator doesn't understand the issue well enough to make a reasoned argument (admittedly, a common problem in US politics when it comes to technology, the internet, and games). I suspect that the bill probably won't get enough attention to progress, but if it does, I think this angle of approach makes it easy for publishers to make some small concessions and put up a facade of making changes while not really changing anything fundamental.
There needs to be a serious governmental debate around lootboxes and microtransactions, but I don't think that this bill is the right way to start it.

I think all of you have made some excellent points.
@Matt Morgans What you said both here and in the podcast about framing the issue around the children bothers me as well, for the exact reason you mention about the “moral panics” of the 80s and 90s. I remember those panics concerning not just video games, but RPGs, quite clearly. They were quite destructive, and ended up scapegoating entirely innocuous content and communities.
@The BlackangelI totally agree that ideally, parents should be the ones putting their foots down. When I was a kid I didn’t have a credit card. My parents were absurdly over-the-top about a lot of things, but on that point I don’t have any issue with what they did. I didn’t need a credit card.
@SpaceExplorer I don’t mind cosmetic microtransactions either. I despise those that give an edge though. It’s also tiring when devs release games that don’t provide “finished” value, and then keep charging for content.
I’m not big on government regulation of private activities in general, but in the case of gambling, I’d prefer regulation over an outright ban.
Even taking all of this into account, I do wish that non-cosmetic microtransactions would go away.

As long as the microtransactions don't give you an edge against another player and are purely cosmetic, I don't mind them. They should still be regulated, though, as a lot of companies are exposing people's gambling addictions or are building them. 

Great work! Love the video footage and discussion!

Hi guys, episode 6 is now available! We actually made our Monday release schedule this week, and now that video is implemented we're hoping to be able to stick to it as much as possible! (We're planning to implement webcam footage soon.) This week Jacob and I discuss the latest Apex Legends news, a new bill aiming to ban microtransactions and lootboxes, the God of War documentary, and more! As always, if you have any questions or topics you'd like us to discuss, please do comment here or below the video!
 

As Jacob and I discussed, we felt that lootboxes probably should be banned. Banning microtransactions, on the other hand, is probably unnecessary, but there should certainly be more regulation of predatory practices involving them. The problem with this bill in particular is really the framing of it and the approach that it's taking in confronting the issue; by framing it as protecting children rather than addressing specific practices it calls to mind the moral panics in the US during the late 80s and 90s around violence in video games and so on, and it suggests that the senator doesn't understand the issue well enough to make a reasoned argument (admittedly, a common problem in US politics when it comes to technology, the internet, and games). I suspect that the bill probably won't get enough attention to progress, but if it does, I think this angle of approach makes it easy for publishers to make some small concessions and put up a facade of making changes while not really changing anything fundamental.
There needs to be a serious governmental debate around lootboxes and microtransactions, but I don't think that this bill is the right way to start it.

In the latest VGR podcast (below), Matt Morgans and Jacob Smith discuss a bill which has just been introduced in an attempt to ban loot boxes and microtransactions. The idea is to protect kids from what can be considered a gambling-related product.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmrlSCX1oh0
What does everyone here think about this issue? Should loot boxes and microtransactions be banned?
@UleTheVee @DylanC @Matt Morgans @The Blackangel @LadyDay @skyfire @xXInfectedXx @SpaceExplorer @Executor Akamia

You’re crushing it guys - keep it up!

You did good Matt

Great job on this guys!

Episode 5 of the VGR Weekly Recap podcast is now available on YouTube! Apologies for the delay, we had some issues getting the file transferred between computers yesterday, but as you'll see, video is now fully implemented and a huge step up from last week! We're hoping to implement webcam footage fairly soon too. In any case, check out the latest episode: Jacob and I discuss the Rocket League acquisition, Borderlands 3 info and micro-transactions, Elder Scrolls: Online, Total War: Three Kingdoms, and more!
As always, if you have any questions about what we discuss or anything you'd like us to discuss next week, please feel free to comment under the video or on this thread!
 

Episode 5 of the VGR Weekly Recap podcast is now available on YouTube! Apologies for the delay, we had some issues getting the file transferred between computers yesterday, but as you'll see, video is now fully implemented and a huge step up from last week! We're hoping to implement webcam footage fairly soon too. In any case, check out the latest episode: Jacob and I discuss the Rocket League acquisition, Borderlands 3 info and micro-transactions, Elder Scrolls: Online, Total War: Three Kingdoms, and more!
As always, if you have any questions about what we discuss or anything you'd like us to discuss next week, please feel free to comment under the video or on this thread!
 

Good job! Enjoyed that. The video is a nice addition, too.

Hi guys! Check out episode 4 of the VGR Weekly Recap, where Jacob and I discuss the latest console news, the future of Apex Legends, the possibilities of Titanfall 3, and Bethesda's response to pay-to-win criticisms! This is also the first episode to feature video, though as you'll see, we had some issues with sizing and resolution. The problem was being caused by an old monitor which will have been replaced by the time it comes to recording episode 5, so next week should look much, much better! Thanks for bearing with us as we work to make the podcast even better, we really appreciate it!
As always, if you have any other feedback, or questions you'd like us to discuss, please leave a comment!
 

Apex Legends has grown so much lately!

Great work guys!

Hi guys! Check out episode 4 of the VGR Weekly Recap, where Jacob and I discuss the latest console news, the future of Apex Legends, the possibilities of Titanfall 3, and Bethesda's response to pay-to-win criticisms! This is also the first episode to feature video, though as you'll see, we had some issues with sizing and resolution. The problem was being caused by an old monitor which will have been replaced by the time it comes to recording episode 5, so next week should look much, much better! Thanks for bearing with us as we work to make the podcast even better, we really appreciate it!
As always, if you have any other feedback, or questions you'd like us to discuss, please leave a comment!
 

Here we go again! Expecting high quality like always!

Great job on this @Matt Morgans!

Your work is getting better and better. the dedication and commitment to creating something really fun and interesting is easily noticeable (this is relatively difficult to see on youtube channels).
Keep doing this! xD