How audiences shape media (Episode 159)

What do Baldur’s Gate players, Christopher Nolan and AI scammers all have in common? They all reveal something surprising about how people interact with technology.

Segment 1: What Players Actually Do

The biggest Baldur’s Gate 3 save scummers slammed quicksave over 1,400 times in one go, Larian says: “You doing okay there?”

  • Why do people save-scum?
  • Is save-scumming “cheating”?
  • Games as experimentation rather than competition.

New Baldur’s Gate 3 Player Stats Prove You’re All Knife-Happy Bard Murderers

  • Players claim to roleplay…
  • …but statistics show many optimise outcomes
  • .The gap between player identity and player behaviour.

Guillermo Del Toro Wants Extra Checkpoints In Games For ‘Elderly Players’ After Getting His Ass Kicked By Dead Cells

  • Accessibility vs difficulty
  • Checkpoints aren’t “easy mode.”
  • Older gamers
  • Less available gaming time
  • Respecting players’ time

Segment 2: The Odyssey Effect

Well, the Greek Prime Minister Seems Happy With The Odyssey — He Called Christopher Nolan to Thank Him for ‘Stimulating Global Interest in Ancient Greek Culture’

Assassin Creed player counts spike in the wake of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey

‘The Odyssey’ Is So Big, It’s Made People Like ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Again

  • Games becoming educational gateways.
  • Tourism.
  • Classical history becoming mainstream.
  • Assassin’s Creed Discovery Tour.
  • Pop culture driving historical curiosity

Segment 3: Who Controls Trust?

AI scammers outperform humans when it comes to building trust

  • AI isn’t necessarily “smarter.”
  • It’s infinitely patient.
  • Personalised.
  • Never tired.
  • Emotionally adaptive.

Multiple Major ASMR Accounts Suddenly Removed From YouTube Over ‘Explicit Content’

  • Automated moderation
  • False positives
  • Creator livelihoods
  • Platform transparency
  • AI making decisions for humans
  • We’re increasingly interacting with algorithms instead of people.