Branching Out

 This week, in a move I couldn't have planned better, I'm talking about Inventory Action RPG Jack & Casie with its developer, shoutscion. The game's not quite out yet, but I've gotten hours of entertainment out of the demo, already. We talk about the REAL origins of Jack & Casie, the newly-released armor prototype, and hard choices designers make regarding balance, tutorials, and fun.   We also talk about the Super Best Friends a fair bit in this episode, which was recorded about five days in advance of their announcing the closing of their channel. I consider it a very appropriate sending off of them, talking about some of our favorite jokes and our history as fans of them. The channel was a significant part of my daily routine, and I'm glad I had this last opportunity to talk about them and have fun with a fellow long-time fan before the news hit.   Show Notes: shout's tumblr, where he blogs about game development Attache Case HD  Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead  Elite Beat Agents  Solatorobo  Combat Mecha Zabungle  God Hand  If you want more gaming information, check us out on the web at starfox64.com  Star Fox 64 Promo 

 I'm back, baby!  

This week, I try a game that's been vaguely within my radar, but I never had the chutzpah to actually learn: Magic: The Gathering. With me is Kevin Cole, who's been playing the game in physical form for 17 years. In this episode, we compare notes on the difference between physical and digital card games (I only tried Magic via MTG Arena), talk briefly about Garfield's newest game Keyforge, and why Black should be a good guy.   I'm going to take a brief hiatus and be back in two weeks to talk with Matsu again about Lufia II, so look forward to that!   Show Notes: Kevin Cole's Tabletop RPG Podcast: Pretend Friends  Magic: The Gathering: Arena   

This week, we finish off Earthbound with the soban. We wrap up the two side sanctuaries, then head straight into Deep Darkness, and on to the finale! We talk about mushroom hunting, DRM, and abortions! soban didn't have a social media presence to plug, so check out Lawsplaining the Interwebs by Nick Rekieta, instead!   Next time around, look forward to Magic: The Gathering, with Kevin Cole!

 In the very 15th episode, we talk about the very 15th Final Fantasy! I'm joined by Moose, who is also a seasoned Final Fantasy veteran, and we talk about how this game falls short of expectations in entirely avoidable ways. We fail to talk about the alliteration, the only puzzle in the entire game, or the soundtrack.   Show Notes: Final Fantasy XV was a mediocre disappointment  Stella 

This week, I have Twinbeard, the creator of Frog Fractions, on to talk about the original Legend of Zelda, which is one of the games at the heart of the design of Frog Fractions 2! We also talk about reading D&D sourcebooks, games that aren't as good as Save the Date, and studs vs wimps.   Next week is Final Fantasy XV, with Moose, as I tease in this episode!   Show Notes: Twinbeard's website, where you can find Frog Fractions and Futilitris  Video Games Hot Dog  Movement Mechanics in "The Legend of Zelda" 

This week we have the guest I've probably been the most excited to talk to: Liam of the RisingSuperStream, and Super Best Friends Play Emeritus. The topic is Streets of Rage, a 1991 SEGA beat-'em-up, and a cornerstone of the genre! This episode we cover where beat-'em-ups went, how pretty much anyone can pitch a SoR game, and lambada! Show Notes: Liam on Twitch and YouTube  Streets of Rage on Steam  Liam at Momocon 2018  Streets of Rage prototype by Ruffian Games 

This week I get to talk to someone whose voice I hear whenever I'm having a bad day; Doug TenNapel -- creator of Earthworm Jim and plenty of other properties -- calls in to talk about Barton Fink, a movie that has wormed its way into my heart, as well. A running theme of this episode is walking a mile in someone else's shoes, from learning from their stories or their creative style, to remembering to stand by them when no one else will. I had a lot of fun talking to Doug, and I expect to actually appear on his show sooner rather than later. Show Notes: The Doug Show on YouTube  Bigfoot Bill  Michigan J. Frog 

This week, we have Florian Himsl, the co-creator of Binding of Isaac, on to talk about a recent juggernaut in the roguelike genre, Dead Cells. We talk about boss design, balancing stats effectively, and the nature of language. We don't always see eye-to-eye, but I think it makes for good discussion! Show Notes: Dead Cells on Steam  Florian's YouTube channel  Florian's website 

In this episode, Justin Whang and I discuss Herschell Gordon Lewis's Trilogy of Blood! These movies set the foundation for the slasher flick as we know it today, and I had a lot of fun watching them, even if they largely were pretty schlocky.

This week, we interview composer, writer, director, and programmer Andrew Allanson of Ackk Studios, who is developing YIIK: A Post-Modern RPG. Despite the name, even if you're not a big RPG guy, I think this episode has a lot of interesting discussion on game design in general! We talk about the purpose of music in games, looking outside the industry to create within it, and how to fight millions of bees. Next week, look forward to Blood Feast (1963) with Justin Whang!   Show Notes: YIIK: A Post-Modern RPG Official Website  Mark Brown on Shovel Knight and Nailing Nostalgia  Hidetaka Miyazaki on regaining health in Bloodborne  Satoshi Tajiri on bug catching  Shigeru Miyamoto on arches  Tales of Game's Presents Chef Boyardee's Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa  Andrew on post-modernism  Trails of Cold Steel camerawork   

We've made it to the finale of the obscure, never-translated, weird-even-by-JRPG-standards game I decided to launch a podcast with. Despite that tongue-in-cheek description, I wouldn't have it any other way! Live a Live was incredibly worth playing, for me. This episode covers the actual, for-realsies, final final spoilers in the game, and Matsu is gracious enough to lead me through them. We also tease an upcoming bonus episode featuring none other than Matsu himself, analyzing the music in another game I've talked about: Earthbound. Speaking of Earthbound, look forward to an interview with the composer, writer, and co-creator of YIIK: A Postmodern RPG, Andrew of AckkStudios! We talk a lot about what the purpose of music within a game is, what a good philosophy is when designing a game that will draw clear comparison to megaton releases, and who would win in a fight. I think it's one of the best episodes of the show, thus far! Show Notes:  Matsu on Soundcloud Frog Fractions  Frog Fractions' creator on preserving a sense of mystery in a modern era of game development

This week, Matsu is back with part two out of three of our Live A Live discussion! We run through the latter half of each chapter, without regard for spoilers. If you missed part 1, it's actually the very first episode of the podcast, and well worth listening to! We'll be back next week to bed and give our final thoughts on it in full. Show Notes: Matsu on Soundcloud Legends of Localization Big Jim

We're back with the second part of Earthbound with ojjjuj. We go from Moonside to Dungeon Man, so we start and finish on high notes, in my opinion! As an FYI, the end of this Earthbound series will come a bit later, as I'm going to record it with soban. And look forward to a lot of content from fan-favorite guest Matsu in the very near future!   Show Notes: ojjjuj on Twitch  Twin Peaks Red Room (Simpsonified)  Smash Bros. terms 

In this episode, ojjjuj and I talk about Earthbound AT LENGTH. It's a mid-90s SNES JRPG (seems like I've typed something similar before) that can't be described without using the word 'unique'. The episode is accidentally a two-parter, but we'll need a third to finish the game off someday! Whoops! We talk about where it fails as a game and what problems are overblown, the incredible, anachronistic music, the unique setting and NPCs, and more. This episode covers from the beginning of the game to the middle of Fourside, and the second episode will cover the remainder of Fourside through Summers & Scaraba. Show Notes: What a beautiful Duwang Miles Gloriosus (particularly around 1 minute in)

In this episode, I talk to Silent Eric (@Silent0Eric) about Battle Connection, a card game by Level 99 Games that translates mechanics unique to the fighting game video game genre into a format that allows people without the reflexes and practiced precision of esports pros to experience the high level mind games that make fighting games so engaging. We take some diversions to talk about other card games in brief, as well, particularly Exceed and David Sirlin's Yomi, which are card games in the same genre, but with somewhat different goals. Next week, I'll be talking about Earthbound! If you have questions or comments about that game, feel free to send them to me on Twitter (@antoidsyo)! Show Notes: BattleCon Website David Sirlin on balance and knowing your opponent Divekick on Steam Jotaro vs. D'arby

In this episode, Ivan comes on to tell me why he loves Hotline Miami. We talk about the music more than someone as inexperienced with music as I should, and also about specific cool moments in the game and its surprisingly thorough pacing/level design. Come join us!   Show Notes: Hotline Miami on Steam M|O|O|N AMA

In this episode, we talk about HuniePop and HunieCam Studio with Srirancha (@deleteuraccont) of Porg Chatter fame  and Ryan Koons (@HuniePotDev), the developer of HuniePop! And by "we", I of course mean that they talk about it, while I pretend to know what I'm doing. In this episode, I kind of talk over/ignore some stuff Ryan and Srirancha say, partly because I'm a jerk, but also partly because our connection was terrible and they were constantly cutting in and out. I blame my WiFi! Regardless, they were great sports about it, and I hope to have either of them on again, sometime.   Show Notes: HuniePop on Steam HunieCam Studio on Steam Australian Hentai Incels.me Srirancha's Twitter Ryan's YouTube

In this episode, Matsu and I discuss Live A Live, one of Squaresoft's many forgotten highly experimental games from the mid-1990s.  I hope to have Matsu back on sooner, rather than later, to discuss this game without holding back spoilers, as there's a whole lot to talk about, but if you can't wait, you should check the game out for yourself!   Show Notes: The fan translation patch (by Aeon Genesis) The Ultros fight from Final Fantasy VI, in glorious 240p Playing card shorthand for player motivation Top selling Japanese 3DS Virtual Console games