Silicon Sasquatch

Did Gamergate contribute to the riot in Washington D.C.? Were its proponents' online harassment campaigns a precursor to sedition? Doug and Aaron ask each other these questions and more in this episode following the January 6th, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol.

Part of our annual GOTY tradition is recording our deliberations and posting them to torture you all. Do you want to hear how the sausage is made? You shouldn’t. That sounds wet and gross. Anyway, pod get!

What’s better than a listicle? A very long podcast! Presenting our raw output: hours of recorded discussion settling our 2020 category award winners.

Well, here it is: the podcast where we successfully reduced 200 nominees to the 20 best games of the decade. Surely this won’t be contentious or anything.

Okay, so. You’ve seen our Top 10 list. But you’re wondering: “Uh, wait, what were they thinking?” Your answer lies within.

You’ve seen the awards. And now, our secret process is unveiled: we mostly just talk for a long time until we agree on something.

This is it: the final part of our Game of the Year 2018 deliberations. Here are the arguments we came up with for the top 10 games of the year.

Here's part 2 of our Game of the Year 2018 deliberations. In this episode, we decide who'll win all ten of our Category Awards.

To kick off our tenth Game of the Year feature, we're exhuming our prior work to look at it again as older and (ideally) wiser people. In this episode, we go year-by-year, list-by-list, and ask ourselves whether we made the right choices at the time, or if other games wound up reflecting our mission better.

We're back with another podcast!

Oh dang. Oh yes. It's podcast time.

The Silicon Sasquatch Podcast is back -- and we've got a guest this time!

Hot on the heels of Doug's in-depth look at the original Xbox's legacy, here's a conversation between him and Nick about the gargantuan hunk of plastic that (somehow) transformed console gaming.

On our first podcast in almost two years, Nick, Doug and Aaron pick through the rubble left by the election's crater to find a constructive way forward for our brand of games criticism.

The mere concept of an 80-hour game just isn't the same in 2014. What does that mean for gaming's tradition of massive, deep role-playing games? And what can developers do to avoid padding their games out with dull, superfluous side missions?

Missing faces. Go-karting Parisians. Awkward bystanders yammering about nothing. Maybe it's just us, but something about this French Revolution feels a little...off.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is, by many accounts, a big step forward for a series that was beginning to flounder. We got together to discuss how Sledgehammer Games updated the tried-and-true formula and speculate on where the series can go from here.

It's 2014: a brave new world where elephants are apparently vehicles of destruction and a simple button press is all it takes to feel feelings about a fallen brother-in-arms. How did we get here?

Months after the birth of the Gamergate movement, tensions are still high and threats are still being made. Where are we now? And what impact will Gamergate have on how we discuss ethical concerns in the games industry in the future?

It's been an uneven debut year for Sony and Microsoft's new hardware. How does it compare to previous console generations? And how long's it gonna be before a purchase will make sense to the average person?

Catch a sneak peak of our 2014 GOTYs: We discuss our current favorite releases, and get hyped about what's coming next as the year draws to a close.

How does Destiny's end-game hold up? Does Super Smash Bros. on 3DS hold a candle to its console counterpart? And why is Doug spending all his free time playing a wrestling-themed card game? All these mysteries are revealed in this week's podcast.

In honor of our 50th episode, we've got a massive podcast for you! Join PAX veterans Nick and Spencer as they talk about the dozens of games they played while Doug and Tyler grill them on the significance and potential future of the biggest public games expo in the United States. Thanks for listening – please subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher and tell your friends!

What happens when a game is indistinguishable from real-world headlines?

Destiny is Bungie's first post-Halo effort, and with the beta behind it, we sit down to ask: Is all the hype warranted?

MOBA what now? In this episode, we venture into unfamiliar territory to see if all the hype is warranted.

There's a problem of diversity and representation in the games industry. It's widespread, ranging from development and publishing to marketing and journalism, and it's toxic. Doug, Aaron and Nick talk about why this matters and what you can do to help make gaming a safe space for everyone.

Aaron, Tyler and Nick share their experiences playing through the notoriously complex and unforgiving Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls games and attempt to suss out what makes them so memorable and distinct from so many other games on the market.

Mario Kart 8 teaches us that sometimes you just need to embrace fun for the sake of fun. That goes double for Luigi-death-stare memes.

If a multiplayer game loses its online functionality and nobody's around to play it, does anyone notice?

Microsoft recently announced it will drop the Kinect from its Xbox One bundle, less than a year after the console was unveiled. Has Microsoft thrown-in the towel on its vision of a new generation? Your loving Sasquatch crew assembled to talk it out!

Doug sits down with Nick to hear about his leap from an established routine at a steady career into the unpredictable world of independent game development.

The gaming community's in an uproar over Facebook's $2 billion acquisition of Oculus VR, makers of the Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset. Doug, Spencer and Nick analyze the situation and determine that reports of VR's demise are greatly exaggerated.

We dip our toe into the murky waters of pen-and-paper game design in this illuminating conversation with Dan Phipps, founder of Cactus Cat Games and creator of the upcoming pen-and-paper RPG Arroyo.

Streams. Who doesn't love them? Not big enough to be rivers but still flowing bodies of water, often cutting through forests or grasslands. Whenever I see a stream, I know it's bound to be a peaceful little slice of nature nearby. ...wait, you mean we're talking about a different kind of stream? Oh. Right. Jokes aside, the popularity of streaming your live videogame content has grown in the last few years. It's to the point where Twitch.tv, the web site carrying the banner for streaming videogame content, is one of the top bandwidth users in the United States during peak times. Wow! On this week's podcast, the gang – Doug, Aaron, Nick and Tyler – discuss various groups that are using streaming in non-traditional ways. From the tyranny of the masses to virtual cockfighting and #2Kuality, we talk about some of the more unique uses for streaming videogames that we have seen. Please give us a listen and comment below! Intro: Stick With You by WJLP https://soundcloud.com/william-j-lepetomane Outro: Skristi by Jovis. https://soundcloud.com/jovis

Header image compares restoration of Spanish Ecce Homo fresco to updating of a certain Japanese RPG The video game industry has more than 30 years of history now, so it’s only natural to look out for the future preservation of games we love. While old systems, emulators and re-releases are appreciated, there are always questions about what’s in the best interest of preserving a game. As platforms come and go, there are also updates of older games for newer consoles — including the recent Final Fantasy VI re-release for iOS — that make questionable choices about how to re-interpret a classic. That’s what this week’s episode is all about. On Episode 37 I’m joined by Tyler, Nick and Spencer to discuss the trials and tribulations of preserving old games, and how some games have gotten it so wrong. Please give us a listen, subscribe on iTunes and Stitcher, and feel free to leave comments below! We appreciate the feedback. Intro: "Carpetbaggers" by The Jawa Warhol Outro: "Comback Season" by ADmiral-_Gunna

What are "daily challenges," and do they keep gamers gaming? Host Doug Bonham wrangles our staff for their views on this growing trend.

Aaron, Tyler, and Doug discuss Nintendo's fiscal year 2013, and where the venerable industry leader may go from here.

Brit, Aaron, Nick, and Spencer get together and talk about the games they're excited for in 2014.

An archival recording of our 2013 Game of the Year discussion. Not exactly light listening.

Aaron, Nick, Doug and Spencer reminisce about the road that Silicon Sasquatch has taken them on these past five years, and share their plans for the next five. Look back with us on our half-decade of engaging content and unique editorial.

Aaron, Nick and Spencer divulge which games didn't place in our 2013 Game of the Year Awards, and detail what's holding them back from greatness.

As life's responsibilities grow and possibilities expand, what's a gamer to do to keep up with their favorite hobby? Brit, Spencer and Nick tackled this tricky subject on the latest episode of the Squatchcast.

Nick, Aaron, Tyler, and Spencer discuss the sales and pricing of games and the effects of digital distribution on old modes of thinking.

The crew talks about midnight launches, fanboy reactions, and South Park.

Nick, Aaron, and Tyler look back at the seventh generation of gaming consoles -- the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii.

Interviews from PAX 2013. Jeff Tunnell talks about puzzler Contraption Maker. Mike Tipul discusses strategy/space sim Enemy Starfighter.

This week the crew discusses horror games' gory glory in honor of Halloween, complete with a Vincent Price impersonation.

Adults enjoy Pokémon, too. Our staff dissects Pokémon X and Y, and wonder if it's a positive direction for the series.

Nick, Tyler and Spencer talk about the newly announced Steam initiative -- the OS, the Boxes, the controller and what it all means.

Photo by Marion Doss It's time again for the Silicon Sasquatch Podcast! This week, the gang discusses new hardware - both logical and inexplicable - from Sony, Hideo Kojima's push for more "erotic" characters in his games, and the alleged budget of Grand Theft Auto 5. Give it a listen!Intro music: Message SentOutro music: Ding!Both tracks by the very talented Jonny Nero Action Hero.