Gaming Podcast Discussion

[Moggraider]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who sees something wrong with OXM's cast. It's unbearable. RE: Fran - well, she beats the guys.

[MSUSteve]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who sees something wrong with OXM's cast. It's unbearable. RE: Fran - well, she beats the guys.
It's been quite a while since I've listened to Radio OXM, so I have to admit that I have no recent or concrete examples of why I think Fran is bad on the show. That's just my recollection from when I did listen to it regularly, which hasn't been the case in at least a year.

[DoomMunky]

I just got through the most recent 1upYours, which was pretty good actually. I really liked the holiday stories.
This was excellent. Best 1up Yours in ages, imho. The less bloviating the better. I laughed out loud several times, occasionally at the funny stories but mainly because the guys were having so much fun. Great show.

[interman]

Funny new podcast here http://www.three-bit.com/

Only one episode out so far, but it's short and pretty funny. The PSP / DS bit isn't amazing, but they used to make our (gamershell.com) podcast a while ago, which people seemed to enjoy.

[Bahimiron]

Steve, zen...

Guys...

Don't even bother with the latest GFW/LAN Party.

[zengonzo]

Sad. They need to just roll into FM and make that show a little better.

[MSUSteve]

Steve, zen...

Guys...

Don't even bother with the latest GFW/LAN Party.
I went to download it this morning and saw that neither Matt nor Robert Ashley were on this week's episode. Worse, Alice Liang and some Jade person filled in. So that's three girls on the podcast. Now, I'm not sexist, but in my experience, three girls on the same podcast is extremely irritating. Because Tina and Alice live together, I suspect there will be a lot of in-jokey talk as well. Ugh. I think I'll give it a listen anyway just so I can confirm how awful I expect it to be.

[interman]

Like like, uhm, like, like, uhm, like, frickin like uhm. I dunno, like.

[Bahimiron]

I felt like I was a tourist in San Fransisco listening to a group of kids sitting in the booth behind me talking a little too loudly about what's going on in their lives.

I like Tina, but Alice... kinda strikes me as being about as smart as a cucumber. And Jade seemed okay, she's definitely a gamer, but the addition of someone to the 1up crew based on 'she was a cute girl one of our guys met at Gamestop' makes me wonder if it's possible to live in the Bay area and not get a job at ZD. Do people just show up at the office one day, "Uh, I was headed to the dentist office where I work and ended up here." "Would you like to write for a magazine?" "...sure."

Maybe I just miss Robert and Matt. It seems like they ground the show. Robert's a funny, foul guy with a Shawn Elliotish sense of humor, but he's also a married dude with a real home life. While Matt is bald. He's no Jeff Green, but his baldness makes him seem wise, like he could one day fill those shoes.

I donno. Maybe I'm just hating change. But I couldn't help but feel that this week's LAN Party was like watching a bunch of kids take their dad's classic car for a joy ride.

[zengonzo]

I think you can have a bunch of goofballs as long as there's someone there to rope them in and keep them on track when the conversations begin to meander. Not necessarily in a dictatorial fashion, but just by presenting a tangent interesting enough that it gets the others to focus.

Currently, there's no guiding force.

[ColonelT]

While Matt is bald...his baldness makes him seem wise...Yes. That's it exactly. His baldness brings wisdom, which brings comfort, which brings peace. Plus, I like what he has to say.

[Bahimiron]

God, awful week for podcasts.

Halfway through Gamers With Jobs and it's just dumb statement after another. I really donno which is my favorite so far.

The PS3 version of the Witcher will be true to the PC game, but the 360 version won't, because the Microsoft doesn't allow mature content on their console. Cos of course last year's most controversial game was Mass Effect on the PS3 and this year everyone's favorite group sex and gay bigamy sim is Fable 2 on the PS3. Right.

Legend of Zelda the Oak-arina of Time? Never heard of it. Oh, is that the one on the Gamecube? No, that was Legend of Zelda: the Wind Walker. I mean the Wind Raker. Wind Waker? Haha. No, that's not it. Oak-arina, that one was the one on the N64, right? It was cel shaded, right? Oh, it's funny that we run a gaming podcast and can't identify the highest rated game of all time (http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/simpleratings.asp?rankings=y). Teehee, we sure have lost cred with Nintendo fans.

Yes, Nintendo fans and anyone who has paid attention to gaming media for the last eleven years, guys. I could give a crap about Nintendo, but c'mon, really? Don't make me get all Shane Bettenhausen here, but... really? Really?

(Also, when people say Mare-ee-oh, it makes me grit my teeth.)

His baldness brings wisdom, which brings comfort, which brings peace.

Peace? I don't think so. Matt is one dye job and a sweet 'stache away from going as Heihachi for Halloween.

[Vesper]

Legend of Zelda the Oak-arina of Time? Never heard of it. Oh, is that the one on the Gamecube? No, that was Legend of Zelda: the Wind Walker.
As someone pointed out on the podcast, Ocarina of Time existed on the Gamecube as a preorder bonus for Wind Waker. The point remains though - it's sad that these guys didn't know what they were talking about.

[zengonzo]

I've definitely encountered that a few times before on said podcast. Not really a big deal if you don't know what's going on with a game, but if you've got a podcast going then getting basic information wrong isn't very impressive. But going as far as guessing at facts to fill in the gaps in awareness is terrible.

[MSUSteve]

I've definitely encountered that a few times before on said podcast. Not really a big deal if you don't know what's going on with a game, but if you've got a podcast going then getting basic information wrong isn't very impressive. But going as far as guessing at facts to fill in the gaps in awareness is terrible.
Agreed. I don't expect anyone to know everything about every game (though you'd think anyone that was of game playing age when Ocarina of Time came out would remember the system it came out for) but it's inexcusable to make stuff up or insert base speculation where one can't remember the facts.

I'm bummed to hear GWJ is obnoxious this week. I actually moved that episode above this week's LAN Party when I was ordering my podcast playlist this morning before leaving work after I'd noticed LAN Party was going to be an annoying giggle fest. I still expect it to be better than that at least. Still, I have a couple of episodes of Retronauts to finish before any of that, so I should be okay.

[Nengjanggo]

...
Legend of Zelda the Oak-arina of Time? Never heard of it. Oh, is that the one on the Gamecube? No, that was Legend of Zelda: the Wind Walker. I mean the Wind Raker. Wind Waker? Haha. No, that's not it. Oak-arina, that one was the one on the N64, right? It was cel shaded, right? Oh, it's funny that we run a gaming podcast and can't identify the highest rated game of all time (http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/simpleratings.asp?rankings=y). Teehee, we sure have lost cred with Nintendo fans.


I loved that two out of the three had never played the game and didn't know the first thing about it. I guess that's part of what I like about the idea of gamers with jobs: they are regular-ish dudes who just happen to play a lot of games, rather than people whose professional lives revolve around games. A person can have a gap in their gaming knowledge and still have interesting things to say about games.

Agreed. I don't expect anyone to know everything about every game (though you'd think anyone that was of game playing age when Ocarina of Time came out would remember the system it came out for) but it's inexcusable to make stuff up or insert base speculation where one can't remember the facts.

It wasn't like they were making stuff up and claiming these were the facts (if I remember correctly), they didn't try to hide the fact that they were trying and failing to remember stuff. And I was of game playing age when it came out and have no idea what system it was for, I don't think that's too crazy.

[zengonzo]

If you guys are hard up enough for some actual entertainment, and are willing to forgive it's lack of in-depth video game commentary, I've never heard a bad episode of OneLifeLeft since DoomMunky and Kieron's recommendation.

Even the episode that 'fell apart' was all the more amusing for it. Great personalities, great pace and just good listening. Should make up for the rut.

[Jazar]

Giant Bombcast people. Learn it, Love it, Live it.

[zengonzo]

I'd only listened to one Giant Bombcast and they spent about fifteen or twenty minutes going on and on about soy juice, or something. I haven't gone back. I think there was a snide prick atmosphere about three levels above my tolerance, too.

But if Jazar recommends it that much, I suppose I can give it another go.

[Zerot]

Giant Bombcast people. Learn it, Love it, Live it.

Gotta say I agree. The Bombcast has improved dramatically since it started. It reminds me a lot of the GFW podcast in it's ability to mix gaming discussion with hilarious tangents.

And yeah, Lan Party this week wasn't very good. But I thought Jade was pretty good, just obviously nervous. If she would have talked more I think people would have had a better first impression.

[MSUSteve]

It wasn't like they were making stuff up and claiming these were the facts (if I remember correctly), they didn't try to hide the fact that they were trying and failing to remember stuff. And I was of game playing age when it came out and have no idea what system it was for, I don't think that's too crazy.
My apologies regarding the "base speculation" stuff. My own comment was pretty much base speculation as I haven't listened to the episode yet myself and I was just relying on what I thought others were saying, at least with regard to this particular episode of GWJ. When I typed the comment I was also thinking of episodes of 1upYours, where Shane says something as if it's fact, but which ends up being 100% false. I really would rather a person equivocates a bit and just say he is not sure about something than present an outright falsehood as fact. Unfortunately I can't think of a solid example from a recent podcast, except when Nick Suttner recently said that you could not copy the AC/DC Rock Band expansion tracks to the hard drive, and I'm loathe to call him out because he did 'fess up to it the next week.

As for it being crazy not to know that Ocarina of Time came out on N64, I guess that's a subjective opinion. I can't imagine that anyone old enough to play games (and had any interest in them) when it came out would not remember that it was for N64, but apparently that's not true. I still think it's crazy.

[JZigish]

Now, I'm not sexist, but in my experience, three girls on the same podcast is extremely irritating.

Is this a deliberate reference to the incredibly sexist guy who sent Tina a message this week starting with "Now, I'm not sexist..."? :)

I don't think Alice has the right personality for a non-directed podcast like lan party. She's fine on backlogs and such, but she did kind of step on what anthony was trying to say like 6 times. That's not in the spirit of improv comedy that works for freeform podcasts.

I think Jade did fine. Her knowledge of oldschool games was obvious, although the PC podcast may not be the best place for her.

[Moggraider]

It reminds me a lot of the GFW podcast in it's ability to mix gaming discussion with hilarious tangents.

"Its."



Jade says Dead Space is GotY, so she's gotta go. Heh. I had trouble telling Alice apart from Tina; that's tough. I'm all for girls on casts, as long as they know their shit. I think that the sexist reader did have a point that the guys are less open when the women are there. I mean, Shawn Elliott wouldn't've said everything he did if women were there, I think.

[MSUSteve]

Is this a deliberate reference to the incredibly sexist guy who sent Tina a message this week starting with "Now, I'm not sexist..."? :)
Ha ha! I wish it was, though as soon as I typed, "Now, I'm not sexist..." I realized that anytime someone says, "Now I'm not <insert bad thing>..." he's about to unleash some comment that will make him seem to be exactly that thing. I just want to try and be clear that I don't tend to dislike women on podcasts for any sexist reason. It's just, in my experience listening to podcasts, there have been very few women that I thought added anything interesting to the proceedings.

Sadly enough they tend to be giggly and annoying or they have big gaps in their knowledge about games and thus, fail to contribute much to the discussion itself. Even that second thing wouldn't be so bad, but they don't usually make up for that lack of knowledge with humor or piercing insight. There have been some notable exceptions, including Jade Pinckard, who is the fucking best. And I have to admit that I loved Jenn Frank when she was on Retronauts.

God, now that I read over that I feel like a big jerk, but I stand by my opinion. For whatever reason, I just don't usually find the contributions of the women podcasters to be very funny or interesting.

[Troy S Goodfellow]

I think that the sexist reader did have a point that the guys are less open when the women are there.

That's not always a bad thing. I love a good tangent that goes somewhere, but I'd rather have a podcast that was well organized and structured most of the time. Stream of consciousness ribaldry can get tedious after a while.

Troy

[Slumberland]

If you guys are hard up enough for some actual entertainment, and are willing to forgive it's lack of in-depth video game commentary, I've never heard a bad episode of OneLifeLeft since DoomMunky and Kieron's recommendation.

I really enjoy their features as well. And the music. And pretty much everything.

[MSUSteve]

I keep meaning to check out OneLifeLeft, but I never get to it before a new week of 1up podcasts starts. When I veer from 1up 'casts, it's typically to GWJ, especially with their good lineup of guests recently. I must make a concerted effort to get to OneLifeLeft.

[Moggraider]

God, now that I read over that I feel like a big jerk, but I stand by my opinion. For whatever reason, I just don't usually find the contributions of the women podcasters to be very funny or interesting.

I agree that on average they add less, and the women you named were indeed great contributors. Kathleen Saunders was pretty cool, also; Tina is too.

[zengonzo]

My apologies regarding the "base speculation" stuff. My own comment was pretty much base speculation as I haven't listened to the episode yet myself and I was just relying on what I thought others were saying, at least with regard to this particular episode of GWJ.

Steve was commenting on it in general, but I was the one who was calling out GamersWithJobs. It's been probably a month or so since I'd last listened to one of their podcasts, but the point of them not having their chops on a subject, while still venturing guesses, stood out to me from when I had been listening. I'd had similar experiences with their show.

Even realizing their basic concept is 'Gamers Who Don't Actually Devote Their Life to It', doing a podcast certainly takes it up to a level where it is wise (not like there's a freakin' law or anything) to at least reference the company's website.

But good guys. Amiable enough. They have a pretty nice chemistry on the show.

[zengonzo]

On the subject of women on gaming podcasts - I can't remember which one it was (IGN? 1Up?), but they guested a woman who was the lead editor of GameTap right before it killed its editorial department.

She was brilliant, and a huge credit to that show in particular (whichever it was) - to the point that I'd wished I could have heard more from her.

[MSUSteve]

On the subject of women on gaming podcasts - I can't remember which one it was (IGN? 1Up?), but they guested a woman who was the lead editor of GameTap right before it killed its editorial department.

She was brilliant, and a huge credit to that show in particular (whichever it was) - to the point that I'd wished I could have heard more from her.
If we're thinking of the same lady it was Dana Jongewaard. She also guested on GFW Radio (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3167555) (along with Scooter) and she was indeed awesome. She clearly has a ton of experience in the game industry and was excellent guesting on that particular episode of GFW Radio. I'd love to hear more from her.

[Bahimiron]

I loved that two out of the three had never played the game and didn't know the first thing about it. I guess that's part of what I like about the idea of gamers with jobs: they are regular-ish dudes who just happen to play a lot of games, rather than people whose professional lives revolve around games. A person can have a gap in their gaming knowledge and still have interesting things to say about games.

Believe it or not, I'm not secretly Jeff Green or Francesca Reyes. I don't work for Future or ZD or Gamespot or anything else. The only part of my life that has anything to do with games is the part where I play 'em, listen to some podcasts and read this board. And I'm gonna go ahead and say that if you call yourself a gamer, and you have done so for a while, not knowing what Zelda: TOOT is is kind of an unforgivable gap. Hell, I don't even care if you've beaten it or liked it, but you should know what it is.

That's not always a bad thing. I love a good tangent that goes somewhere, but I'd rather have a podcast that was well organized and structured most of the time. Stream of consciousness ribaldry can get tedious after a while.

Except with the latest LAN Party it's three girls and nothing but an hour of unstructured, poorly organized, tangent that goes nowhere, stream of consciousness ribaldry.

[Thierry Nguyen]

Since Dana runs an IGN site, I think she might have already been on one or two IGN podcasts, and will probably be on more. Once she gets over that whole "maternity leave" thing.
...
...
I miss RadiOPM.

[zengonzo]

Now that's something that could get me listening to IGN again. She is great business. Glad to hear it.

[MSUSteve]

Now that's something that could get me listening to IGN again. She is great business. Glad to hear it.

Seconded. I haven't listened to an IGN podcast in quite some time. It didn't take long for Podcast Beyond to go from cute and funny to absolutely obnoxious.

A quick Google Search reveals that Dana is the editor-in-chief of Greenpixels.com, described by IGN as "intended to serve as a more mainstream-friendly hub for non-traditional gamers." In the About Us (http://www.greenpixels.com/pages/about) section it says, "Think of us as your geek-chic friend, who tells you about what's actually fun to play rather than just spouting a list of technical features about the latest releases." Sounds interesting. I'm checking out the site now and it looks to me like the staff is dominated by women. I'd love for them to put together a podcast and give me something to point to as a worthwhile podcast vehicle that features women.

[Jeff Green]

Believe it or not, I'm not secretly Jeff Green or Francesca Reyes..

I'm so glad to hear you say that, because if you were, I'd be kind of freaked out.

[MSUSteve]

I'm so glad to hear you say that, because if you were, I'd be kind of freaked out.
What do you have against Francesca Reyes? :-p

Also, looking over the staff of Greenpixels.com, am I crazy for suspecting that Amanda Ochsner might be Phil Kollar's girlfriend Amanda? I mean, they both hail from Minnesota...

[zengonzo]

Steve, download OneLifeLeft right now and let it be the next show to which you listen.

[Jazar]

I'd only listened to one Giant Bombcast and they spent about fifteen or twenty minutes going on and on about soy juice, or something. I haven't gone back. I think there was a snide prick atmosphere about three levels above my tolerance, too.

But if Jazar recommends it that much, I suppose I can give it another go.

They don't really do their taste testing thing anymore. The Bombcast guys are intelligent, engergetic, quick wit and most importantly KNOW their shit. Gerstmann and Davis are almost always knowledgable about any gaming topic that comes up whether they are into it or not.

[zengonzo]

Gerstmann .. gets to me. I'll give it a shot, anyhow.

[MSUSteve]

Steve, download OneLifeLeft right now and let it be the next show to which you listen.
I'll have to do it when I get home as I don't have the necessary stuff with me to get a podcast onto my Zen Vision. But hell, this week is as good as any to jump in with both feet.

[Jeff Green]

What do you have against Francesca Reyes? :-p

Also, looking over the staff of Greenpixels.com, am I crazy for suspecting that Amanda Ochsner might be Phil Kollar's girlfriend Amanda? I mean, they both hail from Minnesota...

That's some fine detective work, sir.

[MSUSteve]

That's some fine detective work, sir.
Scary, right? I mean, she has to be the only Amanda from Minnesota to ever move to the San Francisco Bay Area. There is no other explanation.

[zengonzo]

That's some fine detective work, sir.

Speaking of, were you just Googling your own name, or was it merely coincidence?

Or is it some Beetlejuician thing?

[Bahimiron]

I'm so glad to hear you say that, because if you were, I'd be kind of freaked out.

I've never been on the no fly list, sir.

[Jeff Green]

Speaking of, were you just Googling your own name, or was it merely coincidence?

Or is it some Beetlejuician thing?

Watchoo talkin' bout, Willis? I lurk at Qt3 all day every day.

[zengonzo]

Jeff .. Start a new podcast. Seriously.

[Thierry Nguyen]

Since I know Jeff is lurking and reading, and regarding Girl Talk/Feed The Animals: welcome to last June, Jeff!

PS You're still old.

[Jazar]

PS You're still old.

More so!

[MSUSteve]

It's pretty harsh to gang up on an old guy that can barely walk. I mean, what's next? Letting the door slam in his face?

[Jeff Green]

Since I know Jeff is lurking and reading, and regarding Girl Talk/Feed The Animals: welcome to last June, Jeff!

PS You're still old.


http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/Doofaeus/jsu-award.jpg

[JZigish]

Is that from some sort of automatic certificate generator (link plz), or did you actually take the time to photoshop that up?

Either way, sweet.

[Thierry Nguyen]

Oh how I love AIM:
ME: is there a "bitemywangcertificate.com" or someshit?
JEFF: hahaha
JEFF: it actually said "Just Shut Up"
JEFF: but that felt a little weak for quarter to three
JEFF: so i modified it
ME: NICE

[Kevin Grey]

They don't really do their taste testing thing anymore. The Bombcast guys are intelligent, engergetic, quick wit and most importantly KNOW their shit. Gerstmann and Davis are almost always knowledgable about any gaming topic that comes up whether they are into it or not.


Really? I haven't listened to the Giant Bomb stuff but one of things that drove me away from the Gamespot podcast when Gerstmann and co. were still there was their lack of knowledge on things that I would expect professionals to at least be aware of.

[mono]

...And I'm gonna go ahead and say that if you call yourself a gamer, and you have done so for a while, not knowing what Zelda: TOOT is is kind of an unforgivable gap. Hell, I don't even care if you've beaten it or liked it, but you should know what it is.


Dude, I'm going on 40 years old and have been gaming for well over 30 years. Some of us missed the entire Nintendo experience from behind our computer CRT's. The only reason I've heard of any Zelda game is via forums such as this, and I have no idea what platform any of them were released upon. When I see a screenshot for any Zelda game all I can make out is a dude dressed like a ballerina waving a toy sword around and simply can't fathom the appeal.

[Bahimiron]

Some of us missed the entire Nintendo experience from behind our computer CRT's.

Here's hoping you don't decide to start up a podcast focused on games on all platforms with a pretty heavy emphasis on next gen consoles, then.

[mono]

Good point! Ocarina of Time would certainly be relevant to next-gen console discussions.

[Bahimiron]

I'm glad we agree.

[DoomMunky]

Jeff .. Start a new podcast. Seriously.
Yes please!

Ooh ooh, or guest a lot on the 1up podcasts!

[Nengjanggo]

I listened to the OneLifeLeft podcast for last week (it was one with Kieron on). I haven't listened to it before. Was that a uncharacteristic episode, or if I didn't like I should I not bother with the rest?

[JZigish]

I haven't really loved any british podcasts I've listened to. I think it's just the fact that I suck at understanding accents (yes, yes, I'm sure I have some horrible american accent) so I have to spend more attention just trying to understand what they're saying, which always means I feel like I'm behind and trying to catch up. Actually, I never have any trouble understanding John Davison. hmm, not sure why.

Stupid brits, learn to speak like americans!

[interman]

What. I understand them just fine, and I'm Norwegian.

[KieronGillen]

Nengjanggo: OLL is really about the interplay between Simon, Ste and Ann. Simon being off celebrating getting older and me being there certainly changed that - and I was very much playing guest in the threesome, so it was basically just the Ste and Ann show.

So no, it wasn't a typical OLL*, but it was its typical format.

It remains the only gaming podcast where you've got a fair chance of a developer being accused of pedophilia on any given week. I would give it at least 7/10.

KG

*It's normally funnier, I think.

[moromete]

I would like to add my deep appreciation of One Life Left to this thread... I wish that show was 2 hours long as my Monday work experience would be very much improved...

[zengonzo]

Certainly not to Kieron's discredit for running with it, but the Ste-Ann-Simon triumvirate usually have such a great dynamic that removing one just doesn't give the proper experience.

If you don't like the general format (a video game show that is about video games in the way Best in Show is about dog competitions) then, yeah, it's not going to change that much.

But I'd say give it another shot, there's nothing else like it. For all the podcasts that give more focused video game discussion, I find myself pretty tired of listening.

7/10

[malkav11]

I've listened to a few One Life Left episodes and I think the issue for me is that I don't actually find them funny.

[zengonzo]

Yeah, that'd be a barrier.

[DoomMunky]

(a video game show that is about video games in the way Best in Show is about dog competitions)

Best. Comparison. Ever.

[Nengjanggo]

Thanks for the replies. I'll give it another try!

[DoomMunky]

Just to reiterate the point expressed earlier: This week's LAN Party sucked. I can hear the interpersonal pathology playing itself out, and it's deeply annoying. They spend WAY too much time trying to seem cool; to each other, to the listeners, whoever. And it sucks. The genius of shows like OLL and GFW Radio is they feature ADULTS who don't apologize for their thoughts or spend any time trying to seem cool to each other. As it stands, Anthony is the only regular member who comes off as someone with something to SAY, not something to PROVE.

In other news, I'm listening now to the most recent Giant Bombcast and I'm pleasantly surprised by how good it is! They're talking mainly about games, obviously get a big kick out of each other (which is the main appeal of a podcast for me; people who are enjoying themselves and each other), and are amazingly knowledgable about their subjects. They know a hell of a lot, and (so far) haven't beaten anything to death the way they tend to on GWJ. Good stuff, and promising.

[mittens]

I'm not sure if anyone already mentioned this, but The Idle Thumbs podcast is absolutely superb: http://www.idlethumbs.net/

[JZigish]

Huh, a podcast with Chris Remo and Nick Breckon. I liked the old shacknews podcast and wondered what happened to it. I'll go check it out.

[interman]

Ok I need to know, who else mimics Jeff Green's expressions in the 1up show intro

[Bahimiron]

Is anyone else having issues DLing the new 1up Show? It spent about four hours DLing it and said it still had another 67 minutes. I paused it and restarted it, hoping for a better speed, and it decided to completely restart the DL.

[Hugin]

Is anyone else having issues DLing the new 1up Show? It spent about four hours DLing it and said it still had another 67 minutes. I paused it and restarted it, hoping for a better speed, and it decided to completely restart the DL.

Yeah, I just started it and then tabbed to another window and farted around for a couple hours till it finally loaded.

[Bahimiron]

Listened to Giant Bombast today. Loved it. The guys are funny as hell. And at least two of them have voices unique enough that it won't take me too long to figure out who is who. This is what drew me to the original CGW Radio so quickly. Jeff Green and Ryan Scott are easy to tell apart from the crowd.

Also did One Life Left. Hated it at first cos of the radio show aesthetic and the musical interludes. Then I realized that it actually is a radio show and started getting more into it. Liked the interactions, liked the people, had no problem understanding accents. The only thing I coulda done without was the narrative from the game store owner/manager slash tehno DJ slash late-stage tuberculosis sufferer with the techno music in the background. But hey, maybe he'll grow on me.

[JZigish]

I just listened to the most recent One Life Left, and the two most recent Idle Thumbs. One Life Left isn't doing anything, and I wasn't sure about Idle Thumbs until I heard Chris Remo's "Senior Super Douche" song. That was awesome.

[zengonzo]

The only thing I coulda done without was the narrative from the game store owner/manager slash tehno DJ slash late-stage tuberculosis sufferer with the techno music in the background. But hey, maybe he'll grow on me.

He sounds a bit like Bill Nighy to me. I was surprised to learn that he's actually a pretty young guy.

They are pretty hit-and-miss for me, too. Sometimes the music is at such a level that I can't even hear him without straining, so I just wait for it to end ..

Talia's review is perhaps my favorite feature.

[interman]

New three-bit episode out http://three-bit.com/podcast/threebit_podcast_002.mp3

I'm not involved in it, but my buddy is, so give it a listen. It's pretty short.

[KieronGillen]

Talia's review is perhaps my favorite feature.

Mine too, though I think Byron being around children is a recipe for disaster.

KG

[zengonzo]

A charming disaster, certainly.

[Rob_Merritt]

Jeff .. Start a new podcast. Seriously.


Yes. WE MISS YOU!

I've been reduced to making a Jeff Green sim in Sims 2. I don't want to talk about it. *sniff*

Naa, actually I just have him wandering around public places and then insulting younger people. Good times.

[MSUSteve]

I just got through last week's episode of 1upYours. It was a good show, but I wish they had gotten to the Far Cry 2 discussion that John had been asking for over the last two weeks. Also, I found it funny that Shane rudely characterized the people who buy Stardock games and called that market niche, but in the same episode unashamedly loved on Valkyria Chronicles. I mean, it's okay to like strategy games so long as they feature effeminate children fighting in World War II, but not sci-fi strategy games on the PC? To borrow a phrase from Shane, REALLY?!

I've also come around to the view that David Ellis tries to be as negative as possible. That's not to say he never likes anything, because he does like games and gets enthusiastic about them. But it seems like he's always got some prepared snide comment ready to go. A good example is him sliding in "You mean Dark Sector 2?" when Garnett brought up the Wanted game.

[Rob_Merritt]

Isn't Shane the one that wants to marry his ps3?

[Moggraider]

A good example is him sliding in "You mean Dark Sector 2?" when Garnett brought up the Wanted game.

That was an apt comparison, and Garnett and Shane are just as bad in that regard.

[Bahimiron]

Also, I found it funny that Shane rudely characterized the people who buy Stardock games and called that market niche, but in the same episode unashamedly loved on Valkyria Chronicles.

I was too busy finding Shane deeply ignorant to find that at all funny. (Yes, I know you probably didn't actually find that funny either.) Really, when Shane decided that the reason Stardock could get away with not having DRM was because Stardock games were low selling games with bad graphics, I just turned it off.

[tylertoo]

Listened to Giant Bombast today. Loved it. The guys are funny as hell. And at least two of them have voices unique enough that it won't take me too long to figure out who is who.

Agree. GB is now my second favorite gaming podcast, after GWJ. I do wish they'd identify themselves at the start of each episode. Even if their voices are distinguishable, I have no idea who is who.

[zengonzo]

That was an apt comparison, and Garnett and Shane are just as bad in that regard.

They've all got that tendency to be snide about any given game they aren't invested in, and then whine petulantly when someone else does the same about a game in which they are.

[Jazar]

I just got through last week's episode of 1upYours. It was a good show, but I wish they had gotten to the Far Cry 2 discussion that John had been asking for over the last two weeks. Also, I found it funny that Shane rudely characterized the people who buy Stardock games and called that market niche, but in the same episode unashamedly loved on Valkyria Chronicles. I mean, it's okay to like strategy games so long as they feature effeminate children fighting in World War II, but not sci-fi strategy games on the PC? To borrow a phrase from Shane, REALLY?!

Niche doesn't always have the negative connotation that you're associating it with. He's right. Stardock games aren't going to attract the number of pirates that a game like GTA4 or Fallout 3 would.

[MSUSteve]

That was an apt comparison, and Garnett and Shane are just as bad in that regard.

Eh, it might be. But it's the tone and the way he said it, and many comments like it, that I could do without. I actually like David Ellis' presence on the show because more often than not, he'll call BS where appropriate, but I think he sometimes tries too hard to be "edgy".

I was too busy finding Shane deeply ignorant to find that at all funny. (Yes, I know you probably didn't actually find that funny either.) Really, when Shane decided that the reason Stardock could get away with not having DRM was because Stardock games were low selling games with bad graphics, I just turned it off.

And in the same episode he agreed that Valkyria selling 200,000 units would be a good thing. I've gotta believe that Sins of a Solar Empire and certainly Galactic Civilization 2 sold more than 200,000 units. Shane seems to really believe that if he doesn't like something or know much about it, that it's somehow not worth anything. Also, and I know I've said it before, but his comments regarding Killzone 2 just kill me because I know that if the exact same game were on any system but the PS3, he'd never touch it. And that's not me ripping on Killzone 2 at all. I have it preordered and I'm looking forward to it. It's just sick to me that the guy's bias toward PS3 is so huge he'll actively "sell" games from genres he would never otherwise play.

[MSUSteve]

Niche doesn't always have the negative connotation that you're associating it with. He's right. Stardock games aren't going to attract the number of pirates that a game like GTA4 or Fallout 3 would.
No, but the comment that people who buy Stardock games are all 40 year old war game aficionados certainly had negative connotation. Well, maybe not certainly, but to my ears the tone used suggested that these people were dorks and not worth consideration in legitimate game discussion.

[mittens]

I really want a podcast devoted to game analysis/design/criticism. Maybe those aspects of the industry are only interesting to me because I work as a game developer, but still.

The problem, I think, would be finding the people who could comfortably talk at length about some of the deeper aspects of game design or a given game while still having interesting/esoteric knowledge to add to discussions. This is a long thread so maybe I already posted my desire to have such a podcast in here before (I know it's not the first time I've discussed it), but it still holds true.

[Andrew Mayer]

I really want a podcast devoted to game analysis/design/criticism. Maybe those aspects of the industry are only interesting to me because I work as a game developer, but still.

The problem, I think, would be finding the people who could comfortably talk at length about some of the deeper aspects of game design or a given game while still having interesting/esoteric knowledge to add to discussions. This is a long thread so maybe I already posted my desire to have such a podcast in here before (I know it's not the first time I've discussed it), but it still holds true.

I've been thinking about doing a weekly podcast on exactly that, and getting some industry folks on it as well.

At this point it's looking like January.

[mittens]

That's rad.

[Perco]

I've been thinking about doing a weekly podcast on exactly that, and getting some industry folks on it as well.

At this point it's looking like January.
Awesome!

[MSUSteve]

I feel like I always pop into this thread to complain about something, so I want to come in this time and say how much I consistently enjoy 1upFM. Those guys do a great job (though I think they'd be better without Tina) and it comes through that they really care about the show and enjoy doing it. I liked the interview with the guys from Starbreeze this week. I can't wait for Assault on Dark Athena, so it was nice to get some extra details. Finally, I'm not sure why they had Greg Ford on the show this week. He couldn't have sounded less interested in what was going on.

[Bahimiron]

I find 1up FM to be a very reliable podcast. I even like Tina. She's able to fill her role on 1up FM in a way she really isn't on LAN Party.

The House of the Dead interview a coupla weeks back with the actual zombies present, though? That was dumb as shit.

[MSUSteve]

The House of the Dead interview a coupla weeks back with the actual zombies present, though? That was dumb as shit.
Agreed! They seemed to realize it fairly quickly and got the zombies to shut the hell up. But yeah, that was ill advised.

[JZigish]

The interview segments are hit and miss, which I think is perfectly fine. They're trying some cool interviews, and sometimes you don't always get who you want. Oh, and totally get warren spector on there.

Yeah, I really like 1up FM. Backlog is possibly my favorite segment in a podcast, and the news/discussion segments are always great. I have to say that the quality of reader mail is going down a bit, but that's not really their fault. Perhaps they should be more selective? Reader mail segments in podcasts often fail, because of the fact that most listeners tend to be pretty lame.

[Hugin]

I tried one of the Idlethumbs podcasts. Do they always talk over each other like that? Because, Jesus.

[Brixtone]

New three-bit episode out http://three-bit.com/podcast/threebit_podcast_002.mp3

I'm not involved in it, but my buddy is, so give it a listen. It's pretty short.

Thanks for the plug, Interman. Here's hoping that we can return to our former glory and then some. Please bombard us with feedback at every given opportunity.

[Bahimiron]

Alright, I finally listened to this week's 1up FM. I get the feeling that Shane is reading comments made by us, Steve, zen, and is expanding his repertoire with our complaints in mind. He's gone from 'baby game' to 'baby-fied' and 'baby-ness' in the latest 1up FM. And every time he said it, I wanted to point out that he likes all kinds of games that could be described as pretty babyfied.

[DoomMunky]

I really want a podcast devoted to game analysis/design/criticism. Maybe those aspects of the industry are only interesting to me because I work as a game developer, but still.

Well, it's not updated with anything APPROACHING regularity, but the Gamasutra podcast with Tom Kim has some truly great back episodes. Go to the site to read up (http://www.gdcradio.net/gamasutra_podcast/), or subscribe on iTunes and get all the back episodes.

For the truly desperate (like me!) you can do what I did: Download or .torrent the Warren Spector Master Class videos and then use an audio ripper program to strip the audio out (http://www.aoamedia.com/audioextractor.htm) and listen to it on your non-video iPod. Good stuff, and lots of it.

[MSUSteve]

Alright, I finally listened to this week's 1up FM. I get the feeling that Shane is reading comments made by us, Steve, zen, and is expanding his repertoire with our complaints in mind. He's gone from 'baby game' to 'baby-fied' and 'baby-ness' in the latest 1up FM. And every time he said it, I wanted to point out that he likes all kinds of games that could be described as pretty babyfied.
Unless the comments are made on the GAF, I don't think Shane reads them, though he did seem a little more modulated on 1upFM than he typically is on 1upYours. I have to admit that I liked how he shut Tina down a little bit last week when he said she couldn't be on 1upYours. I think any wavering I was doing about her is gone. I don't like her as a podcaster (I'm sure she's a good person) and wouldn't mind if I never heard her again on any of the shows.

[theborbes]

ooh that's a little harsh, I like Tina. The only time I've ever thought that she wasn't doing so hot (it's a podcast; standards are low... i listen to multiple IGN podcasts) wasa couple weeks ago when literally every second thing out of her mouth was "shut up" or something to that effect. I know the guys were jokin' around with her, i dunno I just felt like she was a broken record that day.

Most times I have no issue with her. Shane on the other hand... well i say I don't like him but I'd miss him if he were gone.

[Moggraider]

I hope podcasts stop mentioning this board.

[MSUSteve]

ooh that's a little harsh, I like Tina. The only time I've ever thought that she wasn't doing so hot (it's a podcast; standards are low... i listen to multiple IGN podcasts) wasa couple weeks ago when literally every second thing out of her mouth was "shut up" or something to that effect. I know the guys were jokin' around with her, i dunno I just felt like she was a broken record that day.

You're getting at the crux of my problem with her. The best she can ever do is react to the funny/interesting people around her. She herself almost never offers anything interesting. Instead she reacts with faux shock at jokes or brings up Call of Duty 4 ad nauseum. Like I said, I'm sure she's a nice person, but she just doesn't add anything to any podcast (or the 1upShow) I've ever heard her on.

I hope podcasts stop mentioning this board.

Hmm. I haven't noticed anyone mentioning Qt3, but I don't get to every podcast every week so I surely could've missed it.

[madkevin]

You're getting at the crux of my problem with her. The best she can ever do is react to the funny/interesting people around her. She herself almost never offers anything interesting. Instead she reacts with faux shock at jokes or brings up Call of Duty 4 ad nauseum. Like I said, I'm sure she's a nice person, but she just doesn't add anything to any podcast (or the 1upShow) I've ever heard her on.

A couple of LAN Party shows ago, she instigated a really interesting discussion about the role of women in the gaming press.

[zengonzo]

She's clearly instigated plenty of discussion here on that very subject.

How did it go?

[MSUSteve]

A couple of LAN Party shows ago, she instigated a really interesting discussion about the role of women in the gaming press.
I admit that my memory is nowhere near a steel trap. The best I can say in response is that whatever her contribution was to the discussion, it didn't make an impression on me. I know in the past when she's been asked for a lady's perspective on some issue, she giggles or stammers and says nothing of any particular substance. Frankly I think she likes being on podcasts because it's fun and more interesting than the other things she does at work. I just don't think she's good at it.

[Moggraider]

Hmm. I haven't noticed anyone mentioning Qt3, but I don't get to every podcast every week so I surely could've missed it.



Jeff Green did it all the time when he was still on GFW Radio. Garnett still does it. Shane has done it.

[zengonzo]

So what's the issue? (Not being flippant.)

[MSUSteve]

I think Mogg is saying he doesn't like podcasters mentioning Qt3 because it brings people to the board, most of which he assumes (perhaps rightly) will be jackasses. That' pure speculation though. I'm not in Mogg's head or anything...yet.

As for those mentions, I know Jeff Green used to do it. You're right about Garnett doing it once in a while, but I really can't remember Shane ever bringing up Qt3. Of course I always assume he's talking about the GAF when he puts forth the opinion of the internets.

Anyway, I like when the podcasters mention Qt3. It makes me think that maybe, just maybe they're taking a look at our comments in this thread and seeing what we appreciate about what they do.

[jwtheiv]

I admit that my memory is nowhere near a steel trap. The best I can say in response is that whatever her contribution was to the discussion, it didn't make an impression on me. I know in the past when she's been asked for a lady's perspective on some issue, she giggles or stammers and says nothing of any particular substance. Frankly I think she likes being on podcasts because it's fun and more interesting than the other things she does at work. I just don't think she's good at it.

I'm fine with Tina, but I view her more as filling a color commentator slot as opposed to providing any type of indepth analysis. She is after all the 1up CM, not one of their review journalists, so I'm not sure I would expect more.

I think the issue arises is that in the past, we had grown accustomed to the majority of the podcast staff being able to fill both roles (analysis and commentary) on an as needed basis and often switched off amongst each other during the podcast, depending on the topic.

[MSUSteve]

Tina is certainly not the only person at 1up that I think doesn't do a particularly good job on podcasts. Matt Leone is pretty boring and usually responds to a direct question with a really short, uninformative, and uninteresting answer. So I don't mean to pick on Tina too much, but she is the most frequent offender given that she finds her way onto at least two podcasts a week and the 1upShow. It's fine if she doesn't have much knowledge, but then she really shouldn't be on the shows. As for her being somewhat absolved by her status as Community Manager, I'd point out that Jenn Frank was very knowledgeable and really contribute to Retronauts, even when she was drunk.

[madkevin]

She's clearly instigated plenty of discussion here on that very subject.

How did it go?

It was cool, actually. The conversation started about blog post from some Frag Dolls-esque girl gamer (which I didn't actually read, so forgive me if I'm getting the gist wrong) who was arguing that girls are dragging down gaming because "girl gamers" don't like hardcore games enough. A dumb statement, to be sure, if only because everybody has a different idea of what hardcore means. This spun off into a deeper conversation about the role of women in the gaming industry as a whole and, like I say, it was really interesting.

[Moggraider]

I think Mogg is saying he doesn't like podcasters mentioning Qt3 because it brings people to the board, most of which he assumes (perhaps rightly) will be jackasses.

Right. On a purely self-interested level, I just don't want the board busier than it already it is. But yeah, it'll bring in more, and younger, posters who degrade the board culture. Eventually, Tom might give up with personally handling registrations, switch to open registration, and then we'll need mods and admins and AAAAGH.

You're right about Garnett doing it once in a while, but I really can't remember Shane ever bringing up Qt3. He's definitely done it at least once.

Anyway, I like when the podcasters mention Qt3. It makes me think that maybe, just maybe they're taking a look at our comments in this thread and seeing what we appreciate about what they do.

I like that too. A couple times I've even gotten the impression that they're directly responding to our comments. So I guess the best of both worlds would be that they read and respond, but not say the name. Heh.

[DoomMunky]

The thing about the 1up podcasts that's bothering me lately is the personality cult they're apparently trying to foster. Since the success of 1up Yours I think they're more interested in putting popular people (like Tina) on the podcasts, regardless of how much those people have to offer to the discussion. Informed, interesting people talking about topics they're interested in doesn't seem to have much place on 1up these days.

Man I miss GFW Radio.

[MSUSteve]

The thing about the 1up podcasts that's bothering me lately is the personality cult they're apparently trying to foster. Since the success of 1up Yours I think they're more interested in putting popular people (like Tina) on the podcasts, regardless of how much those people have to offer to the discussion. Informed, interesting people talking about topics they're interested in doesn't seem to have much place on 1up these days.

Man I miss GFW Radio.
I think one of the major strengths of podcasting is its ability to let these people have distinct voices. That stuff can come through in their writing, but it's so much easier and apparent when you can actually hear them speak and react in real time. What I don't like is when the people involved start predicting audience reaction before giving an opinion or requesting various photoshops based upon what they think are hilarious remarks they made.

[Cubit]

Are there any good podcasts out there dedicated to retro gaming or just about old games?

[Zerot]

1up's Retronauts can vary in quality from episode to episode, but it remains one of my favorite podcasts to listen to.

Destructoid has a podcast called Retroforce GO. When I listened to it a while ago I really disliked it due to unlikable personalities. It may be worth a shot, though.

[Cubit]

Thanks Zerot, I'll check those out.

[Quaro]

Yeah, Retronauts is pretty hit or miss. Once in awhile they'll go nuts for two hours on an older game you love though and it's fantastic. I'd look for any back episodes on games you have particularly fond memories of.

[Eric Majkut]

Gamers with Jobs is having Shawn Elliott and Jeff Green on together for their next podcast. Awesome :)

[Zerot]

I think it's interesting that IGN's Three Red Lights podcast has stopped pretending to be about video games.

[sinfony]

Are there any good podcasts out there dedicated to retro gaming or just about old games?
I'm loathe to pimp something I'm a part of, but I feel duty-bound: the Squadron of Shame (http://www.squadronofshame.com/files/squadcasts/MP3/rss.xml) (link to the feed) doesn't exclusively talk about retro/old games, but most of the missions end up focusing on older games that haven't gotten/aren't getting enough love.

[MSUSteve]

I'll definitely be checking that out sinfony.

[Falcon554]

Love GWJ, Giantbomb, and some of the Ign podcast. PC gamers is weak tho.

[Cubit]

I just listened to RetroforceGo!, Destructoid's retro gaming podcast for the first time. Overall, I enjoyed it. They mainly talked about the history of the Persona franchise, and then went into general discussion about JRPGs. It was also nice to have in the studio one of the guys who works on Persona localization. Some of the people on the podcast were a little annoying, but I did appreciate their knowledge and enthusiasm for JRPGs in general. In fact, after the podcast I felt encouraged to try out a JRPG (a genre i'm not too familiar with) purely because of the podcaster's enthusiasm for the topic. I enjoy that passion.

[roguefrog]

Gamers with Jobs is the best Gaming Podcast on the internet.

Close Thread.

[Slumberland]

Uh, the most recent installment of Free Market Economy on OLL made me very uncomfortable.

[BlueJackalope]

I think it's interesting that IGN's Three Red Lights podcast has stopped pretending to be about video games.

Not even that interesting. I finally unsubscribed so that useless giggle-fest...

[DoomMunky]

All I have to say any more re: LAN Party is 'Thank God For Robert Ashley'.

[Bahimiron]

I've noticed that on OXM they keep advertising the Daily Radar podcast as being 'raunchier, longer and drunker'. So it sounds like the guys over at Future are desperate to get their own version of 1up Yours out there. One assumes that it'll basically be an attempt at 1up Yours, complete with a weekly insulting, bullshit countdown like Five Fittest Fannies in the Final Fantasy Franchise or what have you.

[Lake]

All I have to say any more re: LAN Party is 'Thank God For Robert Ashley'.

And Matt.

[MSUSteve]

This week's 1upFM was great, as always, even with Matt Leone and Tina. Matt had some good, pointed questions about Flower, which was a nice counterpoint to the unabashed gushing everyone else was doing. It was also fun to hear Shane in full Sony Defense Force mode while talking about Home. His most persuasive point in my mind was, "It can only get better." Ha ha! Even Tina did a pretty good job during the letters. Did you guys catch Ray commenting about how Tina was "just doing to fuck with them" after she made a comment about Call of Duty 4. This reaffirms my thought that her constant mentions of the game are a way to grief people that complain about it. Finally, Anthony's song was excellent. I wonder who was accompanying him.

[ColonelT]

Green. Elliott. GWJ. (http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/42742)

[Bahimiron]

Y'know, I honestly can't decide if I like One Life Left or not. It's clever and funny. I love their reviewing convention. The reviews by the little girl are worth the whole show itself. However, I'm not exactly a fan of electronica, so the regular breaks for twenty minutes of 8-bit techno aren't exactly welcome. The 8-bit remix of Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart was like pumping my ears with liquid pain. It doesn't help that Simon appears to be the only one who actually likes games all that much. Oh, and also they had a parody-style song in the latest podcast that had what I can only assume is a major spoiler for Gears of War 2. Is some of this stuff just them being clever, that dry British humor, like their reviews and their supposed hatred of the 360? Do I just not get it?!

[interman]

I'm with you on that one. I listen to it, but I'm not exactly sure why.

[Moggraider]

I've noticed that on OXM they keep advertising the Daily Radar podcast as being 'raunchier, longer and drunker'. So it sounds like the guys over at Future are desperate to get their own version of 1up Yours out there. One assumes that it'll basically be an attempt at 1up Yours, complete with a weekly insulting, bullshit countdown like Five Fittest Fannies in the Final Fantasy Franchise or what have you.

Where can we even get this? I don't see it on the Zune Marketplace or on their site. Can someone with iTunes check there? I refuse to reinstall iTunes, cuz that software is junk.

[Bahimiron]

Last week's Gamers With Jobs lost me pretty quickly when they insisted right out of the gate that people only think Fable 2 and Fallout 3 are good because 2008 has been such a mediocre year for games. The rest of the show was okay, but that right there was a pretty big 'what the fuck?'.

Eegra's got a new podcast too, their OctoPodcast. I'm on the second one now, but I donno if I'll really bother with more. It's two very funny, pretty smart guys, but one gets the distinct impression that they hate all games made in the last fifteen years. Also, there's a lot of techno that gets played.

[MSUSteve]

Last week's Gamers With Jobs lost me pretty quickly when they insisted right out of the gate that people only think Fable 2 and Fallout 3 are good because 2008 has been such a mediocre year for games. The rest of the show was okay, but that right there was a pretty big 'what the fuck?'.
That's a pretty bold assertion on their part. Because I wasn't commuting last week, I'm behind on my podcasts, but I've got that episode of GWJ downloaded. It'll be interesting to hear how they justify that this year has been mediocre for games.

I'm mostly through the last 1upFM, which shows how behind I am on podcasts. It was nice to have a Tina-less episode. I much prefer Anthony doing the mail. I really liked the interview with the Scribblenauts guys. That game sounds extremely interesting.

[zengonzo]

Do I just not get it?!

I just enjoy listening to it as a show, honestly - particularly since I've been so burned out on actual gaming podcasts. It took the place of my previous commute shows. Though most recently I've been listening to NPR again, now that my political perspective has swung back towards optimistic.

I don't think I'll be nursing actual gaming podcasts as much anymore until I become starved for new games or a GFW reincarnates. (I had no idea what a game-podcast staple that show was for me. Without it, everything else is more bland.)

[MSUSteve]

I don't think I'll be nursing actual gaming podcasts as much anymore until I become starved for new games or a GFW reincarnates. (I had no idea what a game-podcast staple that show was for me. Without it, everything else is more bland.)
Did you listen to the recent GWJ with Shawn Elliott and Jeff Green? It was great to hear them both again. I thought their comments about missing the love and adulation of fans were interesting. I can completely see how doing a podcast every week and having people respond immediately could be intoxicating, especially being on what many thought was the best gaming podcast out there. They were both honest and matter of fact about enjoying the attention and missing it after leaving 1up.

Anyway, if you're jonesing for GFW, that episode of GWJ should help.

Also, did anyone notice that the responses of Jeff and Shawn about the LAN Party podcast were a bit noncomittal. I think Jeff characterized his feelings as "they should keep trying" or something to that effect. I understand why they wouldn't want to specifically say what (or who) they like and dislike on LAN Party, but it would've been interesting to hear that sort of stuff.

[zengonzo]

Haven't listened to it yet - must do. I've got it sitting on my player, but the holidays took up most of my attention.

[Jeff Green]

Did you listen to the recent GWJ with Shawn Elliott and Jeff Green? It was great to hear them both again. I thought their comments about missing the love and adulation of fans were interesting. I can completely see how doing a podcast every week and having people respond immediately could be intoxicating, especially being on what many thought was the best gaming podcast out there. They were both honest and matter of fact about enjoying the attention and missing it after leaving 1up.

Anyway, if you're jonesing for GFW, that episode of GWJ should help.

Also, did anyone notice that the responses of Jeff and Shawn about the LAN Party podcast were a bit noncomittal. I think Jeff characterized his feelings as "they should keep trying" or something to that effect. I understand why they wouldn't want to specifically say what (or who) they like and dislike on LAN Party, but it would've been interesting to hear that sort of stuff.

It's embarrassingly easy to get spoiled into expecting praise for the things you do, once you get it enough. You don't really notice it, though, until it's gone. When you have a job that puts you in the "public eye", the feedback is constant. Even if it's negative, at least you're getting it. Once you are out of the spotlight, and just doing your job like 99.9 percent of working people, you realize that no one is going to be going "YAY YOU ARE GREAT!" every time you do what you've been hired to do. I could be brilliant all day long at EA, and no one is really gonna give a shit because they're all being brilliant too (and probably more productive!). So, yeah, we were just being honest: getting attention is better than not getting it. :) (However, when your job is truly satisfying--that more than makes up for it!)

Regarding LAN Party: The honest truth is that I haven't listened to enough episodes to judge. That's not a cop out--it's the truth. Without having spent much time with it, and after reading lots of harsh forum posts, I think they're definitely just suffering from having to follow GFW Radio. It's like Archie Bunker's Place after All in the Family. It's too close to the original source to avoid comparison. Again, without having listened much, my casual advice would be to just do a completely new show--a total reboot, so people weren't tuning in each week expecting to hear a podcast that isn't there anymore, or even comparing it to that old podcast.

[Troy S Goodfellow]

I could be brilliant all day long at EA.

Sure you could.

Troy

[MSUSteve]

Regarding LAN Party: The honest truth is that I haven't listened to enough episodes to judge. That's not a cop out--it's the truth. Without having spent much time with it, and after reading lots of harsh forum posts, I think they're definitely just suffering from having to follow GFW Radio. It's like Archie Bunker's Place after All in the Family. It's too close to the original source to avoid comparison. Again, without having listened much, my casual advice would be to just do a completely new show--a total reboot, so people weren't tuning in each week expecting to hear a podcast that isn't there anymore, or even comparing it to that old podcast.

I wasn't trying to imply that you (or Shawn) copped out by being a little neutral in regard to your LAN Party comments. I assumed you had heard enough to have specific criticisms, but were holding back because those guys are your friends. I guess I didn't even consider that you might not have even listened to it much.

My two cents on LAN Party are that the cast is great, but there could be real addition by subtraction if Tina wasn't on there. I'm not going to repeat all the reasons why I don't think she adds much, but to me, she is the real weakness on the show. I really like Matt Chandronait as an addition to Anthony, Robert, and Ryan. He reminds me a bit of Sean Malloy, though he's definitely more excitable than Sean was. The only other criticism I have of LAN Party is how self-referential they are. I would appreciate less references to how the community is going to react to what was just said or how the community is going to Photoshop this or that. Just do the show and then let the community react.

[Zerot]

My two cents on LAN Party are that the cast is great, but there could be real addition by subtraction if Tina wasn't on there.

You misspelled "Alice."

:)

[Jeff Green]

I wasn't trying to imply that you (or Shawn) copped out by being a little neutral in regard to your LAN Party comments. I assumed you had heard enough to have specific criticisms, but were holding back because those guys are your friends. I guess I didn't even consider that you might not have even listened to it much.


Oh, totally--I get that. And actually I did mean to say: even if I had serious criticism, I would give it to them first privately, because, yeah, they are my friends. :)

And Troy: all I said was I *could* be brilliant! I'm sure my co-workers will tell you the sad truth otherwise.

[MSUSteve]

You misspelled "Alice."

:)
Ha! I can take or leave Alice depending on my mood. She does a pretty good job during Backlog discussions on 1upFM and I've heard her actually add to the discussion at issue during her various other podcast appearances. She's not my favorite by any means, and she becomes a disaster if Tina is there because then we're forced to listen to various trivia about their apartment lives, but I don't immediately want to fast forward when I hear her on a podcast.

[Lake]

I think they're definitely just suffering from having to follow GFW Radio. It's like Archie Bunker's Place after All in the Family. It's too close to the original source to avoid comparison.

You are just too hip.

[Jeff Green]

You are just too hip.

It is my curse, yes.

[Jason Becker]

I want to listen to LAN party but it doesn't work for me. I didn't always like the "make it up as you go along" that was GFW Radio but people like Jeff and Elliot made it work most of the time when they got into really good discussions on certain topics. LAN Party to me is just the rambling without any good parts. They need to do something like 1UP Yours or 1Up FM and put a specific structure into it. If they don't I see myself not listening to it anymore as I haven't made it past about 20 minutes with the last two.

[Eric Majkut]

LAN Party isn't terrible, but it does have a lot of issues I feel they're refusing to address. It was pretty obvious from polls and forum posts that everyone hates the new name, so why are they clinging so tightly to it? They never seem to have a regular schedule and they often skip weeks without doing a show. When they DO record, half of the show is about candy or other boring stuff that noone really wants to hear about. When they finally get around to talking about games it feels like they discuss something on the console more often than not. And am I the only one that feels like some of the cast members are just trying way too hard to be noticed on the show?

I dunno. I still listen every week, it's just not my favorite podcast anymore :( I hope those guys keep doing something, but the current iteration of the podcast could use a lot of work I think. Good luck to you guys though :)

[theborbes]

They need to do something like 1UP Yours or 1Up FM and put a specific structure into it.

That'd be a fine idea as long as they don't let Chuff sing in between segments.

[MSUSteve]

That'd be a fine idea as long as they don't let Chuff sing in between segments.
I might be the only one, but I like Anthony's songs.

[Bahimiron]

After listening to the second OctoPodCast, my earlier thoughts stand, however I know I'll keep listening. It seems to me that these guys have both worked in the industry and have felt burned by it. It's true that they do very little positive in the podcast. It's more 'this is bad' and 'this is bad' and 'this is fuckin' bad!'. However, they do a lot of deconstructing of previews, press releases and other 'games journalisms' and seem to have a genuine Shawn Elliot-esque concern about the state of it. I liked their look at 'moral dilemmas' in games, as well. There was some good thought put into that.

[helic0n]

Another nod here towards the Eegra OctoPodcast (http://www.eegra.com/pages/show/title/23_12_2008_Eegra_OctoPodcast_Episode_2_Now_Availab le/). It's pretty much everything I want from a gaming podcast: thought-provoking, relevant and often laugh-out-loud funny. The brutal dissection of Fallout 3's "moral dilemmas" was some of the best analysis I've heard since Shawn Elliott left GFW Radio. Also, the way they tore hyperbolic PR-speak (via a Naruto press release) to shreds in the previous show was genius.

And they played the Mass Effect theme.

[MSUSteve]

I'm going to have to download this OctoPodcast of which you guys speak.

I'm fairly well through the 1upYours episode from 12/26. I liked the alternating voices for 4 minute warning questions and everyone picking his personal game of the year. I especially liked Shane bagging on Garnett for mentioning LittleBigPlanet as a runner up for his personal game of the year despite Garnett not playing the retail version yet. It's pretty ironic to me that Shane, a guy that constantly has negative comments about games he's clearly never played would bag on Garnett for giving some recognition to LBP, despite not having played the retail build. Shane also had an accidental bit of self mockery when he said he played 4 or 5 hours of Grand Theft Auto IV and thought it was fun until he went on the GAF and "learned" that it sucked. He clearly was kidding and poking fun at the backlash against GTA IV, but at the same time he doesn't realize how insane it is that these are the same people he relies on for opinions on games he's never played.

Shane bitching aside, I thought the GTA IV love on 1upYours was interesting. They had some discussion about the backlash against GTA IV and whether it was deserved. I don't think many people would say that GTA IV is a bad game at all. What I think the backlash is about is the 10's and A+'s that the game received, despite some pretty big flaws. Also, someone on the podcast praised GTA IV's story for not being derivative like the stories of GTA games in the past. Huh? To my memory they still lifted a lot of stuff from other sources, including the entire bank robbery scene from Heat.

There was also some discussion about Niko being a tragic or sad character. His story might be tragic, but the character is a mess. He's both sympathetic and introspective as well as an insane sociopath. He ruminates about the harsh realities of life and then turns around and accepts missions to kill total strangers without any moral compunction. It's utterly bizarre and certainly not what I would call good.

[Eric Majkut]

Ouch, these Eegra fellows really need to get themselves a producer. The audio is pretty awful on their podcast :(

[helic0n]

Ouch, these Eegra fellows really need to get themselves a producer. The audio is pretty awful on their podcast :(

Well, yes, that's my unstated reason why I claimed it was "pretty much everything I want from a gaming podcast". It sounds like they use Skype since one of the guys is in Tokyo, the other in Sydney.

[Eric Majkut]

I dunno. GWJ uses Skype, and they sound a lot better.

Not trying to bag on them, just giving some constructive criticism :)

[Aleck]

I dunno. GWJ uses Skype, and they sound a lot better.

Not trying to bag on them, just giving some constructive criticism :)

I'm guessing it's the quality of the mics and recording gear. Given all the comments Rob Borges has made on GWJ about their equipment, I'm guessing they've got some pretty sweet stuff put together.

[Moggraider]

Can someone using iTunes tell me the feed address for the Daily Radar podcast so I can try it? I can't find it on their site. Thanks.

[Kareem]

I wish the Eurogamer guys had a podcast. I think they're the only mainstream games website where I actually like all the writers.

[MSUSteve]

I wish the Eurogamer guys had a podcast. I think they're the only mainstream games website where I actually like all the writers.
Seconded!

[Rorschach]

I've got to give the Giantbomb guys credit for letting us behind the curtain this week by podcasting their discussion and decision for game of the year. It's an interesting take on the year end re-hash podcasts.

[DoomMunky]

I'm listening to the pre-Christmas LAN Party, and jesus fucking christ, Tina and Alice need to be thrown out a window. What vacuous idiots. They're completely uninterested in gaming talk, preferring to posture and pose instead. They sound like college girls at a party talking to boys they don't think are cute, trying to come off as cool without having a thing to say. It was way more interesting having Tina on when she had an obvious crush on Anthony. Then she was fucking trying.

I'd like my adults back, please. At least Anthony seems tired of their crap and wants to actually talk about games.



I AM enjoying Giant Bomb, especially when they just start riffing and cracking each other up. I like their style. It's very masculine, very 'boy', which can get old, but it's fun as hell for 2 hours every week.

[sinfony]

Misogynist much? Nobody on LAN Party ever talks about games; it's all empty chatter about whatever is going on from all parties. The problem with that show is that there's nobody on it with anything like a dominating personality; while Shawn Elliott could be irritating at times, you need somebody with his willingness to direct the conversation and discipline to stick to the topic to keep the show together. Anthony and Robert Ashley seem to try to follow in his footsteps, and between the two of them they keep the show on track sometimes, but RA's not always on there and even when he is it sometimes just meanders off. Tina and Alice are no more at fault than Ryan Scott, the supposed host of the show who rarely talks. At least Tina brings an article to discuss to every show.

Contrast to Giant Bomb. That show is fantastic, in large measure because it sticks to a solid format, and while they too wander off into joke-cracking territory all the time, Ryan Davis reins it in when it's time to do so. If he and Ryan Scott switched places, we'd probably get a very solid show out of LAN Party and more keyboard noises on Giant Bomb.

[MSUSteve]

Because DoomMunky doesn't like Tina and Alice he's a misogynist? That's fucking ridiculous man.

[Hugin]

Because DoomMunky doesn't like Tina and Alice he's a misogynist? That's fucking ridiculous man.


The whining about Tina and Alice does seem to be awfully specifically gendered. Tina has a crush on Anthony? WTFever.

[sinfony]

Because DoomMunky doesn't like Tina and Alice he's a misogynist? That's fucking ridiculous man.
Tina and Alice's participation in LAN Party doesn't really differ in any way from that of anybody else on the show (with the occasional exception of Anthony and Robert), yet he believes that they should be thrown out a window? That they sound like college girls at a party? That Tina has a crush on Anthony? Kindly provide another explanation as to why they get singled out in such a flagrantly gendered fashion when they're no better or worse than anybody else on the show? Why no comments on how Nick Suttner and Phillip Kollar won't shut up about their girlfriends? On how there was a recurring segment on Anthony's love-life in the GFW Radio days? On how Ryan Scott never talks about anything but WoW and comic books? On how 80% of Shawn Elliott's repetoire was dick jokes?

You're allowed not to like LAN Party because it's boring and has no format. I don't particularly like it for those reasons. But to say that LAN Party is bad exclusively because of its two female participants, when their contribution to the show is, at worst, no more exciting than anybody else's, is pretty suspicious.

[DoomMunky]

Okay, after listening to this weeks GFW Radio (or X-13 or whatever) I'm officially rescinding my former negative Tina position.

Now I like her. She's goofy and smart without being needy, and involves other people in a nice way. She asked for Ryan's opinion in this wonderfully open way that brought him right out. Go Tina!


How about this? I thought they ought to be thrown out a window because the WAY in which they contribute to the show seems, TO ME, to be shallow, image-conscious, reductive, uninformed, and overall uninterested in engaging in a conversation that's even close to what I'm interested in (also I was in the HEIGHT of my annoyance when I wrote that; I really think they ought to be thrown into a window several times).

I will fully admit that there were whole episodes of GFW Radio that annoyed the fuck out of me, particularly when Shawn Elliot was ranting for minutes on end about stuff that didn't interest me at all, or when it seemed like he was drowning out all other voices. But overall, his contributions to the show were excellent, and his interests were very often in line with mine.

Most importantly, though, is that regardless of how much the content of his speech annoyed me, I could respect the manner in which he said it. He was clear, well-reasoned, exuberant, deeply thoughtful, and obviously cared deeply about whatever he was talking about, be it changes in FPS design or crack abuse or farting. He was engaged in his subject matter, and you could hear it in his voice. And no matter what dumb crap he was annoying me with one week, the next he would blow me away with some incredibly well-thought out idea about player tools, narrative structure, or methamphetamine abuse.

In this most recent episode of LAN Party, however, Tina and Alice annoy the shit out of me because they can barely be bothered to listen to or contribute anything to the conversation that's happening around them, and when they do, it's in a vapid, shallow, and tossed-off, barely given the energy it takes to get out of their mouths. They're not engaged with what they're saying, even when it's something they're apparently interested in (why start a conversation about iFluid if you're not interested in actually saying anything about it?).

Add to all of this a need to constantly engage in stupid social posturing (shouting 'ooh damn! you got schooled!' when one of them says Anthony's favorite thing is dumb) and you have a recipe for a type of person that deeply annoys me, and one who I would really prefer not to listen to. Tina and Alice's behavior in the first half of this LAN Party reminds me of college age women with nothing to say, but who say it loudly, adding 'attitude' liberally but not backing it up with anything resembling thought.

So yeah, Ryan does the "ooh damn" thing too, and is largely uninterested in anything remotely resembling a format (or an on-topic discussion), but Ryan has also demonstrated an enduring interest in and commitment to engaging with games and gaming in a thoughtful, passionate way. He gets a pass on that shit because I know when it comes down to it, he can actually talk with some intelligence about the things hes interested in. He's actually far from my favorite, though, so he's a poor comparison. He doesn't care enough to talk much. I bet I'd bitch about him a lot more if he said more; if he was as aggressive about his lack of engagement.

As for Philip Kollar or Nick Suttner, I'm not talking about 1up FM; I'm talking about LAN Party, the successor to my favorite gaming podcast so far, and one I had high hopes for. In their shallowness and apathy in this episode, Tina and Alice take the podcast away from the ridiculous heights of engagement that I miss. If they were actually interested in talking about anything, and talking about it in a manner that doesn't seem so relentlessly self-focused and attention-striving, I'd be a lot more interested in them.

I hope this is the last time they annoy me, but I'm not holding my breath.

[sinfony]

The entire show is low energy! How excited and engaged does Matt Chandronait ever sound? How often does Ryan Scott ever even speak? When was the last time anybody on LAN Party raised a subject you gave a crap about? Your criticisms of Tina and Alice could fairly be applied to every single person on that show, yet you single out those two.

[Hugin]

The entire show is low energy! How excited and engaged does Matt Chandronait ever sound? How often does Ryan Scott ever even speak? When was the last time anybody on LAN Party raised a subject you gave a crap about? Your criticisms of Tina and Alice could fairly be applied to every single person on that show, yet you single out those two.

And again, they are flawed in a way that comes back specifically to their gender.

[DoomMunky]

Good job on missing the point of my post, guys!

I specifically mentioned their lack of engagement with their subject, WHATEVER it was. That's my main beef.

The fact they remind me of annoying fucking college girls is because they're, well, women. If they were men, they'd remind me of annoying fucking college boys, who posture and navel-gaze as much as anybody in college.

[Moggraider]

DoomMunky's right. The girls don't talk about games enough. But I knew they wouldn't when they first joined. Oh well.

[Bahimiron]

Listening to 1up Yours now. I agree with MSUStud, but I gotta admit that I was cracking up when Shane's response to the question about the length of games was pretty much "This is a stupid question. What kind of dick asked this? Fuck you, asshole." Cracking up in a good way. I totally agreed with everything he said.

Though last week's GWJ (listened yet, Steve?) has colored my way of listening to other podcasts. Negatively. When John Davison and Garnett and Shane were talking about how hard it was to pick GotY due to all the high quality games, I was thinking 'No! It's hard to pick because all the games were so mediocre!'

Edit: I think you guys are giving Doom a little too much shit. I don't mind Tina so much (though the self-parody does get a little grating) but I really can't stand Alice. Pretty much for the same reason I could never stand Darren Whatsisface, the classic CGW guy. Boring to listen to, not much to say that isn't an in-joke, unengaging, tendency to repeat a joke someone else just made hoping it's just as funny the second time. All she's missing was Darren's tendency to assume that bragging about getting drunk would make people like him.

I seriously doubt that Doom would have the same complaints about Jane Pinckard or Kathleen Sanders or even Kristin Salvatore that he does about Tina and Alice. And while I'm sure some people might have complaints about Francesca Reyes, I doubt it'd be the same ones being levied against Tina and Alice.

[Ryan Markel]

Listening to 1up Yours now. I agree with MSUStud, but I gotta admit that I was cracking up when Shane's response to the question about the length of games was pretty much "This is a stupid question. What kind of dick asked this? Fuck you, asshole." Cracking up in a good way. I totally agreed with everything he said.

Though last week's GWJ (listened yet, Steve?) has colored my way of listening to other podcasts. Negatively. When John Davison and Garnett and Shane were talking about how hard it was to pick GotY due to all the high quality games, I was thinking 'No! It's hard to pick because all the games were so mediocre!'

Edit: I think you guys are giving Doom a little too much shit. I don't mind Tina so much (though the self-parody does get a little grating) but I really can't stand Alice. Pretty much for the same reason I could never stand Darren Whatsisface, the classic CGW guy. Boring to listen to, not much to say that isn't an in-joke, unengaging, tendency to repeat a joke someone else just made hoping it's just as funny the second time. All she's missing was Darren's tendency to assume that bragging about getting drunk would make people like him.

I seriously doubt that Doom would have the same complaints about Jane Pinckard or Kathleen Sanders or even Kristin Salvatore that he does about Tina and Alice. And while I'm sure some people might have complaints about Francesca Reyes, I doubt it'd be the same ones being levied against Tina and Alice.

I think they both just sound kind of lethargic all the time, like they haven't had enough sleep. That's enough to make me tune out from what they're talking about - they don't seem genuinely *excited* about the subject material.

[MSUSteve]

Doom, you put it better than I ever could've. My irritation with Tina, and with Alice when she's on a show with Tina (Alice does a pretty decent job during the 1upFM backlog segments) is that she never adds anything to any show she's on. Say what you will about Phil and Nick talking about their weekends or their girlfriends, but 95% of the time those guys are focused on the topic at hand and are contributing their thoughts, feelings, and knowledge about whatever the subject happens to be. Tina almost never contributes anything of substance. She exclaims somewhat random utterances and occasionally slides in a reference to Call of Duty 4. That's it. Even if other podcasters do some of the annoying things that Tina does, Tina doesn't do any of the positive things that the other 1up podcasters do. She, in my opinion, detracts from every show she's on. To respond to the honest and well thought out criticisms that Doom has of Tina and Alice by calling him a misogynist is just ridiculous.

[MSUSteve]

Listening to 1up Yours now. I agree with MSUStud, but I gotta admit that I was cracking up when Shane's response to the question about the length of games was pretty much "This is a stupid question. What kind of dick asked this? Fuck you, asshole." Cracking up in a good way. I totally agreed with everything he said.

That was pretty funny! I just finished listening to the episode and the last 20 minutes or so are packed with contradictions. First they spent part of the episode bagging on Activision for releasing multiple Guitar Hero SKUs each year and then, minutes later, Shane says that Nintendo should've dumped 20 Nintendogs SKUs into the market. Huh? Another great contradiction was saying that Nintendo should show us the next Zelda or Mario even if it's three years out from release and then turning around and saying Alan Wake isn't a game because it was announced so long ago and still hasn't come out.

Finally, and this can be (and probably is) said every week, but Sony Bettenhausen was in full effect. Did he even mention a game for 2009 that's not coming for PS3? And when asked why he preferred Infamous (PS3 exclusive) to Prototype (multiplatform) the best he could come up with was that Prototype should've been out in June. What does that even mean? He should just be honest and admit he's biased toward Infamous because it's a PS3 exclusive. It's not like we all don't know it. And you can't convince me that his constant blabbing about Heavy Rain isn't due in large part to it being a Sony exclusive. All the better that it has the best graphics he's ever seen. And yet, has he said word one about how the game actually plays?

Though last week's GWJ (listened yet, Steve?) has colored my way of listening to other podcasts. Negatively. When John Davison and Garnett and Shane were talking about how hard it was to pick GotY due to all the high quality games, I was thinking 'No! It's hard to pick because all the games were so mediocre!'

I haven't listened to it yet. After you said it was annoying I jumped right to this week's 1upFM, which features the most boring man alive, Matt Leone. I must say, I do appreciate Leone's skepticism and his insistence that people explain themselves when they say something looks good. I think he'd be a good foil for Shane, but the guy just doesn't have a personality, or at least one that comes through on a podcast.

Edit: I think you guys are giving Doom a little too much shit. I don't mind Tina so much (though the self-parody does get a little grating) but I really can't stand Alice. Pretty much for the same reason I could never stand Darren Whatsisface, the classic CGW guy. Boring to listen to, not much to say that isn't an in-joke, unengaging, tendency to repeat a joke someone else just made hoping it's just as funny the second time. All she's missing was Darren's tendency to assume that bragging about getting drunk would make people like him.

That is a spot-on descrtiption of Darren Gladstone! His only contributions were to repeat the jokes others had already said and to laugh maniacally. He was annoying and I don't remember anyone being upset when he left.

I seriously doubt that Doom would have the same complaints about Jane Pinckard or Kathleen Sanders or even Kristin Salvatore that he does about Tina and Alice. And while I'm sure some people might have complaints about Francesca Reyes, I doubt it'd be the same ones being levied against Tina and Alice.

I'd add Dana Jongewaard to that list, though I'm not as enthusiastic about Kathleen Sanders. Something about her always bugged me, though I never doubted that she knew about games and wouldn't say she detracted from anything she participated in. The 1upShow remained great while she was there.

[zengonzo]

Dana J. is the former GameTap editor, yes?

She's brilliant - more of her.

[zengonzo]

My fantasy podcast league:

Jeff Green, Shawn Elliott, Dana J., John Davison, Robert Ashley, Anthony Gallegos with guest Rod Humble.

Someone do that.

[ColonelT]

John Davison fans should check out his new podcast here (http://www.whattheyplay.com/blog/2008/12/30/second-what-they-play-podcast-the-one-with-the-man/).

John Davidson fans should check out his upcoming tour dates here (http://www.johndavidson.com/statefair.html).

[mono]

As much as it pained me to click the unsubscribe button, LAN Party is no longer on my list. It was the also last 1UP podcast I had on board. I frankly don't find anyone on the show is interested in talking about PC games, or interesting on the rare occasions they do stay on topic. RIP CGW/GFW Radio.

[Bahimiron]

John Davison fans should check out his new podcast here (http://www.whattheyplay.com/blog/2008/12/30/second-what-they-play-podcast-the-one-with-the-man/).

I'd grab that now while at work but iPhone iTunes is still insisting that no new podcasts have been released since the 22nd.

[sinfony]

Doom, you put it better than I ever could've. My irritation with Tina, and with Alice when she's on a show with Tina (Alice does a pretty decent job during the 1upFM backlog segments) is that she never adds anything to any show she's on. Say what you will about Phil and Nick talking about their weekends or their girlfriends, but 95% of the time those guys are focused on the topic at hand and are contributing their thoughts, feelings, and knowledge about whatever the subject happens to be. Tina almost never contributes anything of substance. She exclaims somewhat random utterances and occasionally slides in a reference to Call of Duty 4. That's it. Even if other podcasters do some of the annoying things that Tina does, Tina doesn't do any of the positive things that the other 1up podcasters do. She, in my opinion, detracts from every show she's on. To respond to the honest and well thought out criticisms that Doom has of Tina and Alice by calling him a misogynist is just ridiculous.
Tina and Alice don't add much to LAN Party, it's true. Let me distill my points, since neither of you has really responded to them:
a) Neither does anybody else, and except for occasions on which Anthony or Robert are on their game, nobody on the show is ever "engaged" with anything.
b) It's possible to criticize their participation in a way that does not directly relate to their gender. Tina rarely talks about games other than Call of Duty 4. This is factual! I do not disagree! But to call her "vacuous" and say that she is "like a college girl at a party" is inappropriate and not related to actual criticism. It's more than enough to say that she doesn't engage with the subject matter of the show. Doom made that point in a way that plays on stereotypes about women (when was the last time you heard a man described as vacuous?) and did not raise the same point about any of the show's male participants who are no more engaged or energetic than she. I can't believe we need to go on about this in light of Doom's actual statement that he preferred it "when Tina had a crush on Anthony."

Compare to bahimiron's criticism of Darren Gladstone. The traits he lists sure sound like "fratty douche," but he doesn't need to go there and does not. This is the proper way to criticize.

Doom, I would be sorry for "missing the point" of your post, except for the fact that you edited in half of it after I had already responded. Let me respond to the Special Edition of your post by noting that the phenomenon of having nothing to say and talking about it with forced attitude is hardly unique to college-age women.

On a more pleasant note, does anybody else listen to the Sports Anomaly? It's the best show on 1up and has been for some time. Doom, you'll love it; Todd Zuniga never met a topic he couldn't get fired about.

[DoomMunky]

Okay, I have a bit of a mea culpa. I overstated my point in my earlier posts. After thinking about it overnight I came to realize how angry I was when making my original points, which never helps an argument. There I was criticizing the manner in which people were participating in a public venue, while criticizing them in a fairly hyperbolic, overstated manner myself. So that's my bad.

sinfony, I take your point and appreciate the measured way you make it. You exemplify the style of debate you think is appropriate.

I'd like to talk about your first point down the road, when I don't have to run to work. As to the second point, you're right about 'vacuous' not being used to refer to men. I was using it to connote the type of person I was reminded of, listening to Tina and Alice. A very dumb one. The fact that they remind me of very dumb females is largely because they are female. It was an emotional way of expressing my point, which was mostly an emotional one. I was frustrated, and venting. I'm sure I would have used similarly hyperbolic, emotional, possibly gendered language had I been venting about Ryan, or Anthony, or Darren. Either way, my point stands because that's how I felt, but yours does too, in that I may have been able to express it in a better--more critical and less emotional--way.

[Moggraider]

sinfony, if you don't think anyone adds to the show, why do you keep listening?

John Davison fans should check out his new podcast here (http://www.whattheyplay.com/blog/2008/12/30/second-what-they-play-podcast-the-one-with-the-man/).


This would be awesome if it wasn't tied to the parents' site.

[MSUSteve]

Tina and Alice don't add much to LAN Party, it's true. Let me distill my points, since neither of you has really responded to them:
a) Neither does anybody else, and except for occasions on which Anthony or Robert are on their game, nobody on the show is ever "engaged" with anything.

Well, as I've said in the past on this thread, I've become a big Matt Chandronait fan. His voice isn't strong, which might be partially responsible for some thinking that he isn't interested in the topics, but I completely disagree that he isn't knowledgeable or interested. He often tries to keep the discussion on track and he clearly has knowledge on PC games and games in general. I'd point to his fairly recent discussion of his hardcore love of Tribes 2 as a good example. Both Anthony and Robert do a good job in my mind on the show as well. I think Robert can tend to go a little nuts sometimes, but if you pay attention, he's usually the one actually playing games. So I guess my point is, the reason I haven't included Matt, Anthony, or Robert in any of my criticisms that apply to Tina is because I don't think they're relevant to those guys. And like I said in my last post, even if those guys do some irritating things that Tina does, they more often than not, actually contribute to the show. In my opinion, Tina never contributes. I think this is in large part to the fact that she doesn't have a very broad base of knowledge regarding PC games or games in general. This probably leads to her feeling like she needs to say something in order to justify her presence, but with nothing relevant or interesting to say, she just blurts out inane comments.

b) It's possible to criticize their participation in a way that does not directly relate to their gender. Tina rarely talks about games other than Call of Duty 4. This is factual! I do not disagree! But to call her "vacuous" and say that she is "like a college girl at a party" is inappropriate and not related to actual criticism. It's more than enough to say that she doesn't engage with the subject matter of the show. Doom made that point in a way that plays on stereotypes about women (when was the last time you heard a man described as vacuous?) and did not raise the same point about any of the show's male participants who are no more engaged or energetic than she. I can't believe we need to go on about this in light of Doom's actual statement that he preferred it "when Tina had a crush on Anthony."

I try to keep my criticism of Tina gender neutral, but I anticipated some pages back that someone might interpret my feelings as unique to female contributors to podcasts and tried to proactively respond. I can only say that gender plays no role in why I don't like Tina. Still, I don't think calling her vacuous is gender related at all. And saying she sounds like a college girl at a party seems to be an apt description, though one that I personally would avoid in order to not muddy the discussion of her merits with allegations that I hate women. I mean, the fact remains that she is a girl. Saying she sounds like other girls one has encountered and disliked isn't exactly hate speech. Regarding Tina's "crush" on Anthony, there was clearly some kind of flirting going on between the two of them in the past, and it was annoying to listen to. I wouldn't attribute that to Tina and not Anthony, but I will say that I picked up on it and found it fairly obnoxious.

[sinfony]

Okay, I have a bit of a mea culpa. I overstated my point in my earlier posts. After thinking about it overnight I came to realize how angry I was when making my original points, which never helps an argument. There I was criticizing the manner in which people were participating in a public venue, while criticizing them in a fairly hyperbolic, overstated manner myself. So that's my bad.

sinfony, I take your point and appreciate the measured way you make it. You exemplify the style of debate you think is appropriate.

I'd like to talk about your first point down the road, when I don't have to run to work. As to the second point, you're right about 'vacuous' not being used to refer to men. I was using it to connote the type of person I was reminded of, listening to Tina and Alice. A very dumb one. The fact that they remind me of very dumb females is largely because they are female. It was an emotional way of expressing my point, which was mostly an emotional one. I was frustrated, and venting. I'm sure I would have used similarly hyperbolic, emotional, possibly gendered language had I been venting about Ryan, or Anthony, or Darren. Either way, my point stands because that's how I felt, but yours does too, in that I may have been able to express it in a better--more critical and less emotional--way.
You, sir, are too reasonable. And MSUSteve as well. This is the internet, people! Where are the flames?!

Mogg, I generally get to it when I've run out of other things to listen to; this being the holiday, most of the shows I listen to are releasing less frequently. Moreover, it can be entertaining, particularly when Robert Ashley is on, so it's worth keeping in the feed.

[DoomMunky]

In other news entirely, I'm really enjoying the GOTY discussion the GiantBomb guys posted yesterday. It's very personal and interesting, and I'm liking it even though I haven't played either of their top two contenders. It's really interesting to hear these guys, so well versed in gaming, discuss the ins and outs of their favorites. None of them are out and out fanboiz in the Shane Bettenhausen mode, either. They each admit faults with their favorites. They also continue the discussion well past their superficial impressions, and don't harp on a single point over and over, as is so common on 1up Yours.

All in all I'm finding it refreshing and enjoyable.

[Ryan Markel]

In other news entirely, I'm really enjoying the GOTY discussion the GiantBomb guys posted yesterday. It's very personal and interesting, and I'm liking it even though I haven't played either of their top two contenders. It's really interesting to hear these guys, so well versed in gaming, discuss the ins and outs of their favorites. None of them are out and out fanboiz in the Shane Bettenhausen mode, either. They each admit faults with their favorites. They also continue the discussion well past their superficial impressions, and don't harp on a single point over and over, as is so common on 1up Yours.

All in all I'm finding it refreshing and enjoyable.

Based on podcasts, if there were any group of guys I could choose to work with or even just discuss games with for a couple of hours, it would be the Giant Bomb crew.

I regularly find the podcast to be insightful and well-done. It's nice to hear commentary from a group that seems to honestly enjoy one another's company *and* knows the subject material well.

[BlueJackalope]

Random question - did anyone ever listen to the Massively Online Gamer podcast?

I used too, for no known reason, but then they seemed to drop off the frequency of their podcasts until the point I unsubscribed because I didn't miss it at all.

Just wondering if there was a good story behind its disappearance (might just have been a name change.)

Also, Tina and Alice together are terrible. Tina is kind of annoying by herself but together their Wonder-twin powers activate and they take on the form of boring and annoying. This isn't a gender related observation, Kristen Salvatore is the best part of any PC Gamer podcast (I do like Gary's contributions, especially if he sounds grumpy though).

As to Shane...has he gotten around to playing Bioshock yet? Pretty creepy for a guy in his 30's (?) to actually harbor platform bias. Unprofessional in a supposed professional at least.

[sinfony]

I very much enjoyed the Giant Bomb GOTY podcast even though I strenuously disagree with almost everything they say in support of their top two candidates. I don't like it when game of the year debates come down to masturbatory self-indulgence personified vs. the game that still has terrible gameplay, but everybody agreed to pretend that it doesn't, and dear lord those people look undead. That said, I just played GTA for an hour because of hearing them talk about; my save file leads me to believe that it's the first time I've played since June.

[Chris Whittington]

Moreover, it can be entertaining, particularly when Robert Ashley is on, so it's worth keeping in the feed.

That dude has a future in the podcastin' world. Too bad the pay sucks.

[Lietgardis]

In other news entirely, I'm really enjoying the GOTY discussion the GiantBomb guys posted yesterday. It's very personal and interesting, and I'm liking it even though I haven't played either of their top two contenders.

I really enjoyed the GOTY podcast too, even though I haven't spent any significant time with any of the games under consideration.

I listen to podcasts on my marathon training runs to keep my mind off my knees, and Giant Bombcast always delivers. Wouldn't have found it if it weren't for this thread, too.

[MSUSteve]

I'm mostly through the Giant Bomb GOTY discussion and it's been awesome so far. I love hearing them toss the games back and forth and sort of convince each other about what's right. I don't really agree with either of their finalists (MGS4 and GTAIV) and was surprised that Fallout 3 got such short consideration, but to each his own I suppose. I really appreciated Brad Shoemaker's reasonable defense of MGS4 as his choice for GOTY, even though I don't agree with that choice myself. In fact all of the guys were very reasonable while discussing the games and I never got the impression that any of them was a crazy fanboy for any particular game or system.

I particularly agreed with Brad's criticism of the actual gameplay in GTAIV. It seemed the rest of the guys were more than willing to overlook to the clunkiness of the walking/running and aiming/shooting mechanics in the game because the writing and story are so (in their opinions) great. Brad kept coming back to the point that everything else is incidental to the gameplay, which I agree with. That is, a (supposedly) great story doesn't excuse shoddy on-foot control, especially all these years after GTA3 had essentially the same control problems.

[Bahimiron]

Well, shit.

I'm gonna guess a few of us now find ourselves with about four to five hours of weekly podcast time open.

Giant Bombcast. One Life Left. Eegra. And, uh, I guess I can't drop Gamers With Jobs just yet. I've added What They Play.

What else is worthwhile?

God damn it.

[Vesper]

Did the 1up podcasts all get cancelled? I thought EGM was the only casualty so far.

[Zerot]

Skip confirmed on neogaf that there will be no more podcasts.

It also seems like a great many of the personalities featured on said podcasts have been fired. Parish, Tina, Ellis, and Kennedy are the only public 1up figures I've heard that haven't been fired.

[Bahimiron]

I'm reading that Matt Leone and Garnet Lee are still in. Though that is, of course, on the GAF.

[Cubit]

Sadly, looks like its time to trim my podcast list of 1up material.

[MSUSteve]

And of course Scooter is still there.

[Vesper]

Ugh.. now I'm down to 3 podcasts I care about. (GiantBomb, GeeksOn, GWJ). More time for audiobooks, I guess.

[Bahimiron]

Here's the list Joystiq has:

Adrian Frieg
Amy Mishra
Amy Moran
Andrea Garcia
Andrew Fitch
Andrew “Skip” Pfister
Anthony Gallegos
Cesar Quintero
Christina Rosa
CoyLou Steel
Derek Chinn
Doug Parsons
Eric Ellis
Giancarlo Varanini
Greg Ford
James “Milkman” Mielke
Jason Bertrand
Jason Wilson
Jervilyn Jaramillo
Justin Frechette
Leslie Gelfand
Marci Yamaguchi
Matt Chandronait
May Tong
Meredith Stowe
Michael Donahoe
Monique Convertito
Ndubuisi Madu
Nick Suttner
Norris Boothe
Philip Kollar
Rey Serrano
Robert Bowen
Rosemary Pinkham
Ryan O’Donnell
Ryan Scott
Shane Bettenhausen
Simon Cox
Tammy Ross
Tipler Ubbelohde

Every time I find myself saying 'how could they let HIM go?' I get to another one that makes me even more astonished. Ending, of course, with Simon Cox, who just seemed evergreen. (No offense to Tammy and Tipler. I have no idea who you guys are. I'm sorry you lost your jobs, though.)

[theborbes]

wow, they got rid of the podcasts? The podcasts were the best thing coming out of 1up... now there is literally no reason to visit that website.

[MSUSteve]

I just don't get how UGO could proceed to kill 1up's podcasts and video content when that stuff was clearly 1up's strength. I mean, why even buy 1up if you're going to dump most of the talent? It's so obvious. Every comment says the same thing. And yet UGO either didn't know or didn't care that this was the case. It's mind boggling.

[Jamie Madigan]

Dang, I had just started listening to the 1Up ones. They were pretty good as long as they stayed relatively sober.

[Qessinge]

Because there is no money in podcasts. It's an investment to build brand and indirectly get people to buy magazines or frequent your website - it seems clear to me that this is a pretty heavy traffic / SEO buy for UGO based on the size of cuts they made and they are not in an investment frame of mind right now (like most companies I know)...

[Moggraider]

*cries*

[Brakara]

I just don't get how UGO could proceed to kill 1up's podcasts and video content when that stuff was clearly 1up's strength. I mean, why even buy 1up if you're going to dump most of the talent? It's so obvious. Every comment says the same thing. And yet UGO either didn't know or didn't care that this was the case. It's mind boggling.

It's not mind boggling when you see the ugo.com site. What a piece of shit.

This is really sad.

[Eric Majkut]

Wow, UGO.com IS a piece of shit. Talking ads, lame ass Maxim-style "OMG HOT GIRLZ!!" sections, and nothing that even remotely resembles passable games journalism.

What the hell does UGO even stand for?

[Bahimiron]

Wow, UGO.com IS a piece of shit. Talking ads, lame ass Maxim-style "OMG HOT GIRLZ!!" sections, and nothing that even remotely resembles passable games journalism.

Kinda makes me wonder why they didn't buy up GamesRadar. More their style.

[Rob_Merritt]

Kinda makes me wonder why they didn't buy up GamesRadar. More their style.

Not for sale?

[Bahimiron]

Not for sale?

Oh, Rob. Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob.

[mono]

Blue's News is UGO, and I'm glad they've kept him around all this time. Granted, Blue's site likely has a staff of one, maybe two.

[Lake]

Farewell The 1UP Show, 1UP Yours and CGW/GfW/Lan Party.

[MSUSteve]

Farewell The 1UP Show, 1UP Yours and CGW/GfW/Lan Party.
Garnett Lee posted somewhere (I cannot recall where) that weekends would be confirmed in the future. So he'll be doing a podcast of some sort, though it will obviously not have all of the same 1upYours people on it. Sam Kennedy also said that 1up will continue to have podcasting, just not as much. So all is not lost for 1up podcast lovers I suppose. Also, Nick Suttner, Phil Kollar, and Anthony Gallegos are going to podcast as Rebel FM over at Anthony's site http://www.eat-sleep-game.com (http://www.eat-sleep-game.com/). I think Nick said their first episode could be up as early as today.

[zengonzo]

Wow, crazy. I've been a little out of it with the holiday turmoil, but I'd heard a hint of the UGO thing on that Gamers With Jobs deal.

What a waste. Time for a new king, I guess.

[Nengjanggo]

Garnett Lee posted somewhere (I cannot recall where) that weekends would be confirmed in the future. So he'll be doing a podcast of some sort, though it will obviously not have all of the same 1upYours people on it. Sam Kennedy also said that 1up will continue to have podcasting, just not as much. So all is not lost for 1up podcast lovers I suppose. Also, Nick Suttner, Phil Kollar, and Anthony Gallegos are going to podcast as Rebel FM over at Anthony's site http://www.eat-sleep-game.com (http://www.eat-sleep-game.com/). I think Nick said their first episode could be up as early as today.

I hope this is true. I look forward to 1up Yours; hopefully whatever new thing they do will have at least Garnett (who I like despite his flaws) and John Davidson.

[Cubit]

On the latest CAGcast, wombat mentioned he enjoys the Player One podcast. Anyone listen to this one?

[DoomMunky]

Man, I'm really sad about losing the 1up podcasts. As much as I bitched about them, I really liked most of the people they had there, and was really enjoying listening to them inch closer to my ideal podcasts.

Now I'm one bummed munky. Best wishes to everyone.

[zengonzo]

On the latest CAGcast, wombat mentioned he enjoys the Player One podcast. Anyone listen to this one?

I'd tried it a little while ago and wasn't thrilled enough to come back for another episode, but for reasons I can't remember. I've also been having difficulty listening to my normal stuff, particularly since I'm listening to the news again.

Heck, CAGCast used to be one of my staples. I've had a much more difficult time listening to them lately.

[Moggraider]

On the latest CAGcast, wombat mentioned he enjoys the Player One podcast. Anyone listen to this one?

I like it a lot and have listened since it started. These guys are at their best talking about old EGM memories, retro games and cultural material, imported Japanese stuff, general humor, and, at times, current games. They're only two dudes. They don't like RPGs. They don't like sports games. One guy is funny; one isn't. Lately, they give the third seat to a guest.

[Eric Majkut]

Rebel FM: http://www.deskbreaker.com/drjonez/rebelfm/rebelfm01-07.mp3

[interman]

On the latest CAGcast, wombat mentioned he enjoys the Player One podcast. Anyone listen to this one?

Yeah I've listened to the last few episodes and it's alright. There's definitely an overlap with other podcasts, but the guys are reasonably interesting. Worth checking out, though the latest starts off kind of annoying (in a restaurant).

[MSUSteve]

I listened to the first 40 or so minutes of Rebel FM this morning on my way into work. It was good to hear those guys' voices. I liked that they didn't express any venom toward 1up or UGO, though I have to imagine in their hearts they have some animosity. It was interesting to hear about how they felt almost lucky not to be in the survivors' positions. I can imagine it would be tough to watch most of your friends and co-workers get summarily axed. Even if I was a survivor, I'd feel like my days were numbered.

Ryan and Matt were discussing the possibility of a new 1upShow like video production and how it'll have to be paid for in some way. I certainly would pay to have the 1upShow continue in a spiritual successor. Hell, I would've paid to keep the 1up podcasts going if anyone had asked or made it possible to do so.

[DoomMunky]

I'd be interested to get your guys' thoughts on this: I'm a professional actor with a quality home VO setup, and I offered my support to the RebelFM guys as voice talent. I thought it could help them to get ads or at least interest from advertisers who would like their copy to be treated professionally. It's probably wishful thinking but hell, I'd like the experience and it can't hurt them, right?

Anyway, other than promos (ads) and imaging (intros, outros, "THIS is RebelFM!", etc), are there ways you could think they (or anyone else) could use my voice and experience?

[MSUSteve]

I think that having professional voice talent read promos/ads/intros is huge. I remember hating the voice of whoever read 1up's ads when they used to have them in their podcasts.

Speaking of Rebel FM, they added PayPal donate button on the top right of the www.eat-sleep-game.com page for those that would like to help them with bandwidth and equipment. I sent $10.00 their way.

[zengonzo]

Anyway, other than promos (ads) and imaging (intros, outros, "THIS is RebelFM!", etc), are there ways you could think they (or anyone else) could use my voice and experience?

They could offer your voice for an answering machine message to winners of a weekly trivia contest.

[Other Brendan]

They could offer your voice for an answering machine message to winners of a weekly trivia contest.

You leave Carl Kasell's schtick alone!

[theblackw0lf]

Rebel FM is the #9 "games" podcast on iTunes.

Not bad.

Also seen big spikes in downloads from GiantBomb, GWJ, and Idle Thumbs.

[Bahimiron]

No wonder I could never find it on iTunes. I kept searching for Rebel FM.

[theblackw0lf]

No wonder I could never find it on iTunes. I kept searching for Rebel FM.

Yea they need to contact iTunes and have them put in the correct name.

[Moggraider]

Just manually add this address to iTunes or your other player software: http://rebelfm.libsyn.com/rss

[Bahimiron]

Does that work for those of us who connect directly to iTunes via their phones?

[theblackw0lf]

Rebel FM is now properly named on iTunes and is currently the #1 videogame podcast.

[jwtheiv]

Rebel FM is now properly named on iTunes and is currently the #1 videogame podcast.

and #2 overall podcast. It's currently only beat by Apple Keynotes.

[Jazar]

Real damn shame that 1up was never able to capitalize from the popularity of their podcasts. They certainly had a significant audience.

[Quaro]

iTunes ranking is determined by recent subscriptions to keep the top lists from stagnating.

[theblackw0lf]

iTunes ranking is determined by recent subscriptions to keep the top lists from stagnating.

Still, that ranking is going to give the podcast a ton of exposure.

Also, the 1UP show crew has a new show coming out next Friday

http://talkingorange.com/

So let's see, 1UP FM essentially became Rebel FM (but so far I think better), 1UP yours continues sans Shane (and he was leaving anyway), Retronauts is continuing, and the 1UP Show looks like it will continue in some fashion (yet probably through a subscription, and most likely without previews).

This might not be as much of a loss as it first appeared.

Still sucks though.

[Bahimiron]

Who is continuing Retronauts?

[theblackw0lf]

Who is continuing Retronauts?

Jeremy Parish, who still works there, and was the creator of the show.

[Aleck]

Is anyone continuing the GFW Radio/Brodeo/LAN Party-o show? Listening to RebelFM, it's just got a lot more console stuff than I have time to pay attention to...

EDIT: Console and arcade fighting game stuff. Sheesh.

[theblackw0lf]

Is anyone continuing the GFW Radio/Brodeo/LAN Party-o show? Listening to RebelFM, it's just got a lot more console stuff than I have time to pay attention to...

EDIT: Console and arcade fighting game stuff. Sheesh.

I believe Ryan Scott said he's going to be working on his own podcast.

[Eric Majkut]

I had over 1100 downloads of Rebel FM from my mirror alone. That's impressive :)

[Zerot]

Jeremy Parish, who still works there, and was the creator of the show.

I hope he makes good on his promise to do a Mother-themed Retronauts next.

[Moggraider]

Who is everyone involved with the talkingorange cast? I don't recognize everyone there.

http://talkingorange.com/band.jpg

In fact, I only recognize O'Donnell. Heh, this is what happens when you stop visiting a site and don't watch the 1up show. Help?