A Podcast [ , ] For All Intents and Purposes

TRAIN SUPLEX: The trailer for the next and last (of the current set) of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series from Square Enix, Final Fantasy VI , has been released and our hosts have some thoughts (and nitpicks). NFTHAC0: TTRPG Twitter caught on fire when discussion erupted around the possibility that Dungeons & Dragons developer, Wizards of the Coast, might be considering getting into the NFT...

WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew dives into the world of JRPG job systems with Bravely Default 2 , while D. Bethel finds more Metroid to love as he replays Batman: Arkham Asylum . RELEVANT EPISODES: " Scotch Tape and Hope " (4 December 2015): Where D. Bethel discusses his love of the Batman: Arkham series of games, specifically Batman: Arkham Knight . " Editing Is Magic " (13 July 2018): Where Andrew and D. B...

SHIFTING SANDS: For a short bit, our hosts discuss The New York Times paying a large amount for the popular website-based word game, Wordle , as well as the announcement that Sony intends to buy the former Microsoft-owned studio, Bungie. WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew peruses the rule book for Renegade Game Studios' new licensed tabletop RPG, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers , while D. Bethel is int...

STAR TREK CORNER: D. Bethel is still getting excited about Star Trek: The Next Generation , so our hosts spend some time discussing the end of TNG 's season 3 and the start of season 4. NEWS CRUISE: With all the news coming out in the last few weeks, our hosts decide to skim over a handful over them, including Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard; an indie developer complaining about there being t...

ETERNALLY YOURS: After getting released on Disney+, our hosts finally discuss the most recent Marvel Studios release ( not Spider-Man: No Way Home ), Eternals . It's a movie with a lot of new additions to the MCU, for better or for worse. RELEVANT EPISODES: " Sword Club " (30 July 2021): Where our hosts discuss the results of California's investigation into the company culture at Activision Blizza...

HAWKEYE BRO: This week, our hosts talk about the most recent Disney+ Marvel show, Hawkeye , while also veering into discussing Marvel's TV offerings versus their cinematic ones, the importance of continuity, and the MCU overall. RELEVANT EPISODES: " The Nature of the Gutter " (12 March 2021): Where our hosts and on-the-ground-DC-correspondent, Taylor, discuss the first Disney+ Marvel show, WandaVi...

NAUGHTY AUTEUR : A story in Bloomberg revealed trouble behind the scenes at Ghost Story games, the studio created by Bioshock auteur, Ken Levine. Andrew and D. Bethel continue their discussion about auteurs and video games and how, perhaps, without a good team they do more harm than good. RELEVANT LINKS: Plante, Chris. " Wildermyth is the Video Game Miracle of 2021 ." Polygon , Vox Media, 14 Decem...

WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew dives into the quote-unquote reboot of CSI in Paramount+'s CSI: Vegas and is perplexed. D. Bethel reads another book about video games! This time it's Super Mario Bros. 3 by Alyse Knorr as published by Boss Fight Books. RELEVANT EPISODES: " Editing is Magic " (13 July 2018): Where our hosts discuss the Boss Fight Book, Final Fantasy V by Chris Kohler. " Little Paper...

WEEK IN GEEK: It's a week of superhero adaptations with Andrew watching the recent slate of DC/CW tv shows and D. Bethel playing the opening hours of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy by Eidos-Montréal. RELEVANT EPISODES: " Business Exempt " (19 Oct. 2018): Where our hosts last discussed TellTale Games...when they laid off a bunch of employees. " #SaveGrifter " (14 Feb. 2020): Where our hosts plus...

THE DOCTOR IS IN...FLUX: With the most recent series of Doctor Who wrapping up––a six-episode event called Doctor Who: Flux ––our hosts discuss its ups, downs, insides, and outs as the show leads to the exit of the current Doctor as played by Jodie Whittaker. RELEVANT EPISODES: " Smash Talk " (14 Dec. 2018): Where D. Bethel and Andrew discuss Jodie Whittaker's first season as the main character of...

MISSING THE BULLSEYE: With the recent release of the Disney+/Marvel Studios show, Hawkeye , many saw similarities with the classic Hawkeye run by creators Matt Fraction and David Aja. It was soon revealed that, despite being a spiritual adaptation of the Fraction/Aja run, there was no compensation for those creators aside from mentions in the "Special Thanks" in the closing credits of the show. An...

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLOUD: Acclaimed director, Ridley Scott, argues that it's millennials––not people skittish about returning to movie theaters amid a pandemic––that is causing his newest film, The Last Duel , to do poorly at the box office. Our host discusses all of the factors involved with this strange accusation. RELEVANT EPISODES: " Answer Sandwich " (24 October 2014): Where our hosts discuss R...

KOTICK TOCK TIME'S UP: This week, after a scathing report, employees of Activision/Blizzard walked out calling for the expulsion of the company's CEO, Bobby Kotick. Our hosts examine the situation and how it symptomizes larger aspects of video game culture. RELEVANT LINKS: Grind, Kirsten, Ben Fritz, and Sarah E. Needleman. " Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Knew for Years About Sexual-Misconduct Allega...

DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim turned 10 years old this week, celebrated with yet another re-release of the game across all gaming platforms. Andrew and D. Bethel talk about this milestone for a brief bit. PLEASE STOP: NFTs continue to rear their ugly heads as major gaming publishers announce their interest in integrating blockchain weirdness into their games. After an explanation of...

WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew continues to get excited by recent Star Trek offerings, specifically the conclusion of season 2 of Star Trek: The Lower Decks and the premiere of the Paramount+/Nickelodeon joint, Star Trek: Prodigy . D. Bethel finally offers his thoughts on Metroid: Dread (aka Metroid 5 ) after completing it, uh, three times. RELEVANT EPISODES: " I Am the State " (26 February 2021): Where D....

In the world of 2021, not much has changed. Hope and optimism dares to tread across the jamb as COVID vaccines get into the arms of people across the world and, for independent comickers, conventions start to return...kind of. After attending only a few shows in 2021––their first in nearly two years––D. Bethel (of the webcomic, Long John ) and Kyrun Silva (of Taurus Comics and the 4 Tales Podcast...

NEWS CRUISE: Andrew and D. Bethel cover a lot of different news stories this week, including the acceptance of NFTs in video games by Steam and the Epic Games Store; the workers of tabletop game developer, Paizo, form a union; developers who worked on Metroid Dread not seeing their names in the credits; Ruby Rose speaking up about their treatment on the set of Batwoman 's first season; and some an...

NEWS CRUISE: Andrew and D. Bethel cover a lot of different news stories this week, including the acceptance of NFTs in video games by Steam and the Epic Games Store; the workers of tabletop game developer, Paizo, form a union; developers who worked on Metroid Dread not seeing their names in the credits; Ruby Rose speaking up about their treatment on the set of Batwoman 's first season; and some an...

BETTER DREAD THAN DEAD: D. Bethel shares some initial thoughts on the newest 2D Metroid game, Metroid 5 aka Metroid Dread . EMULATE YOU WANT IT, THAT'S THE WAY YOU NEED IT: Kotaku got in a bit of heat when they reported a story about how people were able to get Metroid Dread up and running on emulators in a smooth 60 frames per second at 4K resolution. The problem is that, in the original story, r...

PACHINKO IS CRYPTO: Our hosts walk a snake-like path this week as they discuss everything from recent trends in the sketch cryptocurrency/NFT market to the news that Konami may be getting out of pachinko and back into making video games again. It's quite a conversation, in other words. RELEVANT EPISODES: " Heart Law, Article 9 " (03 July 2014): Where our hosts discuss why Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake...

RTD2: With the next series of Doctor Who wrapping up the tenures of both the star, Jodie Whittaker, and its showrunner, Chris Chibnall, it was announced that the 2023 series will herald the return of the showrunner who brought the show back from the wilderness in 2005, Russell T Davies. Our hosts discuss the possibilities––and drawbacks––of this announcement. RELEVANT LINKS: " The Lost Trophy ." T...

GIANTS FALL: Kind of a combination of a News Blast and a Nerd Law, but the lawsuit between Apple and Epic has been decided and...it's complicated. We have Andrew walk us through the ins and outs of this strange event. RELEVANT LINKS: Brandom, Russell. " Apple Must Allow Other Forms of In-App Purchases, Rules Judge in Epic v. Apple. " The Verge , Vox Media, 10 September 2021. RELEVANT EPISODES: " B...

MINI-WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew and D. Bethel need a week to recoup after weeks of birthdays, Doctor Who , and a celebration of Star Trek , so they're going to briefly cover the things that have been keeping their attention recently. To no one's surprise, they've been playing video games. Andrew has been playing the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster collection that includes Final Fantasy 1-4 (at this point),...

HAPPY STAR TREK DAY: This week, 8 September to be specific, the world celebrated Star Trek Day. With one of our hosts being an avowed and public Star Trek fan, our hosts discuss the ways they decided to celebrate: Andrew watched all the exciting announcements and trailers from the Paramount+ Star Trek Day Celebration event while D. Bethel coincidentally started watching Star Trek: The Next Generat...

BLOOD AND THUNDER DAYS: To celebrate D. Bethel's birthday this week, our hosts take a look at another story from the classic run of Doctor Who . In fact, it's another story from the same season as "Survival." In fact, it's the first story from the season that "Survival" brought to a close. Andrew and D. Bethel dive into the pool of Arthurian legend, militarism, and timey-wimey shenagigans found in...