Some Patches Required

If you've spent any time on the internet as of late, odds are you've stumbled across something about a new game called Palworld - otherwise known as "Pokémon with guns." Hell, with north of 19 million downloads and record-breaking player counts on Steam, it's easily set to be one of the biggest games of the year. But what is it, really? This week, Zak and Aaron talk about...

Hello, everybody, and welcome to season three of Some Patches Required! Our intrepid hosts have been away for a while, but the games industry certainly didn't take a break with them, as mass layoffs, leaks, hacks, studio closures, and more dominated the headlines. This week, Zak and Aaron tackle the messy topics of true early access and the recent boom in paid "early" access as a pr...

Have you ever felt exhausted by the neverending onslaught of updates, microtransactions, generic mechanics, and performance issues that seem to define modern AAA games? Well, do we ever have a new title for you! This week, Zak and Aaron discuss the myriad ways that the newly released Baldur's Gate 3 - and Larian Studios - break the mold established by the major players in the AAA game market....

The world is changing, and media is changing with it. What do you own? What does renting even mean in the era of subscription services and online storefronts? More importantly, what happens to a work of art when it's lost to time? This week, Zak and Aaron dive into the topic of game preservation in the (Alan) wake of several high-profile games going exclusively digital and try to dissect the...

After a few unfortunate delays, Zak and Aaron are back to ask you a simple question: Do you value visual extravagance over gameplay excellence, or do you think they can work together? Moreover, is there a seat for style at the table? Between the blocky art of BattleBit, the breathtaking but broken Jedi Survivor, and an endless supply of Aaron's useless opinions on films like Avatar, this is t...

This week, Zak and Aaron chat about what the semi-recently-announced Apple Vision Pro could mean for the VR, AR, and MR market. Will it fall flat on its face like Google Glass? Will it spur on competition like the original Oculus or HTC Vive? Or could it change the game entirely through the power of brand cachet and good marketing? Only time will tell. As an addendum, Zak's new recording spac...

This week, Zak and Aaron chat across three different time zones! Was that sensationalist enough to grab your attention?? Good, because the third time zone is occupied by Alex Malcolm, who works in music licensing for Warner Music Group. This fella has brokered deals for numerous games, and was kind enough to share some insight into the process of what it takes to get your favorite songs into your...

This week, Zak and Aaron sit down to talk with the profoundly talented Cameron Paxton - the composer for the game Dome Keeper - about the intricacies of writing music for games. Naturally, Aaron rambles on about esoteric ideas, Zak stays on topic, and our guest brings insight to spare. If you're interested in musical composition, creativity, or just hearing about how someone found their gatew...

At this point, it's only a few degrees shy of impossible that you haven't heard of the newest Legend of Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom. Was that sentence confusing? Well, so is trying to evaluate what makes a good sequel. And yet, Zak and Aaron dive into the murky depths of media to discuss what makes a successful sequel, especially when it comes on the heels of a game-changing work of...

This week, Zak and Aaron hop right back into the maelstrom that is the modern games industry. Wait, were you expecting something different? Maybe you don't know their particular brand. On this particular, acronym-filled venture, Zak and Aaron try to unpack the evolution of UGC, especially as it pertains to Fortnite and the Unreal Engine. Between the Unreal Engine for Fortnite, CoD in Roblox,...

Hello everybody, and welcome to an unseasonably spooky episode of Some Patches Required! This week, Zak and Aaron dive back into the murky waters of microtransactions, this time within the context of the Resident Evil 4 Remake. Is it okay to add pay-to-win mechanics after launch? Why would a developer or publisher decide to do so? How many times can Aaron use the same word in one sentence? There&a...

Well, would you look at that!? This one's on time! And it's interesting, to boot. This week, Zak and Aaron have a chat about Jason Schreier's exceptional book "Press Reset," and each chooses a few topics that fascinate them. Zak is mostly articulate and focused. Aaron rambles a bit and bloviates a lot. But, all-in-all, the conversation incorporates everything you could wan...

This week on SPR, Zak and Aaron team up with the crew from the Undercommon Taste podcast to discuss the lasting impact and influence of TTRPGs (or table-top roleplaying games for you neophytes out there) on the world of video games. It's a fun conversation full of laughs, relatable anecdotes, good vibes, and a lower-than-normal number of curse words. Plus, Aaron resisted the urge to list off...

With all evidence pointing to The Last of Us being HBO's next big hit, Zak and Aaron decided to take a moment to discuss a few things surrounding the show, especially the difficulties intrinsic to translating games to film and TV. Naturally, Aaron bloviated beyond belief (after one successful sentence) and steered the conversation in the wrong direction a few times while Zak desperately tried...

Hello everybody and welcome to season two of Some Patches Required! If you're new to the show, we're happy to have you! If you're already familiar with our particular brand of games-industry coverage/conversations, we're thrilled that you stuck around. It's only going to get better from here. This time around, we're talking about the endearing mess that is Pokemon; sp...

This week on Some Patches Required, Our intrepid hosts tackle a slightly out-of-date topic that sends them down a rabbit hole that may just take them a few months to get out of.* Of course, the inciting incident is the controversy surrounding Bayonetta 3 and the voice actress who claimed that Platinum Games offered her a paltry sum to reprise her iconic role. The aforementioned rabbit hole is a de...

This week on Some Patches Required, Zak and Aaron take on a topic of particular interest related to the rocky launch of Overwatch 2. No, it's not 2016, so Tracer's butt has nothing to do with it. Instead, our intrepid hosts try to dissect the challenging transitions games undergo when they shift from premium, pay-upfront experiences to free-to-play ones. There are hot takes, contrarian o...

This week on Some Patches Required, our intrepid hosts take on one of the more complex issues in the modern gaming world - gambling. Spurred by the news that Twitch has banned most gambling streams, Zak and Aaron break down some recent controversies and try to illustrate how games of chance can be particularly dangerous for Twitch's young audience, as well as the way more and more games seem...

It's safe to say that this episode didn't quite go according to plan. Instead of tackling topics like Halo Infinite's missing features, a high-profile developer leaving 343, and Ubisoft's ongoing issues with workplace misconduct allegations, our intrepid hosts spent roughly 50 minutes talking about Assassin's Creed. Well, they also didn't talk about D23 - Disney'...

Just when you thought the fine individuals at SPR industries couldn't make a conversation about the games industry sound even more casual than usual, they strike back with an episode so off-the-cuff that even they aren't quite sure where it's going. This week, Zak and Aaron sit down to discuss the various nuances of the "games as a service model," as well as other oddities...

Brace yourself, this one gets a bit esoteric. That's because this week, Zak and Aaron take a good long look at the very real issue of diversity in the games industry and some of the implications of consuming media made predominantly by white males. They also touch on the new wave of workplace misconduct allegations rocking Nintendo of America. It's all a bit heavy, but hey, those patches...

In this very special - and especially long - episode of Some Patches Required, Zak and Aaron were lucky enough to sit down with Levi and Hassan from The Nerd Alternative to talk about The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. It's got laughs, it's got insights, it's got analysis. Unlike the movie the guys focus on, though, it's noticeably short on overt racism and there are no 45-...

If you couldn't get enough of Austin's unique perspective in episode 42, you're in supremely good luck! This week, Zak and Aaron were happy to continue their conversation, this time focusing more on the indie development side of Austin's story, as well as his experience finding his place in the industry. There's lots of good stuff in here, not the least of which is a remin...

This week on SPR, Zak and Aaron sit down with their mutual friend Austin, who has some cool stuff to say. What, you need more? Alright, Austin is a Course Director at Game-U - an organization devoted to teaching youngsters and people with special needs the fundamentals of game development - and part of the dynamic duo that makes up the indie studio New Future Kids. They discuss everything from the...

Are you tired of hearing about exciting, upcoming video games? How about the borderline- unprecedented value offered by Xbox Game Pass? Hot takes on the current streaming ecosystem? If reading this has you laying infirm, overcome by some sort of pop-culture-related malaise, our humble hosts fully understand.  That having been said, Zak and Aaron still decided to dedicate this episode to discussing...