Story x Story

This week, Nigel and Tazziii roll a D20 to determine whether the podcast will happen or not. Joining us on our deep dive into Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (starting at 23:00) are Session Zero Sorceress BillieTrixx and Game Designer James Wallis. We delve into this latest attempt at capturing the D&D Zeitgeist, and thankfully, this is a much more successful effort than in 2000! T...

This week, Nigel welcomes Mori Mori Studio Co-founder Mandy Wong to discuss her journey into the world of animation. We delve deep into her upbringing in Hong Kong and how she used her artistic skills to communicate and express herself in a new country. We then explore the path that led her to create the pre-school show Millie and Lou. Mandy explains how the impact of early friendships influenced...

We are back from our mid-season break and are recording new episodes of Story x Story! This week, Nigel searches for his place in the multiverse with comic artist Ryan Jenkyns and Wesley Louis, Director at The Line Animation. We delve into Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (starting at 23:00) and the incredible animation on display in this epic feature. The film delivers amazing visuals and take...

Enjoy the final Rewind episode before we return from our recording break next week! In this episode of Casual Conversations With Comic Creators, a mayamada show where we talk to a different creator each month to discover the human behind the comic art, Nigel sits down with mayamada Illustrator Pinali about her journey from math graduate to anthropomorphic manga artist. You'll hear about how a...

We're on a recording break over July but still have some great conversations for your podcast feed! This week's Rewind is from Casual Conversations With Comic Creators, a mayamada show where we talk to a different creator each month to discover the human behind the comic art. Nigel talks with French Marvel, DC and Image Comics arts Geoffo about his journey to becoming a comic artist at the...

We're on a recording break over July but still have some great conversations for your podcast feed! This week's Rewind is the last segment from our mid-season livestream special. We discuss our stand-out stories in the world of video games as Nigel and Tazziii are joined by presenter Shay Thompson, indie developer Glen Henry and musician Chase Bethea. We delve into each guest's origin...

We're on a recording break over July but still have some great conversations for your podcast feed! This week's Rewind episode is from our mid-season livestream special. We discuss our stand-out stories of the year so far and in this second segment, Nigel and Tazziii are joined by new and experienced cosplayers alike with Agent3 and Frighty Face. We reveal some of the stories we've bee...

We're on a recording break over July but still have some great conversations for your podcast feed! This week's Rewind episode is from our mid-season livestream special. We discuss our stand-out stories of the year so far and in this first segment, Nigel and Tazziii are joined by the present and future of the mayamada team. We reveal some of the stories we've been enjoying (or not) rec...

It's the Summer of Games, and Nigel and Tazziii welcome a panel of first-timers to discuss the games we're playing and the abundance of game showcases (starting at 32:57). Game Over Beer Podcast host Tom Maya, content creator Saskia Cole, and game designer Danny Colclough are all on hand to debate the merits of Geoff Keighley's efforts to get us all hyped about video games. We also tal...

We’re doing it LIVE! This week's episode is a rewind from the MK Film & Comic Con, making it the first podcast recorded at a comic convention in podcast history. Nigel and Tazziii discuss big-budget adaptations of comic, manga, and video game franchises in front of a studio audience. We question why Hollywood continues to invest in adaptations despite the number of flops and examine some o...

This week on the podcast, Nigel and Tazziii search for the Christmas Spirit in Tokyo and take a deep dive into Tokyo Godfathers (starting at 28:09). We discuss the surprisingly relatable themes in Satoshi Kon's most grounded and realistic work. The film delivers a wonderful mix of complex and nuanced subtlety in its themes, as we have come to expect from the late Kon's work. In this episod...

This week, Nigel and Tazziii welcome the Marketing Manager at Freedom Games and Founder of Dames 4 Games, Destinee Cleveland. We get into the rise and fall of E3 and where we go from here when marketing video games to a passionate audience. From the murky future for E3 to the recent supremacy of Geoff Keighley and the Summer Games Fest, we're discussing how video game marketing has changed and...

This week, Nigel and Tazziii head into the vastness of space for a deep dive into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 with Jason and Rich from the Woo Long Talks Podcast (at 28:27). We delve into James Gunn's final entry in the series and the MCU as he heads to DC. It's a triumphant send-off, and we're here for the emotional rollercoaster that is Rocket's story, masterfully incorporatin...

This week, Nigel and Tazziii welcome Aniboxx Founder Jide Johnson to talk about his journey to the world of animation. We delve deep into his early days and learn how his passion for music ignited creativity and his ability for self-expression. We also navigate tricky conversations with parents, delving into the pivotal moment when Jide stepped away from a conventional career path to embrace a lif...

This week, Nigel and Tazziii throw away the instructions and get creative in Bricksburg for a deep dive into The Lego Movie with Content Creator Dan's Distillery (at 28:55). We discuss the way this story has shaken off its commercially minded origins to deliver a well-executed, funny and thoughtful narrative that explores the balance between conformity and creativity. The episode's storyte...

This week, Nigel and Tazziii welcome cosplayer Manny Moon to unpack the story of her journey into the world of costume design and cosplay. In this conversation, Manny tells us the personal impact cosplay can have on confidence and self-image as we hear about lessons from her first cosplay efforts. We talk about mental health, diversity and the debate between accuracy and interpretation when it com...

This week on the podcast, Nigel and Tazziii are joined by Vik Deluca from Mega City Comics (at 34:00) as they delve into the futuristic world of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. In this 10-episode season retrospective, they explore the tragic themes of corporate greed, doomed relationships, and the desire to be special. Set in a visually stunning anime adaptation, the story follows a headstrong protagonist...

This week, Nigel and Tazziii take a trip to the Mushroom Kindom with a deep dive into The Super Mario Bros. Movie with Safe In Our World Partnerships & Training Officer Sky Tunley-Stainton and British Manga Creator Laura Watton (at 30:17). We get into the well animated though very safe animation to talk about how well this latest adaptation does in erasing the ghosts of the 1993 film. You'...

This week, Nigel welcomes Rebellion's Senior Accessibility Designer Cari Watterton to unpack the story of her journey from a young aspiring actor to a career making video games accessible for more people. In this conversation, we get to learn about the process of designing games to be more accessible and challenge assumptions about including accessibility as we look at popular examples in mode...

This week, we're giving you a Rewind of our Story Club livestream deep dive into HBO's The Last of Us series. Nigel and Tazziii were joined by super fan Mr Midas and newcomer to the world of Infected, Mark Ōu Chéng. We get into the ins and outs of the adaptation and examine how faithful it was to the source material, plus debate the changes that were made for the medium and how the characters were...

This week, Nigel and Tazziii welcome manga creator Edward Welch to unpack the story that is his journey from British Museum to full-time manga creator. Edward is the 2021 winner of the Japanese Embassy's Manga Jiman competition and gives us his perspective on finding your way as an independent comic creator. We talk about how he has used his academic background in history and experiences from...

This week, Nigel and Tazziii take a trip to the wild west with a deep dive into The Harder They Fall with mayamada team member Lara-Lee Green (at 21:04). This is a western with a twist with a predominantly Black cast and director in his feature length debut. We examine the narrative decisions made in the stylish Western and the impact of representation on its audience. This week's storytelling...

This week, we're rewinding to our first Studio77 Report recording of the year with a discussion of our top video game related stories of the past month. In a members-only segment that we're sharing on the public podcast feed, we delve into the death of live service games and James Gunn's new plans for video games in the DC Extended Universe. If you want to watch us record the Report li...

This week, Nigel welcomes writer, designer and educator James Wallis to unpack the story of his journey from Suffolk into tabletop game design James has seen the games industry grow up since his start and brings an extraordinary amount of knowledge and perspective for aspiring creative professionals to learn from. We talk about the mindset needed to make a living in the games industry, why being p...

This week, Nigel and Tazziii are flying solo, and with no guests to keep us in check, you get to enjoy a bumper story segment before we journey to the Quantum Realm for a deep dive into Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (starting at 32:35). The latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe has received mixed reviews, but we put a positive spin on the scaled-down adventure as we discuss what we...