TAKING A MULLIGAN: 2020 rears its ugly head again (as it does every day), forcing our humble hosts to take a week and just deal with life for a bit. They’ll be back next week with more nerdy and geeky news and commentary.
INFO:
Visit our website at forallintents.net and leave your thoughts as comments on the page for this episode.
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew enthusiastically plays the 2nd edition of Pathfinder, despite not fully enjoying the first edition, while D. Bethel gets really excited to play an adventure game based on one of his favorite comics, Blacksad, but gets horribly disappointed by Blacksad: Under the Skin.
RELEVANT EPISODES:
“The Volumometer Incident” (10 July 2014): Where Andrew shares his experience playing the Pathfinder card game.
“Starting By Starting” (03 January 2020): Where D. Bethel discusses the noir adventure game inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, Frogwares’ The Sinking City.
“Nature’s Velcro” (03 July 2020): Where Andrew plays the computer RPG, Pathfinder: Kingmaker.
BETHESDA, WA: In a surprising turn of events––in the same week that Sony gathered all the attention for announcing the prices and release dates of its upcoming console(s)––Microsoft announced its acquisition of Bethesda Softworks––developer of the The Elder Scrolls series and the Fallout series and publisher of franchises like Doom and Wolfenstein––for a price tag of approximately $7.5 billion. Andrew and D. Bethel ruminate (and, at times, speculate) at what this could mean for Bethesda, and gaming, for the future.
“Nothing But Feet” (13 Dec 2019): Where D. Bethel discusses the sidelining of Campo Santo’s second game, In the Valley of the Gods, after Valve purchased the studio.
“News Cruise” (07 Aug 2020): Where D. Bethel revealed that the Golden State Killer committed his first Sacramento crimes in his neighborhood.
INFO:
Visit our website at forallintents.net and leave your thoughts as comments on the page for this episode.
WEEK IN GEEK: It’s kind of an accidental ’80s week as Andrew watches the YouTube Premium/Netflix series, Cobra Kai––which then prompted him to go back and watch the original Karate Kid movie––while D. Bethel, in an effort to see what all the hype was about, sat down and watched a version of the 1984 sci-fi classic, Dune.
THE NEW FINAL: At this week’s PlayStation 5 event, a trailer for Final Fantasy XVI was revealed as an exclusive (at least for the moment) for the PS5.
I’LL MAKE AN INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT OUT OF YOU: The live action version of the ’90s animated classic, Mulan, was released to Disney+ subscribers (for the cost of an extra $29.99) and, with it, came a lot of controversy––from Chinese reviewers not being too keen on it to human rights issues, D. Bethel and Andrew run through the discourse of this interesting, troubled film.
ANOTHER DUNE: The first trailer for Dennis Villaneuve’s new adaptation of the Frank Herbert sci-fi philosophical classic, Dune. Andrew and D. Bethel muse on the potential this new film has (and how people will still likely be disappointed by it).
And here’s an example––from Jodorowsky’s Dune––of some of the pure artist intent Jodorowsky had in his approach to movie-making (with his Dune being the center of it).
WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew watches the recent Netflix-made video game documentary series, High Score, and gets inspired to finally check out the very strange––and controversial?––game, Night Trap. D. Bethel finds serenity as the ferryman of the dead while playing Thunder Lotus Games’ Spiritfarer, a game that is a far cry from their previous games.
“Episode 107 – Spock’s Screams” (23 September 2016): Where D. Bethel discusses playing Thunder Lotus Games’ first game, Jøtun.
“Shortcast 28 – Linguistic Bravado” (11 August 2017): Where D. Bethel discusses his time with Thunder Lotus Games’ second game (to which he contributed through Kickstarter), Sundered.
In two of the “Dan & Rusty Video Game Power Hour” shows, D. Bethel plays a bit of Jøtun:
INFO:
Visit our website at forallintents.net and leave your thoughts as comments on the page for this episode.
EPIC WIN (OR FAIL): It has been a few weeks of high drama in the world of video games as Epic––the company behind Fortnite and the Unreal Engine––sued Apple after Apple delisted Fortnite from its storefront when Epic violated its terms of service as a developer. It’s a complicated, convoluted issue with a lot of far-reaching and severe consequences for those who don’t really have a dog in this fight––the players (not to mention the impact it could have on smaller indie developers). Andrew and D. Bethel attempt to unravel all the goings-on in this very interesting and possibly paradigm-shifting event.
DC DECONSTRUCTED: News of a major restructuring of DC Comics by WarnerMedia last week set the comics world ablaze with speculation and worry. D. Bethel and Andrew try to parse the information and speculate on what it could mean not only for DC Comics but for comics in general.
LOWER THE SHIELD: Over seven seasons, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. comes to a close. Our hosts’ appreciation for the show––especially this final season––has not been a secret. Now that is has ended, they finally––finally––talk about the final season and the show it brought to a close. SPOILERS ABOUND for the final season, especially the two-part finale.
The caricatures Dan drew back around 2000-2001, of Andrew and his roommates. The drawing that the SHIELD villain reminded Andrew of is on the bottom right. D. Bethel is in the bottom middle with Andrew at the top left.
Everything has changed in the wake of COVID-19. This applies, of course, to indie comic creators, for whom the pandemic hit especially hard in terms of income. With gatherings of people not likely to happen in any safe capacity for awhile, it has many creators asking, “What do we do in a world without comic conventions?”
D. Bethel and Taurus Comics’ Kyrun Silva sit down to talk about creating comics during a pandemic. While a dour topic generally, they manage to find the laughs amid the serious discussion of the future of indie comics and the conventions they hold so dear.
Con Artists #01 – StocktonCon, pt. 1 : The drive home from the first day of the show. Kyrun and D. discuss making sales, confidence, and the comics they grew up reading and enjoying.
Con Artists #02 – StocktonCon, pt. 2 : The drive to StocktonCon to start Day 2 of the show. They discuss the importance of continuity, the level of fan engagement and ownership over continuity, and Dan’s strange reading habits growing up.
Con Artists #03 – StocktonCon, pt. 3 : Where Kyrun and D. talk about the breadth of indie comics, writing comics, and dive headfirst into personal nostalgia.
The YouTube playlist of the short videos D. Bethel made for Chapter 4 of his webcomic (the music changes regularly after the fourth or so video; he was playing catch-up):
ANY PORT IN A NERD STORM: Rather than blasting the news, Andrew and D. Bethel blur the distinction between nerdy news and Weeks in Geek with Andrew expressing his excitement for Star Trek: Lower Decks on CBS All Access, Dan’s strange sense of place after watching the HBO true crime documentary mini-series, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, before they discuss the news of the upcoming live-action Mulan remake getting a simultaneous (albeit for $29.99) release on Disney+ and in theaters.
RELEVANT LINKS:
Bethel, D. “News Blast: Three X-Films Announced for 2018.” A Website [ , ] For All Intents and Purposes. 23 April 2017. –– Where D. Bethel discusses the announcement of the New Mutants movie, along with the announcement of Deadpool 2 and Dark Phoenix. Deadpool 2 was the only film to release in 2018.
