Nomanski

Nomanski

WHAT’S OLD IS NEW: In a brief holiday episode, our hosts meet to talk about the storied video game, No Man’s Sky by British developer, Hello Games. They share their experiences with the game and how it fits into the varied survival-management game genre.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – Black Friday!
(01:41) D. starts playing No Man’s Sky
(14:34) Casual outro
(15:25) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • It’s Always a Game” (8 February 2019): Where Andrew shares his thoughts about “the swimming one”, Subnautica.
  • Plants Having Sex” (5 April 2019): Where Andrew first dives into his experience with No Man’s Sky.
  • Threadnaught” (13 September 2019): Where our hosts discuss the long, arduous, redemptive road of No Man’s Sky.
  • The Soundness” (1 September 2023): Where Andrew discusses his time with another survival-management game, Green Hell.

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Videogamatic Universe

Videogamatic Universe

PUTTING WAKE TO SLEEP: After a week away from the microphones, our hosts reconvene to wrap up the conversation that started with the previous episode, “Is the original Alan Wake a good time?” There are some marks in the “yes” column, and a few in the “no”, but there’s a lot to talk about in the mean time.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – Our podcast ended the SAG-AFTRA strike
(01:58) Alan Wake post mortem
(27:05) Outro – Highlander corrections
(28:52) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Televisoric” (3 November 2023): Where our hosts start the conversation about Alan Wake Remastered.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

  • Audio taken from Futurama captured from host’s personal collection
Televisoric

Televisoric

CAUGHT IN THE WAKE: Without any behind the scenes scheming, our hosts simultaneously began playing Alan Wake Remastered this week and are charmed––and frustrated––by how engaging and innovative this thirteen year old survival horror game continues to be. This week, they share their thoughts on the opening hours of the game while reflecting on the legacy of the game and its developer, Remedy Entertainment.

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE: Lionsgate announced that it is moving forward with its Highlander reboot with Henry Cavill attached to star. D. Bethel is skeptical for dumb reasons and Andrew has a valid argument about the superiority of the tv show over the movie series.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – What day is it?
(01:13) Playing Alan Wake
(33:15) Outro – The Weekly Highlander Minute!
(39:53) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Greek It Up” (19 May 2017): Where our hosts cover the delisting of Alan Wake due to the loss of its music rights.
  • Maymory” (3 June 2022): Where D. Bethel talks about his experience reading the novelization of the original Highlander film in the outro for the episode in what ended up being his “Summer of Highlander”.
  • Magic Gas” (22 July 2022): Where D. Bethel continues his “Summer of Highlander” adventure by reading A Kind of Magic, an incredibly researched history of the creation of the original film.

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The Taste Makers

The Taste Makers

WEEK IN GEEK: Our hosts jump immediately into their Weeks in Geek this week which includes Andrew consuming the first handful of episodes of season two of NBC’s Quantum Leap reboot while D. Bethel gives the 2013 “reimagining” of the classic horror film, Evil Dead, his own stamp of approval.

WHOVEMBER: Producers announced this week the titles and dates of the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials and our hosts are all about it.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Magic Incarnate” (16 September 2016): Where D. shares his thoughts on the first season of Ash vs. The Evil Dead.
  • A Warm Heat” (23 June 2017): Where Andrew reflects on his thoughts about the first season of Ash vs. The Evil Dead.
  • Mech Media” (14 April 2023): Where Andrew dives into the first season of the Quantum Leap “requel.”

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A Relaxed Schedule

A Relaxed Schedule

WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew finally learns the basics of Sex Education while D. Bethel is pleasantly surprised after being very turned off by Cyberpunk 2077.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Two Matching Ties” (23 October 2015): When our hosts discuss “Back to the Future Day,” the day when reality caught up with the dystopian future portrayed in Back to the Future, Part II.
  • Mama Knight” (21 July 2023): Where our hosts discuss the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike.

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Again For the First Time

Again For the First Time

ON A VOYAGE: A quick Star Trek check-in as D. Bethel finds an appropriate point in his Deep Space Nine watch-through to start watching Star Trek: Voyager.

WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew is unimpressed with the most recent installment of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers on Netflix: Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury. Unfortunately, D. is equally unimpressed after finally giving a go to Netflix’s Castlevania series.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Nerd Business” (31 July 2014): Where our hosts discuss the impact and legacy of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
  • The Unpop Culture” (28 July 2017): Where D. Bethel tries Netflix’s Castlevania for the first time and can’t get past the first episode.
  • Films in Quarries” (18 June 2021): Where Andrew starts investigating the confusing origins of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.
  • Doctor Ennui” (27 August 2021): Where Andrew dives deep into the Super Sentai pool.

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Extra Obnoxious Protocol

Extra Obnoxious Protocol

COVID-INDUCED ANIME: There was no episode last week because D. Bethel got sick with the new strain of COVID. Though his symptoms were mild, the biggest side effect was probably the most troubling: he watched anime. Specifically, he watched the 12 episode series, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (available on Hulu Plus) and realized that mechs are cool.

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: A very strange news story happened in the comics world this month when Fables creator and writer Bill Willingham announced that, due to the frustrating relationship that had developed with DC Comics over how they were handling his creator-owned property, that he put Fables into the public domain. Our hosts discuss what exactly that means, how it works, and if it’s even possible.

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Privilege of Ubiquity

Privilege of Ubiquity

STALLED ENGINE: Creators of the popular game engine, Unity, made some disquieting news this week when it announced some changes to its licensing policy for developers. Andrew and D. Bethel do their best to break down the changes and examine some of the response from developers.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Fair Point, Dude” (1 June 2018): Where Andrew discusses his dabblings with game development in the Unity engine.
  • An Optimistic Dystopia” (12 August 2022): Where D. Bethel shares his thoughts on his initial playthrough of Stray.

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Guilted into Gaming

Guilted into Gaming

STAR TREK DAY 2023: Though our hosts recorded this episode before any announcements were made on September 8 (aka “Star Trek Day”), they did discuss some recent––and intriguing––Star Trek-based announcements in the meantime.

ON THE HUNT: Andrew finds himself playing asymmetrical online horror games with the immensely popular Dead by Daylight capturing his attention lately.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • A Sense of Place” (30 November 2018): Where Andrew shares his thoughts with the last online multiplayer game he played, Fallout 76.
  • Beware the Harp Ladies” (10 September 2021): When our hosts covered the last big Star Trek Day event.

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FEATURED MUSIC:

The Soundness

The Soundness

A LESSON IN SURVIVAL: Our hosts are going to take it easy this week, but they’re stopping in for a quick look at what’s been drawing their attention. Andrew gets frustrated by the difficulty to be found in Green Hell while D. Bethel dips a toe into the wildly popular independent game, Vampire Survivors.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Where the Hands Touch” (13 January 2017): Where D. Bethel first discusses the video game documentary YouTube channel, Noclip.
  • It’s Always a Game” (8 February 2019): Where Andrew shares his impressions about Subnautica.

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