Browsed by
Tag: Controversy

Big Brother vs. Goliath

Big Brother vs. Goliath

Comments 1 comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

FREEDOM FOR APPS: Andrew and D. Bethel dedicate this week’s episode to discussing and parsing and debating and understanding and reacting to the very, very strange lawsuits being fought between Apple and Epic Games. SPOILER: They have no answers.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Scumbag Removal

Scumbag Removal

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew finds progress in repetition as he plays the new indie video game hit, Loop Hero, by Four Quarters. D. Bethel, on the other hand, finds a lot of quirky charm––despite the somewhat very dark places the story goes––in the new SyFy show, Resident Alien, based on the Dark Horse comic series.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Sad News Theme” (28 February 2020): Where Andrew talked about watching the rebooted MacGyver for the first time.
  • “The Call Boss” (02 April 2021): Where Andrew, Taylor Katcher, and D. Bethel discuss Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Milkbloods

Milkbloods

Comments 2 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

NFT? NO F*@#ING THANKS: Andrew and D. Bethel dive deep into the mechanics, the motivations, and the…schemes?…of the recent NFT explosion. Spoiler warning: they are not fans.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “All Those Words” (19 March 2021): Where D. Bethel first talked about playing and enjoying––amid much frustration––Star Wars Jedi: The Fallen Order.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

For Great Justice

For Great Justice

Comments 1 comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

A BAD IDEA AGAIN: More than a decade after Konami cancelled its controversial tactical military first-person shooter, Six Days in Fallujah, the game seems to have been revived by Highwire Games who have taken to the media asserting that they want to tell––with their tactical military FPS––a nuanced, thoughtful, and impactful story of the incident. This news caused D. Bethel and Andrew to wonder if certain stories are simply better suited for certain genres of games?

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Auteur Manager

Auteur Manager

Comments 1 comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

DON’T BE A DICK: In an astounding act of bravery and solidarity, actress Charisma Carpenter (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) spoke out against abusive practices of tv auteur, Joss Whedon, in support of Justice League actor, Ray Fisher. Andrew and D. Bethel have a thoughtful discussion of autership, specifically as it relates to the realm of nerds and geeks.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

The Noclip Option

The Noclip Option

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

CYBERPROBLEMS 2020: The highly anticipated new game from CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077, was finally released after a few delays and it had some…issues. From representation issues to severe bugs, Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that has encouraged a lot of discussion, discourse, as well as hot takes. Andrew & D. Bethel do their best to sort through the mire.

UPDATE: It looks like Sony has removed Cyberpunk 2077 from the Playstation store and is refunding the purchase price to all who bought it there.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Rhythms of the Algo” (17 January 2020): Where it was mentioned that the release of the Netflix original series, The Witcher, prompted a resurgence of popularity in The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt.
  • “Playing the Menu” (20 March 2020): Where Andrew started playing The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt after watching the Netflix series.
  • “The Cutting Edge” (29 May 2020): Where D. Bethel talks about picking up The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt after watching the hit Netflix series.
  • “Con Artists #06 – Tickets & Tables” (11 December 2020): Where D. Bethel talks to Taurus Comics‘ Kyrun Silva about being an independent comicker in a world without comic book conventions.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Choose Your Weapon

Choose Your Weapon

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew watches the documentary about the creation of Dungeons & Dragons that re-establishes the importance of co-founder, Dave Arneson, called Secrets of Blackmoor: The True History of Dungeons & Dragons, while D. Bethel enjoys––but fully understands the criticisms of––Sucker Punch Games’ new open world samurai game, Ghost of Tsushima.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

The Innervator

The Innervator

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

PEOPLE ARE STILL TERRIBLE: The last few weeks have been heavy with news of important people in the various nerd industries––video games, tabletop, comics, etc.––getting called out as sexual predators who, for years, were protected by the companies they worked for. Andrew and D. Bethel don’t dive into specific cases as much as why these people’s predatory behavior had been “open secrets” for years and hadn’t suffered for it.

Schrodinger’s Coulson: To end on more fun news, Andrew and D. Bethel discuss the first few episodes of the new, final season of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, which has the crew hopping through different time periods.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Episode 145 – Corrected Reality” (01 September 2017): Where Andrew and D. Bethel try to answer the question: are there too many conventions?
  • “Pong 2020” (07 June 2019): Where our hosts discuss a controversial interview with Chris Avellone and his strange stance on politics in game narratives.
  • “Starting by Starting” (03 January 2020): Where D. Bethel talks about his time with the Lovecraftian revisionist video game, The Sinking City.
  • “The Badger Abides” (07 February 2020): Where Andrew and D. Bethel talk about revising Lovecraft for a modern context, focusing specifically around the recently released tabletop RPG, Fate of Cthulhu.
  • “Elbow Five” (06 March 2020): Where D. Bethel talks with Andrew about the future of conventions in the face of the coronavirus.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

The Boyfriend Demographic

The Boyfriend Demographic

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

EXPECTING THE EXPECTED: On the day this podcast episode releases, so too does the newest cinematic installment of the main Star Wars series with Star Wars – Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. But Andrew and D. aren’t here to talk about the movie––they haven’t seen it yet. Instead, they’re here to talk about the talk about the movie, specifically the rather surprising amount of negative reviews coming from––not internet trolls––professional film reviewers. It leads to a multi-faceted conversation about expectations, fandom, and even the changing landscape of cinema narratives.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Nothing But Feet

Nothing But Feet

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

WEEK IN GEEK (kind of): It turned out to be an accidental Week in Geek episode as D. Bethel talks about his disappointment with Valve Corporation’s sidelining of Campo Santo’s Firewatch followup, In the Valley of Gods. On the opposite side of breaking news, Andrew finally gets around to watching Star Trek: Discovery and kind of unabashedly loves it.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC: