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Slapcast

Slapcast

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TSR-U-KIDDING-ME: Tabletop Twitter got weird these last few weeks as debates exploded around the tweets made by Ernest G. Gygax, Jr.––son of Dungeons & Dragons co-creator, Gary Gygax––where he doubles down on strong, anti-SJW views in support of his new RPG, Giantlands.

SLAPP FEST: Andrew also checks in with the current legal fight started by Chris Avellone––formerly of Black Isle and Obisidian Entertainment––as he tries to sue people who said mean things about him on the internet.

Also, Dan has gotten even more obsessed with the Metroid series since last week.

RELEVANT LINKS:

https://twitter.com/questauthority/status/1409624663492378626?s=20
https://twitter.com/dmschmeyer/status/1409054177980870657?s=20

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Pong 2020” (07 June 2019): Where D. Bethel and Andrew discuss the comments made by Chris Avellone about writing games “without” any politics in their narrative or design.
  • “Zombie Brooms” (11 June 2021): Where Andrew covered the nature of lawsuits and their jurisdictions when talking about the copyright lawsuit filed by a photographer against Capcom.
  • “Drive Your Gorilla” (25 June 2021): Where D. Bethel’s excitement for Metroid gets reignited.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

  • “Nerd Law” written and performed by D. Bethel
Drive Your Gorilla

Drive Your Gorilla

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CONFIRMATION BIAS: Abandoned is an upcoming Playstation 5-exclusive game made by the small Netherlands-based team, Blue Box Game Studios. After the game’s director made an enigmatic tweet, the internet exploded with conspiracy theories, asserting that the game and its trailers were nothing more than clues that this was not a stand-alone survival horror game but was actually a Silent Hill sequel. More than that, people have asserted that it’s a Silent Hill sequel directed by Hideo Kojima, despite the fact that the studio has gone to great lengths to assure fans that it is not. Andrew and Dan discuss the conspiracy and how it got wrapped up in the darker parts of nerd culture, internet culture, and the complicated edges of fandom.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Shortcast 57 – Fair Point, Dude” (01 June 2018): Where D. Bethel talks about the Super Nt, a Super NES clone made by Analogue.
  • “For Great Justice” (19 February 2021): Where Andrew & D. Bethel discuss the video game, Six Days in Fallujah, and the discourse around tweets made by developer Rami Ismail.
  • “I Am the State” (26 February 2021): Where our hosts discuss Nintendo’s continued neglect of the Metroid franchise.
  • “Films in Quarries” (18 June 2021): Where D. Bethel gets excited at the announcement of Metroid: Dread.

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Liminal Space

Liminal Space

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A BAD MIX: This week, the Twitter account, @TerriblyBland, posted a thread calling out nerd industries’ tendency to do networking at bars, especially during and after conventions. As ever with nerd discourse, the claim was met with a lot of support…as well as some very staunch opposition. Andrew and D. Bethel look at the original claim and examine the overall conversation.

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RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Some Solid Copy” (14 August 2015): Where Andrew first discussed his experience playing Watch the Skies, a megagame.
  • “Action Noir Theater” (29 July 2016): Episode 100, Part 2 where our hosts reveal the first part of an intended series of the audio drama, Nick Springer. With a bonus, heavily-produced opening where a song by D. Bethel brings Andrew back from being trapped in the rift between space and time!

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Bear is Watching

Bear is Watching

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WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew dabbles in a few different ponds, first by playing a bit of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, then talks about his experience going through Subnautica: Below Zero, and testing his mettle with Ring Fit Adventure for the Nintendo Switch. D. Bethel is very conflicted––but having a lot of fun––as he plays through Dragon’s Crown Pro.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Shortcast 44 – The Game of Life” (23 Feb. 2018): Where Andrew talks about Full Metal Furies, another side-scrolling beat-em-up with RPG elements.
  • “Shortcast 62 – Not the Episode Title” (06 July 2018): Where Andrew discusses his previous experience with gamified fitness playing Zombies, Run!
  • “It’s Always a Game” (08 Feb. 2019): Where Andrew first discusses his experience playing the original Subnautica.
  • “We Still Don’t Know $#!&” (31 May 2019): Where D. Bethel and Andrew discuss the incorporation of “RPG elements” in non-RPG genres of games.
  • “Full Release” (29 Jan. 2021): Where Andrew discusses his first impressions of the early access version of Subnautica: Below Zero.

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Big Brother vs. Goliath

Big Brother vs. Goliath

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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.

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Scumbag Removal

Scumbag Removal

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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.

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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.

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Milkbloods

Milkbloods

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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.

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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.

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For Great Justice

For Great Justice

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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?

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Auteur Manager

Auteur Manager

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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.

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The Noclip Option

The Noclip Option

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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.

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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.

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