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Patient Zero

Patient Zero

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WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew gets caught up in the new ARG run by Paizo for its upcoming Pathfinder book, even getting involved in deciphering the obtuse and mysterious clues; D. Bethel, on the other hand, delights in the incredibly faithful (yet different!) adaptation of The Sandman on Netflix.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – Andrew check-up

(01:40) Andrew’s dive into Paizo ARG conspiracies

(12:38) D. Bethel talks about Netflix’s adaptation of The Sandman.

(35:17) Outro – She-Hulk

(37:32) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • The image Andrew created using the redacted image Paizo posted with a page from one of the company’s books:
Andrew’s attempt at deciphering Paizo’s mystery.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Premature Clapulation” (19 June 2014): Where D. Bethel shares his thoughts about what makes a good adaptation.
  • “The F-14 in the Backyard” (12 February 2016): Where our host talk about the ARG run by the creators of Sentinels of the Multiverse.
  • “Lovecraftian Minus Tentacles” (7 April 2017): Where Andrew shares his thoughts on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
  • “Non-Stop Jason” (13 November 2020): Where our hosts attempt to decipher the conspiracy (or reality) of “Umbrella Labs.” Resident Evil ARG? or legitimate medical supply company?

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Fashion Blasters

Fashion Blasters

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BLOOD AND THUNDER DAYS: To celebrate D. Bethel’s birthday this week, our hosts take a look at another story from the classic run of Doctor Who. In fact, it’s another story from the same season as “Survival.” In fact, it’s the first story from the season that “Survival” brought to a close. Andrew and D. Bethel dive into the pool of Arthurian legend, militarism, and timey-wimey shenagigans found in “Battlefield.”

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Spaceship Mall” (20 August 2021): Where we celebrate Andrew’s birthday by watching and discussing the last story from Doctor Who‘s final season (of its classic run), “Survival.”

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • Catch D. Bethel on Brunch with Ben & Friends on Sunday, September 5, at 10:30am PST by tuning into the YouTube channel for Ben’s comic shop, Empire’s Comics Vault.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

  • Additional audio from Doctor Who “Battlefield”, episode 4.
Let’s Play – Jotun

Let’s Play – Jotun

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Playing a bit of Thunder Lotus’ gorgeous adventure game, Jotun, live really exposed how scary doing such a thing is.

I listen to plenty of video game podcasts, such as Giant Bombcast (as well as the Giant Beastcast), Vice Gaming’s New Podcast, and Match 3, and they have all talked about––to varying degrees––the stress of playing in front of people. For some reason, I thought I’d be immune, but only once I began to broadcast gameplay did I suddenly became aware that anybody could stroll in and watch me die a whole lot. With each chunk of damage I took, the pinch of worry grew stronger.

I don’t think, in hindsight, that my lack of skill lessens the pure majesty of this game (which I first talked about during Episode 107‘s Week in Geek). About halfway through the stream, I wise up and show off some aspects of the game that really do show off the grandiosity and choices that––if implemented––could really do amazing world-building for a retro-isometric The Legend of Zelda game, if they ever wanted to go back to that.

Even though the player character, Thora, becomes so small that seeing her can become a problem if working through a particularly busy boss battle (ahem), and the top-down camera restrains the field of view, Jotun feels epic in the truest and popular sense of the word through the simplest of choices in, most obviously, art and, more subtly, play with perspective which I show off about halfway through the stream.

I hope to do more streams like this––haphazard hour-long plays with my dog making dog noises in the background. “The Dan & Rusty Video Game Hour” was a concept I bounced around this summer (if only to make myself laugh), and I held from pulling the trigger out of laziness more than anything else. Once I got the gumption, it mostly worked and I hope that––despite the constant deaths that befell me during the hour of play––you get some enjoyment out of it. I’ll need to work out some audio kinks, if they can be worked out (the game audio is incredibly loud), but streaming is still a trial and error thing for Andrew and me, so it’ll only get better, I’m sure.

If I do say so, I have a banger of a joke at the end that I’m still quite proud of. *self high-five*