"Fun" and Games Podcast

Special Guest Host: Case Aiken! Geoff & Case discuss their experiences at this year's MagFest in National Harbor, MD.

With both 2019 and the 2010s coming to a close, Matt and Geoff look back on a few trends in gaming they noticed over the last decade. They also try to narrow down their choices for Game of the Year and Game of the Decade.

Video Games would be much shorter if there wasn't so much... stuff to do. Side quests can provide a diversion in tone, a deeper understanding of a game's world, an upgrade to the main play experience and so much more. Matt and Geoff share their thoughts on side quests and some of their favorite diversions from the main storyline.

Happy Holiday Shopping Season! Matt & Geoff share some of what they're thankful for in the medium of gaming. Whether little items, big experiences, great memories or just what they love about the community, there's a lot. Neither were able to mention every last thing, but Thank YOU for listening. First part of the episode is our quick Pokémon Sword review. Found 3:46 - 19:29

Pokémon was first released in February 1996. Since then, It has become a series, a franchise, and a trans-media phenomenon. With the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield today (as of episode release) Matt & Geoff discuss the main series' staying power and some of their favorites from over twenty years of catching and battling.

A big part of immersion in video games that can often be taken for granted is the controls. Not just a matter of the physical buttons and joysticks (or lack thereof) but the immediacy and feedback we receive when we use them. As we look to future innovations in player/controller relations, Matt & Geoff talk about some of their favorite control tweaks; some ubiquitous, some obscure.

Chances are, at some point, you've had to watch someone else play video games. Usually because you're waiting for your turn. However, thanks to streaming platforms, there's so many ways to voluntarily watch a game being played. Why do we choose to enjoy playing vicariously? Matt & Geoff share their thoughts and favorite watching experiences.

What starts as a discussion about "Untitled Goose Game" and shorter game experiences becomes a larger conversation. One about the joys in simple aspects of interacting with gameplay or narrative that can be combined to make the complete experience. Whether it's the exhilaration in jumping, or the payoff of honking at just the right moment.

Our first ever live episode recording! Matt & Geoff discuss the community aspect of video game collections. Whether it's keeping up with throwback consoles and compilations, procuring and preserving original hardware, or keeping everything digital only; A key part of preserving gaming history is gamers and their collections.

Not every game is chosen to have a sequel, but video game franchises aren't made by one game alone. It's the second release that can really establish an identity for what defines the future of the series. Or it can veer off wildly and (maybe) come back around later. Matt & Geoff discuss some of their favorite second games in franchises. They also run into difficulty with defining a "second" game in long-running franchises that don't seem to keep track of their numbered releases.

Putting a recognizable and marketable face on your company can do wonders. Game consoles, developers and franchises have had countless mascots help build brand identity and sell product. Sometimes they're catch on and sometimes they're Bubsy. Matt & Geoff discuss some of their memories of the faces that have selling us video games since the early days of Pac-Man.

Memes are the ideas, phrases and images we imitate, duplicate, and propagate. Gaming culture is teeming with such memes. Matt & Geoff discuss what defines a meme and some of their favorites.

"Metroidvania" is a clumsy term, but it's the best we've got. A term based on two of its biggest examples, free-roaming exploration-based Action-adventure games are a mouthful, but a lot of fun. With plenty of shining examples past, present, and future. Matt & Geoff share their thoughts on one of their favorite types of game.

The Final Fantasy Series has been going strong since its debut in 1987. From mainline sequels, spin-offs, and even unrelated series branded as Final Fantasy to sell them better, It seems there's often something new. And with all the re-releases there's often something old as well. Matt & Geoff discuss their highs and lows as fans of the franchise.

There are more ways than ever to bring small, obscure or forgotten games into your home. Between limited print runs, aftermarket releases, and tiny scale models of consoles, your options seem pretty varied. But what gets forgotten? How do we properly value these releases? Matt & Geoff spend the first eleven minutes talking about E3, then discuss.

Historically, Video Game Movie adaptations have not performed well. The recently released "Detective Pikachu" doesn't exactly break that streak, but Matt & Geoff both liked it. They discuss why they felt it worked as an adaptation and where we can go from here. WARNING: Contains spoilers.

When you get stuck in a game, where do you find your answers? Matt & Geoff reminisce about some of their favorite physical strategy guides and discuss why they can no longer function in today's gaming landscape, and the potential reach of their legacy.

Do you need to play every game on release date? Are there benefits to waiting for an update or remaster? What games always stay fresh for you? Matt & Geoff discuss and try to figure out which games are worth waiting for.

The Google Stadia was announced this March and it's gotten Matt & Geoff thinking about streaming and digital distribution. What does it mean for preserving games and gaming? Where is the industry headed? Stream this episode from your favorite platform, irony optional.

An unintentionally double-length episode! Matt & Geoff talk some of their favorite video game soundtracks and the evolution of music in games as well as music influenced by video games.

Case Aiken has twitch streamer Neil Smith on the show as they discuss the ever evolving platform of gaming online for a mass audience.

When an old game gets remade, rather than simply ported, there's going to be drastic changes. Whether those changes are in gameplay, difficulty, tone or any number of other ways. Sometimes the changes are an improvement And sometimes you may lose what made the game worth remaking in the first place. Matt & Geoff discuss the intangible difficulty in keeping that essence as you modernize classic experiences.

Video games have had various recorded voice clips programmed in since its inception. Whether to draw in players at the arcade, or a selling point of cinematic realism once CD/DVD storage took over. Matt & Geoff discuss the awesome, the awful and the awesomely awful they've experienced in voiceover for games.

Since its founding in 2009, KickStarter.com has received nearly $1 billion in pledges towards successful gaming projects, both tabletop and video games. It's been a great tool in circumventing conventional avenues of development/publishing. But a successful campaign does not make a successful game. Matt & Geoff discuss how some projects go right, go wrong, or go way off the beaten path.

More than five years after it was first announced, Kingdom Hearts III has finally been released and fans the world over can wrap up a trilogy nearly two decades in the making. Kingdom Hearts isn't the only series that has kept us waiting beyond console generations for its next release. Matt & Geoff discuss how long is too long, and what allows a series to take its time and still go gold while garnering gamer goodwill.

Matt & Geoff discuss their last year of gaming; what games, new and old, they played and what they're looking forward to for 2019.

The seventeenth Music and Games Festival has come and gone, and "F"&G was there! Four days of gaming, nerd music, esoteric panels, and gaming. Matt & Geoff are joined by Case, Ben & Addy from several of our fellow CPoV shows to share their experiences. Stay tuned after the main discussion for several interviews Matt conducted at the festival.

A big part of the DNA of modern video games come from the countless arcades, random arcade cabinets in pizza parlors, and pinball machines on the boardwalk. Matt & Geoff discuss some of their formative arcade experiences and where they see the arcade's influence in today's gaming experiences.

From one console generation to the next, there is nostalgia for old experiences. When franchises put out new releases there is mourning for what is left behind. From this mindset we get nostalgia fueled re-releases, MMO "Classic" rollbacks, and Ultimate edition after Complete Collection. But what gets muddled when we cross generations so completely? Matt & Geoff have bought Mega Man X several times.

Content Warning: Sexual Assault; Explicit Language (More than usual) Online gaming has allowed us to play and engage with total strangers the world over. And many of us use this marvel of network technology to impugn matters of identity and claim matriarchal relations upon said strangers. And frankly, many of us have no reason to be dicks online, so why are we? When do we learn it, and can we un-learn it? Matt & Geoff are trying their best here, but are working to do better.

Whether it's 80+ hour weeks, 14+ hour days or worse demanded of a development team's time and energy, it feels like crunch time has been a part of video game development since its inception. But, does it help? Why do we allow it? What choices can we make as informed consumers? Matt & Geoff get no closer than usual to concrete answers, but the questions need asking.

Perhaps the greatest expression of creativity a player can have within a video game is customizing their character. Their look, moveset, voice, and so much more. Whether it's making a version of yourself, or your favorite characters from other games, video game character creation has given us all untold hours of fun from fiddling with faders. Matt & Geoff discuss some of their favorites.

With the recent release of the first numbered Mega Man title in nearly a decade, Case Aiken join Matt & Geoff in talking about their experiences with the mainline Mega Man series (and a little bit of Mega Man X).

The joys and conveniences of modern gaming have been wrought through release after release, and iteration after iteration, over several generations of consoles. What once stood as the pinnacle of a genre is now an unplayable mess. But we loved it so! Do we have to hate it now? No, but that doesn't mean we all have to be subjected to it. Matt & Geoff discuss.

Matt gets Geoff's report from A Video Game Con 2018. Started in 2015, A Video Game Con has been a celebration of gaming both retro and modern. They host vendors, free play console and arcade games, tournaments, musical performances, and panels about a wide range of topics in the industry and hobby. For the most part, Geoff bought a lot of video games.

The landscape of video game developers, publishers and rights holders changes drastically from month to month, let alone decade to decade. What can be done to preserve so many of the titles that have been released over the last 40 years? Matt & Geoff discuss what could be lost, and how the digital release movement has skewed our idea of what we're really paying for on a digital marketplace.

When old consoles become obsolete, how do we go back to playing the classics? Emulation! Everyone does it, from consumers to publishers re-releasing old titles. Matt & Geoff discuss their experiences with emulation and where they feel it falls, legally and morally speaking.

Matt & Geoff discuss their love of portable games. From Game Boys to Mobile phones, there's a lot of game you can fit in your pocket (Actual Results may vary, based on size of pocket).

Beginning as Japan's digital take on tabletop role-playing games, the JRPG genre has gone through a great many phases and styles. Matt & Geoff reflect on their favorites and how they feel the genre will continue in the future. There is no fervent yelling. There is overt fanboyism.

The difficulty level of a game impacts your experience. But when does it inhibit it as well? Case Aiken joins Matt & Geoff in discussing what can get locked behind the higher difficulties in games new and old.

Matt & Geoff say they're not going to go over every little detail of this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. Here is an hour of them going over a lot of the big details. Score one for technicalities.

In order to buy a game, you have to know it exists. In order to know it exists, A game company needs to release previews. What is the right amount of game hype. Is there such a thing? Where to start? Matt & Geoff have no idea, but that's never stopped them before.

Professional reviews, online critiques, and popular opinion can help us make smart purchasing decisions as a gamer. But what critically acclaimed duds do we buy? What hidden gems remain unearthed? Without getting too Relativist, Matt & Geoff try to find that fine line between blind trust and contradictory solipsism.

If you want to experience a game fully, do you also need to play all the other entries in the franchise? What about any crossover games that may happen? Does the order matter if the entries aren't numbered? Matt & Geoff tackle the subject of Franchise Fatigue and trying to enjoy new games anyway.

Matt & Geoff talk about some highs, lows, and favorites of superheroes in video games. Whether they come from Marvel, DC, an independent publisher or an original IP created for the game, Video games and superpowers just seem to go hand in hand. Even if they don't often seem to in execution.

Nintendo's NES and SNES Classics have combined sold over 6 million units. Another Pass Podcast's Case Aiken joins Matt & Geoff in speculating about the possibilities of an N64 Classic Edition. Between whether it will ever exist, game lists and sharing N64 memories there's a lot to talk about. Superman 64 is mentioned. Once.

For the past few console generations, gamers have been asked to pay up front for pre-orders and season passes. Matt & Geoff share some of their experiences with the varying forms of gaming's down payments.

With Nintendo rolling out new version of "My Nintendo" and their new subscription plan due to debut this year, Matt & Geoff talk about their experiences with loyalty programs, subscription plans, and anticipatory revenue streams.

They existed before podcasts, before YouTube, before major gaming sites. For a long time, your best source of gaming news and entertainment was found in countless monthly gaming magazines. Matt & Geoff reminisce and try to figure out what the decline of the physical gaming magazine is for the better or for the worse.

When it comes to adding a new entry to your video game collection, there's more than one way to get it. Matt & Geoff compare and contrast physical vs. digital copies.