The Insert Credit Show

Artist, writer, cartoonist and game designer K Thor Jensen joins the panel to cover being Mr. Google-Ass, having to go fast and slightly worse, and episode titles. Questions this week: Frank Cifaldi asks: Is the Intellivision Amico “physical game” scam the future of physical games? (06:12) How can video games adapt the comic book format better than Comix Zone? (13:08) What has been the worst video game music of the last generation? (18:21) How would you design a Dune game like never before? (23:43) Design a video game t-shirt that, even given prominent advertising, exactly zero people would buy. (29:27) Dirtbag Spencer asks: Does Nintendo actually have something that makes them the best game developer, or is that just fans projecting? (36:07) What are the best video game lists you’ve seen? (42:12) Violence Island (47:03) What is the The Simpsons of video games? (56:19) LIGHTNING ROUND: Game Name Combo Breaking (01:01:41) Recommendations and Outro (01:14:41) You’re the best there is at what you do, but what you do is discuss this episode in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Hexic Sine Mora Intelivision Amico Worms: Armageddon Comix Zone Understanding Comics Framed Gorogoa Future Aero Racing S Ultra Mad Max Dune Maneater That Box That Hurts Your Hand When You Put It In There Cooking Mama El Shaddai Death Stranding Microsoft Solitaire “Keep It Casual” T-shirt Microsoft Minesweeper Game Board Throw Pillow K Thor’s Gamer T-Shirt Dudes With Attitude manual Metroid Dread Link’s Awakening (2019) Giger-likes thread at forums.insertcredit.com Satoshi Matrix’s Top 100 NES/Famicom Games Gimmick! PC-FX FM Towns Marty Gain Ground Mount Celeste Hollow Knight Segata Sanshiro Johnny Turbo Trouble Bruin Storm Eagle Mallow Lakitu Sephiroth The Simpsons Grand Theft Auto Sonic the Hedgehog Street Fighter King of Fighters Family Guy That screenshot from Way of the Warrior that Frank keeps linking during the Lightning Round Recommendations: Frank: Guardians of the Galaxy Brandon: A Chinese Ghost Story (1987), Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland (1993) K Thor: Tears of the Black Tiger (2000) on Tubi, find something you can chew on Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Community Manager for Singularity 6 Jackie Cole joins the panel to cover the dark truth behind convention booths, not letting the gacha getcha, and Call of Looney. Questions this week: Can games be used as tools for mental health? (03:00) Why does every MMO feel so bad to play, and can that be fixed? (07:04) Are emulation hobbyists saving or destroying video games? (11:26) Who are the nicest, most well-adjusted people in video games? (15:53) What do most people not know about running a convention booth? (20:06) Dirtbag Spencer asks: How can we make gamers care less about brands and more about the people who make video games? (23:57) Has a video game ever satisfactorily addressed a complaint you had with it while you were playing it? (29:08) Where would be the point in a documentary series about game companies where a still flips to a photo negative and the voiceover goes “And that’s where it all went wrong?” (33:15) Is there any way for Call of Duty to redeem itself ethically? (37:29) LIGHTNING ROUND: Celebrity Gamer Tags (41:57) Recommendations and Outro (49:18) Quickly, discuss this episode in the forums, before they get you! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Zero Wing Puss N Boots: Pero’s Great Adventure Swery’s The Good Life Monster Hunter: World Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Stardew Valley Depression Quest Sky: Children of the Light Journey Brain Age: Train Your Brain In Minutes A Day! The Insert Credit Dot Com Forums Metroid Dread Is Already Running On Switch Emulators Players Have A Ton Of Complaints About Nintendo Switch Online’s N64 Games C418 2 years of failure by C418 The World Famous Vincent Anita Sarkeesian Insert Credit’s Own Ash Parrish Victoria Tran Indie Megabooth Noclip Documentaries Higurashi series NieR Destiny 2 Tomak: Save the Earth, Again Tomak: Save the Earth, Again’s reviews page on Mobygames, which calculates mostly based on Brandon’s 2002 insert credit review Gunhouse Deadly Premonition Star Wars: Battlefront II The uncomfortable truth of Call of Duty’s latest marketing campaign by Kazuma Hashimoto Battlefield 2042 Castle Wolfenstein series Insert Credit Recommends: ACTION BUTTON Reviews Cyberpunk 2077, the 1-6 Route Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Video game documentarian and podcaster Ian Ferguson joins the panel to assist in the slaying of that vile creature that haunts this very night, Gamer Dracula. Original music by Kurt Feldman. Mashtlevania by Max Hully. Castle Gamer Dracula: What’s the best way to orient a video game player in a space and provide direction? (02:46) What’s the worst NPC in a video game? (07:49) How do you create good interior design for locations in video games? (13:10) What are the worst attempted comebacks in video games? (18:29) Improv Zone: Monster Mash (23:50) Dirtbag Triple Dive - Dusty: DeLorean of Video Games? Spencer: Do you watch the credits? MoxBagel: Shareware boom today? (28:38) Which two unrelated video games would you Frankenstein together? (34:25) How do video games evoke horror in a way other media cannot? (39:24) What competitive game could you beat Death at? (44:32) What are the greatest boss battles in video games? (48:00) FRIGHTENING ROUND: 13 Spooky Game Names (53:26) Recommendations and Outro (57:35) If you don’t discuss this episode in the forums, it’ll haunt you for all your days! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Hirokazu Yasuhara Ninja Gaiden Black Kim Swift Quantum Conundrum Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction Killer7 D Beedle Exile Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories NieR Yakuza 3 Highlander: The Last of the MacLeods Grandia Demolition Man Whiplash Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn Duke Nukem Forever NBA Playgrounds Bubsy Ulililia Strider (The Metroidvania one) Strider 2 Final Fight: “Streetwise” Final Fight Revenge Rygar: The Legendary Adventure Shinobi (the PS2 one) Golden Axe: Beast Rider Shadowrun (the 2007 one) Valis games Power Glove Arkham City Get in the Car, Loser! A Short Hike Sam & Max: Hit the Road DooM (the 2016 one) DooM Eternal Final Lap Twin World Court Tennis Yakuza 7: Like A Dragon Racing Lagoon Sigma Star Saga Undertale Cooking Mama Miltank Stardew Valley Oddworld series Crossed Swords Sonic Adventure Resident Evil 2 Silent Hill 2 Silent Hill 3 Crypt of Medea Alien Vs Predator Metal Gear Solid WarioWare Fire Pro Wrestling The World Famous Vincent Puyo Puyo Asuka 120% Gunsport Builder’s Block, AKA Landmaker Elite Beat Agents Leigh Alexander The End Psycho Mantis Splatoon Zelda II NieR: Automata Rayxanber III R-Type Recommendations: Brandon: The Void (2016), Demon Wind (1990), Death Spa (1988), Arhoolie Records 40th Anniversary Collection Frank: Watch kids get excited when picking out pumpkins from a pumpkin patch, buy some Halloween stuff for your house Ian: Empire of Ants by Susan Foitzik and Olaf Fritsche, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson, Extra Napkins, Completely Unnecessary Podcast, Mon Amour Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman. Mashtlevania by Max Hully.

Developer of Get in the Car, Loser! Christine Love joins the panel to cover Alf, tactical romance action, and the crushing economic realities of indie games. Questions this week: How has video game art and design been impacted by Christian iconography? (03:40) What are the worst ports of the best games? (09:00) Has the Metroidvania outgrown Metroid? (13:01) What is the weirdest advice you’ve gotten for playing a video game? (17:22) What is and is not a visual novel? (21:11) Dirtbag Spencer asks: What Mortal Kombat character should get the next Mythologies game? (27:13) Are video games capable of evoking Britcom-style secondhand embarrassment? (32:37) Should games with a customizable protagonist and multiple love interests assume bisexuality? (36:59) From Brandon Sheffield: Christine, how can you justify giving away your game for free? (41:57) LIGHTNING ROUND: Name Design: Meme Girls (50:17) Get over here! So you can discuss this episode in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Oh, Deer! Analogue: A Hate Story Ladykiller in a Bind Get in the Car, Loser! Splatterhouse Castlevania Shin Megami Tensei ALF Bubsy Halo Last Bible series Bible Master Wisdom Tree games Crack Down cover Street Fighter on the ZX Spectrum Sonic Jam Resident Evil on the Game.com Axiom Verge 2 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Chasm Deadly Premonition GameFAQs Jeanne d’Arc Snatcher Ace Attorney Tokimeki Memorial Fire Emblem: Three Houses Cosmic Fantasy Stories Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero Scorpion Raiden Reptile Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy Larry David Final Fnatasy XIV Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures Seinfeld Game pitch Dragon Age Digital: A Love Story Get in the Car, Loser! - Battle on the Big Boardwalk DLC Available Now Deltarune Mean Girls (2004) Recommendations: Brandon: Dead & Buried (1981), Miho Fujiwara’s tracks on the California Crisis OST Frank: Can-Am Modular Metal Cabinetry, reach out to [email protected] if you’re interested in donation matching for the upcoming winter fundraiser Christine: Get in the Car, Loser! and the Battle on the Big Boardwalk DLC Jaffe: Kurt Feldman’s Insert Credit Show Soundtrack Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Co-Director of the Video Game History Foundation and Co-Owner of Pink Gorilla Games Kelsey Lewin rejoins the panel to cover twitch leaks, EVE Oncrime, and the most difficult boss fight in the Braid franchise. Questions this week: Previously on Insert Credit: Does the intended commercial reach of a game have any meaningful impact on it as a creative product? (03:37) How would the game industry change if everyone’s salaries were completely transparent? (08:15) From Ash Parrish: What would be the most interesting reveal if your gaming information leaked? (12:46) What is the most excited you have been by a video game as an adult? (19:21) Who would be the worst video character to sit next to on an international flight? (24:46) Dirtbag Larry Bang asks: Which video games surprised you with the feeling of inhabiting a specific character? (30:58) What are the most exciting crimes in video game history? (37:39) Is there any way the Gamergate TV show could be even remotely a good idea? (45:02) Violence Island (50:05) LIGHTNING ROUND: Who Is This For? (01:06:09) If you’re looking for a sign, here it is: discuss this episode in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: The DK Rap Fortnite Rips Off Among Us Shenmue Far Cry 6 Famous Actor Giancarlo Esposito The World Famous Vincent Twitch source code and creator payouts leak Cyberpunk 2077 Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection Samurai Showdown NeoGeo Collection Mega Man: Legacy Collection Mount & Blade: Warband Crypt of the NecroDancer John Linneman Apple put U2’s Songs of Innocence on everyone’s iTunes once Yakuza 0 Deadly Premonition Fallout 3 Scribblenauts Feel the Magic XY Playdate Katamari Damacy Leisure Suit Larry Kraid The Colossi Karnov Target: Terror Clay Fighter Gex Bubsy Blasto Conker the Squirrel Mario 64 eye Vin Diesel Chris Farley Bobby Moynihan The Iron Giant (1999) Valis True Detective F.E.A.R. Deus Ex Dietrich Disney’s DuckTales Whatever Happened To Pizza At McDonalds? Mary-Kate and Ashley: Magical Mystery Mall Turok: Rage Wars EVE Online Gamergate Zoë Quinn CBS backtracks on The Activist Guitar Hero Rock Band Gomez Tim Kratos Normy’s Beach Babe-O-Rama The Prince Axel Recommendations: Brandon: Kanopy, Les Archives by Jun Chikuma Frank: hoopla, F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch Kelsey: The Life & Times of Video Games Ep. 33 - MobyGames Jaffe: Libby, Squid Game, Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Leading game industry professionals and Insert Credit Show regulars Mathew Kumar and Ash Parrish rejoin the panel for Mario voice cast announcements, Bayon3tta, and esports. Questions this week: From Brandon Sheffield: What games have been helped or hindered by having a tertiary gameplay system? (3:00) Was the Mario movie voice cast announcement really that bad? (09:17) In a side scrolling game, how large should the player character be? (15:13) Where does Bayonetta go from here? (20:22) What is the greatest unsolvable problem in game design? (24:45) Dirtbag Tiger Tiger asks three questions and for some reason Jaffe allows it (29:45) How do you report on mods and fan projects, knowing that more attention might get them shut down? (35:02) What’s going on in the Overwatch League lately? (39:10) How concerned should we be about video game censorship in China? (48:34) For real though, what is the Mamma Mia! of video games? (54:49) LIGHTNING ROUND: Mash-up Merch (59:25) Wait a minute, were you really not gonna discuss this episode in the forums?! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Hey, Bayonetta, what is the main ingredient of guacamole?? Dungeon Explorer Save Ribbons Amnesia series Fable Mario casting news Chris Pratt Charles Martinet reading paragraphs as Mario Nolan North Dana Carvey Martin Short Only Murderers in the Building Giancarlo Esposito Bob Hoskins John Leguizamo The Lego Movie (2014) Paulie Walnuts Final Fight series God Hand Super Mario 3D World Hollow Knight Bayonetta Fly Me To The Moon cover Moon River cover That’s Amore Blue Moon Hideki Kamiya Bizarro New World Ultima Online Emotion Engine Dynasty Warriors series Hyrule Warriors Berserk and the Band of the Hawk Persona 5 Strikers Final Fantasy XV ramen ad Ronald Reagan SAGE i’m not gonna link you to Zone animations, sorry The Shanghai Dragons Geguri Ted Lasso China limits online gaming for children to 3 hours per week Chinese Overwatch teams boycott South Korean player Genshin Impact censorship John Cena apologizes for calling Taiwan a country Devotion Mamma Mia! (2008) ABBA ABBA Virtual London concert Sonic CD Make My Video: Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch Sonic Mania Street Fighter The Movie The Video Game Kylie Minogue Recommendations: Mathew: National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, Commission Reports, Native-Land.ca Brandon: Shuumi Land Tax, Mntu by Ushangvagush Ash: Celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day Oct. 11th, Sable Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Leading game industry professionals and Insert Credit Show regulars Mathew Kumar and Liz Ryerson rejoin the panel for cryptid talk, Nintendo Direct, and pissing on gentrifiers. Questions this week: Vincent Diamante asks: What’s the best money you’ve spent on a free-to-play game? (04:33) How do you make blocking in a game feel as good as attacking? (10:40) What ideas does Quantic Dream have for Star Wars? (14:37) Which games were most interesting to you prior to their release? (21:04) Improv Zone: Nintendo Direct (25:15) Dirtbag PrivatelyAttack asks: What cryptids show up in an Altus JRPG set in the American midwest? (31:44) Who are the heroes and role models in the video game industry today? (40:01) Make a video game about Passion Orange Guava juice without making it entirely about POGs. (45:58) What is the I Love Lucy of video games? (50:54) Would the world be better off if there weren’t video games? (54:13) LIGHTNING ROUND: Name Design: Old Cursewords (from Dirtbag Yeso) (01:00:14) Don’t even act like you don’t wanna discuss this episode in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Ireland Scotland Sensible World of Soccer Sensible Soccer ’98 Sensible Soccer 2006 Sensible Soccer European Champions Prey Steel Battalion PlayOn Kinect Game Boat World Flipper Bejeweled 3 PS2 Swap Magic Asuka 120% Roblox Tommy Tallarico settles dispute over ‘oof’ sound in Roblox Quantic Dream is making a Star Wars game Detroit Become Human patches out its ending Indigo Prophecy Kinect Star Wars Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi Star Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order Star Wars: Squadrons Cruelty Squad Yakuza: Like a Dragon McGruff’s SMART KIDS Album Ogopogo Mothman Loveland Frog Jersey Devil Ghost Adventures Jake from State Farm in NBA 2K22 Hirokazu Yasuhara Michael Brough Cinco Paus Jake Elliott Pog Zuckerberg forcing Hawaiian land sales I Love Lucy Bayonetta King’s Quest Video Dames #0 Girl’s Garden Phantasy Star America’s Army Satanic Panic Hylics Recommendations: Brandon: Jack Frost (1997), Pig (2021) Liz: Cruelty Squad, Salad Fields Jaffe: Batman the Audio Adventures Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

A rare confluence of Jewish high holidays and immovable project deadlines results in a Patreon content unlock for the week! We celebrate the return of Frank with a few excellent stories about what he’s up to lately, Mathew Kumar has an incredible impromptu interview with Chris Remo about the design considerations of crosswords, and Ash Parrish talks about the shift from Kotaku to The Verge. Find over a year’s worth of excellent bonus content just like this at the Insert Credit Patreon! A SMALL DESCRIPTION OF EPISODES PULLED FROM: (Ep. 196, the weed episode) Pre-show. The panel describes what they’re doing to alter their perceptions of reality. Frank is so successful he’s gotta start turning people away. (Ep. 196, the weed episode) Extended break. Brandon shares the details of his dad’s weed, and an excellent spoonerism. Frank thinks Special Guest Patrick sounds gorgeous, and high. Jaffe is rotating a letter in his mind right now and explains the details of Doctor Who. (Ep. 197) Pre-show. Jaffe has been waiting for someone to take the easy joke, and Brandon does. Special guest Mathew Kumar writes down a new title in his Fantasy Book Idea Journal. Finally, you’ll understand Jaffe’s intro line for this episode! (Ep. 197) Post-show. Extended in-depth crossword puzzle discussion with Special Guests Mathew Kumar and Chris Remo. Genuinely fascinating stuff. big thank you to mathew for hosting this impromptu interview! (Ep. 198) Post-show. Special Guest Ash Parrish goes into some detail regarding her move from Kotaku to the Verge, and the current state of game journalism is discussed. Also, accents. (Note: from 36:35 to 38:53, there’s some compelling but also terrifying climate climate discussion. feel free to skip to 38:53 if you need a break from that) (Ep. 199) Extended intro. Frank, Brandon and Jaffe talk comic books. (Ep. 199) Special Guest Chris Kohler is playing Star Ocean. Frank likes that Final Fantasy I remake. (Ep. 199) Post-show. Brandon recommends F1: Drive to Survive. Frank and Special Guest Chris Kohler discuss moving from one office to another. Frank has an incredible story of busting bootlegs. All names censored. Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Insert Credit Co-Founder and legendary video game music composer Vincent Diamante joins the panel to cover the Playstation conference, Frank Cifaldi’s necromancy of Clippy, and Daft Williams. Questions this week: Since we’re recording on Dreamcast Day, what are your favorite Dreamcast memories? (03:23) What are the coolest ways to use specific instruments in a video game soundtrack? (09:12) What are the most interesting risk/reward mechanics in video games? (13:06) Which video game character would give the best deep tissue massage? (18:22) Improv Zone: Sony Keynote (22:33) Dirtbag Dilson asks: What is the most out of touch with reality game design idea you’ve ever heard? (28:09) Design a video game about the Nintendo 64 kid. (33:46) What is the most hellish assignment you can imagine for a video game composer? (36:54) Which video game set pieces would make the best Lego sets? (41:17) Who is the John Williams of video games? (46:26) LIGHTNING ROUND: Name That Game Tune (51:01) This is the line of the episode description where I recommend discussing this episode in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Sega Dreamcast Illbleed The Last Blade 2 EWI Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure Eternal Sonata Wii Music Big Band Samurai Showdown Bushido Blade Celeste Hexic God Hand Cho Aniki Drill Dozer Zangief Hakan Dhalsim Trauma Center Dr. Faust Dr. Fauci MachAMp Goro Lady Goro Spiral Mojoverse Spiral’s MvC2 animation Mojo Jojo Sony AIBO Nintendo 64 Kid Alfred E. Neuman Streets of Rage 3 Oh Deer! Lego Green Hill Zone Katamari Damacy Shenmue Die Hard Arcade House of the Dead Typing of the Dead John Williams Nobou Uematsu Henry Mancini - Baby Elephant Walk Jun Chikuma Wendy Carlos Specifically Not A Recommendation: Brandon: Documental Recommendations: Frank: Kate Willaert, acriticalhit.com, Video Dames #0, Wild Gunman ‘74: Nintendo’s Forgotten First FMV Game Vince: Kate Willaert, acriticalhit.com, Video Dames #0, The True First Easter Egg: Ready Player One Was Wrong Jaffe: Congratulations Kelsey Lewin, The Sculptor Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Questions this week: Let’s talk about the rebranding of Gamasutra to Game Developer. (03:43) What are the best video game postmortems? (10:41) What are the most common mistakes when someone first gets into video games? (15:24) Which video game characters have the most complicated morning routines? (20:46) What video game or game adjacent companies should be renamed? (25:54) Dirtbag MoxBagel asks: Is it possible to have fans take games less seriously as an identity and more seriously as creative endeavors? (31:42) Why don’t you design a new item for Mario Kart? (38:26) Violence Island: forums.insertcredit.com Submissions (43:25) From Frank Cifaldi: Here’s whats up with that video about game price collusion (52:45) Who is the Mike Richards of video games? (59:08) LIGHTNING ROUND: Name Design: JAV Titles (01:01:34) Don’t you think this would be a good episode to discuss in the forums? A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Clay Fighter series Gamastura is becoming Game Developer El Shaddai Postmortem: Resident Evil 4 Postmortem: Deadly Premonition Postmortem: Final Fantasy XIII Postmortem: Golden Axe Postmortems from Game Developer GDC Vault Monsters from the Id: The Making of Doom Crusader Kings Jim Lee Beneath a Steel Sky Jerry Lewis Francis York Morgan Ryo Hazuki Morgan Yu The World Ends With You Ivy Voldo The Green Ribbon GamersGate Young Guns Starring Emilio Estevez Young Guns II Guns 3 Gun Toys for Bob Ponzi Scheme Fonzie Scheme Bonk Plok Shadow the Hedgehog Wario Blake Stone Jazz Jackrabbit Takayuki Yagami Phoenix Wright YouTuber Accuses Million Dollar Retro Game Sales Of Being Scams Mike Richards Metal Wolf Chaos JAVdottxt (NSFW) Shi’ar (I read Marvel) Recommendations: Brandon: Check out the new GameDeveloper.com, Melissa’s self titled album, Ask Hershers Pizza for the Insert Credit, Enjoy with a D’Aquino Chianti Flask Kris: Go to gamedeveloper.com, learn something new, Dishonored Frank: Psychonauts 2 Jaffe: Superman Smashes the Klan Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

After Frank’s brief absences, the full Insert Credit panel reunites upon their two hundredth battle. The task? Their greatest foe yet: one hundred rapid fire questions from the more than 420 dirtbags at patreon.com/insertcredit. Each panelist has four skips, but will it be enough to survive your best? Find out now! Have you considered discussing this episode in the forums? A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Hershers Pizza Ep. 19 - Interactacular Ep. 180 - Insert Credit 20th Anniversary Ep. 110 - History Ep. 146 - What Is Wrong With Video Games And Nine Other Questions Activision-Blizzard Lawsuit NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Planet Space Antichamber Yakuza: Like a Dragon Vanquish The Sword of Doom (1966) Throne of Blood (1957) Wario Land Shoot 1UP Sucker Punch (2011) The Mighty Boosh Zork Bioshock Infinite Power Stone The Magic of Scheherazade The Legend of Oasis Live a Live The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Yakuza 0 Sonic Amateur Games Expo Metal Gear Solid 3 Earthbound Mighty Morphin Power Rangers DOOM Eternal Konix Multisystem The Great Giana Sisters Sonic Mania Bullet Witch XCOM Zone of the Enders Dishonored Sega’s Eye sound Final Fantasy XIV Dactyl Nightmare Vanquish Bayonetta Collection For PS4 Steelbook Edition Shenmue III Steelbook Edition Shenmue III Persona 5 Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age Final Fantasy XV Tekken 7 Fortnite Stardew Valley Red Dead Redemption II Panzer Dragoon Saga Mama Mia! (2008) Septentrion: Out of the Blue Dark Savior Skies of Arcadia Wonderful 101 Shining Force Crystal’s Pony Tale Gunstar Heroes Ibara Kuro: Black Label Football Manager Rollercoaster Tycoon A Link Between Worlds Link’s Awakening Mario Party A Short Hike The Curling Kirby’s Dream Course Super Monkey Ball Assassins Creed Valhalla Tales series Enders Game Battle Room Lost Vikings Eye floaters Jim Power Duck Hunt Hyperdimension Neptunia Peter Molydeux Tokimeki Memorial Hades Boyfriend Dungeon Seven Samurai (1954) Defender of the Crown Seven Samurai 20XX Deadly Premonition Ribbit King Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter Big’s Big World Rain Jerx Girl’s Garden Arcane Kids Martin Luther King in Fortnite Dragon Ages The Last of Us Clash Royale Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution SoulCalibur II SoulCalibur V Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor Steel Battalion Ys: Book I & II Mother 3 Insulin Growth Factor Desert Bus Death Stranding Recommendations: Brandon: Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983), Formula 1: Drive to Survive, JVC D series Tim: The Last Dance with Michael Jordon Frank Trailblazer Cifaldi: Do not own a CRT television Jaffe: Usagi Yojimbo Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Editorial director of Digital Eclipse Chris Kohler joins the panel to cover bug-free cartridge games, on air game history research, and a brutal round of Famicom Feud. Original music by Kurt Feldman. Questions this week: Mathew Kumar asks: What are the “phantom games” in your collection? (03:59) Which areas of games are most in need of preservation? (10:36) What’s the line between stealing an idea and iterating on it in video game design? (16:26) What are some mundane activities that would make good simulator games? (21:19) What would be on your cardboard sign at a wrestling event? (26:33) Dirtbag Seasons asks: Why and when did we start calling old games “retro”? (30:23) How, when, and where should games present content warnings? (36:39) Brandon Sheffield asks: What are your favorite side quests? (45:19) What is the Ghostbusters 2 of video games? (52:26) LIGHTNING ROUND: Famicom Feud – Video Games Notable For Negative Reception (56:24) Quick, now’s your chance! Discuss this episode in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: $1.99 Are You Out Of Your Mind? FM Towns Marty SWOS Donkey Kong Classics Adventures of Lolo Princess Pajama Taito X-55 Fortnite’s Among Us ripoff Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes Threes developer addresses clones Shenmue Panzer Dragoon Saga Quest 64 Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom Cosmic Fantasy 4 Part 1 Linda Cube Lotte May Retronauts Coleco Chameleon Boyfriend Dungeon Situation Does The Dog Die Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars Shining Force III Wing Commander Ghostbusters II ActRaiser 2 Hudson Hawk Platoon Barton Fink Phalanx Recommendations: Frank: The new Twilight Zone series Brandon: Vote no on recalling Newsom if you live in California, even if he sucks he’ll get replaced by somebody a whole bunch worse Chris: The Ultimate History of Video Games vol. 2 Jaffe: The Many Deaths of Laila Starr Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Fan favorite panelists Ash Parrish and Liz Ryerson return triumphant to to cover Knuckles, vaporwave, and the multitude of things the hell wrong with video games. Questions this week: Let’s talk about Idris Elba as Knuckles (05:02) What are some cool video game collections you know about? (10:42) If you were in charge of a Fortnite music fest, who would you feature? (17:22) Are video games part of vaporwave? (23:00) Dirtbag Sleepy Nice demands: Name five metal genres, then assign five video games to them. (27:44) What the hell is wrong with video games? (33:19) LIGHTNING ROUND: Initial Design (01:16:18) A lot of smart people will have more to say about this episode in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Mega Man Battle Network 2 Dragon Age: Origins Final Fantasy VIII Adel fight Worms Armageddon Idris Elba as Knuckles Idris Elba as Macavity Michael Jackson’s involvement with Sonic 3 The Knuckles Rap Black Woman Gets Two World Records For Her Vast Vintage Gaming Collection Death Crimson Travis Scott’s Fortnite concert Ariana Grande’s Fortnite concert Marshmello’s Fortnite concert Björk Death Grips Lil Nas X death’s dynamic shroud - I’ll Try Living Like This Broken Reality Black Thrash Metal Doom Metal Sludge Metal Second-wave Black Metal Grindcore Paratopic Control S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadows of Chernobyl Activision-Blizzard lawsuit and more Raccoon Logic company photo Steve Gaynor leaving Fullbright Recommendations: Liz: The Blood Zone, death’s dynamic shroud Ash: Pig (2021) Brandon: G.I. Samurai, Oddtaxi Jaffe: The Nice House on the Lake Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Game designer, composer, and co-creator of Idle Thumbs Chris Remo joins the panel along with Mathew “Agent of Chaos” Kumar to cover the Honda Prelude, Crossword of the Dead, and live on-air cat noises. Questions this week: Jeff Gerstmann asks: What’s the coolest vehicle to ever appear in a video game? (04:54) Are the Myst games still good? What should people play instead? (10:55) What kind of feeling does acoustic guitar give to a game? (16:41) What’s better in a video game, an elevator or stairs? (22:45) What six C-list video game villains would you recruit for a government black ops team? (28:20) Dirtbag Gaagaagiins asks: What’s the best autoscrolling section in video games? (33:08) When and how do games successfully recontextualize frustrating tropes? (40:28) Review the concept of crossword puzzles based on their graphics and mechanics. (44:57) What are some of your favorite harmless video game hoaxes? (50:41) What is the Waiting for Godot of video games? (56:48) LIGHTNING ROUND: Name Design – Jodi Picoult (01:01:44) Don’t you wish you could share your answers to the prompts? You can do exactly that in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Dennis Miller action figure Musee Mechanique Warthog Pale Wing Vic Viper R-90 Ragnarok Sonic mine cart Honda Prelude Tokyo Highway Battle Fortnite Vehicles Kung Fu Rider Dolphin Blue Nier Boar OutRun Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge Myst Riven: The Sequel To Myst The Witness Michael Brough Stephen’s Sausage Roll Habitat Firewatch Elevator Action Snake’s ladder climb Mickey Mania Ys: Book I & II Batman: The Telltale Series The Suicide Squad Rez Peter Molyneux Zool Battletoads The Adventures of Batman and Robin WTF: work time fun I Wanna Be The Guy Chris Remo’s YouTube channel The Bobby Kotick image Ermac Missingno The Blue Box Studios thing Waiting For Godot SNK VS. CAPCOM Card Fighters DS P.T. Jodi Picoult Recommendations: Brandon: To Kill With Intrigue (1977), Walker (1987) Mathew: Gold Ninja Video fundraiser Chris: Police Story (1985) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Insert Credit Fighting Game Correspondent Patrick Miller rejoins the panel to cover questions from the world’s hottest editor and producer, as well as lightly flavored sparkling water, the hottest games in palladiums, $5 bets, and WEEEEEED, DUUUUDE!!! Original music by Kurt Feldman. Questions this week: What game characters smoke weed, and what game characters are narcs? (06:11) What are some underrated gamer snacks? (11:52) What are memorable video game dreams? (17:42) Do you think Bayonetta and Lady Dimitrescu know each other? What’s that like? (22:06) Do you think Sonic the Hedgehog gets tired of all the Chronic the Hemphog jokes? (26:09) Describe the worst Flash game you can remember, and give constructive criticism. (31:14) What’s with the weird relationship between video games and movies? (36:15) What can we say about the Winners Don’t Do Drugs campaign in palladiums? (41:51) Esper Quinn asks: What’s a game that’s just alright? (47:28) Who is the Willie Nelson of video games? (53:39) LIGHTNING ROUND: Untimed Video Game Weed Parody Titles (55:09) Puff puff pass on by the discussion thread for this episode in the Insert Credit Forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Grateful Dead Robert Crumb NARC NARC (PS2) Emperor Pilaf VOLCANO Cheez-It Cactus Cooler AHA Black Cherry Coffee AHA Apple Ginger Soleil Cucumber Melon Rap Snacks Have’a Corn Chips Zapp’s Kettle Voodoo Chips Nixie Peach Black Tea Lotte May’s Milky Way Magic Stars reviews Snake’s dream Link’s Awakening Super Mario Bros 2 The Simpsons: Bart’s Nightmare Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland Kirby’s Dream Land Alundra Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo Like Like Bayonetta Lady Dimitrescu Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog Spumco Shock the Monkey Skrillex advergame QWOP Winnie the Pooh’s Home Run Derby Nanaca Crash (i got a 2153m while editing this episode, see if you can beat that) Kongregate Alien Resurrection Uwe Boll Winners Don’t Use Drugs Street Fighter II: Rainbow Edition Centipede oh he so pringles SaltyBet World’s Tallest Thermometer Adventure Island series Goemon series Onimusha series Fight For Life Kelly Claes Willie Nelson Snoop Dogg in Tekken Kirby Rap Feat. Snoop Dogg Recommendations: Pat: Green Crack, Trainwreck Brandon: Sea of Green - Northern Lights, Mammoth Value - A Single Book Of Songs By, Terra Firma, Lowrider - Ode to Io, Gamera - Smoke and Mirrors, Bongzilla - Stash, Nightstick - Ultimatum, EyeHateGod - Southern Discomfort Frank: Roasted in-shell peanuts Jaffe: The Righteous Gemstones Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Game journalist and Giant Bomb co-founder Jeff Gerstmann joins the panel to cover The Wheelman, phone phreaking, and Super Sushi Pinball. Questions this week: Rachel Weil asks: What are you favorite hidden gem video game reviews? (03:20) What does Frank have to report on his two-week absence to save video games? (09:20) What’s going on with the video game speculator market? (14:43) How and why did Giant Bomb become a wiki for video games, and hows that going? (19:57) Design a game about phone phreaking in the 20th century. (25:48) Dirtbag Kory asks: In the year 2050, what will be known as the most ridiculous part of video games in 2021? (31:25) What game design principles make a really satisfying pinball table? (35:26) Fifteen years after the launch of the Wii, what do we have to say about casual games? (41:12) What’s the history and current state of publishers paying for reviews? (46:34) What is the Francisco Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son of video games? (52:27) LIGHTNING ROUND: Who’s It For? (56:36) We have a lovely forum available if you want to discuss the episode! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Shade wolf from Nier (spoilers) Dog’s Life The Revenge of Shinobi Kimimi The Game Eating She-Monster Mizzurna Falls Old Man Murray Erik Wolpaw’s Final Fight One Review Chrontendo Topher’s Sonic 2 review Vin Diesel’s Alternative Guide to Barcelona by tombo Vin Diesel’s The Wheelman The Video Game History Foundation, Which Was Co-Founded By Frank Cifaldi And Kelsey Lewin In Case You Didn’t Know Sealed Mario 64’s Record-Breaking $1.5M Sale Has Retro Experts Skeptical CheetahMen II Giant Bomb Wiki ComicVine Pup Breeder Phone Phreaking The Thompson Twins Adventure Her Story Flaming Carrot Comics Larry Sanders Show Bloody Wolf FunHouse pinball machine Centaur pinball machine F-14 Tomcat pinball machine Lethal Weapon 3 pinball machine The Pinball Circus pinball machine Banzai Run pinball machine Tap Titans 2 Saturn Devouring His Son Recommendations: Brandon: The first half of Take Care of My Cat (2001), The Rippington’s Weekend in Monaco Frank: Stop subscribing to the Video Game History Foundations incredible “Mystery Box” Vintage Video Game Magazines Jeff: Giant Bomb Podcasts, garages Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Artist and FEMICOM founder Rachel Weil alongside gamedev Lotte May join the panel to cover the Bally Astrocade, Jaffe’s favorite isekai, and Amethyst Princess of Gemworld. Questions this week: What’s the deal with the Steam Deck? (03:44) How does femininity best express itself in video games? (08:10) How can we translate the appeal of mahou shoujo into video games? (13:31) What’s the relation between video games and glitch art? (18:35) Excluding Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and Sega, who are the top 5 console manufacturers? (23:09) From Brandon Sheffield: What are the best action games with female protagonists? (29:23) Dirtbag Spencer asks: what video game allows for the most self-expression, while not specifically being about creativity? (34:29) What are the greatest movie tie-in games made before 1995? (39:33) Who would you use as the template for a “look book” for designers of female game characters? (44:11) Who or what is the Lisa Frank of video games? (48:37) LIGHTNING ROUND: Pink Games (53:04) People will think you’re cooler if you discuss this episode in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Yakuza 0 Steam Deck Stream Deck Saturn controller WaveBird Bally Astrocade Imagine: Babyz Fashion Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar Mahou shoujo Sally the Witch Majokko Daisakusen: Little Witching Mischiefs Super Robot Taisen Kim Kardashian: Hollywood Cardassian Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Another Story Magic Knight Rayearth Suzanne Treister’s fictional video game stills Zgrass on youtube NEC The 3DO Company Casio Bandai TurboGrafx-16 Casio Loopy WonderSwan SuFami Turbo Jaguar GamePark GP32 Valis Barbie Fashion Designer Barbie Mermaid Adventure Crystal’s Pony Tale Miracle Girls: Tomomi to Mikage no Miracle World Adventure. Lost Word of JeNnY: Ushinawareta Message Devil Hunter Yohko: Dai 7 no Keisho Kendo Rage Blazing Rangers Smarty Theresa Duncan Chop Suey skate 3 Tekken 7 Character Creator GTA Online Final Fantasy XIV Demolition Man Batman Returns Home Alone Alien3 Aladdin The Lion King Beauty and the Beast Hagane: The Final Conflict Cliffhanger The Goonies Friday the 13th The Little Mermaid Fester’s Quest Barbie Fashion Amethyst Princess of Gemworld Jem Style Savvy series Amethyst Princess of Gemworld series Lisa Frank Nathalie Lawhead Andi McClure El Shaddai Paloma Dawkins Recommendations: Lotte: Turn A Gundam, Godzilla Singular Point Rachel: FEMICOM Museum, Pop Cutie! Street Fashion Simulation Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Writer, game designer, and professor Ian Bogost joins the panel along with Kotaku and Insert Credit regular Ash Parrish to cover Hairizon Zero Dawn, Gex vs. Bubsy, and Sonic Actually Being Back. Original music by Kurt Feldman, including the all new Violence Island theme! Questions this week: From Liz Ryerson: What’s your favorite romhack? (06:04) Which video game metrics and features do critics tend to ignore? (11:17) Which games were most affected by ESRB ratings? (16:34) What are the best non-Bonk Turbografx platforming games? (21:58) Now that Facebook games are mostly gone, how do you explain Cow Clicker to somebody who wasn’t there? (26:23) Violence Island: forums.insertcredit.com Submissions (32:49) Has a video game ever changed your opinion about something outside of video games? (41:47) What was the most ambitious video game to actually deliver on its promises? (47:13) Who is the Slavoj Zizek of video games? (51:47) LIGHTNING ROUND: Dirtbag Driftglass presents: Casting call (55:29) Have answers of your own, do you? Share them in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Crush 40 Sonic Shoes Peter Piper Pizza Grand Poo World Sonic 3D Blast Directors Cut Super Mario Clouds I Shot Andy Warhol Horizon: Zero Dawn Lucio from Overwatch Marvel Spider-Man: Miles Morales Monsters, Inc. (2001) Megatextures Rage Hot Coffee Indivisible Blanka American McGee’s Alice Let Cloud Strife Pole Dance Doki Doki Literature Club Plus trigger warnings Grounded’s Arachnophobia mode Trypophobia Chicory: A Colorful Tale Keith Courage in Alpha Zones Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu The Legendary Axe Cross Wiber P47 Ninja Spirit Rygar Cow Clicker WIRED’s piece on Cow Clicker XBLIG Parkour Tapwave Zodiac N-Gage Servbot Lemming DeBlob Inkling Francis York Morgan Raz Fred Dukes Gex Bubsy Dragon Age II Black & White Minecraft Death Stranding Sonic Mania No Man’s Sky Destiny 2 Bioshock Infinite Inside Out Coco Slavoj Zizek Roger Ebert Steak-umm’s Twitter Recommendations: Brandon: dedeco VGM DJ, Kino Lorber’s Cool As Ice blu-ray Ash: Chicory, Kotaku Splitscreen Podcast Ian: Drink an Americano, play Psychonauts Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Happy Canada Day! To celebrate, Brandon and Frank (American) along with writer, designer and Insert Credit regular Mathew Kumar (Scottish) and legendary game designer Bennett Foddy (Australian) determine the greatest British video games of all time. Original music by Kurt Feldman. The List, in order of discussion: Sonic R (05:51) Lemmings (09:02) Pipe Mania!! (12:03) Burnout Paradise (15:20) Alien Resurrection (17:29) Elite (21:27) Damocles (25:34) Where Time Stood Still (29:46) TxK (33:40) Skool Daze (37:56) Wizkid (42:20) Batman: Arkham Knight (45:52) The Chaos Engine (50:11) Head Over Heels (54:12) Populus (58:35) Grand Theft Auto IV (01:02:35) WipEout 2097 (01:06:55) Sensible World of Soccer (01:10:32) Deus Ex Machina (01:16:27) Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk (01:20:11) See the final rankings in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Charity shops Sonic R Lemmings Benefactor Troddlers GameCenter CX Pipe Mania!! Frisky Tom Burnout Paradise Alien: Resurrection Alien: Resurrection (1997) Alien: Isolation The making of Alien Resurrection PSOne Elite Elite: Dangerous Frontier: Elite II Zarch Damocles Outer Wilds Midwinter Lords of Midnight Where Time Stood Still Hardcore Gaming 101 on Where Time Stood Still Frankie Goes to Hollywood The Great Escape TxK Jeff Minter Skool Daze Bully Grange Hill Wizkid: The Story of Wizball II Batman: Arkham Knight Renegade Batman: Arkham Asylum The Chaos Engine Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe Gods Magic Pockets Head Over Heels Knight Lore Light Crusader Syndicate Populous Magic Carpet WipEout 2097 Sensible World of Soccer Kick Off Deus Ex Machina The Graveyard Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk Wonderland Dizzy Fantasy World Dizzy Treasure Island Dizzy Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Musician, writer, and Insert Credit regular Liz Ryerson returns to cover lawyer angels, Charles Martinet’s infidelity, and Le Console. Questions this week: Kelsey Lewin asks: What’s the recipe for the worst way to play Super Mario Bros.? (03:42) Has a spiritual sequel to a game ever surpassed it? (08:58) How would you commemorate a series 30th anniversary when you have no new games to announce? (13:16) Can listening to a game’s soundtrack spoil the game? (18:00) How have video games failed the queer community? (23:09) Dirtbag MoxBagel asks: How do you design around players hoarding items? (32:49) If all the big tech giants made video game consoles, which one would be the biggest disaster? (38:28) What are the best unlicensed games? (43:36) Can realistic human jumping be fun in video games? (49:15) Who’s the Christopher Columbus of video games? (54:26) LIGHTNING ROUND: Glitchfork Reviews (59:03) Got somethin’ to say about this episode? Discuss it politely in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: NES Advantage controller NES Max controller Power Glove Game Genie Axiom Verge Bloodstained King’s Field Siren Thimbleweed Park The Legendary Axe Astyanax The Magic of Scheherazade Sonic Symphony Friend of the show Ash Parrish Topher’s legendary Sonic 2 SE letsplay Earthbound Chrono Cross Chrono Trigger Sonic Mania Homestuck Undertale Tim Follin Nier’s terrible trophy Deadly Premonition Poison Birdetta Earth Angel bar Erica Anderson Saints Row Razer E3 keynote Stadia is dead Amazon buys the CryEngine Amazon Games probably one of the worst disasters in gamedev Micro Machines Magic Kid Googoo Armadillo ATB Knights of the Round Fuzhou Waixing Computer Science & Technology Co.,LTD Strip Fighter II (nsfw, but only in theory) Another World Canabalt Normal Mario Bros Bethesda and Madden The Edge Guy Tommy Tallarico Mamoru Samuragochi Recommendations: Brandon: Ace Combat 3 soundtrack, Liz’s Sounds From The Abyss mixes Frank: Sleep, drink water Liz: Stretch, Ross’s Game Dungeon, The Blood Zone Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Co-director of the Video Game History Foundation Kelsey Lewin joins the panel to discuss how weird the letter 7 is, the WonderSwan, and Metallica covers of Barney songs. Original music by Kurt Feldman. Questions this week: Brandon Sheffield asks: What is the best video game console nobody actually plays? (03:56) What would be the best way for a disgraced indie developer to announce his retirement? (09:19) What are the pros and cons of controlling multiple party members? (14:14) What’s the next ubiquitous video game trailer song? (20:11) Improv Zone – Museum Tour (26:13) Dirtbag Anonymous asks: What is the best callback joke in video games? (31:13) Which video game went through the most interesting development cycle? (37:06) Famicom Feud – Wonderswan Top 15 (42:53) What is the oxford comma of video games? (51:45) How do you really appraise hard to find retro video game ephemera? (51:59) LIGHTNING ROUND: The Discourse – How Cunning A Linguist? (57:09) You know, you could always discuss this episode in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: WonderSwan Insert Credit “Last Letter” Forum Game Sega Dreamcast Vectrex Multicart Spike Atari Jaguar Hyundai Genesis Scott Cawthon donates to Trump, other GOP Scott Cawthon retires Jeff Bezos is getting in a rocket Willy’s Wonderland Donate to the Video Game History Foundation There Is No Such Thing As Ethical Consumption Under Capitalism Guardians of the Galaxy Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Tales series Tails Adventure The Offspring - All I Want (Crazy Taxi version) F-Zero - Mute City Guitar Hero: Metallica Caspers Hot Dog Barney - The Cleanup Song New Pokemon’s Nap Maniac Mansion Thimbleweed Park Nier: Automata Shadow Squadron Stellar Assault SS Wii Music Psycho Fox The Legendary Axe Astyanax Swan of Wonders Top 15 Makaimura for WonderSwan Kaze no Klonoa: Moonlight Museum Judgment Silversword Gunpey Flash Koibito-kun Engacho! Buffers Evolution Rhyme Rider Keroican Rainbow Islands: Putty’s Party Oxford Comma Mismatched Couples (1985) Streetlight Records Craig discord recording bot WonderSwan console variants Special thanks this week to Friend of the Show Ash Parrish Recommendations: Kelsey: Video Game History Foundation, Video Game History Hour, Blind Box Vintage Video Game Magazines, One Punch Man season 1 Brandon: Ginger Root - Loretta (Official Music Video) Frank: Loki, Sweet Tooth, look up fan edits/restorations of work Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Questions this week: From Frank Cifaldi: What’s up with E3? (03:47) How is the Korean video game industry different from other parts of the industry? (09:45) What are the biggest headaches in the world of video game translation and localization? (14:38) What’s the ugliest video game hardware you’ve ever seen? (19:42) What video game eggs would make the best omelettes? (24:13) Dirtbag Kory asks: How do you define the Japanese use of the word ‘gear’? (29:45) Which two game industry figures have never worked together, but really should? (34:51) Design a 90’s Master System clone. (39:34) Is there such a thing as a good webcomic about video games? (44:14) Who is the Nathan Fielder of video games? (48:35) LIGHTNING ROUND: Name Design – Dame Judi (52:45) Are YOU a bad enough dude to discuss this episode in the forums? A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Sakura Taisen 4 Blazing Lasers Gooigi Death Stranding Directors Cut Elden Ring Metal Slug Tactics Mohammed bin Salman, Murderer and Majority SNK Owner Summoner’s War Genshin Impact PC bang Legends of Localization Samurai Showdown V Kris Inherto 3DO Master System Zeebo Jaguar CD Coleco Telstar Arcade Divers 2000 Dreamcast Game Boy Player Ouya PC Engine SuperGrafx Dizzy the Egg Neopets Neggs Meerka Chase Petpet Neopets Puzzle Adventure Guilty Gear Cave Story Game Gear Gears of War Goichi Suda Jet Set Radio Alexey Pajitnov Tetris Hexic Hatris Hirokazu Yasuhara Masaya Matsuura Rodney Alan Greenblat Gam Boy Dooly the Little Dinosaur Agi Gongyong Dooly Hot Comics for Cool People Nancy Nathan For You Acclaim marketing team advertising on tombstones $10,000 to name your child Turok BMX XXX Bennett Foddy Dumb Starbucks Habbo Hotel Recommendations: Brandon: The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001), Evil Dead Trap 2 (1992) if you have a strong stomach, Oh, DEER! Soundtrack Frank: A Forensic Analysis of Earthbound’s Deepest Secrets, The Video Game History Hour Dami: Trick, Vincenzo Don’t miss our watchalong for the Morton Jankel Cut of the Super Mario Bros movie, Friday June 18th at 6:30p/9:30e! Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Questions this week: From Brandon Sheffield: How would you run a cafe-arcade hybrid, and what would you call it? (03:10) How would video games be different if Microsoft bought Nintendo twenty years ago? (10:33) What factors decide whether a video game should be first person view or third person view? (15:02) What historical video game hardware breakthroughs are bigger deals than people realize? (20:26) What scenes do you hope to see in the new restored version of the Super Mario Bros. Movie? (25:29) What video games suffer the most from being played on unintended hardware? (30:37) Dirtbag Devils Blush asks: Who is your favorite developer of games you aren’t interested in playing? (39:33) As a player, when can you feel the absence of a cut feature the most? (43:21) How do you make a cool video game desert? (48:01) Who is the Guy Fieri of video games? (53:02) LIGHTNING ROUND: Product Placement (58:47) Discuss this episode among generally polite and universally cool people in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Misophonia Ys: Origins Thief: The Dark Project Project Milo insaneintherain Microsoft Surface coffee table uWink SPARTAN-458 Jiu Jitsu (2020) Breakdown Tom Petty - Breakdown (Live 1985) En Vogue - My Lovin’ (Never Gonna Get It) Nvidia GeForce 3 What Are Vertex And Pixel Shaders? Bump Mapping U.S. Games, a subsidiary of Quaker Oats NEMO Super Mario Bros: The Morton Jankle Cut The Thief and the Cobler: Recobbled Cut Video Game History Hour Ep. 23 - Working on Donkey Kong Country and Dinosaur Planet with Kev Bayliss & David Wise Warlock Warlock’s transparent logo screen Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure Eternal Champions VectorMan The Adventures of Batman & Robin dithered and undithered EVE Online Jeff Minter Will Wright Polyphony Digital Final Fantasy XV Dragoon Lady Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (2016) Dark Sector Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords Phantom Dust Planet Earth II Tom Brady Guy Fieri Cliff Bleszinski Tingle Daxter Sobble Peter Molyneux Tomonobu Itagaki Hideki Kamiya Recommendations: Frank: Video Game History Foundation “Blind Box” Vintage Video Game Magazines Brandon: Enjoy the media you’ve collected over the years, The Brat - Attitudes EP John: DF Retro, Retrotink 5X Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Washington Post Video Games Reporter Gene Park joins the panel to cover 3D growing pains, Magic: the Gathering card theft, and the return to that mountain of murder, Violence Island. Questions this week: From Mathew Kumar: What’s your “ol’ trusty” game peripheral? (03:34) Which franchise presented the more exciting future this week: Dragon Quest or Sonic the Hedgehog? (08:37) How has eBay’s recent reorganization impacted game history preservation? (14:04) Violence Island: Sonic’s Best Friend (19:39) Dirtbag Official_Danimalz asks: When was the “awkward puberty” of video games? (31:35) What makes a video game timeless? (36:05) What are the best murders in video games? (41:29) What should you never do when titling a video game article? (45:39) What is the Dragon Quest of movies? (51:27) LIGHTNING ROUND: Achievement Unlockers (57:07) What are YOUR answers to these immaculate questions? Share in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Mario Monsters Sector NGP Gene’s Virtua Fighter 4 Review (it’s at the bottom of the page) 30-50 Feral Hogs Game & Watch Multi-Screen: Green House Karateka Dragon Quest announcement stream Sonic announcement stream “Sonic Rangers” Rangerx eBay enacting adult content ban Tundra Miles “Tails” Prower Shadow the Hedgehog Amy Rose Cream the Rabbit Big the Cat Blaze the Cat Knuckles the Echidna Rouge the Bat Cheese the Chao Chao Slices Big the Cat meets Blaze the Cat Knuckles Rap Illyana Rasputin 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Vampire Savior Battle Arena Toshinden Jet Set Radio Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP Earth Defense Force Earth Defense Force: World Brothers OutRun Super Smash Bros: Mealy Street Fighter III: Third Strike Asuka 120%: Final Burning Fest Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Kasumi Ninja Murdered: Soul Suspect Tenchu: Stealth Assassins The real tragedy of Ethan Winters, Resident Evil’s ‘Village’ idiot by Gene Park Betteridge’s law of headlines “Saturny Nights Fever” Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2020) Recommendations: Gene: Subscribe to your local newspaper only if they’re good, twitter.com/genepark, Launcher, Frank: The old Perry Mason is on Paramount+, though note that this is not a recommendation of Paramount+, Good Deal Games Brandon: Slay in Hell by Steel Bearing Hand, mention insert credit when buying Genesis games from Good Deal Games for $5 off Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

With our regular host recovering from vaccination, Riot Games’ Alex Jaffe steps in along with Insert Credit correspondent Mathew Kumar to dig into our Dirtbag of Patreon subscriber submitted questions. (Content warning: conversation takes a pretty morbid turn in question 5. Also it’s a Mathew Kumar episode, so there is some swearing.) Questions this week: What should Brandon do with all these copies of TV Sports Football and Hockey? (06:37) TheFragranceOfDarkCoffee asks: Whats the best heist in video games? (12:17) Yeso asks: What personal problem in your life would make a good Yakuza sidequest? (17:57) Shun asks: Design a Kanye West-focused Nintendo game (23:53) Ravioli asks: What video game attack move would you want to be killed by? (28:23) Billy asks: Name two video games each in ten seconds each, then rank those games (34:29) Kyle in Montreal asks: if the main character of a game were to become the director of a sequel to that game, what would it be like? (40:14) Skebump asks: What would a new Panzer Dragoon game look like in 2021? (44:34) Shin asks: What is the most engaging video game credit sequence? (49:13) Sam B asks: Who is the Marcel Proust of video games? (53:49) LIGHTNING ROUND: Emptying the Dirtbag (54:36) Think YOU have better answers than the panel? You don’t! But you can discuss the episode here in the insert credit forums. A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Mario Monsters, which DOES feature our usual host Alex Jaffe Project L Friend of the show Patrick Miller Alphabear Road Not Taken Steambirds Alliance Bushido Bear Alex Jaffe’s GDC talk, Cursed Problems in Game Design TV Sports: Football TV Sports: Hockey Cody at Pink Gorilla 22cans 96 Tears by ? and the Mysterians Corpse Killer Maniac Mansion Monaco: Whats Yours Is Mine Shots by LMFAO ft. Lil John Due Process Frozen Synapse Grand Theft Auto Online Tender Major Minor’s Majestic March Blazing Lasers Ninja Spirit THE TOP SIX GAMES OF QUESTION 6: Super Mario Bros. Sensible World of Soccer Mega Man 2 Earth Defense Force 2017 Android Assault Cuthbert Goes Walkabout Frank’s Cuthbert tweet and game covers WarioWare series Antstream Panzer Dragoon: Remake Moebius The Incal Sable Space Harrier Katamari Damacy ending credits Super Monkey Ball ending credits Metal Slug ending credits The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021) What Remains of Edith Finch Jonathan Blow’s jar of pee (warning: photo of jar of jonathan blow pee) Esper Note: the correct answer to question 9 is NieR: Automata. No I’m not going to link it, go beat NieR: Automata. Marcel Proust David Cage Recommendations: Mathew: Check out decolonizepalestine.com, BDS, donate to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund Brandon: itch.io Solidarity Bundle for Palestine Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Translator and media critic Kazuma Hashimoto joins the panel to cover zabbing bloboids, the three hundred and twenty six pathways of Shadow the Hedgehog, and The Masked Tuber. Questions this week: Liz Ryerson asks: What’s the hot new genre of video game in the year 2050? (06:11) Is there a spectrum of quality for pachislot games? (11:02) What defining element of a video game series do you wish the developers would be more flexible with? (15:43) What were the most self-ruinous business decisions in video game history? (19:59) Friend of the show Ash Parrish broke a story this week about a $10 calculator app for the Switch. What features can we expect? (24:42) Dirtbag Deadbeat asks: What is the most interesting reason you have stopped playing a video game? (30:24) Repeat from last week now that we have an expert: what are the components of an ideal RPG party? (35:45) What are the best video games you can’t play anymore? (40:06) When will we know vtubers have officially peaked? (45:18) What is the Jurassic Park of video games? (50:14) LIGHTNING ROUND: Review Scale Calibrations (56:31) Think YOU have better answers than the panel? You don’t! But you can discuss the episode here in the insert credit forums. A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Ys series Yakuza series Yanya Cabalista Resident Evil VIllage Mancala PACHI-SLOT biohazard PachiPara series Shadow the Hedgehog’s 326 Pathways 38 Studios N-Gage The Wait Is Over: Calculator Debuts For Nintendo Switch by Ash Parrish Nier Replicant v.1.22474487139 is the square root of 1.5 Donkey Kong Jr. Math Mavis Beacon Undertale Beyond Good & Evil Genshin Impact censors “Hong Kong” and “Taiwan” Final Fantasy XII Vaan Fran Lulu Uncharted: The Lost Legacy World of Warcraft Classic Lineage II Ragnarok Online MapleStory P.T. Metal Gear Online Kizuna AI Hololive Inugami Korone Gawr Gura Final Fantasy VIII Intro Mr. Bones Wayne Knight Bullit (1968) Recommendations: Brandon: Dreams of the Carrion Kind by Disincarnate, G2 (1999), Frank: A big book of unreleased NES games Esper can’t find a link to because Frank doesn’t even attempt the title Kazuma: +81 Podcast, Shusenjo (2019), HazVsRPG, Kagenaga on twitch Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Liz Ryerson triumphantly joins the panel to cover DDR dance pads, Batman games, and Burger Time Royale with Cheese. Questions this week: What are we learning about the video game industry from the Apple v. Epic court case? (03:52) What would be an interesting game series to play a Shuffler of? (09:04) Is there something you’ve wanted to see video games do for a long time, but once they finally did it you weren’t that impressed? (15:25) Which property-based video games take the greatest liberty with their source material? (20:33) Design a new non-dance game for the DDR pad. (26:25) Dirtbag Spencer asks: What makes a definitive edition of a video game definitive? (31:07) What game has the best party members? (36:41) Is there anywhere for the Battle Royale genre to go from here? (41:47) When have you had to lie about how you felt about a video game? (46:43) Who is the John Swartzwelder of video games? (52:34) LIGHTNING ROUND: Donkey Kong Universe - Phase 1 (57:11) Think YOU have better answers than the panel? You don’t! But you can discuss the episode here in the insert credit forums. A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Phanto Mask Sonic Ice Cream Epic v. Apple Epic Payouts Enter the Gungeon Celeste Everything Bizhawk Emulator Suite Sonic Shuffler Mr. Friendly by JP LeBreton Bennett Foddy’s Multibowl Sonic 4 Sonic 4ces Batman: The Video Game The Adventures of Batman & Robin PC Engine Batman ZX Spectrum Batman McKids Popful Mail Waterwold SNES Waterworld Soundtrack Incredible Crisis Space Channel 5 Deee-Lite Fullmetal Alchemist! Mimikyu Nuzlocke Challenge XCOM: Enemy Unknown Anachronox Battle Royale (2000) Kinji Fukasaku Paul Verhoeven Black Book (2006) Burger Time Pro Player interview John Swartzwelder’s interview Jeff Minter The Time Machine Did It Steve Ditko Colossal Cave Adventure Danielle Bunten Berry Recommendations: Frank: Beat Nier Replicant, get bored on the second playthrough and watch the endings on YouTube (both Jaffe and Esper strongly recommend against this) Liz: Tomato Way trilogy Brandon: Touch and Go by Toshiki Kadomatsu, Returner (2002), Get your parents and grandparents vaccinated Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Jim Stormdancer, developer of Frog Fractions and host of Topic Lords joins the panel to hearld/warn of the return of The Noid, how to craft an ARG, and The Insert Credit Greatest Game of All Time (ICGGOAT). (Content warning: This episode contains strong language.) Questions this week: We Need To Talk About The Noid (00:57) What game did you have to learn to like before liking it? (06:29) Is there a line between surprising players and not giving them the game they paid for? (09:34) What do we have to say about NFTs? (15:27) Which game series have the most interesting naming and numbering conventions? (20:08) Dirtbag Kory asks: What are the best games about electricity? (25:52) What are the game design principles behind a good ARG? (31:39) What would your video game vanity license plate be? (37:53) What’s the best Star Wars game, and how could you make a better one? (40:57) What is the Paddington 2 of video games? (46:13) LIGHTNING ROUND: Adjectivity (51:33) Think YOU have better answers than the panel? You don’t! But you can discuss the episode here in the insert credit forums. A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: The Noid Hatsune Miku <3 Avoid The Noid Yo! Noid KFConsole Dr. Muto Dr. Neo Cortex Ys Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes Warlock Frog Fractions King of the Hill “Full Metal Dust Jacket” NFTs Long Blockchain Corporation List of Kingdom Hearts games NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… Driv3r Battle Frenzy Herzog und Herzog Zwei Zwei und Zwei 2 Megamanx 9 Stories 9 Rooms 9 Whatevers Shenzhen I/O Chibi Robo!: Plug into Adventure! Gunpoint Elec Man Electrician Hansha de Spark! Pipe Dream Frog Fractions ARG What’s That Game? on the insert credit forums Train Hot Dog Podcast Sea of Thieves GTA2 Star Wars: Dark Forces Star Wars Super Star Wars Star Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order Battlefront und Battlefront Squadrons Star Wars Holiday Special Paddington 2 (2017) Babe: Pig in the City (1998) Kuron and the Jelly Islands The Quiet Man Recommendations: Brandon: Dance Volunteer by Portable Rock, Pensieri di Nessuno by Words And Actions, Gozu (2003) Frank: Play video games on easy Jim: The Hat DLC which is no longer on sale, Topic Lords Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

A half hour bonus episode of unaired material, previously exclusive to Patreon subscribers. Subscribe now for more like this! Original music by Kurt Feldman. (Ep. 175) Brandon explains who could potentially enjoy the film Pyscho Gore Man and talks about how incredible Mark Dacascos is. Special Guest Topher Docfuture Florence explains what he would have liked Batman: Soul of the Dragon to be and discusses Hong Kong filmmaking economics. Frank identifies which Daredevil comic Brandon is talking about. (Ep. 176) Brandon is frustrated by a Metal Gear Acid purchase and discusses The Grapes of Death. Frank makes a pun and recommends Metal Gear 2. (Ep. 176) Extended break. Frank doesn’t know what to do with the phrase “Golden Teet” and the strip club Crazy Horse Too. Special Guest Ash Parrish knows which one of the panel doesn’t write erotic fanfiction. Jaffe is upset about by A to X Video Outlet. Brandon solves the problem. (Ep. 176) Jaffe’s chewing again. Brandon just watched Reign of Fire. Frank was talking with a couple guys from Rare about Dinosaur Planet. Special Guest Ash Parrish has seen all the Olympus Has Fallen movies. (Ep. 176) Extended post-show. The panel, joined by Special Guest Ash Parrish, absolutely dogs on the box art for Monster Maxx. Jaffe asks a question he almost saved for a future episode: What is the qualitative difference between a 94% review and a 96% review? We make fun of the British again. (Ep. 178) Extended break. Special Guest Mathew Kumar discusses how we’re all going through it during the Pandemic and breaks down the No Woman No Cry equation. Jaffe makes a pun. Special Guest Kris Graft is taken aback by the hatred for Geometry Wars. Brandon explains how Insert Credit show works. Subscribe at any level to receive monthly episodes just like this, and much more exclusive content! Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Fanbyte writer and podcaster merritt k sits with the panel to cover the darkness within Viva Pinata, Bad Boy Reggie Fils Aime, and an explanation of what Touhou actually is. Original music by Kurt Feldman. (Content warning: This episode contains strong language.) Questions this week: From Ash Parrish: Congress has a button to destroy all video games, and you’ve been brought in to convince them not to press it. What’s the worst game to present? (03:25) What are the most egregious cases of falling upwards in the video game industry? (08:47) What game did you come around to liking after vocally disliking before playing? (14:12) How do video games express extreme speed, without sacrificing control? (20:06) Leaving aside Lester the Unlikely, what is the most unlikely video game? (24:45) Dirtbag Derek asks: What do you predict will be the cause of the next video game renaissance? (32:16) What’s happened in the Japanese indie game scene since Cave Story? (38:14) What examples of fans officially taking a game forward have worked out? (42:58) What is the Alvin and the Chipmunks of video games? (48:52) LIGHTNING ROUND: Seven Virtuous Minigames (54:40) Think you have better answers than the panel? Politely discuss this episode in the Insert Credit forums. A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Blind Box Vintage Game Magazines Primus - Too Many Puppies Ash Parrish Six Days in Fallujah Hyperdimension Neptunia Viva Pinata Genshin Impact Battletoads Turbo Tunnel Danganronpa Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad Gravity Rush Kudo Tsunoda Reign of Fire Phil Harrison Kickin’ ass, takin’ names, makin’ games Crusader of Centy 99 Potions James Rolfe Oh, Deer! Rocket Knight Adventures Faster Than Speed Lester the Unlikely Wild Woody Land Before Time Air Bud Mister Mosquito Bee Simulator Deadly Premonition 2 Jersey Devil Glover Normy’s Beach Babe-O-Rama Sgt. Rock game Gumby vs. The Astrobots Snoopy vs. The Red Baron Jackbox Every Ninja Turtles reboot Touhou Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin Sonic Mania Dizzy the Egg Toxic Avenger Alien cartoon Robocop cartoon Total Recall Tool Assisted Speedruns Rabbids Alan Sherman Toki Tori Toki Recommendations: Brandon: Clazziquai - Remix Pinch Your Soul, Yukiko Tanaka - Reflection, Nobody (2021), Enter The Fat Dragon (2020), recognize the misogyny and colorism in Baahubali Frank: Feel free to pirate games, Gumby Merritt: Fanbyte, Fanbyte Podcasts, twitch.tv/fanbyte Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Game journalist and friend of the show Ash Parrish returns to cover Amiga AI, alien boyfriends, and pynball. Questions this week: From Heather Alexandra: What game has the tastiest potions? (03:53) What’s something you never want to see in a video game again? (08:27) What are the best achievements in video game AI development? (12:56) Which officially released video games are most transparently fanfiction of other games? (17:37) Design the perfect romancable alien RPG NPC, but make them distinctly nonhuman. (22:27) Dirtbag MoxBagel asks: How would you re-design pinball to be more of a 30 minute game instead of a 3 minute game? (28:40) Have you ever wished a game challenged you a little more? (34:53) What are the best liminal spaces in a video game? (39:41) Has your opinion of a game ever changed after speaking with the developer? (43:53) What is the Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” of video games? (49:52) LIGHTNING ROUND: Alphanumerous Characters (55:26) Think you have better answers than the panel? Politely discuss this episode in the Insert Credit forums. A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Iron Maiden The Seventh Sign (1988) Synesthesia A Healer Only Lives Twice Phantasy Star Bayonetta Castlevania Holy Water C.C. Lemon Final Fantasy Potion energy drink Bawls Mamotte Knight Ico The Last Guardian Enemy: Tempest of Violence Final Fight River City Ransom X-COM Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee Lemmings Yooka Laylee Fantasian Doujin games Melty Blood Touhou fangames I Wanna Be The Guy Freedom Planet Project X Zone Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Inuyasha Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Elcor Volus Blue humans Babylon 5 Trypophobia (warning: potentially upsetting) Tryptophan Misophonia 3D Pinball Pinball Quest Devil’s Crush Demon’s Tilt Alien Crush Fantastic Pinball Pokemon Pinball Sonic Spinball Metroid Prime Pinball Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball Yoku’s Island Express It Takes Two The Witness Nier: Automata Deadly Premonition Mega Man 2 ending cavern Sonic CD soundtrack “Games for which there are two soundtracks, and both are good” on the Insert Credit Forums Black Athena: How Hades Gets Its Gods Right by Ash Parrish Slap Happy Rhythm Busters Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” Super Mario Galaxy Spec-Ops: The Line Wii Sports Take Five Street Fighter IV Mortal Kombat III Recommendations: Ash: Kotaku Splitscreen, twitter.com/adashtra Brandon: Fourth Dimension, Melinda’s Hot Sauce Frank: Shaquanda’s Hot Pepper Sauce Jaffe: The Unknown (1927) This Week’s Insert Credit Art Jam Topic: Cheating Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Twenty years of insertcredit.com, as remembered by past and present contributors. Featuring Vincent Diamante, Chris Woodard, Azurelore Korrigan, Patrick Miller, and more. Questions this week: What do you remember about the GP32, and how does obscure hardware fit in Insert Credit’s taste? (07:20) What are the best video game comeback stories? (11:42) If Insert Credit could secure the film rights to any video game, what would it be? (16:09) What gets changed when porting a video game? (19:19) What Insert Credit-type games influence Vincent’s music composition? (23:06) What is Tose up to now, and what other important game companies don’t we know about? (31:51) Insert Credit declared the death of print video game media on April 16th, 2008. Is that about right? (36:38) In 2009, there was some pontification on Insert Credit on what constituted “good” or “bad” video game journalism. Where do you stand on that now? (41:03) What are some of the most striking video game convention displays you’ve seen? (44:43) How did the cottage industry of new games for old consoles happen, and which ones are worth discussing? (49:50) How did the forums and community shape Insert Credit’s identity? (59:03) How can one still find obscurity on the internet? (01:09:03) What are the biggest differences between video game culture in 2004-2006 and now? (01:14:00) After all these years, how would you define your relationship to video games? (01:20:35) What the hell is wrong with video games? (01:24:54) How has Insert Credit changed since the start of the podcast? (01:44:53) How did you all go from writing about to developing and preserving video games? (01:49:24) Are video game blogs dead? (02:00:09) What are the best things to come out of Insert Credit? (02:04:40) Finish this sentence: Insert Credit is the _____ of video games. (02:09:15) Discuss these questions and obscure video game hardware in the Insert Credit forum thread for this episode. A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Lost Levels Vincent Diamante thatgamecompany Skullgirls GP32 Arcturus: The Curse and Loss of Divinity Astonishia Story White Day: A Labrynth Named School Corum III: Chaotic Magic Gamasutra Punch-Out!! (Wii) NieR Puyo Puyo Windjammers Wonder Boy Hajime no Ippo Asuka 120% Clue (1985) SoundTeMP Sky by thatgamecompany featuring music by Vincent Diamante Kingdom Hearts 100% ending featuring Insert Credit watermark Tose Co. Ltd. Interview: Tose: Game Development Ninjas by Brandon Sheffield Game Developer Research Institute Jason Schreier Gizmondo Phantom ApeXtreme N-Gage Colors Intellivision Amico Star Odyssey SGDK Super Fighter Team Piko Interactive Stone Protectors MadMan’s Cafe Peter Molyneux The GIA Insert Credit Show Episode 13 - Shave and a Haircut, with Justin McElroy Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Iron Man Captain America: Super Soldier Shoryuken Forums The Molydeux Game Jam Lost Media Wiki Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night Edge Magazine Flower The Last Blade 2 Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex for PS2 Drag-On Dragoon cavia inc. Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

The panel opens the Dirtbag, joined by game developer and composer Tyriq Plummer. Also covered: petty attract modes, the steamy details of Wario’s parentage, and Bleomard Nimoy. Questions this week: David asks: What are your favorite home console attract modes? (01:33) Big Steve Lasanga asks: is the pursuit of “legitimacy” by prestige games a creative dead end? (04:46) Sam asks: Why aren’t there more genre mash-ups in video games? (09:22) Shun asks: what would a Quadruple A video game be like? (12:10) Thundercricket asks: What is the most practical dungeon in a video game? (14:49) MoxBagel asks: How would video games be different if Sega was the dominant console manufacturer today? (18:36) Graphite asks: What are the most notable video game misreadings? (21:58) Aldo Leopold asks: is cranking the resolution in a PS2 emulator playing “the real game”? (25:32) Daniel R asks: What are the selling points of quadruple-A game Steampunk 1877? (29:00) TheFragranceOfDarkCoffee asks: How do you recommend a competent and enjoyable but not remarkable game? (32:27) Kiko asks: Is it possible to reboot Seaman? (35:41) Anders M asks: What countries besides the US, Japan, and UK put out the best games? (38:23) GigaSlime asks: What celebrities would you cast in your expensive vanity project? (41:58) George Rohac asks: What about video games still gives you hope for the medium? (45:30) Eric Eaton asks: What is the Bob Dylan of video games? (49:45) LIGHTNING ROUND: Spilling the Dirtbag (52:47) Think you have better answers than the panel? Politely discuss this episode in the Insert Credit forums. A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Exile Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes Samurai Showdown Yakuza 4 A Mind Forever Voyaging Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War Final Lap Twin World Court Tennis Volleyball Shooter by Necrosoft Games Available Now on Stadia and Google Play Pass AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!: A Reckless Disregard for Gravity SNK vs. Capcom: Cardfighters’ Clash 2 - Expanded Edition Mister Mosquito PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (puh-SAS-burr) Phantasy Star Online Undertale Sylvan Tale Phantom Dust L is real 2401 IDARB Super Mario Bros fans are panicking over rumors that Mario is going to die by Clare Duffy, CNN Business Parasol Stars Godzilla v. Kong (2021) Venom • Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night Seaman Brendan Fraser Doom Patrol Christopher Lambert LeVar Burton Conan O’Brien in Death Stranding GrandPooBear Avery Brooks Moses Sumney Jim “Somebody” Guthrie Ozzy Osbourne Jaleel White Alf Heathcliff Nancy Comix Zone Crusader of Centy Chulip Celeste A Short Hike Wandersong Bob Dylan Papers Please Disco Elysium Captain Blood Mizzurna Falls Mother 3 Soul Edge Mortal Kombat Wizardry series Recommendations: Brandon: On-Gaku: Our Sound (2019), Night of the Kings (2020), Katedralen by Mork, The Insert Credit Art Jam Tyriq: Catacomb Kids, twitch.tv/fourbitfriday, Mid-Air Thief, Crumb, Frror Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Special guests Kris Graft of Gamasutra and Mathew Kumar of Future Club join the show to rank the top 20.17 Xbox 360 games of all time, as well as discuss unconventional promotion techniques, vanilla cake, and living to see yourself as a robot. THE INSERT CREDIT XBOX 360 TOP 20.17: Deadly Premonition Left 4 Dead NieR Gestalt Dead Rising Bloody Checkers Halo: Reach Gears of War Mamotte Knight Pac-Man Championship Edition Rock Band Lost Planet 2 Lost Odyssey Bullet Witch Ridge Racer 6 Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved Trials HD Iron Brigade Crackdown Vidiot Game Castle Crashers 20.17. Earth Defense Force 2017 Got a different list, or think we missed something big? Come politely discuss the list in the forums! A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: MTV Presents Xbox The Next Generation Revealed Presented by Elijah Wood with Special Guest Performance by The Killers Interview: Astro A-Go-Go: Designing the Xbox 360 “The Big X” Xbox prototype GameTap Women in Refrigerators Yaris Big Bumpin’ 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Gears of War “Mad World” trailer Burger King Games The Oliver Twins Bomberman: Act Zero Back 4 Blood Blue Dragon OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious Action Button Reviews Pac-Man Lit - My Own Worst Enemy George Harrison’s Son Vanquish Vidiot Game Free on Steam OnLive Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Double Fine’s Heather Alexandra joins the panel to cover Jerry Lewis, beating coins out of people, and The Ultimate MacGuffin. Questions this week: Previously on Insert Credit 20: You encounter someone who, quote, “plays video games for the story.” What games can you assume they own? (7:12) What does it mean to be a community manager for a game studio that mostly makes single player games? (12:35) What are the most video gamey things you’ve seen in real life? (18:04) It’s been one year since we all went into a global quarantine. How would video games be different right now if that never happened? (23:06) The Adaptation Game: Yakuza movie (27:49) Dirtbag Kory asks: What is the most underappreciated button on a controller? (32:20) What is the best MacGuffin in a video game? (37:25) Frank’s question: How would you design a video game museum? (40:48) What tea blends would you match with games? (48:37) LIGHTNING ROUND: Blue Rogue’s Code (52:59) Think you have better answers than the panel? Politely discuss this episode in the Insert Credit forums A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Skies of Arcadia Danganronpa Firewatch Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV Jerry Lewis Gallagher Gallagher’s Gallery Double Fine’s Discord Insert Credit Forums Everwild Fig Supergiant Grim Fandango Austin Walker Brent Porter They Live Intellivision Amico Gunsport By Necrosoft Games Available Now On Google Play Pass Yakuza 0 Baka Mitai Turbografx controller VMU buttons Dreamcast controller Jaguar controller GameCube controller The Duke MacGuffin Chaos Emeralds Big Whoop The Empty Lot Ankaran Sarcophagus Amulet of Kings Piece of Eden Rain Room David Crane Cyber Doll Blue Rogues Sakura Taisen Bryce Boltzmann Recommendations: Heather: To The Horizon, Psychonauts 2, Lapsang tea, Kukicha tea Frank: DG Voodoo 2 Brandon: Ploho, Morwan, D’LaVance, Moondog, Peppermint Bark tea, Turmeric Three Root tea, Unicorn Grass tea Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Ash Parrish rejoins the panel to cover Final Fantasy XIV’s superiority, the Screaming Idea, and G4M3R5. Questions this week: Previously on Insert Credit 86: What games not originally designed for arcades would best make the transition to arcades? (01:58) What specifically makes Final Fantasy XIV the best MMO game? (05:17) Which games have benefitted the most from changing course during development? (10:37) What game features the greatest distance of quality between how good the music is and how bad the game itself is? (15:42) The pandemic is over, and each of you is opening up a barcade. What do you name it? (20:44) Patreon Supporter THX Deep Note’s #1 Fan asks: If you could design a startup jingle for a video game console, what would it sound like? (28:28) What are some things that video game fans THINK they want, but won’t actually enjoy? (33:36) What is the longest you’ve ever struggled with a particular challenge in a video game? (38:44) Topher “Docfuture” Florence gives this challenge: Design a singular controller to be put into a time capsule that will be the only controller to play all console games. It can have any button or stick configuration, but is arbitrarily limited to only 3 “gimmicks.” (44:07) Who is the Meghan Markle of video games? (49:31) LIGHTNING ROUND: Guess That Fanfic (54:29) Think you have better answers than the panel? Politely discuss this episode in the Insert Credit forums A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Michigan J. Frog Push Up Push Pop Push-Up Bra Ribbit King Hades Blitzball Flappy Bird Scribblenauts Firewatch Ring Fit Adventure Super Mario Run Stupid bad Rayman ad Final Fantasy XIV Clash Royale Deadly Premonition Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida Yoshi’s Island Plok PachiPara series Disaster Report Okami Sunsoft Games Hover Strike Picross Final Fantasy XIII Dirge of Cerberus Original Pokemon cave theme Crank Yankers theme Dreamcast startup jingle Gamecube startup jingle Playstation startup jingle Xbox startup jingle Xbox 360 startup jingle That tall vampire lady in the new Resident Evil Extra-Dimensional Biological Entity Nier Automata “Idiot Savant” sidequest Exile: Wicked Phenomenon Ouendan Fullmetal Alchemist theme Celeste Area 51 Seaman Meghan Markle Glu Mobile Clementine She’s Gone Gone Gone Rewrite From Which All That Was Pizza Date Among the stars we fell in love Acts of God The Confession of a Lifetime Game Boy box art Frank drops in the chat after the show Recommendations: Brandon: Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar (2021), Frankie Rose’s Cage Tropical, Crazy Samurai 400 vs 1 Ash: Kotaku Splitscreen Jaffe: The Tobolowsky Files Frank: The Video Game History Hour Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Topher “Docfuture” Florence joins the panel to cover holographic divorce, appeasement of the Froot Brute contingent, and Lammypedia. Questions this week: Previously on Insert Credit 31: Design a game for the Star Trek holodeck. (06:36) Which games in genres with traditionally minimal or completely absent narratives have the most compelling stories? (12:05) What would Animal Crossing be like if Tom Nook were as villainous as internet memes say he is? (17:38) Which corporate mascot has the most potential as the star of a great video game? (22:43) If there was a Friends video game, what would the strats be to speedrun it? (28:59) Patreon Supporter MoxBagel asks: In an alternate reality your favorite game that deserved a sequel but never got one just had its 10th game. What is it like? (33:31) What are the good Twitch streams and Let’s Plays for the discerning Insert Crediter? (38:10) Which video game characters should guest star in the next season of Scooby-Doo, and what should their episodes be about? (43:18) From Liz Ryerson: What would a DocFuture prestige TV show look like? (48:53) What is the Police Dogs of video games? (54:05) LIGHTNING ROUND: Death by Degrees (57:08) A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED: Dilton Doiley Archie Meets the Punisher Holodeck Facade The Orville Seaman Black Tiger Bonk’s Revenge Katamari Damacy Ribbit King Mitch Hedberg Tom Nook donates 90% of his proceeds to an orphanage Yo! Noid Chester Cheetah: Wild Wild Quest Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool Tony & Friends: New Adventures - Invasion in Kellogg’s Land Flo Cap’n Crunch’s Crunchling Adventures Chex Quest I Wanna Be The Guy Deception KFC Dating Sim Crazy Craving, the “Me Want Honeycomb” guy Friends: The One With All The Trivia Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures Shatterhand Um Jammer Lammy EyeToy Linda^3 For Frog the Bell Tolls Video Chess Fallout: New Vegas - You Only Live Once Lance McDonald’s PT Explorations Retro Pals Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? Hanna-Barbera’s Pac-Man show Kids Incorporated Hammerman Life on Mars (American series) WandaVision Sex House Kevin Can F**k Himself The King of Comedy (1982) Dog Police Strong Bad Hampster Dance Frog Fractions Boggy B Tiny Kong SHODAN Commander Shepard Huang Lee Axel Pimple Brock Happy Mask Salesman Remeer Blue Suede Goo Mr. Resetti Battle Arena Toshinden MDK Recommendations: Frank: Phantasy Star IV: Ludonarrative and the Artistic Value of Classic Games Brandon: The Baddest by Toshinobu Kubota, The Changin’ Times of Ike White (2019), THE ALL NEW insertcredit.com !!! Topher: Lunatic Obscurity Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Liz Ryerson joins your favorite 7/10 podcast to cover the secret origins of CapyGames, the true name of the Saturn, and misunderstanding pixel art. Questions this week: Previously on Insert Credit #12: Which video game soundtracks are notable for their use of uncommonly heard instruments? (05:07) What musicians would you have chosen to celebrate Pokemon’s 25th anniversary? (10:06) Which video games are the best at inducing claustrophobia? (15:28) Which is better: games about upward movement, or games about downward movement? (21:09) Improv Zone: Salty Bet Commentary (27:17) Patreon Supporter Malcove asks: What is the best 3-player game? (34:42) What’s with Sony shuttering Japan Studio? (39:45) Is it time to retire pixel art in video games? (48:48) Frank’s Question: What do we think of modern pixel art emerging as a misunderstanding of classic pixel art? (53:58) What is the forgetting to defrost your ingredients until right before it’s time to make dinner of video games? (59:47) LIGHTNING ROUND: Name Design - Tennessee Williams Plays (01:01:28) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Content warning: Brandon says a swear at 53:03, but it’s justified. Special guest Lotte May joins a Tim-less panel to have a chill hangout. This episode is a Chill Version features three new lofi tracks from Kurt Feldman! Questions this week: Previously on Insert Credit #14: If you could send 3 portable games to everybody in the world, what would they be? Game Boy Color edition (04:26) How will strategy guides in the Library of Congress benefit future Americans? (09:37) Why are some games so much better when played on smaller, portable screens? (15:44) What are your favorite pieces of bespoke, custom made video game hardware? (20:47) It’s 1995. What games would you design to enhance the launch library for the Casio Loopy? (26:06) Patreon Supporter MoxBagel asks: What game would you give a young Brandon Sheffield to change his destiny as an inveterate Nintendo hater? (30:50) When and how is the color pink best utilized in a video game’s color palette? (36:27) It has now been 24 hours since the February 17th Nintendo Direct aired. What can you still remember about it? (40:13) What is the worst advice you’ve ever gotten about your video game industry job? (46:14) What’s a game that would be worth making for an old system? (50:57) LIGHTNING ROUND: The Blank of Video Games: Coffee (57:44) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Permanent tracheal damage, Geoff Keigh3, and Dr. Wowy’s Pee Factory. Questions this week: Previously on Insert Credit #10: What can we expect from the upcoming Metal Gear Solid movie? (4:56) Frank’s question: What do you say to someone who wants your career in video games? (10:17) Remember E3? It’s back, in streaming digital presentation form! Is there no turning back now? (16:44) If we define a perfect game as one which exhausts every satisfactory application of its core concept, which games fit that definition? (22:25) The Adaptation Game: Saturday Night Live (28:43) Patreon Supporter Meghan Murphy asks: what game has the best post-game? (35:27) What’s the right amount of random chance to use in a video game? (42:20) What are the greatest lengths to which you have ever gone to play a particular video game? (48:06) What are the best bombs in video games? (53:40) What is the finding a long, crispy french fry in your order of onion rings of video games? (59:16) LIGHTNING ROUND: Playing Flavorites: Mega Man Robot Masters (01:05:13) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Bad jokes, meaningful treehouse hangouts, and the Five Best Video Game Magazines Of All Time. Questions this week: Previously on Insert Credit #123: What would be the worst movie to license as a beat-em-up? (02:21) What’s keeping big tech companies from breaking into video games after Microsoft? (07:42) What is executionally the worst joke you have ever seen in a video game? (13:21) Which human video game characters would be most valuable to examine for medical science? (19:39) What are the top five video game magazines of all time? (25:34) Patreon Supporter Beaion asks: What game are you always trying to get your friend group or social circle to play and why won’t they play it? (31:43) What are the ideal personal and environmental conditions which must be met before you play a video game for a long period of time? (38:28) When do you feel like you need to start an unfinished video game over from the beginning before you can finish it? (42:53) What was the best day you ever had just playing video games? (48:34) What is the “figuring out how to use the shower in an unfamiliar bathroom after a long day of travel” of video games? (56:50) LIGHTNING ROUND: Trademark-Free Video Game Valentines (01:01:53) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Earthworm Jim didn’t invent the 90’s, he was just there. Questions this week: Previously on Insert Credit: What’s the most backhanded compliment you could give a video game? (02:52) Can we harness the feedback loop of gacha games for good? (09:33) What pair of short video games would make the best double feature? (14:58) Biolence Island: Viohazard Protagonists (20:31) Patreon Suppoerter John Beyer asks: is it wrong to play old video games and remakes instead of new video games? (32:50) If you weren’t aware of the credits, would you be able to tell Balan Wonderworld is a Yuji Naka game? (39:40) What video game actions would be more fun if they were decompressed? (46:23) Who are the Dexys Midnight Runners of video games? (50:33) Explain Gamestop stock manipulation to your mom. (56:03) LIGHTNING ROUND: Stock Market Tips & Tricks (01:03:13) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

A last minute guest cancellation means double value for you! Jaffe presents the panel with Quora.com’s top twenty video game questions at three minutes a piece. Quoras this week: Jay Sapinsky asks: how do you spot gamers in real life? (06:06) Nor Reza asks: What about Fallout Lore bothers you? (08:57) Aditi Triveti asks: What is the most messed up thing you’ve ever done in any video game? (11:49) Anthony Andranik Moumjian asks: Is it bad to leave a gaming PC on all the time? Can it damage the PC? (14:56) Andre Xast asks: Hulk will protect you from the final bosses of the last 3 video games you played. Do you live? (17:35) Kaan Kala asks: How difficult is legendary difficulty in Skyrim? (20:21) Nor Reza asks: What is something in the Call of Duty games that makes no sense? (22:02) Kyle Dring asks: Why are low morality games so popular? (24:11) Lily Shen asks: What is the cheapest thing you’ve done to win a video game that wasn’t technically cheating? (27:39) Anonymous asks: How do I find inappropriate games on Roblox? (31:21) David P. Black asks: Do soldiers in wars actually throw empty mags like in video games? (35:15) Sam Bunn asks: What game feature or animation makes you think “This person must’ve had a lot of fun making this?” (37:36) Nor Reza asks: What if you woke up in a video game and there was no way out? (40:39) Ryan Nelson asks: Are there any games that punish or mock you for playing it in a certain way? (43:18) Sean Kernan asks: What’s the furthest a parent has gone to get their kid to quit gaming? (46:10) Ryan Russell asks: What are some things that only gamers would understand? (49:01) Christopher Abrahams asks: Why do Marvel games not made by Sony feel like they are pandering to MCU fans? (50:33) Nor Reza, King of Video Game Quora asks: Why are support classes so dang boring in video games? All you do is heal people and it doesn’t feel rewarding. (52:56) Craig O Grant asks: What’s your favorite Minecraft trick and how do you do it? (56:16) Anonymous asks: Why is video gaming a “teenage” thing? (58:22) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

The only game of the year podcast willing to say, On Main, that VR isn’t video games, Sonic The Hedgehog The Movie is a game, and Dragon Quest XI came out in 2020. Alphabetical Nominees (Unranked): 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (09:39) A Short Hike for Nintendo Switch (14:00) Animal Crossing: New Horizons (18:18) Blaseball (25:03) Deadly Premonition 2 (28:45) Demon’s Souls Remake (32:44) Disc Room (37:02) DooM 64 for Nintendo Switch (41:25) DooM Eternal (46:10) Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition (49:56) Final Fantasy VII Remake (53:57) GG Aleste 3 (01:01:01) Hades (01:07:17) Half-Life: Alyx (01:11:51) Ikenfell (01:20:22) Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (01:26:28) The Last of Us Part II (01:30:14) Spider-Man: Miles Morales (01:35:58) Streets of Rage 4 (01:40:26) Yakuza: Like a Dragon (01:45:27) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman. THE FINALIZED AND RANKED 2020 TWENTY: Yakuza: Like a Dragon A Short Hike for Nintendo Switch Ghost of Tsushima Demon’s Souls Remake Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition Final Fantasy VII Remake Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Animal Crossing: New Horizons Hades Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition Deadly Premonition 2 The Last of Us Part II Spider-Man: Miles Morales Disc Room DooM 64 2020 DooM Eternal Hyperspace Delivery Service for Nintendo Switch GG Aleste 3 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Patrick Miller victoriously rejoins the panel to cover high literature, experimental film, and the ultimate fighting game tournament arc. Questions this week: Previously on Insert Credit: What can you tell about a person based on their fighting game style and preferences? (04:41) As far as video games go, what is and is not cyberpunk? (10:50) What studio which has never made a fighting game before could probably make a pretty good fighting game? (16:36) What did Adobe Flash mean for video games over the past 24 years, what have we lost, and what can be saved? (22:12) Design The Great Gatsby 2 (28:00) Which video games make you feel the heaviest? (34:40) What are some games you went too easy on? (40:32) What is the Eraserhead of video games? (46:34) Giant-Sized Violence Island: Fighting Game Protagonists (51:35) LIGHTNING ROUND: Patreon Suporter Grandbag’s Funeral presents Name Design: Baskin Robins Ice Cream Flavors (01:03:40) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

The greatest video games ever made, ranked…again! The panel weaves through a new elaborate structure to determine, inarguably, the best video games of all time. Final List: DooM [Action] Celeste [Platforming] Mother 3 [Narrative] Dragon Quest V [RPG] Outrun 2 [Driving] Raw Danger [Adventure] Valkyria Chronicles [Strategy] Castlevania: Symphony of the Night [Metroidvania] Phoenix Wright [Visual Novel] Link’s Awakening [Action-Adventure] Capcom vs. SNK 2 [Fighting] Saturn Bomberman [Party] Stardew Valley [Sim] Hades [Roguelike] VIDEOBALL [Sports] Final Fantasy XIV [MMO] Dragon Quest Builders 2 [Creative] Baba is You [Puzzle] LoL [E-Sports] Genshin Impact [Free-To-Play] Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Some podcasts pull up old audio and call it a day, but when Insert Credit goes retro, we do it up right. All-time great questions return anew for fresh answers. Questions this week: Who are the greatest frauds in video games? (09:52) How would you adapt Bartleby the Scrivener into a video game? (15:13) Which video game characters who have never met before would you set up for a blind date? (19:28) What is the exact middle game? (24:04) What the hell is wrong with video games? (29:01) A national pizza chain has hired you to choose the games to emulate on their arcade cabinet; but they can only be abandonware by defunct publishers. What do you choose? (32:13) If there were a video game convention where only one company could represent each country, who would be there? (37:35) Who is the Prince of video games? (43:16) How could we save Sega by readjusting their timeline? (48:50) What’s the Day the Clown Cried of Video Games? (53:43) LIGHTNING ROUND: Pokedexperts (01:00:39) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

The most wonderful time of the year descends upon us. The panel covers fishing, fancy finishing, and Finland. Questions this week: What was the last innovative use of 3D space in a video game? (04:04) What should I mean when a video game receives an award for “Best Direction”? (08:55) Why are fishing minigames so ubiquitous, and what’s the best one? (13:40) Are there any really good adaptations of video games into physical games? (18:12) How would you adapt the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade into a video game? (22:11) Patreon Supporter Gwifblymth asks, what’s going on with Treasure? (27:17) How good was the TurboGrafx-16? (35:40) What’s the Christmas Game? (40:52) What is the Cheesecake Factory of video games? (48:34) LIGHTNING ROUND: Name Design: Christmas Songs (55:26) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

Special guest Heather Anne Campbell of Whose Line Is It Anyway, Twilight Zone and How Did This Get Played joins the crew to discuss economics, Eddie Vedder, and an extremely good Improv Zone. Questions this week: Does something need to be done about poor performance and understanding of console transition games? (06:53) What is your favorite video game you’d still consider a bad game? (12:59) What’s the most interesting economic system in a video game? (18:12) What’s the most spectacular video game award show failure? (23:24) Which video game characters would most likely sign up for a UCB class? (29:18) Improv Zone: Video Game Characters in UCB Class (34:25) Question by Patreon Supporter Cera Sophia: What are the underappreciated creative/production roles in video games? (39:15) What can you tell about a person based on their fighting game style? (45:24) What can someone say to convince you to check out a game, in four words or less? (50:25) What is the Neon Genesis Evangelion of video games? (54:35) LIGHTNING ROUND: Slogan Slingin’ (59:33) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.

A nearly educational episode, featuring time travel, masterclasses, and film director name pronunciation. Questions this week: Let’s fix the Sega Timeline (03:23) How can video games reward and encourage patience? (08:48) Who would you ask to teach the Game Design Masterclass, and who would actually do it? (14:55) Which video games have the most upsetting color palettes? (20:50) The Adaptation Game: 2001: A Space Odyssey (26:09) Question by Patreon Supporter Blue Milk: Who would you cast as the Kacho for an American GameCenter CX? (31:26) If you had to place five video games on the elemental plinths from The Fifth Element, what would you choose? (37:45) If Nintendo released a new version of R.O.B. today, what would it do? (43:17) Which video game has the best map? (48:07) What is the Freebird of video games? (53:25) LIGHTNING ROUND: Pokedex Entries (58:47) Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.