Couch Podtatoes

I was unable to make the show this past week (and also didn't blog as much as you could probably see) because of a pre-planned visit from my sister, so Eri took the reigns and found a couple of guests to join her in a discussion about character customization in MMOs and other games. This is a topic she wanted to discuss previously, but something I really have little to no interest in, so it was a perfect time for her to run with it, leaving me out altogether.    Eri was joined by Dan Ryyu from VGR Show (another gaming podcast) and Jaedia (who has been on the show a few times already). I'm glad to see they didn't burn the place down in my absence. So have a listen, and see how you like an Izzy-free show. 

It's another Digital Frontier episode with Doone. This week we talk about diversity of class within the gaming industry. It's a discussion that affects us all, no matter what socio-economic background you may come from, though it affects some of us more than others. We touch on a number of topics within the overall subject of classism, and related to gaming, in our usual sarcastic fashion. Don't miss Eri's "snifflestep" outtake before the intro. This may become a thing, but you'll have to listen to see what I'm talking about. Listen, download and subscribe below. Tell your friends!

This week we're doing a rehash of an old idea. You'll probably recognize the title, as we've had two other episodes that were also called "Talking Points." Basically I just rounded up some various news stories, and we briefly talk about each before moving onto the next. With some recent conventions and other big studio closures, we have plenty to cover. That's really all there is to it, so listen in and enjoy!

This week we've gone back to the well again, and this time we came up with Randark from the Return of the Retro podcast and blog. Like the similarly titled episode before it, which guest starred Wolfy's Eyes, this is a show where the community member comes up with the topic for discussion and we delve into it. As you will hear during the introduction, I plan to make this a regular feature, probably somewhere around once a month or so, and if you are interested in joining us, let us know in the comments or via Twitter. Of course, if I don't hear from anyone by the time this comes around again, I'll put out the casting call on Twitter myself. This time around, Randark wanted to talk about the Toxicity of Gaming Communities, so we spent quite a bit of time talking about League of Legends, Smite, MMOs, and forum and blogging communities. We also try to come up with some solutions to the problem, but as we all know, there hasn't been a great way to solve this problem yet, and it's not going away. Anyway, enjoy the

This week we're taking a look at the new MMO on the block, Crowfall. It's kickstarter is already almost funded, and stretch goals may also be met (if they're added). We dive into what the game is all about, and how much different it is than other MMOs currently on the market or in development. We also talk about some other niche MMOs that felt related, in that they have different ideas that the rest of the genre seems to be avoiding. That's really all there is to it, so listen in and we'll catch you next time.

It's a bit late but late is better than never right? Due to my lack of attention, I wasn't able to secure Doone's participation in the show this week until the weekend, so we're releasing episode 34 a tad late, but Doone made it and we had a great discussion about the current state of crowd funding, touching on recent stories about Massively Overpowered, Daybreak Games, and the Peter Molyneux interview on Rock, Paper, Shotgun. We discuss the ethics of crowd funding and where we see the future of the industry going, gaming journalism as well. Are you ready to enter the digital frontier, once again?

This is part two of our previous week's discussion, this time we answer similar questions about gaming when looking through a political lens. The first ten minutes or so devolves into us just talking politics, so you can skip that if you wish, but if you are unfamiliar with political leanings outside of your own country, it might be insightful. Overall this show is basically a repeat of the last, while swapping topics, but that isn't to say it wasn't an interesting discussion! Roger and Jaedia helped us fill out the discussion once again. Take a listen and enjoy!

Welcome back for another episode of Couch Podtatoes! This week we lured Jaedia and Roger back to the show to help us tackle a controversial issue. The topic at hand is Religion in Gaming, and/or how Religion can affect games. It’s the standard guest format once again, where we talk about what we’ve been playing and then dive into the discussion. We present our religious affiliations and then I ask some important questions of the group, giving my own feedback as well. I think it was done in a way that won’t offend anyone, but I was unable to get any diehard religious folk to take part in the show, so it may be a little one sided. You be the judge. Enjoy the show.

I took to Twitter earlier in the week and asked for a volunteer to come onto the show. The idea was that instead of just having a guest on the show for a pre-planned topic, we would instead let the guest pick our brains and come up with their own topic, and just roll with it. An organic conversation full of interesting ums and ahs should follow, right? The person who took up the call was none other than Chris, from the blog Through Wolfy's Eyes, whom we've spotlighted a time or two in the past. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts to accommodate time frames, Eri had a scheduling conflict so she was unable to make show time, so I'm happy to present the "Sausage Fest Edition" of Couch Podtatoes. I won't spoil any further surprises, so dive right in, when you're ready. 

This week we're taking a look at the controversy surrounding H1Z1's launch. I happen to be playing the game as you all well know, and I happen to enjoy it, and don't see what the big deal is. Eri is respectfully disagreeing with me on more than one issue, so we hash it out for a bit. Coincidentally, we're also talking about another controversy that popped up during the week, where Heroes of the Storm went into Beta, and Blizzard decided to throw "founder's packs" into the mix, adding more fuel to the already hateful Early Access fire. Count them for our Idiots on the Internet this week. Lastly we take a look at Aywren's blog once again, where she wrote an interesting piece on storytelling in MMOs, and how mediocre it is these days. Let the battle begin. Fight!

As I said last week, we did a longer recording session, so here's the latter half of that, which is Doone's Digital Frontier in its entirety. It's a fun discussion based on his post that you can read over here. Basically we talk about how we identify ourselves in games, how gender effects people's viewpoints of others while playing together, and a bunch of other subtopics that meld into the complete package. Did that sound official enough? Okay, good. I'm done here. Enjoy the show!

This week we have Doone back on the show, but only as a guest. We did a long recording session so he will be back next week as well for the Digital Frontier segment. It's been a while since he was on the show so it was nice to have him back and poking fun at him and each other. We had some good jokes in this episode, in my opinion, I know I laughed quite a few times during my editing session. I've had changes to my schedule so I think we've worked out our recording schedule so there shouldn't be any more delays to future shows, so that's good news.  Our topic for the week revolves around future tech that is forthcoming and some cool technological advances that are presently coming out. We were inspired by the movie Back to the Future, as one of the scenes takes place in the year 2015, so we thought it would be cool to compare our current tech with ideas that have been presented in games and movies of the past. It's a pretty interesting conversation, so have a listen and enjoy!

After taking a week off, it's a New Year and we're talking about what games we are most anticipating in 2015! We catch up on what we've been doing and what we picked up during the Steam Holiday Sale, and then we dive into a number of titles that we can't wait to play. Later we take a look at some of the Holiday blogging events that just wrapped up in our little community, including Bloggy Xmas and Listmas. You can find links to those sites down in the notes. I also added my list of most anticipated games in the notes as well. We'll be back to regular schedule for the foreseeable future, so get caught up and we'll see you again next week!

This week's show is a little different in that it's not a usual show. It's more of a year in review of the podcast, where I took some of the funniest or most memorable bits from all of our shows of this year and compiled them together to make a show that's (hopefully) full of laughs and insightful bits. I have a lot of fun putting this together, so I hope you enjoy taking a ride through time with us. That's really all I can say, so take a listen and enjoy!

Being December, the year is coming to a close. We chose to round up some of the best games of 2014 and talk about them. To pick these games, we just decided that they had to have released (or entered early access, or completed [think episodic games]) in 2014 and we had to have played the game. As such, some of the games that we chose as our favorites might not line up with yours, but you might also be made of money, and we are not (at least, I'm not). Our lists had a little bit of cross over and I think that the discussion that ensued was pretty fun. Light-hearted if you will. We skipped over the other sections of the regular show format, and be warned we ramble a lot, so this show is on the longer side. It is our second to last episode of the year though, so why not? I should also mention that being episode #25, and the month of December, we've now been around for 6 whole months already! Thanks for keeping us motivated by listening, commenting, reviewing, and generally being a part of the community. Here's t

Welcome back to the show! This week we dive into the culture of gaming, and really, the culture of the Internet as a hole. I'm not sure if you'll notice, but we've been taking more of a free-form approach to our discussions in recent weeks, not really being as structured and just letting the conversation flow to where ever it may. I think it's made for some organic conversations, and it's a little more casual, laid back and accessible. Anyway, we talk about some of the good and bad stuff when it comes to gaming culture, and then insert some personal experiences and other related stories into the mix. Personally I've been having a lot of fun with the show as of late, so I think that should reflect in the finished product. For Idiots on the Internet we take a look at the recent CS:GO Dreamhack tourney debacle, and then we highlight the fabulous Bloggy Xmas Holiday Countdown that was started by Syl of MMO Gypsy, of which I have already made my contribution. So have a listen and enjoy!

For episode #23 we’re going to be taking a look at the vast differences between eastern and western games, from their marketing ploys to the gameplay contained therein. This devolves into a rather long rant about many social and cultural differences between the two sides of the world, but is interesting nonetheless. Later we take a look at a banned Kickstarter attempt, where a couple of guys who have already claimed credit for a few other pranks were trying to fund a rather weird gaming peripheral. Lastly, we talk about a recent post on Hardcore Casual, where Syncaine talks about burnout being a myth. Take a listen, and enjoy the show!

Hey everyone, and welcome back to the show! After a short hiatus, we're back in full force with not one, not two, but three special guests! The hosts of the Cat Context Podcast, which is also a member of TGEN, have all joined in this week's discussion all about the psychology of gaming. We didn't get too in depth or scholarly, but we touched on many points that I think are important when it comes to the subject, and were worth taking a look at. I can't take much of the credit though, as J3w3l was the brainchild for this discussion. Arolaide and Elly joined us and unfortunately Liore was tied up with a meeting to begin with, but caught up with us towards the middle of the show. I think we had a great discussion and some witty banter, and I hope you enjoy this week's content! You can check out Cat Context and the other guests' blogs/twitter streams in their contact info below. Their podcast is full of the same kind of witty banter, and also covers a variety of gaming-related topics much like this one, so if you

This week we have returned to our tried and true format, which means we'll talk about what we've been playing lately, have a discussion, make fun of Idiots on the Internet, and finally, spotlight a post from our community. The discussion for this week is on Seasonal Events, as Halloween just passed and other holidays are around the corner, meaning MMOs and other games will be adding events for us to partake in. We give our take on those, and some suggestions to how they might improve. If you recall, there was a story recently about a landfill being exhumed and a bunch of copies of old crappy Atari games were discovered. Those are now for sale on eBay, so of course we had to make fun of the people buying trash. Lastly, we toot Eri's horn a bit by spotlighting her post on The Face of Gaming, and have a little fun discussing that. Take a listen below, and don't forget to subscribe/review us. Enjoy.

Hello everyone, and Happy Halloween! Before we get started it has to be said that we had a show done, where Murf (From Murf Versus) and Ellyndrial (from the Cat Context Podcast) joined us for a couple of hours and we had a fantastic discussion. Unfortunately my Skype recorder decided to only record one side of the conversation. I’d like to thank those guys for taking time out of their schedules to join us, and to apologize that it ended up being for nothing.  So, me and Eri attempt to cover mostly everything that was talked about, or at least get the major points across. I know it’s not the same, but we wanted to get something out there. As such this ended up being a shorter episode than what we’ve been running. The topic at hand is the removal of levels from MMOs, and options to use in lieu of them.