Gaming Podcasts: A Thread about Listening to Others

[LazyBoy]

@Ronnie & @Julius much appreciated, I shall give them a listen.

[Nicktendo]

I've gone off all IGN stuff now, it's been ages since I've listened to NVC, though I do still love Brian and Peer!

Enjoyed E3 with EZA, watched all the big conferences which I missed with them and it was fun as always watching their reactions and hype. I still think they are the best in the biz, even if I agree with the general consensus here that the podcast has slipped in quality recently. They have content for everyone, so I regularly watch Frame Trap and Friend Code and skip the stuff that doesn't interest me. It's great that they're such a group of diverse guys who all have their special area of knowledge as Sam mentioned above. Basically, any gamer can find something for them with EZA and none of them have ever annoyed me to the point that other gaming outlets have (there's always one or two people I don't care for). I recently became a Patreon as I consume a lot of their content and wanted to give something back, they truly deserve the support they get for their hard work.

 

[S.C.G]

Speaking of Easy Allies...

It's time!

[Hero-of-Time]

 

Man, first Ian's dad passed away and now this. It's a very rough period for the Allies. 

[Hero-of-Time]

The beach house banter is back this weekend.

It's VERY rare that I watch play through's of video games but I did pop in now and then during the 2017 stream when they played Super Mario Sunshine. 

For those not wanting to watch the video, here's the full line up.

Friday

• Donkey Kong Country 2
• Hitman 2
• Klonoa
• Sekiro

 

Saturday

• Alien Isolation
• Marvelous: Another Treasure Adventure
• Rugrats: Search for Reptar
• Smash Ultimate
• Cadence of Hyrule
• Golden Axe
• Crash Team Racing
• Blazing Chrome
• Resident Evil 2 Remake
• Super Mario Maker 2

Sunday

• Adventures of Cookie and Cream
• Shrek
• Captain Toad DLC
• The Messenger DLC
• World of Illusion
• Riverbond
• Crash Bash 

I'll probably take a look at some of the more quirky/retro stuff, such as Rugrats, Adventures of Cookie and Cream, Golden Axe, Marvelous and Crash Bash.

[Hero-of-Time]

I'm on watching the guys play DKC2 and its so easy to forget just how good the soundtrack is to the game.

I love how impressed Kyle is with the visuals of the game. I know a lot of gamers think the DKC games have aged badly in terms of visuals but I don't agree with this at all. What a trilogy. 

[killthenet]

33 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I'm on watching the guys play DKC2 and its so easy to forget just how good the soundtrack is to the game.

I love how impressed Kyle is with the visuals of the game. I know a lot of gamers think the DKC games have aged badly in terms of visuals but I don't agree with this at all. What a trilogy. 

The only problem I have with the visuals is the resolution, it looked super sharp back in the day but looks a little too blocky now. Honestly don't think they'd have to tweak much to release them again on Switch though, upping the frame rate would probably make the blockiness easier to accept. Unfortunately the only one I've actually finished is the first one but I remember renting DKC3 and loving it, just never got round to picking them up on SNES or Virtual Console. Fingers crossed Rare Replay on Switch happens and they pack in all of Rare's Donkey Kong games (and throw in Diddy Kong Racing for good measure!)

Only dipping in to Easy Living occasionally, will probably watch most of it on YouTube later on though - especially looking forward to Alien Isolation and Kyle's play through of Rugrats. It's definitely weird without Jones but I'm glad Huber has come back, it would have really missed his energy 

[S.C.G]

It's the weekend of Easy Allies - Aasy Livin' which can mean only one thing...

It's time for Ian and Don Hit the Beach With A Vengeance

[killthenet]

Ian and Don never disappoint! The trip to the Maritime Museum was wonderful, shame Simon came in and ruined everything with his blasted riddles.

[S.C.G]

I wasn't sure where else to put this, being that this seems to be true I'm surprised that there don't seem to be many other channels talking about it.

Essentially though, the organisation behind E3 leaked a whole lot of personal info and now there's a class-action lawsuit being formed.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[Ronnie]

What a dumb click-baity Youtube thumbnail. I hate hyperbole like that.

But yeah, a terrible situation.

[S.C.G]

11 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

What a dumb click-baity Youtube thumbnail. I hate hyperbole like that.

But yeah, a terrible situation.

Yep, it's why I don't watch half of the YouTube videos that I used to, but this time I had to see what it was about.

Somehow, I think E3 will keep going at least in some capacity but it really does make you wonder about its future when something like this happens.

[Hero-of-Time]

14 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

What a dumb click-baity Youtube thumbnail. I hate hyperbole like that.

But yeah, a terrible situation.

I didn't click on the video ( read about the situation over on Era when it happened ) but looking at the pic is it Dreamcast Guy? Dude is known for click bait titles and recently lost a lot of viewers for posting bogus rumours about the PS5 in an attempt to up his views.

I think he runs in the same circle as RGT85, Spawn Wave and Beat Em Ups, all of which are a waste of space.

[S.C.G]

15 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I didn't click on the video ( read about the situation over on Era when it happened ) but looking at the pic is it Dreamcast Guy? Dude is known for click bait titles and recently lost a lot of viewers for posting bogus rumours about the PS5 in an attempt to up his views.

I think he runs in the same circle as RGT85, Spawn Wave and Beat Em Ups, all of which are a waste of space.

Yep, I think I need to start going through and clearing out some of my subscriptions... to his credit, Dreamcast Guy has made some nice reviews but aside from that, recently...

Spawn Wave has some interesting technical stuff sometimes, but then again so does Madlittlepixel and I find his videos more interesting.

RGT85 and Beat Em Ups though... I haven't watched any of their videos in a long time.

I know it can't be easy to continually create videos, but there has got to be a better way than the current echo-chamber which has been ringing hollow for a long time now.

[Hero-of-Time]

3 minutes ago, S.C.G said:

I know it can't be easy to continually create videos, but there has got to be a better way than the current echo-chamber which has been ringing hollow for a long time now.

I would love to have seen what content they would be producing if the Switch wasn't a success. They've all latched on to the hot product and are just constantly churning out random top 10 videos. Did these guys do anything to help push the Wii U when that was around because I can't remember seeing them covering that at all.

I also hate the videos they do where they randomly spend hundreds of dollars on a mystery box of games on eBay and then open it on camera. 

It annoys the hell out of me that YouTube recommends me such videos but because I don't have an actual account I can't block them from popping up. 

Sadly, this is the state of the gaming scene, where click bait titles and stupid reaction shot thumb nails are the order of the day, while well produced and thought out gaming videos don't get the credit or views they deserve.

[S.C.G]

I agree with everything you have to say about Gaming videos on YouTube there @Hero-of-Time as it's sadly true.

It makes me even more grateful for the really amazing videos which do make it onto YouTube because there are some really good channels out there.

Someday I'd like to create some videos or contribute to some on N-Europe but I think it's got to be something that we can all agree is worthwhile.

I thought the work that went into the N-Europe Show was fantastic and I have every bit of confidence that we could create something like that again or bring it back.

I know these things take time and are a huge investment of effort but I hope that it's something we can work towards in the not too distant future.

Plenty of articles and reviews to post in the meantime though, speaking of which... there should be one appearing on the front page very soon.

[Ronnie]

Sadly it's not just games. The hysteria around Game of Thrones has shown that these past few months. YouTube also keeps recommending me a video on The Last Jedi (a film with 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, a whole 3% less than Endgame) with the thumbnail "A COMPLETE CINEMATIC FAILURE". Just f off, seriously.

Everything is either the greatest thing ever or the worst thing ever. Content creators and Youtube personalities feed on negativity. I just steer well clear.

Not saying that this E3 fuck up isn't a monumental blunder that'll have huge consequences, but clickbaity hyperbole can get lost.

[sumo73]

13 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I would love to have seen what content they would be producing if the Switch wasn't a success. They've all latched on to the hot product and are just constantly churning out random top 10 videos. Did these guys do anything to help push the Wii U when that was around because I can't remember seeing them covering that at all.

I also hate the videos they do where they randomly spend hundreds of dollars on a mystery box of games on eBay and then open it on camera. 

It annoys the hell out of me that YouTube recommends me such videos but because I don't have an actual account I can't block them from popping up. 

Sadly, this is the state of the gaming scene, where click bait titles and stupid reaction shot thumb nails are the order of the day, while well produced and thought out gaming videos don't get the credit or views they deserve.

Part of the problem is YouTube itself, it's ethos, it's attitude to content creators, it's algorithm and it's almost complete lack of communication skills. If you log into YouTube (and 90% of the time I don't) you still get videos pop up that I don't want to watch (having an account does not really change things much) and I'm getting to the point where I can remember the grammarly advert in my sleep. A lot of independent content creators have to create something that is going to attract attention, get the YouTube algorithm to notice it and eventually burn themselves out in the process. Channels like 'The Daily Show', 'Team Coco', 'The Late Show',.. I know are very popular but I have no interest in them but YouTube will promote them even though they are already very popular in America. The days of 'broadcast yourself' are completely over, welcome to the machine.

During the Wii U era part of the issue was Nintendo as well with it's odd 'Partners Program' which thankfully they have dropped but still you get YouTube channels saying things like '5 reasons why the Wii U sucks' and then '5 reasons why you should buy a Wii U in 201X', 'I bought a Wii U in 2019, Why?'... I even saw a Wii U video made in 2015 where the creator just changed the title to 2019 because they knew people would watch it more. Decent well made videos are out there but you will need more time to find them. I normally just ignore YouTube's home screen now and just use the search function.

[Dcubed]

It's also how the search and recommendations algorithm works.  It's designed in such a way that it rewards those who make those awful clickbait thumbnails and videos with idiots screaming into the camera.

 

There is plenty of good content on there, but rarely is it going to be the most popular; just because of how Youtube's algorithm rewards clickbait.

[nekunando]

I haven't finished watching it yet but I've now seen all of the nominees and it's by far the worst selection of games I've seen in the running to enter the Hall of Greats so far.. I think!

I think I can probably guess the two games that will make it but, for the most part, it isn't really a list for me

 

Edited August 8, 2019 by nekunando

[Hero-of-Time]

I've been listening to a lot of Retronauts stuff lately. I've ditched both NVC and RFN for the moment in favour of listening to Retronauts podcasts that are dedicated to a single game. I've listened to episodes about things like Devil May Cry, the PSP, Sonic Adventure, Symphony of the Night and the music from the original Tomb Raider games. There's some very interesting stuff scattered in each of the episodes I've listened to.

I finished listening to the latest Frame Trap this morning. Gotta love Ben. He seems to be the only Ally who is willing and wants to discuss things like microtransactions/lootboxes etc. and how they are damaging the industry. The rest of them either have no interest or are happy to just turn a blind eye. * points at Jones and Huber*

Speaking of EZA, I see they've had a bit of a shuffle and restructure. I was reading that their Pateron was taking a bit of a hit and that not only had the pledges stalled but they were actually going down, hence the need for these changes. To be honest it doesn't really surprise me. I've said in the past that a lot of their content just doesn't appeal to me and this seems to be the case for a lot of other people as well. There's far too much fluff and random stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with gaming. Frame Trap is still a top tier show and that's because Ben is a cracking host and they actually sit down and discuss games they are playing but the rest of their shows I can happily skip.

I'm really surprised that they've never done any weekly retro shows before. If you listen to them talk you can see big gaps in their gaming knowledge/history. For instance, hardly any of them seem to have had a Saturn or Dreamcast and I think a good show/podcast would be for them to look for past gems that they missed and then play and discuss them. The retro gaming scene is quite a big one now and I do think there would be some value in doing something with that.

[Ganepark32]

It is a shame if they're losing patreon supporters at the moment but as you say, there is a bit too much fluff and not enough of a greater focus from them on the content they're putting out. Their reviews are still by and large great but the rest of their content doesn't seem to be landing for me and I think part of that is to do with the fact that with 9 members, they'll all want to be doing their own things on top of the more group focused stuff and when you splinter your content into too many niche areas, you're always going to end up with stuff not landing with people, myself included, and spread the audience too thin to justify some of the shows they're doing. From my perspective, I haven't really kept up with what they've been doing because the nonsensical games and bits that Bosman seemed intent on shoehorning into the podcast kind of threw me off, on top of some members perhaps not being the most enthusiastic when it comes to discussions (Damiani and Brad have always been bad for this in particular).

I don't know how they can remedy that beyond simply focusing on creating a set of core shows and going from there. But showing a willingness to discuss things more openly on shows rather than shutting it down and burying their heads in the sand so they can maintain a neutral ground isn't something I want to see.

It's one reason I watch a lot of Kinda Funny's content currently. They're willing to have these bigger discussions and while they may not always be on the mark (such as any of Andrea Rene's bad takes on the Anthem and GTA 5 casino topics as examples and Greg's willingness to go along with it at the time only to speak up against it when she's not in the show the next day) they're at least doing those discussions which are a pivotal part of gaming discussion right now.

It sucks that they're not maintaining where they were patreon wise but I do hope they can bring it all back round. I was sad to see Danny O'Dwyer was having to drum up support for Noclip recently and while it's worked out, that did make me feel sad because the work the Noclip guys do is fantastic and so many people engage with that content on YouTube and while I understand there's so much content coming from so many directions, I definitely feel that Noclip is deserving of a lot more support than it gets for the sheer work and effort that goes into bringing these documentaries together.

[nekunando]

On 21/08/2019 at 8:48 AM, Hero-of-Time said:

I've been listening to a lot of Retronauts stuff lately. I've ditched both NVC and RFN for the moment in favour of listening to Retronauts podcasts that are dedicated to a single game. I've listened to episodes about things like Devil May Cry, the PSP, Sonic Adventure, Symphony of the Night and the music from the original Tomb Raider games. There's some very interesting stuff scattered in each of the episodes I've listened to..

It seems that I may have to give Retronauts a try

We all know I have more than a bit of a soft spot for a lot of retro games (well.. SNES and beyond, at least ) and I'd actually be interested in hearing the discussions from all of those episodes you mentioned, perhaps even starting with the PSP as, somewhat out of nowhere, I have started playing mine!

I'm mostly using it play some PS1 games on the go (There's a better selection of PS1 games on the store, and indeed on my PS3/PSP, than there is on the PlayStation Classic) so I'm tempted to give in and treat myself to a trilogy I think I recall you being fond of when you played it recently, @Hero of Time, and that's Spyro the Dragon

I definitely enjoyed the first game on PS1 a few years ago but have never played the sequels. I could absolutely wait to give them a go on Switch in the near future but I'm still not at all keen on the visuals of the Reignited Trilogy so figure I could allow myself to spend the £7.99 to download the PS1 originals onto my PSP. 

Having said that, I feel like I'm opening up a can of worms with these desires as I'm also now tempted the pick up the PSP version of the original Ape Escape (in spite of the fact that the lack of a second analogue stick is likely to remove some of the original's charm and playability) and perhaps Parappa the Rapper too (even though I have it on PS1 and PS4.. and genuinely think it might actually be terrible but yet I kinda enjoy it anyway  )

Would you at least recommend Spyro..?

[Hero-of-Time]

Honestly, I would just get the remastered version of Spyro. I love the original game but I think the remastered version surpasses them. Plus, having another control stick to help move the camera is always a winner.

Yeah, Retronauts is a great podcast. I just scroll through them and pick a game/episode that interests me and give it a listen. It's nice to hear people's thoughts on older games and I usually come away knowing something new. I quite like the format of a single topic/game being the focus of a discussion for an hour or two.

[nekunando]

4 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Honestly, I would just get the remastered version of Spyro. I love the original game but I think the remastered version surpasses them. Plus, having another control stick to help move the camera is always a winner.

Yeah, Retronauts is a great podcast. I just scroll through them and pick a game/episode that interests me and give it a listen. It's nice to hear people's thoughts on older games and I usually come away knowing something new. I quite like the format of a single topic/game being the focus of a discussion for an hour or two.

I like the sound of a single topic too, actually, and it kinda makes me think we could probably do that sort of thing around here.

I'd love to talk about old games, experiences and memories with some of you guys