Gaming Podcast Discussion

Games
#1

I’m not sure about you guys, but I listen to a lot of gaming podcasts during my morning and afternoon commutes. I love listening to them, but I often find myself wanting to react to what’s been said and to learn how others feel about particular episodes and whatnot. I realize that the various gaming sites have boards with threads dedicated to their podcast output, but I’d like to try a discussion thread here in order to avoid the jerks and morons that tend to clog up those boards. Anyway, if I’m the only one that cares, the thread will die a quick death and we can forget it ever happened.

I’m still plowing my way through the epic 3 hour 1upYours from last Friday. It’s an E3 wrapup show that quickly dissolves into drunken shouting. It’s too bad because they had a lot of great guests on, that many times couldn’t seem to get a word in edgewise. Shane in particular dominated the conversation.

My biggest takeaway from the podcast so far is that they completely wussed out when Randy Pitchford was on. Just a day or two before Shawn Elliott had been on ripping Gearbox’s presentation of Borderlands, yet Garnett and Shane never took the opportunity to ask Pitchford about it. I would’ve loved to have heard his counter to Shawn’s assessment that the presentation was way too “rah rah”.

I did enjoy Denis Dyack taking a chance to rip Unreal Engine 3 a little bit. I wish he’d gone into specific criticisms of the engine to support his statement that it’s not good, especially in light of the fact that a lot of pretty good games have been made with it.

Gaming Podcasts - Good, Bad, and Nerdy
#2

1up is sometimes interesting, but the Gamers with Jobs podcast, or the Conference Call as they call it, is always a joy to listen, being more a discussion around games than a discussion specifically about games…

#3

I’ve never listened to that podcast, but I’ll definitely check it out. I’m definitely a gamer with a job. Do they approach games more from the perspective of fans that are busy with their lives as opposed to dedicated games journalists? That sounds really interesting.

#4

There are so many topics per podcast (and a fair number of podcasts) that it might not be feasible to contain all discussion in one thread. If a topic from a podcast warrants a thread, I’m sure you’ll find some people here who are willing to discuss it. (Personally, I listen to the 1UP podcasts excluding Legendary Thread and Sports Anomaly, plus GWJ.)

As for the latest 1UP Yours, I enjoyed the poolside podcast probably as much as I enjoyed the first one. I don’t really blame them for not pressing their guests on many issues, though – they weren’t trying to mix too much business into the pleasure of unwinding. (N’Gai Croal in particular sounded like he needed to be poured into a taxi or a bed.) A few interesting comments came out, sure, but I didn’t head into it expecting the pinnacle of hard-hitting professionalism.

Oh, and about Shane dominating the conversation – take a look at any of the recent 1UP Show episodes which feature a “group discussion” and estimate what percentage of it is Solid Shane. Maybe it’s the editing, but I’ve definitely noticed that he gets a lot of air time.

#5

Yeah, that might be the case. I guess we’ll see. I prefer the 1up podcasts over others, so my posts would typically revolve around their stuff, but I will listen to some of the IGN podcasts, along with the OXM podcast if 1up’s podcasts aren’t enough to get me through the week. Typically only a handful of things ever strike me as worth discussion per podcast, so I tend to think it’s feasible to distill discussion to a single thread, but I surely could be wrong.

Ha ha! Yeah, I wasn’t trying to rip 1upYours too much, but it was less interesting with all the shouting and off mic discussion. Just a wasted opportunity with the glut of talent there. Still, I do appreciate them letting us in on that discussion, which I think would’ve happened whether they were podcasting or not.

I think Shane dominates discussions on podcasts and on the 1upShow partially because that’s how he is, but also because he has an opinion on most things. Sometimes he has an opinion on stuff he clearly doesn’t know much about, but for the most part the guy is pretty tuned in.

#6

I listen to 10-12 podcasts per week and always find myself wanting to talk about something they said but I hate the general forums on those sites. If you’re just listening to 1up podcasts your missing out. Gamers with Jobs, Drunken Gamers Radio, Joystiq, and IGN Gamescoop are all good too. Also, the Totally Rad Show is a great weekly geek show that I recommend.

As far as the epic E3 1up Yours podcast, I thought it was amusing. It was way too scattershot to be terribly informative but it was still fun to listen too. I wish Totillo and Croal would start a podcast. I’d be interested to hear their opinions but I don’t like their blogs.

#7

twitter twitter twitter…I think perhaps he was twittered out.

I like the podcast. I do miss the griefer guy however (Shaun?). The show where he was describing a particularly hilarious session of persistent GTA worlds online was brilliant. Killer clowns with dildos attacking player run police and running out of the jail is win in any book.

The E3 podcast was good I thought. I like their informal format in general, because it just seems like what you always get is an honest opinion of what they thought about the things they have seen the previous week. It’s far less “scripted” then some other podcasts feel like.

I actually liked it a lot better then the previous week’s diatribe about the dangers of professional opinions… (metacritic)

#8

I do usually check out Gamescoop! each week, but to me that (and Podcast Beyond) have devolved into a lot of squealing and yelling. The schtick on those shows is growing a little old, though Daemon Hatfield does a good job on Gamescoop despite all that.

I’ll check out your recommendations on podcasts for sure. I tried to watch the Totally Rad Show way back when they first had the guy on 1upYours, but I couldn’t get it to display smoothly on the decrepit laptop I use to watch stuff while I run on the treadmill.

Oh, and did anyone else think it was hilarious when they took some jabs and Mielke’s interviewing “skills” on the last 1upYours? I thought I was the only one that noticed in every interview he does (at least on the 1upShow) it’s always, “Your game is awesome. How awesome is your game?”

#9

I just started listening to 1upYours from 7/25 and I thought the discussion about NCAA 09 was pretty interesting. In particular I thought Garnett’s comments, or lack thereof, about the new one man reviews in EGM and Todd Zuniga’s A- for NCAA 09 were interesting. Both Garnett and David Ellis pointed out some problems with the game that they thought were significant, but they didn’t come right out and criticize Todd’s review. I know that A- has been the cause of some discussion and disagreement. My only comment on NCAA 09 is they STILL haven’t fixed passed out to the flat. If you throw the ball to a guy that’s running toward the sideline, he will, no matter how much field he in front of him, run straight out of bounds. That’s pretty frustrating.

I also completed my first listen of the Giant Bombcast and really enjoyed. It’s like listening to an old school Hotspot podcast, without Rich Gallup. I’ll definitely be adding the Bombcast to the rotation.

#10

I listen to the PC gamer podcast. Its not great but its nice and relaxing most times.

I have a love hate relationship with games for windows podcast. I haven’t listen to it for weeks but I had to check out the episode with Rod Humble. I don’t know if any real Sims info was talked about. I made it as far as Elliot wanting to talking about the sex lives of Jeff’s and Rod’s kids when I had to shut it off.

I was listening to the bombcast. As it was said before, its like gamespot of old. However since the website isn’t going to be all that, I’m planning on dropping it.

1up is just too freakin long.

Just can’t find a really great gaming based podcast anymore.

#11

When do you typically listen to podcasts Rob? I listen to them on my commute, so length is never an issue. I can see how it might be if I had to settle in and just sit there to listen to a podcast at home.

As for the Bombcast, what does the layout of the site have to do with your enjoyment of the podcast? I’m legitimately asking, not trying to be a dick.

The Rod Humble GFW Podcast was great, but if you want a big discussion of the Sims, it didn’t deliver much of that. Rod was very funny and interesting though. I’d fully support him being on the podcast full time. That’s how good I thought he was. I thought the constant inquiries into what Rod’s wife thought of his gaming habits to be a little strange. Jeff and Shawn sort of went back and forth for a while asking Rod all about his wife’s opinions, past the point where it made any sense to continue doing so.

#12

Gamers With Jobs podcast. It has just the right mix of people gabbing about games and a clearly laid out agenda.

If I only catch one podcast a week, this is the one.

Troy

#13

Game Theory isn’t too bad. Not-GfW Radio tends to drift before you even click play :/

#14

The GWJ show is also very well produced. You can understand who is talking and what they are saying. They don’t talk over each other, much. They have a pretty well defined, although flexible, format so you know what to expect. They use good mics and a high quality mix, etc.

#15

I’m a little surprised at how many people don’t like GFW Radio. It might just be my favorite podcast. Yeah, it tends to ramble, but I actually like that about it. It covers a lot of topics and is always entertaining. It also never devolves into shouting and overtalking, which sometimes happens with 1upYours.

#16

One other cool aspect of the GWJ podcast is that the people on it aren’t scared of being blatant fanboys. But it’s all in good fun. This is the type of thing that would never work on a typical messageboard because you can’t joke about anything without someone getting super offended.

#17

That would be your backlash in full effect, which is fine.

The discussion last week with Rod re: his wife and his gaming habits is probably my fault. That’s just a pet topic of mine, as a hardcore gamer in his 40s with a non-gaming wife. So if I meet someone in a similar situation, I’m interested in probing the dynamic. If it went on too long or whatever, that’s my fault for finding interesting what may bore the daylights out of others. :)

Duly noted for the future. (And next time, Rod, you can tell me to shut up!)

#18

I thought the Rod Humble podcast was fine, since it addressed a question that I’ve always been interested in: Do producers and PR people know when they are showing a crappy game?

Troy

#19

I didn’t mean to say it ruined the podcast by any means. I found the answers interesting to a point, but it just went past that a little bit. My girlfriend and I live together and she doesn’t play games at all. She certainly doesn’t hang out with me while I play games, but I also don’t worry about what she thinks or if she “approves”. I’m sure it’s a little different for you married guys, especially those with kids, but I never feel the need to have my girlfriend’s approval or permission to play games.

#20

Another vote for the Gamers with Jobs podcast.

There are several things I love about them that set them aside from either GFW radio (sorry Mr Green) or Game Theory (Sorry Mr Whitta). They have a clearly laid out format that allows for a lot of flexibility in discussion. Basically, its Games they playing right now (talk about those) ----> Topic of the week, which ranges from how they feel about sandbox gameplay to AOC: love it or hate it -----> emails, which they will willingly disagree with their fans.

They’re also unashamed about admitting their positions, so you can feel free to disagree with them and call them idiots. They don’t mind. They have high quality mikes, and is a generally well produced podcast, and everyone talks like they’ve been friends for years, freely ribbing on each other and making in jokes you’ll get if you listen for some time. It’s like hanging out with a bunch of gamer friends.

Also, lately, they’ve been roping in some awesome interviews with gaming celebrities. Felicia Day, John Carmack, Ken Levine, Turbine, etc. It’s cool to listen to a lot of designers actually given free reign to talk about how they design, rather than the end user feedback.