Author Archives: Earl

Gone Home

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This episode, we go through Gone Home! We invite over Brent Peckham again and newcomer Susan King to talk about the critically-acclaimed indie game, unravel its narrative and themes, compare it to Bioshock and The Stanley Parable, and the possibilities of storytelling in video games. And of course we inevitably get off track by pitching terrible ideas for sequels. So grab your cassette player (or whatever you folks have in 2013) and press play! (Full spoilers for this episode.)

Guests:
Brent Peckham
Susan King

Supplementary notes:
Gone Home Trailer

Audio notes: (58min. runtime)
02:50 – Recommending the game, and its price tag
07:30 – Sam’s story, and exploring the secondary storylines
13:55 – Uncle’s story, the dad’s story, and being a writer
19:00 – Family, trauma, and sexuality
24:05 – The mom’s storyline
29:05 – Building tension, subverting expectations, and game length
35:55 – Comparing to Bioshock and The Stanley Parable, and the potential of games
41:05 – The Fullbright Company, exploration, and narrative
46:10 – Structure, game elements, and pitching ideas for future games
50:35 – Comparing to Resident Evil, music and sound design, and player agency
54:45 – Experience watching other people play games

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Arcade Fire – Reflektor

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This week’s episode is all about Arcade Fire’s new album Reflektor! We’re joined by Hilary Johnston and surprise guest Daniel Vo-Ngoc to talk all about the new LP, how it compares to their discography, and comment on their label of being “the #1 rock band in the world”. Along the way, we also end up talking about where their songs have ended up in other media, reflect on what the whole album means, and offer up a few other music recommendations for you. Here comes the night time, so head on home and check out the episode!

Guests:
Hilary Johnston (@hilary_johnston)
Daniel Vo-Ngoc (@DoctorVog)

Supplementary notes:
Reflektor Hockey Night in Canada Opening
Yamantaka//Sonic Titan – Hoshi Neko
Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 2

Audio notes: (56min. runtime)
01:40 – First experience with the band
08:25 – Concerts, more live sound, and album cohesion
16:30 – Licensing songs, and Hockey Night in Canada
20:00 – “The #1 rock band in the world” and marketing campaign
27:20 – Reflektor and favourite songs
30:35 – Album length and structure, and comparing to The Suburbs
36:30 – What’s next for Arcade Fire
40:20 – Greek mythology, Black Orpheus, mirror image, and the album’s message
48:45 – Albums that grow on you, and final opinions
52:05 – Hilary and Dan’s recommendations

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Follow us (@AKOPPodcast or @phillerworks) or email us at akop@phillerworks.com!

The Walking Dead

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In time for Halloween, this episode is all about The Walking Dead! The comic’s recently done its 100th issue, the TV series is back on the air, and the video game’s just posted a trailer for its new season, so it’s a perfect time to talk about the whole franchise. Earl brings Brent back to talk about the zombie post-apocalyptic series, its growing popularity, critique its writing and characters, and how the games deal with the illusion of choice. And somehow, Brent manages to compare the show to Burn Notice. Board up the windows and shamble over to that play button! (Spoilers up to Issue #48, Season 3 of the TV series, and Season 1, minus DLC, of the game.)

Guests:
Brent Peckham

Supplementary notes:
The Walking Dead Game – Season 1 Trailer
The Walking Dead – Season 1 TV Trailer
Bioshock Infinite baptism controversy

Audio notes: (1hr. 6min. runtime)
02:05 – Intro to the franchise and its popularity
17:05 – The Walking Dead video game
25:05 – (Spoilers start here.) Treatment of female characters, and writing
33:50 – Differences between comics and show
35:55 – The game, illusion of choice, and the Season 1 ending
45:15 – Comparing with The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite
52:50 – Nebulous crossovers, and does the series go too far?
59:55 – Connecting with the characters

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Follow us (@AKOPPodcast or @phillerworks) or email us at akop@phillerworks.com!

The Comedy Boom

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On this episode, we take a look at the growing phenomenon of the comedy boom that’s happened in the past few years. Earl and Tony have recently dived into podcasts, which have led to a diverse discussion about what’s going on with the shows on Comedy Central, Louis CK’s creative and comedic works, how everyone seems to know each other in the community, and what the “democratization of culture” means for comedy. Along the way, they set up jokes with varying degrees of success, talk about some of their favourite podcasts and comedians, and realize how much content is out there.

Guests:
“Danger is my Username” Tony

Supplementary notes:
John Oliver takes on Carlos Danger
Patton Oswalt’s JFL Keynote Speech

Audio notes: (1hr. 1min. runtime)
01:30 – The Daily Show with John Oliver, and The Colbert Report
09:20 – Patton Oswalt’s speech and the comedy boom
12:45 – Louis CK and executing comedian’s style and vision on TV
25:30 – Comedy Central’s shows and “The next Chapelle’s Show”
37:00 – Everybody knows everybody else
38:50 – Online comedians, Picnicface, and Canadian comedy
41:50 – Comedy podcasts, Bill Burr, Aziz Ansari, and Pete Holmes
55:55 – The democratization of culture

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!
Follow us (@AKOPPodcast or @phillerworks) or email us at akop@phillerworks.com!

Gravity

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On this episode, we weigh in on the film Gravity, which exploded after its screening at TIFF this year! Earl pulls in Parker Mott to discuss why they’re more reserved in doling out praise for the lauded film, why it’s hard to recommend any movie with a well-oiled hype machine, and what they liked and didn’t like about it. Plus, Earl suggests a possible sequel idea, and Parker recommends another film for those repelled by Gravity’s charms.

Guests:
Parker Mott (@parkermott) – Writer & film critic for The Final Take, Scene Creek, Next Projection

Supplementary notes:
Official Trailer

Audio notes: (34min. runtime)
01:10 – Crash course on Gravity
03:05 – Recommending hyped-up media
06:05 – Music and sound design
08:15 – Long takes and visual structure
10:50 – Script, dialogue, acting
15:55 – Immersion destroys sense of isolation
22:00 – Meaning and emotion in film
24:50 – Film as spectacle, and viewing it outside a theatre
31:15 – Bela Tarr’s Werckmeister Harmonies

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!
Follow us (@AKOPPodcast or @phillerworks) or email us at akop@phillerworks.com!

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