Tag Archives: mass effect

Storytelling, Ghosts, & Pop Culture Wormholes

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On this episode, Earl and Shawn hang out with Keith McNally before he ships out for the Maritimes! They fall down the pop culture rabbit hole of ’80s TV shows, cancelled series, movie novelizations, and Keith was up to in ye olden days of the internet. They also get into storytelling, how it works in video games, branching storylines, and rag on Bioshock Infinite a lot. And along the way, Keith reveals his wrestling magazine knowledge, Shawn wants to start a Josie and the Pussycats tumblr, and Earl invokes the vengeful spirit of Roger Ebert.

Guest:
Keith McNally (@keithmcnally) – Host of The Vinyl Countdown

What we’ve been checking out:
Keith: High Maintenance (Webseries)
Shawn: Summer Games Done Quick (Speedrun videos)
Earl: Rectify (TV)

Audio notes: (1hr. 16min. runtime)
0:00:50 – Introducing Keith, olden days of the internet, Roger Ebert, and movie novelizations
0:09:50 – Firefly, cancelled shows, Quantum Leap, Sliders, The A-Team, and TV finales
0:18:35 – Books on games, Worlds of Power, working at a comic book shop, travelling, and stories in games
0:29:00 – Mass Effect, GTA, multiple endings, branching stories, and voices in Stanley Parable & Gone Home
0:41:05 – Bioshock series, travelling through space and time, comparing to The Last of Us, and Ghost of the Year
0:54:25 – Kentucky Route Zero, David Cage & Heavy Rain, playing hard games, and indie games
1:09:55 – What’s everyone checking out?

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
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Follow us (@AKOPPodcast) or email us at akop@phillerworks.com!

Growing Up Gaming

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Our first guest on the new format, Curtis Roberts, joins Earl and Shawn to talk about growing up gaming! They get into their favourite RPGs, accidentally breaking consoles, blocky controllers, switching to PCs, and their thoughts on RPGs these days. They also discuss Final Fantasy, Curtis’ ignorance of Aeris’ death and gender, Mass Effect, the Sopranos finale, getting a Nintendo on the holidays, and c-notes.

Guest:
Curtis Roberts

Supplementary notes:
Team Teamwork- The Ocarina of Rhyme (Jay-Z meets Legend of Zelda)
Youtube – Crash Course
Death From Above 1979 – Trainwreck 1979

Audio notes: (1hr. 9min. runtime)
00:10 – Introducing Curtis, gaming degrees, consoles & c-notes, and breaking a PS2
11:50 – Moving away from consoles, modding, XCOM, and Final Fantasy
26:35 – Favourite RPGs, Nintendo, JRPG vs. Western, and LAN parties
38:50 – Current RPGs, Mass Effect, The Sopranos ending, The Witcher, and game choices
55:10 – Anticipated games, and what we’re checking out

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!
Follow us (@AKOPPodcast) or email us at akop@phillerworks.com!

E3 2014 & The State of Video Games

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Tony Gao returns for another round of E3 discussion! We discuss our issues with the bombastic conferences, the latest game reveals, Nintendo turning the tide again, and the deluge of sequels and remakes being announced. We also get into Uncharted, getting a WiiU or a 3DS, no women allowed in AC: Unity, and Kojima’s self-indulgence. And somehow, Earl manages to turn The Last Guardian’s death into a fitting symbol for the lack of innovation in the industry.

Guests:
Tony Gao – “Electronic Excrement Expo”

Audio notes: (1hr. 1min. runtime)
01:10 – The conferences, Sunset Overdrive, Aisha Tyler, and The Division
09:05 – Assassins Creed, Unity & no women characters, Watch Dogs, Mass Effect, LittleBigPlanet 3, and Metal Gear Solid
21:40 – Nintendo, “the plague of Call of Duty”, Splatoon, getting a WiiU or 3DS, Xenoblade, and The Last Guardian
34:00 – Bloodborne, Grim Fandango & remakes, Uncharted 4, and No Man’s Sky
48:35 – Sequels, indie ideas in AAA games, what Last Guardian means for the industry, and Nintendo’s creative niche

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!
Follow us (@AKOPPodcast) or email us at akop@phillerworks.com!