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Episode Title Date Cast
40 "Answers and Questions" Feb 12, 2018 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
We get back into the action with a slew of listener-submitted questions, learn about our gameplay habits, soundtrack preferences, kickstarter regrets, and some other secrets. Discuss
39 "Nostalgia and Cloning" Nov 30, 2017 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Scott is supremely suspicious of nostalgia, Mac is losing his voice, Sam and Trent had it easy as kids all come up in on retrospective on retrospection. And also clones, pirates and clone pirates in this episode. Discuss
38 "Hard Mode" Oct 16, 2017 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Game difficulty is a lot like whiskey, in that most people are going about them wrong. Our panel examines what and how RPGs are hard where the critical value in difficulty. Discuss
37 "Meaningless Dialogue and Role Play" Sep 11, 2017 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Dialogue in games is a bit like the jazz music in a few ways, mostly in that Scott is way more interested in it than the kids these days, but also in that improvisation is key but also may not matter. Discuss
36 "Final Fantasy Retrospective" June 27, 2017 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
We examine our personal experiences with the Final Fantasy franchise, how a major anniversary is half gone without publisher support and some E3 stuff. Discuss
35 "Transparency in Game Critique" May 29, 2017 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
The panel goes behind the curtain to explain the RPGamer review process in detail, from solicitation through to comment section. Inside baseball and anecdotes abound. Discuss
34 "Nonlinearity" Mar 31, 2017 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Our discussion this month is entirely self directed. Scott tries to throw down a glowing trail for questors to follow but it gets off tangents more than normal. Discuss
33 "Nintendo Has Always Been Doomed" Feb 27, 2017 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Nintendo has always done it's own thing, and for that we've always seen that less than successful. Apple Computers analogies, Swiitch predictions, and yelling at Scott ensue. Discuss
32 "Upgrade This" Jan 30, 2017 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
We stand at the cusp of having to buy new consoles (maybe) to get the most of "core gamer lifestyle." But is that worth anything? Discuss
31 "As for the Qs" Dec 27, 2016 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
No year-end navel gazing here. Just coasting the through the season on some user-submitted content. Discuss
30 "Get a Job" Nov 30, 2016 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
We yell about class systems, job boards and mid-game specializations. Scott sneaks two tabletop rants in. Discuss
29 "Adopting Adaptation" Nov 1, 2016 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
The Game of the Book of the Movie is finally out. We examine the peculiarities of confronting tie-in rpgs. Discuss
28 "I Quit" Sept 15, 2016 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Sometimes the only winning move is not play, and then try to eke some trade-in value out it. The panel delves into what makes us walk away from a game. Discuss
27 "Zen and the Art of RPG Grind" Aug 8, 2016 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
The word 'grind' gets thrown around too often with a clear meaning. We spend an episode trying to unpack the term for our own benefit, maybe yours too. Discuss
26 "Don't Buy Day One" Jun 30, 2016 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Does spending money on games before they are out even make sense anymore? We delve into the business and cultural factors of the pre-order problem. Discuss
25 "Localization Woes" May 30, 2016 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
The panel tackles the nature of localization and the methods behind it. Discuss
24 "What is the Corpus of a Game" Apr 25, 2016 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
When we look at a game, how much of what is not the game proper do we take into account. Or "I came to play, not to read." Discuss
23 "JRPG Ouroboros" Feb 29, 2016 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Looking at the 2016 release calendar we find ourselves faced with an unprecedented market saturation. We share our concerns about that fact. Discuss
22 "Questions 2: Electric Boogaloo" Jan 18, 2016 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
We end the year with user questions. Thanks for asking and thanks for listening. Discuss
21 "Multi-Player Review Process" Nov 30, 2015 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
People are the worst, but how can we write reviews around those facts? These and other complaining question answered by our panel. Discuss
20 "+2 to Reload is not Frightening" Oct 26, 2015 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Hallowe'en is upon us and we take an hour to explain why the hybridization of typical RPG mechanics, detracts from horror games. We also spend a lot of time parsing terminology. Discuss
19 "Save the Baby - Eat the Baby" Sep 28, 2015 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
The panel breaks down the moral compass of games writers only to discover it only points two directions. We ramble on that and some related topics for a while. Discuss
18 "FFWhy" Aug 11, 2015 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
So, the Final Fantasy VII remake is finally happening. We have thoughts and feelings about this. Discuss
17 "Kickstart My Heart" Jul 05, 2015 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
'Power to the people' meets 'Shut up and take my money' as we go through the ins and outs of gamerdom and crowdfunding. Discuss
16 "A Tale of Two Corporations" Jun 01, 2015 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
We look at Bioware's output since their buyout by EA, and what that has meant for gamers and business types since then. Discuss
15 "Mainstreaming the JRPG" Apr 27, 2015 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
A multi-level examination of the ludic, narrative, and artistic elements of the JRPG and how they interact with the Western market vis a vis popularity. Also the debut of the official ATBS drinking game. Discuss
Special "AFD Outtakes Reel" Apr 01, 2015 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Gaffs, goofs, preshow rituals, gossip and the biological needs of pets round this collection of never-before-heard Banter. Discuss
14 "Fan-titlement" Mar 30, 2015 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
The Banter panel unpacks special pleading, ignorance and self-centred behaviour in the fandom. All while hoping for a brighter future for comment sections. Discuss
13 "Romance in the Air" Mar 09, 2015 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Sex is not a win-state and other romantic notions are on the slate this installment. We share all of our varied emotions about this splendid sentiment within. Discuss
12 "Shooter-RPG Hybridization" Jan 27, 2015 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
When gunplay and stats interact sparks and ideas fly. We capture a few of both for podcast infotainment value. Discuss
11 "Mailbaggery" Dec 29, 2014 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
We open up the old mailbag for some listener-submitted topics in rapid-fire succession. Then we get judgemental about each other. It's a Festivus miracle! Discuss
10 "Fixing Final Fantasy" Nov 24, 2014 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
We tackle this issues faced by this benighted franchise, from both the business and creative standpoint. More importantly we attempt to decide whether we should care in the first place. Discuss
9 "The Price is Wrong, Mac" Oct 27, 2014 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Between various platforms, business models and the ever-present Square-Enix Tax, we navigate the state of game pricing for RPGamers. Discuss
8 "The Vita is Doomed (Maybe)" Sep 29, 2014 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Sony's latest handheld endeavour has been struggling, or maybe it hasn't. It's a matter of perspective. Listen to our panel vigorously share theirs on the subject. Discuss
7 "Time and Criticism March On" Aug 25, 2014 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
As gamers get older we begin insisting the youth of today play the games that mattered way back when, this doesn't seem to work out all that well for RPGamers. Your hosts investigate the nature of this conundrum. Discuss
6 "The Modern JRPG: Shark or Panda?" July 28, 2014 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
We tackle the notion of evolution within a game genre via an pair of related metaphors about rare animals. Wgether or not JRPGs have to change in the face of "extinction" is left up in the air. Discuss
5 "Immersion and other Buzzwords" June 23, 2014 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Immersion, engagement and a few other ten dollar words get taken to task by our panel. Both the design and marketing side of the terminology equation are weighed and measured. Discuss
4 "Feelings out of a Number" May 26, 2014 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Scoring is a fickle beast for a reviewer. Our crew attempts to tame and/or slay the monster with our of bits intact. Discuss
3 "State of the Pocket" April 21, 2014 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
In this episode our intrepid crew tackles the East/West divide, the phone/dedicated gaming device divide and the environment. Also debuting the feedback segment (with prizes). Discuss
2 "The Shape of Things Past" March 17, 2014 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Re-releases, ports and up-scales, 'What do we want and what does it mean for the business' get examined in this instalment. Discuss
1 "Famine, War, Pestilence, Death and Bias" February 17, 2014 Scott, Mac, Trent, and Sam
Can objectivity be achieved in game criticism, and is such a state even worth it? Join our new podcast as we discuss the questions and more. Discuss

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