Side Quest, Episode 54: The Truth About Game Developer Unionization
The other side of the coin.
2019-02-11 19:07:44 +0000 UTC View Post
The other side of the coin.
2019-02-11 19:07:44 +0000 UTC View PostToday's episode of KnockBack is very special, because it stars our mother, Betty Ann Moriarty. Our mom was born in Brooklyn in 1950, and grew up in the shadow of New York City -- on our beloved Long Island -- during a storied era of American history. Our (too) brief discussion centers around her childhood and teen years, remi...
2019-02-07 17:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostGoal unmet.
2019-02-06 20:30:55 +0000 UTC View PostMax Baril is a film buff with a movie podcast called Classic Movie Musts, but instead of having him on Fireside Chats to talk about the silver screen, we wanted to talk about... well... podcasting! How do you get into the world of podcasting? What kind of equipment is necessary? How do you publish your work, find an audience,...
2019-02-06 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostReady or not, a brand new battle royale adventure has joined the fray. It's called Apex Legends, and it's a free-to-play Titanfall spinoff from EA's Respawn Entertainment, launched on PS4 as a complete surprise to everyone. That's all well and good, but can the market sustain another one of these types of games? And why does ...
2019-02-05 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostHey All!
I hope that this posting finds you and yours very well.
It's that time! I'm pleased to reveal the next 10 topics that will be covered on CLS: KnockBack. Dagan and I will be recording this wave between February 21st and February 25th in Philadelphia, and we're stoked to reconvene.
The 21st century has brought with it the slow-but-steady demise of malls across the United States (and elsewhere, of course). But in the post-World War II era, when families started sprouting up in the suburbs in huge numbers, malls weren't only centers of commerce, but centers of pre-Internet socializing, too. So today, let'...
2019-01-31 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThis month's exclusive podcast for all CLS Patrons is the first of a three-part series I'm going to lovingly refer to as Dagan's Diary. As you may recall, I asked all $2+/month supporters to submit questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, and ideas for Dagan to answer, and around 130 of you heeded the call, which is amazing. ...
2019-01-31 02:08:59 +0000 UTC View PostToday's guest -- Chris Wilson (who likes to go by "Wilson") -- is a 36 year old man who openly suffers from a number of mental ailments, ranging from bi-polar and manic depression to OCD and anti-social behavioral disorder. And he's perfectly open to talking about what it's like; especially when it comes to the bad stuff. In ...
2019-01-30 17:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostFor some strange reason, rock solid survival horror is somewhat scarce these days. (Indeed, if you think about it, that's kinda always been the case.) But with Resident Evil 2's long-awaited remake finally out, it's fair to say that our hunger for the undead is satiated, in the best way possible. After chatting about RE2, tho...
2019-01-29 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostA dull blade.
2019-01-28 17:07:11 +0000 UTC View PostFor many children, one of growing up's great traditions is having a pet or two. (Or maybe even five or 10.) This episode of KnockBack revolves around our memories of the pets we grew up with, our many cats, our rabbits, and even a scorpion named Wellington. We also solicited a ton of entries from the audience, and go through ...
2019-01-24 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostWanna get into the games industry? Sometimes you just have to put yourself out there. Today's guest is Chase Williams, a producer in the gaming industry who has worked at a couple of studios during his few years as a professional (including at Sony San Diego). Mr. Williams just took a job as a games producer in Germany, but b...
2019-01-23 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostIn 2013, Electronic Arts signed a promising (and lucrative) deal with Disney to be the exclusive developer and publisher of Star Wars video games. Fast forward nearly six years to 2019, and EA has very little to show for it. With the most recent cancellation of yet another EA-developed Star Wars game, is it time for Disney to...
2019-01-22 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostBefore it's too late.
2019-01-21 19:06:41 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Nickelodeon launched its original Nicktoons lineup in the late summer of 1991, it did so with an eclectic collection of three shows. You had the young adult-friendly Doug, Rugrats for the younger viewers, and The Ren & Stimpy Show for... well... for some other strange reason. For four years, from '91 until 1995, only...
2019-01-17 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostThis week, welcome Steven Neeley, MD to the show. Dr. Neeley is a radiologist at New Mexico University, and is the very first medical doctor to appear on Fireside Chats. Our discussion today revolves around two pillars: What it's like to become a doctor, and what it's like to be a doctor. Two related questions, certainly, but...
2019-01-16 17:35:32 +0000 UTC View PostOnimusha: Warlords (PS4) Review!
2019-01-16 08:58:01 +0000 UTC View PostThis past week, something seemingly unthinkable happened: Developer Bungie and publisher Activision parted ways when it comes to the mega-popular Destiny IP, and weirder yet, the measure seems completely amicable. So let's spend some time dissecting this significant business move from all the angles. Also: PlayStation 4 conti...
2019-01-15 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post18 years later.
2019-01-15 08:08:16 +0000 UTC View PostThere's probably no single trilogy more responsible for the trajectory of the video game industry than Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, and 3 on NES. The first game, in particular, was revolutionary, while the third game showed the true power of what Nintendo's aging hardware could do. (As for the second game, well, we love that one, ...
2019-01-10 17:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostMeet Max Nibler, a 19 year old college student who -- like all of us at that age -- is finding his way through life. There's a unique catch when it comes to Max, though: He's asexual. As in, he's not sexually attracted to anyone, and sex doesn't interest him at all. We sat down for a discussion about how he found his way to a...
2019-01-09 17:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostWe like to do things just a little differently here on Sacred Symbols, even with tried and true industry-wide traditions like Game of the Year. For our First Annual Prestigious Sacred Symbols Game of the Year Awards, we opted to dole out 20 accolades, but not in the way you'd probably expect. What's the best action game? Best...
2019-01-08 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostIf you're one of the many KnockBack listeners that loves when Dagan dives deep into animation, this episode is for you. Today's nearly two and a half hour-long chat is dedicated to Don Bluth, a man famous for his work at Disney in the '50s, '60s, and '70s. And then there's his own independent work in the decades since, works ...
2019-01-03 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Top 10 Games of 2018!
2019-01-03 07:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post...and 10 more honorable mentions. LOL.
2019-01-02 21:08:52 +0000 UTC View PostRight before Christmas, I went back east to visit my family, and I brought my recording equipment with me. One podcast I knew I had to record was with my mom, and I wanted to ask her something specific: How does it feel to watch and listen to your son online? More than that, though, how does it feel to read, watch, and see al...
2019-01-02 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostIt's a new year, and it's time to get down to brass tacks. 2019 will almost certainly bring with it the first concrete details -- official or otherwise -- concerning Sony's PlayStation 5, and it's high time we start speculating. But while much of today's episode of Sacred Symbols is indeed dedicated to PS5, not all of it is. ...
2019-01-01 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostHey!
I'm calling this month's Patreon-exclusive podcast The Great CLS "Stockholders" Meeting of 2018. While none of you actually own a portion of the company (hence the quotes, I suppose!), your capital -- however "much" or however "little" -- has been Colin's Last Stand's lifeblood. I appreciate each and every one of ...