Cup of Jones - December 28, 2020

Hey Jonesy, haven't checked up on you in a while. I will keep my question direct, what are the plans of returning to the studio? Are things in California easing up on the Covid front? When can we expect to have the band reunite physically? Thank you and love and respect.

LiquidEnder

Hi Jones, Happy New Year! I wanted to ask if anyone in the Allies has played Death Come True, a 2 hour FMV game by the creator of Danganronpa. Might be worth considering for "Best Game To Beat in One Night". On that point though, how would interactive films factor into your games discussions? Especially with Netflix investing in them over the last few years.

The Canipa Effect

Hi, Jones. Firstly, Happy new year!!! Secondly, this is both a personal and professional favor I'm askin: Please show more Norbert. The last and only editorial you did on Norbert was on April 10, 2018. I know showing him live might be very difficult, but you could film or take photos of Norbert and do a new editorial on him. From an animal lover... nay! From a Norbert lover to another. Let's kick-off 2021 the right way! L & R

Daniel Ribeiro

Happy New Year Jones! Over the recent podcasts the section of Silver Linings has felt a little stale. I think, unfortunately, it's hard to find very interesting good news about games each week and I think it would be better to just include submissions of good news into L & R whenever they seem to fit the flow of the specific podcast. As an alternative I would prefer an opening section that exercises the creativity of the community more with a prompt. It doesn't have to be wacky like Kyle's bits, but I would feel more compelled to contribute to the opening section if it was about originality from the audience instead of mostly external news. What do you think about mixing up the opening section? Love and Respect, Sam

Samuel Hall

Hi Jones, This may be a soft callout, but I think you know I bring it up in good faith. I wanted to ask about some info you briefly mentioned on the podcast and get your thoughts on it. In the recent L&R-only episode of the podcast, you mentioned that “somebody messaged me and said that it [the Witcher 4] was coming out in 2029.” For reference, the timestamp is about 54:30. Here's a link: https://youtu.be/EvI3EJv5o0Q?t=3269 Maybe you refer to some other message but when writing an L&R submission for that episode, I saw someone's comment that basically brought up this rumor and wanted to get your thoughts. They refer to a supposed emergency executive meeting of CDPR confirming an expected release date for Witcher 4. I also saw that you replied to the comment and asked for a source, which the commenter did not have. Before I say anything else I want to make sure I'm clear that their info is complete nonsense. There is no reliable source of information (at least that I could find with deep Googling) saying Witcher 4 has a planned 2029 release. There is no published story even mentioning a year. What actually happened is that on this CDPR call an investor asked if current work to update Cyberpunk would “push back things like the Witcher 4?” In their answer, the CDPR executives did not even address that specific part of the question and no one even said the word “Witcher.” Here is a full transcript of this meeting posted on the CD Projekt website: https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/wp-content/uploads-en/2020/12/call-transcript_en.pdf I have no ill will towards the person that initially submitted this for L&R, but it seems like they may have made an error. Or the place they might have found this rumor is either very obscure or maybe it has been deleted? The only easily accessible info I can currently find is from a website called “EarlyGame” that published a story claiming “The Witcher 4 leaked” due to this investor's question. (To be clear, this is shoddy reporting and the website looks a little sketchy? That's beside the point.) I'm just a bit concerned that this kind of nonsensical info made it into the podcast. I'm not saying you committed some crime, and I know you prefaced it by saying that it was just a random message, but it still feels a little icky. It looks like you had been doing diligence, you asked for a source and none was provided, yet this bizarre rumor still wormed its way into your brain! Again, I don't see this as some great tragedy, but I do think we should all do our best to avoid spreading misinformation. What are your thoughts on all this? With love, Alec. (P.S. I recognize that it is within the realm of possibility for the next Witcher to end up taking that long, but my concern is there's just no evidence.)

Alec Church

Hi Jones, How are you today? Hopefully fine. In the recent december Q&A I asked the question about video game soundtracks that stood out to the allies in 2020 and the answer the panel gave me has shown me once more, that the allies are really passionate about video game music. I know that we live in a time, where the copy right laws make it hard to create any show about licensed music but between bloods collection, ians knowledge of music and the overall enthusiasm of the allies I feel a huge potential for an interesting show here. Does not have to be a heavily edited video series. A discussion among allies, where you have a few panelists talk about a particular song/theme or a cd set ideally with someone steering the conversation and someone hearing said song/theme for the first time. What are your thoughts jones? Do you see any potential here? Thanks in advance. L&R Alex.

Alex_AI

Happy New Year, Mr. Jones! I'm just going to drop this idea right here. You ready? The Easy Allympics. Imagine all the Allies competing in feats of strength in video games complete with (digital) ceremonies and commentary. It's similar to Mini-Game Champions, except the challenges are patron-submitted ideas, like Achieve It Yourself, and aren’t already minigames built in the game. For instance, who can run through the Undead Burg to the Taurus Demon the fastest? Who can kill the most Ganados/zombies in the first village of Resident Evil 4? (Or who can survive the longest with only using the knife?) How many citizens can you lasso in RDR before you’re shot down? The Olympics are supposed to be happening in 2021 and this could be a good pairing of events. And if you wanted to go crazy, patrons of a high tier could participate in an event of their choosing. Maybe EZA pits their best in an event against the patrons. Lots of ways you could go with this! And if you pass on the idea, no worries - I might just run this event myself since I’m hooked on it. Here’s hoping for good fortunes in 2021, Neil @MayorMcFrumples

Neil K Bonsteel

Hey Jones! Because of your affinity for mobile games, I was just curious if you've ever tried Final Fantasy Record Keeper? I know you put most of your time in to Galaxy of heroes, but I only wanted to bring it up because if I remember correctly you're like me in that FF6 was your first full FF playthrough (if not first, one of your favorites at least). And this game has almost every main character/villain from every numbered entry as well as a lot of spinoffs like tactics, but it represents them in a SNES 16 bit sprite format. I always thought it was fun seeing characters from all the 3D entries represented in a sprite form. It is one I've been playing for 4 years now and I've never put a dime of real money in to it, and it uses a SNES standard ATB/turn based battle system (which i love). Anyway - I know you have like a million and one other things to do then add another mobile game to the list, but I just curious if you've ever checked it out given your love of FF6 - which is the reason why its my favorite mobile game, being a huge FF nerd myself. Cheers from Canada, -Garrett- aka. gbzmr in chat.

gbzmr (Zamora2Podcast)

I'm a big fan of Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers. I'm even four trophies away from getting the platinum trophy. I heard that you are an expert of this game, but I can't know for sure because your trophies are hidden. Please let me know if you can help me round up some of these final challenges. Thanks, Kyle B

Kyle Bosman

Heya Jones, Yeah, but eventually you'll get used to it. But if Easy Allies were to come up with a new philosophy, would it choose: "Oh, yeah? That's what you think!", "Why are you telling me?, "No!", or "I can't stand it!"? Bonus business question: I was updating the EZA Database to include reviews but could not find any editor credited for the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe review. Do you happen to remember who it was?

Asbo Zappruder

Sup Jones, Happy New Year! With Mandalorian Season 2 bringing everyone back into a Star Wars mood, I ask you this; What do you personally hope for the next Fallen Order game to improve on? Should it be a more open-world adventure or stick with the Metroidvania level design? Populated worlds with NPC's? Since we will likely not have a new KOTOR anytime soon, I'd love to see more RPG elements. Can't wait to enjoy whichever content EZA creates in 2021!

Ivan Ndahiro

Hey Brandon! Happy New Year! I was wondering, given how important reviews are as part of the Allies' content, when a video game features a quote or score from the Allies, how does that process work? Is it even something that affects the team at all? Are the Allies made aware beforehand, or perhaps even requested for a soundbite to be used? I, personally find it a point of pride seeing the Allies featured in a game advertisement and was just curious if you all feel the same.

Jones, you totally missed the opportunity to write: "See you next year!". That blunder aside, thanks for all the work you all put into making 2020 less of a bad year. Looking forward to 2021 EZA's shenanigans.

Daniel Ribeiro

Happy New Year! What is the biggest thing EZA viewers should look forward to in 2021?

Jeremy Farbman

Happy Holidays, Brandon! You deserve some rest. Thanks for keeping Easy Allies going through this punishing year.

Nik Gothic

Hey Jones! Happy Holidays to you and the family. As a big mass effect fan, I'm really excited to hear your thoughts on the original trilogy once the remaster presumably comes out in the spring; would you consider streaming your playthrough as some kind of series? I would totally understand if you didn't want to for the sake of appreciating the games on your own time, but would also be really stoked to share the experience of seeing you go through the story as well. Either way, all the best to you and yours. L&R

Ian Valentine

Yes please. But now i can't choose between if i want the streaming partner to be Ben or Huber!

Happy New Years! What does the next year in puppets look like for Brandon Jones?

Parasitepaladin

So with Kyle gone, I know the general consesus seemed to be that there would be no further Brandon Plays Pokemon, but have you considered maybe doing a future playthrough with a different EZA member? Maybe Ben, as he was going back to play some other Pokemon games himself, or Huber, since he's said before that he'd been interested in Pokemon but struggled to get into it because of the gameplay so maybe he'd enjoy it a lot more playing it with someone else who is in control of the controller lol I just really, really want to see the series continue. It'd be different, of course, but still a lot of fun in new and exciting ways. Plus I need validation over my bet on who you'd choose as your starter in Emerald lol

Alice

EZA reigns supreme.

UziSuicide666

With the fresh smell of 2021 upon us and the plethora of new opportunities and experiences just waiting to be had, what are the things you are most excited about for Easy Allies this year (other than getting back into the studio)? Apologies if this has already been asked in a previous episode :-)

Sorry if you answered this elsewhere, but what did you think of Terminator Dark Fate? I saw you mention that you watched it.

Andy Goergen

Thank you for keeping all of us sane during this unpredictable year. L&R

Sara Knite

Thank you Brandon and all of the allies for making a hard year a lot easier

Thanks Brandon, and happy new year.

R.F. Switch