Game/life Balance U.s. Podcast

Cody introduces special guest “Russian Jon,” a long-time friend of the podcast who discusses what it’s like to buy Steam games in Russia. Then, Cody recaps the GonnaGeek Network podcasting event he attended at C2E2, and the two Jons review the roguelike dungeon crawler Darkest Dungeon. Show Notes: * Cody and Jon introduce / re-introduce Russian Jon to the podcast, and he discusses what it’s like to acquire games on Steam in Russia * Russian Jon, a long-time friend of both Cody and American Jon (Regular Jon? AmeriJon?), tells some stories about growing up with them, how he knows the podcast, and what he does with his free time * Life Stuff * Cody discusses the panel he sat on at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), GonnaGeek Network Presents: Everyday Podcasting For Your Everyday Life * Cody talks about the benefits of being on a network and how cool it was that there was a huge crowd at C2E2 that really actively participated in the panel * Cody also explains how the week

Cody gives a public service announcement about The Legend of Zelda dungeons and going to a teeth whitening dentist (in real life), and Jon reviews The Witness, the new puzzle game from Jonathan Blow. Show Notes: * Cody explains the importance of never, ever quitting a Zelda game while in the middle of playing through a dungeon, even if you’ve already played it several times in the past * Cody and Jon discuss March Madness, and you’ll be shocked at what they have to say about their brackets (or lack thereof) * Life Stuff * Cody explains the importance of going to the dentist for regular checkups, and gives a public service announcement encouraging everyone to go following his painful story of oral hygiene * Full Gamer  * Jon is so hype about the new Jonathan Blow game “The Witness,” he claims it’s one of the best single-player experiences he can remember * Jon struggles to explain an abstract puzzle game without giving away any spoilers or strategies * Learn

Jon did his duty as an American citizen by participating in the Minnesota caucus process, and boy, was it exciting! Plus: Cody delves into Sherlock Holmes after seeing a musical about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, then discusses ownership of fictional characters. Show Notes: * Jon explains his new-found love of red wine in a weird conversation about beer and Australia * Current News * Jon and his wife participated in the Minnesota caucus, and it was much more exciting than they had anticipated * Life Stuff  * Cody’s girlfriend brought him to see The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes, a musical at Mercury Theatre in Chicago,and it was awesome * Who “owns” a fictional character? Cody talks about The People vs. George Lucas and other instances of characters taking on a life of their own * Learn how to connect with us on the GonnaGeek Network, syndication on WGN Plus, our YouTube channel, and more! * Podcast theme song intro/outro credit: ‘Subterranean Kamikaze‘ by Sixto Sounds, zir

Cody and his girlfriend Casey discuss the current production of 2666 at Goodman Theatre, which they had the opportunity to see over the weekend. They also finished watching Twin Peaks, and have a lot to say about its final episodes. Show Notes: * Game/Life Balance Australia has finally launched! Or, re-launched! …either way, Cody is excited about it! * Hear why Cody is now referring to his usual co-host Jonathan Martin as “Uncle Stabbo,” and meet this week’s guest host Casey * Cody reveals his true identity as a Nigerian princess, as discussed on Game/Life Balance Australia * Life Stuff * Cody and Casey discuss the book 2666 by Roberto Bolaño, doing their best to synthesize the plot part by part * Hear what they thought when they saw 2666 at Goodman Theatre, a 5-hour production adapted and directed by Robert Falls and Seth Bockley * Life Stuff (part 2) * Although Cody and Casey already discussed Twin Peaks extensively on the WGN Plus podcast You’ve Binge Challenged, they

The Deadpool movie is set to surpass Passion of the Christ as the highest-grossing Rated R film of all time, and having seen it last weekend, Cody completely understands why. Hear all about it in this episode of the Game/Life Balance U.S. podcast! Show Notes: * Cody and Jon are really hype about the fact that Risk of Rain, one of their favorite multiplayer games, is going to be released on the PS4 with a robust matchmaking system * Cody and Jon discuss the basic tenets of the podcast, which somehow involves Vatican City and/or Rome * Current News * Deadpool is breaking box office records for rated R movies, and Cody explains why everyone needs to see the movie because it’s ridiculously awesome * Cody attempts to explain Deadpool’s background and origin story, despite not really knowing it very well * Life Stuff * Jon drank a ridiculous amount of wine with his family, and it was hilarious and awesome * Cody argues that Jon didn’t have difficulty recovering from his drunken episode becau

Jon tells a hilarious story about a “free to play” game he’s been playing on his phone, and Cody discusses how he’s learning about the Federal Reserve. Then, he and Jon delve into U.S. politics for a bit before Cody goes FULL GAMER and reviews The Order: 1886 for the PlayStation 4. Show Notes: * Jon tells a ridiculous story about Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, featuring a ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR “micro” transaction * Cody discusses the book he’s reading, The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve, and talks about his foray into learning about the Federal Reserve System… including how it somehow explains the assassination of John F. Kennedy (???) * Jon talks about The Big Short, which he saw over the weekend, and how it differed from his expectations * Cody jokes about the idea of doing a political podcast, then explains the resemblance between politics and playing a very complicated game * Jon brings up a good point about anti-establishment rhetoric in the cur

Cody and Jon are joined by a very special guest to discuss his experience with the competitive video game scene, including how to balance such a hobby with the rigorous demands of high school (!!!). Show Notes: * Cody and Jon welcome Chris Long to the podcast, a long-time listener of the podcast eager to share his experience with competitive gaming * Life Stuff * Chris talks about his experience building robots for robotics competitions, then makes Cody and Jon feel really old by talking about some other awesome high school things * Jon asks the question on everyone’s mind: why didn’t Space Ghost get a really cool streaming treatment? * Full Gamer * Chris talks about how he got into the Smash Bros. Brawl: Project M tournament scene, then talks Team Fortress 2 * Cody mentions that he actually participated in MELEE-FC Diamond, a major Smash Bros. Melee tournament in 2007, giving him mad street cred * Hear Chris explain how much time it takes him to organize and manage a Team Fortress 2 team, an

Cody somehow unexpectedly became a political writer when his post about Bernie Sanders went viral. Hear him discuss how it’s changed his life, including a surprisingly thoughtful discussion with Jon about politics and identity. Then, hear Jon go “FULL GAMER” and chat about the video game Sunless Sea. Show Notes: * Jon insists on recording a promo for the GonnaGeek Network, even though the broadcast already started * Current News – Cody wrote an article about Bernie Sanders and somehow became a political writer on the Huffington Post after it went viral on his web site * Jon talks to Cody about the Iowa caucus, including Brian Williams and MSNBC’s coverage of the event and why he really hates CNN * Life Stuff – Cody discusses how “going public” about his political POV is new territory for him, and chats about internet culture with Jon * They talk about how and why politics are tied to identity and ideologies, and also tackle surprising facts about internet trolls and wh

League of Legends brought in $1.6 billion in revenue in 2015, and Jon explains why that’s a big deal for video games and their fans. He then explains why he’s hype about The Witness, and Cody discusses why he’s addicted to the Yik Yak app. Show Notes: * Current news: League of Legends * Jon discusses how the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game earned $1.6 billion in revenues in 2015 — seven times more than its closest competitor in the genre * Cody has a brilliant plan to combine World of Warcraft with Facebook in order to maximize its profits so it can compete with League of Legends, and Jon ups the ante by introducing the concept of farming to the revolutionary idea * On a random tangent, Cody explains the origin of the phrase “and Bob’s your uncle,” which Jon refuses to believe is a thing that actually exists * Cody also explains the importance of keeping super PACs out of video games, then explains the best candy to pair with espresso: is it Nestle Crunch, Ki

Do you always finish what you started? How about in video games? What exactly does “finished” mean, anyway? Hear Jon and Cody discuss 100 percent completion and more in this exciting Game/Life Balance U.S. podcast! Show Notes: * Cody introduces the segments that will make up future of episodes of Game/Life Balance U.S.: Balancing Act, Current News, Full Gamer, Game LIVE, Hype, Life Stuff, and Oddities * Life Stuff * Jon bought a new house, and it was broken! So he talks about how he fixed it, and Cody wonders how much of their mutual enjoyment from “fixing things” is because of who they are and how much is because they’re just getting older * Oddities * Cody discovered the legend of Desert Bus, a bizarre video game created by Penn & Teller of all people, and through Jon learns about Desert Bus For Hope, an equally if not more ridiculous charity event centered around said ridiculous video game * Hype * Jon is hype about something completely unrelated to video games, wh

Cody and Jon discuss Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Then, Jon has figured out a legendary way to strike a balance between games and life, and Cody doesn’t understand how to podcast anymore but he DOES like reading books. Show Notes: * Jon finally saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens and discusses his thoughts and feelings about the film * Cody launches into a tangent about Quentin Tarantino films, including his thoughts on The Hateful Eight * Both Jon and his wife made agreed upon the same New Year’s Resolutions, and Jon explains why that has given him more time to play video games than he can remember having in recent memory * While he doesn’t necessarily make New Year’s Resolutions, Cody explains his thoughts behind forming new habits and how Lent is a good time for him to cultivate them * In a surprising tangent, Jon and Cody discuss books and what to read before going to sleep * Then, they vaguely promise new segments for the future of the podcast—stay tuned to hear what they have i

Cody Gough and Jonathan Martin debut their new lifestyle podcast after 4 years of hosting their video game podcast, Unqualified Gamers, which they ended at the end of 2015. Learn about the hosts, the new podcast, and their favorite video games of 2015. Show Notes: * Cody Gough introduces the Game/Life Balance U.S. podcast with Jonathan Martin * Cody and Jon explain why they stopped doing their old video game podcast, Unqualified Gamers, and why people should listen to Game/Life Balance U.S. * Learn about what types of games Cody and Jon like, what they have in common, and more about their backgrounds, including Cody’s professional accomplishments and Jon’s family pride * Don’t forget to check out the original Australian version of the Game/Life Balance podcast! * Cody and Jon name their honorable mentions for their games of the year: Final Fantasy XIV, Hyrule Warriors, Dying Light, and Elbow Room * Cody and Jon discuss their games of the year, including (in no particular order) The Swapper,

Learn why Jon sold his entire collection of physical video games and consoles, and why his wife is upset with his decision. Jon and Cody’s significant others join them with some surprising perspectives on collecting “things” and the emotional value of physical objects. Tune in for the final episode of Unqualified Gamers before Cody and Jon move on to their next venture, Game/Life Balance U.S.! Show Notes: * Cody and Jon explain the saga of why Jon decided to sell all of his video games * Jon’s wife Casey argues that it was a terrible decision for several reasons, including that the decision was made too quickly and that now he’s lost a sense of history from his game collection * Cody’s girlfriend Casey talks a bit about the relationship between objects and at what point something becomes a “collection” * Jon debates the utility of simply “having objects” while his wife insists that there’s a connection to those objects that make them more sign

Cody discusses the concept and efforts behind worldwide nuclear disarmament in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, including efforts from Reddit communities to participate in one of the biggest metagames he’s seen since Twitch Plays Pokemon. Then, he and Jon have a MAJOR announcement about the future of Unqualified Gamers! Show Notes: * Cody and Jon discuss whether 127 is a prime number (it is) in a moment of ominous foreshadowing * Cody explains how nuclear weapons work (kind of) in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and the inner workings of Konami’s “worldwide nuclear disarmament” event online * Members of two subreddits, /r/MetalGearPhilanthropy (which Cody mistakenly calls Metal Gear Philosophers throughout the episode) and /r/MetalGearPatriots, are particularly active in vying for disarmament and proliferation, respectively * Cody references “mainstream” pickup of the event, including WIRED and Ars Technica * Jon compares the event to events in massively multip

Jon has a bone to pick with the upcoming downloadable content release schedule for Star Wars Battlefront, and Cody debates with him whether Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is guilty of DLC misdeeds.  Show Notes: * Photo credit: Marco Verch via Flickr * Jon recounts the tale of one man’s ridiculous customer service experience with Sony * Cody counter-points with some good customer service experiences he’s had with Sony, which somehow leads to Jon talking about a subscription he has that allows him to listen to old baseball games… which is completely pointless * Jon is not a fan of how difficult it is to unsubscribe from basically anything on the iTunes Store * Jon claims that if you get a “dumb” customer service representative, sometimes you can get totally screwed * Cody posits that stupidity isn’t the only thing that can affect your customer service experience, as many people are great and many people are just kind of terrible people * Jon and Cody argue about wheth

Jon reviews Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below, including a brief history of the Dragon Quest / Dragon Warrior franchise and a primer on Musou games. Plus, Cody has an exciting announcement about the future of Unqualified Gamers! Photo credit: gullevek via Flickr Show Notes: * Jon briefly mentions Google’s addition of podcasts to Google Play Music, which is a big deal for the world of podcasting * Cody teases an announcement, which Jon fears may be an announcement of an announcement, which may just end up being a bunch of Vaguebooking * Jon talks about his internet connection, which is running at a slow speed of legendary proportions, although you’ll really only notice if you’re watching the video of this podcast on YouTube * Jon gives a feature-length Dragon Quest Heroes review, starting with an overview of the relationship of the Dragon Quest series with North American audiences, including when in 1990, Nintendo Power ran a promotion packaging a free copy

Cody is joined by occasional co-hosts Casey and comedian Russian Jon for a joint Broforce review, a game described as an “assault on the senses,” patriotic hyperbole, and more. Photo credit: Czar via Wikipedia

Cody and Jon welcome video game enthusiast and broadcaster J.D. Fox to the podcast to praise and rage over IGN’s recently released list of the Top 100 Games Ever Made. Photo credit: Axel Pfaender via Flickr Show Notes: Cody introduces video game enthusiast, veteran broadcaster and fellow Drake University alumnus J.D. Fox to the podcast. In groups of 10, Cody, J.D., and Jon review IGN’s list of the top 100 video games ever made, which follows: 100. The Walking Dead: Season One 99.   Advance Wars 98.   Perfect Dark 97.   Galaga 96.   The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker 95.   Super Mario Galaxy 2 94.   Donkey Kong ‘94 93.   Ico 92.   Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island 91.   Batman: Arkham Asylum 90.   System Shock 2 89.   The Oregon Trail 88.   Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 87.   SimCity 2000 86.   Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! 85.   X-COM: UFO Defense 84.   Contra 83.   Fallout 2 82.   Resident Evil 2 81.   The Secret of Monkey Island 80.   Final Fantasy VII 79.   Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 78.   Fallout 3 77. 

Cody discusses his latest computer technology curses, including his first impressions of Windows 10. Then, Jon explains his video game bender and reviews Super Meat Boy, Broken Age, and Until Dawn. Plus: Cody describes his experience at Nintendo World in New York City, and Jon gives an update on his ongoing house-buying drama. Photo credit: dronepicr via Flickr

Catch up with Cody and Jon as they talk life milestones, Devil in the White City, Hearthstone, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and Final Fantasy: Type-0 HD. Photo credit: Diavolomezzo via Flickr Show Notes: * Cody talks microphones, acoustics, and what kind of podcast you can expect to hear * Jon chastises Cody for not making enough Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney jokes when he interviewed Sam Castree III, Ace Attorney on the podcast * Cody rants about how Radiolab ripped off his story about the Cryptolocker virus; Jon tries to debunk his theory of being ripped off directly, but Cody uses the power of the lottery and math to thwart his efforts * Jon tells an endless, boring, rambling story about why he hasn’t been on the podcast lately, and somehow manages to do so while clicking his mouse the entire time * Congratulations to Mister Manager, since Jon thinks he’s a big deal now because he sold his house (hear how it happened!) * If you’ve ever wanted to learn about listing a house, buyi