"fun" And Games Podcast

Memes are the ideas, phrases and images we imitate, duplicate, and propagate. Gaming culture is teeming with such memes. Matt & Geoff discuss what defines a meme and some of their favorites.

"Metroidvania" is a clumsy term, but it's the best we've got. A term based on two of its biggest examples, free-roaming exploration-based Action-adventure games are a mouthful, but a lot of fun. With plenty of shining examples past, present, and future. Matt & Geoff share their thoughts on one of their favorite types of game.

The Final Fantasy Series has been going strong since its debut in 1987. From mainline sequels, spin-offs, and even unrelated series branded as Final Fantasy to sell them better, It seems there's often something new. And with all the re-releases there's often something old as well. Matt & Geoff discuss their highs and lows as fans of the franchise.

There are more ways than ever to bring small, obscure or forgotten games into your home. Between limited print runs, aftermarket releases, and tiny scale models of consoles, your options seem pretty varied. But what gets forgotten? How do we properly value these releases? Matt & Geoff spend the first eleven minutes talking about E3, then discuss.

Historically, Video Game Movie adaptations have not performed well. The recently released "Detective Pikachu" doesn't exactly break that streak, but Matt & Geoff both liked it. They discuss why they felt it worked as an adaptation and where we can go from here. WARNING: Contains spoilers.

When you get stuck in a game, where do you find your answers? Matt & Geoff reminisce about some of their favorite physical strategy guides and discuss why they can no longer function in today's gaming landscape, and the potential reach of their legacy.

Do you need to play every game on release date? Are there benefits to waiting for an update or remaster? What games always stay fresh for you? Matt & Geoff discuss and try to figure out which games are worth waiting for.

The Google Stadia was announced this March and it's gotten Matt & Geoff thinking about streaming and digital distribution. What does it mean for preserving games and gaming? Where is the industry headed? Stream this episode from your favorite platform, irony optional.

An unintentionally double-length episode! Matt & Geoff talk some of their favorite video game soundtracks and the evolution of music in games as well as music influenced by video games.  

Case Aiken has twitch streamer Neil Smith on the show as they discuss the ever evolving platform of gaming online for a mass audience.

When an old game gets remade, rather than simply ported, there's going to be drastic changes. Whether those changes are in gameplay, difficulty, tone or any number of other ways. Sometimes the changes are an improvement And sometimes you may lose what made the game worth remaking in the first place. Matt & Geoff discuss the intangible difficulty in keeping that essence as you modernize classic experiences.

Video games have had various recorded voice clips programmed in since its inception. Whether to draw in players at the arcade, or a selling point of cinematic realism once CD/DVD storage took over. Matt & Geoff discuss the awesome, the awful and the awesomely awful they've experienced in voiceover for games.

Since its founding in 2009, KickStarter.com has received nearly $1 billion in pledges towards successful gaming projects, both tabletop and video games. It's been a great tool in circumventing conventional avenues of development/publishing. But a successful campaign does not make a successful game. Matt & Geoff discuss how some projects go right, go wrong, or go way off the beaten path.

More than five years after it was first announced, Kingdom Hearts III has finally been released and fans the world over can wrap up a trilogy nearly two decades in the making. Kingdom Hearts isn't the only series that has kept us waiting beyond console generations for its next release. Matt & Geoff discuss how long is too long, and what allows a series to take its time and still go gold while garnering gamer goodwill.

Matt & Geoff discuss their last year of gaming; what games, new and old, they played and what they're looking forward to for 2019. 

The seventeenth Music and Games Festival has come and gone, and "F"&G was there! Four days of gaming, nerd music, esoteric panels, and gaming. Matt & Geoff are joined by Case, Ben & Addy from several of our fellow CPoV shows to share their experiences. Stay tuned after the main discussion for several interviews Matt conducted at the festival.

A big part of the DNA of modern video games come from the countless arcades, random arcade cabinets in pizza parlors, and pinball machines on the boardwalk. Matt & Geoff discuss some of their formative arcade experiences and where they see the arcade's influence in today's gaming experiences.

From one console generation to the next, there is nostalgia for old experiences. When franchises put out new releases there is mourning for what is left behind. From this mindset we get nostalgia fueled re-releases, MMO "Classic" rollbacks, and Ultimate edition after Complete Collection. But what gets muddled when we cross generations so completely? Matt & Geoff have bought Mega Man X several times.

Content Warning: Sexual Assault; Explicit Language (More than usual) Online gaming has allowed us to play and engage with total strangers the world over. And many of us use this marvel of network technology to impugn matters of identity and claim matriarchal relations upon said strangers. And frankly, many of us have no reason to be dicks online, so why are we? When do we learn it, and can we un-learn it? Matt & Geoff are trying their best here, but are working to do better.

Whether it's 80+ hour weeks, 14+ hour days or worse demanded of a development team's time and energy, it feels like crunch time has been a part of video game development since its inception. But, does it help? Why do we allow it? What choices can we make as informed consumers? Matt & Geoff get no closer than usual to concrete answers, but the questions need asking.