So Many Bits

After an extended break, Bill and Cliff reach the halfway point of Earthbound!

Metal Gear Solid V, Super Mario Maker... Undertale? That's right, this indy darling is weird, funny, sincerely charming, and maybe the best game released in 2015. Bill and Cliff cannot shut up about it, so they're sharing the love with you.

Guest host Di Billick (Dandy Boy, Unlikely Company) helps Bill recap the Final Fantasy series, sharing their first memories of the games, as well as a few of their favorite strange moments.

This week, Bill is joined by Kate Hardiman, Bilal Dardai, and Trevor Dawkins to discuss The Neocade, a video game fundraiser for the Neo-Futurists coming up on Thursday November 12th. Along with showings from Bit Bash and the Video Game Art Gallery, they are producing a video game themed edition of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind titled Game Positive. The 3 talk to Bill about their personal game interests, the event, and the growing cultural weight of video games.

Metal... Gear? Yes, the stealth action / adventure game is serious, but the story and action usually turn into camp. Michael Delaney joins Bill this week to see how these nanomachines are made.

From humble beginnings Penny Arcade has gone from a webcomic to a multimedia force, including their own webseries, podcasts, video games, and a convention series that draws hundreds of thousands of fans annually. Their work makes games you've never played funny, varying from crude, juvenile humor to tender stories about parenthood. Bill and Cliff pick a few of their favorite strips, plus a bonus section of favorite Simpsons episodes to follow up on last week.

The Simpsons has been around seemingly forever, but they remain one of the few sitcoms to have incorporated video games into their storylines. Check out some of the many, many references made over the years, plus a little bonus discussion of The Simpsons numerous video game releases.

This week, we discuss Jackbox Party Pack and other "template games" that require user input. If this goes well, our next episode will be about Marky Mark's Make My Music Video. 

Stephen Hanthorn joins us this week to help discuss the Ratchet and Clank franchise. With both a movie and a remake of the original game coming in early 2016, Cliff and Stephen (with a little help from Bill) reflect on their favorite moments.

Pete Byrne and Dan Schiffmacher guest host this week to help Bill discuss games they’re looking forward to this holiday season. Coming in the extended cut of this episode, deleted discussion of Pete making dinner.

Summary: The stars have been destroyed by your father, and you must atone. A classic narrative hook, which reminds us of The Naked Gun. And “very special episodes”. And Kesha.

In this episode, Bill and Cliff remember their last old memories of the TG-16 - and a few new ones - while getting a little philosophical about retro games.

A multi-topic episode, Bill reports back on Bit Bash 2015, then he and Cliff discuss Hot Date and Sonic Dreams Collection

Adam Sandler will never leave us alone. This is known. His latest film, Pixels, has hurt us deeply, so we must deal with the pain the only way we know how: podcasting.

Earthbound discussion continues after facing the toughest boss of all: Skype.

A comic about video games. A movie about a comic about video games. A video game about a movie about a comic about video games. That's Scott Pilgrim.

Summer blockbuster seasons means the guys are taking a look at some movies based on video games. Most are awful cash-ins or just awful, but Wreck-It Ralph has its charms. Can it assume the title of "All-Time Best Video Game Movie" from The Last Starfighter?

A cult classic, Psychonauts flopped upon its original release, but has only grown in popularity due to its strange, surreal world. Bill and Cliff take a look at what details have allowed the game to earn new respect from gamers in spite of its age.

Slapstick is perhaps the oldest form of humor, so it’s no surprise some video games have used it to their advantage. Super Meat Boy is the foremost advantage taker though, and is the topic for this week’s episode.

Bill sits down with Kallie Rolison, Steve Schumacher, and Seth Wanta to discuss the video game edition of their sketch show Drink! They discuss the challenges of making video game humor accessible, favorite games, and finding audio samples from Burger Time. It's harder than it sounds.