Episodes
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Structured differently to our regular episodes, this one is just about the newly released title from Bethesda Softworks - Starfield!We also have a special guest joining us in this episode - a massive science fiction nerd and a background mostly in tech and IT, it's CJ's mum Dani Welsh!
In this episode we dive deep into what Starfield is, what it's about, how it works behind the scenes, and what the size and scale of it means both for what it is as a piece of science-fiction media, and for the larger games industry and market.
Hope you enjoy!
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This one is all about Dungeons and Dragons with Baldur's Gate 3 & Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves!
Baldur's Gate 3 is the latest role-playing video game developed by Larian Studios and released in 2023. It is a story-rich, party-based RPG set in the universe of Dungeons & Dragons, where your choices shape a tale of fellowship and betrayal, survival and sacrifice, and the lure of absolute power.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, stars Chris Pine and also released in 2023. Also set in the universe of Dungeons & Dragons, a charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.
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Missing episodes?
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Joining us as a guest on this episode to talk about Resident Evil and Zombi is Louie Roots!
An Interactive Designer and Producer, Louie tutors at Swinburne University, and is also a Director for Freeplay Independent Games Festival.
Resident Evil is a 1996 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation. It is the first game in Capcom's Resident Evil franchise.
In Resident Evil, the STARS force (special tactics and rescue service) are investigating strange cannibalized corpses on the outskirts of the city. The Alpha squad, Jill and Chris, are sent to locate missing team members. While there, mutated dogs cause them to flee into a supposedly abandoned mansion.
Zombi, directed by Lucio Fulci and released in 1979, is about a group of strangers that are searching for a young woman’s missing father arrive on a tropical island, where a doctor is desperately seeking the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.
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This pairing is all about Spiderman with Spiderman: Miles Morales and Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse!
In Spiderman: Miles Morales - teenager Miles Morales is adjusting to his new home while following in the footsteps of his mentor, Peter Parker, as a new Spider-Man. But when a fierce power struggle threatens to destroy his new home, the aspiring hero realizes that with great power, there must also come great responsibility. To save all of Marvel’s New York, Miles must take up the mantle of Spider-Man and own it.
In Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse - after reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn's full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. However, when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders. He must soon redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.
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We have so much to talk about with this pairing as we dive into the genre of New Weird with Control & Annihilation!
In Control - released in 2019 and developed by Remedy Entertainment - you are Jesse Faden, a young woman with a troubled past. You become the new Director of the Bureau of Control - Our frontline in researching and fighting against supernatural enemies like the Hiss threatening our very existence.
Annihilation - released in 2018, written for screen and directed by Alex Garland and adapted from the novel by Jeff Vandermeer - Lena (Natalie Portman), a biologist and former soldier, joins a mission to uncover what happened to her husband (Oscar Isaac) inside Area X -- a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. Once inside, the expedition discovers a world of mutated landscapes and creatures, as dangerous as it is beautiful, that threatens both their lives and their sanity.
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This episode is about Meet Your Maker and Cube!
Meet Your Maker - developed by Behaviour Interactive and release 2023 - is a post-apocalyptic first-person building-and-raiding game where every level is designed by players.
Cube, directed by Vincenzo Natali and released in 1997 - which also had two sequels and a Japanese remake - is about group of strangers who awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps. You can play solo or with a friend as you mastermind devious maze-like Outposts full of traps and guards, then gear up for methodical fast-paced combat raiding other players’ creations.
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It's cosmic horror in this episode where we talk about the Dead Space remake and Event Horizon!
Dead Space (2023) is a remake of the original Dead Space video game from 2008 in which you play as Isaac Clarke, an engineer who has been sent to investigate a distress signal coming from the ship USG Ishimura. You very quickly come across horrific creatures and have to fight and survive the depths of the ship to find out what's happening, what's caused all these monsters to appear, and how to overcome it all and save the day.
Event Horizon is a sci-fi horror movie from 1997 starring Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. The main characters in this movie are also going to investigate a spaceship - this one having returned after disappearing inside a black hole, with someone - or something - new onboard.
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It's all about Star Wars in this episode! We're looking at Jedi: Fallen Order & Obi Wan Kenobi
CJ is a big passionate Mega Nerd in this one while Stephen is more on the passive side of the audience here as they dive into the discussion of Star Wars, the history of Star Wars and what they might like to see in future entries into the Star Wars universe!
Jedi: Fallen Order is set 5 years after Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and the execution of Order 66. You play as Cal Kestis as you must complete your Jedi training,develop new powerful Force abilities, and master the art of the lightsaber - all while being hunted by the Empire looking to kill any remaining Jedi.
Obi Wan Kenobi is set 10 years after the execution of Order 66 and our titular character has to save young Leia after she is kidnapped, all the while being pursued by Imperial Inquisitors and his former Padawan, now fully embracing the role as Darth Vader.
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It's the big budget television series we've been excited for ever since it was announced the show was in production! That's right - this is The Last of Us!
The Last of Us is originally a video game released in 2013 developed by Naughty Dog, and now has a 2023 HBO TV series adaptation of the same story! In a hostile, post-pandemic world, Joel and Ellie, brought together by desperate circumstances, must rely on each other to survive a brutal journey across what remains of the United States.
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It's all about high-octane action in this pairing with Doom Eternal & Mad Max Fury Road!
Doom Eternal is the latest entry in the first-person-shooter genre-defining video game franchise that is DOOM. With the original Doom releasing in 1993, Doom Eternal is a 2020 game developed by Id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. Hell’s armies have invaded Earth. Become the Slayer in an epic single-player campaign to conquer demons across dimensions and stop the final destruction of humanity. The only thing they fear... is you.
Mad Max Fury Road comes from the genuis mind of George Miller who brought us classic masterpieces such as Babe 2: Pig in the City and Happy Feet! Mad Max Fury Road, written and directed by George Miller and starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, released in 2015 and is the fourth entry into the Mad Max franchise, with the original coming out in 1979. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Max, a drifter and survivor, unwillingly joins Imperator Furiosa, a rebel warrior, in a quest to overthrow a tyrant who controls the land's water supply.
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Join as as we dive in to Halo Infinite and Halo the Paramount+ TV Series!
Halo Infinite is the sixth mainline entry into the Halo video game franchise, released in 2021 and developed by 343 Industries. When all hope is lost and humanity's fate hangs in the balance, Master Chief is ready to confront the most ruthless foe he's ever faced.
Halo is a 2022 TV Series developed for Paramount, created by Steven Kane & Kyle Killen and starring Pablo Schreiber. Loosely adapted from the universe of the video games, aliens threaten human existence in an epic 26th-century showdown.
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This one is all about zombies! We talk about Back 4 Blood and the original Night of the Living Dead.
Back 4 Blood is a 2021 first-person-shooter video game developed by Turtle Rock Studios and published by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment. From the creators of the critically-acclaimed Left 4 Dead franchise, You are at the center of a war against the Ridden. These once-human hosts of a deadly parasite have turned into terrifying creatures bent on devouring what remains of civilization. With humanity's extinction on the line, it's up to you and your friends to take the fight to the enemy, eradicate the Ridden, and reclaim the world.
Back 4 Blood is a 1968 film written and directed by George Romero, and is one of the original zombie movies before zombie movies were even a thing! A ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the East Coast of the United States.
We use this pairing to discuss how zombies have evolved across pop-culture and different trends and interests that get portrayed in media following what's happening in the world around us in any different time period- but all focused on zombies!
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This one is all about Among Us & The Thing! And also we talk about 12 Angry Men a little bit as well.
Among Us is a 2018 video game developed by Innersloth. Directly inspired by The Thing and blowing up in popularity during the pandemic, it is an online and local party game of teamwork and betrayal for 4-15 players...in space!
The Thing is a 1982 movie written and directed by John Carpenter. Starring Kurt Russel as the main character, a research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
12 Angry Men is a 1957 black and white film directed by Sidney Lumet and is about a jury in a New York murder trial who are frustrated by a single member whose sceptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.
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This episode is about It Takes Two and Toy Story and features special guests Holly (Stephen's partner) and Cathy (CJ's wife)!
It Takes Two is a two player co-operative adventure game developed by Hazelight Studios and released in 2021, winning Game of the Year at the video game awards that same year. Play as the clashing couple Cody and May, two humans turned into dolls by a magic spell. Together, trapped in a fantastical world where the unpredictable hides around every corner, they are reluctantly challenged with saving their fractured relationship.
Toy Story is an animated feature film directed by John Lasseter and released in 1995. A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman action figure supplants him as top toy in a boy's bedroom.
(we touch on Toy Story as a whole with all of the movies in this episode as well)
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This episode is about Tomb Raider & Tomb Raider! That may sound confusing, but that's because we're covering the 2013 Tomb Raider game and the 2018 direct movie adaptaion of the same name.
Tomb Raider is a 2013 action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix's European subsidiary. It is the tenth main game in the Tomb Raider franchise and is a reboot of the series, acting as the first instalment for a trilogy of games that reconstructs the origins of Lara Croft.
Tomb Raider is also a 2018 movie directed by Roar Uthaug and stars Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft. Adapted specifically from the 2013 video game, it follows Lara Croft - the fiercely independent daughter of a missing adventurer - who must push herself beyond her limits when she discovers the island where her father disappeared.
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This episode is about Deathloop and Boss Level! Both have timeloops but is that enough for them to work well as a pairing?
Deathloop is a game developed by Arkane Studios and released in 2021. You play as an assassin who is caught in a deadly time-loop on an island full of enemies. In order to succeed, you'll have to die, die and die again.
Boss Level is a film released in 2020, starring Frank Grillo and directed by Joe Carnahan. Trapped in a time loop that constantly repeats the day of his murder, a former special forces agent must unlock the mystery behind his untimely demise.
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This episode is about The Outer Worlds and Firefly!
The Outer Worlds is a sci-fi role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and released in 2019. As you explore a space colony, the character you decide to become will determine how this player-driven story unfolds. In the colony's corporate equation, you are the unplanned variable.
Firefly is a television series created by Joss Whedon and originally aired in 2002. As you explore a space colony, the character you decide to become will determine how this player-driven story unfolds. In the colony's corporate equation, you are the unplanned variable.
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In this episode we discuss the 'full-motion-video' video game Erica, paired with Black Mirror Bandersnatch! Both feature game and movie elements but one is marketed primarily as a game while the other is marketed primarily as a movie. Where do we draw the line between games and movies and does it work in these examples?
Erica released in 2019 and is a full motion video-based interactive film video game developed by Flavourworks and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It puts you directly at the heart of the mystery. Your choices, your consequences. You play as Erica who finds herself trying to solve a mystery that traumatized her many years ago.
Black Mirror Bandersnatch released in 2018 by Netflix and shares the same universe as the Black Mirror television series. It is an interactive film set in 1984 where a young programmer starts to question reality while he adapts a mad writer's dark fantasy novel into a video game.
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In our very first episode we are discussing Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland and the Fear Street movie trilogy, Fear Street 1994, Fear Street 1978 and Fear Street 1666!
Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland is a point-and-click adventure game adapted from the Goosebumps novels written by R. L. Stine, developed by Danger Close Games and released in 1996. Lizzy, Luke and Clay are trapped in Horrorland - and you must help rescue them. Escape from Werewolf, Dracula and the Horrors of HorrorLand. Solve puzzles and gather clues to free your friends from one of the creepiest places on earth.
Fear Street Part One: 1994, Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and Fear Street Part Three: 1666, are all directed by Leigh Janiak and released in 2021. They are adapted from the Fear Street novels, also written by R. L. Stine.
Fear Street 1994: After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that's plagued their notorious town for centuries.
Fear Street 1978: A summer of fun turns into a gruesome fight for survival as a killer terrorizes Camp Nightwing in the cursed town of Shadyside.
Fear Street 1666: In 1666, a colonial town is gripped by a witch hunt that has deadly consequences for centuries to come, while teenagers in 1994 try to put an end to their town's curse before it is too late.
