The Two Vague Podcast Ben Cheknis

This week Andrew and Ben have a word inspired by our 2nd (insert air horn sound) review code (and for the PS5 no less)!  But first… a little bit of housekeeping featuring the one and only star of a single “The Three Stooges” episode, the "magic” 8-ball.  As you know, the gentlemen are fond of complicated math, so prepare for that AND a long definition segment.  Other topic diversions include: self help books, Ironwood Studios’ first release “Pacific Drive,” beverages, Juice Newton, superhero movies, French food, Ben’s review of Juicy Realm,” and 2VP merch ideas.
00:00:21 - Sausage, Tucson’s Zine Festival, and Andrew gets help from Asplenia Studios!00:02:40 - Ben’s “almost first kiss,” 2VP merch possibilities, and help from Dr. Faith Harper00:07:22 - Low budget time travel, a borscht-centric show, and Bethesda games on PS500:09:07 - Playing Pacific Drive, the joys of repair putty, and the “Herby-esque” station wagon00:12:02 - Sort of a college word, and calculating the Magic 8-Ball equivocation percentage00:17:20 - Magic 8-Ball facts, an obscure “The Three Stooges” episode, and cocktail concepts00:19:05 - Brendan Fraser, the Orange Julius, in Swedish, and prune juice is helpful sometimes00:23:10 - Juicing up, too soon, usage over time, cratered in the 1970’s, and pulp preferences00:26:19 - Meat juice, a favorite kindergarten food of Ben, AZ snails, and living in slug country00:30:05 - A direct to bathtub situation, the Tim Burton Superman movie, and the multiverses00:33:36 - Superhero popularity waning, favorite food truck movies, and Colm Meaney roles00:37:27 - The Fall Guy theme, the Beetlejuice window, and one of Ben’s favorite Judds 00:39:35 - The origin of a slogan, fruit chews facts, and coastal Oregon’s saltwater taffy 00:43:25 - Andrew’s Juice Newton memory, Deadpool movies, and the “Queen of Hearts” song00:47:50 - The theory springs a leak, bringing the horns, and a new tagline for the show 00:49:56 - The story of Juicy Realm, movers and shooters, the gameplay loop, and avocados00:52:30 - A comic strip style, PS5 is not required, powers and weapons, and saving seeds00:55:15 - Taking chances with weapons, the four biomes, room types, and less than the cost00:58:04 - Three ups, two payers, four sticks, no cups, three downs, and Ben recommends01:01:21 - Fan art creations, a cup of coffee, “comfy” tracksuit merchandise, and final thoughts A BIG THANK YOU to PM Studios and Team Critical Hit for our PS5 review key for “Juicy Realm!”
Ben’s Review of Juicy Realm 3 UPs:- 2 player local Co-op - Amazingly goofy Sunday funny paper cartoon graphics with a wide variety of creative weapons- After clearing the game the first time, difficulty modifiers are added so you can accumulate more seeds when you clear a biome, but it is entirely optional.
3 DOWNs:- No Option for online co-op gameplay- Some minor UI anomalies do exist that make weapon modifier selection difficult at times- Not balanced as much as I would have hoped… there is one character selection that is clearly superior and a number of weapons that are the most effective
DO BUY/PLAY… If you want a thrifty purchase with an arcade-like feel, but with the some of the variation, depth, and replay value of a rouge lite!  If you like games similar to Hades and Cult of the Lamb, you may want to check it out.  Even at full price, it’s a steal!
Follow Andrew / Partly Robot IndustriesHis website: https://partlyrobot.com/On Instagram: https://instagram.com/partlyrobotOn TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@partlyrobotOn Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/partlyrobot
Follow Two VagueOur website: https://www.twovaguepodcast.com On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/two_vague_podcastOn YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twovaguepodcast
For show appearance and other inquiries, contact us at: twovaguepodcast@gmail.com
References, Links, and Tags
#Podbean #DIYPodcast #ApplePodcast #VideoGames #Trivia #Comedy #Talkshow #2VP

Ceramicist and former fashion industry designer Jackie joins Ben this week to talk about a topic that impacts our physical AND digital lives.  Jackie has a great deal of experience and interest in design, but now she is shifting her focus to digital.  Ben shares his 90s / early 2000s fashion and Rory Gilmore’s boyfriend choices before getting to the definition.  Other topics discussed include: fashion, digital trends, puzzle video games, commerce, the mobile gaming market segment, and video game trend predictions for 2024.
00:00:21 - Voices, a determined Mango, a Masters in a week, and ceramic artist burnout00:03:13 - Craft vs. fine art mediums, dabbling, designing jewelry, and creativity in commerce00:06:46 - Emulation, higher education, Ben’s harsh sting, and the Pantone color of 202400:10:30 - Sharing and kindness, on your bum, and the 2VP sweatpants merchandise plans00:13:39 - An elder Millennial, Urban Decay, Ben is team Dean, and digital marketing trends00:17:10 - Jackie’s Google UX Design certificate, flavor of the month, and Ben’s meal kit idea 00:19:05 - The definition, media toxicity, Jackie is a Google person, and relatively new word 00:23:21 - Inspired by the Narrative episode, popularity, and changes in the fashion industry00:26:07 - Universally “in,” the speed of digital trends, navigating e-commerce, and hobbies00:30:37 - Blurring the line, and stories of creatives dealing with the corporate environment 00:33:47 - Questioning what big companies say that gamers want, and the mobile touchpoint00:36:27 - Trending celebrity names, Jackie’s gaming timeline, Purikura, and visiting the coffee00:40:14 - Jackie realizes her love of puzzle games, subway stories, and Netflix’s Knittens 00:44:12 - Weekly cat fashion shows, Juicy Realm’s premise, and Ben explains “bullet hell”00:46:40 - Konami’s 1993 Super Famicom game “Pop'n TwinBee” (Jackie CONFIRMED)!00:49:03 - Digital licenses, subscription models, Bethesda exclusivity, and favorite soups00:52:28 - Catching Pokémon, getting vaccinated, AR examples, and why is it appealing?00:56:04 - Expensive VR gear, doing virtual things while walking, and generative AI in games00:58:34 - Jackie plays devil’s advocate, thoughts on AI, self-expression, and AI voices01:04:11 - Ben’s new Google contact, a soul, sampling artistic works, and voice royalties01:07:13 - Ben is starstruck, the Paula Abdul briefing, and Jackie’s closing thoughts     01:10:29 - The cyclic nature of trends, no Cabbage Patch Kids, and adding wrinkles
Follow JackieHer website: https://www.jactse.com/Her storefront: https://www.madbrooklyn.com/On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mad_brooklyn
Follow Two VagueOur website: https://www.twovaguepodcast.comOn Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/two_vague_podcastOn YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twovaguepodcast
For show appearance and other inquiries, contact us at: twovaguepodcast@gmail.com
References, Links, and Tagshttps://www.urbandecay.com/https://www.pantone.com/
Ben says,“PAULA ABDUL… please be on the podcast!”https://paulaabdul.com/
#Podbean #DIYPodcast #ApplePodcast #VideoGames #Trivia #Comedy #Talkshow #2VP #TwoVaguePodcast #PodernFamily #InterviewShow #GamersofThreads #Gamer #PaulaAbdul #PantoneColor2024 #UrbanDecay 

To get you all excited for April 15th, Andrew joins Ben for a game review!  They were under the impression that math was fun… until they tried this game.  From relatively unknown game developer Intuit Inc. comes TurboTax!  Andrew and Ben are playing different versions of the game, so they share their varied experiences with each other and YOU!  Spoiler alert… as a game TurboTax is a dud, but as tax preparation software it’s fairly solid.  Ben says, “NEEDS ZOMBIES!”
00:00:20 - The third person, dog of bag poop, and Andrew (the IRS) has set a deadline00:02:20 - Ben and Andrew are playing different versions, and some facts about Intuit Inc.00:04:42 - For ages 4+, Ben turns off the noise, weaker vibrations, callouses, and columns00:06:51 - Canadian versions of TurboTax, Andrew the French spotter, and the circumflex 00:08:54 - The funny thing about French, Funk & Wagnalls, and the first AI Vice President   00:12:06 - The extra stuff and business edition, a serious side-thought, and back to taxes00:14:41 - Some recent FTC drama, Andrew’s example side-hustle, and tick infested scooters00:16:30 - Starting with the story and narrative, kinda’ like Zork, and Ben’s story summary00:18:43 - You can’t get all the State DLC, 1099 talk, and don’t get Ben started on stamps00:21:23 - Thoughts on TurboTax’s game mechanics, Andrew’s solar buff, and the wrinkle00:24:45 - Andrew’s amended tax return side quest, round numbers, and the cost of coffee00:26:06 - Too many rectangles, it’s not a race, no customizable avatars, and the discussion00:28:01 - FTC callback, micro transactions, currencies, upcoming regulations, and tips00:32:02 - The passthrough, the Sega Genesis version, and why the previous year?00:34:08 - Arizona and Oregon DLC, getting “the kicker,” and Ben’s 3 ups and 3 downs00:37:32 - Not compatible with Wave Financial, game saves, season passes, and zombies00:39:34 - Andrew has stamps, not good for concrete, Ben’s true story, and postage due00:41:34 - Thumbs up or thumbs down, lathe adjacent, and borrowing the Office Assistant
The FORMULA…Story and Narrative (SN) + Game Mechanics (GM) + Audiovisuals (AV) = a video game experience
SN - Story / Narrative - With a name like TurboTax, you might think this is a racing game… you would be wrong!  In this mostly text based “adventure,” your story can be vastly different from someone else's due to the extensive story branching.  You start out playing the role of someone who has been giving money to a government over the course of a year, and now at the conclusion of the year, you are told you have to do math and fill out forms before April 15th. You are obviously the protagonist, but it’s very difficult to determine who the adversary is. GM - Game Mechanics - For the main part of the game you are either answering questions or if you prefer, filling out the forms directly.  That’s really all of the gameplay… YAWN!  Even if you do fill out the forms and submit them to the government in time, you may still have to face a random boss fight in the form of an audit which can extend the playtime extensively. AV - Audiovisuals - There is no music!  The UI is very simplistic… and not in a compelling way. There is a timer and a checkered flag at the top of the screen, but that’s about as exciting as it gets.  Any sound effect in the game is utterly forgettable.  For the current generation of games, the graphics and audio should be much better.  Zombies are needed to add some excitement!  
UPs- If you do a speed run you can be done very quickly- You can receive money which makes it seem like you have accomplished something- DLC is available for your State if you want to extend your gameplayDOWNs  - Although story the branching is extensive there are really only 2 endings either you owe or you get a refund and neither of those guarantee a “good ending”- Almost more fun to fill out the forms manually, at least with that you feel

This week Andrew brings a very interesting word to the show!  Ben is up for the challenge, but first he has a review of Trombone Champ!  Then the hosts dive right into the discussion starting with literature… Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, and Star Wars by George Lucas.  Coincidentally, Ben gets to talk about his biggest “Jedi: Fallen Order,” pet peeves, but then they chat briefly about constitutional law. In the “official” video games segment, Ben shares the strange development story of “The Day Before” and the numerous equivocations therein.  In closing, Andrew talks about a cola marketing scam, and Ben unintentionally alienates the 2VP audience and possibly Andrew. 
00:00:21 - Video GAMES, a cliffhanger, dream feeding, and the lamest form of time traveling00:04:55 - Ben’s Trombone Champ review start, complicated math, and Dan’s trombone idea00:09:38 - The narrative of Trombone Champ, “Funiculì, Funiculà,” and amazing audiovisuals00:13:02 - Time to toot, gilding and “turd-ing,” secrets, inner 9 year olds, and a review closing00:19:19 - Not equivocating, the definition, in Swedish, and affordable furniture solutions00:21:38 - Spirit of exploration, Oedipus’ road rage, and Andrew’s Magic 8 Ball equivocation00:24:49 - Prophecy details, the swollen foot baby, full of irony, and a bit of a cougar00:29:09 - The Porter, “nose-painting, sleep, and urine,” 3 witches, and Macbeth vs Macduff00:33:06 - Obi-Wan equivocates about Vader, retroactive continuity, and Luke and Leia kiss00:36:17 - Ben talks about “Jedi: Fallen Order,” Cal Kestis, and a plethora of ponchos 00:41:48 - Ewan McGregor noises, acting with tennis balls, and a different century’s president00:45:17 - Paying for a wall with hurt feelings, on a spectrum, and Ben’s playful equivocation 00:48:41 - The legal profession, for justice or money, and Ben’s looking at you Congress!00:50:30 - Stuart, brief entomology, the Establishment Clause of the 1st, and Pueblo Colorado00:55:46 - Line crossing, the story of “The Day Before,” and the Steam page is actually gone01:02:01 - Andrew recounts the “New Coke” marketing scheme and resulting equivocations01:05:42 - Not the “Classic, Classic Coke,” lawyers and politicians, and equivocating felines
Ben’s Trombone Champ Review Highlights  Story / Narrative - SN - (8) - You are on a quest to become the Trombone Champ by tooting your trombone, learning about and pledging allegiance to baboons, collecting and trading Trombone Champ cards, meeting strange characters, and laughing a bunch.Audiovisuals - AV - (10) - From the character models, to the song selection, the UI which looks like something you would see on a “Dance, Dance Revolution” arcade machine, to the amazing song recording quality, to the background animations while you are “tooting”, to the satirical poke a EA Sports Games micro-transaction card collection graphics… Trombone Champ is perfectly executed in this area.Game Mechanics - GM - (9) - Nothing new here, BUT the game mechanics are finely tuned and nostalgically fun.  Choose your trombone style, sound scheme, and “tomboner,” your song, and then it’s time to TOOT! You play notes by pressing a key on the keyboard, and you use the pad to control the target reticle vertically on a line on the left side of the screen. You follow the note prompts as they scroll in from the right with key presses and mousepad movements and are rated on accuracy with “Perfectos,” “OKs,” “Nices,” “Mehs,” and “Nasties.” As you string your successes together your “CHAMP” meter fills and your multiplier builds. Once you have the meter filled completely, a celebratory airhorn sounds off; the longer you keep the “CHAMP” active, the more points you score for notes and combos. Based on your score at the end of each song, you earn “toot coins” which you can use to buy sacks of 4 cards to gather for your collection.

We have a special episode this week hosted by Ben and Norah!  After dispensing with the formalities, Ben has a great interview with journalist Lukas Eggen from the Las Vegas Review-Journal to share.  Lukas has a new Kickstarter project that he is working on that will hopefully reinvigorate games journalism by going back to a traditional investigative reporting philosophy… “Game On!”  Ben’s interview style is very conversational, but he does have a couple of thought provoking questions up his sleeve.  Following that, Ben and Norah talk about their experiences with the game Quilts and Cats of Calico from Monster Couch (available now on Steam for the PC and Mac).  Please be patient with Ben as he is still workshopping his “on air” review style.
00:00:02 - Tucson is just okay according to Norah, defending Ben, and on to the interview!00:02:09 - A warmup conversation with Lukas, and what we are playing or looking forward to00:06:18 - Lukas’ first review code, thoughts on KtJL, and what gamers really want00:09:23 - Ben’s first review code, PopCap beta testing, and Lukas’ disappointment sets in 00:12:06 - Lukas’ start in journalism, gaming trajectory, and current position at LVR-J00:17:29 - Journalistic integrity past and present, cable TV, entertainment, and bias in news00:20:18 - Talking about the “Game On!” mission statement and what it means to Lukas00:24:00 - Physical vs. online news pipelines, doing the work, and old fashioned news views 00:27:05 - Hat choices, Lukas’ beat, game industry focus, and gaming news diversity00:28:54 - Does Lukas consider himself a member of the video games industry?00:30:40 - Ben’s suggestion to sell magazine subscriptions, and Lukas on meeting Greg Miller00:33:19 - Go to Kickstarter for more information on Lukas’ not so secret project “Game On!”00:35:01 - Norah’s thoughts, interview styles, and Ben thanks David Letterman 00:36:02 - The embargo has lifted, Ben’s review formula, and the audiovisuals of QaCoC00:39:02 - Cat behaviors, taco costume, creating cats, and the Calico game mechanics00:41:10 - Quilt tessellations, game pieces, gameplay loop, and ways to score points in Calico00:45:40 - No smallpox, 10-15 minutes per, playing online, and story mode is underwhelming00:49:41 - QUILT WAR, “Pass and Play,” easy to learn difficult to master, and game complexity00:52:23 - How life works, text size can’t be changed, and Norah asks about the age to play00:57:32 - Norah’s thoughts on the tutorial, thank you to Monster Couch, and closing remarks
Check out the “LAN Parties” podcast on your favorite podcast service or listen to it here…https://www.reviewjournal.com/podcasts/lan-parties/
To help Lukas get his “Game On!” magazine fully funded go here...https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2103037101/game-on-2As of the publishing date of this podcast there are only 26 more days to go, so if you are interested in supporting a fresh perspective in games journalism, please consider supporting Lukas in his endeavor! 
For all of Lukas Eggen’s social media and journalism stuff… https://linktr.ee/LukasEggen
Follow Two Vague on…Our website: https://www.twovaguepodcast.com On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/two_vague_podcastOn YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twovaguepodcastOn (ex-)Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwoVaguePodcast
For show appearance and other inquiries, contact us at... twovaguepodcast@gmail.com
 
A BIG thank you to Krzysiek for Monster Couch for providing us with our FIRST review code! 
Ben’s Review of “Quilts and Cats of Calico”
The FORMULA…Audiovisuals (AV) + Game Mechanics (GM) + Story and Narrative (SN) = a video game experience
Ben’s importance percentages = 20% AV + 35% GM + 45% SN
AV - Audiovisuals - (8) - The game is very cute and definitely fits into the cosy, country home category of graphic design which absolutely compliments the game perfectly.  Likewise, the top notch quality songs and background m

Dance teacher Star joins Ben this week to discuss rhythm!  After Ben wishes everyone happy VD, Star talks about the festival where she is performing in a few weeks.  This is not a show about laser tag, so after a brief LARP-er diversion, they drop some sick beats and start the definition portion of the program.  Star tells stories about her vast dancing, choreography, teaching, and art school experiences.  Ben references a Star Trek: TNG episode involving tap dancing, makes Star watch a ballet scene from the movie Top Secret, and shares information about one of his favorite musical artist’s songs.  Rhythm video games discussed this week include: Rock Band, the Club Penguin disco mini-game, Dance Dance Revolution, Nintendo Power Pad games, Just Dance, Beatmania, Taiko no Tatsujin, Space Channel 5, Samba de Amigo, Frequency, Amplitude, and Trombone Champ. 
00:00:21 - Homeschool energy is kinda’ like horse girl energy… it’s been on Star’s mind00:02:49 - The Jefferson High School Democrats, “ruining the big reveal,” and happy VD!00:06:15 - Ben just completed Soul Hackers 2, laser tag stress, and it’s actually Funtasticks00:08:55 - LARPers have homeschool energy, RIP Galactic Battlecruiser, and into the rhythm 00:12:29 - The question at hand, syncopation, Star’s art of choreography, and dance maps00:15:36 - Square dancing, Ben is terrible at cursive, and cross it off the bucket list00:18:49 - Pantomime, dance code, Ben’s game idea, and make a collaboration buddy00:21:00 - Online Warriors shout out, the business of streaming, and an old man and his cats00:23:36 - Foot problems, ballet shoes are dumb, no tap dancing at a wedding, and sounds00:26:08 - Playing your feet, dance solos, ballet trauma, and the “Top Secret” codpieces00:29:19 - Dance stories, joke delay, Peter Gabriel’s “The Rhythm of the Heat,” and WOMAD00:32:35 - Jungian Psychology, the Ghanian War Dance, Miami Vice, and the Dead Milkmen00:34:48 - Music inspired dance, the original question, and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard00:37:28 - Funky again, alt-J, back to the pantomime, sick beats, and Jesse from Cuppocinnos00:40:04 - Soundcloud rappers, Stanley Tucci, Club Penguin clubbing, dance fingers, and DDR00:43:53 - The Power Pad, step aerobics, eleven games, Maze Epic Battle, and the Virtual Boy00:46:34 - F the Manhattan Police clubbers, seal free, and “Come Come Fallen Corpses…”00:48:39 - Remembering the steps of songs, Dance Dance Revolution masters, and Beatmania00:50:40 - Just Dance, they tried, the Eye Toy, dancing torsos, Taiko no Tatsujin, and latency 00:53:36 - More competitive than deserved, real life Mario Kart in Tokyo, and bop all the things00:56:50 - Less feet, really in to patterns, specialized controllers, and music tracks on tracks 00:59:15 - Ben thinks Holy Wow Studios’ Trombone Champ is a ridiculously fun “joke game”01:02:26 - Four trombones play a song badly, up since 5 AM, learning rhythm, and rambling 
Follow Two Vague on…
Our website: https://www.twovaguepodcast.comOn Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/two_vague_podcastOn YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twovaguepodcastOn X-Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwoVaguePodcast
For show appearance and other inquiries, contact us at: twovaguepodcast@gmail.com
References and Hashtags:
Soul Hackers 2 linkshttps://soulhackers2.atlus.com/index.html?lang=enhttps://store.steampowered.com/app/1777620/Soul_Hackers_2/https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0177-PPSA03743_00-SOULHACKERS00PS5
Check out friends of the pod… Online Warriors Podcasthttps://www.onlinewarriorspodcast.com/
Trombone Champ linkshttps://www.vecchitto.design/https://store.steampowered.com/app/1059990/Trombone_Champ/https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/trombone-champ-switch/
#Podbean #DIYPodcast #ApplePodcast #VideoGames #Trivia #Comedy #Talkshow #2VP #TwoVaguePodcast #SoulHackers2 #TromboneChamp #HolyWowStudios #DanVecchitto