Into the Aether - A Low Key Video Game Podcast Stephen Hilger + Brendon Bigley

On the finale of X-Strike Summer, AJ chats with Dom Nero (Eye of the Duck) and Kyle Starr (Y-Button) about being gamer dads, puzzle games, and how you are well within your rights to return any console within 30-days because you can't beat the Elden Ring DLC. It is *not* your fault, it's the *controller* that's broken.
Dom's LinksOn Twitter: https://twitter.com/dominicknero Dom's website: https://domnero.comDom's story "the bells" in the No Tokens journal: https://notokensjournal.com/fiction/the-bells/The Eye of the Duck podcast:  http://www.eyeoftheduckpod.com/
Kyle's LinksOn Threads: https://www.threads.net/@_kylestarrOn Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@kylestarrThe Y-Button podcast: http://ybutton.online/Zero Counts: https://zerocounts.net/
Into the Game Jam Linksitch page: https://itch.io/jam/itgj-summer-2024Find the forum thread on the TWG Discord: Navigate to the "Games Forums" category, select the games-events forum, find "Into The Game Jam (Summer 2024)" forum thread and say hello!
Discussed: Into the Game Jam, being a Gamer Dad, Sell My Old Consoles I'm Off to Handheld from Zero Counts, Video Games are Millennials Too from Zero Counts, the hand-me-down console, Shadows of the Empire Was the Original Star Wars Smuggler Story by Dom for Esquire, the Anbernic RG405V in transparent purple, the Gamegirl, gaming curriculum, Describing the Aether, getting your kids to like junk food, Kyle's Gameboy restorations, the PICO-8, games being made *right now*, Splore, Retro Game Corps, a bunch of Splore games (check the chapters!), Playdate's Lua SDK, thoughts about games, X-Strike or X-Strike? Or X-Strike???, more like the Lame-o of Time, Kingdom Hearts, Animal Well, Return of the Obra Dinn, Chants of Sennaar, Apotris, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Cocoon, COCOON - Story and Ending Explained by Pixel Pondering, this Second Wind video about puzzles, games Kyle has been thinking about, The Legend of Zelda: The Ultimate Trial, the ONE Metal Gear Solid to play, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Lookouts, the finale of X-Strike Summer 3---Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.onlineBuy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.onlineJoin the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast---Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecastFollow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com---Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigleyProduced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social---Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto---Timecodes:
(00:00) - Intro with Dom and Kyle!

(01:42) - Into the Game Jam is underway!!!

(05:52) - What it's like being a gamer dad

(16:16) - What games our kids will play

(24:01) - Gaming 101

(31:09) - Kyle's handheld experience

(39:23) - PICO-8, a fantasy console

(47:29) - Dom's Splore list

(47:36) - Hot Wax | Dom's Splore list

(48:08) - Marble Merger | Dom's Splore list

(48:14) - Tetrolled | Dom's Splore list

(48:39) - Embrace | Dom's Splore list

(49:07) - Just One Boss | Dom's Splore list

(49:44) - Modern game design with limited tools

(52:49) - Kyle's rabbithole

(01:08:15) - How's AJ doing?

(01:10:44) - Gaming is back

(01:11:47) - Kingdom Hearts | Kyle's big ol' list

(01:19:53) - Animal Well | Kyle's big ol' list

(01:32:07) - Games that Kyle has been thinking about

(01:35:16) - The Legend of Zelda: The Ultimate Trial | IF YOU'RE GOING TO STOP LISTENING, LISTEN TO THIS BIT AT LEAST

(01:44:29) - AJ's been thinking about Metal Gear Solid

(01:48:26) - Shadow of the Erdtree| What if someone made a game that was hard???

(01:50:45) - Lookouts | Stay tuned for more on dotzip!

(01:51:42) - X-Strike Summer is over!!!

(01:53:15) - Find Dom and Kyle's links in the show notes!

(01:56:06) - Wrapping up
---Thanks to all of our amazing patrons including our Eternal Gratitude members:GrokCorey ZDirectio

Shhh be very quiet... our guests are very sleepy today, they need their rest... AJ chats with Emily Price (Unwinnable), Robin Bea (inverse), Tamoor Hussain (Gamespot), and Willa Rowe (Kotaku) about Geoff's Big Week, "these uncertain times", and 1000xRESIST again!
Emily's LinksEmily's Review of Saltsea Chronicles: Saltsea Chronicles Beautifully Finds A Way ForwardPast Presence for Unwinnable: https://unwinnable.com/author/emily-price/ Profile on Paste Magazine: https://www.pastemagazine.com/author/emily-price On Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/emilyprice.bsky.social Website: https://emily-price.neocities.org/
Robin's LinksRobin's inteview with Xalavier Nelson: The Best Noir Shooter of 2023 Has Only Gotten More RelevantProfile on inverse: https://www.inverse.com/profile/robin-bea-53955560On Twitter: https://twitter.com/robinbombusGirl Mode: https://pod.link/1653178238
Tam's LinksTam's Shadow of the Erdtree preview: Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC Renews The Awe And Adventure Of Elden RingProfile on Gamespot: https://www.gamespot.com/profile/Tamz/On the Friends Per Second SGF episode: https://pod.link/1629844110/episode/2960bce32ae25ad04faa225f68e97a85On Twitch: https://twitch.tv/tamoorhSomething to help you get through the Elden Ring DLC: https://gfuel.com/products/elden-ring-crimson-tears
Willa's LinksWilla's love letter to Dragon's Dogma 2: Dragon’s Dogma 2 Makes You Take Your Time, And That’s GreatProfile on Kotaku: https://kotaku.com/author/thewillaroweGirl Mode on Twitter: https://twitter.com/girlmode_pod Girl Mode on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/girlmodepod.bsky.social
Into the Game Jam Linksitch page: https://itch.io/jam/itgj-summer-2024Find the forum thread on the TWG Discord: Navigate to the "Games Forums" category, select the games-events forum, find "Into The Game Jam (Summer 2024)" forum thread and say hello!
Discussed: Summer Game Fest, "The Year of the Indie", searching for new ideas, Emily's sub-column "Object Lessons", Victory Heat Rally Shakedown, NextFest, Demonschool, the naming problem, the Tribeca Festival, Metal Gear Solid: Delta gameplay trailer, Dragon Age: The Veilguard reveal and gameplay, the state of the industry, The Bittersweet Feeling Of Seeing Your Game Revealed After Getting Laid Off by Nathan Grayson for Aftermath, Blumhouse is Redefining The Approach to Horror Games | Gamespot Summer Live, 1000xRESIST (again), Fear the Spotlight, Hauntii, Animal Well, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, ODDADA, Tiny Glades, Thank Goodness You're Here, Baldur's Gate 3, Trails in the Sky the 3rd, Trails into Reverie Continues the Most Ambitious Epic in Games by Mark Normandin, Preserve, Building Relationships---Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.onlineBuy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.onlineJoin the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast---Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecastFollow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com---Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigleyProduced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social---Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto---Timecodes:
(00:00) - Intro with my haggard companions

(01:47) - What did we think of SGF (and the surround events)?

(06:30) - "The Year of the Indie"

(24:56) - Metal Gear Solid Delta Gameplay Reveal | The tables turn

(29:49) - Dragon Age: The Veilguard | Emily's allotted AAA brainspace

(35:49) - The state of the industry

(47:35) - Check out the work of our guests! Links in the show notes!

(51:33) - 1000xRESIST | Hekki Allmo, listeners

(54:40) - Fear the Spotlight | From the studio that brought you M3GAN

(01:01:18) - Hauntii | Do you go to Heaven???

(01:04:03) - Animal Well | You ever heard of this one?

(01:06:52) - Lorelei and the Laser Eyes | A game you play in your notebook

(01:09:05) - ODDADA | Games but you

there was a nintendo direct today, so the boys came out of  ̶r̶e̶t̶i̶r̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ their summer break to talk about it real quick.


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This week AJ chats with Alanna Okun and Chase Allhart about their experiences with game design (and game design adjacent) education! They also confront the age old question: what even is a video game, anyway?
Into the Game Jam Linksitch page: https://itch.io/jam/itgj-summer-2024Find the forum thread on the TWG Discord: Navigate to the "Games Forums" category, select the games-events forum, find "Into The Game Jam (Summer 2024)" forum thread and say hello!
Alanna's LinksWebsite: https://alannaokun.xyzButtonmash newsletter: https://buttonmash.substack.com/Games made with bitsy: https://itch.io/games/made-with-bitsy
Chase's LinksVideo Game Podtimism: https://podtimism.com
Discussed: TWG's Into the Game Jam (Summer 2024), Chase's Gamer Cred, Alanna's journey to game design, Alanna's Majora's Mask piece, what is a game, Journey, idea games, Bitsy, telling stories through mechanics, the search for tighter experiences (again), Outersloth, 1000xRESIST, Unicorn Overlord, Animal Well, sweet and salty games, Elden Ring, an embarrassment of riches, Persona 3 in its various forms, Skald: Against the Black Priory, Slice & Dice, Loop Hero.---Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.onlineBuy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.onlineJoin the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast---Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecastFollow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com---Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigleyProduced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social---Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto---Timecodes:
(00:00) - Intro

(01:02) - TWG's Into the Game Jam! Links in the show notes!!

(02:18) - Gamer Credentials

(02:39) - Chase's journey

(05:14) - Alanna's journey

(13:04) - What is a video game?

(33:46) - The search for tighter experiences

(44:30) - 1000xRESIST | An infomercial for the game by sunset visitor

(51:55) - Unicorn Overlord | A masterful segue

(54:41) - Animal Well | The "five M&Ms" of gaming

(01:01:32) - Elden Ring | The quest to git gud again

(01:03:43) - Persona 3 | A safe space

(01:12:02) - Skald: Against the Black Priory | Chase what is this game!!!!

(01:16:02) - Slice & Dice | Granola-likes

(01:20:13) - Loop Hero | oreH pooL

(01:23:19) - Where to find Alanna and Chase online (check the show notes!)

(01:27:09) - Wrapping up
---Thanks to all of our amazing patrons including our Eternal Gratitude members:GrokCorey ZDirectional JoySusan HOlivia KDan SIsaac SWill CJim WEvan BDavid Hmin2Aaron GVErik MBrady HJoshua JTony LDanny KSeth MAdam BJustin KAndy HDemoParker EMaxwell LSpiritofthunderJason WJason TCorey TMinnow Eats WhaleCaleb WfingerbellyJesse WMike TCodesWesleyErik BmebezacSergio LninjadeathdogRory BA42PoundMooseAndrewJustin MPeterStellar.BeesBrendan KScott RwreckxNoah OMichael GArcturusChris RhepaheCory FChase ALoveDiesNick QWes KChris MRBMichaela WAdam FScott HAlexander SPTherese KjgprintersJessica BMurrayDavid PJason KBede RKamrin HKyle SPhilip N

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Welcome to the first EVER episode of Into the Aether: X-Strike Summer! We kick of the series with games industry pros (and TWG community members) Kyle Labriola, Murray Cameron-Smith and NBZ!
This week's episode is REQUIRED to be listened to at .75 speed to make up for all the times you were listening at 3x, you sickos.---Kyle's LinksBlog: https://blueberrylemonade.pika.page/Indie Games of Cohost: https://cohost.org/IndieGamesOfCohostRhythm Doctor: https://store.steampowered.com/app/774181/Rhythm_Doctor/A Dance of Fire and Ice: https://store.steampowered.com/app/977950/A_Dance_of_Fire_and_Ice/
Murray's LinkA Shell In The Pit: https://ashellinthepit.com/
NBZ's LinksThis Nintendo Life: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P4WI8rVRpAMjDIxJLqJUn Threads: https://www.threads.net/@lordnbz Playstack Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/Playstack
Discussed: X-Strike Summer!, podcast listening speeds, Adam Sandler’s opus: Click, the competitive value of Shuckle, the slow boil of becoming an indie game dev, watching a game blow up, separating work brain and regular brain, how to work from home, Dadish 3D, Sokpop Collective, short experiences, Toree 3D, Cavern of Dreams, Pseudoregalia, Persona 3 Portable, Beyond the Beyond, Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals, Rhythm Sprout, this Rhythm Heaven tiktok, maimai, searching for tighter experiences.---Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.onlineBuy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.onlineJoin the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast---Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecastFollow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com---Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigleyProduced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social---Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto---Timecodes:
(00:00) - Intro

(00:14) - Welcome to X-Strike Summer!

(02:27) - Histories with ITA and TWG

(06:59) - Getting in to the industry

(18:34) - What it's like to watch a game blow up

(24:12) - Getting brought into the fold

(29:07) - Creative Broken Brain(tm)

(41:27) - A surprise guest! (It's Crash Bandicoot)

(41:54) - Dadish 3D | The latest installment in the Dadish Cinematic Universe

(48:25) - Toree 3D | A lil bird that jumps :-)

(52:41) - Persona 3 Portable | Another condensed game with a 3 in the title

(01:02:09) - Beyond the Beyond | On the Retroid QWERTY123FFXIV Pro

(01:05:34) - Lufia 2 | A game that forces you to use your items

(01:18:02) - Rhythm Sprout | More little guys!

(01:29:08) - Are people looking for more focused experiences?

(01:43:30) - Check the links in the show notes!

(01:45:25) - Wrapping up
---Thanks to all of our amazing patrons including our Eternal Gratitude members:GrokCorey ZDirectional JoySusan HOlivia KDan SIsaac SWill CJim WEvan BDavid Hmin2Aaron GVErik MBrady HJoshua JTony LDanny KSeth MAdam BJustin KAndy HDemoParker EMaxwell LSpiritofthunderJason WJason TCorey TMinnow Eats WhaleCaleb WfingerbellyJesse WMike TCodesWesleyErik BmebezacSergio LninjadeathdogRory BA42PoundMooseAndrewJustin MPeterStellar.BeesBrendan KScott RwreckxNoah OMichael GArcturusChris RhepaheCory FChase ALoveDiesNick QWes KChris MRBMichaela WAdam FScott HAlexander SPTherese KjgprintersJessica BMurrayDavid PJason KBede RKamrin HKyle SPhilip N

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You've traveled far and faced trials that would demoralize most... or worse.
But here you emerge, into the sun, holding in your hands the thing you've been searching for so long: The Uncharted bonus episode of Into the Aether.---Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.onlineBuy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.onlineJoin the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast---Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecastFollow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com---Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigleyProduced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social---Season 6 Cover Art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto---Timecodes:
(00:00) - It's Uncharted time BABY
(02:18) - NaughtyDog's influence and the state of crunch
(09:06) - Histories with the series
(39:18) - Nate's Theme by Greg Edmonson
(39:44) - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
(01:05:00) - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
(01:20:32) - Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
(01:33:23) - Uncharted: Golden Abyss
(01:41:08) - A Thief's End by Henry Jackman
(01:41:39) - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
(02:13:24) - Uncharted: Lost Legacy
(02:28:34) - A Thief's End by Henry Jackman
(02:28:58) - Nathan Drake (said in the cadence of "Donkey Kong")
(02:29:27) - Uncharted losing the supernatural | From Rebecca
(02:34:46) - What if instead of combat... anything else? | From GJ
(02:37:47) - Nathan Drake loves SUBS | From Cameron
(02:40:20) - Uncharted: Drake's CInematic Adaptation | From Matt
(02:43:20) - Drake's Fancast | From Ponk
(02:47:12) - THE Uncharted game | From saiklex
(02:48:56) - The sibling reveal | From Christian Spicer
(02:51:03) - Ludonarrative dissonance | From Lady Borkington's Biggest Fan
(02:52:37) - Twodonarrative dissonance | From Chase
(02:55:33) - Uncharted's influence | From Brittlemoon
(03:02:35) - Wrapping up
(03:05:36) - Nate's Theme
---Thanks to all of our amazing patrons including our Eternal Gratitude members:GrokCorey ZDirectional JoySusan HOlivia KDan SIsaac SWill CJim WEvan BDavid Hmin2Aaron GVErik MBrady HJoshua JTony LDanny KSeth MAdam BJustin KAndy HDemoParker EMaxwell LSpiritofthunderJason WJason TCorey TMinnow Eats WhaleCaleb WfingerbellyJesse WMike TCodesWesleyErik BmebezacSergio LninjadeathdogRory BA42PoundMooseAndrewJustin MPeterStellar.BeesBrendan KScott RwreckxNoah OMichael GArcturusChris RhepaheCory FChase ALoveDiesNick QWes KChris MRBMichaela WAdam FScott HAlexander SPTherese KjgprintersJessica BMurrayDavid PJason KBede RKamrin HKyle SPhilip N

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★