New Podcast Idea

[Mot Wakorb]

Violent and myself have been going back and forth lately on the idea of a new podcast, particularly looking for opinions about games, new and old, that're strongly stated but done so in a civil manner. It'd be a roundtable style of podcast, moderated by one person who would ask questions of people, both ones that the moderator came up with, along with those that the panel would come up with that they're interested in having other people questioned about.

The general idea is that we would have a bi-weekly schedule to do the podcast, have a game that is stated for the two-week period, then at the end of that period, get together and discuss said game, then post for all to listen to. Obviously in doing this though, we need your help. While it already includes Violent and myself, we need other takers, both permanent and "guest" positions that could join in the conversation with us on a bi-weekly basis. Obviously right now this is in a test/discussion/creation phase, and we'd want to get together with the members of the team to get to know each other's voice, strengths and weaknesses, and discuss the overall format of the podcast with each person.

If you're interested, please post in this thread if you'd be interested in doing the show, as well as if you'd like to be a guest or permanent, and if you'd do any kind of tweaks to the show.

The first game that we've come up with to discuss is a classic - Silent Hill 2.

[Voodoo]

I'm available for this project. :)

[UWCrash]

I'm in. I could probably be permanent except for those occasions when work decides to kick me in the ass.

[violent]

Precisely. This is what I would consider "fresh" discussion in the sense that we will play said game for the 2 weeks and immediately have a roundtable discussion. Silent Hill 2 was my first choice due to the limitless interpretation it offers. We would have a group of about 5 play through the game within their two week timeframe and submit particular questions or outlooks to the moderator. Come recording time, the questions will be brought up in a manner of controlled yet opinionated discussion.

We are looking for people who can both play games and articulate their insight on their experience. We want to get a few regulars and also offer guest seats for those who want to be included in a particular title. This is a call to arms. Let us know if you're interested in being a part of it.

[civil]

I'd be interested as one of said "guests" - sans any cosplay mentions, even. But the planets would have to be aligned, time-wise. It would be great if you had a schedule that was a month or so (maybe even 1.5 months) ahead so that one could plan for it.

[Suave Peanut]

I assume this is what we were discussing in IRC last week. I was wondering when this thread was going to show up! You know I'm down.

[violent]

Indeed it is.

[Psykoboy2]

THAT...is a great idea. And when the fall season dies down, I'd love to have a go at it.

Keep us updated.

[Deadend]

I am in... just not for a Silent Hill 2 ep, as I lack the game and a working PS2.

I love backlog style stuff.

[diablopath]

Kickin it oldschool, eh?

This sounds fun.
I'm not as cool as you guys, but I'd love to listen, and maybe talk about StarCraft or WoW whenever those surface.

[violent]

Kickin it oldschool, eh?

This sounds fun.
I'm not as cool as you guys, but I'd love to listen, and maybe talk about StarCraft or WoW whenever those surface.

Good discussion is what we're looking for here. If you got the goods I encourage you to go for a spot.

[Mot Wakorb]

Bump for the morning crowd.

[AgtFox]

I may be interested in being a permanent/guest on this, although much like Scott said I would have to wait until after the holdiays probably since there will be a lot of games to review for the site (and Co-Optimus probably).

[Mishima]

It'd be a roundtable style of podcast, moderated by one person who would ask questions of people, both ones that the moderator came up with, along with those that the panel would come up with that they're interested in having other people questioned about.

Make it so the panel doesn't know the questions ahead of time (i.e. they don't get to submit questions), otherwise you'll end up with a bunch of canned responses and that can be boring.

Also, if your podcast becomes popular, people (meaning me, at least) will be expecting a new one every week. You'll need to start playing a new game every week since you are giving 2 weeks to finish it.

[itchyeyes]

Sounds like a lot of fun. I'm definitely interested. I'd be interested in both permanent and guest spots, but it would depend on what days of the week we're recording and how long we're recording for.

[Mot Wakorb]

Make it so the panel doesn't know the questions ahead of time (i.e. they don't get to submit questions), otherwise you'll end up with a bunch of canned responses and that can be boring.

Also, if your podcast becomes popular, people (meaning me, at least) will be expecting a new one every week. You'll need to start playing a new game every week since you are giving 2 weeks to finish it.

The intention with allowing the panel to post questions is only to the moderator, not to the rest of the group - thus, the moderator asks the rest of the group, not the original posting person, avoiding the issue of canned responses.

As for the popularity thing, expectation rarely meets reality. We could attempt to do so, but IMO, we'd degrade the abilities for the panel to get the game finished - I'd rather do this right and give proper time to finish than degrade final product.

[Mishima]

As for the popularity thing, expectation rarely meets reality. We could attempt to do so, but IMO, we'd degrade the abilities for the panel to get the game finished - I'd rather do this right and give proper time to finish than degrade final product.

I think I did not explain this part properly. You still have 2 weeks to play the game, but you are starting a new game every week, so after the first 2 weeks you will have a new podcast every week (assuming the recording part takes a day or so).

As I write that, I can see that its a lot of work so I guess its up to you as to whether its worth it or not. In the end, I don't know what you hope to achieve - do you want to be the next Ingame Chat or do you just want to have a little fun?

[Raen]

I'd certainly subscribe to this as a podcast.

[Mot Wakorb]

I think I did not explain this part properly. You still have 2 weeks to play the game, but you are starting a new game every week, so after the first 2 weeks you will have a new podcast every week (assuming the recording part takes a day or so).

As I write that, I can see that its a lot of work so I guess its up to you as to whether its worth it or not. In the end, I don't know what you hope to achieve - do you want to be the next Ingame Chat or do you just want to have a little fun?

We're not trying to be them - we're not discussing games coming out, all of that, we're discussing the games themselves. They'll end up having some spoilers as to really discuss the games, you have to discuss the components, and IGC does a lot more than that, such as discussion of news, interviews - these are things that will not be a part of our podcast. We want to have our own spin on games in general.

As for the "a lot of work", yes, it is, and we don't even know how this will go. Right now it's more of a side-project than anything that we'd like to see blossom into something more, but we have to take a shot at it and see how it goes.

[Mishima]

We're not trying to be them - we're not discussing games coming out, all of that, we're discussing the games themselves. They'll end up having some spoilers as to really discuss the games, you have to discuss the components, and IGC does a lot more than that, such as discussion of news, interviews - these are things that will not be a part of our podcast. We want to have our own spin on games in general.

As for the "a lot of work", yes, it is, and we don't even know how this will go. Right now it's more of a side-project than anything that we'd like to see blossom into something more, but we have to take a shot at it and see how it goes.

Sounds good.

I didn't mean "be the next Ingame Chat" so literally. I meant it more to the point of "do you want to be popular?", "do you want the podcast to lead to bigger things?", are you looking to make a name for yourselves?

[Mot Wakorb]

Sounds good.

I didn't mean "be the next Ingame Chat" so literally. I meant it more to the point of "do you want to be popular?", "do you want the podcast to lead to bigger things?", are you looking to make a name for yourselves?

Right now, we're just a group of folks trying to make a podcast. Where it goes from here, nobody knows!

[KingGorilla]

I am in, but I warn you. Civil podcast and Javier do not go together. I fancy myself a decent host/moderator and I can help record as well as work in gimmiks like skypecasting.

[Mishima]

Still sounds good.

Please try to find a way to do it without having half of the team on Ventrilo (or Skype etc.). That always sounds terrible.

[violent]

Still sounds good.

Please try to find a way to do it without having half of the team on Ventrilo (or Skype etc.). That always sounds terrible.

Once we select our permanent members we can start testing the whole audio portion of the show. I'm not aware of any other members down here so I can presume I'll be alone. We're simply going to try and make due with what we have to start.

I am in, but I warn you. Civil podcast and Javier do not go together.

I know a lot of people that disagree with you but I'll consider taking him off the project if that helps.

[PathMaster]

Great idea and I hope it comes to fruition.

[Ghostbear]

I am interested in being on the show. Perhaps on a guest basis, that is, maybe every other game or so. For example, I do not own silent hill 2 so that wouldn't be an option for me :)

[Psykoboy2]

See, I have Silent Hill 2, but it's the Xbox Version. Was there a difference?

Either way, I don't have time to play it again in all the mess we're getting in the next few weeks.

[violent]

I know that the Xbox version has Restless Dreams which is I believe a Maria sidestory. The actual game though is identical so I would say it's sufficient. Luckily SH2 is a game that can be played through in about 8 hours so it shouldn't be very demanding time-wise.

[violent]

Bump for the night guys.

[pomeroy]

I would definitely listen to this, and maybe even like to contribute as an occaisional participant.

[Suave Peanut]

Alright, I have been able to dig my as of yet unplayed copy of Silent Hill 2 out of my PS2 library. I intend to play through it this weekend and provide my thoughts by the first of next week, if you are still interested in having me, of course.

[violent]

Alright, I have been able to dig my as of yet unplayed copy of Silent Hill 2 out of my PS2 library. I intend to play through it this weekend and provide my thoughts by the first of next week, if you are still interested in having me, of course.

I am. We will be getting together on Monday 9:30 EST. Are you available?

[King3567]

This sounds like a great idea. Maybe try and make it more of a discussion rather than answering questions. That's just my thought though.

[KingGorilla]

This sounds like a great idea. Maybe try and make it more of a discussion rather than answering questions. That's just my thought though.

No, strict scripting, do not deviate.

[violent]

This sounds like a great idea. Maybe try and make it more of a discussion rather than answering questions. That's just my thought though.

It's not going to be a cut and dry question kind of thing. More like questions regarding interpretation. Simply asking what was the main characters name isn't worth discussion. Why he did what he did is though.

[Deadend]

This sounds like a great idea. Maybe try and make it more of a discussion rather than answering questions. That's just my thought though.

I think it depends on the game as well, some games like Silent Hill 2 are better for focused questions, as otherwise people get off on tangents too easily about "oh man, when that Pyramid Head!" but then a game like GTA are best served by anecdotes and tangents.

[violent]

I think it depends on the game as well, some games like Silent Hill 2 are better for focused questions, as otherwise people get off on tangents too easily about "oh man, when that Pyramid Head!" but then a game like GTA are best served by anecdotes and tangents.

Exactly. This is also why we chose to have the discussion moderated, to keep things relevant and to make sure the conversation progresses. I also agree that some games don't lend themselves to questions too well but regardless of game, observations are valid and it's these that we want to use as the foundation for any particular discussion.

[Mot Wakorb]

Final bump.

[Dukefrukem]

This could be really fun. I want in

[Widgetcraft]

I'm actually playing through Silent Hill 2 for the first time. I started a couple days ago. As for the show, if you'd like to have me on, I could be either permanent or guest. Or nothing at all, I'm cool with anything :p

[Suave Peanut]

I am. We will be getting together on Monday 9:30 EST. Are you available?
Ugh, so close! I am booked until 9 PM Central on Monday.