Pretty Pixels Podcast

State of Play and Summer Game Fest

E3 season is upon us, even if the show itself is once again missing in action. In its absence, we propose claiming the term “E3” as a broad term meaning “big summer announcement season.” After this year’s Summer Game Fest, we need something… more exciting, and “E3” still sparks excitement in many of us. So… happy E3, everyone! Does that work? We’ll workshop it. Paul, Ron, and Joey talk about what they’ve been playing, but then a dramatic text rips Ron away from us (cue dramatic reality TV cut and tense music), leaving Paul and Joey to chat about Sony’s State of Play and the Summer Game Fest showcase. Resident Evil 4, Final Fantasy XVI, Lady D, The Rock, The Last of Us, and so much more. We also chat about what we’ve been playing, including No Man’s Sky and Elden Ring. Next week is our Pretty Pixels After Dark, celebrating episode 69, so join us for lots of painfully awkward sex talk!

Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:07:05: Ron’s been chipping away at GTA: San Andreas and eatin’ grits

00:11:45: Paul is nearing endgame in Elden Ring

00:22:00: Joey loved Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers, has mixed feelings about his return to No Man’s Sky

00:40:49: This is where Ron leaves, but he stopped his recording so there is a bit of an odd cut here

00: Sony State of Play!

00:47:25: Resident Evil

00:54:55: PSVR 2

01:02:09: Stray

01:06:09: Dead Spa- uh, The Callisto Protocol

01:09:46: Rollerdrome

01:12:20: Eternights

01:15:01: Street Fighter VI

01:23:20: Tunic and Season: A Letter to the Future

01:25:27: Final Fantasy XVI

01:32:42: Summer Game Fest! We begin with broad thoughts, then kind of jump around a bit. We don’t dwell on very many titles as we did with the State of Play

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Interstitial track from Jaws (NES), published by LJN, 1987.

Odd Gaming Associations

Slight change of plans, dear listener. Paul is out of town again this week, so we’ve pushed the “favorite weapons in video games” episode back a few weeks and are, instead, talking about some of our weird (and not weird) gaming associations. Ron and Joey talk a brisk jaunt down memory lane and share some associations we have with specific games. Which game do you suppose one of us used No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom album as a soundtrack for? And which of us was watching Dateline, playing Doom, and listening to Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral? We also meander in and out of related memories, including Zours candies, The Box (a music video dial-in show from the 80s/90s), gaming snacks and more. We also talk about the partner lineup for next week’s Summer Game Fest, KotOR coming to Switch, Sailor Jupiter, and what we’ve been playing.

Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:05:16: Girl Talk: http://illegal-art.net/girltalk/

00:08:30: Joey’s Sailor Moon update

00:12:19: Summer Game Fest announces its “partners” for next week’s showcase (https://www.summergamefest.com/#partners-intro)

00:22:50 : Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is coming to Nintendo Switch next week

00:26:25:: Ron’s been playing a whole lotta nothin’

00:30:16: Joey beat Parasite Eve, has been revamping his island and continues the search for Diana in Animal Crossing New Horizons, he’s been sucking up some ghosts with friends in Luigi’s Mansion 3, and he has started and is loving Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers

00:52:08: Odd Gaming Associations!

00:53:14: Aerosmith and TurboGrafx-16 (Ron)

00:55:55: Is that Alan Grant? (Joey)

01:01:58: No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom and EarthBound (Joey)

01:10:00: Dateline, Doom, and The Downward Spiral (Ron)

01:18:09: Super cheesy nachos, sugar-syrupy Kool-Aid, and Chrono Trigger (Joey)

01:22:36: Zours and Perfect Dark (Ron)

01:28:12: Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” and the freedom of GTA: San Andreas (Joey)

01:30:12: Twisted Ankle and Tomb Raider (Ron)

01:32:00: Green Jelly, Maximum Carnage, and The Box (Joey)

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Unique Gaming Feelings

Paul and Joey are discussing unique video game experiences! Breaking through the surface in Minecraft after getting lost for hours underground? Red lights in Gone Home? How about the thrill of an epic Elden Ring boss fight? We cover these and more, and feel free to write us and share your own unique video game moments! We also chat a lot about Elden Ring (duh), trophies (probably) coming to classic PlayStation titles with the new PS Plus, the new union at Raven Software, Arcane, Sailor Moon, Animal Crossing and so much more. Next week we’re talking about some of our favorite weapons in games!

Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey)

00:03:44: Classic PS games on PS Plus will (probably) have trophies! (via Polygon: https://www.polygon.com/23131569/playstation-plus-premium-trophy-support-spartacus)

00:14:35: Raven Software Employees Win Unionization Vote, Become First Union At Activision Blizzard (via Game Informer: https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/05/23/raven-software-employees-win-unionization-vote-become-first-union-at-activision-blizzard)

00:23:21: Paul’s been kicking ass and killing chickens in Elden Ring, and was very pleasantly surprised by Arcane (Netflix)

00:43:07: Joey’s been felling Fire Giants with Tab in Elden Ring, binging Sailor Moon, scurrying up trees in The Legend of Kage, squashing beasties in Parasite Eve, scouring the islands for his Animal Crossing bae in New Horizons, and burning rubber in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

01:03:35: Unique video game feelings!

01:11:02: Spider-Man (Insomniac)

01:17:00: Minecraft

01:23:22: FromSoftware bosses

01:34:18: Gone Home

01:47:04: BioWare magic

02:00:07: Red Dead Redemption 2

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Summer Playlists

The whole damn Pixels crew is here, ready to talk about our summer playlists! Tab, Paul, Ron, and Joey talk about the games they’re excited to play this summer. We’re talking upcoming games like Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers, but also plenty of games we’re catching up on or revisiting, like Max Payne and Far Cry. We also touch on some movies, shows, and books we’re hoping to dive into, including lots of anime. Sailor Moon! Studio Ghibli! We have a lot to catch up on. What’s on your summer playlist? Email us and we’ll read it on the show! We also talk about Activision Blizzard’s diversity tool, the shocking (?) Starfield delay, the first batch of PlayStation Plus Premium games announced, and a little about Warner Bros.’ new MultiVersus game trailer. And, of course, we get into what we’ve been playing (hint: it’s a lot of Elden Ring).

Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @randommox (Tab) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:02:16: Activision Blizzard’s new diversity tool seems well-intentioned but problematic (https://www.gamedeveloper.com/culture/activision-blizzard-s-new-diversity-space-tool-gets-frosty-reception-from-devs)

00:05:57: Starfield delayed to 2023; Paul weeps for his draft list

00:10:27: Sony releases a partial game list for its upcoming PlayStation Plus expanded tiers (https://blog.playstation.com/2022/05/16/all-new-playstation-plus-game-lineup-assassins-creed-valhalla-demons-souls-ghost-of-tsushima-directors-cut-nba-2k22-and-more-join-the-service/)

00:21:07: Brief discussion about the new MultiVersus trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvborgKG7fw)

00:26:12: Tab’s been making their way through the Far Cry games and pushing through Elden Ring

00:26:59: Joey’s finished (platinum, babyyyy) Elden Ring and is in love with Ranni the Witch

00:35:35: Paul’s been breaking thrones in Thronebreaker and being all social and stuff with board games like Hues and Cues and Telestrations

00:42:27: Ron’s kicking it old school, revisiting Duke Nukem 3D and Max Payne 3

00:49:10: Joey’s also been playing some Animal Crossing New Horizons again

00:52:03: Summer playlists! We start with some of the games we’re planning on playing this summer, then blitz through some movies, shows, and books at the end

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Far Cry Retrospective

Episode 64!!!!!!! *fist pump* *fist pump* *fist pump* Paul is out of town so we’re pushing our “unique feelings” episode back. Luckily for us, Tab was ready to fill in for a big ol’ retrospective of the mainline Far Cry games! They give us a brief history of the series (light spoilers: there are dinosaurs involved!), info on each entry, and lots of analysis and commentary about narratives, characters, settings, and more. The most fascinating thing for Joey, who has only played half of the mainline games, was seeing how what would become staples of the series unfolded via iteration and response to criticism. It’s a massive, chonky episode, and a good time! We also chat a bit about Tab’s new Lego Tallneck, the new Gotham Knights gameplay trailer, Elden Ring, and more! Want to join the discussion? Hit us up at the email below with thoughts about Far Cry or what you have on your summer playlist(s). Next week (if the fates align), the whole pixels crew is coming together to share our own playlists, so write in and we’ll read yours, too!

Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @randommox (Tab)

00:03:20: The new Gotham Knights trailer looks pretty slick

00:05:10: Tab’s new Lego Tallneck also looks pretty slick

00:12:00: Joey and Tab are still in deep with Elden Ring

00:17:04: Tab started a big cat sanctuary in Planet Zoo!

00:20:05: Far Cry retrospective! We start with our personal intros to the series, then Tab shares a bit of a disclaimer

00:29:04: Series overview

00:37:38: Far Cry (2004)

00:47:14: Far Cry 2 (2008)

01:05:35: Far Cry 3 (2012)

01:31:45: Far Cry 4 (2014)

01:51:27: Far Cry 5 (2018)

02:18:00: Far Cry 6 (2021)

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Video Game 20 Questions Round III

We’ll figure out another original game soon, but until then we’re back on our 20 questions bullshit. Paul, Ron, and Joey grill each other to try and guess three fairly well-known games. Will they succeed? Will you? Play along and let us know how you do! You can also send us games to use the next time we play, or ideas for other games you think would be fun. We welcome any and all ideas! If they’re bad, we’ll just pretend they accidentally got sent to our junk folder! We also chat a bit about the Square Enix sale of multiple studios and IPs, our hype levels for Summer Game Fest, Clippy invading Halo Infinite, Switch Sports, Chrono Cross, GTA Online, old SNES game show games, and Elden Ring. Thanks for listening! We don’t say this nearly enough but we love you and we’re so grateful that you hang out with us every week. See you next time!

Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:02:37: Square Enix sells off most Western studios and associated IP

00:16:09: Summer Game Fest is arriving June 9

00:25:50: 343 is adding Clippy to Halo Infinite. Truly, the ultimate crossover event

00:31:00: Paul’s been loving up on Elden Ring and his new Dark Plates for PS5

00:40:20: Ron’s been playing a bunch of SNES game show games, Overcooked, and Switch Sports with Joey

00:55:35: Joey platinumed Chrono Cross! He also finally started Elden Ring!

01:14:37: Video Game 20 Questions!

01:15:55: Game 1 (Joey)

01:40:59: Game 2 (Paul)

02:15:15: Game 3 (Ron)

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Super Mario Bros. (1993)

Grab your mushrooms and trust the fungus, dear listener, because like the accident-prone vehicles of Dinohattan, we’re screeching and flipping our way into the Super Mario Bros. movie from 1993! A flawed diamond is still a diamond, so despite its many faults and the tumultuous production, we love this weird adaptation of the famous video game series. Joey swoons over Princess Daisy, Ron is in love with Bob-omb’s shoes, and (like Mario falling through an interdimensional portal) Paul is head over heels for Yoshi’s cuteness. We chat about the stellar cast and the earnestness with which many of them deliver their performances, the hit-or-miss visuals, the extended cut deleted scenes, Bertha, hair, music, behind-the-scenes shenanigans, and so much more. Check it out and let us know your thoughts on the movie (you can check out the extended cut for free here: https://archive.org/details/super-mario-bros-1993-the-morton-jankel-cut-extended-vhs). Joey also laments (kinda?) a long lost love, we share recent GTA hijinks, gastrointestinal problems, and more.

Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:06:54: Joey’s sob story about a long-lost love

00:13:48: Sony is setting up a game preservation team to “ensure our industry’s history isn’t forgotten” (Game Developer: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/playstation-has-formed-a-game-preservation-team)

00:18:38: Meta is spending around $3 billion a quarter on Metaverse development. Are we excited for this (or Epic’s) meta future? (Game Developer: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/extended-reality/meta-burned-2-96-billion-on-reality-labs-last-quarter)

00:28:43: Ron’s been playing San Andreas and his digestive tract has been playing him

00:33:00: Paul’s been loving the eff out of Elden Ring

00:38:55: Joey is so close to platinum with Chrono Cross

00:41:20: Paul betrays Joey and, well, Ron also betrays Joey in GTA Online

00:51:14: Super Mario Bros. (1993)! We start with basic info and then sort of jump around, covering thoughts on the cast, Daisy, Mario’s mustache, Yoshi’s cuteness, poor Toad, Koopa as Trump, and so much more

01:06:47: https://youtu.be/O20PCeIOLa8?t=438

01:09:00: https://www.smbmovie.com/

01:12:05: http://www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/pics/specials/interviews/asnyder/Amy_02.jpg

http://www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/pics/specials/interviews/asnyder/Makeup_10.jpg

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Indie Swap Part II

Do The Indie Swap! *breaks into an old-timey 1960s style beach blanket bingo dance* I’m sorry for that. That was, as the kids say, cringe. This week we report on the indie games we swapped on last week’s episode! Joey’s talking about Ridiculous Glitching, Paul’s talking about Art Sqool, and Ron’s talking about Who Stole My Lunch! They all turned out to be great games and we had a lot of fun playing and chatting about them. Check them out at the links below! We also chat a little about what to expect from upcoming episodes, a 4K restoration of the 1986 Super Mario Bros. anime (link below), Elden Ring, Chrono Cross, more GTA Online shenanigans, and more! After more than a year it really feels like we’re starting to hit a groove. Next week we’re watching the Super Mario Bros. movie! You can find an extended version on the Internet Arcade (https://archive.org/details/super-mario-bros-1993-the-morton-jankel-cut-extended-vhs/Super+Mario+Bros+1993+The+Morton+Jankel+Cut+Extended+DVD+1-1A.mp4) or purchase a DVD copy from Amazon (currently $3.99) and watch along with us! Send us questions and comments and we’d be excited to read them on the show. Thanks for listening!

Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:08:48: Future segment idea: Pretty Pixels After Dark?

00:10:37: FemboyFilms (https://www.patreon.com/femboyfilms) has restored the 1986 Super Mario Bros. anime and it looks awesome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzlZy9zpw0Q (via IGN: https://www.ign.com/articles/super-mario-bros-anime-1986-4k-restoration)

00:14:00: Ron’s been pinballing it up and is determined to get the third highest score ever in a game called Ice Cold Beer

00:27:20: Paul’s been absolutely crushing it in Elden Ring

00:40:35: Joey is on playthrough number two of Chrono Cross

00:50:30: The whole gang has been pulling off heists with flair and fashion in GTA Online

01:00:18: Indie Swap!

01:04:30: Ridiculous Glitching: https://firepunchd.itch.io/ridiculousglitching 

01:23:17: Art Sqool: https://glander.itch.io/art-sqool 

01:45:13: Someone Stole My Lunch!: https://studioclump.itch.io/ssml

“Commercial” provided by: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvbkxpcoK6I 

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Remakes/Reboots/Remasters

This week, Paul, Joey, and Ron discuss reboots/remasters/remakes, or what we like to call “revisits” or “seances.” How do we distinguish between them? What makes a “good” revisit? What are some notable examples? Will the current and upcoming classic library streaming services affect the quality or frequency of revisitations at all? We talk about all of this and more. We jump around a lot, so we don’t have specific timestamps, but we touch on Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, The Last of Us, Quake, Sony’s “Director’s Cuts,” Demon’s Souls, and more! It takes us a while to get to that discussion, though, because we really got in the weeds talking about the new Max Payne reboots, Kingdom Hearts 4, Elden Ring, and we set up an indie swap for next week’s episode! It’s a big ol’ episode but we had a lot of fun making it. Hope you enjoy!

Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:11:55: Indie Swap roulette! You can find these games here:

https://sophieh.itch.io/sophies-safecracking-simulator

https://adamgryu.itch.io/a-short-hike

https://basically-games.itch.io/baldis-basics-plus

https://davidsgallant.itch.io/i-get-this-call-every-day

https://glander.itch.io/art-sqool

https://firepunchd.itch.io/ridiculousglitching

https://pixelforest.itch.io/farmers-stealing-tanks

https://studioclump.itch.io/ssml

https://thebonesbrothers.itch.io/sticky-cats

00:26:54: Remedy remaking Max Payne 1 and 2 for next-gen consoles/PC

00:43:00: Kingdom Hearts 4 announced

01:11:19: Joey’s been sinking a ton of time into Chrono Cross (more to come)

01:13:45: Paul’s been wringing every last ounce of excitement from Elden Ring

01:30:18: Ron and the whole Pixels crew have been playing GTA Online (we did our first heist!)

01:45:03: “Revisitations” or “Seances”: Remakes/Remasters/Reboots

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com

Forgotten/Underappreciated Gems

At the Alabama National Faiiiiiiir! In addition to an update about the Alabama National Fair jingle saga, Paul, Ron, and Joey discuss forgotten/underappreciated gems! These games may or may not be big hits, but we think they deserve(d) more love, regardless. We also chat about tutorial videos, a pretty decent Amazon sale, the new Tomb Raider, and so much more! Wow, this show description is so much shorter than usual. We also, uh, talk about what we’ve been playing. And… there are some dumb jokes about… stuff… maybe this doesn’t NEED to be longer, right? Maybe I should embrace the short description. I say that as I continue to ramble on, adding little to nothing of value. Sigh. Okay, I’ll shut up.

Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com

We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @bigbadron (Ron)

00:08:00: Crystal Dynamics announces new Tomb Raider game that’s “just started” development

00:14:15: Amazon is having a pretty great buy-2-get-1 sale

00:20:10: Update on the Alabama National Fair saga

00:33:33: Paul finished Cyberpunk 2077 and has lots of feelings!

00:39:28: Joey’s been playing Persona Q and Arena Ultimax, and is continuing construction on Wayne Manor in Minecraft

00:42:14: The gang discusses YouTube game tutorials, good and bad

https://www.powerpyx.com/

https://www.youtube.com/c/dangitjm

00:52:50: The Pixel gang is starting to form in GTA Online

01:01:22: Ron’s been getting nostalgic with Loaded

01:04:09: Forgotten/underappreciated gems!

01:07:20: Blast Chamber [Ron]

01:15:26: Ultimate Spider-Man (PS2) [Paul}

01:23:53: Onimusha (PS2) [Joey]

01:30:35: Trap Gunner (PS) [Ron]

01:36:32 Batman Begins (PS2) [Paul]

01:45:32: Star Trek: Star Fleet Academy – Starship Bridge Simulator (SNES) [Joey]

01:56:23: Chrono Cross (PS) [Joey]

02:01:03: Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales (GOG) [Paul]

Theme song by lovers.tiff: loverstiff.bandcamp.com