Game Over, Tarman!

In lieu of a full-length episode, we have decided to give William some extra time to study and maybe get some sleep in the thick of finals. So instead, enjoy our first bonus episode, a compilation of out-of-context clips from all our episodes so far! They're edited in order from episode one to thirteen in case anyone was wondering.

And also note that the Leo we talk about at the end is our neighbor's dog, just making that clear. Anyway, enjoy the listen and keep smiling!

You can follow Alex here →

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmzelda/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dmzelda?lang=en

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOnaBfLWGqdlmuV_DX8M3kA

Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/alex_tarnowski  (Or search for the user alex_tarnowski)

You can follow William here →

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChvdrdsbbdNZ4YKqK3i9ygA

Download Ascend, William’s Indie Game: https://william-zollman.itch.io/ascend

Check us out to keep up to date with our latest news and projects!

Credit for the opening theme “And The Journey Begins!” goes to Marllon Silva a.k.a xDeviruchi, thank you very much.

We’ve talked in brief on this podcast about William’s aspirations for game development and his views on the indie scene. But what if we peaked behind the curtain just a little bit to get an idea of what he really does? Well on today’s episode of Game Over, Tarman! we do just that. Join Alex and William as they discuss everything from how William started in game development, what he’s learned along the way, and what he’s working on now. Everything from the unexpected challenges of solo development to the herculean task of keeping on motivation on personal creative endeavors, we tackle it here. And the best part? You can check out William’s work RIGHT NOW by following the link below to download Ascend and get to play the game we discussed today.

You can follow Alex here →

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmzelda/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dmzelda?lang=en

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOnaBfLWGqdlmuV_DX8M3kA

Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/alex_tarnowski  (Or search for the user alex_tarnowski)

You can follow William here →

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChvdrdsbbdNZ4YKqK3i9ygA

Download Ascend, William’s Indie Game: https://william-zollman.itch.io/ascend

Check us out to keep up to date with our latest news and projects!

Credit for the opening theme “And The Journey Begins!” goes to Marllon Silva a.k.a xDeviruchi, thank you very much.

Everyone loves classes and skill trees right? I mean, they’ve been around forever, arguably longer than video games themselves. Sooo where exactly did they come from? Why have they stuck around so long, and why are they as ubiquitous as they are? Come to think of it, what makes a good class and skill system anyway; are all the best some flavor of attacker/tank/healer or are they more diversified like in Dungeons and Dragons? How much is too much freedom when creating a character and customizing their traits? So many questions and so little time, but nevertheless, William and Alex tackle as much as they can on this week’s episode of Game Over, Tarman!

You can follow Alex here →

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmzelda/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dmzelda?lang=en

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOnaBfLWGqdlmuV_DX8M3kA

Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/alex_tarnowski  (Or search for the user alex_tarnowski)

You can follow William here →

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChvdrdsbbdNZ4YKqK3i9ygA

Check us out to keep up to date with our latest news and projects!

Credit for the opening theme “And The Journey Begins!” goes to Marllon Silva a.k.a xDeviruchi, thank you very much.

Welcome one and all to a very special episode of Game Over, Tarman! This week, we are celebrating the recent release of the newest generation of Pokemon, Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet! Alex and his good friend El (@just_dnd_things on social and co-host of the Dungeons and Dugouts podcast) have selected some choice entries in the Pokedex and brewed up some lovely fake for good measure, and William – who has never played a Pokemon game – has to guess which are which! Thanks to El for joining us on today’s episode, go check out their pages and pods, and we hope you enjoy this romp through everyone’s favorite poke-brick messaging machine!

You can follow El here →

Dungeons & Dugouts: https://open.spotify.com/show/1p8RebgLOnFtxosKE7yrl5?si=20QCXz3cQOeEnWzg_YIZOA&utm_source=copy-link

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/just_dnd_things/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@just_dnd_things?lang=en

You can follow Alex here →

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmzelda/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dmzelda?lang=en

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOnaBfLWGqdlmuV_DX8M3kA

Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/alex_tarnowski  (Or search for the user alex_tarnowski)

You can follow William here →

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChvdrdsbbdNZ4YKqK3i9ygA

Check us out to keep up to date with our latest news and projects!

Credit for the opening theme “And The Journey Begins!” goes to Marllon Silva a.k.a xDeviruchi, thank you very much.

Let’s take a tour of history, shall we? Or more precisely, historical games, as we are joined by our wonderful guest Eric Tarnowski! That’s right, the man famed throughout the land as the greatest historian to walk Middle Earth (or maybe just the Midwest), Alex’s own brother, has taken up the mantle to fill in for William this week as we discuss what it’s like to bring history into video games and video games into history. Particularly with games of historical fiction, there is a certain appeal to authenticity and accuracy that excites some while boring others, and Alex thinks there must be more to the story. How can we use games to teach? In what ways do they engage us more than a textbook? Let’s find out…

You can follow Alex here →

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmzelda/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dmzelda?lang=en

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOnaBfLWGqdlmuV_DX8M3kA

Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/alex_tarnowski  (Or search for the user alex_tarnowski)

You can follow William here →

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChvdrdsbbdNZ4YKqK3i9ygA

Check us out to keep up to date with our latest news and projects!

Credit for the opening theme “And The Journey Begins!” goes to Marllon Silva a.k.a xDeviruchi, thank you very much.

Don your robes and get out your wands folks because today we’re talking about the oh-so magical games from our childhood, the EA Harry Potter games! This franchise has had a long and varied history, and these past few years have been…uh, shall we say, quite the ride for fans like Alex and William who grew up with it. So we thought it’d be a fun time to go back to the mid-2000s and reminisce about all the things that captivated us about the wizarding world as depicted by the PC, GameCube, GBA, and Wii. You might be surprised to find that there’s more to these games than meets the eye…you’ll just have to tune in to find out what!

You can follow Alex here →

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmzelda/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dmzelda?lang=en

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOnaBfLWGqdlmuV_DX8M3kA

Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/alex_tarnowski  (Or search for the user alex_tarnowski)

You can follow William here →

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChvdrdsbbdNZ4YKqK3i9ygA

Check us out to keep up to date with our latest news and projects!

Credit for the opening theme “And The Journey Begins!” goes to Marllon Silva a.k.a xDeviruchi, thank you very much.

Spooky Season is upon us! Come celebrate the thrills, chills, and terror as Alex and William are joined by special guest Gisselle Lopez (@citlalishobbies) to dig into what actually makes horror games appealing. Is it just the thrills? The lore? The psychological terror? The atmosphere and aesthetic? The answer may surprise and terrify you, for it’s all of the above! Just how diverse can this genre get, and why has Alex barely played any of it in all his 341 years on this Earth? So many questions and so little time, so sit back and relax – but not too much, for you never know when a jump scare is around the corner!

Thanks again to our guest Gisselle Lopez, @citlalishobbies on TikTok, go check her out and give her content some love!

You can follow Alex on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at DMZelda, and you can follow William on YouTube at William Zollman, be sure to check us out to keep up to date with our latest news and projects!

If you need voice over for a project, be sure to check out Alex’s Fiverr profile: https://www.fiverr.com/alex_tarnowski

(Or search for the user alex_tarnowski)

Credit for the opening theme “And The Journey Begins!” goes to Marllon Silva a.k.a xDeviruchi, thank you very much.

On this slightly less formal episode, Alex and William talk shop about how they got started in Dungeons and Dragons, who were their first characters, and how their first experiences shaped their views on tabletop role-playing. From why they play TTRPGs to how they connect with a character, this episode has a little bit of everything, so tune in for some fun stories, mixed as usual with some close analysis of the elements that really bring D&D to life! Thanks for listening and keep smiling!

You can follow Alex on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at DMZelda, and you can follow William on YouTube at William Zollman, be sure to check us out to keep up to date with our latest news and projects!

If you need voice over for a project, be sure to check out Alex’s Fiverr profile: https://www.fiverr.com/alex_tarnowski

(Or search for the user alex_tarnowski)

Credit for the opening theme “And The Journey Begins!” goes to Marllon Silva a.k.a xDeviruchi, thank you very much.

Establishing some form of continuity here on Game Over, Tarman! Alex and William take time to talk of the tall tale of Cuphead! That’s right folks, Alex has since played through the entire thing (except for the DLC), and that means William has some questions: what kept him from rage-quitting? How did the visual style affect the impression it left? And perhaps most importantly, what do indie games like it add to the melting pot of available game content? Join us for this knockout of an episode to find out what we have to say on this famously infamous game!

You can follow Alex on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at DMZelda, and you can follow William on YouTube at William Zollman, be sure to check us out to keep up to date with our latest news and projects!

If you need voice over for a project, be sure to check out Alex’s Fiverr profile: https://www.fiverr.com/alex_tarnowski

(Or search for the user alex_tarnowski)

Credit for the opening theme “And The Journey Begins!” goes to Marllon Silva a.k.a xDeviruchi, thank you very much.

Have you ever read Beowulf? Or The Odyssey? Or literally any epic poem? Well Alex has, and apparently he insists that they have something to do with video games. From vast open worlds to royal lines of succession to warrior-kings like Marth and Gilgamesh…two characters definitely of the same cultural caliber…tune in to this week’s episode of Game Over, Tarman! to hear about the ways our ancient literature has influenced our modern media!

And to any Literature majors out there (particularly Classics), please forgive my very cursory description of the features/construction of epic poems. I’m well aware that there is much more to say about their structure and defining characteristics, but I wanted to keep it as brief and simple as I could. (And yes, I know that not all ancient literature is written like an epic, don’t @ me.)

You can follow Alex on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at DMZelda, and you can follow William on YouTube at William Zollman, be sure to check us out to keep up to date with our latest news and projects!

If you need voice over for a project, be sure to check out Alex’s Fiverr profile: https://www.fiverr.com/alex_tarnowski

(Or search for the user alex_tarnowski)

Credit for the opening theme “And The Journey Begins!” goes to Marllon Silva a.k.a xDeviruchi, thank you very much.