Now THIS is what I call GILDED!

Discussed: The calm before the storm, Silksong, Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots, Mario Golf and Sports RPGs, replaying games as different characters, game adaptions, Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star-Crossed World, when it’s fun to be a completionist, family, The Gilded Age, New Moon in theaters, Road Trip to the End of the World (it’s out now!), A Dream About Parking Lots, Time Flies, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, Antiques Roadshow 

Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.social 
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.online
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 8 cover art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://ghostdown.online/
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro

Hello and welcome to the very first edition of The Port Aether Shore Leave Society, a new monthly show where we'll be talking about anything — video game or otherwise! We wanted to give everyone an idea of what Shore Leave will be like going forward, but all future episodes will be available each month for patrons at the $5 tier and above: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast

Hope you enjoy it!

Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.social 
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.online
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Thanks to all of our amazing patrons including our Eternal Gratitude members:
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Philip 

The Batter may be mean and the Brickman may be scary. But Silksong is coming out. And video games...are still good.

"Why Silksong Took Seven Years to Make" by Jason Schreier
Memoria's great video about day-old steam games
"Hollow Knight Is One Of The Best Games You'll Play This Year" by Joshua Rivera
"As the Trails series' ending is in sight, Nihon Falcom prepares to tackle the impossible" by James Galizio
Dunkey's UFO 50 experience

Discussed:  Reading under trees, Silksong announced, the issue of game discoverability, Trails in the Sky FC Demo, what makes Trails and its development special, breaking news regarding Demonschool, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, VOID/BREAKER, Raccoin, Kill the Brickman, Off, the 2000’s era of indie games, Road Trip to the End of the World, and Spawn

Check out KP Kilbride's science fiction mystery novel with an LGBTQ+ romance subplot, Spaceships Passing in the Night at https://www.kpkilbrideauthor.com/books

Follow them on Threads and Instagram at https://www.threads.com/@kpkilbrideauthor and https://www.instagram.com/kpkilbrideauthor/

Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.social 
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.online
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 8 cover art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://ghostdown.online/
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro

We're back! And we somehow have too many games to fit into one episode.

Discussed: The PSP Premiere, Patreon Updates, Metal Gear Solid, The Adventures of Elliot, Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster, Is This Seat Taken?, Öoo, Tiny Bookshop, Sky the Scraper, and games we're playing for next week

Robin's review of Öoo: https://www.inverse.com/gaming/ooo-steam-indie-puzzle-game

Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.social 
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.online
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 8 cover art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://ghostdown.online/
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro

Welcome to the eighth season of Into the Aether! For this season premiere, we will be discussing our favorite games for the Sony PlayStation Portable. The PSP was a very special console and is still a joy to play. Some might say it's the "Walkman of the 21st Century." 

As always, thank you all so much for listening to and supporting the show. Whether this is your first time joining us or you've been here since 2018, we're so happy you decided to give us a listen. Here's to friendship, summer, portability, and the rest of season eight!

Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.social 
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.online
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 8 cover art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://ghostdown.online/
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro

When will they make a two-sided SD card that always lands text?

Discussed: PSPrequel on Patreon, upcoming flights to Jersey, flipping an SD card, Cobalt Core, StarVaders, FTL, He is Coming, Loop Hero, whether or not roguelikes need to be infinite, Void Stranger, Stephen finishing The Hundred Line, games with multiple endings, Sacred Stones, the best introductions to Fire Emblem, A Link to the Past, New Leaf, the potential of a new Animal Crossing, all kinds of Za, Patapon on Switch, The Forgotten City, 1000xResist, the “last time on” mechanic, Jersey diners & New York pizza 

Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.social 
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.online
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 7 cover art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://ghostdown.online/
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro

I guess it’s kind of like a Bananza?

Discussed:  Upcoming episode for Patrons, TWG on Bluesky, Donkey Kong Bananza, early 3D Nintendo games, Donkey Kong as a series, the history of Nintendo console launch windows, the appeal of Zelda speed runs, Word Play, Boss Keys (GMTK), Developing (GMTK), the journey of any creative project, the dream of portrait mode, Nurikabe World, Brendon’s ROM Hack corner, Animal Crossing: City Folk Deluxe, why Animal Crossing works best handheld, and Beardo

Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.social 
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.online
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 7 cover art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://ghostdown.online/
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro

I heard you like video tapes. You might not like this movie, but you’re gonna LOVE these games. Mmm, mmm.

Discussed: The weird animorph phase, a little bit more of Death Stranding 2, Stephen’s fear of dolls, Press Start joins TWG, Blitzball, Mario Golf: Super Rush, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Ages, the beauty of the 8-bit aesthetic, Baseball (’89), The Sword of Hope, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, how Fire Emblem stands out in its genre, the customization in Final Fantasy Tactics & Tactics Ogre, the approachability of Jeanne d’Arc, Edelgard’s quest to high five, CTGP Nitro, the “za” of Mario Kart DS, our love of retro racing games, Toad’s BBQ

Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://bsky.app/profile/stephenhilger.bsky.social 
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.online
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 7 cover art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://ghostdown.online/
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro

I made it through Dom's dream and all I got were these podcast show notes.

Discussed: Indie the Aether, Dom Nero: Prophet, Death Stranding 2, I Believe in Pizza (w/ Chris Plante), Deltarune Chapter 3+4, Persona 5: The Phantom X, the plight of mobile gacha games, Bacon - The Game, Nintendo Wiid, Super Mariomon, Pokémon Odyssey, Elden Ring: Nightreign 

Find us everywhere: https://intothecast.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://bsky.app/profile/bb.wavelengths.online
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
---
Season 7 cover art by Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://ghostdown.online/
---
Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro

Hey everyone! We have some big changes coming to Into the Aether in the near future and we wanted to talk through them a bit.

To avoid burying the lede here: We’re leaving the Pickaxe podcast network and returning to complete independence. This has actually been in the works for a little while, but we wanted to only share the news when all of the boxes were checked.

This is not a decision we made lightly, but we’re confident it is the right decision for us and for all of you.

To be clear, we have no ill-will with Pickaxe and there are no hard feelings either way. This was entirely our decision. As breezy as the process of joining was, the process of offboarding has been equally breezy. We want to extend a huge thanks to the team over there for taking a chance on us and being so cool over the last few months. It’s not often you’re given as much creative control as we were in situations like this.

Immediate Changes:

1) No more programmatic ads 

The first and most obvious change will be the removal of programmatic advertising in the podcast. We hugely appreciate the feedback from you all regarding the inclusion of these ads. While we’re happy to have tried this method out — it clearly didn’t work for us, the vibe of the show, or the values of Aether as an entity.

This change will affect the entire backlog of the podcast as well, so all episodes will return to being ad-free – with the exception of our host-read ads from before the Pickaxe era.

We’ll share more about our plans for returning to host-read ads at a later date, but for now: If you’re currently backing the show at the $10 tier, we completely understand if you’d like to downgrade or cancel your membership for the time being. While we will be returning to an advertising model that feels better to us and focuses on lifting up bands and games and projects we can get behind, the reality is that those ads won’t be present in the show until August at the earliest. We hope to have you back, but also understand if you need to pull your support for the time being. 

2) Chapters are back!

Another welcome change (cue the applause sfx) is that chapter markers are back on the menu. The move to Pickaxe unfortunately wiped the chapter markers from all episodes of the show, meaning you all needed to rely on the written timecodes in the episode descriptions. While this wasn’t the end of the world, it also wasn’t intentional or desirable on our part. 

We’re happy to say that chapter markers should be working in the entire backlog, including the episodes which were produced during the Pickaxe era.

The Future:

We have some other big changes and ideas in the works that we’ll be announcing on the PSP retrospective episode (which we will be recording on August 2nd). These changes are all positive and double down on our desire to keep the show independent for the foreseeable future. We’re excited to share them with you!

We’re immensely proud of what Into the Aether has become over the past seven years (!!) and want to make sure its future is sustainable and bright as an indie show on TWG. The reason we are able to try all the things we do and push ourselves further is entirely due to all of your support. So just another huge thank you to everyone for listening and giving us the confidence to try and make this show in our own way.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them here in Discord or email us at [email protected].

Thanks again,

BB + SH