Into the Aether - A Low Key Video Game Podcast

Surprise! We're back a week early with an absolute behemoth. To celebrate hitting 1 million downloads of the show a few months ago (!!), we're proud to present our one-hundred favorite games of the decade from the years 2000 to 2009! A sincere thank you to everyone who has ever listened to, shared, or backed the show. We couldn't have done this without you, for real. We thought there was no better way to share our gratitude than by following up the fan-favorite GOTD episode we did in 2019.

And for those of you who DO back the show, make sure to head over to our Patreon to hear ANOTHER episode in which we chop the initial list down from 200+ to the 100 that made it here.

Relevant Links:
https://www.polygon.com/23779797/zelda-games-link-hairstyles
https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/798
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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
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced by AJ Fillari: https://bsky.app/profile/ajfillari.bsky.social
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Season 7 cover art coming soon from Scout Wilkinson: https://scoutwilkinson.myportfolio.com/
Theme song by Will LaPorte: https://instagram.com/ghostdownphoto
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Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Surprise! We're here a week early!

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT FOR SOME GAMES INCLUDED IN THE LIST

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Music credits

1. Plains of Time (Home World) by Yasunori Mitsuda from Chrono Cross
2. You Were There by Michiru Oshima, Koichi Yamazaki, Mitsukuni Murayama, Steven Geraghty from Ico
3. National Park by Junichi Masuda from Pokémon Crystal
4. Creation of Art (Full Option) by Ken Ishii from Rez
5. Simple and Clean by Hikaru Utada from Kingdom Hearts
6. Dragon Roost Island by Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi, Koji Kondo from The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker
7. History Unfolds by Junichi Nakatsuru, Yoshihito Yano, Asuka Sakai, Rio Hamamoto, Ryuchi Takada, Junichi Takagi from Soul Calibur II
8. Lonely Rolling Star by Yoshihito Yano, Saki Kabata from Katamari Damacy
9. Mischievous Robot by Daisuke Amaya from Cave Story
10. Able Sisters by Kazumi Tokata from Animal Crossing
11. Turnabout Sisters Theme by Masakazu Sugimori from Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
12. Lazy Afternoons by Yoko Shimomura from Kingdom Hearts 2
13. King and Country by Jeremy Soule from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
14. Wii Sports by Kazumi Totaka from Wii Sports
15. Gusty Garden Galaxy Theme by Mahito Yokata, Koji Kondo from Super Mario Galaxy
16. Pursuing My True Self by Shihoko Hirata from Persona 4
17. Melody in an Ancient Town by Koichi Sugiyama from Dragon Quest V
18. Lake by Hitomi Sato, Satoshi Nohara, Junichi Masuda, GO Ichinose from Pokemon Platinum
19. I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1 by James Silva from I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1 
20. キミの記憶 (Your Memory) by Yumi Kawamura from Persona 3
21. Auld Lang Syne from THE HEART. WE LOVE YOU.

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Thanks to all of our amazing patrons including our Eternal Gratitude members:
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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 Links
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/dominicknero
Dom's website: https://domnero.com
Dom'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 Links
On Threads: https://www.threads.net/@_kylestarr
On Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@kylestarr
The Y-Button podcast: http://ybutton.online/
Zero Counts: https://zerocounts.net/

Into the Game Jam Links
itch page: https://itch.io/jam/itgj-summer-2024
Find 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
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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
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Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced 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
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Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro with Dom and Kyle!

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 Links
Emily's Review of Saltsea Chronicles: Saltsea Chronicles Beautifully Finds A Way Forward
Past 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 Links
Robin's inteview with Xalavier Nelson: The Best Noir Shooter of 2023 Has Only Gotten More Relevant
Profile on inverse: https://www.inverse.com/profile/robin-bea-53955560
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/robinbombus
Girl Mode: https://pod.link/1653178238

Tam's Links
Tam's Shadow of the Erdtree preview: Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC Renews The Awe And Adventure Of Elden Ring
Profile on Gamespot: https://www.gamespot.com/profile/Tamz/
On the Friends Per Second SGF episode: https://pod.link/1629844110/episode/2960bce32ae25ad04faa225f68e97a85
On Twitch: https://twitch.tv/tamoorh
Something to help you get through the Elden Ring DLC: https://gfuel.com/products/elden-ring-crimson-tears

Willa's Links
Willa's love letter to Dragon's Dogma 2: Dragon’s Dogma 2 Makes You Take Your Time, And That’s Great
Profile on Kotaku: https://kotaku.com/author/thewillarowe
Girl Mode on Twitter: https://twitter.com/girlmode_pod
Girl Mode on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/girlmodepod.bsky.social

Into the Game Jam Links
itch page: https://itch.io/jam/itgj-summer-2024
Find 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
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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 on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced 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
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Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro with my haggard companions

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

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 Links
itch page: https://itch.io/jam/itgj-summer-2024
Find 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 Links
Website: https://alannaokun.xyz
Buttonmash newsletter: https://buttonmash.substack.com/
Games made with bitsy: https://itch.io/games/made-with-bitsy

Chase's Links
Video 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.
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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
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Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced 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
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Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro

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.
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Kyle's Links
Blog: https://blueberrylemonade.pika.page/
Indie Games of Cohost: https://cohost.org/IndieGamesOfCohost
Rhythm 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 Link
A Shell In The Pit: https://ashellinthepit.com/

NBZ's Links
This 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.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
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Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
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Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced 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
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Timecodes:

• (00:00) - Intro

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.online
Buy some merch if you'd like: https://shop.intothecast.online
Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/intothecast
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Follow on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced 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

iO, eat your heart out.

See you on July 17th! 

Discussed: XStrike Summer, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Myst, Animal Well, Brendon solving the final puzzle of The Witness, Brendon's number 16 Game of the Year, Zero Stranger, Void Ranger, Burnout Paradise, the PSP, Soma Bringer, the Xeno series, Diablo, have a good Summer (to our Northern hemisphere pals)!
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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 on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced 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

When hope is lost and humanity is on the brink of devastation, there's only one tried and true strategy to snap victory from the jaws of certain evisceration.

Discussed: Out of the Realm, being a regular: revisted, Brendon on The Besties!, Crow Country, Resident Evil, Signalis, Zero Ranger, Void Stranger, NieR: Automata, gaming on the Apple iPad, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, emulation, Monster Hunter Portable Third, PPSSPP, FTL: Faster Than Light, Civilization VI, Shogun: Total War, Rome: Total War, Total War: Medieval 2, Age of Wonder IV, this video from Game Maker's Toolkit, Stardew Valley, Minecraft, 8bitdo SN30 Pro, Apple Arcade, Orion, Final Fantasy XVI, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, IQ tests, 90s cartoons, Charted: Found Legacy, something in the future tehe, and dotzip.
---
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 on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced 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

Ah crap, this guy comes in everyday and orders the same thing: podcasts, puzzle games, double helping of Pokémon, and Supergiant game... hey buddy! The usual? Aha yeah... death to Chronos... that never gets old...

Discussed: Being a regular, Paws and Clause, dotzip, Out of the Realm, Animal Well, Fez, The Witness, being 34, Pokémon Unbound, a Nuzlocke run 👁️, Pokémon Legends Z-A, Hades II Early Access, death to Chronos!
---
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 on Threads: https://threads.net/@intothecast
Follow on Tumblr: https://intothecast.tumblr.com
---
Follow Stephen Hilger: https://stephenhilgerart.com/
Follow Brendon Bigley: https://threads.net/@brendonbigley
Produced 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