Maximum Utcast

This month on Currently Playing, Daniel is joined by Jonathan (not that one) to talk about the intersectionality of video games and table top role playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Penumbra City, Blades in the Dark, Vampire the Masquerade and more. And what better way to frame this TTRPG discussion than by discussing the video game Baldur's Gate 3 which uses Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition as the basis of the gameplay? Peppered throughout the chat are comparisons between "real" D&D and the videogame version, along with stories from table top campaigns and the campaign presented by Larian Studios. There are some spoilers for story beats in Acts 1 and 2 of Baldur's Gate 3, but since Jonathan hasn't finished Act 2 yet, we avoid Act 3 entirely.
0:00:00 - Welcome to the Show, Jonathan!
0:09:10 - What Are You Playing? Baldur's Gate 3
0:43:15 - Backlog Recap: Shinobi 3
0:47:38 - Backlog Challenge: Hotline Miami 2
0:52:13 - Wrap Up/Plugs
Follow Jonathan on Bluesky:
Check out the TTRPG Penumbra City: https://www.tangledwilderness.org/shop/p/penumbracitydigitaledition
See Jonathan play Blades in the Dark on Of Dice and Dens Meowrathon: https://www.youtube.com/live/a0MoLGFiHnk
Follow Jonathan's cat on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/furthermoore.bsky.social
See Daniel on the TTRPG actual play show Duel Bastards, created by Axiom Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-hfR4iJjVQ&list=PLgF9JoRNz05JJ37z3gppDp7pjc7vID2dz
Follow Daniel on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/douibyorthst.bsky.social

On this thicc episode of the Maximum Utcast, Jonathan interviews Matt Bozon and Michael Stragey of WayForward about their game Shantae Advance that originally began development over 20 years ago as a GBA game only to be shelved indefinitely before being revived this year. Shantae Advance finally got released this year on actual GBA cartridges through Limited Run Games or available digitally just about everywhere else. Jonathan also makes a plea for a sequel to Boogerman (which Michael produced and programmed). Later, Jonathan and Zoey talk about what a sequel to Boogerman might look like and we also reveal that this show has potentially always been an Earthworm Jim fan cast? Sometimes you gotta separate the art from the artist, and other time, you gotta hold the limes in your mind!
0:00:00 - Comparing Cults
0:07:47 - Holding the Limes of My Mind
0:09:36 - The Magical Alchemy of Shantae Advance with Matt Bozon and Michael Stragey
1:25:44 - Should They Make a Boogerman Advance?
1:35:11 - The Subtle Distinctions of Earthworm Jim Versions
1:37:08 - Separating Art from the Artist on this Earthworm Jim Fan Cast
1:43:06 - Wrap Up/Plugs/Thanks Patrons!
1:51:15 - Sweatshirt
1:52:54 - That's the Spirit
Follow WayForward on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wayforward.bsky.social
Follow Zoey on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/adzuken.bsky.social
Follow Jonathan on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tronknotts.bsky.social
Follow the show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ttwav.bsky.social
Maximum Utmost on website: https://maxutmost.com/
Maximum Utmost’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/adzuken

Jonathan and Ryan dive deep into the world of UFO 50, but only after a few stops along the way to talk about Among Us, cats, and Iron Mike Sharpe. Later, Ryan thinks he might be nerdy for hoarding some Minecraft soda. But what makes something nerdy? Can videogames be helpful at teaching life lessons? And did I mention the cat?
0:00:00 - Unpredictable Jonathan
0:01:39 - You Gotta Introduce the Show
0:02:18 - Getting Into Among Us
0:05:48 - Fillibustering Against the Iron Mike Sharpe Report
0:06:46 - Did I Mention the Cat?
0:07:29 - The Trick to Communicating with People
0:09:06 - UFO 50, A Game of Games
0:16:26 - Collecting Minecraft Soda
0:19:48 - Finally, the Iron Mike Sharpe Report
0:21:16 - A Wild Charles Appears
0:21:47 - Are You A Nerd, Y/N?
0:24:25 - Wrap Up/Plugs

What does it mean to be you in a world of false memories? This episode of the Maximum Utcast sees Zoey become the Segue Police, Jonathan sings good but does a bad Schwarzenegger impression, and Daniel updates us on the bathroom situation in Germany.

We talk extensively about the kusoge Total Recall on the NES, then Jonathan interviews Tanya (former host of Talking to Women about Videogames) to learn what it's like to play videogames as a "normie." Most of central Europe doesn't make it out of this one unscathed. For the memory of a lifetime, Rekall, Rekall, Rekall...

0:00:00 - The Bathroom Situation in Germany
0:07:55 - If Everyone Was Like Zoey
0:13:14 - Kusoge - Total Recall (NES)
0:50:47 - Dopamine Rush Gaming for Normies w/ Tanya
1:19:41 - Having a Junk Food Time
1:21:14 - Untangling the Web of Lies
1:23:36 - Courting Controversy
1:25:38 - Wrap Up/Plugs/Thanks Patrons!
1:31:30 - Piss Laws
1:33:40 - ???Read Jonathan's Thoughts about GTA6: https://maxutmost.com/grand-theft-auto-6-probably-wont-be-that-important/Get Zoey and Jonathan's Comic: https://www.patreon.com/posts/maximum-utcast-1-140215944See the latest reviews on Maximum Utmost: https://maxutmost.com/tag/review/

Daniel is joined this month by Evan, an old pal from college and a recent father who has found his time for gaming evaporate, but he's still able to find some time to participate in the genre defining MMO World of Warcraft, which he's been playing consistently since launch, now in it's 21st year. They discuss what it's like for Evan to be married to a popular Twitch streamer.

Evan gets into the game's longevity and what keeps people coming back for so long, but it's also revealed to maybe not be a great thing for people to try jumping into at this point in the game's history if they're not familiar with MMOs.

In the backlog section, they recap King's Quest (2015) and Evan challenges Daniel to play the arcade-y Sega classic Shinobi 3. They also have a bit of a general chat about old games and remakes/sequels meant for people in their 40s.

0:00:00 - Old Dads
0:02:51 - Welcome to the Show, Evan!
0:16:31 - What Are You Playing? World of Warcraft
0:45:05 - Backlog Recap: King's Quest (2015)
0:48:25 - Backlog Challenge: Shinobi 3
0:56:46 - Wrap Up/Plugs?
Follow Evan's Wife (potential future guest of the show?) while he tries to minimize his online profile:
https://www.instagram.com/erinsteeby
https://www.twitch.tv/erinsteeby
Daniel's Music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2qI9Ghayv5Xnki1fKWm5jv?si=6xM6ubJKRfqmGFn0W5Iplg
Or Bandcamp: https://thesanford.bandcamp.com/music
Follow Daniel on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/douibyorthst.bsky.social
Check out Maximum Utmost for written posts about videogames! https://maxutmost.com/

Love is in the air on this episode of the Maximum Utcast. We find out what criteria would be needed to smooch everyone on the show before Zoey whisks us away to the magical realm of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde...who just is trying to get to the dang church on time! Later, Jonathan chats with his pal Elsa about Clair Obscure: Expedition 33, Final Fantasy, and Donkey Kong...plus she has an exciting announcement!
0:00:00 - Learning How to Kiss in Chulip
0:07:47 - Feet
0:08:40 - Kusoge: Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde
0:24:39 - A Beautiful Day to Identify with Donkey Kong w/ Elsa
1:00:34 - Berserker Mode
1:02:05 - Wrap Up/Plugs/Thanks Patrons!
Zoey on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/adzuken.bsky.social
Jonathan on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tronknotts.bsky.social
Daniel on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/douibyorthst.bsky.social
Maximum Utcast on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ttwav.bsky.social
Maximum Utmost on website: https://maxutmost.com/
Maximum Utmost's Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/adzuken

Jonathan and Ryan react to the latest Nintendo Direct which had a lot of Pokemon news, a lot of Amiibo news, and strangely enough, a lot of Virtual Boy news. Despite the newness of the news though, Jonathan seems to think it was mostly old stuff that's not new or exciting, but still kinda cool. Jonathan is also incapable of saying the names of the games Pokopia and Popucom, which are tricky and sound too similar to each other. There's a bit of analysis about Ryan's fear of dying in video games as opposed to his fearlessness of real life violence and we learn that an over abundance of video games might make them feel less special.
0:00:00 - Motorcycles, Everyone's Gettin' Em
0:03:06 - The End of YouTube
0:04:55 - Amiibo News
0:05:32 - Nintendo Direct Reactions
0:08:14 - Should We Move On to Pokemon?
0:10:52 - What's Black and Red and Tennis All Over?
0:12:13 - Are You Done with Videogames?
0:15:02 - Lego Star Wars the Skywalker Saga
0:20:27 - Anaylsis of Ryan
0:22:56 - Is the Pokemon Legends: Z-A DLC Worth It?
0:25:22 - What About Dinkum? (and Pokopia and Popucom)
0:28:04 - What Are We Looking Forward To?
0:30:05 - A Heaven for Holden
0:32:10 - Wrap Up/Plugs

If you're tired of magazines, you might be suffering from debilitating Mix-a-Lot-ism, a newly discovered illness affecting adults aged 18-65 all across the world! And this Maximum Utcast might be the thing to cure what ails you. Zoey and Jonathan are haunted by a few ghosts on this episode as they discuss American Gladiators on the NES before getting to the bottom of swinging mechanics in video games...are they really gone for good? Later, Daniel chats with Allen Ortega from Mob Entertainment (Poppy Playtime) about his love of the Borderlands series and how it helped him realize a lot about himself and get his foot in the door of the games industry.

0:00:00 - 1-900-MIX-A-LOT
0:08:03 - A Real Rashomon Moment
0:11:10 - Kusoge: American Gladiators
0:30:39 - Can a Game Like Borderlands Shape Your Entire Life? with Allen Ortega
1:22:21 - Wrap Up/Plugs/Thanks Patrons!
1:26:55 - You Better Be Working
Allen on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/kenjisalk.bsky.social
Mob Entertainment on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mobentertainment.com
Zoey on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/adzuken.bsky.social
Jonathan on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tronknotts.bsky.social
Daniel on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/douibyorthst.bsky.social
Maximum Utcast on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ttwav.bsky.social
Maximum Utmost on website: https://maxutmost.com/
Maximum Utcast's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ttwav
Maximum Utmost's Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/adzuken

Currently Playing returns with guest Beith talking about the classic PS2-era game The Warriors from Rockstar, a videogame retelling of the classic 1979 film and 1965 book of the same name. Beith goes deep on his research, finding it to be a missing link between Rockstar's GTA series and their next big game, Bully. There is a lot of spoiler filled discussion of the film and how it contrasts with the game, so if you'd like to see the movie be sure to track that down on the streaming platform of your choice, or play the game on modern consoles...it covers a lot of the same ground, naratively.
In the backlog phases of the show, Daniel shares his thoughts on Astro Bot, which he thought was not as revolutionary as many other people did, and then Beith challenged Daniel to play King's Quest (2015) starring Christopher Lloyd as Old King Graham in this modernization of a classic Sierra point and click adventure...that maybe strays a bit from the path?
0:00:00 - Welcome to the show, Beith!
0:05:41 - Currently Playing the Warriors
0:54:07 - Backlog Recap - Astro Bot
1:08:54 - Backlog Challenge - King's Quest (2015)
1:15:15 - Wrap Up/Plugs?
Follow Daniel on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/douibyorthst.bsky.social
Follow the Podcast Feed on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ttwav.bsky.social
Check out Maximum Utmost for written posts about videogames: https://maxutmost.com/
Support the show on Patreon where you can get comic books written by Zoey and drawn by Jonathan: https://www.patreon.com/ttwav

We pre-taped this episode so Daniel could skip town for a few days which meant we did one entirely without Jonathan--but fear not! We have an overstuffed episode with representatives from all parts of the animal kingdom, from the mighty Crazy Frog to the lowly Solid Snake as well as the tricky Donkey Kong and the strange Earthworm Jim. We maybe get to the bottom of who killed the Noid, and also talk a little bit about Rugrats. A Shy Fox stops by to give his thoughts on few recent game demos (Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales and Mina the Hollower) and we even get 2 kusoges for the price of one...it's a deal you can't beat!

0:00:00 - Situation Developing at the Domino's Pizza in Chamblee, GA
0:04:24 - Artificial Influencers
0:09:47 - Kusoge: Crazy Frog Arcade Racer
0:22:47 - Cozy Games
0:25:52 - Exploring Nostalgia of the Present and Future with Shy Fox
0:28:41 - Kusoge 2: Dream Mix TV World Fighters
0:41:28 - Donkey Kong Bananza End Game
0:54:00 - Impressions of the Demo for Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales
1:01:05 - Mina the Hollower Demo Impressions
1:22:04 - More Thoughts on Dream Mix TV World Fighters + Freestyle Games Chat
1:30:32 - Wrap Up/Plugs/Thanks Patrons!
1:38:19 - Bonus Rugrats Chat

Follow Shy Fox's Podcast on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fixyourheartpod.bsky.socialCheck out his podcast, "Fix Your Heart or Die" about Twin Peaks and David Lynch stuff with many familiar voices stopping by as guests: https://open.spotify.com/show/5stt5kNgqOKhlPs4jh7UoU?si=4b77a7618a364adeFollow Zoey on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/adzuken.bsky.social
Follow Daniel on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/douibyorthst.bsky.socialFollow Jonathan on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tronknotts.bsky.socialFollow the show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ttwav.bsky.socialVisit Maximum Utmost: https://maxutmost.com/Support our show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ttwav