Okay, so this one is late…and great…and number eight, and it’s about gamer gate. The lateness is all Aleks’ fault. He got a little too wound up in the Twine, and his amazing, next gen Ruin Jam Game (shameless self promotion, but hey, Aleks is the one who writes this copy, so he does what he wants). Most of this week’s episode is taken up by discussion on the most recent wave of harassment and controversy (this one refuses to completely die, although Zoe Quinn did give it a rather stiff kick in the gut on the morning of the day of our recording), but Aleks does lapse into a  one sided “what are you playing” type of deal about half way through…except he can’t seem to remember the actual games he’d been playing, so it’s a bit of an extended, delayed roll. Listen to him grapple with his own mind. Listen to him confront the specter of his own encroaching decrepitude and mortality. Also, he sings at one point. Then the two podcast personalities run off to get burritos because the burrito store (which they shall not buzz-market) was to close within the hour.

The music for this episode was provided by the fantastic Holographic Sticker Club. The intro is taken from Gravitational Collapse, and the outro from Drop 5. Pick up “This is not a Tset” (pay what you want).

We apologize for Aleks’ coughing, and the more than occasional table bump, which should only make your ears bleed a little bit (we’re sorry Boris), and the noise of people walking upstairs. We’re looking into ways to stabilize the microphone, but it’s currently a bit of a puzzle, considering our ad hoc setup.

Metaverse Reverie is Supported by Listeners Like You.

Maybe you patronize us on Patreon, and we maybe get a cool swivel thingy? Eh? Why not Zoidberg? Patronage should allow us (or rather encourage us) to record more often, and, if we meet our first milestone someday, get some sexier, more professional kit. It will also encourage us to love you, and inextricably bind a small shard of our twin soul to yours. Pretty nifty, huh?

List of Some Games Aleks Has Played Recently, but Forgot the Names Of During Recording:

– Myriad by Porpentine

Other Links of Interest:

–Payola: I Sleep Beneath the Golden Hill by Lana Polansky

In the immortal words of Doctor Sam Beckett, oh boy! Do we have a treat for you this week, lovers and dreamers. For a second episode in a row, we have a guest, and, once again, we’re not worthy! The luminary, artist, and friend Dominick Rabrun (@CountBlackula on the Twitter) joins us for a sit down session of gab. Dom’s known for his work on Dom’s Sketchcast and, most recently, on Hip Hop RPG, an ongoing animated series about rappers battling the Illuminati in a post apocalyptic near future (yes, it’s exactly as cool as it sounds). When Aleks and Arie let him get a word in edgewise between their customary ranting, Dom shares some excellent thoughts, insights, recommendations and scoops.

The music for this episode was provided by the fantastic Holographic Sticker Club. The intro is taken from Gravitational Collapse, and the outro from Drop 5. Pick up “This is not a Tset” (pay what you want). Aleks didn’t put any robot voices into the podcast this week, so you can listen to the sweet jams without as much interference.

Stuff We Need to Clarify and Whatever:

– The full cast list of the British comedy Spaced is on IMDB. Aleks likes this program.

We’ve been on a bit of a hiatus, but now we’re back (one half of us, at least), and with something of a vengeance. While Arie continues on his adventure junket (he should be back for the next episode, folks), Aleks has a lovely fireside chat with artist Jack Cooke, formerly of Firaxis games. That’s right! We’ve netted us a proper industry insider! We discuss his experiences working at the venerable game studio, game jams, project scope, growing up with and without technology, and all sorts of other stuff. This one’s really not to be missed (mostly thanks to Jack, who is a fantastic guest). So don’t miss it.

The music for this episode was provided by the fantastic Holographic Sticker Club. The intro is taken from Gravitational Collapse, and the outro from Drop 5. Pick up “This is not a Tset” (pay what you want).

Better late than never, and this episode makes up for the delay (which was precipitated by a mixture of ennui and a series of white knuckle adventure junkets) by being extra long. It also includes an amazing and edifying segment on the high cost of living, and what you, yes you, can do about it! Also, talking robots, as always. On we float. This week, we begin the discussion with Heavy Rain and episodic vs. long form experiences, continue on to more L.A. Noire and Assassin’s Creed, and then transition into some dark and soulfully confessional Dark Souls confessions. It gets pretty real.

The music for this episode was provided by the fantastic Holographic Sticker Club. The intro is taken from Gravitational Collapse, and the outro from Drop 5.

Links and Things We Screwed Up

– Rebecca’s new face was introduced in Assassin’s Creed 3.

Gaia is angry, and Aleks becomes her prophet, preaching destruction and revelation. Fires, plagues, hail and thunder. Mighty winds that can move mountains. The feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl is poised to return to the mortal plane. All the world is a cheap snow globe, and we’ve shook it up one time too many, goddamn it. Aside from all of that, Aleks and Arie celebrate their fourth episode (making for a full month’s worth of delicious content), and discuss replaying old classics, and exploring new ones. They also spend a fair chunk of the podcast gushing about Divinity: Original Sin.

The music for this episode was provided by the fantastic Holographic Sticker Club. The intro is taken from Gravitational Collapse, and the outro from Drop 5.

Links and Things We Screwed Up

– Simon Templeton voiced Kain in the Legacy of Kain series.

Join Aleks and Arie on a horrifying and exciting thrill ride as they battle through legions of rabid spiders and face their darkest fears. They also discuss the recent Giant Bomb controversy, inclusivity, the definitions of the terms “community” and “gamer,” Said the sexy, debonair mummy, their deep, emotional responses to Gone Home, and a handful of other stuff.

Apologies for the less than perfect sound quality on Aleks’ end. Believe it or not, this was recorded with both esteemed personages in the same room at the same time, but, as it turned out, choosing one’s sitting position based solely on proximity to the massive trove of Swedish Fish proved to be less than ideal.

The music for this episode was provided by the fantastic Holographic Sticker Club. The intro is taken from Gravitational Collapse, and the outro from Drop 5.

Links, Notes, and Etc.

The name of the Shaman in Dragonfall is Dietrich (not Dieter).

We take an extra half hour as Aleks gushes and raves about The Secret World, and somehow manage to find the time to discuss the Steam Summer Sale, the problematics of impulse buying and digital media “ownership,” solipsism, the ephemeral nature of life, Skyrim addiction, and Assassin’s Creed (among other things, and not quite in that order).

The music for this episode was provided by the fantastic Holographic Sticker Club.

Things we forgot:

– The name of the terrifying Morrowind creepy pasta is Jvk1166.esp

(More to come as we actually hunt this information down!)

Our inaugural episode is here, and it’s chock full of Aleks and Arie’s profound insight and puckish mischief! This week, we discuss various aspects of Watch Dogs with the aid of a brilliant Multimedia Sandwich analogy, talk a little bit about the nature and history of the Noir genre, and, along the way, touch on L.A. Noire and Cole Phelps as protagonist, Hitman: Bloodmoney, Rimlag, a hypothetical (good) Adventure Time video game, Alan Moore’s Watchmen, the upcoming Second Son DLC, and old timey radio broadcasts on NPR, not in that order.

The music you hear during the intro is an excerpt from Gravitational Collapse, by The Holographic Sticker Club, and can be heard in full as part of the album “This Is Not A Tset.” The music you hear at the end is Drop 5, also by The Holographic Sticker Club. We want to thank THSC for letting us use their fantastic jams, and encourage our listeners to check out more of their work (just follow the links).

A few notes (On stuff we couldn’t remember while recording):

– Raymond Chandler was one of the progenitors of the Harboiled Genre. In the excellent HBO program Bored to Death, the fictionalized Jonathan Ames (played by Jason Schwartzman) is inspired a Chandler’s novel (Farewell, My Lovely) to become an unlicensed private investigator.