Misspent Youth

Misspent Youth

By MisanthroPopComedyVideo Games
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Misspent Youth episodes

  • #11 Huw Owen - America had the Unabomber; We had people furiously making games. Like those twins who made Dizzy.

    Huw Owen (We Don't Talk About the Weather) joins Robert to discuss the off-putting inscrutability of the ZX Spectrum, the seedy horrors found at British Computing Fairs, the time he received an Atari Lynx from an inmate of Broadmoor Hospital, and the world-ending battle between the Virgin Sony PlayStation and the Chad Sega Saturn.

    Also: We roast those incorrigable TERFs Graham Linehan and Mumsnet, mock the failings of the Labour Party, we figure out what Question Time is, Street Fighting in a kebab shop, selling Panzer Dragoon Saga for weed, buying six copies of Diablo 2, playing Alpha Centauri at a NYE party, the art of trolling in Dark Souls, and what the deal is with Destiny once and for all.

    Follow Huw on Twitter @tanasmashing and Instagram @tanasmashing

    Intro Music "Summer Vacation in Scanline" by Nurvuss
    Outro Music "トワイライトでHEART-BEAT" by パフェ♥カフェｐａｒｆａｉｔ♥ｃａｆｅ

    1 hr 53 min
  • #10 Mike Sollosi - You want to root for these characters; you're growing alongside these characters.

    #10 Mike Sollosi

    You want to root for these characters; you're growing alongside these characters.

    Mike Sollosi (RPGFan's Retro Encounter Podcast) joins Misspent Youth this week to share how he first discovered video games playing the NES at a neighbor's house, before examining the role video games played in forging important, lifelong friendships.

    Also: The joy of Chrono Trigger's limited cast, the golden era of game rentals, Super Sentai, Sandy Frank's iron fist, that one rich kid with the Neo Geo, and Anime Andrew Jackson.

    Follow Mike on Twitter @therealmonsoon, follow RPGFan @rpgfancom and don't forget to subscribe to his podcast, where a month of episodes devoted to Lunar are currently airing.

    Intro Music "Summer Vacation in Scanline" by Nurvuss
    Outro Music "トワイライトでHEART-BEAT" by パフェ♥カフェｐａｒｆａｉｔ♥ｃａｆｅ

    2 hr
  • #09 Heidi Kemps - I love researching things and pursuing stuff, which led me into writing about games.

    Kusoge aficionado Heidi Kemps (Gaming.moe) joins us this week to talk about her shaky introduction to video games; a one-two punch of having too much empathy for Frogger, and the assumption that the most interesting games were "for boys only." After this belief was challenged by a bizarre Super C commercial, Heidi embarked on a lifelong journey that eventually found her in possession of the only Fighting Vipers 2 cabinet in America.

    Also, we talk the vagueness of Phantasy Star II, the inscrutable Presto Studios-developed Gundam FMV game, GIRLZ BUTTZ, Sega loyalty, Raimais' plethora of secrets and the general wonders of Taito, Seiken Densetsu 3, the effortless rebellion of Jet Set Radio, and how multifaceted enjoyment of the medium can make research more enjoyable than play. Be sure to read her deep dive into quiz cabinets.

    Follow Heidi on Twitter @zerochan, Twitch devilrei, YouTube devilREIchan, Be sure to check out her friends on Twitch RetroPals and LordBBH for more obscure weirdness.

    Intro Music "Summer Vacation in Scanline" by Nurvuss
    Outro Music "トワイライトでHEART-BEAT" by パフェ♥カフェｐａｒｆａｉｔ♥ｃａｆｅ

    2 hr 8 min
  • #08 Caitlin Argyros - I didn't want to commit to a game that would make me like this couple and then kill one of them.

    We welcome law librarian Caitlin Argyros (RPGFan, Rhythm Encounter) to discuss being a romantic introvert, coming to terms with one's own body, and if gaming can still be considered "just" a hobby when it's a major part of one's life.

    Also: The uplifting melancholia of Xenogears, Ace Combat fulfilling air force fantasies, when entertainment metamorphoses into critical engagement, Boogerman, strong opinions on Metal Gear Solid, and Caitlin's top ten games of all time.

    Follow Caitlin on Twitter @Lian_Kazairl, and check out our friend Derek Heemsbergen's FFXIV Podcast Astral Era.

    Intro Music "Summer Vacation in Scanline" by Nurvuss
    ​​​​​​​Intermission "June Mermaid" by Yasunori Mitsuda (Xenogears OST)
    Outro Music "トワイライトでHEART-BEAT" by パフェ♥カフェｐａｒｆａｉｔ♥ｃａｆｅ

    2 hr 45 min
  • #07 Hannah Flynn - I love strange singular experiences, novelty, and tat.

    Hannah Flynn (Failbetter Games) joins Robert to discuss her journey from being a Sega kid, through the world of publishing, to her career as communications manager for a studio that specialises in flexibile interactive narrative, and how exciting it can be when interests and hobbies intersect.

    Also: Failbetter's upcoming Sunless Skies, the importance of authenticity when writing representation, beating teenage boys at Sonic 2, musical theatre, chasing actors at PunchDrunk performances, The Sexy Brutale, social gaming, adjusting to motherhood, the horrors of London real estate, and Douglas Adams' bathtub.

    Follow Hannah on Twitter @itshannahflynn, and Failbetter Games on Twitter @failbettergames & Instagram @failbetter_games

    Intro Music "Summer Vacation in Scanline" by Nurvuss
    Outro Music "トワイライトでHEART-BEAT" by パフェ♥カフェｐａｒｆａｉｔ♥ｃａｆｅ

    1 hr 8 min
  • #06 Seb Grey - Everyone hates the Water Temple. It's my favourite.

    Developer and Musician Seb Grey (Fashion Shuriken) comes in for a freewheeling discussion on the wonder of the N64, fantastical open worlds, how strong localization can elevate a work, what it means for a game to be "good", and using Link's Awakening as a conduit to conquer anxiety.

    Also: the positive influence of Shovel Knight, Xenoblade Chronicles 2's merman aviator pastry chef, and the failed romance between Jeremy Corbyn and Grace Jones.

    Intro Music "Summer Vacation in Scanline" by Nurvuss
    Outro Music "トワイライトでHEART-BEAT" by パフェ♥カフェｐａｒｆａｉｔ♥ｃａｆｅ

    2 hr
  • #05 Emily Rose England - Final Fantasy VII is, unintentionally, very feminist.

    Artist and photographer Emily Rose England (Sassitude) joins us to talk about how she processed depression and anxiety through the joy of emulation, feminine power dynamics in Final Fantasy VII, and how the graphical limitations of Link's Awakening allowed her to interpret Link as gender-ambiguous.

    Follow Emily on Instagram @emilyroseengland, and buy her art so she can get a Playstation 4.

    Intro Music "Summer Vacation in Scanline" by Nurvuss
    Outro Music "トワイライトでHEART-BEAT" by パフェ♥カフェｐａｒｆａｉｔ♥ｃａｆｅ

    56 min
  • #04 Samer Farag - Where can I get the video game narrative equivalent to East of Eden?
    Samer Farag of Cocoa Controller joins Robert to discuss his early experiences playing The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and Ocarina of Time back-to-back, learning to read through fantasy novels and RPGs, and the elusive search for good writing inspiring his drive to critique.
    We also talk cyberpunk, rediscovering the joy of fighting games through Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st], the need for progressive games communities, how representation in Watch Dogs 2 and Assassin's Creed Origins revitalises the AAA formula, the struggle to stay motivated in a sea of talented creators, The Caligula Effect, Katsura Hashino, and the key difference between Fumito Ueda and Hideo Kojima.
    Follow Samer on Twitter @eightbitsamurai and Cocoa Controller @CocoaController
    Intro Music "Summer Vacation in Scanline" by Nurvuss
    Intermission Music "Mast in the Mist" by Yoko Kanno (from Koei Game Music Works: Kanno Yoko Collections 〜 Uncharted Waters 2)
    Outro Music "トワイライトでHEART-BEAT" by パフェ♥カフェｐａｒｆａｉｔ♥ｃａｆｅ
    2 hr 4 min
  • #03 Alva Chua - "Beloved fiction franchises are stories told around the spirit of something."
    Alva Chua (MisanthroPlay) shares tales of her misspent youth across the globe; from getting drunk on Babycham and playing Space Invaders at age 4 in an English beer garden, seeing the first McDonald's open in Yugoslavia, to scouring (and working in) a physical black market for computer games in Singapore.
    We also talk coding Eliza on an Atari 2600 PC, teaching oneself spells in Ultima IV without a manual, illicit console ownership, the beauty of shmups, playing Leisure Suit Larry in school, Chuck Yeager's flight sims, immersion, gate-keeping nerds through the lens of Lyotard, and what happens when you ask questions in Delta Force.
    Follow Alva on twitter @vinomatic
    Intro Music "Summer Vacation in Scanline" by Nurvuss
    Intermission Music "At a Harbour" by Tadahiro Nitta & Ryuji Sasai, from Xak II: Rising of the Redmoon
    Outro Music "トワイライトでHEART-BEAT" by パフェ♥カフェｐａｒｆａｉｔ♥ｃａｆｅ
    1 hr 44 min
  • #02 Jonathan Sims - "The suburb wasn't a collection of 90s American dreams, it was a labyrinth and we were imprisoned there."
    Filmmaker and VFX artist Jonathan Sims (DREAMTIME VR, Upcoming Invader Zim Feature, American Gods) joins Robert Fenner for an in-depth discussion on dreams and the imagination, how The Legend of Zelda informed childhood exploration in vaporwave-y `90s Arizona, RPGs of the Price Club bargain bin, the World of Darkness tabletop setting as a means of storytelling, trolling in Overwatch, devious brothers at Christmas, Swedish death metal and Bloodborne, and reading James Joyce on the toilet.
    Follow Jonathan on Twitter @simsmode and Instagram @simsmode.
    Intro Music "Summer Vacation in Scanline" by Nurvuss
    Intermission Music "Afro Tea House (SMT Devil Summoner)" by Sword of Justice
    Outro Music "トワイライトでHEART-BEAT" by パフェ♥カフェｐａｒｆａｉｔ♥ｃａｆｅ
    2 hr 3 min

About Misspent Youth

From the publisher's feed

A LGBTIQA+ Podcast on Video Games, Why We Play, and Who We Are. Hosted by Robert Fenner (@misanthrobob), joined by a new guest every Monday. Hella queer and in love with you.