Neo Kobe Pizza

On the twenty-first episode of Neo Kobe Pizza, we're without a guest, as the focus is on decomposing the first twenty episodes and discussing current events and updates. We also address what goes into making the podcast what it is, dumb things that have happened to your host because video games, and how grateful we are to all of you out there listening.

(Originally recorded 11/29/16)

*SPOILER WARNING FOR PERSONA 4*

On the twentieth episode of Neo Kobe Pizza, we sit down to discuss the sudden and, at the time, surprising success of Persona 4 relative to its predecessors in the Shin Megami Tensei series, and how this came to pass. We discuss the ways Persona 4 brought new players into the fold, how prior games in the SMT franchise varied in their presentation compared to P4, how Persona 5 looks to be continuing this trend, and lots of random asides on our favorite moments. Hosted by Mark B Writing, featuring Nick Tricome.

(Originally recorded 11/23/16)

On the nineteenth episode of Neo Kobe Pizza, we sit down to discuss the other side of music oriented gaming by discussing the history of the rhythm game genre. We discuss the origins of the genre, its many rises and falls over the years, the current state of the genre, and Metallica's Death Magnetic has a weird looking album cover. Hosted by Mark B Writing, featuring Joe Tran.

(Originally recorded 11/16/16)

On the eighteenth episode of Neo Kobe Pizza, we sit down once again to discuss musicals, and more specifically, the idea of musicals existing within the medium of video games. In the second part of this discussion, we aim towards gaming musicals and why they're in the vast, vast minority of releases, the overall history of gaming musicals that have been released, the general failures of prior games, and the long term hopes we have for where the genre can go from here. Hosted by Mark B Writing, featuring Alex Lucard.

(Originally recorded 10/20/16)

On the seventeenth episode of Neo Kobe Pizza, we sit down to discuss musicals, and more specifically, the idea of musicals existing within the medium of video games. In the first part of this discussion, we discuss some of the core language surrounding describing the mechanics of musicals, the differences between how film, theater and musicals convey their messages and concepts, and how video games exist in a position where they can accommodate the absurdity of musicals in a way that makes them almost ideal for the genre... which is so rarely represented in the format. Hosted by Mark B Writing, featuring Lola Mendoza.

(Originally recorded 07/18/16)

On the sixteenth episode of Neo Kobe Pizza, we sit down to discuss the concept of morality in video games, and how games tend to handle this concept from a narrative and mechanical perspective. We discuss the methods games use to deal with morality, how games are often unsuccessful at getting this concept across, and how games could strive to improve this handling or have already (in some cases) shown that it is possible to provide strong moral undertones in a game universe. Hosted by Mark B Writing, featuring Jack Quiches.

(Originally recorded 10/17/16)

On the fifteenth episode of Neo Kobe Pizza, we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to discuss the announcement of the newly named Nintendo Switch (formerly the NX), as well as its initial announcement trailer. We also discuss the known facts, rumors and speculations, as well as the likely positives and negatives of the upcoming device, and the public response being surprisingly similar to that of No Man's Sky. Hosted by Mark B Writing, featuring Aaron Sirois.

(Originally recorded 10/21/16)

On the fourteenth episode of Neo Kobe Pizza, we discuss the concept of Information Security and how it relates to video gaming and its players. We also discuss how gamers are unlikely to utilize security tools when playing, security events over the past few years, and how you're basically screwed for a lot of reasons when it comes to how companies are required to protect your data. Hosted by Mark B Writing, featuring Joshua Moore.

(Originally recorded 10/07/16)

On the thirteenth episode of Neo Kobe Pizza, we discuss the concept of Localization and whether localized games or directly translated games are a better option in the majority of cases. We also discuss the concept of cutting content from games, how localization and content cutting have evolved over the ages, and why the original Persona is an important (if not good) game in this discussion. Hosted by Mark B Writing, featuring Sean Madson.

(Originally recorded 10/01/16)

On the twelfth episode of Neo Kobe Pizza, we discuss the concept of Objective Video Game Reviews and whether such things are actually feasible or useful. We also discuss the various possible metrics one could use to attempt to create objective reviews, real world examples (and their relevant successes and failures) and how likely it is that Mad Max would objectively be "better" than an average score. Hosted by Mark B Writing, featuring Crystal Steltenpohl.

(Originally recorded 09/14/16)