Scanline Talks

Well, here we go again, eh? Before you go too much further, please understand the conceit of this episode: while the Epic Games Store has its problems as a service, the bigger problem lies with the reaction of fanatical gamer abusers who use their dislike of it along with racism and xenophobia as a justification for vile and toxic acts. We don't love the Epic Games Store here at Scanline, but we sure as shit don't hate it, and we find ourselves in the unusual position of defending it because the people who do hate it are such irredeemable dirtbags. Their anger, ultimately, is a manifestation of the malice and power-hungry nature of capitalism, and so we're here to fight it.

We're really not sure when there will be another one of these episodes: if we get mad at video game capitalism again, we'll be back!

The intro music for this episode is the song Shared Dig from Unreal Gold by Epic Games. It was composed by Alexander Brandon.

When Scanline was first starting out, Jen and I did regular articles where we talked about the media we'd been consuming recently, and called them "Playlists." Well, we've decided to bring them back... in podcast form! On this episode of Playlist, Jen talks about Judgment, a detective brawler by the team behind Yakuza, and Sonic Team Racing- a kart racer with special team-based gameplay mechanics. Meanwhile, Six is getting into Dragon Quest Builders 2 and its charming world of construction, but still has time to talk about excitement and frustration with FFXIV's latest expansion, Shadowbringers.

So you're thinkin you're in the market for an indie game. Maybe a horror one, but not like a horror horror one. Just one with horror atmosphere as it tells a melancholic story. Hey, folks? Plague Tale ain't it. Six asks the questions and Jen answers, laying out the full story of A Plague Tale: Innocence, and wow that game goes off the rails.

Are robots people? Christ. What a boring question. What are you, David Cage? Let's ask more interesting questions. You like cyborgs? Nier Automata? Twin Peaks? Cool. Join Six, Jen, and friend of the site Ryan as they discuss Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, an incredible movie about transhumanism, philosophy, and identity.

This is the latest sampler for Oops All Anime, our patron-only show! Want more like this? For just $1/month over at patreon.com/scanlinemedia, you can get access to weekly episodes of the show, as well as nearly 100 backlog episodes. All sorts of different shows, a wild variety of guests, a bounty of tones and atmospheres. All yours: so check it out!

It's always valuable to sit down with game developers and hear their perspective on the industry, how it's changing, and how it hasn't. Erik Johnson of The Indie Bros. and Vertigo Gaming has certainly done his time in the trenches of development, and can speak to that experience. But even more rare than hearing about development is hearing about games marketing and promotion.

Please enjoy this meaty interview as Six asks Erik questions about the PR side of games that is so rarely covered. Whether you're a curious player or a developer worried about promotion of their own work, this is a great opportunity to learn about the less glamorous, but incredibly important side of getting your game to sell.

You can find Erik Johnson on Twitter at @gameconnoisseur, and the website of The Indie Bros. here.