Squideye and The Bitter Guy

Episode 22: The Library and the Heap

- In which Ilan and Justin develop a pair of regular segments for the show.

Role Playing Games Continued!

• Ashen Stars hit its other preorder!
• Other Kickstarter preorders, incliding Do, Pilgrims of the Flying Temple.
• Vampire 20th Anniversary!
• Like $100
• Released at Grand Masquerade
• Laundry RPG
• Stross books
• The Basic Roleplaying system

The Library!

• Top Secret - The Corporation - 1986
• Conspiracy X - late '90s
• three classic aliens - saurians, venusians, greys
• A game with "default answers"
• Parapsychology resolution system
• Not unisystem - but look for the new ConX, Buffy, Angel

The Heap!

• Chaos in the Old World: Shadow of the horned rat
• Twilight Imperium: Shards of the Throne
• "Subgoals" speed up gameplay
• Cosmic Encounter - Cosmic Conflict
• Alien Frontiers
• Heroscape: Marvel Suporheroes
• Planet Hulk reenactment
• Here I Stand
• "A 7 player Twilight Struggle"
• In practice, "Riskopoly as applied to Diplomacy"

Comics

• Dan Slott Spider Man
• vs. Sinister Six
• Jonathan Hickman's continuing output
• Hickman Fantastic Four - now FF
• incomplte books - Pax Romana and Annihilation
• SHIELD
• Jason Aaron
• Astonishing Spider Man and Wolverine
• all stupid hugely fun
• Wolverine!!!! Scalped
• Pak/Van Lente
• Herc and Alpha Flight
• The Raft, Basilisk, Griffin and Man-Bull
• Eaglesham and Fascist Governments
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Zayne)
• Zayne, schlemazel jedi
• Flashpoint - variant DC universe
• BATMAN strapping flash to electric chair; would have been better in the Silver age

Next time: Movies! Geek Rock videos!

Episode 21: On the Galactic Stage

- in which Ilan has a cold and we talk about live theatre and videogames.

Give us feedback about our Jim Interview - last episode!

Ilan and culture

• My Fair Lady, community theatre experience
• Countermeasure A Cappella concert "we sold out"
• Album cover suggestion: "Twisted"

Justin: Ghost Stories

• Not played with Wraith: the Oblivion mechanics
• Managing our expectations

Soulpepper Theatre!

• Billy Bishop goes to war (Has come and gone, sadly)
• Midsummer Night's Dream
• Good episodes of Fame
• Canned Heat: Center Stage or Napoleon Dynamite?

Video Games!

• L.A. Noire and the anatomy of a slightly worse deal
• iPad!
• Infinity Blade - on the iPad! Recalls "Die By the Sword".
• Reading books on the iPad! Discworld books: Mort, Small Gods
• Ascendancy! And how can we get Alpha Centauri?
• Mass Effect!
• BioWare is a very open-minded company.
• I'm Commander Shepherd, and this is my favourite podcast on the Internet.
• SPOILERS FOR MASS EFFECT FINALE

Ashen Stars RPG (Stellar Nursery pre-release!)

• GUMSHOE system - detective story engine.

Pixel knocks down so much stuff that we end the episode!

Justin talks with his gaming pal Jim "Zub" Zubkavich, mastermind of UDON studios and author of the new fantasy action comedy comic Skullkickers. "Like Army of Darkness with two Ashes." How is it made? What to expect? Why is the first trade so cheap? Answers within!

A life lesson, kids: beat the drum as much as possible. We are happy to be part of the shilling for this admittedly hugely fun book that we both really like.

And no-one was hurt.

Wow, it's been a long time since our last episode. Today we focus on comics, particularly the biggest comic event of the last little while: Jonathan Hickman's run on the Fantastic Four!

We touch on other topics related to media as well.

No superheroes were harmed in the podcasting of this episode.

You've been waiting almost two years for this.

Here it is.

Nobody was hurt in the recording of the episode. And if you already hurt, perhaps the tears will help you heal.

Shownotes for Episode 17 "Optimistic Voices"

With what you've been waiting for. NEXTWAVE miniatures. And more.

The news!Democracy!

• A bunch of miniatures cancellations
• D&D, Rackham, Star Wars
• Things FFG does well

Community: The Official TV Show of SATBG - The D&D Episode

• Dan Harmon and the Dead Alewives
• RPGs in the Media
• So it's on DVD; borrow mine
• A Classical Fantasy Villain

EPIC SEGUE into WizKids Star Trek

• http://wizkidsgames.com/startrek/star-trek-fleet-captains/
• http://wizkidsgames.com/startrek/star-trek-expeditions/ -- Knizia's Co-op
• "The Real Kirk"?
• Squideye: Hugh Laurie as Fourth Doctor. Who's with me?!
• Star Trek 25th Anniversary Video Game
• Federation Commander (with Art Trotman!)

WizKids's new HeroClix set...NEXTWAVE!!!

• Boom Boom and Secret Wars 2
• Nextwave sequels -- Marvel Zombies 3
• Sorry, Joyce, who doesn't like Cilantro
• Original character: THE CAPTAIN! Bad Santa of superheroes
• http://wizkidsgames.com/blog/2011/02/11/his-name-is-the-captain/

Other New WizKids

• -- Vlaada Chvatil designed Mage Knight
• -- How does Multiple Man work? Tofurky Pizza (thanks, Laura!)
• -- Kirkman's INVINCIBLE: Repli-Kate

Other New Stuff

• The King's Speech (HBC as a sane dude)
• Tim Burton Exhibit at Bell Lightbox
• Parallels to tortured cartoonists - Etan Muskat, Dan Zabbal
• 2001 at the Lightbox
• Movies in between 2001 and Star Wars (Logan's Run, Zardoz)
• Doctor Who Cold Open. (Search Youtube for that phrase)

Tron Legacy! And other new movies!

• -- Issues of Control - Clu, the MCP, and Facebook
• -- Not a HUGE letdown; looked great but a little thin.
• -- Olivia Wilde: So Great!
• -- Season of the Witch (Dominic Sena who did Gone in 60 Seconds)

MOVIES IT'S OKAY FOR GEEKS TO CRY AT!

"4 and change"

Continuing from last episode: one last Great War tidbit. A bunch of things related to the number 4 (the square root of 16, which is how many episodes this is), and also things changing. Nobody was hurt this time, because time may change me, but I can't change the rules of fourth edition D&D.

- Wraith: The Great War (best roleplayer!)

• other White Wolf historical settings for the Old World of Darkness
• also Apocalypse versus Forsaken -- topical, people!
• Justin's Great War GenCon experience

- D&D 4 Essentials

• Heroes of the Fallen Lands, Forgotten Kingdoms, and... rules
• "Red Box vs. Unearthed Arcana"
• And then the ACTUAL new Red Box
• What do you need for D&D?
• Rules compendium is really all you need for game except character generator
• Player books include all basic rules and equipment
• DM set is weird, and so is the dice box -- for tiles buy frickin' tiles, for dice buy the red box, and for a straight DMG, why not get DMG 1 and 2, probably as cheap as the new box anyway and full of Robin Laws goodness

- Ravenloft: "Is it bigger than a Red Box?"

• a complete game, great components, just a d20, a zillion minis
• modular, like Descent or Space Hulk, but with a Dracolich
• Incursion is another grid-tactics boardgame, which we may review later.

- Gamma World: "Why are we even talking about this?! Why aren't we PLAYING?!"

• Some pent-up nerd rage: omitted mention of the White Wolf version
• Though it's up for debate -- "...including versions based on d20?"
• Basically 4e but more gonzo!
• Brad Murray's review: http://www.vsca.ca/halfjack/?p=757
• Might be more enjoyable than our GaryCon Tomb of Horrors 3.5E adventure

- iPhone 4: "iPhone, do this!"

• Voice activation is pretty good, power is better
• Tim Sullivan of Without Software - awesome iOS developer: http://withoutsoftware.com/

- Season 4 of Venture Brothers

• Hasn't aired in Canada yet
• It will make you grow a blonde mullet.

- Something about change

• Also Heroscape being discontinued.
• KEEP WATCHING THE SKIES

"Remember, Remember"

Recorded the day after Guy Fawkes day. It's now 2 years since we first conceptualized the podcast with a pad of paper at Free Times Cafe after the Queen's Park Remembrance Day ceremony in 2008. So we'll talk about World War One, which some people claim was "great". Usually we claim nobody was hurt, but in World War One, many people died.

- Remembrance day, and the First World War:

• The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman - http://www.amazon.ca/Guns-August-Barbara-W-Tuchman/dp/0345476093
• Vimy by Pierre Berton - http://www.amazon.ca/Vimy-Pierre-Berton/dp/0385658427

- XBox Live Arcade and the First World War:

• Toy Soldiers - the trial is great, the game's a slog
• Snoopy Flying Ace - just plain super duper great

- Televised British Comedy and the First World War:

• Blackadder Goes Forth: Private Plane ft. Lord Flashheart and Moustaches - http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/blackadder/epguide/four_private.shtml

- Board Games about Being a Flying Ace:

• Wings of War: Billy Bishop vs. the Red Baron! - how it works, how our game went, all that good stuff. - http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=24 (WARNING: LINK HAS ANNOYING MUSIC)
• Ilan's Recommendation: get "Burning Drachens", "Top Fighters" and "Dogfight"
• BILLY BISHOP GOES TO WAR: Wednesday Nov. 10th at 8pm, CBC - http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2010/11/08/billy-bishop.html

- Movies it's okay... d'oh

Our last episode recorded before Justin's descent into Dante's Exposition. We talk time travel. We differ on the necessity of killing Hitler. And nobody was hurt.

Talked about Zero Punctuation's Review of Singularity

Pizza Pizza

Talked about Chrononoauts

Talked about Memoir 44

Talked about Campaign Manager 2008

Talked about New Fronter

Talker aobut Captain Comet, Task Force X, Losers, Challengers

Talked about Transformers: War For Cybertron

Talked aobut Rush: Time Machine

Alternate History Robot. And a Vuvuzela. Or a kaiju, named Vuvuzilla.

Back in Time, on (roughly) our one-year anniversary, and (roughly) Back to the Future's 25th. We talk time travel - Chrononauts, Doctor Who, a few videogames like Mass Effect 2 and Transformers: War for Cybertron, and touch on the works of Terry Pratchett.

Notes and such:

Who would play Boy George in A-team sequel cameo?

We did some karaoke (sadly learning All American Rejects lyrics) at the Canada Day Barbecue - our one year anniversary was our last one! Ilan was exposed to Doctor Who - Empty Child, Doctor Dances, and went off to watch the beginning of the Eccleston run.

Back to the Future's 25th anniversary of release was very recent. On a Time Travel theme, Justin introduces Chrononauts and discusses Umbrella Academy: Dallas.

Ilan talks comics - Astonishing Wolverine and Spider-man (BEST THING), Wolverine Insane In the Brain (competent, but icky), Star Wars - Old Republic (BLECH), Dark Times Blue Harvest (SO GOOD), and the second last issue of Star Wars Legacy (I WANT TO PUNCH IT). Dropped in at Dragon Lady so a bunch to read next week.

Shout out to Joe at Dragon Lady: http://www.dragonladyshop.com/

We talk books, including RPGs. Ilan picked up Reign Enchiridion and Tomb of Horrors 4e, and started Pratchett (Guards! Guards). Justin has read up to Unseen Academicals and has his reasons for hesitating there.

Shout out to David at Galaxion: http://galaxioncomics.com/

This week, we didn't play any new tabletop games together for discussion. In video games, Justin finished Mass Effect 2 ("Mass Harder"), Ilan loves the new Transformer game (War for Cybertron).

Ilan played some miniatures games, though - the new Mongoose Judge Dredd Minis Game (Block Wars?) - at Meeplemart, and more Firestorm Armada (against Chris "Wapcaplets" Engler). Also picked up, haven't played, the Battles of Westeros and Fires of Midway board games.

Meeplemart: http://meeplemart.ca

Wapcaplets: http://wapcaplets.podbean.com/

New movies are just around the corner. Scott Pilgrim is due on August 13th, as is The Expendables. Justin is not quite looking forward to Expendables -- perhaps they're trying too hard? We got our first look at the Thor and Green Lantern costumes, which launches us into a debate over continuity, cheesiness, and masculinity.

Then the @OldSpiceGuy settles all debates over his masculinity with over a hundred YouTube cliplets, interrupting himself just to patch an oil spill in the Gulf.

Next time we'll talk about the Rush show, Scott Pilgrim Volume 6, and Movies it's Okay for Geeks to Cry At. At least nobody was hurt.

And! And! A shout out to Richard Morris' "Yet Another Fantasy Gaming Comic", a Canadian (I have to say it!) fantasy webcomic - thanks to listener and friend-since-I-could-generate-a-character Hilary. http://yafgc.net/