This is my Joystick!

A lot has happened since the last communication with you, but fear not, because Alistair and Stephen are back to tell you all about it! From upgrading to the new-gen consoles, to discussing etiquette for debating over social media, they have it covered.

We covered:

This episode and our previous podcasts are available on iTunes, please be sure to rate and subscribe! Alternatively, you can subscribe to our Podcast RSS feed.

The podcast is back again for another month, and we have a whole bunch of fun to talk about!

In the latest episode you will get to hear our more-than-likely frustrating impressions of DOTA 2, as we try to pull back the curtain further. There’s discussion updates from Gamescom, Stephen’s trip to Wolverhampton (we promise there is more to it than just that), what we’ve been playing and a whole host of other bits and pieces.

Sit back, relax and let us take you on a journey to land where conversation comes in all shapes and sizes!

We Covered:

This episode and our previous podcasts are available on iTunes, please be sure to rate and subscribe! Alternatively, you can subscribe to our Podcast RSS feed.

Like Michael Myers in Halloween 2, we have returned for another action packed episode of the podcast (action sold separately). E3 2014 is a distant memory, and this time we bring you an episode of reasonable length because, frankly, spending two hours with us is probably quite the hardship.

In this exciting episode: Alistair explains why he has not played many games this month, and Stephen goes into detail about the enormous, metaphorical buffet of gaming he has feasted upon!

We covered:

This episode and our previous podcasts are available on iTunes, please be sure to rate and subscribe! Alternatively, you can subscribe to our Podcast RSS feed.

Like a phoenix, the TIMJ Podcast has risen from ashes, bringing you not only a new episode, but new hosts too.

Alistair and Stephen boldly go where they have never gone before, and take over the helm of the This is my Joystick Podcast!

E3 2014 has drawn to a close and it’s time to get down to business and talk about some games. We discuss all of the latest and greatest announcements from the show, the eternal struggle of which next generation console to own, our opinions on E3 and the finer points of being a Pokemon fan in your late 20’s. Oh, and there is this other list of things we talked about…

We covered:

This episode and our previous podcasts are available on iTunes, please be sure to rate and subscribe! Alternatively, you can subscribe to our Podcast RSS feed.

The ship drops out of hyperspace with its familiar sickening jolt, seventeen tonnes of metal and plastic reducing speed in an instant. Its crew of three slowly stir from their statis-enduced slumber. Coffee is filtered while they wake up and step in to the hold, taking their dry deodorant showers. The small freighter’s scanners indicate the hull received some slight but insignificant damage while at top speed, nothing a little paint wouldn’t fix.

The ship’s Captain, Neil Hickton and his crew, Andy Buick and Dave Browne AKA Smiley Dave, step onto the small bridge where three chairs sit before a plethora of screens and controls. Andy logs into the navigation system, checking the coordinates of their current location and the distance to the destination. A red light flashes on the console immediately in front of Dave, he looks at it, pointing open-mouthed, his headset falls to the floor with a bang. The space station is exactly where they expected it to be.

Neil guides the vessel gently into place and sets the umbilical corridor to extend towards the airlock. The comms system gently buzzes as the station’s frequency is selected and a familiar friendly voice greets them, ” Welcome to Frontier Developments. This is Adam Woods, shall we get started?”

Frontier Developments is one of the big boys in the games industry, they’ve made some big games over the years, including the likes of Rollercoaster Tycoon, Thrillville, Lost Winds and Kinectimals. Perhaps their biggest and most well-known games are in the Elite series and the latest, Elite: Dangerous, is currently in Alpha. Adam Woods is the game’s producer and joins Neil, Andy and Dave to chat about Elite: Dangerous and many more things besides.

What we talk about in this episode:

This episode and our previous podcasts are available on iTunes, please be sure to rate and subscribe! Alternatively, you can subscribe to our Podcast RSS feed.

Sadly, this is Neil, Andy and Dave’s very last podcast for This is my Joystick, we’re off to try something else. Before we go we would like to say a huge thank you to all our guests, listeners and supporters for the This is my Joystick podcast and wish you all the best in your future endeavours. Keep on gaming!

From left: Andy Buick, Dave Browne, Neil Hickton and Al Mollison – Photo taken by Mark Chance

Indie developer Roll7 have ventured outside of their PC and mobile comfort zone to bring a 2D side-scrolling skateboard title called OlliOlli exclusively to the PlayStation Vita via digital download on January 22nd.

OlliOlli mixes addictive one-life gameplay with over 120 tricks and grinds over 100 deviously crafted levels and 250 challenges, across its four gameplay modes. For those of you that like short snappy sound-bytes, it’s like Super Meat Boy on a skateboard.

OlliOlli rewards the most skilful and riskiest of players, always tempting you to go for that massive 360 Inward Heelflip and ludicrous chain of combos. Leaving you to time your landing to perfection, or risk losing your score!

The entire game is hand-drawn in pixellated loveliness, which is no mean feat considering the number of tricks, grinds, slams and stages that are on offer. If there is one certainty, I can guarantee that you will slam on your face on concrete on many occasions. Call me old-fashioned or even childish, but that makes me thirsty for more.

Maybe it’s because I have very fond memories of the 80s TV show First Class with the lovely Debbie Greenwood, and I recall cheering on kids in chunky sweaters who were playing the Atari classic skateboard game 720 Degrees, but everything about OlliOlli appeals to me.

For anyone that has thrown their controller on the floor after playing Trials HD, you will be all too aware that the balance between frustrating and addictive is probably the hardest balance to find.

After hearing that one of Roll7’s trio of co-founders, John Robbins, originally had the idea for OlliOlli when he was only 13, where he enjoyed a youth that consisted of being a sponsored skateboarder and playing numerous 2D pixel-based games, we simply had to find out more. Thus we invited Roll7’s creative director along to speak with Neil Hickton on this special podcast, where they discuss exactly what we should expect from their upcoming skater.

This episode and our previous podcasts are available on iTunes, please be sure to rate and subscribe! Alternatively, you can subscribe to our Podcast RSS feed.

The end of 2013! How did that happen so fast? The games industry rarely has a quiet time in terms of amazing news or shocking antics and 2013 has been no exception.

Neil Hickton, Andy Buick and Smiley Dave are joined by “best podcast of 2013” GMA award winner, Guy Cocker. They spill the milk and bury the hatchet, but will they all walk off into the sunset as friends by the end of this special podcast episode? Will the rivalry get in the way? Listen to find out!

Read on for details, plus streaming and download options. This episode and our previous podcasts are available on iTunes, please be sure to rate and subscribe! Alternatively, you can subscribe to our Podcast RSS feed.

When we look back at 2013 we might think it was all about the next-gen announcements, or perhaps their release? Upon reflection it is clear that there was so much more going on in the games industry and there is so much to look forward to as well.

The ex-Gamespot editor, BBC 5 Live and Sky News games and technology specialist, Guy Cocker, has been very busy this year. Having pipped us at the post for the GMA win (probably a stomping, if we’re honest) at the 2013 Games Media Awards in the best podcast category, we felt it fitting to invite him onto our show to help us review the year for another opinion, and to see how many times we could mention our loss.

What we talk about in this episode:

We hope you have a fantastic 2014!

Christmas is here, finally! Stockings are hung. Beer is bought and games are lined up, though the beer may have been consumed already and the games may have been carefully put back into the wrapping and back under the tree.

Read on for details, plus streaming and download options. This episode and our previous podcasts are available on iTunes, please be sure to rate and subscribe! Alternatively, you can subscribe to our Podcast RSS feed.

The promise of a chance to play is strong, and what can be better than to settle down to a bit of gaming over the Christmas period? Why not pop This is my Joystick’s podcast on in the background?

In this episode Neil Hickton, Andy Buick and Smiley Dave talk about

We wish all our listeners and readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year! Make sure to listen out for all the special seasons greetings from a host of wonderful people that we’ve come to know and love this year throughout the entire podcast!

 Additional Music used in this podcast

Jingle Bells performed Beth Hickton (age 11)

Deep in the woods somewhere, were three very angry bears. They were angry because some teenage blonde-haired ASBO had broken their chairs, their beds and of course, eaten their podcast. Little bear was upset. Daddy Bear was ready to mutilate someone and Mummy Bear reminded him that he wasn’t actually a violent bear and if anyone was going to get mutilated she’d do it, like normal.

The podcast, oh how we miss you, Neil Hickton, Andy Buick and Smiley Dave. Where have you been? Nothing that the three bears story will help you with, that was just a ruse to lead you off the scent. However we do have a special guest relating to bears…

Right, so what do we have for you in this episode? You’d best come in and take a look. No eating our porridge though we might get a little miffed.

Read on for details, plus streaming and download options. This episode and our previous podcasts are available on iTunes, please be sure to rate and subscribe! Alternatively, you can subscribe to our Podcast RSS feed

Neil Hickton chats with Nicoll Hunt about his bear-themed beat-em-up, Fist of Awesome and with Pablo Testa working on top-down shooter Project Root. Andy Buick talks to Bendik Stang and Frits Olsen of SnowCastle Games about their up-coming multi-platform game Festival of Magic.

Neil, Andy and Smiley Dave talk about their GMA nomination and experiences at this year’s GMA event.  Managing to uncover the truth about free bars and finding out just what alcohol-fuelled games journalists are really like.

In this episode:

Additional audio used in this episode:

One of the biggest events in pretty much every gamer’s calendar is the yearly Eurogamer Expo. Once again it has blown us out of the water with the sheer scale and beauty that only the Eurogamer team seem to be able to provide us all.

Neil Hickton and Andy Buick chat with Matt Parker and Mike Smith about the things that impressed us, the massive games that wowed us and those not so little things, queues, as well as everything in-between.

Read on for details, plus streaming and download options. This episode and our previous podcasts are available on iTunes, please be sure to rate and subscribe! Alternatively, you can subscribe to our Podcast RSS feed.

In this Episode we talk about Eurogamer Expo 2013: