You only think these dogs are here to help you

Not only is this episode about games, news and our many complaints, but it also includes useful winter survival info! What can we say, we do it all here at Unconsoleable. You're welcome.

With no pesky guests to get in the way (KIDDING, we love our guests to death :-)) we cover all the News We Care About, why a recent op-ed about mobile games is a bunch of hooey, and a perspective on a hot, new game that you're only likely to hear from us. 

We'd love it if you could rate and reviews us on iTunes, follow us on Twitter and email us if you have suggestions on what to do when freezing to death (or any other reason too :-))

Stuff We Mentioned:

• Zombie Match Defense (iOS only for now)
• Jake on Twitter
• Our episode with Jake
• Jake at IndieCade
• Prune (iOS & Android)
• Our episode with Joel
• Bertram Fiddle (iOS & Steam)
• Episode 2 on Steam Greenlight
• Kickstarter for Episode 2
• Landsliders hits 1 million downloads
• Polygon op-ed by a mobile developer
• Spider sequel doesn't do well
• Girls made a LEGO Turny
• Ustwo might write a rebuttal
• Downwell (iOS & Steam)
• About Ojiro
• Roguelikes
• Bloodborne 
• iOS games for people who hate them
• Land Sliders (iOS only for now)
• Sling Kong (iOS & Android)
• Yeti Pie
• Apple TV
• Please Don't Touch Anything (iOS only for now)
• Shooty Skies (iOS only for now)
• Osmos (iOS & Android)
• Katamari
• Super Sharp (iOS only)
• Mr. Jump (iOS only)

Jessica is bad at Photoshop.

Our Gaming Yoda Steve is becoming quite a fixture on the show, but this episode features someone even more special: his lovely wife, Maureen. 

Distraught that Steve was never getting to talk about Hearthstone on Isometric, we offered our show up as a safe space to do just that. And well, um, it doesn't hurt that Anna is also obsessed with Blizzard's hugely popular CCG. 

As per usual though, we got a lot more than we bargained for and Hearthstone wasn't the only topic of discussion. So sit back and enjoy as we hear both Steve and Maureen's voices together for the first time in a long time.

Please rate and review us on iTunes (no, seriously, do it NOW), follow us on Twitterand email us if you want to tell us the furthest you've ever driven to see a goat.

Stuff we mentioned:

• Kookaburra
• Angry Chicken from Hearthstone
• Hearthstone's origin story
• HearthStats
• Heroes of the Storm
• Vainglory (iOS & Android)
• Diablo III
• Warcraft III
• Doctor Draw deck
• The Walking Dead
• Dr. Boom
• HearthArena
• Dogs playing Hearthstone painting
• Hearthstone commercial
• Annoy-o-Tron
• Hay Day (iOS & Android)
• Paradise Bay (iOS & Android)

You knew we couldn't go too long without having more Aussies on the show. But hey, can we help it if they keep making awesome games we love? 

And so, ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the legendary designer of Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride, and many more iconic mobile titles, Luke Muscat! Oh yeah, and some guy named Phil Larsen too ;-p

Luke and Phil make up two thirds of Prettygreat (funded in part by our good friends Matt Hall and Andy Sum) and though Land Sliders is their first game, we're pretty sure that their studio name suits them perfectly. We think that you'll agree. 

Please rate and review us on iTunes if you haven't already, follow us on Twitter and email us if you can explain the Land Sliders ARG to us (and then please report to the NSA for the job you're probably qualified for). 

Stuff we mentioned:

• Hugh on Twitter
• Shooty Skies (iOS only for now)
• Episode with Matt & Dean
• Krome
• Pandemic
• Fruit Ninja (iOS & Android)
• Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• Epic Touch Arcade Land Sliders thread
• Trials Evolution
• Narraganset beer
• Bloodborne
• The Witcher 3
• Fran Bow
• The Beginner's Guide
• Oblivion
• Skyrim
• Monument Valley characters in Crossy Road
• Desert Golfing (iOS & Android)
• Justin Smith
• EnviroBear (iOS & Android)
• True Skate (iOS & Android)
• Halfbrick
• Halfbrick lays off designers
• Pancake (iOS & Android)
• Burger (iOS & Android)
• Pinna (iOS & Android)
• Drawn to Kill (iPad only)
• Matt's advice to developers
• Monster Dash (iOS & Android)
• Fruit Ninja used in rehab

Art by Sylvie Reuter

Today is the first anniversary of #INeedDiverseGames and to celebrate, we welcome our friend Tanya DePass on the show to tell us all about it and what she's up to these days in her quest to make games more diverse.

We need diverse games on mobile too, by the way, so we introduced Tanya to Piloteer, which has a kickass black woman as the only character. It turns out the developer made her that way because he was inspired by #INeedDiverseGames! So there's all kinds of feels at that part :-)

Tanya also shared her experiences since #INeedDiverseGames started and the ups and downs of suddenly being thrust into the spotlight. So sit back and enjoy; you might even learn something.

Rate and review us on iTunes

Stuff we mentioned:

Yeti Pie to the Ground, courtesy of Joe Macirowski

This week we take a breather between episodes with guests to do what we do best. Complain and call out bad behavior.

From a feature by Apple of a game with ugly stereotypes to the release of PewDiePie's bro-ey mobile game, we have a lot on our plate. But fear not, dear listeners. There's a little positivity mixed in here and there too. 

Remember to rate and review us on iTunes, follow us on Twitter and email us if you can teach Jessica how to take a screenshot with her new iPhone ;-) 

Stuff we mentioned:

• Yeti Pie
• Land Sliders (iOS only for now)
• Prettygreat
• Halfbrick
• Kotaku profile on Matt
• Device 6 (iOS only)
• Simogo
• The Sailor's Dream (iOS only)
• Spawn on Me
• Journey
• Our t-shirts and other merch
• Rich's comic
• GaymerX
• Direct link to the panel
• Matt Conn on LTOE
• Midboss
• Tanya DePass
• Gang Nations
• The Gang Nations lineup
• They suggest their lady game 
• PewDiePie's game (iOS only for now)
• Who is PewDiePie?
• Guardian review
• Lunar Flowers (iOS only for now)
• Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon (iOS & Android)
• Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor (iOS & Android)
• Article about Spider not doing well
• Till Morning's Light (iOS only)
• Amazon's games studio

Yasmine and Russell at Google IO 2015

You might say we're a bit iOS-focused here on Unconsoleable so this week we welcomed our old friend Yasmine Evjen and our newer friend, Russell Ivanovic. Yasmine and Russell are two thirds of the Material Podcast which is all about Google and Android.

Apple fans, don't run away screaming. It's an interesting show even for you. And hey, we've even managed to keep our Australian streak going as Russell hails from the infamous land of snakes and spiders.

We talked about the (maybe?) wonderful future and present of gaming on our TVs, what Yasmine and Russell like to play on mobile, Russell's polygamist tendencies and much, much more!

Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes, follow us on Twitter and email us if you have PocketCasts problems (but we'll just forward those emails to Yasmine :-))

Stuff we mentioned:

Andy presenting multi-player Crossy Road at the September 9 Apple event

This is our super duper special, SUPERSIZED, one-year anniversary episode!

That’s right, we’ve been bringing you the magic of Unconsoleable for an entire year now and we celebrate the occasion in the best way we know how: with fantastic guests we love.

Joining us for the fourth time is our good friend Matt Hall and for the first time ever, we also welcome his partner in crime (sometimes almost literally), Andy Sum

Andy had just returned to Australia after presenting at this little event at Apple, you may have heard of it ;-) There’s a lot he couldn’t tell us about it, but have no fear, we got the most crucial details.

We also found out what the Hipster Whale fellas think of the future of gaming on the Apple TV, what happened the time Matt and Andy played a game together, what valuable life advice Matt gives to Andy and much, much, MUCH more. Seriously, we are not exaggerating. There is a lot more.

Remember to rate and review us on iTunes, follow us on Twitter, and email us if you want to make Andy an offer of marriage :-D

Smelly.

First things first. Notch, come on the show. Seriously. We can help you and we have some shoulders you can cry on. Tweet us. Email us. Let's make this happen.

Besides providing counseling and advice for rich Swedes, we side-eye the new App Store games Twitter account, scratch our heads over YouTube and Mobcrush, and Anna professes her love for Jessica. Why? You'll have to listen to find out!

Rate and review us on iTunes if you want our undying gratitude forever, follow us on Twitter, and email us if you're a rich, white guy who needs ideas for how to live a fulfilling life! :-P

Stuff we mentioned:

Maybe it's not Zen, but we still love Joel McDonald's amazing game, Prune and you should too.

Joel tells us how the idea for Prune came about, plans for future updates, his origin story in gamedev, his shameful mobile gaming secret, and much, much more!

Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes, follow us on Twitter, and email us if you want to brag about your Burger top score (actually, please don't do this).

Stuff we mentioned:

• Unity
• Apple family sharing
• Blek (iOS & Android)
• Fran Bow
• Doggins (iOS & Android) 
• Lumino City
• Laura Croft GO (iOS & Android)
• Dean and Matt's episode from last week
• Doom
• Quake
• Command and Conquer
• Raven Software
• Pancake (iOS & Android)
• Burger (iOS & Android)
• Cut the Rope (iOS & Android)
• Aaron San Filippo on Twitter
• Simon Ferrari
• Our Android-loving friend Yasmine
• Tiny houses 
• Tiny Wings (iOS only)
• Hundreds (iOS & Android)
• Alto's Adventure (iOS only)

Sling Kong is one of our latest obsessions for very good reason. So please put your hands together for Dean Loades and Matt Knights of Protostar who so kindly brought it into our lives.

Dean and Matt answer some very important questions about their future housing plans, tell us where the best game developers come from and much, much more. What on earth makes the best dinosaur sound? You'll have to listen to find out!

Pleeeaaase rate and/or review us on iTunes, follow us on Twitter and email us if you have a yacht that Dean can borrow until he can get his own ;-)

Stuff we mentioned:

• Checkpoint Champion (iOS & Android)
• Prettygreat
• Featherweight Games
• Skiing Yeti Mountain (iOS & Android)
• Baby kangaroos are kinda gross
• Cassowaries
• Ruffled Feathers
• Halfbrick 
• Angry Birds (iOS & Android)
• Fruit Ninja (iOS & Android)
• Flight Control (iOS & Android)
• Burger (iOS & Android)
• Sometimes You Die (iOS & Android)
• Crossy Road (iOS & Android)
• Sling Kong desert characters teaser
• You Must Build a Boat (iOS & Android)
• Two Dots (iOS & Android)
• Touch Arcade
• Hearthstone (iOS & Android)
• Heroes of the Storm
• Pac-Man 256 (iOS & Android)
• The Room (iOS & Android)
• The Room 2 (iOS & Android)
• The Room 3 is coming