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Our very own Bernard Hwang makes a rare appearance on the show this week to help us cover game industry unionization, job prospects in our robot future and a college course on bullshit! We saunter into the Lightning Round to discuss Bill Gates’ idea to tax robots and we come up with ideas to help Pokemon celebrate it’s 21st birthday.

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Nikk Golesh, Joe Arroyo, & Bernard Hwang

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We’re talkin’ ’bout the Overwatch input debate on consoles! We’re talkin’ ’bout Pokemon in Minecraft, and we’re talkin’ ’bout Castlevania on Netflix. For the Lightning Round we not-so-delicately handle the shvanzes in Conan: Exiles and weigh in on opening E3 to the public this year. Enjoy!

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Nikk Golesh, & Joe Arroyo

The very real and necessary argument over how to play Overwatch on consoles.

There’s Pokemon in my Minecraft…

Castlevania TV series is reportedly Netflix-bound.

The customizablility and the castration of Conan: Exiles’ shvanzes.

E3 is opening it’s doors to the public this year. Oh boy.

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Alexandra Lucas (MS Cortana Team content writer) is back in the studio with us to talk about easter eggs, the Oculus/Zenimax judgement and the implications of human hibernation. For the Lightning Round, we debate the South Park game bosses we wish we got and the Amazon Echo murder mystery game. Groundhog Day jokes for everyone! Woooooo!

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Nikk Golesh, Joe Arroyo, & Alexandra Lucas

Topics:

The truth (generally speaking) behind video game easter eggs.

Zenimax awarded $500mil in lawsuit settlement with Oculus. Womp womp.

Human hibernation. So many implications. Let’s talk about it.

Lightning Round:

Surprising no one, but disappointing everyone, Paris Hilton was supposed to be a boss in the South Park: Stick of Truth. Let’s pick our other wanna-be bosses, that should’ve been in South Park.

Murder mystery comes to your favorite home assistant.

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This week we’re talking about all the Nintendo Switch news! We also make time for Gabe Newell’s AMA and that Pokemon mod in ARK. For the Lightning Round we discuss the truly creepy business plan at Ambrosia and throw in our two cents on who will make the best courtroom drama cast of the whole Oculus v. Zenimax case. Come for the news highlights and stay for the bad dad puns. Do it!

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Nikk Golesh, & Joe Arroyo

Topics:

Let’s talk about the Switch a little bit.

Gabe Newell did an AMA. Let’s stop what were doing and overthink it.

There’s Pokemon in my ARK and I can’t wait to tell Golesh.

Lightning Round:

Obvious company of vampires does obvious vampire business things.

The Oculus v. Zenimax trial is heating up. Lets have some fun with it.

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The Stellar Jay dudes are back! We catch up with Ted and Corey about everything they’re working on. We also make time to discuss the unique League of Legends toxicity problem, YouTube’s new paid chat feature, and the argument for more 32-bit retro indie games. For the Lightning Round we muse over two Google Home devices questioning the existence of God and the wishy-washy prospects of an Uncharted movie. Make sure to go grab Stellar Jay’s new mobile game Kaboing Kaboom!

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Nikk Golesh, Joe Arroyo, Corey McDaniel & Ted Wilson

Topics:

LoL has a very interesting toxicity problem…

Now you can pay to pin comments during live streams because no one cares about anything anymore.

The argument for 32-Bit Retro games…

Lightning Round:

Twitch showcases an existential crisis between two Google Home devices.

Is there hope with the prospect of the Uncharted movie?

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We go over our favorite games that we played in 2016. We applaud the existence of Frog Fractions 2 and we consider the possibility that Conan’s Clueless Gamer might get it’s own show. For the Lightning Round we throw our support behind Terry Crews as Doomfist and laugh at CNN for using a Fallout 4 image to explain the Russian election hack. It’s great to be back!

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Nikk Golesh, & Joe Arroyo

Topics:

Our favorite games from 2016 and some honorable mentions.

Frog Fractions 2 is real.

Clueless Gamer is getting its own series. Maybe?

Lightning Round:

Terry Crews for Doomfist!

CNN mines Fallout 4 for Russian hack reference material.

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We’re talking Conan vs. FFXV this week! As well as FIFA hackers on trial and the Game Awards new approach to substance over style. For the Lightning Round we’re honoring the playground swing and the discrepancy on that new patch to Watch Dogs 2. Also, there’s beer. Enjoy!

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Nikk Golesh, & Joe Arroyo

Topics:

Everyone needs to just relax about the whole Conan/FFXV thing.

Hackers robbed EA using FIFA.

Rethinking the way to promote games.

Lightning Round:

The playground swing finally gets the recognition it deserves.

Watch Dogs 2 wipes out female naughty bits. Leaves male naughty bits in.

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This week, we discuss Brie Code’s “Video Games are Boring” article, what games have taught us about actually surviving the end of the world, and the timeless art of a good game demo. For the Lightning Round there’s some jibber-jabbin’ about the limited return of the Nintendo Powerline and Tim Sweeney’s conservationism. This episode is best paired with a glass of Brawndo, it’s got what plants crave!

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Nikk Golesh, & Joe Arroyo

Topics:

The necessary discussion around that Brie Code article.

Stuff we learned from games that might help us survive the end of the world.

Demos. Whats a good one? Where are they now?

Lightning Round:

Nintendo Powerline is coming back for one weekend.

Tim Sweeney just saved 7000 acres of forest. IRL.

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Bethesda’s new review code policy as well as the SAG-AFTRA strike. To ring in the holiday Marian runs us through a tabletop encounter and we round out the Lightning Round with a retrospective on Uwe Boll’s movie career. Also, we mention eye herpes. Enjoy!

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Joe Arroyo, Chris Morris, Nikk Golesh, & Marian Huber

Topics:

Bethesda will actively change the way people review their games.

While the voice actor strike continues, here’s a look behind the scenes of being a voice actor.

Lightning Round:

Uwe Boll is retiring from the movie biz, leaves behind a pretty low bar for video game movies.

Eye herpes!!!

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It’s a Core Panel episode this week! We get comfy and go over the big Nintendo  Switch news, Rockstar’s unconventional marketing habits (and of course RDR2!) , as well as the lasting power of the legendary mouse and keyboard combo! For the Lightning Round we make mention of “The Simulation” board game and discuss the latest Assassin’s Creed movie trailer. We blame Dan Harmon for everything.

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Joe Arroyo, & Nikk Golesh

Topics:

Nintendo pulls back the curtain on the NX and all the hipsters who will like it.

How Rockstar markets their games differently than everyone else.

Why has the mouse and keyboard lasted so long as the best controllers for PC games?

Lightning Round:

Hows this for incentive to prove we’re all just in a massive computer simulation?

The new Assassin's Creed movie trailer is here!

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We’ve got a game development focused episode this week. We discuss how player imagination is just important to the game as intentionally designed narrative and mechanics, the connections between Westworld and video games, and what game devs actually do at all of those crazy conferences. Get your fresh pootatoes and we’ll see you on Mars!

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Joe Arroyo, Nikk Golesh, Chris Morris

Topics:

Why imagination is just as important as gameplay

The ‘Westworld’ video game connection

What do game devs get out of conferences

Lightning Round:

Obama wants us on Mars by 2030

Portal movie announcement coming soon?

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We’re joined this week by Nichole (aka SpringbokASMR) to talk about our favorite games and what makes them replayable (or not), whether it’s possible to quantify the traits that make a bad game, and Elon Musk’s somewhat reasonable plan to take us all to Mars. For the Lightning Round, we debate whether Firewatch would benefit from the silver screen treatment, and how we might deal with mass piracy of games that we’ve worked on.

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Joe Arroyo, Nikk Golesh, Chris Morris & SpringbokASMR

Topics:

Replayability. Yay or nay?

Validating opinion through science. Sort of.

Let’s colonize Mars. Or just watch Elon Musk do it.

Lightning Round:

There’s a Firewatch movie coming.

Killin’ em with kindness.

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No regular episode this week, but we checked in with the Cheat Codes staff and a bunch of former guests to see what games they’re currently digging into.

James Id: “I’m playing Dizzy: The Ultimate Cartoon and the Claire B story to Resident Evil 2. It’s odd to see parallels between the item management and puzzle solving between two games. To be frank, though, misestimating a jump and watching Dizzy sail over a platform into a turbulent waters is much more harrowing than Mr. X.”

Nathan Hitchcock: “I’m trying my hand at a new “Super Smash Bros”-style fighting game called “Rivals of Aether“. Though it feels similar to the smash series, each character introduces their own mechanic to the game, making it much, much, harder. Coincidentally, I’m also playing through “Cry yourself to sleep at night because your friends keep beating you at Rivals of Aether”, the unannounced sequel.”

Douglas Zwick: “Well, I’ve never really spent much time at the cutting edge of games — I’m usually either hung up on old stuff I’ve played before but crave anyway, or slowly eroding my monstrous backlog. Recently, though, I’ve been really into Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight, an indie title developed by Bombservice and published by AGM Playism. This thing has me very happy, as only a good Metroidvania can. It really reminds me of Dark Souls, in that I’m repeatedly finding some huge new area that I wasn’t forced into, which I then cautiously explore for a while before suddenly running into a boss I wasn’t expecting who kicks my ass if I’m not super careful. The controls are perfect and the graphics are gorgeous. I’m probably going to have to play the rest of the games in this series now.

This comes on the heels of my having finished AM2R, which REALLY impressed me. It truly felt like the new 2-D Metroid game we’ve all wished we had for years now. Sadly, it’s not available for download anymore, so the only way to play it is to find some other lucky duck who managed to get it before it was taken down.”

Samir Patel: “I am going to be playing a ton of Destiny: Rise of Iron this weekend along with a bunch of my friends since I didn’t really have much time this week to play it. I am going to focus on getting my light level up but I am going to take my sweet time going through the campaign and all the side quests. I am going to try and run the new raid, Wrath of the Machine, if I manage to get my light level up enough. I have also been playing a lot ofAbsolute Drift: Zen Edition on my PS4 before going to bed because it is such a good chill out game.”

Cliff Bleszinski: “I adored Overwatch for a while, but got a little burnt out on it and took a break to check out Paladins. At first it has that ‘clone’ look to it but after giving it a go it’s a pretty darned satisfying experience that looks like it can more than hold it’s own in the space of character based ‘ability’ shooters. I honestly enjoy the ‘shooting’ more so far in Paladins than in OW, as good as a package as OW is.”

Joe Erskine: “I’m catching up on some Ori and The Blind Forest because everyone won’t shut up about how good looking it is (hint: they’re right). Also still picking away at No Man’s Skybecause its basically become like a meditation exercise at this point. I’ve named so many aliens, planets and flora in a poop related way that I’m running out of shitty puns (hooo-ah!).”

Nikk Golesh: “I’m playing World of Warcraft, mostly. Gearing up my Paladin in mythic dungeons and questing in Suramar. In between my wow episodes I’ll usually jump on Overwatch. ‘Ogon’ po gotovnosti!'”

Chris Morris: “Getting down on a bunch of Warcraft: Legion, finally geared my Death Knight up for Mythic dungeons and I’m good to go for raids once they get released. Been sinking a ton of time into RimWorld, which I couldn’t possibly praise more highly. The game is an extremely robust simulation and strategy game, blending sci-fi, colony building, some light RTS-style combat. Mod support for it is awesome as well and there is tons of awesome stuff worth downloading to enhance the overall experience. Well worth checking out!”

Demond Rogers: I have been playing INSIDE and it has to be one the greatest finales in a game ever! I haven’t smiled so much in a long time.

Lauren Bleszinski: I’ve been playing World of Warcraft: Legion mostly because of nostalgia, but also because I’m hoping to get back into raiding with friends weekly. Socializing is healthy.

Overwatch has me hooked because it triggers some inner instincts to want to help, so I’m full Mercy! Plus, getting POTG as Mercy is a real ego boost.

Pearce Bergh: I’ve been playing World of Warcraft: Legion! I missed the last three expansions, but now that I’ve graduated college I’ve been able to hop back in and try out Blizzard’s latest and greatest content. World of Warcraft is actually how I got my start with programming by writing addons for my guild so it feels crazy to come back to it now as a professional programmer.

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Dave Oshry (CEO @ New Blood Interactive) joins us from sunny California this week to go over the way VR will change social media, Squanchtendo’s first title, and robots replacing the US workforce. For the Lightning Round we go over the Steam Key review debacle and we question the need for a Stan Lee movie.

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Joe Arroyo, Nikk Golesh, Chris Morris & Dave Oshry

Topics:

VR is going to change the way you use social media.

Squanchy Networking/Lying: How to get a game job (occasionally).

Dem robutts duk ur jerbs!

Lightning Round:

Steam reviews changed because if you use a key your opinion doesn’t matter. Probably.

When is enough actually enough?

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Evan Nikolich (Designer @ Bungie) and Samir Patel (Producer @ Bungie) join us this week to discuss working on games that flopped, Nintendo showing no mercy to fan games, and working on a game in a genre you hate. For the Lightning Round we discuss Nintendo IPs coming to the iOS Store and we cap it all off with a look at Japanese vending machines. It’s exactly what you think. Enjoy!

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Joe Arroyo, Samir Patel, & Evan Nikolich

Topics:

Let’s talk about what it might be like to work on a game that flops.

Nintendo just murdered over 500 fan games.

So… what does it take to make a game in a genre you hate?

Lightning Round:

Apple + Nintendo together, whether we want it or not.

We’re gonna imagine our dream Japanese vending machines…

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The illustrious Liam Esler joins us this week to pimp a little GX Australia and help us go over the importance of learning as a skill. We also cover the relationship between gaming, simulators and the U.S. Army, and the supposed dumbing down of board games. For the Lightning Round we offer our two cents on Facebook as a PC gaming platform and Justin Roiland’s venture into VR game development.

We’re on Patreon! Be sure to check out the video and rewards!

The Panel: Joe Erskine, Nikk Golesh, Chris Morris, & Liam Esler

Topics:

Learning how to learn is probably the most important skill you can have in any job but especially as a dev.

How is gaming affecting the US Army? Is it enough? Is it too little?

The dumbing down of board games… is debatable.

Lightning Round:

Facebook as a PC gaming platform? We’ll see about that…

Rick n’ Morty co-creator is starting a VR studio. Wuba lub a dub dub!