This week Andy stops in Portland (during his big West Coast Trip) to visit Keith. Andy tells Keith how the trip has been so far, and Keith tells Andy about the Illimat Kickstarter he’s right in the middle of. Other topics include dog parks, Pyramid Arcade, the musical Hamilton, and dueling with paintball guns. Lastly they discuss several new shows: Timeless, Westworld, and Luke Cage.
John Cooper joins Andy & Keith to talk about the early days of the Looney Pyramids game system. Of course the story begins with Icehouse, and the tournaments we used to run for that game, including the infamous 4th IIT, made famous by Keith and the Bates Discordians. Then they discuss John’s games for pyramids + tarot cards (Zarcana & Gnostica) and John’s finest creation, Homeworlds.
The episode begins with Keith talking about his about-to-launch Kickstarter for his new game Illimat, and Andy points out that it’s an example of something he calls a Gobstopper: something that started out as a fictional thing, then became a real-life version of that thing. But then they spent most of the episode talking about the season 2 finale of Mr. Robot.
First the guys talk about recent bummers, both national and local, then they discuss various work issues. They discuss several conceptual games including the board game called The Emperor’s New Clothes and some vintage, very tricky video games, including Humpback and Desert Bus. Then they spend the rest of the episode talking about the penultimate episode of seasons 2 of Mr. Robot.
The show begins with some yammering about naps, the difficulty of falling asleep, and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy original radio series. Then Keith talks more about Illimat, what it’s like to work with the Decemberists, the XOXO festival, and the coins from Fall of Magic. Andy mentions his worries about how the Haijin shipping crisis might impact the arrival date of Pyramid Arcade. Keith mentions a book he’s reading about Yellow Kid Weil, which leads to a discussion the word outlaw and of con man films including The Sting and The Flim-Flam Man. Andy talks about lots of media he’s seen recently, including Steven Universe, the new Spockumentary, and four different time travel movies. Lastly as usual, they bring down the spoiler curtain to discuss the most recent episode of Mr. Robot.
SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers Inside
Keith just got back from PAX where he finally revealed the details of Project 12! It’s a game called Illimat which he’s been developing in partnership with the folk rock band the Decemberists! Now that he can finally talk about it, he has a lot to say. Other topics include games about pancakes, oversized pyramids, reading without reading a book, and the Twilight Zone pinball machine. Lastly they bring down the spoiler curtain to discuss at length the most recent episode of Mr. Robot.
SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers inside.
First the guys talk shop, tooting their own horns about their new game releases. Then Andy talks about Molly, the sweetest doggie ever, who passed away this week, and he talks about how much he has changed from the cats-only guy he used to be. Andy also reads a quote about dogs from the author Stephen W. Meader. Andy talks about the video reviews posted at Red Letter Media, and Keith talks about a book he’s reading called Ancillary Justice. Lastly they talk about the most recent episode of Mr. Robot.
Andy & Keith talk travel & conventions, and how different it is to be working at such events instead of just attending them. Then they talk about stuff they are each working, including a lot of hinting about licensed works they can’t name yet. Keith talks about the most recent version of Gloom, and Andy’s big pile of unpublished Fluxx decks, including Math Fluxx. Then they discuss the challenge of making a game design as simple as possible versus the gameplay strengths that can be gained by a higher level of complexity. Andy talks about Cosmic Coasters, 4X games, and advice from James Ernest. Then they discuss the exciting new world of print-on-demand books, and soon, tarot-sized cards. Lastly, they talk a lot about spoilers in a spoiler-heavy discussion of Mr. Robot.
SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers inside.
Keith & Andy have just returned from GenCon and they have many stories about the convention to share. Topics include the games they played, the events they ran, and the local food they most enjoyed: Giordano’s pizza. They also discuss some useful all-purpose phrases, including “that explains a lot!” and “but at what cost?”
First Andy & Keith discuss their plans for GenCon, and memories of GenCons past. Then Keith talks about an MMORPG he put a lot of work into back in the nineties but which was never released, called Lost Continents. But most of the episode is a spoiler-laden discussion of the new Star Trek and Ghostbusters movies, with a side discussion of Antman’s super-powers.
SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers inside.