There's a problem of diversity and representation in the games industry. It's widespread, ranging from development and publishing to marketing and journalism, and it's toxic. Doug, Aaron and Nick talk about why this matters and what you can do to help make gaming a safe space for everyone. Here are the articles we cited in the podcast, along with some other recommended reading: Maddy Myers, “ A GDC Epilogue: Powerful Games Journalist Men I Have Met ” - 6/24/14 Giant Bomb hiring, an overview w/ t...
Jul 11, 2014•1 hr 1 min
There's this theme that's essential to so many classic tales of warriors and knights: the ideal of the "good death." It's the pursuit of an ultimate sacrifice that amplifies the protagonist's deeds and echoes into eternity. There's almost no such thing as a "good death" in games, mostly because player death is repetitive and often a crucial part of a game establishing its difficulty level. But there is a series of games that takes its unforgiving systems and opaque, strange worlds and manages to...
Jun 19, 2014•52 min
We all make mistakes. What's important is having the humility to own up to them. On this week's episode of the Silicon Sasquatch Podcast, Nick issues a mea culpa and embraces the fact that games like Mario Kart 8 can make for a great time even if they don't stray far from the mold. In fact, the whole gang is excited to see a Wii U game lighting up the blogs and Twitter for once, which leads to the question: what sort of trends should we hope to see on display at this year's E3, which is just hou...
Jun 08, 2014•44 min
Here's an existential question for you: if a multiplayer online game loses its online functionality, is it still the same game? The gang got together to try to draw some conclusions from the shutdown of GameSpy's online matchmaking systems, a move that has far-reaching effects for many first- and third-party game publishers -- even going so far as to shut down all multiplayer services on Nintendo's Wii and DS/DSi consoles. Do consumers have any rights or guarantees for service when they buy a ga...
Jun 08, 2014•36 min
Microsoft's vision of an interactive living room is forever changed: on May 13th, 2014, the tech giant announced it would offer a Kinect-free version of the Xbox One for a competitive $399 . It bears mentioning that this news broke less than a year after the One's official unveiling , which lauded the advancements of the next-generation Kinect. So what? Nick, Doug, Spencer and yours truly came together to discuss the impact of such a major strategic shift by the house of Xbox. Are they circling ...
May 24, 2014•47 min
Our very own Nick Cummings recently made a sharp left turn in his life. He left an established position with a prosperous company, moved 2000 miles to Seattle, and is now hard at work pursuing a lifelong dream -- the dream of making games. In this episode of the Squatchcast, Nick sat down with Doug Bonham, and the two talked about the realities of the indie ideal. Is it worth trying to break into the scene by your lonesome? Does the satisfaction outweigh the burdens of starving artisthood? Is it...
Apr 15, 2014•46 min
Last week, Facebook announced its acquisition of Oculus VR, the Kickstarter-founded startup devoted to developing affordable and available VR technology. The public's response has been largely negative: some fear Facebook's intentions, some (including highly visible people like Markus Persson ) feel disenchanted that a crowd-funded company would wind up taking in $2 billion just two years after thousands of enthusiasts chipped in to help launch the company. Which of these views are valid and whi...
Apr 03, 2014•48 min
Today we take a little diversion from our usual haunts in the world of digital videogames to visit our cousins in the tabletop pen-and-paper RPG world. Relax; they're your cousins, they're family, and they're not as gross and icky as those OTHER cousins you may have. (You know the ones.) For this podcast, we have an interview with Dan Phipps from Cactus Cat Games . Full disclosure: Dan is a good friend of the site, and while we could pull a Giant Bomb and just say "Why is this guy on the podcast...
Apr 02, 2014•40 min
Streams. Who doesn't love them? Not big enough to be rivers but still flowing bodies of water, often cutting through forests or grasslands. Whenever I see a stream, I know it's bound to be a peaceful little slice of nature nearby. ...wait, you mean we're talking about a different kind of stream? Oh. Right. Jokes aside, the popularity of streaming your live videogame content has grown in the last few years. It's to the point where Twitch.tv, the web site carrying the banner for streaming videogam...
Feb 28, 2014•40 min
Header image compares restoration of Spanish Ecce Homo fresco to updating of a certain Japanese RPG The video game industry has more than 30 years of history now, so it’s only natural to look out for the future preservation of games we love. While old systems, emulators and re-releases are appreciated, there are always questions about what’s in the best interest of preserving a game. As platforms come and go, there are also updates of older games for newer consoles — including the recent Final F...
Feb 19, 2014•46 min
Developers have struggled in recent years to engage their players after the credits roll and the last achievement pops. The industry, more than ever, has focused on our fleeting attention spans. Daily challenges are one of the more-recent innovations attempting to lengthen the time our eyes are glued to a screen. But what exactly is a "daily challenge," and does it do more harm than good? Listen as host Doug Bonham wrangles Aaron Thayer, Nick Cummings, Tyler Martin and Brit McGinnis for their vi...
Feb 06, 2014•46 min
Nintendo's financials are back from fiscal year 2013, and, well... it doesn't look so great. Not Virtual Boy-bad, by any means, but it certainly isn't 2006 anymore. With these numbers in hand, Aaron, Tyler and Doug got together and talked about Nintendo. How did the company end up in this financial situation? What do our staff expect from the mighty N in the future? Could this be the end of Nintendo as we know it? Don't expect an explanation here. Give the podcast a listen and find out what the ...
Jan 20, 2014•31 min
We're finally crawling out of our various dens, burrows, and apartments here at Silicon Sasquatch, weary from the holidays and our Game of the Year discussions. So, naturally, the first thing we decided to talk about was -- games! Specifically, the games we're excited about in the coming year. Join us (Nick, Aaron, Brit, and Spencer) as we each pick our most-anticipated titles of 2014. It's like our GOTY pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-show! Actually, don't think of it that way. But do listen. *NOTE...
Jan 16, 2014•45 min
As we've released our 2013 Game of the Year content over the past couple weeks, you've probably heard and seen the term "making sausage" thrown around. It's an apt metaphor for our deliberations -- they're contentious to start, and quickly devolve into extended, bile-filled debates. They've never lasted less than a few hours, and have remained entirely closed to the public. Until now. This year, Spencer and Brit were unable to make the session, but for purposes of posterity, Nick, Aaron, Doug an...
Jan 09, 2014•3 hr 35 min
Photo courtesy Will Clayton Four of the original five members of our staff -- co-founders Aaron and Nick, and long-term editors Doug and Spencer -- join us on this very special episode of the Silicon Sasquatch Podcast. It's been a long road, and we have a lot of stories to share about our successes, our failures and the reasons each one of us is still dedicated to our mission: examine the intersection of games and culture. We even briefly explain our vision for 2014 and beyond! Enjoy our sappy, ...
Dec 20, 2013•1 hr 8 min
Photo courtesy Mel B. Each December our staff spends hours in a grueling, no-holds-barred verbal sparring match to rank the top 10 games released over the year. This year is no different, but it's not all blood, sweat and (mostly) tears on the road to "GOTY." This episode Nick and Spencer and myself agree to civil discourse (because a week after this recording we will all experience betrayal and violence more comparable to a Game of Thrones episode) so we can examine the titles that didn't quite...
Dec 19, 2013•52 min
Here's an uncomfortable truth: we're all getting older. Even you! Right now, as you're reading this sentence, a small but still significant fraction of your life has slipped away. Sure, that's kind of a bummer outlook on things, but aging has its benefits — there are many more ways to spend your time and find value in life as you grow older. But what's a lifelong gamer to do when life, college, and careers intervene? Spencer, Brit and Nick tackled the tricky subject of navigating the changing dy...
Dec 12, 2013•38 min
With the holiday season just around the corner, we decided to take a look at the sales -- the sales of video games, specifically! Join Nick, Aaron, Tyler, and Spencer as they discuss the shifting landscape of video games distribution. How much has digital distribution changed the marketplace? Which companies have chosen to ignore this evolution? Find out on the 29th episode of the Squatchcast: "Buy More Stuff!" ( Subscribe on iTunes ) Intro: Chinchilla Con Queso by WJLP Outro: bad coffee blues b...
Nov 25, 2013•33 min
The eighth generation is here, and the resounding cry from us here at Silicon Sasquatch is... "Hm." Listen in as Aaron Thayer, Brit McGinnis, Nick Cummings, Spencer Tordoff, and Tyler Martin discuss midnight launches, Black Friday, and breakdown of fanboyism -- plus the episode of South Park lambasting all of the above. We're avoiding the launch night craziness, but there's plenty of opinions to go around! ( Subscribe on iTunes ) Intro: Sunshine and Love by Superfire Records . Outro: Attack and ...
Nov 21, 2013•39 min
As the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One make their way to warehouses and retail outlets, the curtain is slowly beginning to draw on the seventh generation of console hardware -- the venerable Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii. Join Tyler, Aaron, and Nick for a look at the trends that have emerged since 2005. What changed? What stayed the same? What do we expect to see make the leap into the eighth generation? Find out in episode 16 of the Squatchcast! Intro: The Fisherman - "From The Bottom Of...
Nov 11, 2013•46 min
Scattered and disorganized in the wake of PAX 2013, I never got around to editing the two interviews we managed to collect. So finally, a couple months after the fact, here they are. First is a chat with Jeff Tunnell , of Spotkin , about their retro-puzzler tribute to The Incredible Machine , Contraption Maker . Second is our talk with Mike Tipul , of Marauder Interactive , on his unique strategy/space simulator, Enemy Starfighter . Both games are exciting, and it's great to hear about them from...
Nov 06, 2013•11 min
Halloween is tomorrow! In anticipation of the annual "spooky scary" holiday, we -- Aaron Thayer, Spencer Tordoff, Nick Cummings, Tyler Martin, and new contributor Brit McGinnis -- got together to talk about the horror genre of video games. What makes a horror game? What games have handled horror the best? What are some of our favorite horror moments? The answer to these questions and more are in this week's episode of the Silicon Sasquatch Podcast! Intro: "Thriller" by Michael Jackson Outro: "Sp...
Oct 30, 2013•54 min
Photo courtesy Viernest The gang's (nearly) all here for our Pokémon X/Y extravaganza podcast! Our entire staff has been trying to catch them all for the better part of the last two weeks, which makes sense considering X and Y sold 4 million copies in the first 48 hours after launch. Listen as four grown men -- Tyler, Doug, Nick and I -- talk about our varying histories with the franchise, and whether X and Y do an adequate job of making a tired formula fun again. Intro: Red/Green introductory t...
Oct 24, 2013•48 min
Finally complete after a few delays (don't say 'Valve time'), here's our latest Squatchcast! Nick, Tyler and yours truly talk about the newly announced Steam initiative -- the OS, the Boxes, the controller and what we each expect as more details trickle out. Give us a listen, and be sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes . Intro: Noisefloor by Petrabot Outro: Between The Rays of Light by Petrabot...
Oct 18, 2013•54 min
Photo by Marion Doss It's time again for the Silicon Sasquatch Podcast! This week, the gang discusses new hardware - both logical and inexplicable - from Sony, Hideo Kojima's push for more "erotic" characters in his games, and the alleged budget of Grand Theft Auto 5. Give it a listen! Intro music: Message Sent Outro music: Ding! Both tracks by the very talented Jonny Nero Action Hero ....
Sep 18, 2013•38 min
Several days late (but hopefully not a dollar short), here's our long, sleep-deprived, addled rambling as Spencer, Nick, Aaron, and Nae Morris tried to recap Sunday of PAX Prime 2013. Give it a listen - we'll have a new, ordinary Squatchcast up tomorrow.
Sep 13, 2013•57 min
The sun has risen on the third day of the Penny Arcade Expo, and while Spencer and myself managed to crawl back to headquarters to lick our wounds and record a podcast, a tragedy has befallen the staff: we lost our editor in chief in the field . Nick Cummings is 27, about 6'1'', has blondish to light brown hair and was last seen trying to procure Cards Against Humanity's Bigger Blacker Box. If you've seen this man please don't approach him. Being lost in the wilds of PAX can...change you. He may...
Sep 01, 2013•36 min
Well, we made it. One day down and three to go. Aaron, Spencer and I took a few moments to rest and gather our thoughts on the first 25% of the 2013 Penny Arcade Expo in (surprisingly) sunny Seattle, Washington. Have a listen and stay tuned for more updates throughout the weekend!
Aug 31, 2013•32 min
This week, Aaron and Nick got together to talk about streaming - be it of big gaming tournaments or of inexplicable online betting parlors. Will we really be streaming our gameplay constantly in the near future? Who knows? In the interim, watch for the tournaments, bet on small hitboxes, and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes . Intro track is the main menu music from DOTA 2 . Outro track is the League of Legends menu music, as performed by Taylor Davis ....
Aug 17, 2013•42 min
PAX Prime 2013 is just around the corner, and it's the first year that Silicon Sasquatch will be attending in force to bring you coverage and commentary! (Meanwhile industry people will receive business cards and, um, handshakes I guess.) With this in mind, our attendees (Aaron, Nick, and myself) got together to look over this year's schedule and PAX10, and discuss what we want to do and see at the expo. It's the start of our PAX coverage, and there's a lot more to come! ( Subscribe on iTunes ) ...
Aug 09, 2013•45 min
