In the second (and final) part of our Red Dead Redemption playthrough for Waypoint 101, we—ugh—survive the extremely long Mexico section of the game, and revisit the still-memorable finale and epilogue. Red Dead Redemption is a game that's aged weirdly in the eight years since its release, as Austin, Patrick, Natalie, and Rob discover over the nearly two hours spent picking apart the game's conclusion. Some things work, a lot of things don't, and much has changed since 2010. We also sneak in so...
Nov 01, 2018•1 hr 58 min
We have a monster-sized episode this week, as we've all been extremely on our bullshit. Rob was stunned by Jez Butterworth's The Ferryman , a powerful family tragedy set in Northern Ireland in the 1980s. Patrick's troubled by the swiftly evolving dystopia typified by t his Planet Money episode on China's experiment in giving citizens "social credit scores". Danielle has been thinking about sexuality and kink as explored in Clive Barker's Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 . And Natalie has been watching La...
Oct 31, 2018•1 hr 42 min
This week on Waypoint Radio: Austin and Rob are still living Subterfuge, Danielle is getting in to the Halloween spirit with some spooky indie horror games, and just about everyone is finally playing Red Dead Redemption 2. The team then dips into the question bucket to discuss the impulse to monetize or professionalize our hobbies, Danielle and Patrick make a quick and dirty list of their top 5 platformers, and we return to the Dishcourse to ask "What makes a good sandwich, contents or bread?" D...
Oct 29, 2018•1 hr 30 min
During our charity stream last week, Austin and Rob were sucked into participating a game of Subterfuge, a "simple" mobile strategy game built on alliances, betrayal, and taking over your life. It’s even invaded our podcast. Despite this, Patrick, Austin, Rob, Danielle, and Natalie found a way to discuss Fallout 76’s beta, Black Ops 4, Return of the Obra Dinn, Call of Cthulhu, Soul Calibur 6, and Unexplored. We’ll have thoughts on Red Dead Redemption 2 next week, as we only got access to the ga...
Oct 26, 2018•1 hr 40 min
Patrick, Austin, Danielle, Natalie, and Rob gather to discuss the second film in The Purge series, The Purge: Anarchy, as part of a deep dive into the entire series. Warning: Spoilers abound. Warning: Rob is upset about how people employ tactics. Warning: This movie needed more Michael K. Williams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 25, 2018•1 hr 39 min
On this episode of Waypoint Radio: Austin, Natalie, Patrick, and Rob sit down to discuss the new article by Jason Schreier on Rockstar's crunch culture. They dive deep on what the new info out of Rockstar says about working conditions there, worker's rights in the gaming industry as a whole, and how they hope this new conversation can help bolster real change across the industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 24, 2018•1 hr 23 min
It's Wednesday and that means Waypoints, where the site's staff and friends will bring something to share with each other and with you: a TV show, art exhibit, movie, album, or other thing from the universe of pop culture. to discuss, dissect, and enjoy. This week, Patrick brings us an article that delves into Instagram's harassment problem, Rob revisits 'Looper' to find something less hard sci-fi, more crime movie, and Danielle is getting into the fall spirit by watching 'Haunting of Hill House...
Oct 17, 2018•1 hr 16 min
Content Warning: short discussion on statue genitalia from 45:30 - 46:40 It's Waypoint Radio 195! Or something very much like it! Danielle, Patrick, and Rob are excited about video games! Rob's been playing Oxenfree , Danielle is still playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey , and Patrick has discovered the future of gaming with Astro Bot , and it's virtual reality (or "VR" for short). But before they get into that, the gang just has to read this one Vulture article about the making of Red Dead Redempt...
Oct 15, 2018•1 hr 27 min
On Waypoint Radio 194, Danielle, Rob, and Patrick talk about games where a major character was enough to pull them through some questionable gameplay. We start in on Assassin's Creed Odyssey giving Danielle some serious Xena: Warrior Princess vibes, talk through some good horror games that maybe ran a little long (like Soma and Alien: Isolation), and discuss Rob's time with the Gabriel Knight series. We have a horror corner, a Lucy Lawless Appreciation Moment AND a bonus dad corner this week, an...
Oct 12, 2018•55 min
Content Warning for discussion of sexual violence and racist language, and spoilers for the first half of Red Dead Redemption With Red Dead Redemption 2 right around the corner, the Waypoint crew: Natalie, Patrick, Rob, Austin, and Danielle (with Cado on production!) saddled up to revisit the first open-world game in the series, 2010's Red Dead Redemption. Here in our first episode of a two-part podcast, we played up until protagonist John Marston's journey to Mexico, and friends, what a journey...
Oct 11, 2018•1 hr 23 min
Content Warnings: Pregnancy-related body horror, harm to children. It's Wednesday and that means Waypoints, where the site's staff and friends will bring something to share with each other and with you: a TV show, art exhibit, movie, album, or other thing from the universe of pop culture. to discuss, dissect, and enjoy. It's been a week! Perhaps in preparation for such a week, Rob's been going back to Alan Furst's Night Soldiers series and vicariously taking part in the clandestine warfare of sp...
Oct 10, 2018•1 hr 36 min
This week on Waypoint Radio: Austin, Danielle, Rob, and Natalie discuss Rob's recent reverie in Forza Horizon 4, Natalie had her dessert first in Super Mario Party, Danielle is catching up with Kassandra in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and Austin has a surprising amount to say about Xbox Game Pass. Discussed: Forza Horizon 4, Super Mario Party, Paper Mario series, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Life is Strange 2, Kentucky Route 0, Oxenfree, Xbox Game Pass Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more ...
Oct 08, 2018•1 hr 19 min
Spoiler Warning for Life is Strange Season One. It is not easy to write good, believable teen characters in any work of fiction, and that certainly goes for games. On Waypoint Radio 192, Danielle, Natalie, and Patrick talk about games that do teen writing and teen characters well—inspired by this week’s release of Life is Strange 2 (episode 1), and the series that each of us has an affinity for. We talk about LIS and its approach to dialogue, teen media that works, the shows and books we loved a...
Oct 05, 2018•1 hr 2 min
Waypoint is in the midst of launching several new podcasts, including this Currently Untitled Waypoint Rewatch Podcast That You Should Definitely Help Us Name, where we pick a movie or TV series to watch, dissect, and closely read. Given we’re launching this podcast series in October, it only made sense to start with a genre near and dear to host Patrick Klepek's heart: horror! To that end, we’re rewatching the entirety of The Purge series, a four-part series about a world where for one night pe...
Oct 04, 2018•1 hr 46 min
This week, we've been trying to figure out what we make of Maniac, Netflix's reality-bending satire from True Detective Season 1 director Cary Joji Fukunaga, starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill (plus a generous supply of superb New York character actors. We see you, Arkady Ivanovich). Danielle has been to Kink Haüs, a show combining dance, music, and performance art to explore different themes around queer identity. Rob has been immersed in the Matt Fraction / David Aja Hawkeye series from 2012-1...
Oct 04, 2018•1 hr 27 min
C/W: discussion of bestiality and homophobia at 1:36:50 - 1:38:15 This week on Waypoint Radio: Austin, Danielle, Rob, and Patrick sit down to discuss the sheep studying mechanics (among others) in Red Dead Redemption 2, how the first episode of Life is Strange 2 finds a new narrative flavor, just how annoying Socrates really is in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, and top it all off with a shout out to the Queerness and Games Conference. Discussed: Red Dead Redemption 2, Life is Strange 2, Assassin's C...
Oct 01, 2018•1 hr 43 min
On Waypoint Radio 190, Danielle, Rob, and Patrick look at the image of the game developer. Spurred on by a recent Eurogamer piece examining early 80s EA advertising for "software artists," and the infamous 2008 New Yorker profile of Cliff Bleszinski, and the image of creatives in our field through the years. Discussed: Seeing farther: the advert that changed the games industry ( https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-09-16-seeing-farther-the-advert-that-changed-the-games-industry ) The Grammar ...
Sep 28, 2018•44 min
Welcome to a brand-new Waypoint podcast! In Waypoints, the staff and friends will bring something to share: be it a TV show, art exhibit, movie, or other thing from the universe to discuss, dissect, and enjoy. On episode 2, Austin is listening to Serial Season 3, Rob watched Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru, Danielle got into the fall spirit early with a trip to Halloween Horror Nights, and Patrick has a lot to say about sports fandom. Where you can find this stuff: Serial Season 3: anywhere you listen to...
Sep 26, 2018•1 hr 38 min
Content Warning: During our discussion of labor practices at games studios, the previews for Red Dead Redemption 2 come up and reference is made to a line about horse genitalia from the Kotaku preview piece. Skip minutes 52-54 if you'd like to avoid that, and stop the podcast as Austin begins doing the outro (1:11:22). On today's Waypoint Radio, Austin, Natalie, Patrick, and Rob discuss the recent sudden closure of Telltale Games, how crunch culture causes a cycle of burnout that is physically u...
Sep 24, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Content Warning: We begin with the Trump/Toad Discourse Today, Danielle, Natalie, Patrick, and Rob sit down to talk about the ways in which fandoms interpret works. Why is it that we can find the "horny" in just about any piece of media? When is it inconsequential fun, and when--as in the case of Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie--is the question of a character's sexuality something worth taking a little more seriously. Plus, we take a quick dip in the bucket to discuss a piece of lore from Quantum...
Sep 21, 2018•1 hr
Welcome to a brand new Waypoint podcast! In Waypoints, the staff and friends will bring something to share: be it a TV show, art exhibit, movie, or other thing from the universe to discuss, dissect, and enjoy. On episode 1, Rob has things to say about fascist propaganda, Natalie has entered Twin Peaks for the first time, Austin has things to say about The Dragon Prince, and Patrick has the Nic Cage new horror classic Mandy. Where you can find this stuff: The Art of Influence Exhibit: Boston's Mu...
Sep 19, 2018•1 hr 46 min
On Waypoint Radio 187, Austin, Danielle, Rob, and Patrick discuss the epic troll Nintendo pulled on Animal Crossing fans in its recent Nintendo Direct. Really, we talk through all of the announcements from the presenttaion, including Luigi's ghostly form, Switch ports, and that big Animal Crossing on Switch reveal. Then we talk about games we've been playing, including the masque of Red Death, The Messenger, Frozen Synapse, and more. And, of course, there's a dip in the question bucket and some ...
Sep 17, 2018•2 hr 1 min
Danielle, Cado, Natalie and Rob sit down to talk lore in games, when it's done well, when it's done poorly, and just why it's so hard to get right. We start with Destiny, a franchise that has radically changed just how it handles lore, and go deep into design that encourages intriguing, rather than eye-rolling detail about a game's world and characters. Discussed: Destiny, Destiny 2, Bloodborne, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Hollow Knight, Mass Effect, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, System Shock ...
Sep 14, 2018•1 hr 17 min
Hey everyone, Austin here! As you may have heard, our sister site Broadly has launched a new podcast called Queerly Beloved all about LGBTQ communities, chosen families, and love--romantic and otherwise. To help them kick it off on the right foot, we wanted to share the first episode with you directly. Give it a listen, and if you like it, make sure to subscribe (and hey, leave a review telling them we sent you!) Catch y'all tomorrow with a regular Friday ep of Waypoint Radio! --- Queerly Belove...
Sep 13, 2018•23 min
We have a little something special for Waypoint listeners today: an interview with Sarah Burke, co-host of our sister site Broadly's new podcast, Queerly Beloved. Queerly Beloved is a multifaceted portrait of LGBTQ chosen family—the people who help us figure out who we are and inspire us to live as our most authentic selves. Waypoint's own Danielle chats with Sarah about the new show, on creating media for queer folks by queer folks, and avoiding pitfalls in queer media. You can listen to the po...
Sep 12, 2018•12 min
On episode 185 of Waypoint Radio, the full team—Austin, Natalie, Cado, Patrick, Rob, and Danielle—talk about the many games they've been playing and discussing. There's some football. There's Call of Duty Black Ops 4. There's a whole lot of Shadow of the Tomb Raider. There's even some serious Valkeryia Chronicles IV chatter. And then, there are some fabulous Waypoints. Discussed: The Bears/Packers NFL game on 9/9/18, Marvel's Spider-Man, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Valkeryia Chronicles IV, Call o...
Sep 10, 2018•1 hr 41 min
Rob and Waypoint Freelancer Dia Lacina get together to discuss Dia's review of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, titled 'Shadow of the Tomb Raider' Tries, but Fails, to Tackle Its Own Colonialism. Dia reads her review, which goes in on the ways in which the game seems to want to contend with the negative elements of the colonialist power fantasy at the heart of the franchise, but lacks substance in so many elements. Then she and Rob buckle down for an in-depth, spoiler-inclusive discussion of the game ...
Sep 10, 2018•1 hr 43 min
Content warning for some ableist language. Danielle, Natalie, Rob, and Patrick settle in for an in-depth discussion of "puddlegate"—the kerfuffle that occurred when some gamers thought the new Spider-Man game on PS4 had downgraded visuals compared to its E3 showing. We talk about tech fetishism, elitism, and entitlement, alongside social media frenzies and the media's role in it all. Then, we hit the question bucket and sign off for the weekend. Discussed: Marvel's Spider-Man, PC gaming, Detroit...
Sep 07, 2018•1 hr 9 min
Austin and Patrick get together to read and discuss Patrick's review of Spider-Man, out this week. Patrick reads his piece, where he praises the game's excellent swinging mechanics, surprisingly nuanced story, and overall world, while throwing some shade at its boring side-quest design. Discussed: Spider-Man, Batman: Arkham Asylum Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 05, 2018•59 min
Patrick, Austin, and Danielle hold court live from their panel at PAX West 2018, with a fierce discussion of Gundam, a not-great-seeming game called the Quiet Man, better games like Spelunky 2 and Get in the Car, Loser, thoughts on Streets of Rage 4 with Jeff Gerstmann, and a LIVE question bucket session. Discussed: Get in the Car, Loser! The Quiet Man, Spelunky 2, Gris, Windjammers 2, Streets of Rage 4, Gundam Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 04, 2018•57 min
