Shows
Pretty Pixels PodcastDisco Elysium Game Club Pt 2Hey, coppers, get in the kineema, we’re headed to discover The Pale. We are limited on time this week, so we cut almost straight to the Disco Elysium talk. We’re joined again by special guest Taylor Carlson, but we’re down a Ron (who wasn’t feeling well). We’d all finished the game by the time of recording, so [with FULL SPOILERS] we cover the ending, our stats and personality types, Kim Kitsuragi, the tribunal, the cryptid, more Cuno, what was in that locked shipping container, fatphobia, and Kim Kitsuragi. Did I mention we talk about Kim Kitsur...
2022-08-221h 43Pretty Pixels PodcastDesert Island Games ReduxAs announced last week, we’ve pushed the second part of our Disco Elysium game club to next week, so this week we’re revisiting a classic gaming hypothetical: desert island games. Tab and Joey did an episode on their choices way back in the day, but Ron and Paul haven’t had their chance to imagine which games they’d bring with them on such a dire and tropical adventure. We talk about what five games we’d bring, which console we’d bring if it were loaded up with every possible offline game, which multiplayer games we’d choose if we...
2022-08-121h 37Pretty Pixels PodcastFar Cry (2008)This week, Ron, Paul, and Joey talk about Far Cry (2008), Uwe Boll’s notoriously bland adaptation of the game by the same name. While the movie is widely panned, it does have one huge fan: Tab. Unfortunately, Tab was having major computer issues and couldn’t join us for the recording, so you’ll just have to take our word for it when we say they their love for Uwe Boll’s Far Cry (and disgraced gaming exec Bobby Kotick) knows no bounds. Source: trust us, bro. If you happen to agree with Tab and would like to send in count...
2022-08-051h 53Pretty Pixels PodcastDisco Elysium Game Club Pt 1The house is jam-packed for our first ever official game club! Regular hosts Joey, Tab, Ron, and Paul welcome special guest Taylor Carlson, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design and Animation at Buena Vista University to chat about Disco Elysium! Having played the game multiple times, Taylor acts as our sage guide, our Helpful and Informational Necktie, if you will, as the rest of us are diving in for the first time. Only one of us made it to the stopping point mentioned in previous episodes, but not for trying! We were just surprised by how dense and rich the...
2022-07-311h 49Pretty Pixels PodcastBest Booties in GamesScoot that tooty, it’s time for some booty! I have no idea what that phrase means. Let’s just move on. Today, Tab, Paul, and Joey chat about the best booties in the biz! We’re (respectfully) sharing some of our favorite glutes in games. We didn’t share our lists with each other beforehand but there were some interesting overlaps! Also, Ron couldn’t join us this week but he also couldn’t resists the rump, so he is with us spiritually with a few choice nods of his own. It’s a somewhat silly, somewhat serious exercise, and...
2022-07-231h 37Pretty Pixels PodcastVideo Game Trivia Royal!It’s time for Video Game Trivia Royal! Joey has written 30 mind-bending, titty-twisting (not really) questions for Ron and Paul to try their beautifully manicured hands at. There’s music! Amazon user questions! Steam reviews! Instruction manuals! And, as Paul points out, Joey grinds a couple of axes along the way. We’d love for you to play along and send in questions for future rounds! We also chat about Skull and Bones, God of War Ragnarok, Bayonetta 3, Skate, Joey’s continued New Horizons Diana drama, Paul’s aquatic adventures, Ron’s insect-uous romp, and more!
Contact us: prettypi...
2022-07-162h 04Pretty Pixels PodcastMake These Games, Dammit pt 2Howdy-do, boys, girls, enbys, and others! Have we got a show for you. If you love games like we do, maybe you get the same wacky ideas to, I dunno, make them? Well, we don’t have the resources to make a game either, but we hope against hope that game designers will hear our call to Make These Games, Dammit! On this installment, Joey paints a proverbial picture of a roguelite game based on a very famous comic book villain, Paul sings a siren’s song about an epic, swashbuckling, seafaring adventure game by a renowned open-world developer, and...
2022-07-082h 02Pretty Pixels PodcastWho Knew That Review Volume IVWe’ve all had busy weeks, but we did find time to record a very fun round of Who Knew That Review and chat about some video games. To recap, we each read reviews for two games, omitting proper nouns/important “giveaway” words or phrases like character names, locations, publishers, etc. If we near the end of the review(s) and don’t feel like our co-hosts are getting it, we can let some of those things slip to help them out. If they can’t get it by the end, we can give us hints like year released, publisher...
2022-07-041h 53Pretty Pixels PodcastFavorite Weapons in Video Games pt 1A lot going on this week! We do an Anime Check-in, where Ron discusses his first gentle steps into the world of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Joey talks about his continued love for Sailor Moon (despite the annoyingly limited monster vocabulary in season 2), and Paul shares some thoughts on recent Love, Death & Robots episodes. We also come up with a plan to update our fantasy video game draft in the near future, so stay tuned for that. In terms of what we’ve been playing lately, we got a little Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, a smattering of Mari...
2022-06-252h 19Pretty Pixels PodcastPretty Pixels After DarkStrap in (and on), it’s episode 69, babyyyyyyy! We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to celebrate this momentous occasion, so we’ve dubbed this episode “Pixels After Dark.” We chat about some historic erotic video games, our first experiences with sex in games, notable examples of mature sexual content, what we want to see in future games with regards to sex, and more. We also cover the epic Microsoft Bethesda showcase, more Capcom news, the newly released PlayStation Plus Premium games, what we’ve been playing, and much more!
Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com
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2022-06-182h 31Pretty Pixels PodcastState of Play and Summer Game FestE3 season is upon us, even if the show itself is once again missing in action. In its absence, we propose claiming the term “E3” as a broad term meaning “big summer announcement season.” After this year’s Summer Game Fest, we need something… more exciting, and “E3” still sparks excitement in many of us. So… happy E3, everyone! Does that work? We’ll workshop it. Paul, Ron, and Joey talk about what they’ve been playing, but then a dramatic text rips Ron away from us (cue dramatic reality TV cut and tense music), leaving Paul and Joey to chat about Sony’s S...
2022-06-102h 14Pretty Pixels PodcastOdd Gaming AssociationsSlight change of plans, dear listener. Paul is out of town again this week, so we’ve pushed the “favorite weapons in video games” episode back a few weeks and are, instead, talking about some of our weird (and not weird) gaming associations. Ron and Joey talk a brisk jaunt down memory lane and share some associations we have with specific games. Which game do you suppose one of us used No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom album as a soundtrack for? And which of us was watching Dateline, playing Doom, and listening to Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral? We also me...
2022-06-021h 47Pretty Pixels PodcastUnique Gaming FeelingsPaul and Joey are discussing unique video game experiences! Breaking through the surface in Minecraft after getting lost for hours underground? Red lights in Gone Home? How about the thrill of an epic Elden Ring boss fight? We cover these and more, and feel free to write us and share your own unique video game moments! We also chat a lot about Elden Ring (duh), trophies (probably) coming to classic PlayStation titles with the new PS Plus, the new union at Raven Software, Arcane, Sailor Moon, Animal Crossing and so much more. Next week we’re talking about some of...
2022-05-272h 28Pretty Pixels PodcastSummer PlaylistsThe whole damn Pixels crew is here, ready to talk about our summer playlists! Tab, Paul, Ron, and Joey talk about the games they’re excited to play this summer. We’re talking upcoming games like Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers, but also plenty of games we’re catching up on or revisiting, like Max Payne and Far Cry. We also touch on some movies, shows, and books we’re hoping to dive into, including lots of anime. Sailor Moon! Studio Ghibli! We have a lot to catch up on. What’s on your summer playlist? Email us and we’ll read...
2022-05-202h 00Pretty Pixels PodcastFar Cry RetrospectiveEpisode 64!!!!!!! *fist pump* *fist pump* *fist pump* Paul is out of town so we’re pushing our “unique feelings” episode back. Luckily for us, Tab was ready to fill in for a big ol’ retrospective of the mainline Far Cry games! They give us a brief history of the series (light spoilers: there are dinosaurs involved!), info on each entry, and lots of analysis and commentary about narratives, characters, settings, and more. The most fascinating thing for Joey, who has only played half of the mainline games, was seeing how what would become staples of the series unfolded via iteratio...
2022-05-122h 46Pretty Pixels PodcastVideo Game 20 Questions Round IIIWe’ll figure out another original game soon, but until then we’re back on our 20 questions bullshit. Paul, Ron, and Joey grill each other to try and guess three fairly well-known games. Will they succeed? Will you? Play along and let us know how you do! You can also send us games to use the next time we play, or ideas for other games you think would be fun. We welcome any and all ideas! If they’re bad, we’ll just pretend they accidentally got sent to our junk folder! We also chat a bit about the Square E...
2022-05-072h 35Pretty Pixels PodcastSuper Mario Bros. (1993)Grab your mushrooms and trust the fungus, dear listener, because like the accident-prone vehicles of Dinohattan, we’re screeching and flipping our way into the Super Mario Bros. movie from 1993! A flawed diamond is still a diamond, so despite its many faults and the tumultuous production, we love this weird adaptation of the famous video game series. Joey swoons over Princess Daisy, Ron is in love with Bob-omb’s shoes, and (like Mario falling through an interdimensional portal) Paul is head over heels for Yoshi’s cuteness. We chat about the stellar cast and the earnestness with which many of the...
2022-04-292h 37Pretty Pixels PodcastIndie Swap Part IIDo The Indie Swap! *breaks into an old-timey 1960s style beach blanket bingo dance* I’m sorry for that. That was, as the kids say, cringe. This week we report on the indie games we swapped on last week’s episode! Joey’s talking about Ridiculous Glitching, Paul’s talking about Art Sqool, and Ron’s talking about Who Stole My Lunch! They all turned out to be great games and we had a lot of fun playing and chatting about them. Check them out at the links below! We also chat a little about what to expect from upcoming e...
2022-04-222h 06Pretty Pixels PodcastRemakes/Reboots/RemastersThis week, Paul, Joey, and Ron discuss reboots/remasters/remakes, or what we like to call “revisits” or “seances.” How do we distinguish between them? What makes a “good” revisit? What are some notable examples? Will the current and upcoming classic library streaming services affect the quality or frequency of revisitations at all? We talk about all of this and more. We jump around a lot, so we don’t have specific timestamps, but we touch on Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, The Last of Us, Quake, Sony’s “Director’s Cuts,” Demon’s Souls, and more! It takes us a while to get to that d...
2022-04-162h 41Pretty Pixels PodcastForgotten/Underappreciated GemsAt the Alabama National Faiiiiiiir! In addition to an update about the Alabama National Fair jingle saga, Paul, Ron, and Joey discuss forgotten/underappreciated gems! These games may or may not be big hits, but we think they deserve(d) more love, regardless. We also chat about tutorial videos, a pretty decent Amazon sale, the new Tomb Raider, and so much more! Wow, this show description is so much shorter than usual. We also, uh, talk about what we’ve been playing. And… there are some dumb jokes about… stuff… maybe this doesn’t NEED to be longer, right? Maybe I sh...
2022-04-072h 07Pretty Pixels PodcastVideo Game Twenty Questions Round 2Do players dream of electric games? That’s one of the questions we ponder this week, though with less convoluted language and a lack of allusion to a classic science fiction novel. It’s… it’s just “do we ever dream of video games when we’ve played them a bunch.” That’s what I was… trying to… Anyway, we’re playing Video Game Twenty Questions again! We had some real nail-biters last time, so will we continue our streak and emerge victorious once again? Play along and let us know how dumb we are! There was a lot of interesting news th...
2022-04-012h 20Pretty Pixels PodcastStreet Fighter (1994)Pop some corn and grab a Bison Brand Soda™ for our conversation about the 1994 hit movie Street Fighter! “Hit movie?” I hear you ask, snide derision coloring your tone as you scrunch your nose at the notion. But, as we discuss in the episode, this movie made $100 million globally! And what a wild ride it is. Ming-Na Wen kicks some serious ass, Raul Julia chews some scenery, Jean-Claude Van Damme is on a ton of cocaine, and Kylie Minogue is a cutie patootie. There was so much to unpack with this movie, but we walked away with a greater apprec...
2022-03-252h 12Pretty Pixels PodcastVideo Game Vacation DestinationsIt’s spring break, party people, and we’re here to party it up by *checks notes* talking about video games and imagining what it would be like to go on actual vacations to fictional places! If you’ve listened with any regularity, you must surely realize now that we are sad people leading sad lives, so escape with us into fantastical landscapes as we do our best to find respite in the fantasy of beautiful seaside resorts, spacious castles, and sprawling metropolises. Virtually see the sights! Delusionally savor the flavors! Take in every Chocobo chirp and Bob-omb blast in the...
2022-03-161h 44Pretty Pixels PodcastThe Baes that Got AwayAs Rafiki says in The Lion King, “it is time.” We announce the winners to our first official giveaway! “Winners?” I hear you say with a puzzled look on your beautiful face. “But I remember clearly from last week’s episode that you used the singular to describe the number of winners there would be,” you point out. You are correct, dear listener, but there is a plot twist! Tab has generously donated a code to the pot, so we have two codes that we give away on this week’s episode! We would name the winners in the show notes here...
2022-03-112h 55Pretty Pixels PodcastHorizon Forbidden West FestIt’s our first big giveaway, babyyyyyy! Should we be as excited to give away a code as we are? I can’t answer that. The fact remains that we are, in fact, very excited. We’re usually the gamers trying to win codes, not the ones giving them away! But here we are, with a shiny new download code for Horizon Forbidden West (PS5/PS4), ready to send it along to a listener. We cover how you can enter in the episode, but don’t worry: you don’t have to like and subscribe and smash any bells. We would a...
2022-03-031h 47Pretty Pixels PodcastWho Knew That Review? Third StrikeIt’s Who Knew That Review time, babyyyyyyy! Joey, Ron, and Paul team up once again to play one of our favorite games. As a reminder, Who Knew That Review is a game where we try to guess games based on their reviews. Each host will read a review from an old magazine or website, like EGM, GamePro, Nintendo Power, etc., and omit key words and phrases like developer, publisher, character names, locations, etc. We want you, the listener, to play along, so we hold our final guesses until the entire review has been read. We also announce a ne...
2022-02-251h 46Pretty Pixels PodcastIndie SwapTab’s back to celebrate one year of Pretty Pixels Podcasting with an indie swap! We each chose an indie game from itch.io that we thought the other might find interesting, played them, and now we’re here to report our findings. Tab made their way through the psychedelic and provocative The Life of Saint Fiona Bianco Xena, by Fantasia Malware, and Joey shuddered through a bone chilling encounter with Babysitter Bloodbath, by Puppet Combo. Links below, to check them out! We also chat about the mysterious Capcom countdown, Nintendo shuttering the 3DS and WiiU eshops, new No Man’...
2022-02-171h 22Pretty Pixels PodcastDating Sim Medley and Nintendo DirectWith Valentine’s Day coming up, we thought it might be fun to play some short, cheap dating sims on itch.io! We each picked a game that seemed fun and was free or pay-what-you-want, played them, and are here to talk about them. Joey played part of Resident Evil 4: Otome Edition and almost all of Find Love or Die Trying, Ron played what’s available of Don’t Take It Personally, I Just Don’t Like You: The Camping Trip, and Paul beat Head Over Hooves: My Heart Bleats for You. They were fun! Links are below, if you want...
2022-02-121h 36Pretty Pixels PodcastBatman in Video GamesSome podcasters just want to watch the world burn. We just want to talk about Batman. With the newest Bat-flick coming in March, fellow mega-Bat-fan Paul and I wanted to walk through Batman’s history in video games. We do kind of breeze through the entire history of Batman games, but we focus most of our discussion on the games we’ve played (or that seem odd or important). We also talk more broadly about our own history with the character and universe, our favorite villains and Batman actors, toys, and all kinds of other Bat-details. We also talk abou...
2022-02-053h 01Pretty Pixels PodcastFantasy Game Draft 2022Are you ready for some football? Well, you’ve come to the wrong place. We are, however, doing a fantasy video game draft this week, inspired by those of the football variety. We’re picking teams from a list of the season’s (year’s) hottest players (games). After our teams are set, we’ll track our games’ Metacritic scores throughout the year. At the end of the year, the games’ final Metacritic scores will be the “points” they’ve scored, and whoever has the most points, wins. If a game gets pushed from 2022, it’s considered an “injury” and no points are awarded...
2022-01-281h 34Pretty Pixels PodcastOur Favorite Cover ArtLet’s talk about our favorite video game cover art! “But this is an audio podcast! How are we supposed to follow along with visual things!?” I’m so glad you asked, mysterious listener. In the show notes below, you’ll find a handy list of links to the game art we discuss. Please, peruse them at your leisure and write in with your own favorites! We had so many picks that we had to cut ourselves off, so we’ll be doing another episode at some point, and we’d love to share some listener picks! We also chat about the...
2022-01-202h 14Pretty Pixels PodcastMortal Kombat (and Annihilation)It’s Mortal Kombat time, baby! We should have waited until Monday to post this episode so that we could call it Mortal Monday but we’re impatient so let’s just go with Fighting Friday, shall we? That sounds like one of those cheap knock-off brands you find in weird, out-of-the-way shops. Like, “Eternal Combat,” with Jimmy Gauge, Sonia Sword, Lou Clang, and Scorpio (it’s just a goth kid who dabbles in Wicca). On this episode we’re talking about the real deal, though: some of the OG video game movies, Mortal Kombat (1995) and Mortal Kombat Annihilation (1997). They sure are...
2022-01-142h 29Pretty Pixels Podcast2022 Games We Want Right MeowNew Year, new games, as they say. I don’t think anyone says that. Do they? Should they? No, it’s terrible. Moving on. It’s the start of a new year and we love looking ahead at all the (potentially) amazing games that will (potentially) come out later this year. Check out the link below to follow along as we go through the Game Informer list of upcoming games and get hyped about some of our most anticipated games. Will the Breath of the Wild sequel actually come out this year? Is Martha is Dead a Batman prequel? Will t...
2022-01-062h 04Pretty Pixels PodcastVideo Game Twenty QuestionsHappy New Year! We’re saying farewell to another terrible year with a not-terrible game of Video Game Twenty Questions, inspired by the fine folks over at the IGN Gamescoop! podcast. Joey, Paul, and Ron each submit a game for the others to tease out by asking questions about genre, release date, perspective, and more. What games, you ask? And how did we do? Hey, we’re the ones asking questions here! You’ll just have to listen and play along to find out! Do you have a game recommendation? Send it in (prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com)! Go easy on us, th...
2022-01-011h 42Pretty Pixels PodcastA Very Pretty Pixels XmasHappy holidays to you, dear listeners! Grab a festive mug, fill it with your favorite hot beverage, and huddle up to your phone or other podcast listening device for a very special Pretty Pixels Xmas Special. Yes, I said “special” twice, because this episode is filled with holiday magic. Join us (Ron, Paul, and Joey) as we recall some of our fondest (and… regular-ist?) Christmas and holiday memories. There are surprises, fake-outs, a virtual grandpa absolutely demolishing his real-life family members in the ring, and yes, there is even a NINTENDO 64!!! *dramatic fist pumps* (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFlc...
2021-12-211h 58Pretty Pixels PodcastWho Knew That Review? Part II!A Pretty Pixels Superstorm is sweeping over all four regular hosts this evening, and three of us are hunkering down and recording the much awaited sequel to Who Knew That Review?, which Joey has lovingly dubbed Who Knew That Review Part II! Paul joins the fray this time, as he, Joey, and Ron read old video game reviews, omitting key words and phrases, trying to guess the game being discussed. We were a little all over the place this time but we’re finding a groove and looking forward to another round soon! If you have a game review th...
2021-12-161h 23Pretty Pixels PodcastOur Favorite Games of 2021We were so excited to record our first ever Games of the Year episode, and the whole gang’s here! As fans of gaming podcasts new and old, we’ve always dreamed of the day we, too, could immortalize our own tributes to the games we’ve loved in a given year. We briefly discuss The Game Awards and report who among us had the most accurate predictions, we touch on the recent layoffs by an Activision/Blizzard studio, talk about Sony’s rumored Xbox Game Pass-like subscription service, chat about Halo and other things we’ve been playing, and then w...
2021-12-132h 27Pretty Pixels PodcastEGM‘s 1996 Video Game Buyer‘s GuideIt’s the end of the year, which means we’ll soon be inundated with video game award shows and Best Of lists galore. We’ll have our own version of that next week but this week we wanted to take you on a journey. A time-travel journey. Grab your Discman and hop in the DeLorean, we’re heading back to 1996 with EGM’s 1996 Video Game Buyer’s Guide! Who was the “Best Game Hunk” of 1995? And what was EGM’s “most anticipated” console (that had already been released at time of publication)? Does their Game of the Year hold up? Listen to fin...
2021-12-042h 25Pretty Pixels PodcastThe Game Awards PredictionsIt’s almost time for The Game Awards (December 9, 6pm CST) and we (Joey, Tab, Ron, and Paul) thought it might be fun to make some predictions! We’re not fancy, shmancy video game journalists, so we don’t have extensive experience with most of the games nominated. But we DO have opinions based on sometimes nothing more than a small picture uploaded to The Game Awards’ web site or the existence of a particular musical instrument in a game! Join us as we discuss every category, making predictions and talking occasionally about who we actually want to win these th...
2021-11-252h 27Pretty Pixels PodcastThe Wizard (1989)Now listen up, fruit flies! For the first time ever, we have all four videoheads (all of this rad 90s lingo will make sense by the end of the episode, I promise) together at last! We just couldn’t resist the siren’s call of The Wizard (1989), starring Fred Savage, Jenny Lewis, Luke Edwards, Beau Bridges, and Christian Slater. Maybe you’ve heard of it? It has 97 NES games and a Power Glove that’s – you guessed it – so bad. As we did with the Uwe Boll movies, we talk about themes, favorite lines, 80s fashion choices, one of the pirates...
2021-11-192h 08Pretty Pixels PodcastJust Chattin‘Hello, friends, and welcome back. In the midst of a hectic final stretch of this academic semester (and some added academic uncertainty), Joey and Tab sit down for a casual, meandering chat. We touch on juggling multiple games, pre-orders, feeling overwhelmed, leaving and coming back to games, and a whole lot more. You might call it an… amalgame-ation of different topics. Get it? It’s like amalgamation but I snuck “game” in there. I know, yes, please you don’t have to say it – I am a comedic genius, but we’re not here to talk about me. We’re here to talk...
2021-11-121h 18Pretty Pixels PodcastWho Knew That Review? (A New Game)Oh, hey, it’s you! Welcome back and thanks for joining us once again. This week, Ron joins Joey for an experimental game we like to call Who Knew That Review? Okay, okay, yes, we know. It’s a working title. Basically, Who Knew That Review is a game where we try and guess popular video games based on their reviews. We each select three game reviews from old issues of EGM and GamePro, then read the reviews and omit key phrases that might give too much away. The other person guesses at what the game might be. It was...
2021-11-051h 41Pretty Pixels PodcastRise of the Cozy GameHello again, friends, and welcome to another episode of the Pretty Pixels Podcast. Pour yourself a nice cup of hot cider and wrap yourself in your favorite fleece blanket, because this week Tab, Joey, and special guest Amy settle in for a discussion about cozy games. What are cozy games? We try and come up with a working definition for this relatively new category of games, plus we chat about some of our favorites. On a related note, we talk about the Nintendo Online + Expansion Pack. Is it worth it? Welp, Joey already nabbed it, if that tells you...
2021-10-291h 32Pretty Pixels PodcastGrand Theft Auto III (A Casual Chat)With the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition, Joey and Ron take a casual stroll down memory lane to talk about Grand Theft Auto III. Did you spend hours trying to fly the tank? We did! Good times, good times. We talk about how exciting and fresh the game felt at the time of release, but also how hard it is to revisit. Will the new remasters smooth those rough edges? Will we be able to touch water in III without drowning? We’ll see! Joey also nerds out over the new trailers for Gotham Knig...
2021-10-221h 33Pretty Pixels PodcastXbox, Xbox, XboxIt’s all about Xbox this week, babyyyy. The original Xbox launched in November 2001, which means next month is the 20th anniversary of the Xbox brand! We’re so old! Both Tab and Paul recently joined Joey in the Xbox Series X Club, so we decided to revisit some key moments in Xbox history, reminisce about fond memories and favorite games, and we close on the Series X and what excites us about the future of the platform. We touch on Microsoft’s insistence on breaking into the Japanese market, their product placement blitz during the 360 era, and more. We als...
2021-10-182h 01Pretty Pixels PodcastChrono TriggerJoey is flying solo this week, so what game does he feel he… why am I speaking in third person? Hi. It’s me. Joey. It’s just you and me this week, babyyyy. When faced with the unorthodox idea of recording an entire episode by myself, of course I wanted to chat about my favorite game of all time: Chrono Trigger. I love the game, of course, but my love for it goes deeper than just my deep appreciation for the gameplay, story, music, and other components. Chrono Trigger made me fall in love with video games. It made m...
2021-10-081h 36Pretty Pixels PodcastSpooky Games!Grab your plastic pumpkin and throw on a costume -- it’s spooky season! We get into the mood with a big ol’ discussion of horror games. We talk about watching vs playing, visceral vs atmospheric horror, our spookalicious setups, a few fun scary memories, and a dead pirate’s treasure trove of games. Open your treat sack for our thoughts on Resident Evil games, P.T., The Forest, A Nightmare on Elm Street, a whole lotta Phasmophobia, and more. The only proverbial razor blade in the apple is that we didn’t have time to talk about more! Fret not...
2021-10-011h 25Pretty Pixels PodcastNewgrounds.comWe start this episode with the very midwestern tradition of talking about the changing of seasons. It’s fall! There are so many games coming out! We were also lucky enough to record on a Nintendo Direct day, so we talk about the wacky Super Mario Bros. movie casting, N64 and Genesis games being added to the Virtual Cons- oops, I mean Nintendo Switch Online Service, plus the new Kirby, the old KotOR, Bayonetta and more. Our central discussion is on Newgrounds.com, the famous (infamous?) Flash (RIP) portal where many game developers found a platform and community early in...
2021-09-241h 54Pretty Pixels PodcastBidding on Upcoming Releases*auctioneer voice* "Do we have one dollar, one dollar for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, that’s one dol- we have one dollar from the bald man with a beard, do I hear two dollars, can we see two?” This week, Ron, Tab, and Joey play a bidding game we like to call All Your Bids Are Belong to Us, graciously borrowed from an old episode of the Game Informer Podcast. We start with $250 each, then bid on upcoming games that we want to play. The winners get to play the games they win, but the losers can’t touch them fo...
2021-09-171h 57Pretty Pixels PodcastAging and GamingRon and I were shocked, absolutely shocked I say, at this week’s PlayStation Showcase, which we watched just before recording. The long-awaited Knights of the Old Republic Remake is real, and apparently it’s going to be on PlayStation and PC only! What! Wolverine! Spider-Mens! Radiohe – wait, let me adjust my fake glasses and double check my notes – yes, Radiohead! What a wild ride. That mess of exciting announcements aside, Joey’s been playing some short games, Ron’s been wrestling with Sony customer service, and we both talk about growing older as gamers. I’m not going to promise tha...
2021-09-101h 49Pretty Pixels PodcastVideo Game FoodTab’s back to talk with Joey about food in games! We talk about the delicious sushi in Persona 5, the exquisite sushi in Yakuza 0, the mouth watering sushi in Joey’s stomach because as soon as he was done recording this episode he put in an order for carry-out sushi from his favorite local place. Mmm. Sushi. We talk about the impact on atmosphere and world-building that food in games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Final Fantasy XV makes, and more broadly how games like these make us want coffee, curry, or whatever damn delicious thing is on our scre...
2021-09-011h 10Pretty Pixels PodcastMultiplayer MemoriesJoey is joined by two of his dearest and oldest friends this week, as both Ron and our friend Gari Hart sit down to reminisce about our multiplayer days of old. We’re mostly just shooting the proverbial shit, but we revisit some of the games that were pivotal to our earliest years of friendship – games that made us laugh, pound our legs in anger, or eat dog food. Don’t ask, just listen! We cover some N64 classics like GoldenEye and Mario Kart 64, marvel over the character creators in early WWE games, fondly recall the weird animal sounds old Ma...
2021-08-181h 26Pretty Pixels PodcastMass Effect Legendary EditionThis week, Joey’s joined by Paul Grosskopf: friend of the show, friend of Joey and Tab, and massive fan of all things Mass Effect! Well, I didn’t verify that for sure. There may be a plushie or body pillow that he’s not a fan of, I can't say. But I do know that he loves the original Mass Effect trilogy, which we both played from front to back with the recently released Mass Effect Legendary Edition! We dive deep into each game in the series, talk about favorite scenes, characters we love, who we romanced, and much...
2021-08-114h 25Pretty Pixels Podcast”Game on” with Kimberly ShotickWe have our first Very Special Guest™ this week! Ron doesn’t count. He’s just regular special, not Very Special. Don’t tell him I said that. Kimberly Shotick, librarian and assistant professor at Northern Illinois University’s Founders Memorial Library, joins us to talk about the upcoming exhibit “Game On: The History of Video Games and Gaming Consoles,” which she’s curated and will run from August 15 through September 15. She tells us what we can expect to see at the exhibit, how it came to be, her favorite piece on display, and much more! If you can’t check out “Game...
2021-08-051h 25Pretty Pixels PodcastDesert Island ScenariosWe have zero money for licensing music, but just pretend that Weezer’s “Island in the Sun” plays over the beginning of this episode, because this week we’re talking about our desert island games! We’re not stopping at the normal “which three games…” though. We go over several scenarios, including which single series we would choose, which single console and library we would take, which couch co-op game we’d take if we were stuck together, and more. We also talk about the lawsuit initiated against Activision Blizzard by the State of California (and the general response and discourse surr...
2021-07-281h 30Pretty Pixels PodcastVideo Game DadsHey, daddios! Tab’s back to discuss fatherhood in games. We chat about the roles fathers play in many games, how they’re portrayed, the ways in which loss and absence motivate and define them, and (most importantly) which Dream Daddy did we date first? We also touch on Valve’s Steam Deck, the uproar over a recent Kotaku headline, Skull and Bones going into alpha, and what we’ve been playing.
Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com
We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @RandomMox (Ron)
00:03:09: Valve reveals the Steam Deck, which Tab swiftly pr...
2021-07-211h 41Pretty Pixels PodcastNostalgia, Final Fantasy VII, and the Dick ChariotGuess who’s back? Back again? Ron is back. Tell a friend. Seriously, tell a friend about us if you think they’d dig yet another video game podcast where people just sit around and talk about games. Wait, I’m not selling this very well. Anyway, this week Ron joins Joey for a discussion about nostalgia and gaming. We touch on some fun news first, like this fall’s Smash-like, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl and Atlus’s plans for Persona’s 25th anniversary, then Joey talks about finishing Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade: Episode INTERmission and playing Doki Doki Literature C...
2021-07-151h 30Pretty Pixels PodcastThe ol‘ Switch(aroo)With the news of the Nintendo Switch OLED Model dropping, we decided to use the opportunity to talk all things Nintendo Switch. After discussing the future of the Assassin’s Creed series and what we’ve been playing/watching, we talk about the new Switch model, our early Switch memories, fun times we’ve had with the system, favorite games, and more.
Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com
We’re on Twitter: @Losperman (Joey) and @RandomMox (Tab)
00:06:15: New RoboCop game announced for 2023
00:08:34: Ubisoft planning “live, online games service” for Assassin’s Creed series (via Bl...
2021-07-081h 19Pretty Pixels PodcastSimulation Games!Tab’s back! They talk about where they’ve been, some recent big life news, and what’s next for them. We talk about a few news blurbs, then get into what we’ve been playing (including Phasmophobia and Mario Golf Super Rush) before moving on to a discussion of simulation games. How do we define simulation games? Why are both Stardew Valley and Farming Simulation 21 considered “farming sims” when they’re so drastically different? We touch on questions like these along with some recent sim games we’ve been playing (Civilation VI and PowerWash Simulator) and some of our favorites in...
2021-06-301h 14Pretty Pixels PodcastBacklog BluesTab is off gallivanting, so join Joey and special guest Ron as we discuss backlogs! How did ours start? How have we managed them? Will we ever be free of the endless cycle? No. No, we won’t. But after talking about the news and what we’ve been playing, we walk through some of the most annoying and noteworthy games on our old and storied backlogs. Which of us has yet to play The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess? Is it Joey or Ron who has a bad habit of buying sequels to games that are already on thei...
2021-06-231h 31Pretty Pixels PodcastE3 Extravaganza!E3 is finally here! If you’ve listened to the last two episodes, you’ll know that we’ve been super hyped for this year’s showcase and surrounding events. Well, if you could just skip this episode and remember us in the rosy glow of our anticipation, that would be great. Just kidding. Mostly. Okay, okay, so maybe this year’s E3 wasn’t the greatest, and maybe some of the publishers seemed to have forgotten what an E3 showcase looks like, but it wasn’t all a wash. Microsoft and Nintendo had great showings, and there are a metric crap...
2021-06-162h 30Pretty Pixels PodcastE3 Predictions and Pie*chanting* E3! E3! E3! Okay, so some people are saying that this E3 is going to be “subdued” or “lackluster.” For us, we like to go into every E3 with the ol’ adage, “Expect the worst, hope for the best.” And we have some hopes for this E3, rumors be damned. Where’s Skull and Bones? Will we see a new Tomb Raider? How much of Breath of the Wild will Nintendo show? How many times can Joey say “pie in the sky” before you want to put a “knife in his eye”? Will Tab be drooling over State of Decay 3 footage? Will...
2021-06-091h 23Pretty Pixels PodcastEarly E3? and a Couple o‘ IndiesWith all of the big announcements and gameplay trailers released this week, it sure does feel like E3’s come early, eh? We talk about Techland’s Dying Light 2 gameplay trailer, Sony’s Horizon Forbidden West State of Play, Dragon Quest’s 35th Anniversary live stream, and Ubisoft’s Far Cry 6 gameplay reveal. We also talk about what we’ve been playing, including going in-depth on two little indie gems we’ve recently uncovered (A Mortician’s Tale and Knife Sisters). Join us next week for some fun E3 predictions, and hit us up with what games you hope to see at the bi...
2021-06-021h 24Pretty Pixels PodcastWe Watch Uwe Boll Movies For Some ReasonWe’re joined this week by our very first special guest: Ron! We’ve mentioned him often, both as a friend and as the composer of our theme music, and he joins us to discuss some of director Uwe Boll’s most notorious video game adaptations. We each watched Alone in the Dark (2005), BloodRayne (2006), and Postal (2007), and after many hours of crying and wondering why we subjected ourselves to this, we chatted about the many, many issues with these movies. We also chat about Twitch’s hot tub stream blog and new diversity tags, the upcoming Sony State of Play on...
2021-05-262h 08Pretty Pixels PodcastSeasonal Gaming MemoriesWhat season do you associate with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? How about The Last of Us Part II? This week, we talk about games that we associate with certain seasons, whether it’s because the game “feels like” the season or we have specific gaming memories tied to a particular season. We touch on Persona 5, Harvest Moon 64, Fallout 3, and more! We also discuss the removal of humanitarian aid articles posted by IGN and Game Informer by their parent companies, John McClane and Rambo coming to Call of Duty: Warzone, and eBay’s new ban of adult vi...
2021-05-191h 04Pretty Pixels PodcastGrad School Anxiety and GamingIt’s Resident Evil Village week! After covering some news items, Tab talks about their time with the Steam game Adios and Far Cry 5, and Joey gushes about Arcade Spirits (again) before getting into the weeds about Resident Evil Village. Our primary discussion is on our experience with grad school anxiety and how video games helped us, in some ways, cope with the stress and mental burden of grad school. As we mention on the show, these are our experiences, and while we certainly know that other grad students encounter similar issues, we recognize that our experiences are just th...
2021-05-121h 28Pretty Pixels PodcastResident Evil RetrospectiveOn this week’s show, a Resident Evil REtrospective! Get it? With the capital RE because… Resident… Evil… Anyway, we are very, very hyped for Resident Evil Village, so Joey tries his damnedest to give a synopsis of the storyline for the entire series to prepare us for the newest game, out this week. How much of it do you need to know in order to play Village? Probably not very much! But that’s okay. Please indulge me. *misty-eyed emoji* Tab talks about Returnal, Joey prematurely attempts to unbox his Mass Effect Legendary Edition Cache, and more!
Contact...
2021-05-051h 28Pretty Pixels PodcastDiscussing Our DissertationsOn this week’s show, we talk (maybe too long) about Sony and Microsoft’s recent financial reports, lament being too poor to “buy games when they’re new if you like them,” chat about what we’ve been playing (the Resident Evil Village Castle demo *drool*, Tender, Planet Zoo, Fallout: New Vegas), and we discuss each of our respective dissertations (see show notes for titles).
Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com
Joey’s on Twitter: @Losperman
00:00:21: Boom. Bella purrs, right off the bat
00:02:25: Sony and Microsoft’s respective financial reports
00:13:33: Play...
2021-04-291h 41Pretty Pixels PodcastDr. Regina McMenomy‘s Gamer TypesHey, friends! This week we take a look at Dr. Regina McMenomy’s work on identity in RPGs (and other games, too). We share her proposed gamer types, talk about which categories we think we fall in, and discuss the potential impact of representation on people’s tendency toward each type. We also cover some news, including Sony’s new investment in Epic Games and the latest Nintendo Indie Showcase, and talk about what we’ve been playing.
Contact us: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com
Joey’s on Twitter: @Losperman
00:05:33: Sony invests more $$$ in Epic Games, get...
2021-04-151h 17Pretty Pixels PodcastAnimal Companions in GamesOn this week’s episode, we discuss new rumors of a Sega acquisition, the return of E3, and Lady Dimitrescu (*heart eye emoji*). In our main segment we talk about animal companions. What makes an animal a companion? Do they have to accompany you on your journey? Do they have to have a personality? We get into these questions and more, and share some of our favorite furry friends. Like, animal companions. Not friends that are furries. We have nothing against furries. I mean, we all have a thing for Fran from Final Fantasy XII, don’t we? What am I...
2021-04-081h 25Pretty Pixels PodcastMake These Games, Dammit!On this week’s episode, we pitch games we want to see made in a segment we call Make These Games, Dammit! Tab proposes a camping/fishing/hiking nature sim with a card-based gear system, and Joey shares his concept for a terrifying new A Nightmare on Elm Street game. Do you have a bunch of money and want to make our games a reality or just want to give me a bunch of money for no reason? Hit us up at prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com.
Joey’s on Twitter: @Losperman
00:02:22: Brief news notes (Doom 3 VR, RIP...
2021-04-011h 12Pretty Pixels PodcastOur Favorite VR GamesIn this week’s episode, we discuss Microsoft’s potential purchase of Discord, the end of the PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita, and our pretty new custom DualSense controllers. In our main segment, we dive into our experience with VR, some of our favorite games, and what we’d like to see in future hardware and software. Have a VR recommendation? Reach us virtually (see what I did there? Like, virtual reality… and you’re reaching us virtually… by email… never mind) at prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com.
Joey’s on Twitter: @Losperman
00:01:10: Microsoft reported to be in talks t...
2021-03-251h 32Pretty Pixels PodcastBehind the Waterfall (Disappointing Games)In the spirit of this episode, please prepare for it to be the best podcast episode you’ve ever heard! … and then walk away from it feeling sorely disappointed. This week, we discuss games that have, to some extent, left us or other gamers feeling burned by pre-release hype. As we note in the podcast, our disappointment does not equal hate (we actually quite like most of these games), but if you insist on sending a sternly worded electronic letter our way, hit us up at prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com.
Joey’s on Twitter: @Losperman
00:12:13: No Man’s...
2021-03-181h 33Pretty Pixels PodcastImpactful IndiesIn this week’s massive episode, we talk about some of the indie games that really struck a chord with us. We did end up missing a few (noted at the end), but we cover the indies that impacted us the most. Have an indie recommendation? Send it (or any others thoughts or questions) to prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com!
Joey’s on Twitter: @Losperman
Timestamps:
00:01:24: Outer Worlds DLC tease
00:02:30: Brief thoughts on the 2020 Twitch Transparency Report
00:05:04: Aliens: Fireteam
00:07:15: Joey joins Tab for some Ghost of Tsushima shenanigans. Some Ghos...
2021-03-111h 58Pretty Pixels PodcastPersona 5 Strikers, Anthem 2.0 Cancellation, and more!In our first official episode, we talk about Persona 5 Strikers, the cancellation of Anthem 2.0 and troubled development of Dying Light 2, Tab talks Hitman, Joey talks Resident Evil, and we delve into the question of how watching streams or Let's Plays affects your ability to call yourself a "gamer."
Our theme song is by lovers.tiff (loverstiff.bandcamp.com), so check them out!
Contact: prettypixelspodcast@gmail.com
Time stamps:
00:00:39: Anthem 2.0 cancelled https://www.gameinformer.com/2021/02/24/anthem-20-canceled-by-bioware
00:03:30: Dying Light 2’s troubled development https://www.gameinformer.com/where-is-dying-light-2-is-it-cancelled-techland-report
00:05:58: In...
2021-02-251h 09