It's back to the usual format for the Negative World crew in the wake of the 3DS launch.
Guillaume is forced to accept a truth that had been staring him in the face for a long time, now, but that he cannot escape any longer: he is the last person on Earth to still care about the Wii's Virtual Console. The rest of the crew manages to muster some excitement for the potential of the 3DS virtual console, however!
Deathly_Hallows makes up for his absence in the special 3DS episode (due to mic problems) by talking about Ridge Racer 3D, as well as backing the host's positive opinion of Steel Diver.
JKR (of Fred the Monkey fame!) decides that for his first appearance on the podcast, he should tackle the very non-controversial topic of Nintendo's stance on the iTunes App Store and its effect on the gaming industry for developers and gamers.
Finally GelatinousEncore, having already discussed his favorite Nintendo franchise in the first episode, decides to talk about his second favorite, Metroid, and the franchise's descent into linearity and female obedience.
The opening music comes from your lovable despotic site owner, Zero, with original lyrics by JKR! The closing music is an awesome remix of the Brinstar theme from Super Metroid, from NWer Autokymatic.
As usual, comment on the topics, the podcast, the guests, the host, etc. on Negative World! Or, be a weirdo and post them on Facebook or Twitter instead.
Guillaume’s VC topic: I really do care about VC. I can understand the general disappointment that there haven’t been as many good games consistently coming out as there once was in the early days of the Wii’s life (and there are several key titles still missing, especially from Nintendo themselves), but the fact of the matter is that there’s already quite an extensive selection of titles to choose, many of which have grabbed a hold of my interest. My biggest problem is finding time to play all the games I want to play. That’s all. Even owning only Nintendo systems (I have Wii, DS, and 3DS, as well as the previous Nintendo systems), I have my hands full as it is. My VC purchases have included both games I already own and new games I want to try out (VC is where I first played stuff like Bonk 1 and 2, River City Ransom, Castlevania 3, Kid Icarus… games I had always wanted to play in the past but never did).
Deathly_Hallows' Ridge Racer: It sounds like a game I would really enjoy. The only Ridge Racer game I have played is RR64, and that game kept me busy for a loonnng time. It was a great looking N64 title. I really grasped the controls and eventually went on to unlock all the cars and race tracks.
JKR's mobile gaming: An interesting topic. I don’t have an iphone. I have an ipad but I have never even considered there are games worth playing on the platform. I don’t know anyone else who even plays iphone or ipad games except for the occasional “I absolutely have nothing else to do and all I have with me right now is my phone so let me kill a few minutes.” But sales numbers don’t lie; mobile games are a big thing. I do see the potential of these kinds of games eating away at the game industry, which is why Iwata brought it up in the first place at the GDC. JKR discussed this topic very thoroughly indeed.
(Oh, and I’ve never heard of “Words with Friends.”)
GelatinousEncore's Metroid: I’m not surprised that Other M is still brought up in a semi -negative way by people, especially those who grew up with the franchise. I’ve been a Metroid fan since I first played Super Metroid in 1994. Other M does lean a bit more toward to the linear vs. the exploratory aspect of what makes a Metroid game great, but I don’t feel this diminishes my experience playing the game. Anyway, the Other M discussion did get a bit heated toward the end. But I still regard Other M very highly as it brought about some cool changes to the franchise that can greatly be expanded on. I liked the melee and first-person missile use.
I love Autokymatic’s Metroid remix at the end! That’s one of my favorite tracks from Super Metroid, it always gives me goosebumps.
I'm in charge of lots of things! Too many things! Actually what gets in the way of me finding time to listen to podcasts is when I'm working on music and all I do is listen to the song I'm working on over and over and over and over to get ideas for where to go with it. Though it would probably be nice, in theory, to take a break from that sometimes.
Finally got around to listening to the podcast. Pretty good! Nice, informative opinions all around, with some injected humor here and there.
I will say though, that as much as I appreciate the structured topics, I feel that it hampers the free-flow of natural group discussions. I understand that some people look for people to get straight to the point, but the problem is that if the discussions don't flow freely they feel more like spliced up interviews/lectures, which can cause people to lose interest.
The personalities all have potential to really draw in listeners, but I don't feel that you guys were really able to stretch your legs and have as much fun with the topics as you could have. I did not sense a lot of excitement and to be honest, a lot of it was very dry.
Now please do not be offended by my criticisms, because I know we're all new to this, and I feel the same way about the previous podcasts we've done. But if we want to improve, I think that these are things that we really need to think about. Nobody is going to want to listen to us if we're just another podcast with discussions that come off as message board roundtables in aural form.
Still, all in all, I commend your efforts and think you guys did a wonderful job.
No, I don't take offense, I agree with a lot of what you said. I almost titled this episode "The Monologues", lol.
I do like structure, though. It can be a disaster if you don't have some.
I think what you're saying has a lot more to do with the connection problems we were having. It made everyone extra careful not to talk over each other.
I don't think any podcast should be without ANY kind of structure. It would then be a mess; you need topics to actually discuss in a coherent fashion.
I'm just saying that the discussions haven't felt like the natural discussions you'd have if you had a group of buddies sit down and talk about a variety of topics. So far, our podcast has sounded more like a forum panel, similar the kind you see at press conferences. Now I wouldn't mind a few "Iwata Asks" type features here and there (with actual substance), but when it comes to stuff that's heavily opinionated, I feel that in order to maintain the lively-hood of such discussion, it should be as free-flowing as possible.
Instead of just 'weighing-in', it should actually feel like a conversation. At least for me, the podcasts that keep me attentive and interested are the ones with distinct personalities, humor, spontaneity, and high energy. I (and presumably others) need to be able to sense the excitement in the atmosphere, where you really feel like you're there, almost wanting to interject yourself as the listener!
I'm saying these things because if we want this podcast to be a success, we're going to have to take the necessary measures to bring it to the next level. I feel so bad for saying these things though, because it sound like I'm being overly critical. But in reality, I see the potential, and I want us to realize that potential.
EDIT:
You know, perhaps this is all because most of us don't really have personal chemistry with each other, and we're all conversing remotely, which influences us to discuss things more formally. I don't really see how there's anything we could do about that though.
Yeah, I don't even know if what you're asking for is possible. We just don't talk to each other often enough. Of those "podcasts with distinct personalities, humor, spontaneity and high energy" that you enjoy, how many are done over skype? I can think of only one, RFN, and Greg edits the crap out of it. Also it helps that these guys have been doing this for a long time, and that Johnny is a fucking great host.
I see what you're saying, I'm just not sure there is a solution, short of having regular NW discussions over Skype.
...short of having regular NW discussions over Skype...
I...actually think we should do this. Seriously. Let me add, that the discussions don't have to be limited to NW or gaming either. Getting to know each other better, and the nuances in our different personae could go a long way in helping the podcasts to feel more natural.
Well there's no way that I could do it, but I would participate from time to time too. And like I said, I don't think it needs to be limited to NW or gaming discussions. We all should really get to know each other (especially all of the site editors/moderators/zero).
EDIT:
We could do something like the Weekly Chat, but in Skype form.
I'm going to attempt to reply to Shidoshi's posts on neogaf here, since I don't have an account there, and while I joined him on twitter, sometimes 140 characters just isn't enough, haha.
First, thanks a lot for your feedback. No, it's not too harsh, it's the kind of feedback that I'm looking for and that I don't always get. Perfect. Really, I'm just happily surprised you actually listened to it. I'm a huge fan of your work on the 8-4play podcast.
Bwahaha, kidding!
This is a young podcast, and a "community" podcast. So far my main concern has been less about how people outside of Negative World would receive the podcast, and more about giving everyone a chance to be on it. In a way, I feel it is too early to show it to the world, but at the same time, getting feedback will help me make improvements more quickly.
The big challenge is that every time, I'm doing this with new people and every time, it's people I know from a message board. We've never actually talked-talked before, so we're all getting used to each other's speech patterns and everything. None of us have done this before, either, so there is a learning curve. Only I as the host get regular "practice".
I've toyed with transitions in episode 5, I believe. I'll bring them back, they were extra work for me but you've got a good point about 1.5 hours of straight talk being exhausting to listen to.
As for the audio quality, I equipped myself with a decent headset, but I can't ask the same from everyone else. Maybe if eventually we get regulars, but it's too early even for that. I'm learning new editing tricks all the time in Audacity, though, hopefully that will help a bit.
So... yeah, I'll try to controls the elements I can, I'm just not sure what to do about the things I can't change personally. Thanks again for the honest feedback, and I'm super glad your show is back. New episode today!
I think it's great that everyone gets a chance to participate, but I'll be honest, I don't think you'll ever get to big-time podcast status that way. You NEED regulars for people to start to know and love. The best podcasts feature the same folks so you start to get an idea of who you agree with most of the time and who you don't. And some, like ESPN Football Today, have rotating people every other day or so, but it's consistent.
Shidoshi is the guy who organized Warning! A Huge Podcast! It's awesome that he took the time to give feedback.
As far as the conversational thing, I also agree that podcasts work better with more interplay. That's why we should kind of try to pick a couple of topics that will stir some shit up (among the podcasters). When I go on again, I'll probably do a point-counterpoint on Metroid Prime or Zelda II, or something. And we should feel more free to challenge the speaker, even in a Devil's Advocate kind of way. Debates are always more fun than monologues or conversations in which everyone agrees.
In general, explanations of specific things like gameplay should probably be kept as short as possible.
As far as a regular crew, that WOULD help the podcast appeal to others and probably up the quality, but it wouldn't really be a community thing, anymore. As it is now, it's kind of a way for us all to get to know each other. Not saying it would be a bad idea, though. But it would be a different thing.
I disagree that you need regulars to gain a following. Just look at This Week In Tech, for example. It's one of the most popular technology podcasts out there, and, besides Leo Laporte, there are different people on the show each week. Of course there are guests who appear on several shows, but you never know who is going to be on each week. And you know what? I like that. Sure, some shows will be worse than others depending on the guests, but it keeps things fresh from week to week.
So, long story short, I say keep the podcast the way it is with rotating guests.
Yeah, I'm not really considering sticking with the same people all the time if I can avoid it. Plus, I wouldn't want to be in a situation where I pick favorites.
But ya know, if I want to avoid it, I need volunteers...
