| # | Title / Theme |
|---|---|
| 8 | Expandable Skill Sets (01/14/2010) In a brave new world of Select Button Podcasts, our panel reaches around the world to discuss expandable skillsets in games. Or rather, are they discussing the preposterous explosion of characters and collectibles in N64 Rare platformers? Or recent recruitment opportunities in Sonic's lame ass crew? POWER armor? Donkey Kong 64 Forever? |
| Panel: Adol, BenoitRen, Gironika, Persona-sama, Takashi, Tollmaster | |
| 9 | Galaxies vs. WoW (01/22/2010) Right off the hamster wheel and into the treadmill, this week the show launches into an EPIC JOURNEY (of running time) to talk about MMORPG's, and it's a laser focused discussion in a genre that is itself becoming increasingly narrow in design. Listen to find out why the leviathan that is World of Warcraft has not been toppled, and why game developers and publishers are wrongheaded in their swipes for marketshare, as they detract from the true promise of the genre in their attempts. Who the fuck am I kidding, just listen for the Lost Vikings tangent. |
| Panel: CubaLibre, diplo, Robotdell, negativedge | |
| 10 | Rampant Localization! (01/28/2010) The selectbutton.net podcast celebrates its wave of continued 2010 $UCCESS in an expansive episode about the localization of video games. Listen as this episode becomes even more CAN'T MISS: we discuss the challenges of localizing (and naturalizing!) games across cultural, technical, and even nationally imposed barriers. Also, a special segment on the translation of SEGAGAGA by our very own Adeligian! |
| Panel: Adeligian, B coma, Botagel, Deets, Schwere Viper, and Takashi | |
| 11 | I Did It for Sega (02/13/2010) A total lark. The Mega Select Button Dot Net Podcast Team (TMSBDNPT) share their unproduced screenplays for Blaze the Cat: The Feature Film. Eat your heart out, Kubrick's Napoleon. |
| Panel: Takashi's Cat, BenoitRen, Decinoge, Persona-sama, Renfrew, Shnozlak, Torumasuta, Takashi, and a Sega Femme Bot | |
| 12 | Get Real (02/19/2010) The theme for this episode is level design that depicts realistic settings. The panel discuss numerous examples of games that strive to create believable worlds by drawing from life, and in doing so present a strong case as to which aspects of reality developers can successfully draw on when creating realistic stages, as well as singling out common practices that draw the player out of the experience. Special attention is given to how game mechanics and player abilities relate to the level design and enhance immersion. |
| Panel: CubaLibre, diplo, negativedge, and Takashi | |
| 13 | One Year Podcast (03/14/2010) This belated episode is about mecha games, but instead of my usual thing here we have prepared a questionnaire: |
| Panel: ArOne, Cacophanus, Deets, ToruMasuta, and Takashi for three seconds | |
| 14 | Left 4 Dead 2: Live from the Front (03/23/2010) This week audio is joined with thrilling video in LEFT 4 DEAD 2: LIVE FROM THE FRONT. Watch as it is proven beyond all doubt that we here at sb talk more about videogames than we play them. Learn something about the mechanics of L4D2 from imperturbable tour guide internisus while the rest of us scream like schoolchildren as we are eaten alive in post-apocalyptic New Orleans. |
| Panel: B coma, Botagel, CubaLibre, and internisus | |
| 15 | Dear Sony (04/02/2010) The panel endeavours to make sense out of Sony's bizarre decisions in the current generation of Sony PlayStation, as well as observing what strengths they've failed to capitalize on (as Renfrew cringes in fear/confusion). |
| Panel: boojiboy7, Texican Rude, and Renfrew | |
| 16 | The End (04/16/2010) This episode [spoilers] is about endings [spoilers]. good endings, bad endings, multiple endings, and some of the more cryptic alternate realities they present. Don't miss, or Cuba might actually see the end of Puzzle Quest before the weekend is out! |
| Panel: B coma, Botagel, Deets, Cubalibre and diplo's naked naked (silent) body | |
| 17 | Rebirth (04/29/2010) Recreated from the ground up and retooled for the next generation of flippant tangents, the SBPC tackles reboots, remakes, and rebirths in videogames. The panel discusses numerous long-running series that have successfully reinvented themselves, and some that have fallen quite short in an attempt to pander to audience nostalgia. |
| Panel: diplo, geniou, Renfrew, Schwere Viper, Takashi, and Texican Rude | |
| 18 | Belt Scroll (05/07/2010) This week, the show topic is beat 'em ups, so don your finest jean-vest and muscle shirt to lay waste to wave after wave of criminal forces. You'll have only what you find in barrels or rip from the arms of your opponents to make your way to the top. Have what it takes to succeed? |
| Panel: ArOne, Deets, notbov, Take it Sleazy, and Torumasuta | |
| 19 | Ambition (pay the price) (06/09/2010) In its ongoing search for increasingly obtuse show themes that are difficult to talk about the SBDNPC strikes a pulmonary vein. The panel discusses ambitious games that are ahead of their time, with a focus on games that received poor reception for biting off more than they could chew. Turns out that in addition to being utterly fascinating most of the games discussed are totally unplayable! |
| Panel: B coma, diplo, DJ, extrabastardformula, tacotaskforce, (aka Lainer) Touran, and Tulpa | |
| 20 | Live from City 17 (06/22/2010) Recorded on the tail end of a forum wide playthrough of the series, the topic this week is Valve's Half Life 2 series of games. Alternating between effusive praise and well considered criticism, the panel dissects the most influential action/adventure FPS of the last decade. |
| Panel: cubalibre, DJ, drobe, internisus, tacotaskforce (aka Lainer), Lucaz, The Overwatch, P1d40n3, Ronk, and your humble editor for a few brief moments | |
| 21 | E3 2010 Wrapup (06/25/2010) This episode: an audio recap of this year's E3 2010. GEAR UP as we talk about our outlook on gaming's most extreme convention, then KICK BACK as we debate about all the HOT GAMES where the trailers show up to 15 SECONDS of the game's mechanics. Actually, that last paragraph was just a clever joke! Hahaha! The innovation of this years E3: conventional player input is a thing of the past. Gaming's next gen is actually self-playing tutorial cinematic that only plays to completion if you can mimic the choreography to the Time of my Life scene in Dirty Dancing. Holy Shit! |
| Panel: diplo, landroverattack, Ronk, Ronnoc, Schwere Viper, tacotaskforce (aka Lainer) | |
| 22 | Legend of the Six Enchanted Archstones
(07/30/2010) A romp through From Software's dungeon crawling masterpiece, complete with colorful commentary from people on the internet who couldn't even see the action. |
| Panel: Mr. Apol, ArOne, Cubalibre, Flylighter, Jigsaw | |
| 23 | Dungeon Crawl
(08/05/2010) This week's theme is dungeon crawl games. The assembled cast wrestles with personal definitions of the genre while trading anecdotes about games in a largely unforgiving genre. If all else fails we'll get to the bottom of this hobo cave business. |
| Panel: adol, ArOne, cactusfriend, Cubalibre, diplo, Torumasuta | |
| 24 | Across a Bridge, Through a Room (08/09/2010) DO YOU REMEMBER / A LONG TIME AGO / IN TRANSYLVANIA / THERE WAS A MAN NAMED DRACULA / HE WAS A VAMPIRE / HE SLEPT ALL DAY / AND STEPPED ALL NIGHT / HE HAD A CRAVING FOR / BLOOD |
| Panel: adol, Mr. Apol, ArOne, diplo, ionustron, and a surprise guest | |
| 25 | Rolling Start (08/27/2010) Race to the end of this exciting podcast, which is longer than the Nordschleife. Try to go easy on the car! |
| Panel: boojiboy7, Deets, geinou, Gironika, Schwere Viper, tacotaskforce, and Torumasuta | |
| 26 | Contra: Aural Warfare (10/09/2010) Sign up for a never ending war against unspeakable alien horrors in this bleak, bleak, bleak episode of the selectbutton podcast. This episode's panel talks about various iterations of Contra, how they compare, and some of their favorite moments in the series. |
| Panel: adilegian, cubalibre, Deets, and Mr. Apol | |
| 27 | Boss Rush (11/03/2010) A toss up of sorts: this episode we recall personal anecdotes about bosses. The good, the bad, the quirky, some odd memories from childhood, and what did (or didn't!) engage us. |
| Panel: B coma, bleak, bza, diplo, Lainer (tacotaskforce), and Mr. Apol | |
| 28 | One Last Battle (11/28/2010) The SBDNPC stretches well past feature length to volley thoughts about the Metal Gear Solid series. The panel observes thematic trends that have evolved and changed over time, the numerous mechanical idiosyncrasies (and failures!) of the games, and how the series manages to still produce evocative moments when staring down its massive (and undoubtedly absurd) history. |
| Panel: Adilegian, Analogos, ArOne, boojiboy7, Texican Rude, and Toptube | |
| 29 | The Call of Duty Episode (12/20/2010) We talk about the evolution of the mechanics and setpieces of the series and recall some individual moments with fondness and frustration. We also spend some time unpacking the Modern Warfare series as a the pop-deconstruction of war, and somewhere along the line we affirm that Treyarch misses the mark entirely and proceeds to tuck and roll down the canyon for another 300 yards. |
| Panel: B coma, CubaLibre, internisus, and Toptube | |