Post Games posts
Posts: 37
Files: 64
20 Years Later, Shadow of the Colossus Still Matters (Jacob Geller) - Audio
[This is the audio edition. Full episode notes and comments are available on the video post at patreon.com/postgames]Few video games achieve mainstream cultural relevance. Fewer still get labeled as "art." And only a handful of games that get through the culling manage to retain their relevance across decades. Shadow of the Colossus is the exception to the rules of video games.What makes it so unique? How has its place in gaming culture evolved? And why does it play a special part in the...
Big update: Video episodes!
Just a quick note about Post Games subscription content. I've begun creating video versions of every episode. I know many subscribers receive their show updates through their podcast app, so they might not be aware of this additional bonus.I won't lie to y'all: it's a lot of extra work, and I may need to consider a new tier down the line. But for now, I want to make it available to everyone who subscribes. Thank you all for making this show possible!
Microsoft before and after the Xbox (Shannon Loftis)
This week on Post Games: how did Xbox get here?Former VP of Xbox Game Studios Shannon Loftis takes us on a guided tour of Microsoft's gaming ambitions, from the days before Windows 95 to Xbox's ambitious bet on the future of entertainment.Patreon bonus prologue: The case for having funAct 1: Microsoft’s first tiny team of game makersAct 2: Xbox before the acquisitionsAct 3: News of the weekAct 1: Microsoft’s first tiny team of game makersMicrosoft completes Activision Blizzard acquis...
Send your questions about Nintendo (and everything else)
This week's guest is Shannon Loftis. Next week, I have two guests to make sense of the NSFW game crackdown. The week after that, it's mailbag time.I prefer to have a theme for mail bags, so for the first act, I'd like to answer your questions about Nintendo. The company's history. Their long-term ambitions. Their push beyond video games. Anything. Nintendo doesn't provide many interviews, so this is your chance to ask the next best thing: an expert (and his expert peers).For ...
Going to college for video games
Image: Spider-Man (via Reddit)What's it like to pursue a degree in video games? And what's life like as a video game professor?This week, my guest is Aaron Trammell, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, who teaches undergraduate and graduate students about games, ranging from video games to tabletop games, the craft of design to the critique of play.Act 1: Life as a video game studentAct 2: Life as a video game professorPatreon bonus: 5 new video game books to read this f...
The rarest video game podcast returns
Art: A Life Well Wasted (Olly Moss)This week on Post Games:Act 1: The story of a video game studio in 2025Act 2: Behind-the-scenes of A Life Well WastedPatreon Bonus: Games and pervertsAct 3: The news of the WeekAct 1: The story of a video game studio in 2025“Game Over, Episode 9” (A Life Well Wasted)Data points to slowing layoffs, but doesn't capture true harm to game industry (Game Developer)A rolling collection of stories on layoffs (GamesIndustry.biz)PlayStation Shutters Studio Behin...
The Making of Street Fighter: The Movie (Audiobook)
This month, Post Games patrons get something extra special: a 45-minute audiobook! Next month, we'll return to my video series: Video Game Journalism 101. So if you haven't caught up yet, now's the perfect time. Here's the full catalogue.In 2014, I interviewed the writer/director, stunt coordinator, and cast members of Street Fighter: The Movie for a feature that chronicled the making of the early, ill-fated video game adaptation. You can still read the original piece on Polygon....
Can you fit cable TV into a video game? (Claire L. Evans)
This September, following a successful run on the experimental gaming handheld Playdate, Blippo+ will release on Nintendo Switch and Steam. The game, created in collaboration with an iconic indie band, attempts to reproduce the feeling of channel surfing in the early days of cable television.Its graphics aren’t graphics at all, but full-motion video. Actors bounced around shows that resemble episodes of Pee-wee Herman, the concerts of Klaus Nomi, and the “I can’t believe they made this for...
How video game movies got good (Patrick H. Willems)
Video game adaptations threaten to replace superhero movies as Hollywood's favorite fad. How did Mario and friends evolve from box office poison into some of the most valuable IPS in movie history? Today on Post Games: an extended interview with filmmaker and video essayist Patrick H. Willems, in which we make sense of 30 years and five distinct eras of video game adaptations.Act 1: The Doomed DecadesAct 2: The Hollywood HitsA Patreon bonus: The Future of Video Game MoviesPatrick sticks arou...
Poll: This month's bonus content
Hey y'all,For the upcoming monthly bonus content, I want to give you a choice.Normally, I'd be ramping up production on the next Video Game Journalism 101 video. But this week, deep into the edit for my episode on game-to-film adaptations, I had an alternative idea. An audiobook version of my history of Street Fighter: The Movie, for which I interviewed the director, actors, and behind-the-scenes talent.This audio version would include music, audio clips from the movie, and some tweaks t...
A Broadway musician’s double life as a murder mystery maker (Mike Pettry)
Heads up! You can now watch Post Games shorts on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Today's guest is musical composer, orchestrator, lyricist, conductor, and musician Mike Pettry, who climbed the rungs of the theater world and now performs in the orchestras of award-winning Broadway shows. His performances have accompanied artists like Ben Platt and Idina Menzel.But as his Broadway career blossomed, Pettry began to fantasize about something else entirely: making a musical… video game.A murder ...
Fixed audio: Big predictions for the future of games
Hi y'all. Sorry for the double upload. I made a mistake when uploading the audio file and subscribers got a slightly unfinished version with a few funky bits of crosstalk. I just want to make sure the correct version hits everyone's RSS feed. You can find the full post for this week's episode here. https://www.patreon.com/posts/big-predictions-136043658
Big predictions for the future of games (Brendon Bigley)
Want to know what will happen in video games over the next five years? I have the answers. And by answers, I mean educated guesses.Mullet MadjackThis week on Post Games, I'm answering your questions about the future of games. Plus, an extended conversation with video game podcaster, YouTuber, and content creator Brendon Bigley about his long-running series Into the Aether and his new gaming news publication, Wavelengths. Act 1: A Q&A about the future of video gamesBonus for Patreon: The ni...
Video Game Journalism 101: Previews
In this episode, we will analyze the cornerstone of early games journalism: the game preview. The game preview has no exact analogue in other forms of media journalism, and yet it’s remained a staple of the games industry. We will look at how previews have evolved from trade magazines to streamers.Is the preview a nefarious act of marketing?A valuable tool for the press? Both?Will the preview's relevance fade as fewer video game media outlets participate in its activities?How did "dire...
Games about death improve our lives.
Countless video games depict death, but few ask us to contemplate our mortality. Thank goodness. Mario wouldn’t be nearly as fun if we had to attend every goomba’s funeral.And yet, as I approach 40 and my death anxieties find new ways to keep me awake, I wonder if video games could be uniquely equipped to help us emotionally grapple with the big question that has no answer: what comes next?So, I called an expert. Video game writer and narrative director Kaitlin Tremblay has written three gam...
The B-List History of Donkey Kong
Gaming historian Jeremy Parish joins me for the entire episode to tell the story of gaming’s most famous primate.Act 1: How Donkey Kong saved NintendoAct 2: Donkey Kong’s long journey back to the topPatreon Bonus: The Top 5 Donkey Kong games – and the #1 strangestAct 3: The news of the weekAct 1: How Donkey Kong saved NintendoJeremy Parish’s YouTube documentaries (Game Works)NES Works 1985-86 (Limited Run)SEGAIDEN Vol. 1 (Limited Run)Ikegami Tsushinki (Wikipedia)Virtual Boy Works (Limite...
How the Post Games mailbag works
Hey pals!I'd like to do mailbag episodes every quarter or so. For the first mailbag episode, let's get your voices on the show!If you have a question, send a voice note to postgamesmailbag@gmail.com. Please review the following instructions before recording and sending a message. This will ensure solid audio quality and make it easy to record and send from your phone.How to record a mailbag question:Open the voice note app on your smartphoneRecord a question that's no longer than 60 ...
How to make video games funny
This week on Post Game: Late-night comedy writer Mike Drucker and Tactical Breach Wizards director Tom Francis explain how they make video games funny and find the humor in loving video games.Patreon bonus prologue: What it's like to write jokes for NintendoAct 1: Adapting a life of video games into a comedic memoirAct 2: The cheats to make your video game funnyAct 3: The news of the weekBonus book excerpt: Good Game, No Rematch - "The StarCraft Conspiracy"Patreon bonus prologue: Wha...
A poll about free stuff
Hey Post Games pals.I have a few housekeeping things, plus a poll.1. Subscribers update: Thank you to the many folks who participated in the free month promotion and stuck around. About 20% of people became recurring subscribers, which is incredible. I'm constantly surprised by and grateful for this community.2. Small merch update: I have some extra embroidered hats and screen-printed t-shirts. They are... nice. Like, very very nice. Produced in an awesome print shop in Orange County. So, I&...
Thank you for trying (and supporting) Post Games!
Oh hello, pals! Today marks one month since I tested my first Patreon promotion, giving away over 300 free 1-month subs to Post Games. Over the next few days, many people will be deciding whether or not to continue supporting the show for months to come. Whatever way things go, I want to say, "Thank you for giving the Patreon a chance!"And for people already keeping this ship afloat, I want to say, "Damn, you look great today! Younger! Happier! Ready to take on the world! You go be y...
The life, death, death, death, death, and rebirth of Atari
This week on Post Games, Atari CEO Wade Rosen joins me to discuss gaming’s ship of Theseus. While everyone remembers Atari at its height, most folks ignored the company's struggles following the games industry crash of 1983. Understandably! For forty years, Atari has been a brand in search of a purpose.Rosen is determined to change that, making Atari relevant for the first time in forty years. And he wants to do so while having a sense of humor and respect for the brand's long, long jo...
Video Game Journalism 101: Ethics
Welcome to the second session of Video Game Journalism 101. This year-long video series is a reimagining of my college course on video game journalism, media literacy, and consuming content in the age of disinformation. New episodes premiere on the first Monday of each month.This session, we go deep into the core of journalism, making sense of the complex and evolving ethics that make your media trustworthy, reliable, and in service of the public good. This is the second and final session focuse...
"Are video games okay?" - Gaming's First Annual Physical
Welcome to Post Game’s first annual physical, in which a special guest joins me to assess the health and stability of gaming, from the creators to the players, the industry to the culture. I’ve invited one of the smartest, analytical, and forward-thinking minds in video – writer, developer, publisher, critic, analyst, and occasional voice actor Xalavier Nelson Jr. – to give video games a thorough workupBonus Patreon Prologue: The state of games 10, 20, and 30 years agoAct 1: The best of ...
The case of Dunkey vs. Death Stranding
Before we get started...If you have a moment and don't mind, please leave a review of Post Games on Apple Podcasts. I know, it's silly, but it's also a humongous help in these early days. If you don't have the time or desire, that's TOTALLY CHILL too! As a Patreon subscriber, you already do so much for me and this show!This week on Post GamesAct 1: Dunkey on his love/hate relationship with Death Stranding, life as YouTube game critic, and the power of changing your mindA bonu...
You can now give the gift of Post Games
I guess the people at Patreon noticed the success of giving away over 350 free months of Post Games, because they just unlocked early access to a special feature:You can now gift Post Games subscriptionsClick hereHave a friend or family member who loves video games, podcasts, and acts of generosity? Have I got the deal for you!One other cool feature: on the back end, I can see how many times someone gifts a subscription, which in the future will allow me to come up with elaborate rewards and inc...
How to fight brilliant (and stupid) AI
Editor’s note: Hi Patreon subscribers. This week, I’m making all acts available to all listeners. The Patreon edition of the episode, however, is still early and ad-free. For context: My two guests participated on tight timelines and under special circumstances. And my essay was the conclusion of last week’s episode. As I finished the edit, I felt bad putting any of the acts behind the paywall. This won’t be the norm – frankly, I’ll need far more paid subscribers before the end of th...
Try a free month of Post Games
Happy Father's Day! To celebrate, I created a free month trial of the Post Games Patreon. The link expires Tuesday at 11:59 PM and is limited to new paid subscribers.Click here to claim a free month of Post GamesFor those of you who already subscribe, I give you my eternal gratitude and this handmade Father's Day card.
What we have in common with world-ending AI
This week on Post Games, “What we have in common with world-ending AI.”Act 1: Why every AI superfan and skeptic should play Universal Paperclips. A review conversation with AJ Fillari, co-host of dotzip and producer of Into the AetherFor Patreon subscribers, an intermission: 5 "clicker" games to play after Universal PaperclipsAct 2: An extended interview with Frank Lantz, the creator of Universal Paperclips about designing a game from the AI's POVAct 3: The news of the week, inc...
How to launch a video game console
This week on Post Games, “What is a video game console launch in 2025?”Act 1: What’s it like to run a video game shop when a console launches? An interview with Kelsey Lewin, the co-owner of Pink Gorilla GamesAct 2: Nintendo’s history of console launches. An interview with Chris Kohler, Editorial Director of Digital EclipseAct 3: The news of the week, including big announcements leading into Summer Game FestAnd for Patreon subscribers, a bonus act: What it was like to be parents scrambli...
Video Game Journalism 101: The Basics
Welcome to the first session of Video Game Journalism 101. This year-long video series is a reimagining of my college course on video game journalism, media literacy, and consuming content in the age of disinformation. New episodes premiere on the first Monday of each month.Today's video will be the most challenging of the bunch. Why? Because I need to explain the core tenets of traditional journalism: what it is, how it's produced, who it helps and who it holds accountable, and why you ...
