The Pixel Meditations: Recent Episodes
The Pixel Meditations
We are the Pixel Meditations! Join us as we have thoughtful and entertaining conversations about gaming, other media, philosophy, and a range of other topics! Twitter@pixelmeditation
Howl’s Moving Castle, released in 2003, is one of the most famous movies in the Ghibli canon of films. Clearly, Hayao Miyazaki had some interesting ideas for this film when he first conceived of it – apparently being directly inspired to make the film by the horror he was feeling from the American invasion of … Continue reading #56 How to End a War (Howl’s Moving Castle)
Would you choose to live forever? It’s an age-old question, and while the thought of not dying is tantalizing, the Greek gods might be one of our best glimpses into what life would really be like if we were to live forever. Sure, you have power, and life is relatively easy, but would there be … Continue reading #55 Do you want to live forever? (Circe)
This pandemic has certainly shifted human behavior in ways that we hardly imagined possible only a few months ago. For one, we are spending a lot more time inside than we regularly would. Like many people, we have found this time challenging, but also interesting and in this episode we try and address how you … Continue reading #54 Finding Nature Indoors
In this episode of the Pixel Meditations, we discuss minimalism, a topic that has been steadily growing in popularity in recent years. We discuss the various reasons why minimalism has become popular and some possible applications of it in our own personal lives. We talk about it from a physical perspective, as well as just … Continue reading #53 Exploring Minimalism
In this episode, we discuss the rise of Sega in the console hardware market. We talk about the Sega Master System, Genesis, Game Gear, CD, and 32X. The history of Sega's golden years are retold here.
In this episode of the Pixel Meditations, we talk about the preponderance of remakes in media right now. We start by talking about if this is a new trend in media and whether or not it has historical precedence. We get into the ways in which video games, movies, and tv shows have been remade … Continue reading #51 Remake the World (Remakes and Reboots in Media)
In the 50th episode of the Pixel Meditations, we cover one of the greatest game that has been released for the PS4 thus far, Nier: Automata. We cover all of the amazing aspects of this game from the incredible music, gameplay, and enigmatic story – getting deep into the meaning and underlying philosophy that motivated … Continue reading #50 Robots vs. Androids (Nier: Automata)
What was it like to grow up playing video games in the 90s? In this episode, the consoles, the Pokemn craze, the lack of internet, and growing up with video games is all covered.
Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast app! Such as Stitcher, Overcast, Spotify, and Pocket Casts. In this episode, Steve and Toby talk about Jack London’s famous novel, Call of the Wild. Seeing as Hollywood just released a movie based on the novel, it seemed like an appropriate time to make a podcast episode … Continue reading #48 Call of the Wild
In this episode, Steve interviews Daniel Rios, who is about to finish climbing all of Taiwan's top 100 peaks, which mostly difficult alpine treks over 3,000 meters. They talk about the history of these peaks, the difficulties and reason to even attempt these hikes, the skills needed to mountaineer, and their favorite and least favorite part of these hikes. There is a short conversation about gear and hiking in the rain, and anyone who is interested in trekking and mountains is bound to enjoy this episode.
Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast app! Such as Stitcher, Overcast, Spotify, and Pocket Casts. In this episode of the Pixel Meditations, we uncharacteristically weed into this developing and profound world event. Nobody knows where this crisis will go and how long it will last. We get into differences between different responses around … Continue reading #46 Coronavirus Crisis
In this episode, we talk about the classic video game, Bioshock. We talk about the atmosphere, the audiotapes, the story, and the combat. Everything from Rapture, to Big Daddies and Little Sisters, to plasmids is covered. The philosophy of Bioshock, objectivism, determinism, and the lack of free will also plays a huge role in this podcast episode.
Subscribe To our podcast on your favorite podcast app! Such as Stitcher, Overcast, Spotify, and Pocket Casts. In this episode of the Pixel Meditations we talk about the development of hiking in the 20th century. We cover aspects of hiking during this time such as its early philosophical underpinnings represented by thinkers such as John … Continue reading #44 All Hikers Welcome (Hiking in the 20th Century)
In this episode, we talk about Matthew Walker's book "Why We Sleep." We cover how and why we sleep, which includes circadian rhythm and adenosine, as well as how caffeine works.
We then move on the benefits of sleeping for memory and for learning new skills as well as how students and employees can do better work with more sleep. On the flip side, we also talk about the negative effects of sleep deprivation, especially on mental health and performance, but we also had to mention how fatigued drivers can actually be more dangerous than drunk drivers.
We had to talk about dreaming and REM sleep. We go into the benefits of dreaming and whether or not we should analyze dreams or not.
Lastly, we talk about society and sleep. We argue that sleep should not be stigmatized.
In this episode we cover one of the most beloved classics of modern video gaming. We tackle this episode from the perspective of what it was like to play this game when it was first released and what it is like to play it in 2020, highlighting the aspects that truly stand out and aspects … Continue reading #42 Living in a Materia World (Final Fantasy VII)
In this episode, we talk about Studio Ghibli's most successful movie, Spirited Away. This famous animation from Miyazaki is one of the best selling animations of all time. We talk about the plot, our favorite characters, fan theories, and themes such as capitalism, Japanese culture, and conservation.
In this episode, we add another addition to our Nature series which we recently started, this time with the focus on the history of hiking. We cover the topic from prehistory, through the middle ages up until the industrial revolution and right up until the beginning of the 20th century. We get into aspects of … Continue reading #40 Hiking then, and Now
In this episode, we talk about the 2010s. We talk about our personal experiences, trips in nature and how nature shaped our life experience, our favorite video games for each year, and the end of the 7th generation and beginning of the 8th generation. We end the discussion by talking about the state of podcasting, what makes a good podcast, and some of the podcasts that inspire us.
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In this episode of the Pixel Meditations we talk about our shared interest and love of nature. Particularly coming at it from the perspective of our own unique experiences in nature and what aspects of it we find the most interesting or compelling. We get into a bit about the philosophy of “What nature is” … Continue reading #38 Nature and Us
In this episode we talk about the legacy of the Playstation 4. The 8th generation of gaming was largely dominated by the PS4, having by far the greatest sales numbers and a stunning number of must play exclusives. Here we get into the nitty gritty about the hardware, what makes the PS4 so special, and … Continue reading #37 Reign of the PlayStation 4
In this episode, we talk about the state of consumerism in gaming. This episode really gets at the roots of why we made this podcast and ultimately asks the question, how do business and consumerism affect video games as pieces of art and fun media. We delve into consumerism on the gamer side as well … Continue reading #36 The Wolves of Game Street (Consumerism in Gaming)
In this episode we return to our gaming roots with a discussion on which console, the PS2 or GameCube is superior. This is a pretty long standing debate between us and one that we both have strong feelings on. We discuss this topic from the perspective of the hardware, controllers, and libraries. Obviously this episode … Continue reading #35 Grand Theft Sunshine (GC vs. PS2)
In this episode, Steve talks about Dracula and Dracula; that is Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula and Dracula Vlad Tepes. One is a pop-culture phenomenon. He’s a fictional vampire who has transcended almost any other supernatural villain in history. The other is a feared Wallachian warlord who is famous for being a brutal leader with a … Continue reading X4 Dracula vs. Dracula
In this episode, we talk about automation and how it will affect the future economy and job market. We discuss optimists vs. pessimists and whether or not new jobs will be created or taken away. This leads us to speak about how jobs may end up changing more than disappearing. Maybe it will be the … Continue reading #34 Safe Jobs in the Wave of Automation
In this episode we have an awesome conversation in the style of our JRPGs live in Japan episode that we recorded about a year ago. In this one we are in Santorini, Greece and our conversation is about how to structure a day, differences in goals, and the ultimate purpose of life. Eventually we talk … Continue reading #33 Finding Meaning Through Structure or Freedom Live from Greece
In this episode, Steve interviews Joshua Dent, a writer and stand up comedian who has had an ongoing relationship with meditation for over a decade. Josh started off with Yoga, has participated in 10-day silent treats and dedicated much of the last few years to the art of meditation. We discuss different kinds of meditation, … Continue reading #32 An Artist’s Meditation Journey
Today we talk to a returning guest Johan Vorster about his ESL business that he started in Taiwan. We cover our own experiences teaching in the ESL industry, as the unique struggles and challenges of opening a business in Asia. We opine about how foreigners might be uniquely suited to starting businesses in Asia as … Continue reading #31 Opening a Business as a Foreigner in the Heart of Asia
In this episode, we talk about YouTube, one of the most popular websites of all time. Both of us talk about our personal experiences with the website and go through the pros and cons of the service. The discussion moves onto things like the difficulty in censorship, why YouTube might have a more mass appeal … Continue reading #30 YouTube and its Impact on Us
In this episode, we talk about the Alien Franchise, but we focus mostly on the seminal first film. We talk about the atmosphere, use of dialogue, and what makes the alien and aesthetics interesting. We also go into the lore, the use of Ripley’s character, and a lot more. We are particularly fascinated with the … Continue reading #29 – Alien Franchise
In this episode, we talk about two cherished fantasy franchises: Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. We strive away from saying which is the better series, but stick to differences in style, prose, and themes. Also, we talk about the significant differences between the authors and how their different writing styles contributed to … Continue reading #28 – Lord of the Thrones
In this episode, we talk about UBI (Universal Basic Income), analyzing mostly Andrew Yang’s book, The War on Normal People, and his perspective on trying it out in his potential presidency. We talk about what UBI is, why the 1,000 USD a month proposal makes sense, how UBI can be paid for, and what the future … Continue reading #27 – UBI: Does it Fit Into the American Dream?
Toby and I talk about living abroad. Both of us have lived abroad for many years and in multiple countries. We discuss the pros and cons, the ESL work, the early days, the importance of the native language, and stuff like social life and dating. The episode does have a focus on Korea, Taiwan, and … Continue reading #26 – Meditating on Living Abroad
In this episode, Toby and Steve cover the much revered first book in the LOTR series, The Fellowship of the Ring. We discuss the pacing of the book, the social implications, Tolkiens meaning and purpose in writing the book, and pick out themes and moments that personally interested us. There are spoilers, and there are references … Continue reading #25 – The Pixel Meditations Meets the Fellowship of the Ring
In this episode, Steve talks about the legendary Konami JRPG series, Suikoden. It was a fairly popular series, having five main entries, on the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. It featured 108 characters to find, three types of battle, and deep storylines that were emotional and consequential. Steve talks about each game and the changes between them. He … Continue reading Episode X3 – Suikoden Spiel
In this episode we talk about one of the most popular games in the Final Fantasy catalogue. We get into details about the game’s relation to other FF titular titles, what sets this one apart, and the minor gripes with have with the game. Join the Conversation thepixelmeditations@gmail.com reddit.com/thepixelmeditations Twitter: @thepixelmeditation Special Thanks to Jonathan … Continue reading #24 – Final Fantasy IX
In this episode we revisit ideas we first talked about in Episode 2 of the Pixel Meditations. We wanted to get into why gaming has so much appeal to ourselves and to society in general. We talk about the different aspects of gaming’s appeal such as the idea of experiencing a simulated world, how gaming … Continue reading #23 – Motivation to Game
In our 22nd episode we talk about the classic SNES game, Yoshi’s Island. We both adore the game, and though well covered, we believed there was plenty to talk about. We go into the artistic style, the egg throwing mechanic, and other gameplay elements. We also compare it to other games like Donkey Kong Country and Mario World and enter … Continue reading #22 – Yoshi’s Island Retrospective
In this episode, we discuss Detroit Become Human, one of our favorite games from 2018. Since both of us love storytelling and philosophy, we wanted to share our thoughts on a very thought-provoking title. Gameplay, controls, cultural parallels, and plot differences etc. are explored and reflected on in this episode. Detroit Become Human was a very unique … Continue reading #21 – Detroit Become Human
We talk about the long-running amazing Metal Gear Solid series in this episode. We also talk about the series as a franchise rather than focus on one game while comparing Metal Gear Solid to other stealth series. The discussion includes the items and motifs, changes in the series, and talk about what entries we personally enjoyed the most. Big … Continue reading #20 – Metal Gear Solid
We recap 2018 in true Pixel Meditations fashion. We cover our favorite stories of 2018, major developments, our favorite games, wishlisted games, and make some prediction on 2019. We had a great time gaming in 2018, and we feel it’s a fitting end to what has been a great year. Happy holidays everyone. Please let us … Continue reading #19 – 2018: A Year in Review
Subscribe To our podcast on your favorite podcast app! Such as Sticher, Overcast, Spotify and Pocket Casts. In this episode, we talk about one of gaming’s most daring and iconic companies, Rare. Rare was a U.K based developer who had a very close relationship with Nintendo and made some of the most popular games on the NES, SNES, and N64. … Continue reading #18 – A Rare History
In this episode we delve into a really interesting topic; Public Relations in the video game industry. For this episode we welcome David Lozada. David is a PR professional in New York City with a lot of great information about the public relations industry, particularly as it pertains to video games. We both learn a … Continue reading #17 – Public Relations in the Gaming Industry
In this episode we discuss the question of whether or not old games are still worth playing? We go over what makes a game quality, the state of newness and AAA developers, and how often we still engage with retro games. There is a philosophical aspect to the conversation that touches upon why we game … Continue reading #16 – Are Old Games Worth Playing?
In this episode we talk about the new and potentially revolutionary trend of clould based streaming services. We already see these services in their infantile state for the PS4 and other systems, we discuss the possible implications of streaming video games and what 5G and other advancements will mean for video games in the future. … Continue reading #15 – Cloud Streaming Services
In this episode, we talk about one of the most controversial aspects of gaming; emulation. Emulation has pros and cons. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of playing games through the original hardware vs emulation. On top of that, we discuss the moral dilemma with emulation and whether or not emulation is a valuable addition … Continue reading #14 – To Emulate, or not Emulate
In this episode, Steve does another solo podcast talking about one of gamings greatest, yet most forgotten translation/localization publishing teams, Working Designs. Famous mostly for the Lunar RPG series, Working Designs was known for extra items packaged with the games, beautiful cover/disc artwork, quirky dialogue, and utterly beautiful storytelling and aesthetics. Steve talks about the … Continue reading Episode X2 – Working Designs
In this episode, we talk about what makes a great horror video game. We go through a bunch of examples of notable games in the genre. Titles included in our discussion range from games released in the 8-bit era to present. We talk about our favorites and our experiences playing scary games as well as … Continue reading #13 – Spooky Gaming
In this episode we talk about the Nintendo Switch. We compare the 2017 launch year with 2018 and talk about our favorite, least favorite, and wishlist games. We also go into how the Nintendo Switch stacks against the other consoles and whether or not the Nintendo Switch will effect decisions on Sony and Microsoft’s new … Continue reading #12 – Nintendo Switch Reflections
In this episode, we talk about arcades from the 20th century. We go into the early history, development, and trends within arcades and how they relate to consoles. We talk about our favorite games and ways to play. Also, we welcome Jonathan Mcdougall, a gaming and arcade enthusiast with a lot of experience playing arcades … Continue reading #11 – Arcades
In this episode Toby and Steve talk about the less fun side of video games and explore the negative effects they can have. They talk about stuff like rage quitting, playing too much, and spending too much money on video games etc. There is a blend of journalistic commentary and fun anecdotal narrative; the second … Continue reading #10 – Gaming RAAAAGE!
In this episode Steve goes on to talk about one of Sega’s most overlooked consoles, the Sega Saturn. He comments on the history that led up the console’s creation, it’s failure and eventual demise. Everything is outlined in an intelligent and engaging look at the Saturn and Sega in the mid-90s. On top of that, … Continue reading Episode X1 – Sega Saturn Story
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In this episode, we discuss PC gaming versus consoles. Which is better? We discuss Steam and the genres like first person shooters that are generally better on a PC, but we also get into the simplicity of consoles and how the controllers can feel so good. The pros and cons are fleshed out as well as digital games, controllers, and the culture of each group.
We are live from Japan talking about JRPGs. From Final Fantasy to Persona 5 to Dragon Quest. We talk about the best JRPGS like Chrono Trigger, FF7, Suikoden, Persona, Neir Automata. From the Nintendo Switch to the PS4, what were the best? We also talk about retro gaming and older RPGs.
In this episode, we discuss gaming in East Asia. How do gamers and video game preferences differ between the east and the west. Even Japan, who prefers video game consoles is quite different than Korea where PC gaming and mobile games are more popular.
The SNES classic Super Mario World vs the new Nintendo Switch Mario Odyssey. Both games are amazing platformers and achievements in the world of gaming. The level design, the music, the gameplay; these are two truly amazing video games.
This is a podcast about God of War on the PlayStation 4 (PS4). It is one of the most popular video games of all time, and it is one of the best games on the PS4. It has an amazing story, strategic gameplay, and Kratos has much more depth than before.
We talk about the current generation of gaming. Our interest here is the accomplishments of this generation, some of our personal highlights and how we think this gen fits into the overall history of gaming. Follow us on social media and share/like on itunes. Facebook.com/thepixelmeditations Twitter: @pixelmeditation
In this episode, we talk about why we play video games. Video games are not just for children; they are also for adults. Why are video games considered lesser than cinema and literature? We talk about some of our favorite Nintendo and PlayStation games as well as how the media portrays gamers.
We talk about Zelda Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch. This is one of the best open world RPGs of all time, and this was also our very first podcast. Enjoy our discussion!
In this podcast, we introduce ourselves and say a little bit about what we are about. We address the obvious issues of our first three podcasts and our hopes and ideas for where we will take the Pixel Meditations in the future. Follow us on social media and share/like on itunes. Facebook.com/thepixelmeditations Twitter: @pixelmeditation