Option Menu Crew Podcast: Recent Episodes
Option Menu Crew
We had some fun over the last year and some change. We get most of the crew members back to discuss whatever gaming news we want and reflect a bit on the podcast. Thanks to any and all listeners. And Thank You to the crew!
Beyond the types of games we play, beyond the devices we use to game, we are also consuming, learning, and discussing video games in a whole new way. The internet, streaming, podcasts, let's plays, and more have become part of gaming culture. Fans are creating their own content around games in huge quantities. Of course, the industry wants to get its hands in the works, despite all the new free advertising. On this episode, we discuss as many different aspects of how fan content creation is involved with this amazing hobby.
Video games come in all shapes and sizes. There have always been games of larger and smaller scope. In the last several years, more developers as part of smaller studios and even individuals with a dream have entered the space, bringing incredible creations to the rest of us. However, bigger studios and publishers sometimes play a part in bringing these unique games to us, and games that come from humble beginnings can grow into massive cultural forces. We explore what it means to be an "Indie game" in this day and age.
Every new game starts with an announcement. Not every announcement is equal. It feels good to get hyped up when a new game looks fun, but that hype gets used against us as well. We discuss our favorite and least ways to have video games marketed.
The crew has actually made some progress on a bunch of games, so we decided to chat about our thoughts on them. Here's what we talk about.
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Persona 5 Royal
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Elden Ring
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Yakuza: Like A Dragon
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Triangle Strategy
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Scarlet Nexus
Also, one of us has a Steam Deck now! So, we go over initial impressions. Join in on the discussion in the comments.
One of the hottest topics in the gaming landscape these days. We've finally hit a technologic plateau where games can look great and have great framerates, but there are still struggles. From holdover feelings about previous generation performance, to optimization issues per platform, the debate rages on where quality lies for video game visuals.
This is the fifth part of the Monetization series. We discuss the concept of "voting with your wallet" and just how complicated the reality of it is. We discuss how the video game industry demonstrates that it doesn't matter when many don't spend, it only cares about the few that spend a ton. Also, how publishers misinterpret the reasons for failure of some games.
On this episode, we get into what we like and don't like about the video game console cycles and generations we've experienced so far. Dating back to Nintendo Entertainment System, and all consoles following after, has it been worthwhile to see so many revamps, revisions, and iterations in the styles there have been? What could be done better going forward? How much time between consoles is far? And how does/should that change into the future.
This week, Platinum reveals their plans for the future including a possible revival of Scalebound for the Xbox! Microsoft further clarifies their position on multi-platform games to reassure consumers, developers, and regulators alike. Nvidia keeps growing, surpassing Facebook in market capitalization. Finally, Nintendo releases a new Direct with tons of new games and we highlight our favorites.
The crew discusses what defines a remake and remaster for video games. How do they get them right, and what could go wrong. Extensive thoughts are shared in Final Fantasy 7 Remake and other games, so BEWARE SPOILERS! Enjoy!
This week, Playstation strikes back at Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard by buying Bungie. Also, SEGA sells off its Arcade business in Japan, and the Switch has officially outsold the Wii. This is another crazy week of news, and we're happy to be able to discuss it.
We’re back, just like we said we’d be, with another week of news. We start with a bunch of small stories like Dark Souls bugs, COD on PS5, Steam Deck, and unionization at Activision Blizzard. After that we go deep into the Nvidia ARM acquisition and a win for YouTube fair use. All that and more in a neat little package for your listening pleasure!
The first half of 2022 is pretty stacked and the rest of the year has some bangers to look forward to. The Crew discusses the games we know about that are coming out this year, what might come out in 2022, and what we hope to hear about.
Join us for the inaugural episode of Option Menu Crew Hot Fixes! In our first news episode, the crew discusses in-depth the biggest news of 2022 - Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard. Whether you're an Xbox or Playstation fan, this development will change what and how you play. We also cover a few smaller stories but you’ll have to listen to find out!
What a year it's been all around! Video games had a lot of ups and downs in 2021, but there were definitely great times to be had. We gather the crew to discuss what games we've played this year and argue about which of our picks will be the official OMC GOTY for 2021. Also, we check in on the progress of our New Year's Resolutions from the 2020 GOTY episode.
Happy New Years to everyone and we wish you a wonderful 2022!
Video games are inherently interactive. So it's very important to get a chance to try the games. It can be quite pricey to experiment. Luckily there are multiple ways to get some exposure before you make a full investment. On this episode, we discuss video game demos, trials, and rentals.
We all start somewhere. Video Games are kind of a language unto themselves. Whether you were playing in the heyday of instruction manuals and strategy guides or learned with in-game tutorials and online videos, it takes time to understand how to play video games. We discuss where we began and the current state of how video games teach us how to play them.
Video games are inherently replayable, even if there are no objective incentives, like alternate endings, unlockables, secrets, or otherwise, to do so. We bring a lot of personal and subjective value assessment to what we'll pay for a game, and how long we're willing to play them. But, should that factor into the pricing for games?
Video Games aren't a cheap hobby, especially in the past when all games were sold only physically. We discuss the state of the used game market in this day and age, and what place it could serve the ever more digital future.
Side Quests are a fundamental part of video games. They aren't just limited to RPGs. In modern gaming, it can seem like most of our adventures are made of objectives other than the primary one.
We discuss what makes them good, bad, what kind of objectives are even considered side quests, and what we would like to see more and less of.
On this episode, we talk about licensed games in the industry. These kinds of games and their use of properties from all of media have had an incredible history from being notoriously awful to getting the respect they deserve. Although we are still stuck in a weird middle ground, there is hope for the future. We get into it and discuss reality, hopes, and fears.
On this episode, we discuss the merits of turn-based games in comparison to real-time games. Whether that's action games, RPGs, or the other sub-genres, both styles of gameplay offer different experiences, appealing to different types of people, and have room to grow in their respective features sets. And what about those games that use a hybrid of the two? Listen and find out!
Concluding our mini-series on platform-specific discussions, we talk about the state of mobile gaming. Whether you’re on iPhone or Android, the future of gaming is changing rapidly, as well as impacting the entire industry.
We continue our series of platform-specific discussions with PC gaming. We touch on Windows, Mac, Steam, Epic Game Store, the Steam Deck, and various other points surrounding the on-going PC gaming scene.
Next week is the final platform discussion - Mobile Gaming!
Continuing the platform-specific discussions, this episode is on Xbox. Just like Nintendo and Sony, you'll get a bit of our personal history with the platform, our thoughts on where Microsoft has succeeded and failed with the brand, and where we want to see it go into the future.
Continuing the series of episodes reviewing the major platforms, we talk about Playstation. We touch on the consoles, portables, VR, and services Sony has been offering over the years, where they are succeeding, and where improvement is deserved.
Note, this episode was recorded before the reveal of the Nintendo Switch OLED Model
This episode kicks off our mini-series of discussions focusing on the major gaming platforms. We start with Nintendo. We give a little personal history with the consoles and games. Taking into account what was announced at E3 2021, we share our thoughts and feelings of where we would like to see Nintendo go in the future.
Next episode is Playstation!
Nintendo finally announces the next model of Switch and...well...it's not quite what we expected/suspected/hoped. Rumors of the Switch Pro have led to this moment and we felt strong enough about the reveal of Nintendo Switch (OLED model) to do another React episode.
We look at the E3 news, decide what we care about and what we don't, and go over how this full-digital E3 faired in our enthusiast opinions. It was certainly an interesting year for video games, but there were definitely pleasant surprises.
On this episode, we discuss Difficulty settings in videos. All the different types out there, the various assistive modes and customizable variables that help players choose what kind of experience they want in the game.
We discuss video game reviews - How we feel about review scores versus no scores, what is and isn't useful information, how Game-as-Service models and DLC should factor into reviews, and much more.
This week's episode is another in the monetization series. We discuss what the base price of games should be, what currently goes into the pricing, and how we think and feel about how the various aspects of modern games (DLC, microtransactions, etc.) could or should affect the base price of games.
We realize this is a huge topic and this will not be the last time we talk about this. Look forward to more facets of video game monetization being discussed and/or revisited in future episodes!
On this episode, we each pretend to take over complete creative control of one of our favorite video game franchises, taking over directing duties for all future game developments. We go over what new kinds of games we would create, how we would treat the historical entries of the series, and more.
This week, we discuss video game controllers. The history of their designs, what features we like, what we don't, and how we want them to evolve going forward. We get into the different console controllers of Xbox, Nintendo, and Playstation, along with third-party controllers, premium controllers, and the experimental like the Steam controller.
On this episode we talk about video game merchandise. The items we have, the types we like and want to see more of, topping it all off with merch that doesn't exist yet. This includes special and collector's edition items along with plenty of standalone items. Of course, amiibo come up a lot for us but Playstation and Xbox merch are definitely in the mix. We only touch on a fraction of possible items so feel free to mention others in the comments. We'll probably do another episode on this topic in the future.
On this episode, we have some fun and imagine we get to make video game themed wishes from a magical genie. We discuss our individual 3 wishes, and then come to a consensus on one set, along with a bonus wish with a Monkey's Paw style drawback. As always with Genie wishes, there are rules. These were ours:
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You can't wish for more wishes or do-overs.
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You can't wish for every to be free.
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You can't wish for a real person to die (video games characters are allowed).
On this episode, we continue our on-going discussion of monetization systems in the video game industry (from a consumer standpoint). We focus on Downloadable Content (DLC), season passes, expansions, and a little bit on microtransactions.
We discuss our thoughts and feelings on current industry practices, and discuss how we think things should be. Our primary question is what is fair and acceptable for consumers and developers and publishers.
At the start of the episode, we briefly review our thoughts on the recent Playstation State of Play and the Pokemon Presentation.
Instead of doing a typical GAME OF THE YEAR! list or discussion, we go over the most notable games the crew played in 2020, regardless whether they came out that year or not. Discovering new fun video games, no matter the release date, is something to celebrate. In addition, we go over our thoughts on gaming in 2020, and for fun, we each make our own Gaming New Year's Resolution.
On today's episode, we go over our thoughts on the story and gameplay of The Last of Us Part 1 & 2, and yes, it's FULL OF SPOILERS.
We discuss the current state of multiplayer games, what we enjoy about multiplayer games, our personal preferences and issues with them, along with a wish list of features we hope to see more platforms and games take advantage of in the future.
We kick off a series of episodes in which the crew discusses their thoughts on the many aspects of the way video games are monetized. This episode starts us off with discussion subscriptions in video games. More specifically, we focus on the services allowing us to play libraries of games, rather than any one particular title. The likes of Xbox Game Pass, Playstation Now, and Nintendo Online are discussed by the crew, with pros, cons, and concepts for improving or expanding subscriptions.
On this episode, we pick up from our previous discussion of the Resident Evil series. We focus on our favorite (and least favorite) characters, along with sharing our thoughts on how we would like Resident Evil: Code Veronica to hopefully be remade someday.
One of has a Playstation 5 and Oculus Quest 2, but we've been playing new games on new hardware (in one form or another).
Games mentioned on the episode:
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2
Crash Bandicoot 4: Its About Time
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Fire Emblem Three Houses DLC Expansion: Cindered Shadows
Rachet and Clank (2016)
Half-Life Alyx
The Room VR: A Dark Matter
Spider-Man Miles Morales
BugSnax
On this episode, we discuss how video games can affect mental health, and the many aspects that go into this very nuanced topic.
On this episode, we discuss the video game series Resident Evil. We share our history with series, discuss the various game elements that make the series special to us, and dissect the features. Also, we get into what we would do to remake several of the games that haven't been remade yet. We had so much to say that we decide to pick up the conversation in an upcoming follow-up episode. Like the zombies of the series, this conversation will be coming back to life!
On this episode, we talk video games that both use an anime art style, or are based off existing anime series. We talk our history with them, the evolution of the art as gaming generations progressed, and what dream anime games we'd like to see in the future.
Get some recommendations on good games that just so happen to use Anime art styles:
Disgaea series (Strategy RPG)
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir (Sidescroller RPG)
Asura's Wrath (Action)
Gravity Rush 1 and 2 (Action Adventure)
Doing another fun episode, The Crew discusses all the many adaptations of video games that consist of movies and TV shows, our favorites, our least favorites, known upcoming projects, and what would be our individual dream projects. There are A LOT of adaptations. Seriously, go Google them and look on Wikipedia. We didn't even really talk about Comics/Books that are expanded universe fiction. That would require its own episode (and for us to read some of them).
On this episode, we decide to keep it light and just talk about the games we have played in the past few months, and the latest news in gaming that we are most concerned with.
Games we discuss: Vader Immortal (PSVR), Marvel's Iron Man (PSVR), Marvel's Avengers (PS4), Marvel's Ultimate Alliance 3 (Switch), Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch), Tokyo Mirage Session #FE Encore (Switch), The Last of Us Part 2 (PS4), Ghost of Tsushima (PS4), Control Ultimate Edition (PC)
News: PS5 and Xbox Series X|S pricing, Oculus Quest 2, Next-Gen game pricing
COWABUNGA! On this episode, Paul and Ryan discuss their history with the franchise of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (cartoons, movies, comics, and of course the video games) then present their own personal ideal TMNT games that they would create if given the chance.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been around for a while, as a continuation to the Wii U release, and Mike can't wait for another entry to release. We talk about what we would want in a potential Mario Kart 9 (10?) based off previous games and our own ideas.
On this episode of the podcast, we discuss some of the news from the Japan Fighting Game Publishers Roundtable event, our history with fighting games, leading into what we want to see happen with the future of the fighting game genre.
We finally see more information on games coming to Xbox Series X. We discuss the information we did and didn't get during the showcase, compare the presentation to Sony, and speculate on future Xbox announcements.
There was a lot to talk about after the big Playstation 5 reveal event. So many games. Weird looking system. And it's time to compare notes on what Xbox has revealed so far. We talk about all the games in the PS5 event, as well as speculate on the various points of consideration for next generation video gaming. We're hoping to have the Xbox Games Showcase episode out much sooner, so look forward to that.
At a time when the world is not in the greatest of places (to say the least), we think it's important to give ourselves a bit of a mental recharge to discuss some happy moments. This episode has the crew discussing stories from our personal lives in which gaming had a positive impact on our real lives. These kinds of stories can span from particular moments within games inspiring us, or just games being a part of some meaningful moments in our lives.
This is the official first episode of the Option Menu Crew podcast. On our debut episode, decided to get in the flow of podcasting by just talking about the latest games we've been playing. On this episode we discuss: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Gears 5 Mario Kart Tour Pokemon Sword & Shield
While Super Smash Bros Ultimate is an incredible game, most likely it will the a crescendo for the series. A reboot is most likely happening in the future, resetting the roster, and who knows what else.
We discuss what we would do if put in charge of making this reboot, in terms of how we would reform the roster with some simple rules:
Only 25 Returning Characters
Only 10 Brand New Characters
Hear how we handle this challenge, and then discuss what kinds of features we want in the next Smash Bros game.