No Word Count - Outrage Free Discussion: Recent Episodes
Michael O'Connor
What exactly is Mindset Coaching? I'm glad you asked - because Victoria has the answer to that one, and how it can help you to develop yourself more as a person.
The Hero: They're the foundation of almost every story. Noble, moral and righteous, they embody everything we strive to be, and inspire us to do better…
The Anti-Hero: Flawed. Damaged. Morally dubious. Although their journeys are always one of discovery, the road their journeys take are often fraught with questionable actions and deeds.
For every Superman, you have a Batman. For everyone Professor X, you have a Magneto. Media is full to the brim with characters who walk that fragile line between good and evil, between what is right and what is wrong… and often step over it.
Who are your personal favourites?
Great villains are fantastic, aren't they?
In many of the greatest tales ever told, the narrative is focused around the hero's journey, as we watch them grow into a better person through the experiences that they have and the conflicts that they face.
Often, the cause of those conflicts stem from a character who opposes the ideas that the heroes holds dear, reflecting them back at the audience as they attempt to tear them apart.
Batman has the Joker, Luke Skywalker has Darth Vader, Ripley has the Xenomorph, The Losers Club has Pennywise… and the whole universe had Thanos.
In your eyes, who deserves to be crowned as the greatest villain of all time?
PTSD is a deeply personal disorder that effects millions of people. It's also one that is very misunderstood. Thanks to LilliranaG and @TeshyGames, we were able to take the time to dispel many of the myths and misconceptions surrounding it.
For most of gaming's history, its core audience was primarily male focused.
Generally, video games were designed to appeal to male-centric interests, and the characters in those games represented that fact - the heroes were often hyper-masculine ciphers for the player to project themselves onto, and female characters existed purely as a victory trophy reward for completely the game.
Thankfully, as video games have grown and evolved - especially in the last decades - this is no longer the case.
People of all walks live life are now creating their own characters, ones that more accurately represent them and their own life experiences, and the landscape of video game storytelling is a far more diverse place as a result.
What games do you think have done an exemplary job at promoting diversity, and what characters do you think stand out the most in highlighting it?
Octopus. Cauliflower. Spam. These are just a handful of the most vile, horrific tasting foods to every grace our lives…
…but for some reason, there are still people who enjoy them. Because taste is a highly subjective thing.
One person's favourite food is another person's greatest poison. Your favourite delicacy may be something that most people can't bear to eat, and your most detested edibles may be something that the rest of the world adores…
What is the most horrible tasting food you've ever personally been exposed to?
Remakes seem to be an almost monthly topic of discussion here on No Word Count. Often times we tend to ask "Should they be remade?" or "Are there too many renames?" This time, our question has a far more positive spin…
There are countless movies out there that were powerful and relevant when they released, but haven't aged gracefully at all. There are TVs that captured people's hearts and imagination decades ago, but could be elevated to new heights if they released today, thanks to decades of learning and technological progress. And there are definitely games that were groundbreaking in their day, but the passage of time has rendered them nearly unplayable by modern standards…
If you could remake something, anything, built from the ground with modern sensibilities and created to modern standards… what would it be?
There used to be a saying amongst gamers that "graphics don't make a game". And this was very true.... in the past.Visual fidelity is something that has improved with every passing year of the medium. It has come on leaps and bounds in the last few decades, and it will continue to grow beyond our wildest imagination for many more decades to come.For some developers, this means more realistic looking graphics, determined to break the barrier of the uncanny valley and look true to life. For others, it was an opportunity to create something that looked completely unique and different to anything else we've seen before - art, by the literal definition of the term.Regardless of your preferences, whether its realistic, abstract or somewhere comfortably in the middle, what is the most visually delightful game that you've ever laid your eyes on?
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, and many people coming forward to talk about the abuse that they've experienced, learning how to effectively respond to and acknowledge victims has become increasingly important. MaggieLaughs talks to TeshyGames and I about the most effective ways we can go about doing so.
MaggieLaughs joins me and honorary speaker TeshyGames to talk about building the dreams you hope to achieve, and how she cultivated her "homestead of healing"
There was a time, many years ago, where names such as "The Secret of Monkey Island", "Populous", "Ultima" and "Dungeon Keeper" were synonymous with gaming as whole.You couldn't pick up a magazine or read an online BBS without their names cropping up again and again. Many of these games encapsulated genres that reigned supreme in their time. They defined entire generations of our favourite hobby... but nowadays, you'll only hear them in passing, in quiet whispers, in hushed tones reminiscing about "the gold old days".Yet even today, there are genres that have carved out niche followings amongst dedicated fans - point and click games and adventure games are still being developed and released for those hungry for more of them - but they still remain immensely under-appreciated.What genres (and the games that defined them) do you think are criminally underrated, and deserve far more love than they ever received?
"Sell Out!"It's a term that is throw around the internet so much nowadays that it's largely lost any meaning it once had. Ceddy (Green Dumpling) talks to us about why it's okay to make a living in this field, at what point it actually becomes "selling out", as well as the most important discussion of them all... pineapple on pizza?!
The energetic and entertaining Ceddy (Green Dumpling) sits down with No Word Count to talk about what it's like being stick in the perpetual outrage machine of the internet, where he gets the energy to be so entertaining, and the stigmas that he's had to face throughout his career.
Fear. It's an emotion we're all familiar with. That evolutionary response our body manifests that allows us to run from things we perceive as genuine threats. It's a feeling that horror movies have successfully instilled in us for decades, through countless classics films - The Exorcist, The Shining, The Ring...There are some arguments to made that scary films aren't as scary as they used to be, that the lack the same weight and tension that they used to. There are also arguments to be made that horror is more terrifying now than its ever been... just for very different reasons.When was the last time you watched a new horror film? Do you feel they still have the same impact on your that they used to, or have they simply lost their sense of fear?
To quote, or not to quote, THAT is the community question:Whether 'tis nobler in geekdom to spreadThe phrases and words of your favourite show,Or to take lines completely out of context...And by quoting them? To share—to thinkOnce more; and by a thought to say we knewThe meaning and the depth behind those words...Quotes are a powerful thing. Memorable phrases and powerful words that stick with you long after you've watched a show or listened to a song or read a book...What are your own personal favourites?
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the world, from healthcare to tourism to entertainment. Allan Rafferty talks to us about his unique experiences during the pandemic, and how people in the entertainment industry have been adjusting to the "new normal".
Achievement is hard. It takes time, effort and dedicated passion for what you do. Allan Rafferty sits down and talks to us about his journey through entertainment, from his earliest days as a kid attempting to make Harry Potter fan films, up until the present day.
During video game's earliest days, the capabilities of hardware to display…well… anything, was extremely limited. A character would be limited to a few dots, and locations would be made of abstract, simplistic shapes.As the years progress, these simplistic characters evolved into more detailed shapes, and "pixel art" grew into its own visual art form, giving us expressive characters such as Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog.Of course, technology continued to evolve. Video games suddenly became exploitable in the 3rd dimension, and pixel art slowly fell out of fashion.Both tend to have their own merits and benefits over the other, but what is is your own personal preference when it comes to pixel art graphics?
What is the secret sauce to streaming success?The reality is... there isn't one.Most "Twitch streamer advice", whilst well meaning, doesn't actually work. It consistently lacks any data to back itself up, & most of it is just designed to make you feel better about yourself. Real advice comes with hard truths... and DaBesJared has a lot of hard truths to share.Speaker: Septeques
Gaming and fitness are not two things that people tend to associate with each other. That's about to change - Dharma gives us detailed insight into how she balances her own two hobbies, what we can do to find our own balance, and also offers advice on how to adjust tour exercise routines in a time of isolation and social distancing.
The frank and forward DharmaKarmaStar joins us today to discuss her own personal history with fitness, how she things the fitness scene has evolved over the years, and what she plans to do to make it more accessible for everybody.
Almost 5 years after it's original reveal, the Final Fantasy VII Remake is finally here!RPG enthusiast Kheldhinn and huge FFVII fan TakeOnMe joined me on this fantastic episode to discuss the cultural relevance of the original game, how the remake holds up in comparison, our thoughts on the ending... and whether the game should even have been remade at all.
With every years that passes in gaming, graphics get better, games continue to get more complex, and the scale of the worlds we visit grows exponentially. Technological growth has defined the evolution of the gaming industry since its beginning, and continues to do so to this day. Likewise, not everyone is looking for the most powerful hardware, or the nicest graphics. They want an experience that they can carry around with them, to play their favourite games whenever they want. Portability is everything to them, and has become an increasingly more important element of gaming in recent years.If you want power, you have to sacrifice portability. If you want portability, you have to sacrifice power. The two of directly opposed, and you can rarely get both at the same time... at least not at a price that is reasonable for the average consumer.Which of these options do you think is going to define the market the most going forward? And which do you personally prefer?
Speakers: DeathRacerChevy & Septeques
Music is the unquestionably the greatest connective tissue of any great piece of creative work.Be it the the crazy, eclectic tunes of Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, the classical construction of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, or the dramatic orchestral flair of Final Fantasy VII's final battle, a great musical score can come to define a game, movie or TV series almost always as the media itself. What is your favourite soundtrack? That perfect collection of music that your mind constantly returns to as an essential element of the memories that make up your most cherished experiences...
Speakers: DeathRacerChevy & Septeques
A.K.A. A DEEP DISCUSSION WITH A MUPPET ABOUT THE INHERENT VALUE OF HUMOUR IN VIDEO GAMESLarryIRL, DeathRacerChevy and I discuss the funniest games we've ever played, and why we think humour is such an underrated and underutilised element of game design.We also try (badly) to sing the Pinky and the Brain theme song multiple times.
Copying and iterating on ideas is a process that has existed in game design since pretty much the founding days of the medium. A unique idea is created, and turns out to be a huge success.This idea is then expanded upon countless different ways... until the concept runs its inevitable course and something else new and different takes its place.It happened with coin guzzling arcade machines and home consoles in the 80s. It happened with mascot driven platformers and excessive violence in the 90s. It happened with casual games and sandbox titles in the 00's. And the 10s have unanimously been defined by survival games... and battle royales.The argument can be made that the battle royale genre has been over-saturated, drowning in formulaic derivative games that don't really add anything unique to the formula. But battle royale is just one of many genres in need of reinvention...How would you "fix" these over saturated genres? What would you do to reinvigorate and reinvent ideas that have already run their course.
Speakers: DeathRacerChevy & Septeques
The astoundingly entertaining LarryIRL joins us for a show unlike any we've ever done before... an interview with a muppet!What's his life story? What makes Larry tick? CAN HE SING?!
In the second part of our Dumb Questions special, Lotty and Septeques, Lotty and Septeques "help" me to answer even more ridiculous questions from the community, eventually leading to the consideration of us doing a dance number together...
Speakers: LottyTheCat & Septeques
Apologies for the delay in uploads, folks. It has been a hectic and adaptive few weeks due to Covid-19. We're back on track!In part one of our semi-regular Dumb Questions segments, we... answer really dumb questions submitted to us by our Discord community. It does exactly what it says on the tin!
Speakers: LottyTheCat & Septeques
For part 2 of our Strategy Game Showdown, Words presents Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri as his personal choice for the best 4X strategy game ever made!
Guest: BearlyTacticalSpeaker: Septeques
Check out the show live at twitch.tv/nowordcount
In the first part of our Strategy Game Showdown, BearlyTactical presents us with his personal choice for the best grand strategy game - Total War: Three Kingdoms!
Guest: BearlyTacticalSpeaker: Septeques
Check out the show live at twitch.tv/nowordcount
Strategy game aficionado BearlyTactical sits down with us to discuss his love for the strategy game genre - how he initially fell in love with the genre, how it influenced him over the years, and what it means for him going forward!
Guest: BearlyTacticalSpeaker: Septeques
If Check out the show live at twitch.tv/nowordcount!
Water levels have garnered something of a notorious reputation in video games over the years. Why exactly are they despised so much? Is the hate for them even rightfully deserved..?
Speakers: Lotty The Cat and AWNR
If you would like to submit you own questions to the show, check out the channel at twitch.tv/nowordcount
The people, the places, and the psychological foundation that holds the Pokemon world together is a little twisted, when you stop to think about it. If you applied our own real world logic to the setting of Pokemon... just how messed up is it?
Speakers: Lotty The Cat and AWNR
If you would like to submit you own questions to the show, check out the channel at twitch.tv/nowordcount
You have been given the opportunity to stand face to face with your favourite fictional character, but you only have enough time to ask them one single question. What do you ask them? And more importantly... what do you think their answer would be?
Speakers: Lotty The Cat and AWNR
If you'd like to submit you own questions for our consideration, check out the channel and show at twitch.tv/nowordcount!
For our latest Relevant Review, Chris from ChromaGlitch and TakeOnMike join me to discuss the latest season for Castlevania. Does it live up the high standards of the previous two season? And what did we think of the new cast of characters?!
Guests: Chris (ChromaGlitch) and TakeOnMike
If you'd like to catch our shows live, check us out at twitch.tv/nowordcount!
What lies in store for the Marvel Cinematic Universe?! For our latest Great Debate, Teshy, Pixie and I have a comprehensive discussion about all the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows, as well as theorising about where we think the MCU is heading in the years ahead!
Guest: TeshyGamesSpeaker: LevelUpPixie
If you'd like to catch our shows live, check us out at twitch.tv/nowordcount!
In our latest No Word Count, we sit down and talk with TeshyGames, a talented lady whose passion for positivity is only surpassed by her love for her puppies! We talk about mental health, chronic illness, and how to build a positive platform on the internet.
Guest: TeshyGamesSpeaker: LevelUpPixie
If you enjoy our podcasts, you can check out the show live at twitch.tv/nowordcount!
What is that one song your brain refuses to let go of? That you never, ever get tired of hearing, and you can never resist the urge to belt out at the top of your lungs in the shower during the middle of the night?!
Speakers: Lotty The Cat and AWNR
If you'd like to submit you own question to the show, check out the channel at twitch.tv/nowordcount!
Should the price of a game match the length of its experience? Should smaller, shorter games come with a lower price tag... and would you be more inclined to buy them if they did?Speakers: Lotty The Cat and AWNRIf you would like to submit you own question, check out the channel and show live at twitch.tv/nowordcount!
Lotty sits down with me to watch and discuss the Animal Crossing Nintendo Direct, going into details on the many features and new content that were revealed, including...
- Museum glow up- Milestone system- Mystery Island Tours- Character customisation- Best friend system- Stairs- Terraforming
The Sonic The Hedgehog movie released last week, & it's redesign has gone down a hit - the movie is already breaking records for video game movies. But is it actually any good?! Does it capture the essence of the character? Is it a fun time? Or it just a trainwreck of a movie?
DeathRacerChevy and LevelUpPixie sat down with me for RELEVANT REVIEW: Sonic The Hedgehog!
Birds of Prey released this week to divisive opinions, wild comparisons & heavy gate-keeping on all sides. Is there any merit to the claim that the movie promotes a "feminist agenda"? Is that a mark for or against it? And more importantly... IS THE MOVIE ACTUALLY ANY GOOD?!
DeathRacerChevy and LevelUpPixie sat down with me for our first ever RELEVANT REVIEW, to discuss all aspects of the movie and come to a decisive conclusion!