Bring Out Your Geeks!: Recent Episodes
Devon Dozlaw
Bring out Your Geeks! is a podcast that explores the geeky hobbies and interests of Saskatchewan-based artists. Hosted by Devon Dozlaw, and created with the help of the Creative City Centre, BOYG is designed to provide a more comprehensive view of artists from various media by delving into the dorky things they love that get overlooked in other interviews about their work. It seeks to humanize artists, and forge community through geeking out hard.
**For the season 2 finale of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and Judd finally sit down to discuss Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64. We’ve covered a lot of games on this podcast that live on in infamy, but this is one of the most revered games on the Nintendo 64, and it regularly tops lists of the greatest movie tie-in games of all time. Most fans remember playing round after round of the iconic multiplayer into the wee hours of the night, and while we touch on the innovative multiplayer modes, our main mission is still to examine the plot, characters, locales, and themes of the game to those elements from the movie. Get those martinis ready, it’s time to discuss the third besting-selling N64 game of all time, with the sexiest pause music, the golden gun of movie tie-in video games: Goldeneye 007.
0:00:00 Intro/Farewell
0:17:48 IMDB Dive
0:30:04 Where We’re Coming From
0:53:10 Plot
1:02:57 Time Machine Time
1:07:58 Plot Cont’d
1:36:00 Characters
2:05:45 Setting
2:13:39 Tone/Music
2:22:33 Rate, Recap and Recommend**
**For this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and Bart do a deep dive on one of the most beloved movie games of all time. Thanks to its Rockstar pedigree, fans of the “Grand Theft Auto” games knew what to expect with “The Warriors,” but the care that the developers put into everything from the brawler combat to the score, was rare in a movie game. The characters, locales, and conflict from the film all make it into the game, but rather than jumping in right where the movie starts, the game takes its time establishing and expanding upon these elements, before catching up to the events of the film. However, even though the developers earned a lot of praise for their ambitious adaptation, “The Warriors” is a product of its time, and there’s a lot to laugh and cringe at. Can you dig it?!
0:00:00 Intro
0:06:33 IMDB Dive
0:14:25 Where We’re Coming From
0:17:50 Plot
0:31:52 Time Machine Time
0:39:24 Plot Cont’d
1:21:00 Characters
1:50:10 Setting
1:59:27 Tone
2:05:55 Rate, Recap, Recommend**
**In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and Bart get to geek out about the Watchmen. In “Watchmen: The End is Nigh” the player, or players (since the game has local co-op) get to control Night Owl and Rorschach as they pair up and beat the ever-living-hell out of anyone they see. Bikers, top-knotted gang members, disco-loving, bell-bottomed bachelors, and sex workers are among the many punching bags who find themselves between our heroes and their pursuit of justice, and even though there is a seemingly endless supply of faces to punch, the disparate crime-fighters find plenty of time for political debate, and in the case of Rorschach, bleak, end-times poetry and gruff caveman speak
0:00:00 Intro
0:07:36 IMDB Dive
0:17:13 Where We’re Coming From
0:36:20 Time Machine Time
0:39:50 The Film Vs. The End Is Nigh Part 1
1:43:17 The Film Vs. The End Is Night Part 2
2:22:43 Rate, Recap and Recommend**
In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and Jackson sit down to discuss another beloved horror franchise with “Evil Dead: Fistful of Boomstick” for the PS2/Xbox. The game tells its own story, and gets some points for its outlandish premise: some fresh translations of the Necronomicon are read live on a talk show, which unleashes some familiar horrors on Dearborn Michigan, and Ash, voiced by Bruce Campbell, needs to travel to various different time periods to fix the blunder. It’s got enough one-liners to fill a log cabin, and an aggravating, endless supply of deadites that the player can dismember with an impressive arsenal of toys that includes dynamite, molotov cocktails, shotguns, pistols, katanas and of course, Ash’s handy chainsaw.
0:00:00 Intro
0:10:46 IMDB Dive
0:19:06 Where We’re Coming From
0:31:47 Plot
0:44:00 Time Machine Time
0:49:27 Plot Cont’d
1:06:51 Characters
1:30:17 Setting
1:36:26 Tone
1:43:33 Rate, Recap, Recommend
**In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Project, Devon and Camille sit down to compare the Blair Witch movies to the Blair Witch video game from 2019. Since this is a Halloween episode, they warm up by shooting the breeze about horror movies, each sharing some of their faves from various eras. From there, they examine the plot, characters and setting of the game, making connections, and identifying big differences between the game and the films. Since the game is newer than most of the games we cover on the show, the developers were able to make a fairly immersive and eerie “lost in the creepy woods” experience, and the game’s dimension-warping puzzles, time jumps, and multiples endings make it fresh even for big fans of the movie(s).
0:00:00 Intro
0:05:10 Horror Movie Faves /Where We’re Coming From
0:48:31 Plot
1:18:50 Time Machine Time
1:23:40 Plot Cont’d
1:43:13 Character
1:52:32 Setting
2:00:08 Tone/Music
2:03:35 Rate. Recap, Recommend**
In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, slasher fans Devon and Jackson start things off by giving their personal rankings of the Friday the 13th films, before comparing the 1989 NES game to the first 8 Friday movies. The game uses the Crystal Lake camp setting, but features zombies and evil wildlife like wolves and crows. It brings in the weird mom stuff from Part 2, but introduces a vibrant, purple and turquoise version of the killer in a hockey mask and jumpsuit. The counselors, controlled by the player, need to keep [some of] their campers alive, and stop the masked maniac by any means necessary
0:00:00 Intro
0:08:50 Ranking the Friday the 13th Films
1:02:00 Where We’re Coming From
1:09:20 Comparing the Game to the Movies
2:00:51 Rate, Recap, Recommend
For the first part of the Trektember finale, Devon and Chris sit down to give their personal rankings of the various Star Trek series and films. Chris ranks the different TV series, touching on each one briefly, before Devon ranks the Star Trek films and discusses some of the best and worst elements of each. For the second part of the episode, Devon and Chris take a look at the 16 bit Next Gen adventure game known as Echoes From the Past on Genesis and Future’s Past on Super Nintendo. They compare the game’s plot to episodes that have similar quests, dilemmas and conflicts, before comparing its various characters, species and locales to those elements featured on the show(s).
0:00:00 Intro
0:08:53 Star Trek Series Rankings
0:26:02 Star Trek Film Rankings
1:12:29 Echoes From the Past Chat
2:17:08 Rate, Recap and Recommend
In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and Hudson finally sit down to discuss a Star Trek game. There have been many Star Trek games over the last few decades, but for this first episode of Trektember, they’ll be discussing the game from 2013 that bridges the gap between the Star Trek films that J. J. Abrams directed. The game was panned by critics, and didn’t win over most hard-core trekkers, but it did a great job of capturing the beloved members of the crew, especially its flagship “bro-op” duo: Chris Pine’s Kirk and Zachary Quinto’s Spock. The whole cast returns to voice their lovable new takes on the classic characters from the original series, and the writers give them a fair bit to work with considering the game is even more combat-heavy than the films that it’s based on. Rather than pinning Starfleet against the Romulans or Klingons this time around, Kirk and Spock get to go full-on commando on some especially dimwitted Gorn, which makes for a fun, albeit somewhat misguided Star Trek shoot em' up experience
0:00:00 Intro
0:08:32 IMDB Dive
0:13:08 Where We’re Coming From
0:23:00 Plot
0:42:51 Time Machine Time
0:50:14 Plot Cont’d
1:22:25 Characters
1:42:45 Setting
1:46:17 Music/Tone
1:53:15 Rate, Recap and Recommend
In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon sits down with Judd to discuss the first of two Rocky video games for the Playstation 2 (it also released for Xbox and Gamecube). The movie mode covers the first five Rocky films, putting the Italian Stallion up against famous opponents like Apollo Creed and Clubber Lang, as well as lesser known fighters that are merely mentioned in the films. Oddly enough, important characters like Adrian and Paulie are dismissed, but Scandinavian boxing sensation Billy Snow, and Big Yank Ball get their time in the spotlight. Like any movie game from the early aughts, Rocky has its fair share of goofy elements, from an “Eye of the Tiger” rip-off track, to projectile beer bottles that explode in the ring mid-fight in the seedier venues, but it’s very clear that the developers loved the Rocky movies
0:00:00 Intro
0:07:54 IMDB Dive
0:20:54 Where We’re Coming From/Rocky Film Discussion/ Personal Ranking
0:45:33 Plot comparison
1:07:36 Time Machine Time
1:12:37 Plot Cont’d
1:29:59 Characters
1:46:02 Setting
1:53:21 Tone
1:57:51 Rate/Recap/Recommend
**Riding the coattails of the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts hype, Devon and Hudson sit down to talk about the first Bayformers movie game from 2007. The game is pretty bare bones for releasing at the end of the PS2’s life cycle, but it’s still satisfying to kick the crap out of endless waves of enemy drones before transforming into a vehicle and burning rubber in search of the next scrap. Naturally the game focuses more on the Cybertronians than on the humans, choosing to elaborate on the off-screen robot action (often in laughable ways) rather than putting the player in any of the humans’ shoes, and it’s nice to see a little more of the Autobots and Decepticons. There are undoubtedly better Transformers video games out there now (and the PS2 Transformers game based on the Armada series was actually pretty great), but there weren’t as many back in 2007, and this one gave a new generation of Transformers fans more of the over-the-top action from the Michael Bay blockbuster
0:00:00 Intro
0:04:44 IMDB Dive
0:09:37 Where We're Coming From
0:17:39 Plot
0:40:19 Time Machine Time
0:44:31 Plot Cont'd
1:11:25 Characters
1:23:12 Setting
1:28:02 Rate, Recap and Recommend**
For this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and Jesse sit down to discuss one of the most beloved movie games of all time. After EA’s Two Towers video game established a winning formula the year before, The Return of the King expanded on its predecessor by adding more playable characters, making the environments more interactive, and by improving the graphics and the cinematic framing of the events happening around the player. The combat was smooth, the option to play in co-op added another element to the experience, but ROTK is still a PS2 era tie-in so it shoe horns in some goofy boss battles, and in the name of providing a more rounded out experience, it makes Sam into a formidable orc-slayer. The Return of the King set the standard for movie games and Lord of the Rings games moving forward, and it’s finally time to geek out about it
0:00:00 Intro
0:12:04 IMDB Dive
0:20:18 Where We’re Coming From
0:38:56 Plot
0:53:53 Time Machine Time
0:58:27 Plot Cont’d
2:04:28 Characters
2:28:37 Setting
2:35:20 Rate, Recap and Recommend
For the final Pitch Party episode within the “Sexy Swordfights” theme, Devon, Bart and Alexis discuss entirely fabricated adaptations of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet. While there have been countless versions of the play performed on stages across the globe, and several filmmakers have taken cracks at bringing the story to the screen, very few R + J video games exist. Devon and Bart present alternate histories where Luhrmann’s gaudy 1996 film spawned some role-playing video games in which players could place themselves within the shoes of the titular star crossed lovers…and their friends? Ultimately, Alexis must decide which pitch should be willed into existence
0:00:00 Intro
0:08:55 Warm-ups (Better Than/Worse Than/Fun Facts)
0:18:15 Pitch 1 (Bart)
0:28:16 Pitch 2 (Devon)
0:42:23 Questions
0:53:37 Verdict
For this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Sam and Bart join Devon to chat about The Pagemaster for SEGA Genesis. The different horror, fantasy and adventure settings lend themselves well to a video game, and there are no shortage of baddies from the film that are rendered in vibrant 16 bit graphics. However, many of the best characters from the film have been all but erased, and the game basically assumes the player is already familiar with the Pagemaster film, since it doesn’t even attempt to provide any plot details, or even dialogue. Still, with a staggering number of levels, and a reasonable difficulty level that keeps the game fun, Pagemaster allows young players to get lost in its literary worlds, if only for a spell
0:00:00 Intro
0:07:29 IMDB Dive
0:21:33 Where We’re Coming From
0:29:03 Time Machine Time
0:35:10 Weird Stuff
0:45:26 Nailed It
1:13:30 Failed It
1:36:10 Rate, Recap and Recommend
For the second episode in the Pitch Party trilogy of episodes on movies that contain [sort of] sexy sword fights, Alexis and Devon must pitch their own made-up games based on Kill Bill, to Bart. With tons of action, a bad-ass lead dead-set on exacting her bloody revenge, and a whole gang of cool villains in her way, a Kill Bill video game feels like a no brainer, but alas, no tie-in was made. Devon and Alexis have re-watched both volumes of Kill Bill, and they’ve come up with some wacky ways to use the licence. You can decide for yourself whether these abominations should see the light of day. Get on your yellow jumpsuit, and let’s party
0:00:00 Intro
0:04:55 Warmups (Better Than, Worse Than, Double Header Pick)
0:23:05 Pitch 1 (Alexis)
0:32:25 Pitch 2 (Devon)
0:44:40 Questions
1:02:48 Verdict
**For the final Obligatory Movie Game Podcast episode of May, Devon and Dalton dive into Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the jaw-droppingly expansive Star Wars RPG from 2003. Unlike most games covered on this show, KOTOR was almost universally loved upon release, and it set the standard from Star Wars games moving forward. Many blogs, youtubers, and video game news outlets still feel like it’s the definitive Star Wars video game. From its robust cast of party members and interesting NPCs, to its gripping original story that is morphed by the player’s choices, KOTOR is one of those rare licensed games that deserves recognition alongside the best games of its generation. There’s not as much to make fun of here, but there’s a lot to gush over.
0:00:00 Intro
0:09:10 Warm Up (Favourite Star Wars Characters and RPGs)
0:19:03 Where We’re Coming From
0:28:12 Plot
0:45:06 Time Machine Time
0:51:04 Plot Cont’d
1:46:43 Characters
2:09:22 Setting
2:22:43 Rate, Recap, Recommend**
Star Wars month continues as Devon, Hudson and Mark discuss one of their favourite Star Wars games ever made. They begin the episode by sharing their personal rankings of the Star Wars movies, before getting into the discussion on the game. This is the first time the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast has covered a game from the Playstation 4/ Xbox 1 generation, and the lucky game to become the newest game covered on the show is a game that showed up on many lists in last year’s Top Ten Star Wars Games episode. Even though Jedi: Fallen Order isn’t an adaptation of any Star Wars movie in particular, many of its characters, locations and plot points feel familiar to fans of the films (and TV Shows/novels etc.), and it gave Star Wars fans (a new) hope for future thrilling single player video games in the Star Wars universe. The force is strong with this one.
0:00:00 Intro
0:10:08 Ranking the Star Wars Films
0:37:13 Where We’re Coming From
0:42:53 Plot
1:05:55 Time Machine Time
1:11:26 Plot Cont’d
1:22:37 Characters
1:52:05 Setting
2:02:21 Tone/Music
2:07:50 Rate, Recap, Recommend
**May the 4th be with you! It’s May, and the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast is ready to pick off some womp rats, starting with the 1991 New Hope adaptation for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Even though the difficulty level is harsh (even for the NES), and some of the iconic villains are traded for thrilling adversaries such as the tractor beam generator, the game takes the player through the events of the original Star Wars, from the search for R2-D2 on Tatooine, to the climactic trench run. The familiar music rendered into scrumptious chip tunes, combined with the glorious 8 bit graphics give the game undeniable charm as the player takes on all manner of alien scum and stormtroopers as Luke, Leia and Han.
0:00:00 Intro
0:10:06 IMDB Dive
0:27:30 Where We’re Coming From
0:36:12 Game Talk (Context)
0:42:17 Plot
1:39:43 Characters
1:55:50 Setting
2:01:32 Rate/Recap/Recommend**
In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and Hudson sit down to look at another superhero tie-in from the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox era. Fantastic Four shares some gameplay elements with other co-op beat em ups like Shrek 2 and X-Men Legends, but it takes some bizarre liberties with its plot. Instead of locking themselves away to conduct tests and to try and find a way to reverse the effects of their accident on the space station, our heroes find themselves battling mummies, dinosaurs, giant spiders and a half dozen random villains from Fantastic Four comics. As the members of Marvel’s classic quartet travel to different areas of New York (let alone different continents and dimensions) they have plenty of opportunities to hone their skills, set aside their differences and learn to work as a team in this comic book-loving movie adaptation.
0:00:00 Intro
0:04:45 IMDB Dive
0:11:08 Where We’re Coming From
0:17:20 Plot
0:44:58 Time Machine Time
0:49:40 Characters
1:06:44 Setting
1:11:23 Tone/Music
1:15:54 Rate, Recap, Recommend
**For this Obligatory Movie Game Episode Devon and Darryl cover one of the most infamous, and also most-requested-for-this-show movie games of all time. E.T. for the Atari 2600 has garnered a baffling (if a little overblown) reputation as the game that caused the video game crash of 1983, almost destroying the video game industry altogether. A lot of ink has been spilled on the game’s outrageous forced 5 week development window, and the fact that many copies were buried in a desert in New Mexico (along with a lot of other Atari games and hardware). Devon and Darryl read the manual and played through the game on the ol’ Dozlaw Atari, and formed their own opinions about the quality of E.T. as an adaptation and as an old-school adventure game.
0:00:00 Intro
0:04:22 IMDB Dive
0:14:23 Where We’re Coming From/Movie Chat
0:23:37 History of the Game
0:34:52 Plot
0:48:13 Time Machine Time
0:59:44 Plot Cont’d
1:18:50 Characters
1:33:16 Setting
1:39:40 Rate, Recap, Recommend**
**For this Pitch Party episode, Alexis and Bart pitch their own original concepts for video game adaptations of The Princess Bride. The Pitch Party episodes are an offshoot of The Obligatory Movie Game Podcast in which three people come up with, and defend, their own concepts for video games based on films that they love. Since Devon is in the director’s chair for this round, it’s up to him to greenlight one of these bizarre games. Will the pitchers pitch platformers, turn-based RPGs, or perhaps medieval dating sims? No matter what, it’ll be a party
0:00:00 Intro
0:04:15 Warm-up Discussion (Better Than/Worse Than, Alternate Casting etc.)
0:18:33 Pitch 1 (Alexis)
0:27:20 Pitch 2 (Bart)
0:36:50 Questions
0:48:23 The Verdict**
**For this year’s Valentine’s Day Obligatory Movie Game Podcast Episode, the love affair with Arnold Schwarzennegar movies continues as Devon and Judd sit down to discuss Total Recall for the NES. As big sci-fi fans, they chat about some of the themes that frequently pop up in Philip K. Dick’s stories, and they compare the future in Total Recall to our present, thirty-three years after the film came out. Even though the game is ridiculously hard, they find some elements of the setting and storytelling to praise. Like with any 8-bit tie-in, lots of the film has been left out, and plenty of weird things have been shoehorned in, but it all adds to the game’s charm, at least for a couple of old-school Arnie fans
0:00:00 Intro
0:04:23 IMDB Dive
0:14:38 Film Chat/Where We’re Coming From
0:43:48 Time Machine Time
0:50:05 Plot
1:15:50 Characters
1:29:30 Setting
1:41:37 Rate, Recap, Recommend**
**On this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and Hudson take advantage of the hype around the recent Avatar sequel, and tackle the Avatar game for PS3 and Xbox 360 that released along with the first movie. Since the game is technically a prequel, they compare the plot of the movie to that of the game and find they’re remarkably similar. Devon and Hudson also need to compare their playthroughs to each other because the game allows the player to make a choice early on between siding with the Na’vi or the humans. Even though Devon and Hudson chose different paths, they discovered that the tasks were pretty similar. Ubisoft did a pretty good job of making the world feel like Pandora, but the plot, characters, and their relationships (or lack thereof) made the game feel a little empty. There were still a lot of things to laugh at though..
0:00:00 Intro
0:03:40 IMDB Dive
0:10:27 Where We’re Coming From
0:18:12 Plot
0:31:40 Time Machine Time
0:36:30 Plot Cont’d
1:01:15 Characters
1:22:15 Setting
1:32:10 Rate, Recap, Recommend**
**In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast Devon and Jon discuss two video game adaptations of a movie instead of one. Two different studios developed Aladdin games in 1993 (plus there were about a million ports), and since Jon grew up playing the Super Nintendo version he focuses on that adaptation, while Devon focuses on the SEGA Genesis version. Both games were adored by critics and gamers upon their release, and there’s a playful debate over which game is better. They’re both cartoony platformers with a lot of heart, and they both managed to conjure some of the film’s Disney magic. However, as with any movie games there are some goofy additions (and omissions) such as an ancient pyramid level, attacking skeletons, and some psychedelic inner lamp levels. These are truly some legendary 16-bit diamonds in the rough.
0:00:00 Intro
0:06:55 IMDB Dive
0:16:00 Where We’re Coming From
0:25:45 Plot
0:41:14 Time Machine Time
0:50:38 Plot Cont’d
1:07:00 Characters
1:31:03 Setting
1:40:52 Music
1:43:50 Rate, Recap, Recommend**
**For this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and Shawn finally cover a James Bond game. There have been many James Bond video games across various consoles, but From Russia With Love has a special charm to it. The game was made in between Pierce Brosnan’s tenure as Bond and that of his successor Daniel Craig, and the developers decided to use the limbo period to show some love to the classic Connery era. For this game, Sean Connery reprised the role for the final time, voicing his iconic Agent 007. The game is a bit of a love better to Connery’s Bond, as it works in vehicles and gadgets from some of his other films as well. The game takes Bond through the events of From Russia With Love, but adds in some of its own scraps, and even new characters. Devon and Shawn embrace their love for Bond as they compare the second official film in the franchise to the 2005 tie-in for PS2/Xbox/Gamecube
0:00:00 Intro
0:06:07 Warm-up
0:16:57 Where We’re Coming From
0:27:30 Plot
0:41:26 Time Machine Time
0:48:56 Plot Cont’d
1:29:45 Characters
1:48:50 Setting/Tone/Music**
Happy holidays everyone! In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and Judd take a look at the Die Hard Trilogy for the original Playstation and SEGA Saturn. The package came with three totally different games based on the first three Die Hard films. The three games were on a single disc and each one had its own style of gameplay (third person shooter, first person on-rails shooter, and vehicular action game). For this chat, Devon and Judd focused on the game based on the first movie. They talk about some of the ridiculous aspects of the game such as the accentless-Germans, the lack of plot, cutscenes and supporting cast, and the layered screams of the burning hostages. Of course, they also discuss some of the things that fit nicely with the movie like the game’s environments and John McClane’s muscle shirt.
0:00:00 Intro
0:06:27 IMDB Dive
0:17:09 Where We’re Coming From
0:28:00 Weird Stuff
0:33:35 Nailed It
0:48:29 Time Machine Time
0:57:53 Nailed It Cont’d
1:13:20 Failed It
1:30:00 Rate, Recap and Recommend
**In this episode, Devon sits down with Rob White (musician with Roughsleeper and Workprint, writer/director for Hot Tag Films and Art on Fire) and his brother Nathan White (visual artist, graphic designer, and member of Art on Fire) to talk about Christmas stuff. They talk about “normie” Christmas movies as well as Christmas horror flicks. Rob and Nathan dig into some notable punk Christmas EPs, albums, and singles, before sharing some Christmas memories. They show some love to various James Bond movies and video games, listing off some faves as well as some (mostly) lovable duds. All three guys explain how yearly book challenges can help one to expand their literary tastes, and they list off some highlights from past challenges.
0:00:00 Intro
0:10:09 Christmas
0:54:56 Wambaminstagram
1:03:10 Read
1:20:03 Play
1:31:28 Create
1:57:57 Watch
2:12:50 Plugs**
In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon sits down with his brother Mark to discuss the PS3 version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In an unusual twist, the “Uncaged Edition” for Playstation 3/Xbox 360/PC cranks up the gore and brutality from the film, which earned the game a Mature rating. The game follows the events of the film, but works in its own subplot that features a couple extra characters from the comics. Hailed by critics and fans alike as the definitive Wolverine video game experience upon its release, X-Men Origins Wolverine manages to channel the gruff but gallant nature of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine from the films while delivering a bloody, pre-PS4 God of War-style experience.
0:00:00 Intro
0:05:30 IMDB Dive
0:12:23 Where We’re Coming From
0:19:56 Plot
0:36:57 Time Machine Time
0:43:12 Plot Cont’d
1:09:50 Characters
1:26:44 Setting
1:32:25 Tone
1:40:48 Rate, Recap, Recommend
**For this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and Chris finally cover a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Starting off with arguably the greatest movie game for the NES, they sat down to experience the many shades of Batman (his suit in the cutscenes sometimes resembles the black suit from Tim Burton’s 1989 film, but the Batman that the player controls seems to be dressed more like Adam West’s version of the caped crusader). The colours of Batman’s suit aren’t the only things that differ from the movie that this game is ostensibly based on, as the developers played fast and loose with their source material, adding in metroidesque machines, and various bizarre brutes and bosses. Ultimately, the Joker is up to no good, and Batman needs to take him down, and that’s really all you need for an 8 bit beat-em-up with the Bat. Oh, and a killer soundtrack.
0:00:00 Intro
0:04:53 IMDB Dive
0:14:32 Where We’re Coming From
0:21:40 Plot
0:44:28 Time Machine Time
0:50:52 Plot Cont’d
1:15:40 Characters
1:47:07 Setting
1:53:40 Tone/Music
2:01:12 Rate, Recap, Recommend**
**For this special Halloween edition of Pitch Party, Devon, Alexis and Bart discuss their ideas for a video game based on the comedy horror cult hit WolfCop. The Pitch Party episodes are an offshoot of The Obligatory Movie Game Podcast in which three people come up with, and defend, their own concepts for video games based on films that they love. Bart is in the director’s chair this time around, and Devon and Alexis have prepared two wildly disparate pitches for him. Will they conjure up a werewolf beat-em-up à la Altered Beast, or perhaps a light gun urine-based shooter made for the arcades? No need to wait until the next full moon to find out. The Pitch Party spooky spectacular Halloween episode is here!
00:00 Intro
05:11 Warm-up Discussion (Hot Takes, Alternate Casting, Ideal Doubleheader etc.)
12:54 Pitch 1 (Alexis)
16:10 Pitch 2 (Devon)
28:02 Questions
40:35 The Verdict**
For this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and Hudson sit down to chat about Aliens Versus Predator for Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. They begin the episode by ranking the thirteen films that make up the Alien, Predator and AVP franchises, including the newest film in the Predator universe, Prey. This game differs from most games featured on the OMGP since it borrows and pays homage to quite a few tenuously linked films, while still crafting its own story. Aliens Versus Predator features three distinct campaigns that allow the player to control a xenomorph, a predator, or a marine. The three campaigns all intertwine to tell an original, yet familiar story packed with action, terror and gruesome kills.
0:00:00 Intro
0:07:04 Ranking All 13 Films
0:17:30 Where We’re Coming From
0:21:53 Plot
0:25:41 Plot (Alien campaign)
0:40:56 Time Machine Time
0:47:05 Plot (Marine Campaign)
1:05:38 Plot (Predator Campaign)
1:13:48 Characters
1:28:27 Setting
1:32:02 Tone, Music, Sound
1:33:53 Rate, Recap, Recommend
For this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon and his guests try something new by covering a board game based on a movie, rather than a video game based on a movie. Steven Spielberg’s horror classic Jaws was a smash hit when it came to theatres in 1975, and merchandise with the artwork from Roger Kastel’s famous poster is as ubiquitous now as it was back then. From theme park rides to various video games, there are many ways for fans to insert themselves into the action. The NES game allowed the player to control an armed scuba diver, Jaws Unleashed for Xbox and PS2 let the player control the shark, and Prospero Hall’s board game from 2019 lets the players square off against each other as one person controls the menacing shark, and the remaining one to three players control Hooper, Brody and Quint. Can a board game capture the intensity of Hollywood’s first summer blockbuster? Bart, Alexis and Devon sat down to watch the film and play the board game, and now it’s time to compare them.
0:00:00 Intro
0:06:47 Warmup/Where We’re Coming From
0:15:24 Nailed It
1:08:23 Failed It
1:23:52 Rate, Recap, Recommend
**For the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast’s second Shrektember episode, Devon and Jackson sit down to discuss Shrek 2. It’s the most critically acclaimed Shrek game, and it made a lot of fans with its blend of 4 player co-op beat 'em up action, mini games and puzzles. Shrek 2 corrects most of the mistakes that were made with the first game, and this time around, the game follows, and expands upon the story of its film counterpart. The game makes the most of the classic sequel’s supporting cast, allowing the players to control eleven characters through familiar settings from the film, as well as some new locales. The comedy is on point, and the multiplayer aspect helped make this game a banger movie game classic of the early-aughts!
0:00:00 Intro
0:04:44 IMDB Dive
0:10:10 Where We’re Coming From
0:16:44 Plot
0:45:09 Time Machine Time
0:49:57 Characters
1:08:29 Settings
1:14:14 Tone
1:25:09 Rate, Recap and Recommend**
Happy Shrektember! There are a whole bunch of Shrek video games, and we’ve decided to showcase a couple of them in the month of September. Devon is joined once again by Jackson for this episode, and they take a look at the launch title Xbox exclusive movie tie-in game of the original Shrek. The game tries to do Spyro things, but fails as a platformer as much as it fails at adapting the film that bears same name. Important supporting characters are missing, the tone is off, the levels are random and Shrek doesn’t speak…at all. There ARE farts though. Even fire farts. There’s a lot to unpack here. Enjoy
The Pitch Party episodes are an offshoot of The Obligatory Movie Game Podcast in which three people come up with, and defend, their own concepts for video games based on films that they love. For this episode, Devon is joined by Alexis and Bart, and it's up to Alexis and Bart (the pitchers) to impress Devon (the director) with their ideas for video game adaptations of 1995’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. Alexis and Bart present drastically different concepts, and Alexis’s pitch is so bizarre that it nearly sends Bart into a hysterical fit, but the show must go on. After everyone has a chance to ask questions about the pitched adaptations, Devon green-lights the one that he would like to see brought into existence
The Pitch Party episodes are an offshoot of The Obligatory Movie Game Podcast in which three people come up with, and defend, their own concepts for video games based on films that they love. For this episode, Devon is joined by Alexis and Bart, and it's up to Devon and Bart (the pitchers) to impress Alexis (the director) with their ideas for video game adaptations of The Dark Crystal. Devon and Bart present drastically different concepts for video games that would make interesting playable experiences out of a movie that has a lot of lore, and not a lot of direct combat. After everyone has a chance to ask questions about the pitched adaptations, Alexis green-lights the one that she would like to see brought into existence
**OMGP: Finding Nemo
Happy Shark Week! To close out Shark Week, Devon and Jackson sit down to discuss the tie-in Playstation 2 game for Finding Nemo. Even though they both love the classic Pixar film, they agree that it wouldn’t be the easiest movie to adapt into a thrilling video game, given its lack of a main villain, and the overall lack of combat in the story. The game makes the most of the chase sequences and takes some plays from the Superman 64 playbook, adding an absurd amount of pointless rings for Marlin, Dory and Nemo to swim though. Even though Finding Nemo isn’t much of a power fantasy, it adapts the characters, settings and plot of the film well, and there are some goofy things added in to keep things bizarre.**
Chapters:
0:00:00 Intro
0:07:45 IMDB Dive
0:11:38 Where We’re Coming From
0:15:50 Plot
0:44:50 Time Machine Time
1:03:40 Character
1:18:14 Setting
1:31:38 Tone/Music
1:41:30 Rate, Recap and Recommend
In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon sits down with Hudson to compare the film that started the Marvel Cinematic Universe off with a bang to its movie tie-in counterpart. The game has different voice actors for the roles of Iron Man and Tony Stark, as if it’s unaware that they are the same person, and it hamfistedly stuffs comic book villains into the movie’s plot. However, Iron Man hasn’t starred in as many video games as some other Marvel and DC heroes, and this one still lets the player fly around and blow stuff up, with a little help from Black Sabbath
0:00:00 Intro
0:04:30 IMDB Dive
0:09:08 Where We’re Coming From
0:15:10 Plot
0:28:28 Time Machine Time
0:33:31 Plot (continued)
0:53:40 Character
1:35:36 Tone
1:39:00 Rate, Recap and Recommend
**In this episode Devon sits down with Justine “Tini” Stilborn to discuss different types of e-comics. As a fan of various romance comics like True Beauty and Lore Olympus, Tini explains how Webtoons work for the consumer and the artist. They talk about customization and accessorizing in video games, and about how it’s nice to have games that can help you relax. Devon and Tini recommend Munchkin as a goofy alternative to a Dungeons and Dragons one shot, and they embrace the Kingdom Hearts series as an audacious mash-up that is a beautiful mess. Both Devon and Tini are fully aware of the effect that nostalgia has on them, but they’re fine with it. As Tini discusses the elements of pop culture that influence her art, she and Devon explore the notion of high art versus low art, and the human compulsion to create things
0:00:00 Intro
0:07:27 Play
0:31:32 Read
0:53:05 Create
1:06:09 Wambaminstagram
1:14:37 Watch
1:31:02 Collect
1:49:05 Plugs**
**In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast Devon sits down with Bart to compare the much-maligned Green Lantern film from 2011 to its movie tie-in game “Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters.” Both the film and the game feature a quippy Ryan Reynolds, but their settings differ immensely as the events of the game never take Hal Jordan back to his home planet. The game works in some elements from Green Lantern comics as it tells an entirely different story that picks up where the film left off.
0:00:00 Intro
0:04:12 IMDB Dive
0:11:16 Where We’re Coming From
0:20:05 Plot
0:57:25 Time Machine Time
0:59:56 Characters
1:24:35 Setting
1:34:23 Music and Tone
1:36:24 Rate, Recap and Recommend**
**In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast, Devon sits down with Moises to discuss the official tie-in game for Jurassic Park on Sega Genesis. Devon and Moises have both watched the film countless times, but they played the game together for the first time in preparation for this episode. As a beauty of the 16 bit era, the game comically reduces Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning blockbuster (and Michael Crichton’s novel) to a run and gun side scroller featuring Dr. Grant and a vindictive velociraptor as playable characters. Even though the game is fairly short, Devon and Moises find plenty to talk about as they compare the plot, characters, setting and music of the film to its Genesis counterpart.
0:00:00 Intro
0:05:50 IMDB Dive
0:15:32 Where We’re Coming From
0:29:20 Plot
1:06:09 Time Machine Time (Critical Reception)
1:30:00 Characters
1:57:15 Setting
2:05:30 Tone/Music**
**In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast series, Devon sits down with Hudson to discuss the official tie-in game for Star Wars Episode 3: The Revenge of the Sith. Devon and Hudson both played this game when it came out, but they’ve played a lot of newer Star Wars games since, and like the special effects of the prequels (though perhaps not quite as jarringly) the game shows its age a bit now. Gameplay aside, the game serves as a greatest hits compilation of the film’s action sequences, and it expands upon a few of the moments that only get hinted at in the film itself. Devon and Hudson take a deep dive into this nostalgic staple from their childhoods, while taking note of the ways in which the game nails and fails the plot, characters, and setting of the film that it’s based on.
0:00:00 Intro
0:06:20 IMDB Dive
0:10:46 Where We’re Coming From
0:17:41 Plot
0:44:30 Time Machine Time
0:50:36 Characters
1:01:40 Setting
1:06:20 Everything Else (Mechanics, Tone, Music etc.)
1:30:55 Rate, Recap and Recommend**
**In this episode Devon sits down with Hudson to discuss Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which was arguably the closest thing Star Wars fans got to a tie-in game for Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones. Hudson and Devon both spent some time with this (mostly) vehicular combat game back when it was originally released for the Gamecube, PS2 and Xbox shortly after its film counterpart came out. While the game borrows characters, planets and various types of tanks, creatures and ships from Episode 2, it ditches the romance, and just lets the player blow stuff up. Since the game crafts its own story, Devon and Hudson get to decide if the events of the game still fit within the overall story, and they weigh in on the game’s strengths and weaknesses as it tries to replicate character relationships while also introducing new characters, locales and its own force-sucking super weapon. This game may be forgotten and largely decanonized thanks to the success of the animated series that bears the same name, but there’s still a fair bit of fun to be had in this little side note from 2002.
0:00:00 Intro
0:06:03 IMDB Dive
0:10:30 Where We’re Coming From
0:18:55 Plot
1:06:22 Time Machine Time
1:08:47 Characters
1:24:28 Setting
1:33:37 Rate, Recap and Recommend**
In this episode Devon sits down with Jackson and Bart to discuss the official tie-in game for Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace for the original Playstation. As children, Bart, Devon and Jackson were swept up in the colossal media storm surrounding Episode 1, and that experience still colours their opinion of the film to this day. The game however, can't get as far on nostalgia alone, and the three Star Wars fans go into detail about the game's shortcomings, and about the things it does well regarding character, setting and plot. Oddly enough, this tie-in from 1999 is more ambitious than most Star Wars games, featuring conversation choices (some of which include jedi mind trick options), and a rich landscape of NPCs, but overall it's about as functional as Ben Quadrinaros' podracer.
0:00 Intro
6:27 IMDB Dive
12:00 Where We’re Coming From
21:25 Plot
50:30 Time Machine Time
57:53 Characters
1:34:05 Setting
2:09:02 Rate, Recap and Recommend
**For this May the 4th (be with you) Obligatory Movie Game Podcast episode Devon and five different guests list and discuss their top ten Star Wars video games of all time. Bart, Quentin and Mark return to the podcast to defend their faves, plus Dan and Hudson make their OMGP debut. They all let nostalgia flow through them as they recall some of their favourite memories from playing Star Wars games across various consoles over the years. From Shadows of the Empire to Jedi: Fallen Order, Devon and his cast of Star Wars geeks delve into the Star Wars games that managed to get it right. Comics, novels, toys, and table-top roleplaying games all come up in this Star Wars deep dive, and while all six fans have different rankings, it’s clear that there’s no movie franchise that has had the same monumental effect on video games as Star Wars has.
6:43 Hudson's faves
24:08 Dan's faves
47:22 Bart's faves
1:07:50 Mark's faves
1:31:56 Quentin's faves**
**In this episode Devon sits down with Origin of Spin to talk about video games that are tough but fair. They discuss how rewarding it is to beat challenging video games, and OOS reflects on what makes soulsborne games special. OOS highlights some of his favourite pieces of gear, and he talks about how producing has changed since he started. They discuss seminal soundtracks, and collecting vinyl. OOS walks Devon through his journey as an anime fan, and they talk about how the art styles of anime shows had a big effect on them as kids. Having read The Lord of the Rings and the Song of Ice and Fire novels, Devon and OOS compare their worlds, characters and style.
0:00 Intro
5:20 Play
35:26 Wambaminstagram
43:05 Collect
55:40 Create
1:18:00 Watch
1:35:15 Read**
In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast series, Devon sits down with Bart to discuss the monster mash-up film Van Helsing (2004) and its tie-in video game that borrowed more than a little from Capcom’s iconic beat-em-up series Devil May Cry. The game is kind of like when a kid asked to copy your homework and you reluctantly gave it to him, but asked him to change it up a little bit so that your work wasn’t the same. The game follows the film’s storyline pretty closely, even though it minimizes and erases some of the film’s standout characters. No movie was safe from the tie-in treatment in 2004, but Stephen Sommers’ CGI-oozing homage to the Universal Monster films of old actually makes for great video game material, and the game ended up matching the quality of the film, earning generally favourable reviews upon release. Some maintain that this is one of those rare moments when the tie-in game was actually better than the movie upon which it was based. Devon and Bart pick apart the movie and its PS2 adaptation, highlighting the ways in which the game developers nailed and failed their source material
0:00 Intro
3:48 IMDB Dive Warm-up
8:28 Where We’re Coming From
12:28 Plot
36:25 Time Machine Time
40:16 Characters
1:02:12 Setting
1:31:05 Tone/Other Elements
1:51:00 Rate/Recommend
**In this episode of the Obligatory Movie Game Podcast series Devon sits down with Quentin to discuss the side-scrolling beat-em-up Batman Forever for the SEGA Genesis. There have been a whole batload of Batman games over the years, but this panned tie-in rarely makes Best Batman Games lists thanks to its wonky controls, goofy look, and vexing difficulty. Devon and Quentin praise many of the traditionally misunderstood aspects of Joel Schumacher’s “pop culture opera,” but sadly, the game developers didn’t seem to share the same love for the movie’s tone and characters. However, there’s still a lot to laugh at here. With the Matt Reeves-induced batfever sweeping the planet, it’s a great time to sit down and take a look at the most underrated Batman film, and its Mortal Kombat-loving counterpart, Batman Forever.
5:20 Ice Breaker
14:00 Where We’re Coming From
25:10 Weird Stuff
39:01 Time Machine Time
44:40 Fail It
1:31:45 Nail It**
In this episode Devon sits down with mixed media artist/graphic designer Stacey Lee Erickson to discuss the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They look at some of the high points and low points in the MCU's epic run, and they select some of their favourite non-MCU superhero movies such as the Raimi Spider-man films, and the Watchmen. Stacey reflects on her experiences at fan expos, and describes some of the costumes that she has made for these events. Having both grown up on the original Star Wars trilogy, Devon and Stacey reminisce about the days of being a Star Wars fan before the prequels arrived. During the Create section, Stacey goes into detail regarding her use of recycled materials in her art pieces.
5:42 Watch
32:33 Wambaminstagram
40:47 Watch (continued)
53:41 Create
In this episode Devon sits down with Jon Soroka to discuss the squad-based survival horror game that serves as a sequel to John Carpenter’s horror sci-fi cult classic, The Thing. The game, which confusingly bears the same title as the film,despite telling its own story with new characters in the wake of the gruesome events of the movie, was released twenty years later for the PS2, Xbox and PC. Unlike most movie games, The Thing was a hit with critics and gamers upon its release. The game manages to serve fans of Carpenter’s The Thing with its attention to detail in the level design, its mirrored pacing, and with a particularly impressive cameo. The Thing **still makes lists of top horror games for the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox, and it has managed to form its own cult following, with horror game fans seeking it out decades after it hit the shelves. Devon and Jon discuss the weirder aspects of the game, before breaking down the ways in which the game honours the film, and the ways in which it misses the mark a bit.
13:10 Weird Stuff
32:03 Time Machine Time Break
57:06 Nail It
1:50:35 Fail It**
In this episode Devon sits down with Austin Eckert to discuss the tie-in video game for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines for XBox/PS2. Even though the game received pretty awful reviews upon its release, (you’ll hear some excerpts in the Time Machine Time segment) the studio actually got Arnold Schwarzenegger to lend his voice and likeness to the game this time around. Arnie even filmed a couple additional scenes for it. There has been no shortage of Terminator video games since the first film burst into theatres in 1984, and by the time the third Terminator film came out in 2003, video games had come a long way. What Terminator fan wouldn’t want to wield an extensive arsenal as the Austrian death machine narrates the adventure? Austin and Devon discuss the weirdest bits of the game, break down the ways in which Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines nails and fails its source material.
**In this episode Devon sits down with actor/stuntman Jason Truong to discuss the stunt side of film and TV. He reflects on the "safety first" mentality of stunt coordinators, and talks about the overqualification of the average stunt performers on screen. Together Devon and Jason geek out over classic action series like Terminator, and new series like John Wick. Jason gives Devon a list of early Jackie Chan films that he needs to watch, and they both admit to falling into retro video game collecting during the pandemic. Jason talks about getting his family into Naruto, and they reflect on the growing popularity of manga/anime in the west. As they talk about couples gaming and local multiplayer, they marvel at the fact that in the early-to-mid noughties gamers would bring their heavy TVs and Xboxes to friends’ houses just to connect via system link cables. Those were the days…
Categories:
5:00 - Collect
24:12 - Read
34:16 - Wambaminstagram
44:04 - Create
1:02:00 - Play
1:27:43 - Watch**
**In this episode, Devon sits down with Quentin Friesen to discuss the tie-in video game for Sam Raimi’s first Spider-man film from 2002. With the new Spider-man film releasing in December 2021, we decided to revisit the original Spider-man movie game that features voice acting from Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe and Bruce Campbell. There were many Spider-man games before this one released to Gamecube, Xbox and PS2, and there have been many since, but this is the first Spider-man game that was based on a live action film, and Devon and Quentin break down the ways in which it nails and fails its beloved source material. Does it make sense that they stuffed this game with villains that weren’t actually in the film? Is the slightly different ending of the game actually a pretty big deal? How does this game hold up twenty years later? Let’s get into it!
Chapters:
Intro - 0:00
Where We’re Coming From - 4:36
Weird Stuff - 21:50
Time Machine Time - 1:12:07
Nailed It - 1:15:25
Failed It - 1:47:57**
For this episode of Hawk Talks, Devon sits down with a couple of Sask musicians to discuss the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 video game and its iconic soundtrack. THPS2 was a critical and commercial success when it released in 2000, and it resonated with gamers and skaters alike. This time Devon is joined by Matt Carr (Pop Pop Vernac, These Estates, Failed States, Psst Shh) and Kurtis Rothecker (Pop Pop Vernac, Dream Creaps, Darkslide) as they ride down the smooth pavement of memory lane. They talk about how THPS2 did all the right things to expand on the original game, and they note the ways in which it blazed its own trail. As a skater kid, Kurtis points out some of the ways that the game won over skaters, and the group talks about how bringing in some hip hop flavour helped to reflect the broadening of skate culture that was happening at the time. Devon, Matt and Kurtis take turns speculating about the influence that Tony Hawk 2 had on themselves, their communities and the world .
**In this episode Devon sits down with Brandy Jones (painter) to discuss the ultimate 90s combination of having a trampoline and a Nintendo 64. Brandy shares her love for the Harry Potter movies, and Devon and Brandy discuss growing up alongside the Harry Potter characters/actors as the movies became a little darker. They take turns highlighting their favourite children’s books from their childhoods, and Brandy talks about creating art for different functions and different spaces. She also describes the special brand of satisfaction she gets from disassembling thrift-shop music boxes, before reflecting on the importance of indigenous representation, and indigenous perspectives in film/TV.
Categories:
Collect: 4:45
Play 9:12
Wambaminstagram 17:38
Create 27:02
Read 48:49
Watch 54:08**
**In this episode, Devon sits down with Jackson Brezinski to discuss Die Hard Vendetta for the Nintendo Gamecube. December is the perfect month to do a Die Hard episode, but unfortunately this game has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas. It’s a first person shooter that puts the player in John McClane’s shoes (yes, he’s actually wearing them this time around) as he tracks down Piet Gruber, son of Hans Gruber, who has kidnapped his daughter. Devon and Jackson highlight the weirdest things in the game before breaking down the ways in which it nails the Die Hard experience, and the ways that it falls short. Happy holidays!
Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
9:40 - Weird Stuff
47:18 - Nailed It
1:16:30 - Failed It
1:44:46 - Recap, Rate, and Recommend**
**In this episode, Devon sits down with his dad, Darryl Dozlaw (host of CFCR’s Spin Class with the Reverend, member of Oscar’s Hollow and Bewildernest) for a geeky chat over the holidays. They discuss some of their favourite books, movies, and music, highlighting things that they’ve passed on to each other over the years. Since it’s a holiday special, they start off talking about Christmas episodes and somewhat obscure Christmas records, before moving into the regular categories. From there they look at how collecting vinyl has changed from its heyday through to its resurgence in popularity, and they try to pinpoint what it is about Philip K. Dick’s stories, and their movie adaptations, that strike a chord with musicians. They talk about dense and challenging, yet rewarding literary epics, and some of the simplest, yet most iconic video games from the Atari 2600. It’s a double Dozlaw geek out!
Categories:
7:35 Christmas
36:00 Collect
1:02:18 Read
1:51:15 Create
2:20:00 Play
2:31:15 Watch
Happy holidays!**
**In this episode Devon sits down with Andy Beisel and Ian Cameron to geek out over Christmas songs. Together, Andy and Ian play in a holiday band called Andy Beisel and the Buccaneers, and they’ve also played together in The Alley Dogs, Marshal Burns and the Boozehounds, and Christopher Sleightholm and the Beautiful Boys, not to mention their time with Kacy and Clayton, the Steves and Zachary Lucky respectively. As vinyl-collecting showgoers, Devon, Ian and Andy explore The Beatles’ solo output, discuss posters and curios found in records, and reflect on the ways in which parodic biopics about musicians are actually pretty decent representations of typical band life. Andy and Ian school Devon on the steel guitar, and Stoneface Stanley and Sleek Steve drop by to talk about Wolf Willow’s new record. Happy holidays!
0:00 Introduction
4:10 Christmas Special
28:50 Play
48:00 Wambaminstagram
53:30 Collect
1:15:22 Create
2:01:10 Watch**
For the first episode of the Hawk Talks series, Devon sits down with a group of Sask musicians to discuss the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game and its stellar soundtrack. This time Devon is joined by John Cameron (Oiseaux, These Estates, Delta Throats, Danger Bros), Jael Bartnik (Hit the Streets), and Victor Roman (Bad Comrade, The Criminal Kid, Linger and Hearts and Knives). They reminisce about the wonder years of the original Playstation and Nintendo 64, trading stories about their childhoods as goofy gamers and budding punk rockers in the making (sort of). They weigh in on their go-to skaters, favourite levels, and of course, favourite bangers from the game's iconic soundtrack.
In this episode Devon sits down with Mark Dozlaw to compare the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game to the film on which it is based. Besides making fun of the game as an absurd and frustrating wizarding chores simulator, they concede that it does replicate the world of Hogwarts pretty well. They explore the good, the bad, and the weird aspects of this 2007 tie in, and don’t hold back as they relentlessly pelt the game as if it were a clumsy house elf in the Malfoy residence
**In this episode Devon sits down with Nathan White (visual artist, graphic designer, and member of Art on Fire) to chat about slashers leading up to Halloween. As one of the organizers behind Slasher Cinema, Nathan discusses some of the most memorable public screenings. Having both read multiple books by Chuck Palahniuk, Devon and Nathan discuss the author’s style, examining some of his lesser known works, and breaking the first and second rule of Fight Club. They also discuss epic fantasy series such as The Wheel of Time, and the Malazan Book of the Fallen, and Nathan defends listening to the audiobook versions. Devon and Nathan bond over snatching up video games before their prices get jacked up, and Nathan highlights some special items from his collection of Japanese Nintendo products.
Category Times
05:20 Play
18:42 Collect
42:30 Wambaminstagram
52:07 Read
1:26:13 Create
1:47:37 Watch**
**In this episode, Devon sits down with Karli Jessup (printmaker, graphic designer) from Jessup’s General Store to talk about spooky things. They explore some creepy moments from fairy tales and films directed at children, while highlighting some classic Halloween movies. Karli introduces Devon to the weird world of taxidermy, before discussing her fascination with collecting oddities. As someone who geeks out about printmaking, Karli discusses the screen printing process, along with some of the lesser known methods of printmaking, and together they reflect on the difference between making art digitally and getting your hands dirty.
Categories:
4:05 - Read
10:20 - Play
17:30 - Create
32:52 - Wambaminstagram
40:40 - Collect
54:40 - Watch**
In this episode Devon sits down with Jeff Campbell (Skip Jr. Campbell), who is a singer/songwriter and recording artist, who specializes in alternative/acid-folk/indie music. They talk about feel-good television like Saturday Night Live, as well as directors like David Lynch and Lucio Fulci who make their audiences uneasy through different techniques. As a big fan of both activities, Jeff draws out the similarities between role-playing games and fantasy NBA. He also highlights some fighting games and beat em ups from the SEGA Genesis before the discussion moves towards monsters, and the various things that they can represent.
Chapter Stamps:
4:58 Collect
21:37 Watch
54:35 Wambaminstagram
**1:01:55 Play
1:38:05 Create**
In this episode Devon sits down with Quentin Friesen (photographer, videographer) to discuss Marvel and DC superheroes as they appear in various media. Quentin highlights some notable eras of heavy hitters like Batman and Spider-man, as well as more recent series such as Saga. Devon and Quentin share an affinity for various Star Wars video games, and they discuss some of the Star Wars TV offshoots as well. Having played a similar collection of Playstation exclusives, they discuss the storytelling potential of video games, and Quentin opens up about the way he uses photo modes in modern video games. All of this happens while Devon’s cat jumps all over them, occasionally meowing into the mic.
**Time Stamps:
6:35 - Collect**
17:20 - Read
56:42 - Wambaminstagram
1:01:50 Play
1:37:05 Create
2:05:00 Watch
**In this episode Devon sits down with Leo Keiser (Mechadroid, Homo Monstrous, Oiseaux) to talk about scary entertainment and gardening. Having played a fair bit of new-school video games across various genres over the course of the pandemic, Leo highlights some gems that tell good stories and/or scare the pants off of the player in interesting ways. Devon and Leo discuss the merits of campy horror favourites, as well as Oscar-nominated horror/suspense titles. They highlight some weird merch examples of the digital age, and Leo introduces Devon to the cyclical world of gardening.
Category Time Stamps:
5:00 Collect
16:50 Watch
44:05 Wambaminstagram
54:55 Play
1:17:20 Make**
In this episode Devon sits down with Aaron Karpinka (solo musician, and member of the Karpinka Brothers) to explore 80s and 90s pop culture. They chat about everything from old cartoons like Masters of the Universe to Archie comics. Aaron and Devon compare their favourite action figures from their childhood years, and Aaron provides a glimpse into the world of collecting sports memorabilia. They return to the present to praise the Nintendo Switch a bit, and to talk about how gaming can help people decompress, and let the mind wander for a while. Pro wrestling elbow drops its way into discussions on old video games, collectible action figures, and eye-opening documentaries, and the two musicians from Regina and Saskatoon swap stories from Saskatchewan music festivals, and talk about the importance of building relationships between artists and music lovers in the province.
**Time Stamps:
Read: 8:40
Collect: 24:20**
Wambaminstagram 47:15
Watch 1:00:00
Make 1:14:30
Play 1:41:40
Woooooooooooo!
**In this episode Devon sits down with Kenton de Jong (web developer, amateur historian, travel blogger) to discuss the Final Fantasy series, and a few other Japanese role-playing games. They talk about "Regina Cemetery Tours: The Game," a browser game created by Kenton, and he opens up about some of the history that’s included in the game. They also dive into Stephen King, and talk about some of the many film adaptations of his works. Kenton shares some drone stories, and gives Devon a glimpse into the world of coin collecting as they unexpectedly campaign for the mythical foonie.
Category Time Stamps:
4:05 Watch**
9:50 Read
28:43 Wambaminstagram
37:30 Play
1:03:20 Collect
**1:12:26 Make
See you next geek!**
In this episode Devon sits down with Matt Carr (musician, tinkerer and aspiring storyteller) to chat about collecting vinyl records. They discuss some reasons for the resurgence in popularity of the format, and they rattle off some of the most inventive and absurd things that artists have done with records and their packaging. They talk about making music in video games, and sampling video game sounds, and they discuss some of the freeing, and limiting aspects of electronic solo projects. Matt and Devon discuss different ways that they play old games, and they look at the ways in which comic books and comic strips lend themselves to digital formats, while reminiscing over some stand-out web cartoons from their early days exploring the internet.
In this episode Devon sits down with Elka Scott (writer, poet, spoken word artist) to explore the world of fan fiction. Elka gives a crash course on manga, giving props to Berserk, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and more. They talk about guilty pleasure action films, and about different lenses that lend themselves to analyzing comics, movies and TV. They briefly defend the Wii, and even the Wii U, while touching on fighting games and a few other Nintendo hits. Lastly, they bond over Transformers and Planet of the Apes, embracing their flaws along with their strengths.
In this episode, Devon sits down with Andrew Parry to talk about the similarities and differences between improv theatre and role-playing games. Both former Blockbuster Video Store employees, they share stories about the glory days of rental stores, and they discuss the part they played in movie and video game lovers’ lives. Andy opens up about why he loves photography, and the types of cameras that suit different projects. They explore the wonders of video games with giant worlds, and they critique offensive party games, offering up a few alternatives.
In this episode, Devon sits down with Jael Bartnik from Hit the Streets to discuss going all out for Halloween. They talk about crafting, quilting and punk rock costumes, and they gush over some of the wittiest authors in fantasy and science fiction. After highlighting some stand-out female comic book/graphic novel artists, Devon and Jael praise a wide variety of video game soundtracks across various eras of video games, and reflect on the value of playtime as adults, touching on LEGO, action figures, and various types of games.
Jael Bartnik: guitarist from Hit the Streets and expert in collecting crafty hobbies. If HGTV was a little more punk rock I guess that would be me. I love science fiction and fantasy books but give me anything non-fiction about DIY and I’ll probably read that too.
In this episode Devon sits down with Judd Stachoski to discuss old and new science fiction, focusing on Hugo Award winners. They take a look at some of their most beloved series, and talk about some of the big names in sci-fi, highlighting some of their favourite male and female authors. They also talk about the benefits of playing collaborative board games with partners and pals. They remember some SEGA hits, and Judd opens up about some of the new products from Paperback Beverage Company, including vegetarian and vegan sauces, Cybrpunk sodas and iced teas, and various beverages from Six Poets Brewing.
In this episode Devon sits down with Geanna Dunbar to discuss animation in comics, graphic novels, cartoons and tattoos. They dig into comic favourites from Watchmen to Hellboy to Tank Girl. With a fondness for 90s cartoons, they talk about how cartoons have changed over the years. Geanna recounts the history of her Simpsons collection, and they talk about Simpsons products from Squishee machines to Simpsons video games. As an artist, Geanna also reflects on the impacts of reality TV on tattoo culture, and defends getting weird and goofy ink. Enjoy!
In this episode, Devon sits down with Nathan Daschuck to talk about Playstation 2 classics, collecting sneakers, and the weirdest things they have seen at punk shows. Nathan is the vocalist in Flash Back, guitarist in Stepping Stone, and he is also a traditional tattoo flash painter. He’d normally be touring with his bands right now, but since no shows can happen, he’s been working on his Rock Band chops instead. Devon and Nathan talk about their gold standards of action platformers and horror games, they expose their views on sports games, and they brainstorm various functions of vegetables at gigs.