Aftermath Hours

On this week’s episode, Nathan and Chris are joined by writer, podcaster, PR guy, and former games journalist Ed Zitron to talk about, well, a lot of stuff. We begin by talking about “media being destroyed by idiots,” as Ed puts it, before discussing Nvidia’s pivot to AI and how it could crash and burn, taking countless jobs with it. Then we discuss AI NPCs in video games, which Nathan got to try out several different flavors of at GDC. The verdict: They can be fun to mess with, but the novelty wears off quickly, and then what’s the point of them? How does being able to talk to NPCs – something players often try to avoid – forever improve video games? After that we move on to BioShock creator Ken Levine’s long-awaited new game, Judas, which got a big reveal this week. After all that time, it looks… like another BioShock. Somehow, we still find time to then talk about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Dragon’s Dogma 2, as well. Oh, and Nathan finally gets to discuss karaoke on the podcast. Something for everyone!   Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, & Special Guest Ed Zitron - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Luke, Chris, and Riley talk about Kotaku's editor-in-chief resigning over guides mandates, our favorite indestructible tech and gadgets, why AI writing in games sucks, and how to get the most out of your local bikeshare program."   Credits - Hosts: Luke Plunkett, Chris Person, and Riley MacLeod - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Nathan and Luke are joined by their former Kotaku colleague, author and Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, for a special Inside Baseball Week episode of the show. True to the theme, they spend most of the episode discussing the state of games journalism: Are layoffs and site closures a sign that traditional games journalism is dying? Or is it just evolving into a more sustainable form and, in the meantime, shedding some unneeded flab? How can new websites hope to grow when younger audiences largely follow creators rather than websites? And to what extent does that ecosystem even facilitate journalism as a form? Then Jason gives us a preview of his upcoming book about the history of Blizzard, tantalizing us with phrases like “Chris Metzen fistfight.” Finally, we wind down by answering questions about writers who inspired us, the ramifications of platforming awful people, and Inside Baseball Week itself.    Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Luke Plunkett, and special guest Jason Schreier - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Nathan, Chris, and Riley discuss the wild (and wholly inaccurate) conspiracy theory surrounding a small video game narrative studio called Sweet Baby Inc, which has recently taken the internet by storm. It begins with “wokeness” in video games and ends with multi-trillion-dollar investment company Blackrock, so buckle up – and if you feel your brain begin to melt, don’t worry, that’s normal. After that we dig into Chris’ long-awaited piece on Sanrio, the Japanese company that tried to create a film empire to rival Disney but mostly just ended up making a bunch of weird shit. Chris spent months researching the piece, so there’s tons to talk about. Then we spend some time ruminating on WB’s no good, very bad week, during which it doubled down on live-service games – even after Suicide Squad, a live-service game, flopped hard – and shut down Rooster Teeth, the media company behind foundational online series Red vs Blue and numerous other shows and events besides. And while we go on to lament the slate of bland productions companies are churning out when they’re not just completely setting fire to completed movies, we do learn of some bright spots, like a YouTube channel dedicated to pig racing. So at least there’s that.   Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, and Riley MacLeod - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Nathan, Chris, and Riley discuss the auspicious occasion of three different game development studios – Gearbox, Saber, and Toys For Bob – all escaping from beneath the thumbs of layoff-prone owners in one day. Then we soberly reflect on mass layoffs at both Sony and EA – the other side of the coin in a week that seemed determined to sum up exactly where the video game industry is at right now. After that we move on to our impressions of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which is actually out now. It’s good! And weirdly janky for how beautiful it looks. Chris appreciates that Square Enix has dialed up – to borrow a phrase from long-defunct video game magazine GamePro – the “fun factor.” He also likes its take on the Chocobo theme, which he calls “fart music.” Nathan likes the in-game card game. That naturally segues into a conversation about the hot new digital card game du jour, Balatro (pronounced “BAH-lah-troh”), and why it got so popular seemingly overnight.    Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, and Riley MacLeod - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Nathan, Gita, and Luke are joined by Lin Codega of the brand new independent, worker-owned tabletop roleplaying outlet Rascal to discuss the grim state of journalism – Vice announced that it plans to shut down its website and lay off hundreds of people seconds before recording began – and the potential of publications like 404, Defector, Rascal, and Aftermath to build some kind of sustainable future. Then we move on to a truly illuminating discussion of the tabletop roleplaying scene, writing that’s been done about it, and the conflicts of interest that arise when developers are – more often than not – just one person designing rules in their bedroom and the relationship between publications and developers is more symbiotic than in other mediums. After that, we discuss Elden Ring’s long-awaited Shadow Of The Erdtree expansion – which contains an Egg and also other things – as well as divisive non-video game True Detective before transitioning more naturally than you’d expect into a talk about Final Fantasy VII and remakes that aren’t just remakes. Lastly, before we sign off, we go deeper than I, Nathan, the person who also writes these things, thought we would on both Starship Troopers and the impact Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok have on cultural literacy around games. It’s a jam-packed episode, folks! Enjoy!       Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Gita Jackson, Luke Plunkett & Special Guest Lin Codega - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Nathan, Chris, and Luke are joined by The Verge’s Ash Parrish to discuss Microsoft’s weird podcast about its plans for a non-exclusive but still mostly exclusive future, which will involve dedicated hardware but will also circumvent the need for it? Look, it’s more weird decision-making from a company that seems to have a blurry notion of the point B it wants to arrive at but no idea how to get there. Elsewhere in the episode, we talk about Helldivers 2 – it’s rules, man, it rules so hard – and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s yellow paint nontroversy. Then we talk about how it’s somebody’s moral imperative to leak Coyote Vs Acme and other films that have been unceremoniously axed in the name of tax write offs. Lastly, thanks to Chris’ newfound passion for powder coating devices, we devise a scheme to powder coat the Statue of Liberty, which – you must agree – is overdue for a refresh.    Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Luke Plunkett & Special Guest Ash Parrish - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Nathan, Chris, Luke, and Riley discuss Disney’s $1.5 billion investment into Epic Games for an even bigger slice of the Fortnite pie, as well as all the ways Disney has stumbled into gaming success (and failure) in the past. This gives way to a conversation about the sanitized Disney of the modern day and where, with corporations feeding them slop, kids now go for their necessary doses of weird. Then we talk about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Microsoft’s seeming shift away from Xbox-exclusive games, and IGN’s drive to become the biggest unionized video game publication in existence. And we do it all without any technical issues whatsoever. It’s crazy, really, if you think about it.   Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Luke Plunkett & Riley MacLeod - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Nathan, Chris, and Riley share their thoughts on the new and characteristically over the top Death Stranding 2 trailer, which gets everybody talking about the industry’s favorite auteur: Ken Levine. OK, first they discuss Hideo Kojima and his place in video games as one of the only people who gets to do His Whole Thing at such a massive scale, but then they get to Levine, who also just debuted a trailer for his new game and serves as an example of how maintaining a Kojima-like cult of personality can go horribly wrong. After that, they talk about Suicide Squad and the unavoidable deluge of discourse around a game that’s ultimately proven to be just fine. Then they mourn the new Deus Ex game that only became public knowledge when Embracer killed it. Also, more than one person tells a story about a funeral they went to, because I guess there was just something in the air this week.     Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person & Riley MacLeod - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week’s episode, Nathan, Gita, Chris, and Luke were planning to talk mostly about Palworld, the new Pokemon-with-guns sensation that’s sweeping several nations, but then gut-wrenchingly massive layoffs happened across Microsoft and the gaming giant it recently acquired, Activision Blizzard. We discussed which parts of the company are most impacted and what it means for the video game industry’s future. Then we talked about our own experiences in a layoff prone-industry (journalism) and somehow finished by talking about our Taco Bell orders. Oh, and we managed to get a fair amount of Palworld chat in there too. We’ve got range, is what I’m saying.    Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Gita Jackson & Luke Plunkett - Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude - Subscribe to Aftermath!   About The Show Aftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that’s too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris’ frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don’t know what else to tell you; it’s a great time. Simply by reading this description, you’re already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.