Into the Aether - A Low Key Video Game Podcast

The year is 2025 and we all knew this was coming. Hundreds sit patiently at the historic Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah as they murmer to one another, bracing themselves and those around them for the upcoming spectacle. Rumors circulate about the cost of the film, and you hear something about a production budget that ballooned to upwards of $400 million. An executive from Epic Games strides by and you catch a glimpse of his gold-plated iPhone as he takes a photo of the crowd before finding a seat. Finally, after years of waiting, the lights dim and the crowd silences themselves like a classroom of first graders being scolded by the principal. The words we've waited so long for appear on screen: Terrence Malick proudly presents... Fortnite. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Travel far enough and you'll see them, the echoes of long lost explorers who sailed across the stars searching hopelessly for meaning. And it's that same unsettlingly ambiguous quest that you find yourself in the throes of now. It decided to bring you here, again. This sparse landscape of freezing tundra lays bare before you, taunting you. How many times will you return to this frigid rock? What else is there to see, to do, to discover? An infinite universe and enough hyperfuel to see it all, and yet you're here, again. Sitting in the cockpit of your ship you pull up the charter and find that this planet remains unnamed. Although you've been here now countless times, no other explorer has stood upon its soil. Before uploading it to the Korvax star charts, you decide to plant a flag, to give it a name of its own. You type "Poopbutt Prime" into the system and send it off to the galactic research hub. You feel better, and initiate the launch thrusters to put Poopbutt Prime behind you. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

"It's my time to shine," you tell yourself. Four foes stand before you, each one a grotesque homunculus of flesh and, well, something else. The allies you've made along the way have fought valiantly at your side, raining ice from the heavens or concocting new modern miracles to liven spirits. With this in mind, you approach the battlefield, and begin to dance. Suddenly a dense fog envelops your compatriots, and visibility is too low to fight without wildly stabbing into the mist. You pray to the gods and dance again, and the gods respond by sending a freakish mushroom man who heals your foes. You will not back down. Destiny has sent you to the battlefield to dance, and you will fulfill the duty sent from on high. You dance a dance so splendid, neither friend nor foe can believe their eyes. In your bones, a feeling surfaces: The knowledge and experience gained from this battle will increase one hundred fold, and your bewildering grace returns to the party lines. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The year is 20XX and Kelsey Grammer opens his eyes for what feels like the first time in decades. He looks to his left and sees only a vast emptiness; to his right, the same. He calls for help, but only his voice echoes out across the expanse. The air is perfectly still. "I was Frasier once," he thinks to himself. How could he have met such a bizarre fate? ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

You're ready. You're wearing the official Marcus Fenix bandanna. You made sure the sleeves of your red Gears of War licensed t-shirt are rolled up so the world can see the tattoo your friends described as "definitely of Cliffy B." You paid $250 for tickets to E3, another $500 for plane tickets from Detroit, and another $300 per night for the hotel within walking distance of the expo hall. You sat through the first forty minutes of this Microsoft presentation knowing that in time, you will be rewarded. And suddenly the heavens open as Phil Spencer points behind him. It's the Gears of War logo. Your time has come. The tears begin to form in your eyes and you clench the armrests when suddenly, what bursts through the brick wall? It can't be. Not like this. Yes. Like this. Prepare for your Funko Pop future. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this special and also technically first episode of ITA, Stephen and Brendon discuss each press conference from E3 2018. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★