Level Orange

I was going through some old files on my computer the other day and happened upon these charming little nuggets from the past. In case you missed these back when we recorded them in 2008, here are the full episodes of the  PiQ Podcast (and thanks to Facebook, the summaries of what we discussed), as hosted by Messrs Howard, Starr, Gifford and yours truly. Sure, all we talk about is stuff that happened two years ago but hey, it reminds me of good times.

Download (right-click, Save As…) and enjoy.

Episode 0

Listen now

Just to prove we are not sitting around all day eating Fritos and wiping the grease on our tank tops, here is the highly experimental Episode 0 of The PiQ Podcast (thePiQ-cast? Perhaps I’m getting too far ahead of myself). Have a listen — just press that little “Play” button up above this text — and you’ll get to hear myself, Robert, Paul, and Scott discuss the sorts of things we’ve been up to while working on this magazine.

We got print copies of Issue 1 in the other day, and I hear that some subscribers have received it as well. Huzzah! Tremendous! We hope you will get it soon if you haven’t, or later this month when it hits newsstands. We honestly care what you think about this issue, so keep letting us know.

PiQ Episode 1 – The Sausage Fest

Listen now

Now that we’ve slogged through our deadline for Issue 2, we’re able to share our much-delayed discussion about Issue 1 with all you fine folks.

If you have Issue 1, feel free to follow along as we talk about some initial reactions to the magazine, and go into a bit of discussion on Appleseed Ex Machina, Avatar, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Honey & Clover, recent legislation in Japan, Tweeny Witches, Battlestar Galactica, Independence Day (!), our Monitor think-piece “Is Anime Dead?” and more.

PiQ Episode 2 – No Games for Old Men

Listen now

Did we ever say this podcast would be a regular thing? Whoops. After a hectic month or so, we finally sat down and got to discuss some of what we’ve been up to, including Kevin’s trip to Japan, the infallible legacy of Upton Sinclair and our collective realization that some games are just entirely too damn hard for old fogeys like us (and we’re not even that old).

More importantly, there’s also our discussion of Issue 2 and all the goodness therein, like how much we dig Sam & Max, Lucky Star, Iron Man, Tim and Eric, action movies, old game shows and pig creatures? Also, we have another sweet prize for those of you interested, so be sure to listen for that too.

PiQ Episode 3 – Delicious

Listen now

Here we are again to discuss what we’ve been up to (despite being such losers). Kevin tells all about his conniving ferret, Scott and I celebrate the epic nature of GTA IV and Paul tells why you should check out The World Ends With You.

We also discuss a fair bit about Issue 3, which you should be able to find at your local newsstands. Find out what we really thought about our cover story, Speed Racer, and what other movies we’re looking forward to from this summer’s crop of big releases. There’s also some talk about roller derby and its appeal, Working Designs and our MONITOR piece on translation “Found in Translation”.

I owe a bit of thanks to the guys at Podtacular, the new Halo 2 podcast, for mentioning this site on their last show. I listed them as one of my favorite podcasts, along with several others, and since then, they’ve blown up big time. It’s cool to see something start brand new and catch everyone’s attention, only to take off like wildfire. I’m sure those guys are on a hell of a ride right now.

When they announced a new Podtacular clan, I joined up immediately and did what I could in the first few matches. That was a week ago. Since then, they’ve had to create two more clans just to accomodate all the requests they’re getting. In that time, the show also flew up the charts at Podcast Alley and iTunes Music Store and they’ve even been noticed by Major Nelson, GamerTag Radio and Bungie themselves. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

And being a nice guy, I offered any help I could provide as a designer and come to find out that the host Foo Mo Jive is a designer himself. Not to encroach, I gladly stepped back and let them handle their business, but it’s kind of cool when you have something in common with other Halo gamers (besides Halo itself).

What’s even better is their ability to buck the status quo, with their follow up to all the attention being their longest show yet, well over an hour long. Of course, that drew criticism from listeners who were trying to download via dial-up (c’mon guys, DSL is on the cheap these days!), so they followed that up with a straight rip on the low-bandwidth users, Episode 4.5. Renegades, they are…

If you’re looking for a fun, informal podcast dedicated to Halo 2 that discusses everything from tips and strategy to news and community, check them out.

Since the release of iTunes 4.9, I’ve really gotten into podcasting, probably more than I ever expected to. It’s hard to believe, but I’ve hardly used my iPod for music in the last few weeks. After the iTunes update, I subsequently checked out Podcast Alley, Podcast Pickle and Odeo. Of these, Odeo has probably had the most buzz surrounding it, and while it’s a combination of a website and application, I still don’t think it quite lives up to the full experience of iTunes.

That’s not to say iTunes hasn’t had it’s own share of trouble, with feeds being delayed and missing and just generally feeling a little half-assed. But as I think Adam Curry mentioned recently, Apple is a major player trying to get in near the ground floor, which most giant companies don’t risk doing. Remember when Microsoft underestimated the web browser market and they had to play catch-up for three versions of Internet Explorer? With Apple being the catalyst themselves for “pod”casting, how could they sit back and not jump on the wagon? I can forgive them for the setbacks.

(more…)