Topic: NWR Newscast: Episode 11

[NWR_DrewMG]

Come along for the first edition of the NWR Newscast Game Club, featuring Blaster Master Overdrive.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/podcastArt.cfm?artid=21156

 NWR Newscast Episode 11: Overdrivin'    

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The NWR Newscast is back along with Neal, Zach and Andy to talk about all things news-related.    

Review's-a-plenty as Zach looks at Dark Void Zero, Andy explores Shiren the Wanderer, and Neal prosecutes Ace Attorney Investigations.      

Stick around for the first part of our new feature, the Newscast Game Club featuring a discussion on the newest WiiWare hit, Blaster Master Overdrive.    

As always, we welcome any feedback you would like to give.    

Credits:    

This podcast was edited by Andy Goergen.    

Music for this episode of NWR Newscast is used with permission from A Boy Named Earth.

[Shaymin]

I think I solved the puzzle on your Player One equivalents.

Neal = CJ, podcast host, keeps the show going
Zach = Phil, old wiseman, most likely to hear "Quiet everyone, there's an old man talking!"
Andy = Some sort of hybrid of the Gregs, but more Ford as I'm not sure on his preference for racing games

[Halbred]

I'm Phil? Friggin' awesome.

*see what I did there?*

[NWR_DrewMG]

You may all address me as METAGREG.

Also I'm not really into racing games, but I *am* really into NCAA Football which is sort of the same.

[NWR_Neal]

I guess I also play games for like two hours and never touch them again. Sometimes.

[NWR_DrewMG]

For the record, I changed my editing software for this episode from Audacity to Garageband, so if it seems a bit choppy, that will get better over time as I get accustomed to the new software.

[ejamer]

Enjoyed the show guys - I like how you have a different feel from the other NWR podcasts, and always enjoy listening in.
 
One constructive criticsm though: be careful when talking about games you haven't played.  I'm pretty sure that you pegged a WiiWare game wrong - calling it tower defense when it was something entirely different.  Honest mistake, right?  But dismissing something that you either know nothing about (or "know" incorrectly) doesn't help to reinforce your image as brilliant paragons of gaming.   

[NWR_Neal]

We're brilliant paragons of gaming? For realz?

Dare I ask what game it was? Generally it's a pain in the ass gathering info about the WiiWare/DSiWare games when there isn't too much information out there, but we still should have pegged the game correctly.

[NWR_DrewMG]

A fair and honest critique, ejamer.  Thanks! 

[ejamer]

I'm pretty sure someone asserted that Bloons was a Tower Defense game - but it's really a much simpler cellphone-style game where players aim a dart, and try to pop as many balloons as possible.  The confusion is totally reasonable though.  There is a Bloons Tower Defense game out there... just not on WiiWare.
 
 
(Of course now I'm hoping that I didn't confuse podcasts or simply dream up this issue.  If I did, then maybe I need to start taking my own advice about double-checking facts before making comments.)
 

[NWR_DrewMG]

That's my fault.  I saw the name Bloons and assumed it was the same as the tower defense game that I played on the web.  Sorry about that!

[vudu]

The Cave Story TalkBack thread didn't seem like a good place to discuss this so I'm bringing the conversation over here.

Keep in mind that March 22 is still a month away. We're not going to be talking about Blaster Master for THAT long.

Mega Man 10 will be in between those two games.

Are you guys planning on doing Game Club every episode?

To be perfectly honest, I prefer Newscast to be short and sweet.  It seems like you're adding Game Club to get some audience participation and beef up the podcast.  I don't think it needs any of this.  Personally, I'd much prefer a short 45 minute to an hour podcast summing up the news/releases/etc.

Plus, since you're discussing new games in the segment some people might not want to hear about them right away.  Especially with games like Blaster Master and Cave Story which rely so heavily on exploration and discovery.  I'll admit you did a good job of avoiding spoilers on this episode, but what about the next?  You'll be farther into the game and if will hamper discussion if you can't talk in detail about some stuff that I'd frankly rather not hear at this point (I will play the game but I have no plans to in the next few weeks).  Am I supposed to keep the podcast on my iPod for the next several months until I beat the game?  RFN doesn't really have this problem with RetroActive since it centers around old games.

There's no reason why Game Club needs to be a part of Newscast.  My guess is it's just tacked onto the end of the episode because the three of you were already recording.  Since you're asking for reader/listener participation I think it would work better if there was just one thread/news story that included everything--posts, thoughts, short stand-alone podcasts, etc. rather than have a discussion thread and then spread the audio over a couple different podcasts.

Those are just my thoughts.  Do whatever you like--as I'm sure you will! 

[NWR_DrewMG]

Are you guys planning on doing Game Club every episode?

Ideally, no.  It just so happens that three games that are perfect for it are coming out two weeks apart.

These are all really excellent points, and worth consideration.  I've thought the same - it's hard to talk about new games, but still tell people who haven't played them yet that they should listen.   I'm not sure exactly what the best solution is, but we'll come up with something.   Perhaps Game Club is better off as it's own separate podcast?   For now, we're keeping Game Club as the final segment on the episode so that people have the option of ending the podcast when we begin it so that they don't get spoiled.   

As far as WHY we're doing it, it's just another way of adding something unique to the show, to help us gain an identity.  These are games that most of us have an interest in, and since RFN doesn't really cover downloadable titles exclusively in their show, we thought we could put a bit of a spotlight on them.

There's no reason why Game Club needs to be a part of Newscast.  My guess is it's just tacked onto the end of the episode because the three of you were already recording.  Since you're asking for reader/listener participation I think it would work better if there was just one thread/news story that included everything--posts, thoughts, short stand-alone podcasts, etc. rather than have a discussion thread and then spread the audio over a couple different podcasts.

I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at here.   Do you mean instead of talkback threads for each news article, you want one large news thread and podcasts are consolidated into that some how?  I'm missing something, that doesn't seem better.   Can you elaborate?

[Halbred]

This Newscast is still pretty young. I imagine segments will be added and dropped over the course of the next year while we figure out what we (and the listenered) respond to best.

[vudu]

As far as WHY we're doing it, it's just another way of adding something unique to the show, to help us gain an identity.  These are games that most of us have an interest in, and since RFN doesn't really cover downloadable titles exclusively in their show, we thought we could put a bit of a spotlight on them.

I like the idea and I see the value.  My only point is that it's not news therefore doesn't necessarily belong in the Newscast.

I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at here.   Do you mean instead of talkback threads for each news article, you want one large news thread and podcasts are consolidated into that some how?  I'm missing something, that doesn't seem better.   Can you elaborate?

No, that's not what I meant.    I suggested combining each individual Game Club discussion and podcast into one thread/news article.  For the case of Blaster Master Overdrive instead of having a discussion thread and then two separate podcasts (each with their own TalkBalk thread) the Game Club discussions into their own separate audio files and update the news articles with them when they're ready.  This way there's one thread with an ongoing discussion about the game plus a couple short audio files of you guys discussing them.

It would also be a good way of expanding the segment to include other staff members who might want to participate.  For example, if Zach didn't care about a game but a couple other staff members were keen on it they could record with you and Neal instead.  That probably causes scheduling issues, but I'm just spitting out ideas here.  Not all of them may be good or even practical.  For example, if it's a separate audio file that might cause issues for people who subscribe via iTunes and it might limit the audience.  Then again, you might also get people who don't normally listen to Newscast--or podcasts in general--because they want to hear about this one game.

Like I said, I'm just throwing around ideas.  In my mind at least, RetroActive "works" with RFN because it's more of a general-discussion podcast whereas Game Club seems a little odd to be lumped together with Newscast.

[NWR_DrewMG]

All good points, sir.   Like Zach said, we're still playing around with the format of the Newscast, so all feedback is welcome and considered.   

[NWR_Neal]

You have some good points, but couldn't you make a lot of same arguments against Retroactive? Some of those are spread out over multiple episodes, their discussion is spread out over different venues, etc.

I like Game Club because it's something that's touched on anywhere else. I don't see a lot of focus on WiiWare (and DSiWare for that matter), and to me, it seems criminally under appreciated by the industry at large. This is another attempt to shed light on WiiWare titles.

Also, we're focusing on new titles, not old ones. And, while this isn't the explicit reason why the segment was at the end of the podcast, it's placed in a way that the listener can just be "well, I don't care to hear this ever/yet."

[Jonnyboy117]

Experimentation is good, especially in the beginning. Don't be afraid to try something that might fail.