Topic: PODCAST: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 116

[Jonnyboy117]

This half-length episode needs to suffice for two weeks' worth of podcasts.  Luckily, we have Bonnie Ruberg and Evan to make it special.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/podcastArt.cfm?artid=16733

 "So Bonnie, what do all girls think about X?"  



 Episode 116: Broken Promises    

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This is a very unusual episode for a couple of reasons.  First, we are pleased to welcome Bonnie Ruberg to RFN as a special guest.  A former contributor to Nintendo World Report, Bonnie now freelances for The Village Voice, The Onion, and even Playboy.  Her blog, Heroine Sheik, showcases the intersection of gaming with sex and gender issues.  Bonnie also holds two dubious honors: she is the first-ever female guest on the podcast (it only took two years!), and she appears on the first episode in quite a while that we nearly lost to technical difficulties.    

In fact, we did lose the second half of the show, in which Bonnie led us through a fascinating and surprisingly somber discussion of sexuality in games.  We talked about past and present games with sex scenes or allusions to sex, and we also pondered whether games can evolve into a sophisticated storytelling medium with the current stigmas and policies against sex.  Unfortunately, you'll never get to hear this great feature discussion because part of the audio was permanently lost.  It's nobody's fault (well, maybe Steve Jobs), but it's a damn shame.    

While deciding what could be done with the remaining New Business segment from Bonnie's show, we moved on with our regular schedule for the following episode.  Evan Burchfield, RFN co-founder and jeweler to the stars, joined us after a long absence from the show.  Sadly, misfortune struck again when Jonny's Internet went down after only a few minutes of recording.  We decided to abandon this week's episode and start fresh next time, but there was one bit worth preserving: a Chibi-Robo retrospective between Evan and Jonny, as requested by DAaaMan64 - (Winner of the Most Terrible Username Award) from the forums.  Sadly, even this discussion was lost to technical problems, as Evan's audio was recorded at such a high speed that James couldn't slow it down for synchronization.  Instead, you'll hear a few comments from Evan at Chipmunk Speed, just for laughs.    

We'll be back next week with a real, full-length episode.  Until then, enjoy this Frankenstein-esque stopgap.    

Credits:    

This podcast was edited by James Jones.    

Music for this episode of Radio Free Nintendo is used with permission from Jason Ricci & New Blood. You can purchase their new album, Rocket Number 9, directly from the record label, or download it from iTunes, or call your local record store and ask for it!

[Jonnyboy117]

I'm really sorry that it took so long to get this thing published.  Aside from losing part of Bonnie's audio, we had several more technical and communication problems that led to it being delayed well beyond the normal editing period.  James did his best with what he had.

The good news is that 117 is shaping up to be a real beast.

[DAaaMan64]

No problem Jonny. I'm excited to hear it as usual

[TheFleece]

Tech issues happen all the time, it's too bad about Bonnie's discussion though I would have liked to hear it. Anway Mega Man 2 is the best, for me I like the music the most.

[Schadenfreude]

It lives! Length aside, looking forward to listening. I expect 117 and 118 to be excellent episodes.

[D_Average]

Epic Episode!

First girl and first falsetto performance!

Not a bad job Jonny, your performance reminded me of this guy's voice at minute 2:52 if this blast from the past:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jJWQkVgDs4

[Jonnyboy117]

Ugh, I didn't realize that we lost even the small part of Evan's episode to yet another audio problem.  I just edited the article to reflect what is actually in the show.  I thought we could use that Chibi-Robo talk, but apparently not.  :-(

[MarioIsFrench]

Is Evan going to be in Episode 117?

btw, i just saw rented Caligula and going home tonight to see what all the hoopla is about.

[ShyGuy]

I read the conference news and I think WIISPEAK WILL SAVE THE PODCAST. 4 person chat, one audio stream to record, what could go wrong?

[NWR_Lindy]

More importantly, you'll be able to listen to our podcast on your DSi!

MIND = BLOWN

[yoshi1001]

At least you were able to salvage something. In the future, would it be possible to have someone just sit in and record the Skype version so that you would have a backup mixed version just in case something went wrong?

[GoldenPhoenix]

Great show guys. Bonnie was fascinating to listen to and proves why a more female presence is a good thing.

Yes I'm back and what a great time to come back, with a first female co-host on the Podcast! Thanks to the staff for cleaning things up here!

[BeautifulShy]

Welcome back Golden.

[Crimm]

The problem with using the skype feed is twofold.

One, skype recording is a bit intensive.  Audacity is fragile, and we dare not anger it.

The second is quality.  There is a sufficent lag in skype that it could be an issue.  There are also level imbalances (for example on my end Jon is always very quiet), and background noise I couldn't edit out or reduce like I can with individual audio tracks.

[yoshi1001]

The problem with using the skype feed is twofold.

One, skype recording is a bit intensive.  Audacity is fragile, and we dare not anger it.

The second is quality.  There is a sufficent lag in skype that it could be an issue.  There are also level imbalances (for example on my end Jon is always very quiet), and background noise I couldn't edit out or reduce like I can with individual audio tracks.

Been there. Still, at least you could use it as a last resort where the loss of quality outweiged the loss of content. On a side note, do you use any dynamic range compression on the final audio? I sometimes have a problem when I play the podcast on my FM adapter where it doesn't matter how high I turn it up because the signal:noise isn't high enough for some parts.

[Yoshidious]

Sophia, it's nice having you back. We very much appreciate your feedback here in the talkback threads in addition to your listener mail questions.

[Pale]

Does anyone else listen to TWiT?

Leo Laporte does all his podcasts through Skype and he records all voices on his end.  What does he have that supports this?  Is there any way we could make this possible?

[Pale]

Wallace and Gromit is the next game from the Sam and Max guys isn't it?

[Nick DiMola]

Wallace and Gromit is the next game from the Sam and Max guys isn't it?

Yeah it is, though systems are currently unconfirmed. I'd guess the only sure destination is PC.

[D_Average]

Does anyone else listen to TWiT?

Whats that stand for?

[Pale]

This Week in Tech

http://twit.tv

[NWR_Karl]

Laporte's able to make things work with Skype mostly due to the fact that almost all of his guests have fantastic internet speeds / microphones. And there are still plenty of technical hiccups along the way, with people dropping out of the call, talking out of sync, etc. He's able to get away with it mostly because he's Leo Fucking Laporte. Sklens and Burchfield used to record this way, way back when Evan was using like a TRS-80, but I think we'll all agree that the podcast is much more listenable, from a sound quality point of view, post recording separate tracks.

[- NintendoFan -]

I don't know if you guys have tried this, but it seems to help.

Per Steve Gibson's suggestion I use a dedicated port for Skype (any port above 1024 will do), and open that port for UDP connections on my router. This eliminates the need for Skype Supernode support and seems to reduce latency.

http://twit.tv/podcastequipment

[Schadenfreude]

I hope you guys read the question I sent in the next time you record; I put a lot of thought into it.