Waypoint Radio

Content Warning: We begin with the Trump/Toad Discourse Today, Danielle, Natalie, Patrick, and Rob sit down to talk about the ways in which fandoms interpret works. Why is it that we can find the "horny" in just about any piece of media? When is it inconsequential fun, and when--as in the case of Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie--is the question of a character's sexuality something worth taking a little more seriously. Plus, we take a quick dip in the bucket to discuss a piece of lore from...

Welcome to a brand new Waypoint podcast! In Waypoints, the staff and friends will bring something to share: be it a TV show, art exhibit, movie, or other thing from the universe to discuss, dissect, and enjoy. On episode 1, Rob has things to say about fascist propaganda, Natalie has entered Twin Peaks for the first time, Austin has things to say about The Dragon Prince, and Patrick has the Nic Cage new horror classic Mandy. Where you can find this stuff: The Art of Influence Exhibit:...

On Waypoint Radio 187, Austin, Danielle, Rob, and Patrick discuss the epic troll Nintendo pulled on Animal Crossing fans in its recent Nintendo Direct. Really, we talk through all of the announcements from the presenttaion, including Luigi's ghostly form, Switch ports, and that big Animal Crossing on Switch reveal. Then we talk about games we've been playing, including the masque of Red Death, The Messenger, Frozen Synapse, and more. And, of course, there's a dip in the question bucket and...

Danielle, Cado, Natalie and Rob sit down to talk lore in games, when it's done well, when it's done poorly, and just why it's so hard to get right. We start with Destiny, a franchise that has radically changed just how it handles lore, and go deep into design that encourages intriguing, rather than eye-rolling detail about a game's world and characters. Discussed: Destiny, Destiny 2, Bloodborne, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Hollow Knight, Mass Effect, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, System...

Hey everyone, Austin here! As you may have heard, our sister site Broadly has launched a new podcast called Queerly Beloved all about LGBTQ communities, chosen families, and love--romantic and otherwise. To help them kick it off on the right foot, we wanted to share the first episode with you directly. Give it a listen, and if you like it, make sure to subscribe (and hey, leave a review telling them we sent you!) Catch y'all tomorrow with a regular Friday ep of Waypoint Radio! --- Queerly...

We have a little something special for Waypoint listeners today: an interview with Sarah Burke, co-host of our sister site Broadly's new podcast, Queerly Beloved. Queerly Beloved is a multifaceted portrait of LGBTQ chosen family—the people who help us figure out who we are and inspire us to live as our most authentic selves. Waypoint's own Danielle chats with Sarah about the new show, on creating media for queer folks by queer folks, and avoiding pitfalls in queer media. You can listen to...

On episode 185 of Waypoint Radio, the full team—Austin, Natalie, Cado, Patrick, Rob, and Danielle—talk about the many games they've been playing and discussing. There's some football. There's Call of Duty Black Ops 4. There's a whole lot of Shadow of the Tomb Raider. There's even some serious Valkeryia Chronicles IV chatter. And then, there are some fabulous Waypoints. Discussed: The Bears/Packers NFL game on 9/9/18, Marvel's Spider-Man, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Valkeryia Chronicles IV,...

Rob and Waypoint Freelancer Dia Lacina get together to discuss Dia's review of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, titled 'Shadow of the Tomb Raider' Tries, but Fails, to Tackle Its Own Colonialism. Dia reads her review, which goes in on the ways in which the game seems to want to contend with the negative elements of the colonialist power fantasy at the heart of the franchise, but lacks substance in so many elements. Then she and Rob buckle down for an in-depth, spoiler-inclusive discussion of the...

Content warning for some ableist language. Danielle, Natalie, Rob, and Patrick settle in for an in-depth discussion of "puddlegate"—the kerfuffle that occurred when some gamers thought the new Spider-Man game on PS4 had downgraded visuals compared to its E3 showing. We talk about tech fetishism, elitism, and entitlement, alongside social media frenzies and the media's role in it all. Then, we hit the question bucket and sign off for the weekend. Discussed: Marvel's Spider-Man, PC gaming,...

Austin and Patrick get together to read and discuss Patrick's review of Spider-Man, out this week. Patrick reads his piece, where he praises the game's excellent swinging mechanics, surprisingly nuanced story, and overall world, while throwing some shade at its boring side-quest design. Discussed: Spider-Man, Batman: Arkham Asylum

Patrick, Austin, and Danielle hold court live from their panel at PAX West 2018, with a fierce discussion of Gundam, a not-great-seeming game called the Quiet Man, better games like Spelunky 2 and Get in the Car, Loser, thoughts on Streets of Rage 4 with Jeff Gerstmann, and a LIVE question bucket session. Discussed: Get in the Car, Loser! The Quiet Man, Spelunky 2, Gris, Windjammers 2, Streets of Rage 4, Gundam

Content warning for abuse, starting at 1:07:18 in the episode. Welcome to the shadows, in Waypoint's deep dive on Shadowrun: Dragonfall. Austin, Rob, and Joel dig into the game's aesthetics, politics, characters and scenarios of this cyberpunk RPG.

Content warning for discussion of gun violence. On Episode 182, Patrick, Austin, and Danielle discuss the shooting this weekend in Jacksonville, Fla, where a gunman opened fire at a Madden tournament. We talk about gun violence in America and the increasingly infuriating political landscape surrounding it, then break for a discussion of games and Waypoints for the week. Discussed: the shooting in Jacksonville on 8/26, Call of Duty, Mobile Suit Gundam: 0080 War in the Pocket, Almost Human,...

In episode 181 of Waypoint Radio, we get very excited about good game tutorials. Danielle, Rob, and Patrick discuss what makes a good tutorial and in-game learning experience, with special attention paid to games they're into right now: Bad North, Dead Cells, and F1 2018. Then they look at some historic examples and take a dip in the question bucket. Note: episode contains a content warning for discussion of Nazi imagery in games. The King's Bird, Bad North, Dead Cells, F1 2018, Valkeryia...

Happy Thursday... and happy BONUS podcast day, too! Yesterday on Twitch, we revived the old "VICE Gaming's New Podcast" format to to talk about Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (Fromsoft's upcoming ninja-action game), which Austin got about an hour of hands-on time with a couple of weeks ago. But that wasn't our only conversation: We also dig into the announcement of the Dark Pictures Anthology, a new series of short horror games by the creators of Until Dawn, the new Daemon X Machina trailer, and...

Content warning for discussion of transphobic language from approximately 38:38 to 41:33. On episode 180 of Waypoint Radio, Danielle talks about her real-life fighting game, Austin falls down a tactics hole, Rob and Austin are both living out cold-war woes in Phantom Doctrine, and Patrick has become a true Dead Cells Connoisseur. Then, we dip into the question bucket and close out on waypoints from the worlds of film, TV, comics, and other podcasts. Discussed: grappling, Telltale's The...

Patrick reads his recent article, One of Counter-Strike’s Leading Analysts Wants You to Know Alex Jones Rules, before joining Rob to discuss what drew him to reporting on this particular esports analyst, the ongoing professionalization of esports broadcasting, and the harsh reaction to the piece from certain segments of the esports community. Towards the end, they talk about how publishing this piece resulted in a bunch of old photos from Patrick’s college days surfacing, photos with...

In Episode 179 of Waypoint Radio, Rob, Patrick, and Danielle discuss the games that we may have gotten a little *too* obsessed with. Rob regales everyone with his sim-racing and Max Payne Antics, Danielle has over 600 hours in Into the Breach, and Patrick has had his share of super-hard platformers to stream to the world. Then we dip in the question bucket and bid the weekend hello. Discussed: GT Legends, GTR 2, RACE 07, Into the Breach, Spelunky, Max Payne 2, Unity of Command, Killer7,...

Content warning for discussion of misogyny in film towards the end of the episode. On Waypoint Radio today, Patrick, Natalie, Rob and Danielle do a little show and tell on the games they've been digging into lately, including We Happy Few, The Final Station, Rome 2's latest expansion and Breath of the Wild. There's also a SECRET SURPRISE anime game from Natalie, and a whole bunch of excellent Waypoints, We Happy Few, Sir, You Are Being Hunted, The Final Station, Rome 2: Rise of the...

Content warning for discussion of abuse. In this transmission from Waypoint Radio, Natalie, Rob, Patrick, and Danielle discuss depictions of abuse in video games: starting with the recent Captain Spirit. They discuss the problems with "redemption arcs" in popular fiction and two major examples in The Witcher series, as well as pop culture characters and real-life figures who contended with abuse in their lives. Discussed: The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, The Witcher 3, The Witcher...