Tag: retro
[RETROSOMETHING] Flat Earth
We are winding down our Retrocast Party, but we have this one and one more… and they are some doozies! First off, Rob has chosen an episode where we tried something a little different, stick around though, the second half of the episode reveals all. It is a favorite for everyone except for those that have never seen the curvature of the globe… it’s Flat Earth, from April 30th 2019.
Our original post:
In the last month or two a documentary came out talking about one of the strangest theories of the last couple decades.. is it a sign that perhaps we were wrong about the make up of our universe or is it the inevitable problem of what happens when everybody finds a friend on the internet?
Well, join Podcast Rob and Hatton on Episode 134as they deep dive into the documentary Behind The Curve, available on Netflix, which discusses the possibility that this planet we all know and love (planet here meaning a celestial body moving in an elliptical orbit around a star.)
Two other notes – first, the end song of today’s show is “Turtles All The Way Down” by New Jersey legends A Halo Called Fred. You can find the whole song right here. And their YouTube Channel right here! Thanks for the assist, you crazy kids!
Full Episode
[BLOG] Hatton talks ‘Old School gaming trends’!
A Little Bit of Something About Old Gaming Trends…
Over the years, there have been a lot of gaming styles that have come and gone. For a while it was a nonstop litany of Grand Theft Auto clones, and then it was the EA formula of ‘climb tallest spot to unlock area’ games, and crafting games, and MOBA style online games. Lately, as you may be aware, there are a glut of Dead By Daylight ‘4 v 1’ type games. Trends guide an industry, but sadly, that always means that something gets left in the dust – and what it leaves behind isn’t always as good as it once was.
Here are a few gaming trends that have died down that I really miss.
PUZZLERS
Anyone who knows me, knows that I live for puzzles. I spent many a night hunched over my Nintendo, trying to solve a level of Adventures of Lolo or Kickle Cubicle. There are games out there now that embody the classics of puzzlers of years gone by, but they range from the ‘one concept over and over’ like the many Lighton series of games or the variations of Sudoku – to the infuriatingly hard like the games created by puzzle genius Zactronic.
With exceptions out there like Filament and The Pedestrian, there aren’t many well thought puzzle games that grind your brain into the best kind of dust.
ADVENTURE
Back in the day, we had two kinds of music, country and/or western, rock and/or roll, hip and/or hop. Well in games it was action and/or adventure. Action games were all about running, gunning, shooting, blasting, moving. Adventure games, like the Sierra ‘Quest’ games, 7th Guest, Maniac Mansion, and the best selling game of all time (until 2002), Myst.
Sadly, adventure games, with the ease they can be created with simple engines, a glut of ‘escape room’ flash games and impossible to figure out ‘moon logic’ style games (even amongst the best) have made it really hard to find the gems amongst the trash. The best of recent years is the Sam and Max series by Tell Tale and Life is Strange.
TEXT ADVENTURE
Ok, so I’m sure you’ve caught on that this list is a lot of old genres, and maybe – if you are an old game nerd like me, you’ll go ‘Hatton, there are text adventures coming out every year’ — and the rest of you are utterly confused… but it’s true. Every year, a group of ever-shrinking fans of the old school ‘GO WEST’ ‘OPEN MAILBOX’ ‘READ FLYER’ fans are hiding in their dark basements, fearful of being eaten by a Grue.
There’s a reason though, that the advent of graphics and the much more reflex oriented gaming styles took over and text adventures are more often than not an easter egg or a sly wink in a much bigger game production. That doesn’t mean they aren’t out there – and I highly recommend ‘Stories Untold’ for blending that nostalgia and modern gaming sensibilities gorgeously. I just wish there were more like it out there.
So, oldschool computer nerds – what genre’s do you miss? You know how to tell us. Want to nerd out about Castle of Dr. Brain? Drop a message to @STSTCAST or @REVVOICE on twitter, and we’ll see you next week.
[Throwback] Saturday Morning Cartoons!
It’s December, which means the Somethings are taking the month to recharge, rebuild, and record. We’ll be back in 2021 with even more ‘Something!’
So this month, gather round and listen to the boys sound a lot younger talking about stuff from when they were even younger – a time before we even had a theme song!
It’s a Throwback to Episode 6 – Saturday Morning Cartoons…
Ok, here we go!
The Vault – Childhood Toys (that made us)
It’s a five week month! That means you get EXTRA SOMETHINGS!
We’re getting ready for our October Spooktacular episodes, so we headed into the vault and got you an episode that you have never ever ever heard.. we’ve discussed toys before, but we are talking about some of the toys that really were our gateway to other things.
So settle in with your Pet Rock, pet your Sea Monkeys lovingly, and make our logo with your Lite Brite… it’s time to toy it up!
Okay, here we go!
Famous Movie Cars
What’s going on all – the Somethings are on vacation, but that doesn’t mean you get to be…
What it does mean is that we are diving into the bin of episodes you’ve never heard and popping out with something cool. The only reason I’m mentioning it is that this episode was recorded quite a bit ago. If you are wondering why we’re not social distancing – there’s your reason.
That said – it is going to drive by you at 1.21ghz – we are talking about the things in movies that are the unsung heroes.. the vehicles the heroes drive. From big muscle cars to tricked out sci-fi contraptions, we are about to talk about cars that get you from place A to place B in style or are so cool the whole movie is about them.
Get in, because we got smokeys on our tail!
Ok, here we go!
The End: Small Wonder
She’s lovely and bright with soft curls… that’s right, she’s a smalllll wonder – and we are looking back to a simpler stranger time: the late 80’s where a sitcom didn’t necessarily have to be funny to get multiple seasons.
So what happens when your every day common American family build their own human looking roboslave? Oh – the shenanigans they have… and by shenanigans, we mean the more we peel this onion, the darker it gets.
Enjoy.
It’s time for The End: Small Wonder
Ok, here we go!
The End – Cheers
Don’t you sometimes want to get a way to a place where everybody knows your name?
That’s what the Somethings did this week as we take on another episode of THE END – did one of the historically beloved and remembered sitcoms hold up decades after it went off the air? How funny can dudes sitting at a bar really be?
Well hang out with PCR and Hatton, Mayday Malone, Carla, Cliff, Norm, and Woody as they talk about not just an episode, but a phenomenon in Cheers
Something In Review: Clue
A group of people who have seemingly never met all gather together, invited by the mysterious Mr. Boddy.
What we find out from there is how much they do know about each other and what they hold over each other’s heads….
Unendingly quotable and beloved by everyone with good taste, this movie made form a boardgame should not have ever been as good as it ended up… but here we are.
So count your bullets (1+1+2+1…) and douse the flames on the side of your head, we’re giving you Something In Review #9: Clue.
Something in Review: Willy Wonka
It’s Hatton’s Birthday Month, so we decided to talk about one of his favorite movies of all time.
What happens when a brilliant mad man opens up his chocolate factory for the first time in years? Oh, a bunch of kids get tortured… basic stuff. And please note, we’re talking about the 70’s Gene Wilder version because that is the only version.
Get ready for a little Pure Imagination… with Something In Review #8: Willy Wonka