Geek To Geek Podcast

The Final Fantasy Series, Part 2 In this episode: The Final Fantasy series has lots of sequels and spinoffs that aren’t part of the mainline, numbered series. There are some sequels, some movies, and some mashups like Kingdom Hearts that just take the FF characters and give them a new world to explore together. Some are good and some (like the new Justice Monsters 5) are total garbage. But which are which? (Hint: The new Kingsglaive movie is awesome.) We discuss our thoughts on Final Fantasy MMOs, and the gist of it is that both of us wish they had called them Final Fantasy Online instead of mainline numbered games. We have played both FFXI and FFXIV, and XIV felt more like a Final Fantasy game, even though it being an MMORPG made it so that the story couldn’t be anywhere near as compelling as the single-player installments. Do the old-school Final Fantasy games (I-VI) hold up to modern standards? Some of them really do! But which ones? Bwahahahah, listen to find out! We both love love love the remasters and

The Final Fantasy Series, Part 1 In this episode: Our history with Final Fantasy! Beej actually started with FF1, but was so young that he didn’t understand much of what he was doing. He played IV and VI (II and III to you 90s-kid Americans out there) from the video store over and over and over and over again. Void was the opposite side of the Final Fantasy-loving 90s kid, and he started the series with FFVII which brought him into the broad, magical world of jRPGs, summon magic, and random encounters. He, though, went hardcore and did a full mainline Final Fantasy playthrough--going from FF1 to FFXIV in order. Speaking of, we go through the entire Final Fantasy series, giving you listeners a survey of the highpoints regarding each one. FFI - pick a party of classes and level them up FFII - the more you use a skill the more it levels up (skills level up individually) FFIII - first job system FFIV - first real narrative with jobs uniquely tied to characters for the first time FFV - first in-depth job syst

Hype and Media Coverage In this episode:   In the wake of No Man's Sky, we're talking about pre-release hype and gaming media in general. Hype generally makes us avoid games because so much of the pre-release media is blown out of proportion. Expectations can be raised that aren’t met very often. But we do love being a part of the discussion after a game is released. When we were younger, however, we both used to get super excited and consume all pre-release media as a kid. Gaming magazines were a much different hype machine than the current state of the internet and social media. When do we pay attention to pre release media and when do we go on media blackout? Basically, if we are interested in a game, we will consume all the pre-release media until we decide if we'll buy it. Then totally tune out the rest. If there is a game we somehow miss (such as Stardrew Valley), we listen to trusted friends and gauge our purchases on their opinions. We also talk about what games lived up to the hype, as well as w

No Man’s Sky In this episode: No Man's Sky is out! And we’ve played a bunch! We were both excited for the game, but avoided a lot of hype and details being released because we wanted to experience the game for ourselves. That said, we have mixed feelings about the game. The first 10-15 hours of the game are brilliant. The first time you see a new element of the game, it is breathtaking and truly a unique gaming experience. It takes about 15 hours of playtime to start to see the limits of the procedural generation, which takes some of the wonder away. The game is basically a survival and gathering game more than exploration. You gather resources, craft upgrades for either yourself or your spaceship, travel to a new planet/solar system, and repeat the process. Inventory management is a big part of the game, which was a letdown for us, but that didn’t take away from the wonder we felt at discovering new aspects of the universe. Our favorite things? Glad you asked! Aliens! Ruins! Leaving a planet and seeing sp

Geeky Exercise Habits Are Geeky! In this episode: Just because we’re geeks doesn’t mean we don’t (or can’t) care about exercise. Both of us make time in our days to take care of ourselves. We make sure, however, that we still get in plenty of geekery while we’re out pounding the pavement. Running is both of our primary exercise. We were late-comers to the sport, and neither of us ever really thought it was something for us. But as post-college adults, something clicked, and we fell into step with running. (Pun totally intended, y’all.) Interestingly enough, we also both suffer from asthma. Void’s is allergy-induced, while Beej’s is exercise-induced. Both of us have to train differently than non-asthmatics, and it took a while for us both to become comfortable with that. In the end, we realized that being healthy and fit is a personal issue that concerns only us, and we learned how to stop comparing ourselves to others--but it wasn’t an immediate thing! Running and exercise sessions are prime time for listeni

Gaming for Non-Gamers In this episode: After getting a question from a listener about how to get their spouse to play games, it got us thinking. There are a whole lot of people out there who don’t consider themselves gamers. But almost everyone plays games thanks to smartphones. So why don’t they identify as gamers? Is it because they were never introduced to them? Is is a negative cultural stereotype? One of the biggest hurdles is simply the controller.  The number of buttons and the layout are super intimidating. Our suggestion is to introduce people to smartphone games because the interface is something almost everyone is used to already. Mobile games get around the controller issue. Find a gameplay mechanic or IP that interests you or the person who you want to introduce to gaming. Do they love Star Wars? Then maybe Star Wars: Angry Birds is the way to go. Do they like puzzle games? Try Two Dots or Candy Crush (seriously!). Do you enjoy strategic thinking? Well, Hero Academy and Bloon Tower Defense are p

Star Trek Beyond In this episode: Void and Beej discuss their lifelong histories with the Star Trek franchise. Beej was introduced to The Original Series by his father when he was a wee tot, and Void found The Next Generation in syndication, eventually coming to Voyage with his family. Both guys are big fans of the Abrams reboots, and can appreciate how the TV and film franchises are split between the Prime universe and the Kelvin universe. That way both purists are happy, and so are mainstream fans. Regarding Star Trek Beyond, there are lots of spoilers in this cast, but we do tell listeners when they start. You can be sure that the first third to half of the show are spoiler-free, and then we dig in on the new movie. Overall impressions: Star Trek Beyond are beyond positive (heh heh, get it?), and we think the series has hit its stride. We had our origin for the universe in 2009, and Into Darkness was a decent rehash of Wrath of Khan that established this new timeline, and Beyond takes this series into new

JRPGs In this episode: It’s #JRPGJuly, and you guys know by now that we are both huge fans of roleplaying games! But more than just any RPG, we adore JRPGs. In this episode, we discuss our history of why we prefer the unique genre to the more traditional Western RPG. We discuss what a JRPG is (literally “Japanese Roleplaying Game”) Common mechanics Turn based battles Leveling and gearing up Being able to “grind” your way to the next part of the game Typically have a Japanese story translated, not a western story from our culture. Pre-made characters and narrative vs Character creator/player choice (think Fallout/Skyrim) Both of us cut our teeth on the genre with early Final Fantasy games, Pokemon games, and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars on SNES. Additionally, we discuss our current favorites, the standouts from the past we just can’t get go of, and the ones we are most looking forward to in the future! We even go on tangents about how JRPGs influenced our belief systems and personal philosop

Pokemon GO! In this episode: Pokemon Go launched this week, and like everyone else in the world, we  went crazy for it. However, despite our nerdlove for the app, there is a decided lack of documentation and tutorials, so we want to help other people make sense of what we’ve learned this week. We discuss how the game works How do to use pokestops and why you need them How to fight/train in gyms and the rules for it You can fight alongside other players on your team at the same time! What does battery-saver mode actually do? What good is evolving and how does transferring work? Why are there so many Pidgeys? We also take on the role of armchair developers and discuss what we think will make the app much more robust and likely to keep our attention. Quests or a small storyline Real documentation Friends lists Pokemon trading Friend battles Background mode! Public events and legendary Pokemon hunts! Weekly Geekery Beej - Meetup.com Void - 999 Be sure to subscribe to the Geek to Geek Podcast you

Playing Games the Way You Want In this episode: We talk about the different ways people play games! Speedrunning Difficulty Settings Modding Handy Links Stephen Colbert Speedrunning Summer Games Done Quick Aggrochat Podcast Weekly Geekery Beej - Gravity Falls Void - Chroma Squad / Netflix Original Voltron Be sure to subscribe to the Geek to Geek Podcast your favorite podcast app, drop a review so we know how we’re doing, and feel free contact us via email at geektogeekcast@gmail.com or @geektogeekcast on Twitter with any comments, questions, or suggestions for the show. Thanks for listening, and we can’t wait to hear from you! Subscribe: iTunes Overcast Pocket Casts Google Play Music RSS Feed Geek to Geek Podcast Network: Geek to Geek Geek Fitness Health Hacks The Comic Box Video Game News Now Music by CarboHydroM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/geektogeekcast/support

Best of the First Half of 2016 In this episode: We discuss the top picks across all media that really stood out to us. We want to make sure that the truly phenomenal work that impressed us this year doesn’t go unnoticed by you folks. We break down the topics into categories like movies, books, tv, comics, and games. Not all of the stuff we talk about is necessarily released in 2016, but it was new to us in 2016, which is way better than the stuff going unnoticed at all, right? Void’s Top Picks Musical Hamilton Movies Captain America: Civil War Star Wars The Force Awakens TV Game of Thrones Season 6 Star Wars Rebels Season 2 Daredevil Season 2 Final Season of Mythbusters Comics Rat Queens Board Games Pandemic Legacy Video Games Audioshield and Holopoint for Vive Hearthstone’s Single-player Adventures Overwatch Stardew Valley Steamworld Heist Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright / Conquest Persona 4 Golden Firewatch Beej’s Top Picks Musical Hamilton Movies Star Wars: The Force Awak

Pokemon Go with Dumbbells and Dragons Kenny from the Dumbbells and Dragons podcast joins Beej in a special GEEK OUT show. Turns out, Beej and Kenny are kindred spirits--nerds who really love health and fitness. They talk running and Marvel comics, as well as lifting. The main topic, though, is Pokemon Go, Nintendo’s upcoming mobile app. Kenny is a field tester for the app in Los Angeles. He spills all kinds of details to Beej. Apparently, the game is incredibly addictive, but lacks documentation at this point. With it being so close to release, that's scary. Battling only happens against other players, and once a Pokemon faints, you have to go out into the world to find a revive--you can't buy them! Being a fitness guy, Kenny fits right in with the app. He's always moving, so he has a lot of chances to catch ‘em all. (They did program in a way to avoid people catching Pokemon while driving.) Be sure to subscribe to the Geek to Geek Podcast your favorite podcast app, drop a review so we know how we’re doing

The Marvel Cinematic Universe In this episode: The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is one of the biggest franchises in movie history. We love it. Love it love it love it. Beej and Void discuss everything from what works in the MCU (and why), their favorite properties and recommendations, and which TV shows or movies, they’d be fine with never seeing again--or at all. But a decade ago, we weren’t all enamored with it (yet). Lots of people had no idea who Iron Man was, and comics fans like Beej wondered why they would bring their B-team to the screen. Comics dabblers like Void weren’t excited because of the lackluster comics movies like Daredevil and X3. If you haven’t seen Jessica Jones on Netflix, go binge watch it. We’ll wait. It’s worth watching even if you’re not into the MCU at all. It’s not a typical superhero show in the same way Battlestar Galactica isn’t a typical science-fiction show. Sure, there are people with superpowers, but they are background to the personal story being told. Just like how the

GEEK OUT! - The Comic Box In this episode: The Comic Box! Go check it out, seriously! Knowby on Twitter Email TheComicBoxPodcast@gmail.com Be sure to subscribe to the Geek to Geek Podcast your favorite podcast app, drop a review so we know how we’re doing, and feel free contact us via email at geektogeekcast@gmail.com or @geektogeekcast on Twitter with any comments, questions, or suggestions for the show. Thanks for listening, and we can’t wait to hear from you! Subscribe: iTunes Overcast Pocket Casts Google Play Music RSS Feed Geek to Geek Podcast Network: Geek to Geek Geek Fitness Health Hacks The Comic Box Video Game News Now Music by CarboHydroM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/geektogeekcast/support

E3 2016 + The Warcraft Movie (Non-Spoilers) In this episode: E3! Void has spent every second of his spare time this week watching E3 press conferences and compiling the news for people like Beej who want to know but don’t have the time (or patience in Beej’s case) to watch the feeds. This year’s E3 is a mixed-bag, but there is a lot of good stuff being talked about. There are no “blow up the internet” announcements, but we do finally get to see progress and gameplay from titles that have only been previously announced, such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We go through each of the press conferences and live streams that have happened at the time of recording and talk abotu what, if any, standouts there are and discuss the big trend of E3 2016: early 2017 release dates. The Warcraft Movie! Both of us fall solidly into the 8/10 category for the Warcraft movie. We went in expecting nothing, but were more than pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. We aren’t raving fanboys, but are fans of th

Gaming Preferences as We Age In this episode: We’re old(ish). We aren’t the young, twitchy gamers we once were, and our lives don’t give us the luxury of spending 8-12 hours a day playing games. Because of this, our gaming preferences have changed since we were younger. For Void, instead of twitchy games like Counter Strike and Starcraft, he’s moved into more narrative games and casual experiences. The sleep function on a 3DS, as well as quicksaves on mobile games help him balance his responsibilities as a husband and father more easily than long gaming sessions can. For Beej, his personality changed since he was younger. A former griefer and MMO scammer, he has since moved from the selfish, solo player who gained enjoyment from knowing he made someone else have a terrible day because of a video game into a team-player who doesn’t care about competition, winning, or losing as long as he and his team had fun while playing. For both of us, we find that lowering the difficulty of games and using guides is no lo

Nintendo! In this episode: Nintendo! Nintendo! Nintendo! Admittedly, the guys a’re fanboys, but they’ve earned that title. Both of their earliest memories involve warm fuzzies emanating from the original NES. Between Beej’s parents having Duck Hunt competitions, and Void playing Super Mario Bros. at daycare, the guys have both owned every single Nintendo system that was released (except for Beej--he just couldn’t do it for the Wii U, and he tells you why!). The Wii is one of the the most innovative consoles ever created, and it ate up much of Void’s college years through Wii Sports Bowling, and somehow Nintendo’s Wii Fit balance board made Beej have body image issues (which may or may not be worse than the Nintendo 64 causing him to week as an 8th grader). Did the Wii U live up to its potential? And is buying one a regret Void will take with him to the grave? No to both! The Nintendo 3DS may be the best console on the market right now. Between the variety of models you can choose from, the massive first-part

Virtual Reality (HTC Vive) In this episode: Void bought an HTC Vive! Don’t know what that is? Great! That’s why we’re doing this episode! We want to introduce you to virtual reality gaming. Since not everyone (Beej included) has had an opportunity to experience VR, live vicariously through Void while Beej incessantly questions him about the technology. Playing the Scully to Void’s Mulder, Beej plays (is) the skeptic and questions everything Void knows about VR. First off: is this a fad? What is the HTC Vive, anyway? Is it all inclusive, or is it a PC peripheral? Honestly, who is this technology for? What is the future of virtual reality? Or at least, where does it seem to be heading? Should naysayers/skeptics buy it now or wait? Void’s Must have games for HTC Vive Audioshield Hover Junkers Holopoint Tiltbrush Games to avoid Windlands inMind inCell Weekly Geekery Void - Pocket Card Jockey Beej - Star Trek Beyond’s New Trailer / Overwatch Animated Shorts Health Hack Drink some water! It’s su

Audiobooks! In this episode: We talk about how we got started with audiobooks, and not surprisingly, we both started with free trials to Audible that got us hooked on the format. Multiple places to get them. Our favorite is Audible, but you can also try Overdrive (ask your local library for free access!), iTunes, and good ole CDs and cassette tapes (that’s why they’re called books on tape, after all). We discuss the pros and cons of each. Audiobooks help us make our mundane tasks more fun and interesting while keeping us engaged in books we want. Narrators make a big difference, and we can get through hard-to-read books because their performances make such a difference. Recommendations The Martian The Name of the Wind Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card Lock In by John Scalzi Weekly Geekery Void - Masterchef Australia Beej - Hamilton: An American Musical Health Hack Find some staple meals! Instead of raiding your pantry and spending time not knowing what to eat or making a bad decision and orderi

Captain America: Civil War In this episode: SPOILERS AHEAD! But that helps you enjoy things more. For real! We are talking pretty in-depth about Captain America: Civil War, so if you haven’t seen it or don’t want to know the outcome of #TeamCap vs #TeamIronMan...well, you’ve been warned. Civil War didn’t feel like a Captain America movie. But it also didn’t feel like an Avengers movie. The cast was huge, and unlike some recent ensemble movies, this one pulled it off very well. In Civil War, we get fight scenes and backstory without the movie feeling bloated. The introductions of Spider-man and Black Panther are more than cameos. Plus, they’re not origin stories, and they get real fight scenes that matter! The movie fits in the MCU, and previous viewing is pretty much required. And that’s a good thing. It creates investment in the viewer, and your emotional response is earned. It can still be enjoyed as a standalone, but it is extra meaningful if you’ve been around since the beginning. To us, this all seems l