Gamers Over 50 Podcast

In episdoe 100 I needed to come up with a concept that would help drive the pdocast forward. I was amazed the topic of gaming achievements hadn't crossed my mind, and here we are!

I continue talking about the folks who were not developing games but delivering amazing artistic, music and writing/journalistic contributions in the 00's, 10's and 20's!

Music, Art and Writing in the video game industry is a very mainstream topic today, but it hasn't always been. In this episode I discuss the people who composed, drew, painted, penned and wrote for and about video games in the 70's, 80's and 90's!

Continuing the decade by decade theme on game developers in the 2000's to 2020's, with more obscure facts! Every one of the games these developers brought to us should be played, I guarantee they are all awesome!

Knowing the games, the events and companies of the 70's, 80's and 90's has been great to walk through, but how about the people who developed these games? In this episode I talk about the influential people developing video games in these decades!

From the 1970's to today there have been a lot of obscure, esoteric and veiled realm stories that you might not remember or didn't ever hear about, this podcast fits tells some of their tales!

In this episode the homage to Nintendo continues with the 2000's, 2010's, 2020's! Nintendo is a cultural and gaming engine of change and did so in these three decades for sure! Also you can judge if I am a good parent or monster with a fun Christmas story!

I started to write the script for Nintendo through the decades and I couldn't cut topics, stories, legends and the bits and bytes that have changed the world, it would be a disservice to one of the most beloved game companies in the world and the people who have given us so much joy. This is more of a love letter to Nintendo then podcast episodes!

This one is the flops, the misses and the just didn't make its in video gaming, sadly not all games are good and intentions on making a good game can spiral out of control or never be there in the first place!

Volume 2 or Episode 91 continues the decade by decade challenge, with interesting facts about games and stories from my gaming experiences up to this last week!

I have spent the last 9 months of the 21-month hiatus thinking of a topic where I could learn and share something across all gamers over fifty. I played A LOT of games, started back up with some old favorites, tried new ones and then even took time off of gaming to do some other things! In this set of podcasts, I will be going decade by decade (70's, 80's, 90's, 00's, 10's, 20's) and sharing some facts, stats, stories and a quick summary.

The world wide phenomenon of Pokemon Go happened starting in 2016 and is still going today! BB and I discuss our "unofficial rules of Pokemon Go", talk about our experience with the game and give reccomendations!

Directional keys in gaming have been around from the arrow keys to WASD (What A Silly Direction) and now that you can use the mouse and keyboard it gives PC gaming a new levl of control! This is also BB's first game review as she adds on to Gamers (see episode 83) for Stardew Valley!

For a while I have been doing this podcast on my own, and changing the format to reviews has been great but it needed something. I found that something in my new podcast partner Bibi! This is an introduction to BiBi and we will be doing addendums to the first few game reviews and then playing games together going forward!

Fortnite is not just a shooting game with Battle Royale but it is 5 more game modes! It is also one of the hottest games out there since 2017! It is also one of the first shooter games I have reviewed!

Mario Kart has been around forever, well since the SNES and it has become one of the big games that is developed for new Nintendo platforms. It may be the greatest racing game ever created and I loved going down memory lane when doing this review!

Madden NFL or just Madden is the cornerstone of sports video games. John Madden was an icon in every facet of football and he brought his charisma and passion to everything he did in football and life. If you love the NFL then this is the perfect companion to your weekly subscription of games, your fantasy football roster and all of your team gear/clothing! It will definitely get you through the offseason and let your team win the super bowl (try Rookie mode first)!!!

The first game review is Stardew Valley, one of the greatest games ever made! Developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone, and still getting updates, enjoy the review!

Gamers Over 50 has been a lot of fun researching and learning about games and genres of games. Then I hit a wall on developing content...so I just played a lot of games! I started to think about games, then specifically games for us over 50. Should I play this game, do I need better hardware or different hardware? Is the pace of the game too fast or slow, do I have enough time to play the game or other factors. I also realized some games have me sitting and clicking way too much. Do I need to sit in front a monitor to the point I get eye strain, or I sit way too much! I put together some factors and am going to take some of the games I have played and put these factors in play to help give a better view of games for those over 50!

The interesting and obscure of the Christmas holiday was on my mind today and I took to the interweb to find some fun facts you can tell others any year, but especially this year. I also tried to track Santa with NORAD while recording!

So I am traveling like a majority of people this holiday season and while I may not go over an ocean or continent to continent and get stuck on a deserted island. I could get stuck in an airport or at our rental without electricity! I thought about grabbing a book to read or reread or a movie to watch or rewatch and some of the games I can travel with that would be great in an airport, at the house without power or along the way!

So there is a holiday coming up this week in the US and you may have some extra time with a couple days off or you work with folks in the US and they are all gone and not driving you crazy (I am very sorry for everything I do to drive my coworkers crazy) and you also have some extra time as well. In my first ever game review podcast I am going to review three of the biggest games this year and a couple other games I really liked and give my first, on a scale of 1-10, Gamers Over50 ratings!

Need a movie recommendation for this years Halloween or Samhain? Well I have a set of non-slasher type movies, Freddy do not visit me tonight, you either Michael or Jason, we already have a goalie for street hockey! I chose some of my favorite all time supernatural and monster movies that are classics and some that may not be considered classics but I love them! Some of the greatest actors and directors are in here too!

Halloween is not just about candy, but it has some really historical references attached to it that have been based on the lore and traditional stories around the Supernatural. The Supernatural is a great genre for everything not 100% SciFi or Fantasy but based in fiction or partial fact, and it's soooo cool! In this podcast I go in to that genre with one particular universe that has crossed gaming, entertainment, literature, LARPing and many other areas!

After a game is developed and produced, distributed and on the shelves or ready to be downloaded there are a bunch of ways to make money! In this episode I go through a lot and I mean a lot of ways to make some money, maybe not enough to live on or maybe you hit it big (don't trust that). Through this podcast I haven't advertised and don't plan on it for at least 24 more episodes, but I did start trying in another way and it has evolved in to a christmas ornament! (link below) Anywho, you can take your joy of video, board, card, dice, mobile games and make some extra money if you have the time! Meet Snowey Snowcone, who was brought together through my 3d modeling and printing podcasts! https://www.etsy.com/listing/1556361218/snowey-snowcone

PAX 2023 had so many great games and in this episode I discussed 11 that are were definite winners if you are looking for a great game to play now or put on your wishlist!  I was so very very very impressed with the diversity of games this year, so many genres, game types and the subject matter of the games was again so diverse and really a breath of fresh air! 

In this episode, I recap PAX West 2023 and give my Top 10 Favorite parts of the game convention and also give my 5 things I would change in all conventions! PAX West utilized the new Seattle Convention Center space aka Summit and the original space Apex this year and delivered one of my favorite gaming conventions ever! Huge thank you to Kate, Wayne and Heather for joining this podcast and sharing their perspectives on PAX West 2023!

In this podcast we will talk about where to find 3d models created by others, either for pay or for free.  I will also go through my experience with 3d printing, this is mainly to show you that someone with zero experience in all of the 3d printing concepts can 3d print and a few tips on what I have learned! Also while prepping for this episode, I downloaded Autodesk Fusion, created my very own 3d model and have successfully printed it several times!

This podcast may a bit longer than normal, the subject matter is pretty expansive! We jump in to the WABAC machine (thank you to Mr Peadbody and Sherman) and discuss 3d Modeling's origins, history, innovations and some programs to 3d Model!

I apologize for not checking the recording, first terrible mistake in 71 episodes, unless you count all the terrible pronounciations, but we are friends right? By 2023 I bet you have heard, are an enthusiast or maybe you are or know a professional 3d printer. If not, then this is a podcast for you, but it's really for everyone because there are some incredibly obscure factsabout 3d printing, the Hugo Awards and even a terrible Jimmy Stewart impression!

I really can't believe it has taken this long to talk about Pinball!  Pinball machines are so insanely cool and the history around this is even cooler!  To paraphrase Outkast, it is Ice Cold! Pinball is an iconic part of our world and the advent could be discussed as a mythos and everyone has most likely played a pinball machine if not sat and watched others. This episode also allowed me to discuss one of my favorite print, tv and cinema genre's too! (have to listen to hear about it!)

It has been almost 14 months since the last podcast was recorded. Simply I hit a wall and started finding myself getting in the weeds of topics and I was worried this was becoming less fun and more a have to do. So I went on a quest, well a lot of quests and am really excited to share what I have seen, learned and done! Including! 3d Printing Dioramas Models Conventions Other Podcasts Games and Games and more Games Books A new language! Still looking for the Obscure I am looking forward to include some videos, pictures and maybe streaming some topics as well! Thank you as always for listening!

To set the stage for this podcast, I want you to think of something from your childhood to say 18 years old which you thought was amazing and maybe never owned or only saw the commercial.  For me it was the game Dark Tower.  This podcast is everything Dark Tower and I mean everything!  It's also some great facts from 1981 when Milton-Bradley released the Dark Tower electronic board game.

This is a hugely complicated topic as my knowledge base on the subject is big but in some areas of video game development I am going to bet it will expand and I hope anyone listening learns something too.

Prior to the creation of Game Engines, every part of a video games for consoles or PC's was created by the development team.  A game engine can hold the basic concepts for a game, or be a template that can be built upon.  Let's jump in to what a Game Engine is and then the pieces and a few examples of game engines with maybe a few games developed for each!

One of my goals this year was to learn a language and I looked at programming languages, then I looked at programming languages for games.  There is a rich history from Assembly as a first language built to run cabinet games to many other languages.  This is not the comprehensive list of programming languages but I tried to pick some from the last 5 decades and then also jump in to API's as well!  This is the first in a series on Game Development.

Virtual Reality is one of the most interesting topics in technology/gaming and the thought of it has been around for "(have to listen to hear when!)" and it is still evolving today!  In this episode there is history, hardware, software, use, context and of course Obscure Facts!  I was unable to enter the Matrix (Thanks Morpheus....) but I did put on a VR Headset and researched the heck out of the subject! Enjoy!

Back behind the Mic!  I finished out 2021 and started 2022 with a ton of fun including getting crafty (not the Beastie Boy type), reading (woo that is not boring, unless it's what I am reading!), having a really fun time with family for the holidays and playing a couple games so much that I should get a patch for my jean jacket!  Looking forward to a bunch of topics for 2022 and even some special guests!

“Patience's design flaw became obvious for the first time in my life: the outcome is decided not during the course of play but when the cards are shuffled, before the game even begins. How pointless is that?” David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas One of the first card games I learned was Solitaire also known as Klondike, my grandmothers both played it to pass the time and challenge themselves and others in our family.  The history of Solitaire is so cool and definitely worth a look, listen and play a few of the over 300+ version of Patience or Solitaire!

Buying games can be very easy, you can jump on Amazon or head to Target, Walmart, Game Stop or another big company.  In this episode I share some other places to shop and find items that your gamer or yourself will enjoy!

The last 5 games to get to 25 for the Holiday Game Gift Guide!   Mazescape Azul Happy Little Dinosaur Warhammer 40,000:Battlesector Machinarium This was a lot of fun doing research, playing, reading and learning about all of these games!

5 more games for a total of 20! (5 more to go!) Gorinto King of Tokyo Shindig TOEM - A Photo Adventure Sorcery! Parts 1 & 2

The next five games! One Night Ultimate Werewolf Mountain Goats Fantasy Ranch Lost in Random Among Us 10 more games to go!

The first 5 games in the Holiday Game Gift Guide episode are!!!! Gloomhaven Dice Miner Guess in 10 Animal Planet It Takes Two Chicory: A Colorful Tale

Very short podcast, giving the details of the next 6 episodes!  I checked out, read, watched videos and even bought and played some of the 25 games that I think would be awesome for holiday gifts!  There are 15 board/card/dice and 10 video games, they range all over the age spectrum and the cost is between $20 - $$$!  Enjoy these next 5 podcasts and then the 61st will be where to buy these games! And away we go!!!

From the dawn of time humans have loved there heroes, from Gilgamesh the first recorded hero up to the Avengers and Justice League.  They can fly, swim, run fast, bend metal, read minds and always save the day!  In the last podcast we celebrated Batman day, but the Bat as the great Kevin Smith (please put me  in the next Jay and Silent Bob, Clerks or Toxic Avenger movie!!!) calls him is just one of thousands of heroes!  Super Heroes normally get their start in a comic book or graphic novel, which are modern works of art and some times the inspiration for everything in between.  Super heroes are the embodiment of us wanting a better world and to help others, their antagonists on the other hand are just a bunch of stinkers, my grandmother would have called them that just like she called Rick Flair when he was a heel in tv wresting growing up!  But we love them too and love when they make the switch to good.  This is the first of a lot of podcasts, not in order but I will follow up because no content base for games is bigger than heroes, the super ones especially!

It is hard to not like Batman, unless you have committed a crime in Gotham City or the DC Universe.  Batman is also huge in video games, pick a platform any platform. From the early PC days to the latest consoles and mobile devices the caped crusader is everywhere! I try really hard to provide cool facts in the podcasts so let's dive in to the Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader, Mr. Wayne, Bruce or The Batman!

Kate Edwards (of IGDA, Global Game Jam, Take This board member) joins me to discuss our visit to PAX West 2021!  It was surreal to get to a convention but the folks at PAX West did a fantastic job delivering!  Thank you to to the Companies, the PAX Enforcers and fellow attendees for making PAX West awesome!

I am excited to announce that I will be attending PAX West 2021 in Seattle. It is exciting and it will definitely be different for me to go to a large gathering of people in doors. So with this I am prepping for the convention! If you want to take something from this episode, it can be a good way to prep for a convention, so you get to do as much as possible and especially enjoy the parts of the event you choose to enjoy!

The title of this episode is a tribute to the movie Head of State by Chris Rock, anytime they say Security you get a WAAAAHHHH after and it cracks me up anytime I hear the word Security.  I started reading and learning about computer security when I was 8 with the Enigma project and have worked in the Security industry, this podcast is not too technical but gets in to the social and technical areas of security with games.