The Two Vague Podcast
by Ben Cheknis
Two Vague is 2 player cooperative conversation program about a topic and how that topic is or could be related to video games or game design.The Two Vague recipe for an entertaining show:Step 1: ResearchStep 2: Presentation and DiscussionStep 3: Creative Exploration and Buffoonery
Episodes
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Episode 158 - PAX West 2026 Day Two
This week Ben recounts his second-day experiences at PAX West this year. Along with a pair of wonderful interview segments, this episode features a video game-centric soliloquy about aardvark heroes, video pinball games and simulators, a bevy of facts about foreign and domestic mechanical pinball...
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Episode 157 - PAX West 2026 Day One
This week Ben recounts his first-day experiences at PAX West this year. Along with a pair of wonderful interview segments, this episode features a video game-centric soliloquy about team soccer, raising a child playing with blocks from twisted reality, a classically animated point-and-click...
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Episode 156 - PAX West 2026 Wrap-Up with Sully from Kaiju Cabal
Zine maker and brand new friend of the pod Sully (aka Kaiju Cabal on the socials) joins the program this week for a wrap-up of Ben’s PAX West 2026 attendance shenanigans! It’s rather serendipitous that Sully keeps a list of words, loves to pick things apart, is genuinely curious, and has tons of...
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Episode 155 - Brew
How’s it going, eh? Prepare yourself mentally and physically for Andrew and Ben to drop a lot of movie quotes this episode. You have been warned! After a little improvisational bit where they channel their inner Bob and Doug McKenzie, Andrew fills us in about his latest creative efforts and the...
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Episode 154 - Doom
Faith joins Ben this week to discuss the premise of the latest book she has been writing, which involves a pandemic-era social media scrolling phenomenon. The two Gen Xers talk about her origins in an assortment of social need-based therapy disciplines, her career development and research...
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Episode 153 - Localize
Christian from Imaginary Game Studios joins Ben for a conversation involving a very important aspect of video game promoting, advertising, and audience connections. To start it all off with a proverbial BANG, Ben talks about a couple of games that he has been playing recently, Monday Syndrome and...
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Episode 152 - Arc
Erik from Imaginary Game Studios joins Ben this week for, to Norah's chagrin, a math-free conversation about curved paths. After discussing a little game design philosophy as it relates to the games Ben has been playing (Stellar Wander DX and the Pragmata Sketchbook Demo), chatting about Erik’s...
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Episode 151 - The SPECTACULAR SWAPMEAT SPECIAL
Jamie Stormbreaker from One More Game joins Ben this week to discuss game design philosophy and the amazingly zany and fun game SWAPMEAT—a third-person shooter featuring a unique part-switching mechanic. Jamie and his team are very excited to share their full “out of early access” version of the...
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Episode 150 - Vintage
Norah is visiting Tucson this week, so she has stopped by the studio to procure some Mango affection (via bribery) and make an appearance on the podcast! They were planning on doing a different word initially, but they are keeping it in the same wheelhouse to make a distinction between the two...
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Episode 149 - Transition
Cheyenne joins Ben this week to talk about the myriad changes they both have been going through since his last appearance on the show. After a little bit of work-centric catch-up, they switch it up by front-loading the program with the video game chat a little earlier than usual. Cheyenne has…
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Episode 148 - Variety
We have double the guests for you this week for a show so special that it inspired a new and spicy 2VP T-shirt design—available on Andrew’s TeePublic storefront! In the first segment, Ben sits down with a visiting “aunt of the pod,” Norah, to discuss her first impressions from playing the demo of...
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Episode 147 - Meow
Mango the pod-cat, joins Ben this week to meow about his favorite word, his upcoming appearance in Andrew’s latest zine, and other assorted nonsense. Ben’s grasp of the feline language is a little rusty, but he does his best to keep up. After Mango gets bored of chatting, he provides a little...
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Episode 146 - Humor
Autistic stand-up comedienne Holly Huff joins Ben this week to talk about her comedy club experiences, her future plans for utilizing her writing talents, and her thoughts on Batman movies. After an exchange of pleasantries and a discussion about Holly’s background and ambitions, they dig into…
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Episode 145 - Possibility
Karen Morrison, program director of virtual events at the International Game Developers Association Foundation and narrative designer at Soda Den, joins Ben this week to talk about her adventures in Argentina and all of the wonderful things she and her peers do at IGDA and the IGDA-F to help...
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Episode 144 - Oblique
Andrew joins Ben this week to celebrate their penchants for approaching things from a different angle. Lack of perpendicularity aside, they discuss the abundant number of neurodiversity irons Andrew has in the proverbial fire, along with strategies to navigate creative blocks and coping skills…
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Episode 143 - The Final Four Game Reviews of 2025
Norah joins Ben this week to close out the last 4 games in our 2025 pile of review codes. These games revolve around a diverse assortment of actions: smithing, plundering, angling, and foraging. There’s sure to be a game to pique your interest here, so get cozy, sit back, and relax. *** Blades of...
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Episode 142 - Deck
We have a combo episode for you this week centered around the amazing game StarVaders. In the introduction segment, Ben describes his game experiences to Norah and answers her questions. Spoiler alert: by the end of the conversation she is sold, so now she just needs to get a Steam Deck. In the...
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Episode 141 - Ben’s PAX West Adventures Day 4
Ben has lots to say about his last day at PAX this year, from meeting an actual Larian Studios cosplaying brand ambassador on the streets of Seattle to another first-time purchase. He even conducted an interview that was so much fun, he forgot to press the record button! Ben also had a chance to...
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Episode 140 - Ben’s PAX West Adventures Day 3
If your question right now is, “Hey Ben, what did you see and do at PAX West on day 3?” then this show is for you! The short answer—he saw two of his favorite games of the entire four-day show and played a handful of others. Starting off the episode with the favorites, Ben describes his…
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Episode 139 - Ben’s PAX West Adventures Day 2
Ben’s schedule on the second day of PAX West was packed with game demos, time loops, interviews, and… time loops. Ben talks about playing a large assortment of demos, including Fractured Blooms, Project ATOM, ATMOSFAR, Bakudo, OPUS: Prism Peak, Anthem#9, Unyielder, and Aether and Iron. Other...
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Episode 138 - Ben’s PAX West Adventures Day 1
Ben went to the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle this year and has a ton of stuff to share, so much so, in fact, that we had to split the episode up into four parts! In this episode, Ben talks about escaping his first room or whatever (Tomb Raider themed, of course), chatting with artist…
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Episode 137 - Dance Clubs, Police Dramas, and Planetary Exploration
Norah’s back to assist Ben with reducing his game review backlog before he heads out to Seattle for PAX West 2025. The games discussed this week are Antro by Gatera Studio, The Precinct by Fallen Tree Games, and Revenge of the Savage Planet by Raccoon Logic. *** Antro trailer -...
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Episode 136 - Puppet
In an episode inspired by a game review code we received, Andrew returns alongside Ben, who’s been buying a single movie multiple times for SOME reason. Ben has given up on “Sucky Assassin's Creed” for now, but he sees promise in an “FRPG” game he’s been playing recently. Andrew has been doing...
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Episode 135 - Vectors, Yo-yos, and Dating… OH MY!
Ben STILL has too many review codes, so Aunt Norah is back to help him get through the backlog. Norah watches the trailer, Ben plays the game, and they discuss their impressions. This episode contains three conversations themed around the games Ben has been playing for review purposes. Topics and...
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Episode 134 - Imagination
Christian from Imaginary Game Studios joins Ben this week to talk about a word that is very dear to him. In addition to being a component in the name of Christian’s game development company, imagination is something that both of the hosts love to use in their day-to-day lives and in all of their...
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Episode 133 - Mental Health and Animal Protagonists
Ben has TOO MANY game codes, so Aunt Norah is here to help! This back to back episodes… episode contains two conversations themed around the games Ben has been playing for review purposes. In the top half, they talk about the representations of the mental ailments in the games Next of Kin and...
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Episode 132 - Derivative
Erik joins Ben this week to chew the fat about… math? NOPE! We’ll just insert THAT version of the definition into the title graphic instead, thank you (sorry, Norah)! However, the fellas ARE going to discuss how the word "derivative" is used in positive and negative contexts, but first a...
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Episode 131 - Culture
Ben’s long time friend Jen joins the podcast this week to talk about her bread making business called Worth Her Salt Sourdough, the challenges of understanding and navigating social media as a Generation X-er, her experiences teaching from primary school to community college, how video game…
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Episode 130 - Growth
Sky, one of the hosts of a men’s mental health podcast called Hey Man; It’s Ok, joins Ben this week to have a discussion about the word growth. After talking about the games they have been playing recently, they each open up a little bit and share their experiences with managing various mental...
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Episode 129 - A Chat With Doug (from Small Rice Studios)
VR and tabletop game designer from Small Rice Studios, Doug joins Ben this week to talk about the recently released cozy card game ROAST, which he designed along with his brother Nick (who Ben had the pleasure of meeting at PAX West 2024). Ben had some questions about the design, development, and...
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Episode 128 - Dragon
Andrew joins Ben this week for a discussion about a particular mythical beast, cultural symbol, and imaginary icon. One in the POÄNG and one in the pandemic chair—the guys fill us in on what they have been doing lately. Andrew has been thinking about his gardening hobby, researching a method for...
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Episode 127 - Two Reviews and a Eulogy
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Ben, but processing the death of his 21-year-old feline companion Bash has come with a bit of creative inspiration. He has written a lovely, heartfelt eulogy that he will be reciting for us at the end of the episode, but first he has got two game reviews to...
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Episode 126 - Failure
Cheyenne joins Ben this week to talk about a word that gets a lot of bad press, but in reality, it is a necessity in most activities involving progress and self-improvement. After conversing about what games they are playing (and discovering Ben’s Hogwarts House), they dive right in to deep end…
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Episode 125 - Punk
Although it would be more thematically appropriate of us to NOT tell you about this week’s episode, we are going to be rebellious and do it anyway—sans mohawk and safety pins. Andrew joins Ben this week to ruminate over the work punk. After discussing what they have been up to, debating the...
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Episode 124 - Circuitous
Erik from Imaginary Game Studios joins Ben in HIS virtual studio this week to chat about all manner of things—his experiences as a sports writer, his love of literature, his creative process, and of course his philosophy of game design. After discussing what’s "under construction" in the world of...
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Episode 123 - Iteration
Aron Koh from JOFSOFT joins Ben this week to talk about the development of their latest game Pizza Bandit AND one of his favorite words—rather appropriately, iteration. They start out talking about Aron’s childhood favorite PC games, how Sierra On-line games inspired him to work in the online...
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Episode 122 - Ninja
Andrew joins Ben this week to talk about something which thanks to pop culture is turtle adjacent and thanks to an obscure martial arts publication is also peach adjacent… weird eh? They catch up on what has been going on in their lives—lots of writing for each! Andrew has been working on his…
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Episode 121 - A PAX West 2024 Retrospective and Deathbound Review
Ben is flying solo again this week. After managing technical and medical difficulties, he’s champing at the bit and excited to talk about his PAX West 2024 Exhibit Hall experiences! But first, Ben has an abbreviated review of Deathbound; for the full review of this game check out our Substack…
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Episode 120 - The Last Clip Show?
Prepare yourself for the conversational snips of the previous thirty episodes… a potpourri of what may be our final clip show for a while. Over the last 3 years we’ve obviously refined a few things. Ben is starting to get right into the show when he’s in charge of recording; a side effect of this...
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Episode 119 - Witch Spring R Review and PAX West 2024 Interviews
This week we have an AMAZING episode for you! We received another PS5 review code compliments of the fabulously kind PR ninja Robert, but before Ben spills the entire cup of tea on his time KIWIWALKS’ latest remaster of the original WitchSpring game, he recounts his 7 days of experiences in…
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Episode 118 - The Imaginary Game Studios Interview Episode
In this special pre-PAX West 2024 edition of the Two Vague Podcast… does Ben have a couple of imaginary guests, the titular “Drop Dead Fred” perhaps? Nope! He’s got something far more engaging than a Phoebe Cates movie up his sleeve. Christian and Erik from Imaginary Game Studios join Ben to talk...
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Episode 117 - Play
Norah and Ben are excitedly hosting the pod this week. The topic word is one that most people associate with childhood, but the benefits for adults are well documented by psychologists. Ben talks about what he is playing (Wife Quest and Stellar Blade) and Norah talks about the weather before they...
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Episode 116 - Ellipsis
Andrew joins Ben this week to talk about a particular piece of punctuation that isn’t a dinkus! People have strong opinions about when and where the ellipsis should and shouldn’t be used, so our hosts decided to investigate… for SCIENCE! Along the way they discovered a number of new words to…
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Episode 115 - News
Lukas Eggen from gameonmedia.net is back in the virtual studio with Ben to do a proper show on a subject that he, as a seasoned journalist, is incredibly qualified to talk about. Before getting into “the news,” they talk about a few articles that Lukas has been working on for his new publication...
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Episode 114 - Ben's Review of TEVI
This week, Ben is joined by long time fan and “aunt of the pod” Norah for a game review episode. After a BIG thank you to a PR ninja and some miscellaneous chatter about the origin of the “bunny girl” archetype, Ben dives right in to his assessment of the platform / bullet hell shooter mashup,...
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Episode 113 - Vague
Andrew joins Ben for 2VP’s “leather” anniversary and a chat about things AND stuff! Andrew has been writing, playing with baby CJ, and preparing for a stand-up comedy show. Ben has been playing games, but instead of following the typical show segment order, he decides to call an audible. They…
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Episode 112 - Aesthetic
Cheyenne joins Ben in the studio this week for an episode a year in the making! They start off talking about a big move that Cheyenne is making this year and what games they are playing. Cheyenne has been playing a couple of Larian Studios game and romancing mostly vampires. Ben has finished...
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Episode 111 - Aliquot
Andrew joins Ben this week for a special request word (from a different Ben), but first the gents share what they are up to. For Andrew it’s growing his multimedia empire; for Ben it is playing video games… obviously. Then on to the word that they will divide, conquer, and put into …containers?...
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Episode 110 - An Interview with Andrea Alvarez from Joystick Ventures!
This week Ben is excited to talk to Andrea about her role as a project manager at Joystick Ventures for the games “Star★Vaders,” “Big Boy Boxing,” and “Chicken Police: Into the Hive!” But first, Andrea and Ben have each been playing games with an abundance of atmospheric tension, suspense, and…
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Episode 109 - Beat
Ben and Star host 2VP this week, so shake off that tired feeling, take a moment to collect yourself, and be cool… daddy-o! There are lots of definitions to cover before getting in to the conversation. From music to an artistic subculture movement to one of Ben’s favorite BMW “comercials,” there…
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About this show
Two Vague is 2 player cooperative conversation program about a topic and how that topic is or could be related to video games or game design.The Two Vague recipe for an entertaining show:Step 1: ResearchStep 2: Presentation and DiscussionStep 3: Creative Exploration and Buffoonery
Hosted by
Ben Cheknis
Categories