I also enjoy Triple Click's 'one more thing' and Besties 'honorable mentions' as a way to have a tiny bit of random other recommendations of games, other media, etc.
I will also say, the podcasts i enjoy the most also have some aspect of listener mail semi regularly (e.g. doesnt need to be every episode), as I've seen that help build community through that interaction.
Based on what you outlined, I would love to see you do a show that's sort of like Soren Johnson's Designer Notes, but focused on (relatively) current releases as opposed to the long retrospectives he does. Or a very bite sized NoClip doc in audio form. Give the audience some context and then jump into a short interview. Occasionally Remap Radio does stuff like this, but not often.
I don't think we get enough interviews with developers big and small. Given the wide net you seem to be casting, I'd even broaden it to other industry folks like marketing/business folks, conference/festival organizers, hardware designers/manufacturers, gaming historians and preservationists, etc. Break out of the critic bubble and demystify a different parts of the industry. Like Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast but for games.
Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games also does a fair amount of interviews with small indie developers (they are also small indie devs themselves), and is worth checking out as well!
Would love to hear you go deep on smaller games that you’re playing! Always love when you bring them up on Besties, but I wanna hear the real sicko takes.
“Dream format” is something akin to what Never Post has going on right now with 2-4 reported stories per episode. Some straight up interviews. Some extremely produced stories. Some completely goofy interludes. Truthfully I want you to do whatever will make this show as fun for you as possible. That’s what really compels me about a show is when I can tell the people behind it are having a great time making it.
And speaking of Never Post, I think Mike Rugnetta could be a fun guest!!
I’ve always loved the seriousness and sincerity with which you discuss video games as art, carefully weighing each looter shooter to see if it deserves a place in the Chris-terion collection. I would love your interviews to have an Inside the Actors Studio vibe discussing context and craft with AAA and indie industry folks alike. Directors, producers, writers, auteurs *cough* Kojima *cough*
I’ve long been a fan of the format of the legacy Pamala Paul-era (thru 3/25/22) New York Times Book Review podcast and The Ringer’s Achievement Oriented podcast:
I typed out a more detailed and thoughtful response here but my 9 month old flailed his chubby little hands and deleted it, so this redo is going to be a little less thoughtful.
I’m a newbie to serious games journalism, and what I love most about Besties in particular, and why it’s one of the only games podcast I consistently listen to, is that you always make an effort to spend 1-2 minutes before each topic to give some light context. I’ve always appreciated that from you, and it’s surprisingly rare from my experience. It makes me feel like I can then be part of the discussion.
I can’t wait to listen! I appreciate all your hard work and hope this is as successful as it should be!
Love this idea. I enjoy a lot of the "friends joking around" vibe games media (including Besties of course, as well as MinnMax) but I do we wish we had more "serious" games journalism options that's less focused on personality and more on substance. You seem like the perfect person to deliver that while still making it engaging and fun. The part that excites me the most, for sure, is the idea of regular interviews. I love hearing directly from developers, or other people contributing to the industry and artistic world of video games, and I think too often we overlook humans in favor of IPs. So having a subject or story in act 1 and then immediately bringing in a person who can provide firsthand experience is a lovely idea.
My only suggestion would be to find the right balance between new releases and "older" or "evergreen" topics. I love hearing about the hot new game on the market that everyone is buzzing about, but I also feel like that's 99% of the gaming discourse already, and I like how this format would free you to potentially take a broader angle and not just get swept up in the discourse of the week. That being said, if you were ever able to loop in recent games or stories and then zoom out from them to find the subject of the episode, that sounds perfect.
Apologies if that suggestion is incomprehensible, I know very little about how these things work. One way or another I'm sure you're going to make something great!
100% agree! Hoping to use new games/popular topics as pegs for more evergreen stuff! (I'm terrible at following the discourse, so this is partly an act of knowing my limitations)
To add, I enjoyed your fireside chat with Remy and Pinki from Sunset Visitor for Steam‘a narrative festival and would love to hear more from developers in similar contexts!
Agreed on older games too! I can't always buy the newest games, but digging back into new-to-you older game recommendations (and sales) would be great. Also a great way to report on games in the context of their releases, how things have changed, how the games influenced later titles, etc.
And doubly agree about talking with the people who are making games (or even just made games in the past).
Made a substack just to drop a comment here - love the idea of injecting a bit of ‘games industry peak/insight’ into the format, I think something that your journalism/your work on the Besties has helped broaden my horizon to is not only specific indie games + creators, but i think peeling back the process of those creators a bit, and looking at these projects both from a development storytelling + games as art lens. So just personally, getting even more of that, seems like it would be cool.
It’s also always great to hear any collabs you do with the Into the Aether folks!
Also - for what it’s worth, there’s something very infectious about your way of celebrating + championing of specific games/movies/whatever. I have a friend + fellow besties fan that I was talking about this recently, and yeah it’s like this good mix of just being truly excited about a specific piece of art as a fan, while also able to analyze + critique, without it coming off too ‘film school-y’ (for lack of a better term ha!).
Stay well, real appreciator of what you do + how you do it, and has influenced my life in a positive way. Excited to follow along.
I would love for you to use your experience, network, and influence to help bring a gaming content creators network à la Maximum Fun! I'm here for whatever you got and look forward to subbing to the eventual Patreon, but I also know that you are just one of many games journalist voices out there that are looking for a platform and support structure to help enable the proper journalism that we need. Best of luck, Chris
Man, I'd totally love a maxfun type small network of gaming related things. I'd definitely subscribe. But that unfortunately could be daunting to create and not financially feasible. But a boy can dream
I think financial feasibility depends on what the structure is. Is it a full-fledged, network of podcasts and reporting? Or is it more of a journalism cooperative. Agreed about daunting, but financially I don't know enough to say one way or the other, it's probably (like all things) a wayyy more nuanced answer than what I could provide. I just want to see these islands of independent creators linked into a larger picture :)
I would like a Moth Radio Hour style telling of video game developer stories. About their big break, or a catalyzing moment, or a friend in the industry that they admire. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (maybe your recommendation? Or Hoops?) got me hooked on the human side of video games, and now I think it's more important than the games themselves. I find myself looking for more positive news (not sticking my head in the sand, just bolstering myself for the work that needs doing), and these are the stories I seek out. Love your stuff already though, so do what comes naturally.
I’d like a regular game news rundown with your commentary. I’ve been a fan of you and everyone else on the besties for years and I always enjoy your takes on the latest game. I’d like to hear what you think on the latest game news. I’m not sure I’d want that to be the entirety of the podcast but I’d love for it to be a portion
Hi Chris. I don’t know if it’s still out there to listen to examples, but Jeff Cannata and Christian Spicer used to have a second podcast with two other hosts (besides DLC, which you should definitely get on to promote this new show) called “CTRL PAD” where they would each bring a different gaming topic, anything really, and they’d discuss each one for about ten minutes. It was fresh and funny and really well paced. Sadly short lived because the platform it was in collapsed. However I haven’t ever heard another show like it. Maybe something could be gleaned from it. Can’t wait to hear the new show!
Fascinating! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
There was a google drive thing going around on bluesky about places to get good games journalism after Polygon, and I was so excited to see that the Besties was high on the list. I feel like between you guys, Remap, and PMG and people of that nature, all my favorite video game cultural commentary is being done totally indie.
The thing I always think about is the chapter on Star Wars: 1313 in Jason Schreier's book; in addition, I have a ton of friends who are artists. Some work in gaming, and talk a lot about the amount of content produced for games that never wind up seeing the light of day. I'd be fascinated to hear details of games that were considered or worked on but never made, especially since the format seems like its less connected to recent/upcoming gaming *news* so talking about old stuff that won't ever come out can find its niche here.
Looking forward to this project, and I love the Frida Cinema! :)
I also enjoy Triple Click's 'one more thing' and Besties 'honorable mentions' as a way to have a tiny bit of random other recommendations of games, other media, etc.
I will also say, the podcasts i enjoy the most also have some aspect of listener mail semi regularly (e.g. doesnt need to be every episode), as I've seen that help build community through that interaction.
Based on what you outlined, I would love to see you do a show that's sort of like Soren Johnson's Designer Notes, but focused on (relatively) current releases as opposed to the long retrospectives he does. Or a very bite sized NoClip doc in audio form. Give the audience some context and then jump into a short interview. Occasionally Remap Radio does stuff like this, but not often.
I don't think we get enough interviews with developers big and small. Given the wide net you seem to be casting, I'd even broaden it to other industry folks like marketing/business folks, conference/festival organizers, hardware designers/manufacturers, gaming historians and preservationists, etc. Break out of the critic bubble and demystify a different parts of the industry. Like Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast but for games.
this is exactly the feedback i wanted! digging into Odd Lots and Designer Notes!
Very different focus, but the format you suggested also sounds reminiscent of what Never Post does on their show
Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games also does a fair amount of interviews with small indie developers (they are also small indie devs themselves), and is worth checking out as well!
Would love to hear you go deep on smaller games that you’re playing! Always love when you bring them up on Besties, but I wanna hear the real sicko takes.
“Dream format” is something akin to what Never Post has going on right now with 2-4 reported stories per episode. Some straight up interviews. Some extremely produced stories. Some completely goofy interludes. Truthfully I want you to do whatever will make this show as fun for you as possible. That’s what really compels me about a show is when I can tell the people behind it are having a great time making it.
And speaking of Never Post, I think Mike Rugnetta could be a fun guest!!
Excited to see/hear more of this!!!!!
Thank you! Your work is an inspiration!!
Thank you so much 😭😭 please lmk if there’s anything I can do to help out!
Mike Rugnetta is a great pull. His old youtube channel was amazing, and really had some thoughtful videos on a variety of intersectional topics.
I’ve always loved the seriousness and sincerity with which you discuss video games as art, carefully weighing each looter shooter to see if it deserves a place in the Chris-terion collection. I would love your interviews to have an Inside the Actors Studio vibe discussing context and craft with AAA and indie industry folks alike. Directors, producers, writers, auteurs *cough* Kojima *cough*
I’ve long been a fan of the format of the legacy Pamala Paul-era (thru 3/25/22) New York Times Book Review podcast and The Ringer’s Achievement Oriented podcast:
- two interviews
- industry news
- critic roundtable/bullshit
I typed out a more detailed and thoughtful response here but my 9 month old flailed his chubby little hands and deleted it, so this redo is going to be a little less thoughtful.
I’m a newbie to serious games journalism, and what I love most about Besties in particular, and why it’s one of the only games podcast I consistently listen to, is that you always make an effort to spend 1-2 minutes before each topic to give some light context. I’ve always appreciated that from you, and it’s surprisingly rare from my experience. It makes me feel like I can then be part of the discussion.
I can’t wait to listen! I appreciate all your hard work and hope this is as successful as it should be!
Thank you! And the baby flailing/typing deleting is so relatable
Love this idea. I enjoy a lot of the "friends joking around" vibe games media (including Besties of course, as well as MinnMax) but I do we wish we had more "serious" games journalism options that's less focused on personality and more on substance. You seem like the perfect person to deliver that while still making it engaging and fun. The part that excites me the most, for sure, is the idea of regular interviews. I love hearing directly from developers, or other people contributing to the industry and artistic world of video games, and I think too often we overlook humans in favor of IPs. So having a subject or story in act 1 and then immediately bringing in a person who can provide firsthand experience is a lovely idea.
My only suggestion would be to find the right balance between new releases and "older" or "evergreen" topics. I love hearing about the hot new game on the market that everyone is buzzing about, but I also feel like that's 99% of the gaming discourse already, and I like how this format would free you to potentially take a broader angle and not just get swept up in the discourse of the week. That being said, if you were ever able to loop in recent games or stories and then zoom out from them to find the subject of the episode, that sounds perfect.
Apologies if that suggestion is incomprehensible, I know very little about how these things work. One way or another I'm sure you're going to make something great!
100% agree! Hoping to use new games/popular topics as pegs for more evergreen stuff! (I'm terrible at following the discourse, so this is partly an act of knowing my limitations)
To add, I enjoyed your fireside chat with Remy and Pinki from Sunset Visitor for Steam‘a narrative festival and would love to hear more from developers in similar contexts!
Agreed on older games too! I can't always buy the newest games, but digging back into new-to-you older game recommendations (and sales) would be great. Also a great way to report on games in the context of their releases, how things have changed, how the games influenced later titles, etc.
And doubly agree about talking with the people who are making games (or even just made games in the past).
Made a substack just to drop a comment here - love the idea of injecting a bit of ‘games industry peak/insight’ into the format, I think something that your journalism/your work on the Besties has helped broaden my horizon to is not only specific indie games + creators, but i think peeling back the process of those creators a bit, and looking at these projects both from a development storytelling + games as art lens. So just personally, getting even more of that, seems like it would be cool.
It’s also always great to hear any collabs you do with the Into the Aether folks!
Also - for what it’s worth, there’s something very infectious about your way of celebrating + championing of specific games/movies/whatever. I have a friend + fellow besties fan that I was talking about this recently, and yeah it’s like this good mix of just being truly excited about a specific piece of art as a fan, while also able to analyze + critique, without it coming off too ‘film school-y’ (for lack of a better term ha!).
Stay well, real appreciator of what you do + how you do it, and has influenced my life in a positive way. Excited to follow along.
Thank you! Great feedback! And "influenced my life in a positive" is the nicest possible compliment!
Wishing you the best, Chris! Can't wait to see what comes of this!
I would love for you to use your experience, network, and influence to help bring a gaming content creators network à la Maximum Fun! I'm here for whatever you got and look forward to subbing to the eventual Patreon, but I also know that you are just one of many games journalist voices out there that are looking for a platform and support structure to help enable the proper journalism that we need. Best of luck, Chris
Man, I'd totally love a maxfun type small network of gaming related things. I'd definitely subscribe. But that unfortunately could be daunting to create and not financially feasible. But a boy can dream
I think financial feasibility depends on what the structure is. Is it a full-fledged, network of podcasts and reporting? Or is it more of a journalism cooperative. Agreed about daunting, but financially I don't know enough to say one way or the other, it's probably (like all things) a wayyy more nuanced answer than what I could provide. I just want to see these islands of independent creators linked into a larger picture :)
I would like a Moth Radio Hour style telling of video game developer stories. About their big break, or a catalyzing moment, or a friend in the industry that they admire. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (maybe your recommendation? Or Hoops?) got me hooked on the human side of video games, and now I think it's more important than the games themselves. I find myself looking for more positive news (not sticking my head in the sand, just bolstering myself for the work that needs doing), and these are the stories I seek out. Love your stuff already though, so do what comes naturally.
I’d like a regular game news rundown with your commentary. I’ve been a fan of you and everyone else on the besties for years and I always enjoy your takes on the latest game. I’d like to hear what you think on the latest game news. I’m not sure I’d want that to be the entirety of the podcast but I’d love for it to be a portion
Hi Chris. I don’t know if it’s still out there to listen to examples, but Jeff Cannata and Christian Spicer used to have a second podcast with two other hosts (besides DLC, which you should definitely get on to promote this new show) called “CTRL PAD” where they would each bring a different gaming topic, anything really, and they’d discuss each one for about ten minutes. It was fresh and funny and really well paced. Sadly short lived because the platform it was in collapsed. However I haven’t ever heard another show like it. Maybe something could be gleaned from it. Can’t wait to hear the new show!
finding the backlog, thank you!
Fascinating! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
check us out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com
I love this!!
There was a google drive thing going around on bluesky about places to get good games journalism after Polygon, and I was so excited to see that the Besties was high on the list. I feel like between you guys, Remap, and PMG and people of that nature, all my favorite video game cultural commentary is being done totally indie.
The thing I always think about is the chapter on Star Wars: 1313 in Jason Schreier's book; in addition, I have a ton of friends who are artists. Some work in gaming, and talk a lot about the amount of content produced for games that never wind up seeing the light of day. I'd be fascinated to hear details of games that were considered or worked on but never made, especially since the format seems like its less connected to recent/upcoming gaming *news* so talking about old stuff that won't ever come out can find its niche here.
Looking forward to this project, and I love the Frida Cinema! :)
🕹️👾🎮