Iteration 176 - The Return of the Open Gaming License

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We start by noting the lives of David Bowie and Alan Rickman. Then we talk about what it means that the Open Gaming License from Wizards of the Coast is back, along with their new program called the Dungeon Master's Guild. Then we talk about the cool stuff we built in Minecraft. Ryan gives a glowing review to Citizen Kane (no surprise, but it's a movie that neither of us ever got around to watching). Josh talks about his upcoming Dungeon Master experience (fingers crossed).

Iteration 175 - Braving Tradition

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We start by making excuses for why we're not doing more actual writing. In Minecraft, Josh builds a map house, and Ryan gets lost in the Nether. And Ryan watched, and reviews, Brave the 2012 film. For our main topic, we talk about the use and breaking of tradition. In a meta sense, in terms of breaking movie tropes, as well as in an internal sense, by the main character breaking with tradition. Plus a weird tangent in the middle in which we determine whether Ryan would stay as the Beast if he was magically transformed into it.

References and Recommendations: 

Brave (2012 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1217209/

Iteration 174 - Billy Goat III: The Gruffening

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We begin the year, and this week's iteration of the podcast, by sussing out the moral of the story of the billy goats gruff, from the point of view of the troll. Then we talk about the little earthquake we had in Victoria this week. A man shoots himself with a potato gun. We talk about our creations in Minecraft. And we ask what the game Twenty Questions is simulating? And for our main topic, we talk about what goes into making a great sequel. We talk about why we didn't like Aladdin 2: The Return of Jafar.


References and Recommendations:

Victoria Buzz on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaBCBuzz/

Iteration 173 - Princesses vs Fairies

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We start the podcast off with some talk about the holidays and the magic of Christmas. Then, since we both saw Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens. We discuss a few of our other exploits in gaming, fiction, and storytelling. Then we go off an a digression about the weirdness of the Twelve Days of Christmas song. And for a final topic, we pit Princesses against Fairies in a battle to the death.


References and Recommendations:

Justice League: A New Frontier: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0902272/

Iteration 172 - Flirting with the Dark Side of the Force

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This episode does not contain spoilers for Star Wars Episode VII. But before we get to the topic of Star Wars, we talk about The Martian. We talk about the movie Kick-Ass, and get into an argument about Ryan's parenting style. For our main topic, we discuss the mantras of the Jedi and the Sith, and whether or not the Sith is actually the better philosophy than the Jedi.

References and Recommendations:

The Martian (2015 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3659388/

Kick-Ass (2010 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1250777/

Iteration 171 - Heroic Sacrifices

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A tale of two sevens: Final Fantasy 7 and Star Wars 7. We spend a bit of time at the top talking about our worries about whether or not Star Wars Episode VII will suck. Then we talk about the remake of Final Fantasy VII, and the changes it makes from previous versions. Josh plays Paradise Bay. Josh expresses his disappointment about The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon and Amy getting back together. And for our main topic, we talk about heroic sacrifices. 

References and Recommendations:

Inspector Gadget minus Gadget: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6MR14mFtIw

Iteration 170 - Fantasy Marches and Parades

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We join Josh and one-cake-filled Ryan for talk about our favourite games, Dwarf Fortress, Minecraft, and others. Josh talks about watching and performing standup comedy. Does a parade count as a simulation for our purposes? Sure, why not! Then we take a weird tangent about the nature of art and spirituality, on account of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. We speculate on the origin of birthday candles. And for our main topic, we discuss parades, and how a parade or festival can shed light on a fantasy setting. And using parades and festivals and other traditions in stories.

References and Recommendations:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1985966/

The Great Modron March: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17302/The-Great-Modron-March-2e?it=1