This week, Andy & Keith celebrate their 50th show by sharing the microphone with Goodloe Byron, the cartoonist who doodles up those charming and hilarious illustrations that are posted with each week’s new episode. They talk about how the cartoons happen every week, then they geek out on a huge range of subjects, including the Prisoner, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, the Sarah Connor Chronicles, American Horror Story, Last Resort, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, and of course, Star Wars.
Andy talks about his recent trip to Vegas for the GAMA Trade Show, and other topics include the enormous power of expectations, ideas for future editions of Chrononauts, and the fun of pretending to be a time traveler. Keith & Andy also spend a lot of time discussing media, including the movies Hail Caesar and The Intern, and the shows 11.22.63, Outlander, and The Americans.
Spoiler Alert: Beware of the spoilers!
First, Andy & Keith talk about how Kickstarter has re-shaped the world of independent game publishing, how much harder it is to implement ideas than it is to come up with them, and how novice inventors are prone to the Dunning-Kruger Effect. Then they spend a lot of time reminiscing about the early days of Icehouse, including Andy’s creation of the very first set of pyramids using lead fishing weights. But the biggest topic is that Keith finally tells the story of how he and his fellow Bates Discordians took over the Fourth International Icehouse Tournament back in 1992.
Keith talks at length about Project B, which he’s now calling Project 12, and Andy talks his recent redesign of Lunar Invaders, one of the games in Pyramid Arcade. They also talk about the fun of having a snappy response to the common question, “What’s your deal?” Regarding media, they talk about the first couple of episodes of 11.22.63 which is a wee-bit spoilery, despite their attempts to discuss it without revealing too much.
Spoiler Warning: Spoilers inside.
Andy & Keith just got back from JoCo Cruise 6 so that’s the big topic this week, including Keith’s story of almost being left behind on St. Maarten. They both did a lot of playtesting on the boat: Andy was showing off all the games in Pyramid Arcade, and Keith was testing out his secret “Project B” game. Other topics include one of the shows Keith most enjoyed, Imogen Heap’s performance, Andy talks about visiting the Kennedy Space Center with other “sea monkeys” when the cruise ended, and they both share stories about hanging out with geeky celebs including other game designers, in particular James Ernest and Mike Selinker. Non-cruise topics include Keith’s next version of Gloom, the differences between their roles as a Free-lance designer vs. being on staff, and Andy’s experiences with wearing a giant mascot costume of an Uglydoll character at Toy Fair.
Andy & Keith talk about the titular “Fair Enough” contest, the upcoming JoCo cruise, and plans for the first ever Looney Labs fan convention, in July. But mostly they talk about TV shows, including Jessica Jones, the new X Files, and Legends of Tomorrow. They also discuss the X-Men movie, Days of Future Past, and how the ability to create impossible technology is basically just another super-power.
Andy & Keith get into some really interesting game design conversations this week, discussing possibilities for Time Travel Gloom and Science Fiction Gloom, and talking about the classic RPG module, The Tomb of Horrors, recently called the Worst Adventure of All Time by John Wick. Media topics include the return of the X-Files, the appearance of the Turtle on the Flash, the Booth at the End, and Death Note. The guys lament how story-tellers can undo the magic they’ve created when they try too hard to provide explanations for matters that are best left mysterious.
Andy & Keith talk about production milestones, specifically the point at which you receive proofs from the printer and [hopefully don’t] find problems that need to be fixed before printing. Keith talks about ideas for new Glooms he’s been pondering, including Time Travel Gloom. Andy talks about the newest employee at Looney Labs, his nephew Eric, who’s been hired to make videos. They also discusses the Looney Labs interview process, and the expression “No Whammies.” Media topics include the movie Primer, the show Sherlock, and of course, Star Trek and Star Wars.
Keith talks briefly about games he’s currently working on, including a D&D adventure called Penance, then Andy talks at length about his recent trip to Europe. Specific topics include Andy’s new travel companion (Mars One candidate Dr. Leila Zucker), the coffeeshops of Amsterdam (and the coffee-table book about the coffeeshops that Andy’s been working on for over a decade), Disneyland Paris, Andy’s Homeworlds medal, a stylish new coat he bought, and the terrible thing that happened on the train.
This week, Andy & Keith’s topics include their favorite JoCo songs, learning to play Cribbage, why so many $2 bills are in circulation in the Portland area, the joys of needing to watch cartoons & sci-fi shows as part of their jobs, and the appearance of an actual white elephant at a Yankee Swap gift exchange. Of course they also talk about Star Wars some more, so if you’re still avoiding spoilers, you’ll want to skip to 14:20 when they lower the “spoiler curtain,” about four minutes into the show.