This week on Chic Pixel Plus I’m joined by Andrew of The Menu Bar podcast for a very special crossover episode… The Pixel Bar!
In honor of The Menu Bar (which I highly recommend if you’re interested in Apple and general tech discussions, among other things) we start things off a little differently by having some deep thoughts on podcasting and internet friendships. Then, it’s east meets west as we swap manga and graphic novel recommendations, where I manage to actually make my favourite series sound infinitely less interesting than they actually are. We touch on everything from Paranoia Agent to Monster, Sandman to Blacksad and even have a quick discussion of one of our current mutual favourite cartoons, Adventure Time! Pour yourself a drink and pull up a chair…
Since I’m on vacation this week, I wasn’t able to put in intro and outro music, but I promise the podcast is as fun content-wise as ever! In true Menu Bar spirit, we also ramble on for a good 10 minutes before the podcast “officially” starts, so I’ve chopped that bit out and added it in at the end for those interested in checking it out.
Why, if it isn’t another episode of Chic Pixel Plus! I bet you were getting worried, huh? Well never fear, both myself and Chic Pixel Plus are alive and well! A bout of a fiendish flu had me out of commission for most of the week, but I’ve finally bested the microbes. I promise the next episode won’t be so hellishly late!
This week I’m joined by someone so famous they even have their own Wikipedia page! Hayden Scott-Baron is a professional game designer, illustrator, and manga artist, so it was great to virtually sit down and chat with him about his interests, inspirations, and past and current projects. His game experience ranges from the LostWinds series to Tumbledrop, and he even came in second place in the the third volume of the UK & Ireland edition of the Tokyopop Rising Stars of Manga contest. I could go on, but I think it’s best if you just listen to the podcast and hear the man speak for himself!
Not only do I grill Hayden about his professional life, but we talk extensively about anime, manga, and games, as well. In particular, Hayden teaches me a thing or two about importing and the joy of interesting games that aren’t necessarily good. We also reminisce about the early days of anime in the west, while Bomberman Fantasy Race makes us stop to consider the possibilities of a Bomberman universe canon… The podcast clocks in at just about two hours, making it my longest yet, but I do hope you give it a listen!
In the interest of getting this podcast up in a timely manner, I’ve decided to come back and add the time codes later, as I’m not sure how useful they are to folks anyway. Please let me know if you like to have them!
Opening ♫ – Mr. Driller’s Theme – Mr. Driller Drill Land
Closing ♫ – Theme Song – Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea Get in touch with Hayden via Twitter or his website!
Come one, come all, for a very special themed episode of Chic Pixel Plus! This week, I’m joined by Final Fantasy MMO nut and general nerd Mog for an in-depth discussion of Final Fantasy: XIV: A Realm Reborn! And we make a pretty good duo, if I do say so myself:
Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper episode without some news, so we also discuss the pre-TGS Sony Japan press conference that was chock-full of exciting and not-quite-as-exciting game and hardware announcements! What’s this newfangled PS Vita model? Did Sony say something about a Soul Sacrifice sequel? What exactly was so bad about the original Final Fantasy XIV? And why do we keep bringing up that other Japanese online game, Phantasy Star Online 2? Find out the answers to these pressing questions and a whole lot more in Chic Pixel Plus episode 6!
00:00:32 – Introductions
00:00:52 – Sony Japan’s pre-TGS press conference (Soul Sacrifice Delta, Phantasy Star Nova, new Danganronpa, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD PS Vita)
00:13:33 – PS Vita 2000, PS Vita TV
00:24:06 – FFXIV makes Anne consider a PS4 00:30:18 – Main topic: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, our MMO backgrounds
00:35:08 – Final Fantasy XIV 1.0
00:43:43 – From beta to launch
01:00:27 – Endgame
01:20:15 – Closing thoughts
Opening ♫ – By Design – Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Closing ♫ – Akachan wa doko kara kuru no? – The Rub Rabbits! (feat. in Phantasy Star Online 2)
Podcast was super effective! Okay, that was the dumbest joke in the book, but this wouldn’t be Chic Pixel if I didn’t throw in some bad puns or blatant video game references, right? Besides, I’ve always wanted to type “a wild husband appears!” But I’m not just typing it – he really did! That’s right, I finagled my benevolent husband Shaun to podcast with me this week (well, nearly two weeks ago now, but who’s keeping track)!
Shaun and I dressed up in garb inspired by our favorite ‘mons, Psyduck and Swadloon! art by the wonderful Io
In this glorious fifth episode of Chic Pixel Plus (pronounce “plus” with a French accent to make it sound more cultured than it is) we chat all things anime and games… but mostly anime! Things start off with me grilling Shaun on his first and favorite anime and games as a way to introduce him to you lovely listeners (keep an ear out for when I call you “viewers” in the podcast). Then, not only do we give the 411 on currently airing series Free!, Shingeki no Kyojin, and Hunter x Hunter, but we also give our full impressions of an interesting little anime that aired earlier this year called Hataraku Maou-sama!.
Games discussion is limited to SteamWorld Dig (it’s not Japanese shh), some brief news, and contemplation of the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn phase four beta. Since that’s already come and gone, that makes this podcast feel extra late!
Regardless, I do hope you find something interesting in this week’s episode. As always, please leave any comments or questions here, and make sure to speak up if you like Shaun as a guest… if you do, I may be able to arrange for him to make a regular appearance!
I’d also like to get some Q&A for future episodes, so shoot me your questions about anything nerdy or Japan related you like! If I get any, I’ll be sure to answer them on the show. Thanks!
The long wait for a new Chic Pixel Plus episode is finally over, and I think you’re all in for a treat! Following episode 3’s Japanese language and game-centric podcast, I was lucky enough to snag freelance translator Gabe Glick for a great discussion on game localization, Japanese language learning, and raising a family in Japan. If you’re at all interested in any of those things, then this podcast is for you!
A quick caveat: we recorded two days before I left for Japan, so there is some brief pre-Japan talk, but it doesn’t really affect the content of the podcast as a whole. I just don’t want anyone to think they’re going nuts since I’m already back!
00:00:20 – Introductions
00:04:13 – Freelance translation/game localization discussion (feat. Chaos Rings, Tales of Graces f, and more!)
00:16:18 – Translation methods and difficulties
00:20:50 – Advanced Japanese language learning, JLPT
00:35:20 – Living in Japan/raising family as a foreigner
00:48:20 – My whirlwind Japan romance
00:58:53 – Character tie-in campaigns and convenience stores
01:10:36 – Closing comments
Be sure to check out Gabe’s online portfolio for the full list of games and guides he’s worked on! He can also be contacted on Twitter, and I’m sure he’d be delighted to answer any Japanese language or localization-related questions.
I hope you enjoyed the podcast! Now that I’m back from Japan, I plan to get back to a regular bi-weekly schedule and perfect my weirdly abrupt closing comments (sorry about that!). As always, please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions you may have!
Now, this is unexpected! An episode of Chic Pixel Plus is actually up early?! No, it’s not a dream – due to the fact that episode 3 contains some pre-E3 speculation, I’ve decided to go ahead and post it a few days ahead of schedule with the hope that everyone has time to listen to it (or at least the pre-E3 portion of the discussion) before all the new announcements start rolling in. So let’s get right to it, shall we?
For this game-tastic week (sorry, anime fans!), I’m joined by a very special guest: Bryan, one of my fellow podcasters on The Nichiest Podcast Ever, and the curator of The Gay Gamer! We cover a whole range of topics, including our localization announcement hopes for E3 and what it’s like to be a gamer learning Japanese. I also take the opportunity to blab about all the games I’m planning on buying during my impending Japan trip, and I ask Bryan the ultimate question: if you could only buy one retro game console in Japan, what would it be? And somehow the GameBoy Advance manages to sneak its way into the conversation once again!?
Also, you may have noticed something a little different about the site… That’s right, I’ve got my own domain! I’ll also be hosting all future podcasts on my own server from now on, and will try to get an RSS feed and iTunes downloads set up as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience!
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s another episode of Chic Pixel Plus! To the surprise of everyone, including me, I’ve managed to get the second episode of my new podcast out the door on schedule. Sure, considering I called the first episode the pilot this technically is only episode one, and I managed to completely botch my opening and closing remarks, but we all have to start somewhere, right?
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory
This week I’m joined by Matt Sainsbury of DigitallyDownloaded to discuss a particular niche of Japanese games often dubbed “otaku games.” Together, we hash out what makes these games appealing, why they tend to have a bad rep outside Japan, and what our favorite otaku games are. Of course, with the recent Xbox One reveal, we couldn’t help but add some of our thoughts, and I took the time to gush about the recent Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- announcement. Even if you’re not a fan of otaku games, be sure to tune in – you might learn something new!
This time around I used a different program to record the audio, and unfortunately I don’t think it turned out as well. Since I’m still getting the hang of all this, your feedback would be greatly appreciated!
