Play, Watch, Listen

101. Gotham Knights and Shady Contracts

This week, we talk about Gotham Knights and then somehow rapidly progress into discussing games industry contracts, and their prevalence.

100. EPISODE 100 SPECIAL!

Join Alanah Pearce (video game writer), Troy Baker (video game actor), Austin Wintory (video game composer), and Mike Bithell (video game director) as they celebrate ONE HUNDRED EPISODES of Play, Watch, Listen! This was streamed live on Twitch earlier this week, featuring the first ever PWL trivia. 

99. Are Game Devs Forced to Make Games Longer?

This week, the team discusses Spaghetti Westerns, inflated hours for game releases, and plans for EPISODE 100!

98. I don't know, GDC or something

We actually mostly talk about government and religion, as is tradition every 25 episodes or something.

97. Journey's 10 Year Anniversary

Journey turned 10, so this week we largely celebrate the release of Austin's new album, called "Traveler - A Journey Symphony".

96. Why Did Epic Games Buy Bandcamp?

This week, Alanah and Austin talk about, er, how they record audio for the show, the game-musical Austin is working on, the Oscars removing certain categories from the show, Epic Game buying Bandcamp, and Boba Fett.

95. What We Do at DICE (in-person episode!)

This week, Alanah, Mike, and Austin are IN THE SAME ROOM!? We talk about how events like DICE are useful for those in the games industry, and what 'networking' really is.

94. Does Nintendo Need a New Mario Kart?

This week, we talk about Nintendo Direct! Mostly, I think. I'll be honest, I wasn't there for the start of the episode and I haven't had time to watch it. They could've spoken about absolutely anything, which would be on brand. Idk, maybe this episode is about the definition of the word 'alacrity' and John Williams. Your guess is as good as mine.

93. Alanah Saw American Psycho

This week, we mostly talk about movies that came out over a decade ago. And then Poker. And then Age of Empires! Thank God for Austin.

92. How Well Do First-Party Exclusives Actually Sell?

This week, for some reason (?), Austin, Alanah, and Mike delve into STATISTICS, discussing console sales and the percentage of hardware owners that end up buying first-party exclusives. 

91. The Pros and Cons of Microsoft Buying Activision Blizzard

This week, it's just Alanah and Mike, ready to discuss what will undoubtedly be the biggest gaming news of 2022.

90. Troy's NFT Tweet

Troy tweeted something very pro-NFT, and trended on Twitter as a result. Here's us talking about that.

89. Let's Talk About The Matrix Resurrections

This week, we do such a good job of staying on topic. Wow. Amazing. Iconic. Flawless. We talk about The Matrix Resurrections, mostly. This isn't a prank! We really did!

88. Our Favorite Gaming Moments of 2021

Alanah is in a car, sorry about that. This week, we talk about our favourite games of 2021 (but not necessarily from 2021), and very vaguely touch on Spider-Man and The Matrix.

87. What NTFs Actually Mean For Gaming

On this week's episode, we share an animated clip (that will be on YouTube when this publishes, if you'd like to go see it!), before jumping right into NFTs, and ending with some talk of Arcane.

86. Do Game Awards = Respect?

This week, Austin and Mike discuss Game Awards until Alanah joins and suddenly it becomes about homelessness? Even I didn't see that one coming, and I am aforementioned "Alanah".

85. I'm Sorry About This Episode

We promised you we'd talk about Arcane. Surprising nobody, we didn't.

84. IGN's "Call Of Duty Fans Reveal Why They Aren't Buying Vanguard"

This week, Troy joins us from an airport and I am very sorry about it. But also, we discuss a headline choice (and subsequent article) regarding Call of Duty fans and their purchasing decisions, before diving into a discussion about if playing games is 'required' to work in the games industry. 

83. We Really Liked Ghostbusters: Afterlife

This week, Austin and Alanah enthuse about Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Mike asks questions. Great interviewer, that Mike.

82. What Makes Games So Expensive?

This week, Alanah, Austin, Troy, and Mike attempt to dissect what makes games so expensive, versus the obvious costs that contribute to the expenses of filmmaking. It's a lot of Nespresso machines, turns out.

81. Wtf is 2021's Game of the Year?

This week, Alanah, Mike, and Austin try to figure out what on earth is most likely to win 2021 game of the year awards.

80. Chris Pratt is in Everything, says Troy Baker

We're back from break! And a little late, due to internet problems. We discuss returning to international travel, a little bit about Dune, Chris Pratt playing Garfield, and more.

79. We Really Love Midnight Mass

Please refer to the title.

78. Hard Work vs Talent

A talk about slow burns in Midnight Mass (spoiler free, and featuring Rahul Kohli), archery (somehow?), and the combination of hard work and inherent talent. Video games are somewhat present, Alanah is not.

77. Demo Disks, Game Design, and DEATHLOOP (really)

This week, Alanah, Troy, Mike, and Austin talk about demo disks in cereal boxes, game design, and Deathloop. An entirely gaming podcast from your favourite gaming podcast, wow. What a triumph.

76. I Just Want to Talk About Deathloop

Instead we talk about 9/11 and social responsibility. But there is a TINY bit of Deathloop, I really tried.

75. Games Need Trailers Like The Matrix

Austin and I saw John Williams live, and Troy is very excited about The Matrix.

74. The Cost of Voice Acting in Video Games

This week, we talk about how actors view good acting, why we like the performances we do, and the 'cost' of voice acting, for the actor and indie and AAA studios. It's an almost entirely on-topic episode - you're welcome.

73. Austin Scored Aliens: FireTeam Elite!

And also we start talking about 12 Minutes. We said we'd continue it, which means we almost definitely will not.

72. The Boyfriend Dungeon Controversy

We're back! Troy got a cool mask, there's some controversy surrounding a game called Boyfriend Dungeon, and what does "consent" mean in video games?

71. Tencent, Censorship & Elaborate Setups

Also: we're taking a break. It's not you, it's me. No, really.

70. Kotaku's Recent Headlines

A discussion of Kotaku's recent headlines that, of course, somehow ends up getting existential and profound because we can't help being who we are, okay?

69. When Writing Is Too "Video-Gamey"

We didn't make a single 69 joke, but we did speak at length about the future of video game storytelling and narrative design!

69. When Writing Is Too Videogamey

We didn't make a single joke about the episode number, but we did speak at length about the future of video game storytelling and narrative design!

68. The Future of Indie Games (plus Mike & Troy use too many towels)

This week, we talk about indie studios being bought up all over the place, and discuss how feasible it is to exist without a publisher. Also, more hotel etiquette, including an excessive use of towels.

67. Can Gameplay Out-Do Bad Writing?

The headlining topic is at around 45 minutes, and there are some spoilers for RE8 from this point onward. Otherwise, standing desks, dogs, and player agency!

66. Troy Moved House

E3 is briefly mentioned but this week's episode of your #1 video game podcast mostly talks about absolutely anything and everything else.

65. God of War on PS4 AND PS5?

We talk about games we haven't played and feel guilty about, and the next God of War game being on multiple platforms. I don't know what happens after that, someone please let me know.

64. The Games Industry Without E3

This week, join Austin, Mike, and Alanah to talk about the progression of E3 and how it's likely to change, and influence different facets of the games industry as it does. There's only one tangent and it's about... radio broadcast. I'm not sure why either.

63. Are Returnal and Mass Effect Competing?

This week, we talk about Mass Effect, Returnal (sort of, more next week, hopefully), Resident Evil and how single-player games have to be strongest in their earlier moments. 

62. Troy Baker, Austin Wintory, & Mike Bithell Interview Each Other

61. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Honestly, I'm not going to lie to you, we mostly talk about a movie that came out in 1988.

60. Mortal Kombat (but not the movie)

We celebrate 60 episodes with a discussion of everything except for the actually trending Mortal Kombat topic.

59. What Makes a Good Performer

This week, we talk about YouTube, performances, what to look for in a job, and Jeff Kaplan leaving Blizzard. Surprising nobody, it's a real grab bag. Also, next week's episode will be live-streamed on YouTube!

58. How QA Works

Apologies for the break last week, BUT WE'RE BACK! We don't have a Troy, but we do have discussions about what QA does, VR porn, and if social media is needed to get into the games industry.

57. How to Audition for Voice Acting Roles

This week's episode covers multiple perspectives on the audition process, specifically for voice acting in games. And that's pretty much it. No, really, we stayed on topic almost the entire time. This will never happen again. 57 will be spoken about for ages to come. All hail 57.

56. Are Game Devs Lazy?

This week, we're dressed very fancy. You can't see that if you're listening to the audio version, but I felt you should know.

55. What Makes "Bad" Game Design?

This week, we talk about the importance of conductors (for orchestras, though I'm sure both scientific conductors and train conductors are super important too), visiting the sets of Blockbuster films, game design, and how video games are in their 'teenage' years. Also, WE HAVE NEW MERCH!

54. Video Game Languages and Star Trek

I have had so many problems getting the audio for this episode to publish that I give up on re-writing the description again. 

53.1 Video Games, the Stock Market, and Cryptocurrencies (BONUS)

A bonus episode diving into the meeting point for video games, the stock market, and cryptocurrencies! We are (not) economists.