@saddleblasters#23834 i love the strict adherence. aside from the abroad episodes (which were of course totally their own thing, and good mostly because they invented a genre of podcast that is very good and otherwise pretty much unexplored), i think previous episodes that deviated from the formula lost that elusive IC magic. even on the most recent episode (177), there were a couple of questions that to me felt like they were almost tailored to be interview questions for the guest, which imo isn‘t ideal. if need be i’d be more into having an epilogue kind of segment where the guest can do more of a traditional Q&A interview for a bit, or even breaking that off into its own (non-patreon?) “bonus episode” that could drop simultaneously with the main episode (thereby doubling IC's downloads for that week and helping the show out with podcast chart rankings).
i do love the chiller episodes, btw, like 173 – they're among my favorites – but i think those work by nonetheless keeping to the format and question model of classic IC. they're a key part of the show's appeal and staying power imo.
@jaws#23924 oh yeah! seconded on bijan, i‘ve known that guy since before he was a writer. he’s a quick wit and dabbles in all kinds of things so he'd probably be a good source of far analogies.
Just so y‘all know, I’m paying attention to these!
I think the interview style questions happened because this was a bit more of a "fan request" guest than somebody we'd all interacted with a bunch before. I do think we'll stay away from that kind of question a bit more going forward though.
Have I nominated Laura Hudson before? I learned about her work in games/comics/writing etc. through the Wired Game|Life podcast which she co-hosted with Chris Kohler… probably a really long time ago now. Anyway, she's still active on twitter and I feel like would be a good fit.
Austin Walker or Rob Zacny from Waypoint would be great as I think I've said in a few places at this point lol
Also some localization people would be fun! [Nich Maragos](https://twitter.com/heartwoodfan?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor), [Jessica Chavez](https://twitter.com/HProtagonista), [Scott Strichart](https://twitter.com/TriggerRedd). Lots of others too!
For devs I feel like [Melos Han-Tani](https://twitter.com/han_tani) might be a fun episode! He could talk to @exodus about old Falcom lol. There's also [Marina](https://twitter.com/even_kei), the other half of the Anodyne dream team.
@TheFragranceOfDarkCoffee#24053 That‘s really disappointing to hear, I didn’t know about that. I appreciate the podcast tip, somehow totally missed out that Jim was on a new one.
@exodus#23986 I think the interview style questions happened because this was a bit more of a “fan request” guest than somebody we’d all interacted with a bunch before.
My immediate response is, have faith in the show, the regular format! To me, the whole point of having a guest is to see what they say in response to typical Insert Credit questions, how they bounce off/(dis)agree with/etc the IC gang, etc. Not to say tailored questions are necessarily bad, but I really don't think you should feel like you need them to make a good episode with a less-familiar guest.
Re: The format. Obviously the podcast is one specific (and popular) thing with its own style but surely having one format and not deviating for any potential guest‘s sake means it will only attract guests who are already capable of keeping up/fitting in (and also want to)? Of course nobody likes listening to dead air or awkwardness and it’s completely reasonable to take steps to avoid those situations but… I suppose it all depends on whether the guest is there to fill a gap in IC with rotating temps or to have the IC crew interact with a new voice that would have otherwise not had the air time.
@Kimimi#24181 yeah, I think we need to find our feet with the new rotation as well as with the questions of what purpose the podcast serves - keeping all this stuff in mind and discussing with jaffe! It‘s challenging at times since I (largely) am inviting the guests, and sometimes can’t confirm one til a couple days before, which puts pressure on him to get questions ready - but a mix of “general insert credit” plus some more targeted stuff is probably a way to go, but no matter what we want to make sure the guest is comfortable speaking - it's really hard to do that without some form of familiarity, so we are gonna have to keep thinking about this stuff.
John Teti seems like a nice man I enjoy listening to the podcast he does with his mother. Hes a game show enthusiast with a quick wit so he might be a good choice for the format. I enjoyed the short lived gaming podcast he did while “Gameological” was still a thing over at the AV Club. Just thought I'd throw that hat in the ring.
@Kimimi#24181 “but surely having one format and not deviating for any potential guest’s sake means it will only attract guests who are already capable of keeping up/fitting in (and also want to)?” 100%. i see nothing wrong with that – not everyone needs to be on every podcast. if, say, frank cifaldi were to go appear on hardcore gaming 101, the price is right, or the BBC, he would have no reason to expect they change what they do for an episode (or indefinitely) just for his sake.
on the other hand, i think it'd make plenty of sense to do bonus episodes that are just straight interviews, or maybe even one-off experiments with other forms of discussion that could lead to good ideas for the main show.
I don't know if you are the same person that I discovered on Twitter recently who goes by “Kimimi the Game Eating Monster”, but if you are, I have really enjoyed your writing and nominate you as a guest host too.
@antillese#24755 I second this, if she’s up for it! I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such an impressive and inspiring combination of knowledge and boundless enthusiasm when it comes to video game arcana