The Insert Credit Show

• Ep. 389 - Middle Kick Button, with Any Austin

  Youtuber, statistician, and cartographer Any Austin joins the panel to determine whether open world games should have minimaps, how to become a Sega Man, and the relationship between the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Bears. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, Brandon Sheffield, and Any Austin. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman. SHOW NOTES: Atari Jaguar Kasumi Ninja Cosmic Carnage Sega 32X Kanye West Pope Leo XIV The Game of Life Def Jam: Rapstar David Cage Indigo Prophecy Star Wars Satoru Iwata Trainspotting (1996) r/Trains Ikaruga 1: Brian David Gilbert asks, which video game do you wish you could scrub from the memories of everyone in the world except for you? (08:08) Yesterday (2019) Grand Theft Auto series Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) Google The Beatles Seaman Dizzy series Fortnite Songs of Innocence Tim Sweeney Epic Games v. Apple The Walt Disney Company Boba Fett Firefall Mark Kern World of Warcraft 2: What’s the platonic ideal in open world games for you? (14:25) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Starfield Assassins Creed: Shadows Ryū ga Gotoku / Like a Dragon / Yakuza universe Shenmue series Shogi 3: What’s something you’ve seen in a video game that you’ve appreciated the developers putting much more work into than was even a little bit necessary? (20:07) Final Fantasy XV Final Fantasy XIII Gargoyle’s Quest Demon’s Crest Super Ghouls ’N Ghosts Half-Life series Forspoken NiGHTS into Dreams… Chao Garden Sonic Adventure series Doom: the Dark Ages Metroid Prime Starfield Mass Effect series Pokemon series 4: If you were isekai’d into a generic fantasy setting, what would your job be? (27:15) Isekai Dragon Quest series That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Frieren 5: Psinux asks, how does a Sega kid become a Sega man? (33:23) Sega Sonic & Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble The Conduit High Voltage Software Eric Nofsinger Mortal Kombat Game Boy Game Gear Genesis Nomad Sega Pico Sega Saturn 6: What’s the best mountain in a video game? (37:37) No Man’s Sky King of All Cosmos Throat of the World Skyrim Mount Gulg Dragonroost Island Mount Fuji Mount Everest Microsoft Flight Simulator series D2 Blue Prince Death Mountain The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Mt. Nibel Final Fantasy VII Mount Kilimanjaro Space Mountain Denali Mount Tamalpais Celeste Mount Celeste Mount Rushmore Fatal Fury series Sam & Max: Hit the Road Giant Bomb Wiki Mount Rushmore Games 7: What is the BBC’s Planet Earth of video games? (43:30) Planet Earth The Making of Karateka Karateka Jordan Mechner Balatro Endless Ocean Journey Flower Everything Endless Ocean: Blue World Wisdom Tree Super Mario Bros. 2 Noah’s Ark ActRaiser Yuzo Koshiro Prince of Egypt (1998) The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) Moses: Prince of Egypt Zelda CD-i Games LIGHTNING ROUND: The Price is Sprite (49:20) Credit Report (01:01:20) Recommendations and Outro (01:02:10): Brandon: If you’re looking to make friends, try joining a forum (forums.insertcredit.com or otherwise) Frank: Spiritual Warfare Ash: The Righteous Gemstones Austin: Shout out to air traffic controllers, Turks and Caicos Islands, forums, Any Austin on youtube This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you. Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!

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• Ep. 388 - Big Heads, Big Hearts

  The panel mourns the loss of two titans of video game journalism, considers the future of games reporting, and imagines a horse covered in human skin. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, Brandon Sheffield. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman. SHOW NOTES: Andor The Mandalorian DMC DeLorean Marcus Aurelius Mark Antony 1: Let us begin by mourning the losses of game journalism (02:42) Polygon sold to Valnet, editorial staff hit with layoffs Michael McWhertor Fandom Blows Up Giant Bomb Was the Media’s Big “Pivot to Video” All Based on a Lie? 8-4 Shane Bettenhausen Jeremy Parish Tencent lays off nearly all of staff at its gaming site Fanbyte Kotaku The Verge Valnet Blues: How Online Porn Pioneer Hassan Youssef Built a Digital Media ‘Sweatshop’ 1Up Digg Gamergate (harrassment campaign) Simon Carless GameDiscoverCo Substack Fortnite Roblox Stephen Totilo 2: DIDDY WATCH: What does it mean that Cranky and Rambi are in Donkey Kong Bananza? (24:58) Diddy Kong Donkey Kong Bananza Cranky Kong Rambi the Rhino The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Scrooge McDuck Diddy Kong Racing Super Smash Brothers series Waluigi Shigeru Miyamoto 3: Brian David Gilbert asks, if your typical fashion had stat boosters attached to it, what would they be and why? (29:25) Summer Game Fest Sonic Mario 4: How do you convince people to buy horse armor in 2025? (39:18) The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Remastered Horse armor Limited Run Games The Elder Scrolls VI NFTs Fallout series 5: How would each of you specifically design a video game for the other two panelists? (44:01) Elena Monster Maker TurboGrafx-16 LIGHTNING ROUND: GameFAQ&As - ? (47:03) Recommendations and Outro (53:28): Brandon: Eine Kleine Beng-beng Musik by dis.placed, The Seventh Curse (1986), Promise Mascot Agency Ash: Aftermath, Remap, VGBees, support journalism Frank: Enjoy, support, and share smart media Jaffe: DC Action News This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you. Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!

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• Insert Credit Gaiden #12 - GDC 2025, with Liz Ryerson and Brandon Sheffield

  The 2025th Game Developers Conference has ended, and only Liz Ryerson and Brandon Sheffield covered it in the way it was meant to be covered: on-the-floor stories from the industry’s finest minds, and an extensive tour of booths reflecting the state of video games as we know it. Hosted by Brandon Sheffield and Liz Ryerson, with Leaf, Schera Wyss, Frank Cifaldi, K.K. Dream, Alexander Martin, Ty Underwood, Leo Burke, Max Kreiger, and Justin Bortnick. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman. Chapters: Brandon talks with Leaf about Funko taking down itch.io (00:00) Liz seeks the origins of Slugworld with Schera Wyss (13:01) Brandon chats with Frank about game history (17:02) Liz trades business cards with K.K. Dream (30:17) Liz joins friends to reveal the current state of video games, based on the GDC Expo Floor booths (42:24) Insert Credit Gaiden is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you. Subscribe: RSS, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more!

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• Ep. 387 - Ethical Banana Diamonds, with Brian David Gilbert

  Brian David Gilbert of Dropout.tv, Unraveled, and his own excellent youtube channel joins our panel to cover Switch 2 preorders, Donkey Kong dating your friends, and the legendary Nier butthole. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, Brandon Sheffield, and Brian David Gilbert. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman. Watch episodes with full video on YouTube Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums SHOW NOTES: Mystery Men (1999) Flaming Carrot Comics The Legend of Zelda series Video game Sega PlayStation Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Nintendo Nintendo 64 1: We’re recording this the day that preorders have gone live for the Switch 2. What’s the worst case you’ve ever seen of Preorder Madness? (08:05) I got my Switch 2 preorder the old-fashioned way: lining up at GameStop Crysis Pepe the Frog Alan Wake II GameStop 2: What’s the right amount of bullshit to put in a video game? (15:13) Demonschool Ryū ga Gotoku / Like a Dragon / Yakuza universe Everything Xenoblade Chronicles series Batman Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3: How would video games be different today if when you died in the game, you died in real life? (20:45) Elon Musk Gamergate (harassment campaign) The Most Dangerous Game Alex Honnald Elden Ring Dark Souls series Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy Bebe’s Kids (1992) 4: How would you describe the character of Donkey Kong? (23:51) Donkey Kong Pauline Mario Romeo and Juliet Diddy Kong Sean Combs Funky Kong Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Rare Ken Penders Ms. Pac-Man Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Super Mario Odyssey Jake Lloyd Mario Party series Insert Credit Quick Break: DC Action News (32:47) 5: Magnanimous asks, is there any old video game slang you’d bring back? (33:36) Atari Space Invaders Doom Roblox Immersive sim JRPG Yacht rock 6: Which video game vehicle would receive the best JD Power & Associates car rating? (39:00) JD Power & Associates Final Fantasy XV The Regalia Mario Kart series Lakitu Ridge Racer series Spice Girls The Big Bang Theory Halo series Fortnite 7: What is the Tom Hooper’s Cats of video games? (43:54) Cats (2019) Editing the Buttholes Out of ‘Cats’ Was a Total Nightmare for VFX Crew Gemini Man (2019) Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) Idris Elba Peter Molyneux Borderlands (2024) Uwe Boll Bloodrayne (2005) House of the Dead (2003) Donut County NieR series Stellar Blade LIGHTNING ROUND: Arcade of Our Own (51:20) Credit Report (01:06:59) Recommendations and Outro (01:07:21): Frank: Watch Tempo on YouTube for a second and decide what you think about it Brandon: Minako Yoshida’s Dark Crystal, Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch Ash: Go outside and take a walk Brian: VVVVVV, brian david gilbert on YouTube, Um, Actually This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by DC Action News and patrons like you. Thank you. Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!

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• Ep. 386 - Trapped in the Question Hole

  Frank, Ash, and Brandon begin an endless and inescapable descent into our listener-submitted Question Hole, and in the process learn to run an inn, make Ash crack up at Metafore ReFantazio again, and mention the same four guys that get mentioned every episode. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, and Brandon Sheffield. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman. Watch episodes with full video on YouTube Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums SHOW NOTES: The Price is Right Press Your Luck Ep. 385 - David Uncage 1: What are your all-time favorite single performances on a game soundtrack? (02:52) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge Faith No More Wu-Tang Clan Mega Ran Simple and Clean Kingdom Hearts Quake Nine Inch Nails Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Crazy Taxi Penn & Teller’s Smoke and Mirrors Debbie Harry Nick Cave Snake Eater Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 2: Whywhy asks, what is the Megalopolis (2024) of video games? (04:40) Megalopolis (2024) Death Stranding The Last of Us Part II Shenmue III 3: Spencer asks, what are the trademarks of your favorite game designer’s styles? (05:33) Quentin Tarantino’s foot fetish FoxyLand DEcapAttack Magical Hat no Buttobi Turbo! Daibōken David Cage Hidetaki Miyazaki 4: Seth asks, how would you develop a game that portrays publishers negatively? (06:30) 404 Game RE: SET -Error Game Reset- Sega Yoko Taro Nintendo Sony Neil Druckman Konami Castlevania series Bomberman series Devolver Digital ActivisionBlizzard Bobby Kotick Duty Calls Bulletstorm 5: Fruinblacksberk asks, if you could bring one person in the video game industry back to life who died a premature death, who would it be? (08:49) Gunpei Yokoi Yuji Naka Satoru Iwata 6: Chopemon asks, what game should get a remaster with a good/dumb name? (09:40) Red Faction: Guerrilla - Re-Mars-tered Lollipop Chainsaw: RePop Darksiders: Warmastered Edition Final Fantasy series Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Frank Sinatra Blaster Master Blaster 7: Riley asks, who is the tallest character in video games? (10:37) Bayonetta series Jubileus the Creator God King of All Cosmos Katamari Damacy 8: Gaagaagiins asks, have we already seen the service game with the shortest lifespan, and the service game with the longest lifespan? (11:32) Concord New Game Announces Release Date And Also Shutdown Date In Same Tweet EverQuest Ultima Online World of WarCraft RuneScape MUD 9: LeFish asks, which video games are most likely or best suited to a Broadway musical adaptation? (12:48) Yakuza series 10: BreadyToDie asks, has a video game ever affected your real life ideological bent? (13:18) BioShock Infinite Ken Levine 11: Is Officer Zuffle from Ooblets copaganda? (14:14) Ooblets Officer Zuffle 12: XCT asks, what are some of the panel’s favorite video game sequels in a different genre? (14:44) Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings Wild Arms XF R-Type Tactics series James Pond series Persona 5 Strikers Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light 13: Cheapy asks, who drives the coolest motorcycle in video games? (16:59) Wario Moo Moo Cloud Strife Shadow the Hedgehog 14: Gaagaagiins asks, what are some of the best games you can play for $0? (17:46) Doom Sega Genesis NoIntro Fullset Ep. 224 - Video Game History Pope Snake 15: Anatoliu asks, what game would you send to all of Nintendo Power’s 1990 subscribers? (19:01) Dragon Quest Nintendo Power Bonk’s Revenge TurboGrafx-16 16: connorr asks, who is the PS3 of human beings? (20:17) PlayStation 3 Giant Enemy Crabs Peter Molyneux Hideo Kojima Populous 17: Kiko B asks, what aspect of game design is most commonly misunderstood? (21:55) Yellow Paint Is Once Again Breaking People’s Brains Green Lantern South of Midnight 18: Suda 68.999 asks, what two or more games would best compliment each other if stitched together with mods? (24:27) Crusader Kings III Mount & Blade Mario Sonic Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series Super Mario Bros. Kid Icarus Melty Blood Touhou Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Sonic & Knuckles 19: Kyle asks, how would you implement skateboarding in modern games? (26:03) Spyro: Year of the Dragon Metroid Prime Yakuza series Dead2y Premonition: A Blessing in Disguise Metaphor: ReFantazio 20: Cole asks, which video game sounds could also serve as great text message tones? (27:42) Metal Gear Solid “!“ Panzer Dragoon Sonic the Hedgehog Super Mario World David Hayter 21: SpencerGifs asks, if a game has multiple versions, how do you decide which to play? (29:14) Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age 22: Classic Anonymous asks, who is the William Randolph Hearst of video games? (30:09) William Randolph Hearst Citizen Kane (1941) 23: Dark Saikan asks, do you know what Neal Stephenson’s blockchain thing is? (31:24) Neal Stephenson Blockchain 24: Rice9 asks, do good critics make good designers? (32:16) 25: Camillo asks, what is the cane from Citizen Kane of video games? (34:21) Kane & Lynch: Dead Men Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Jeff Gerstmann 26: Propellher asks, what is the most dad game of all time? (34:52) God of War The Last of Us Dr. Mario Octodad Star Wars games 27: What’s the most daddy game of all time? (36:38) Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator 28: Chopemon asks, what is your Gamer forum signature? (36:53) Gackt Malice Mizer Dovahkin 29: SpencerGifs asks, what should a Nintendo baby play to grow out of Nintendo babydom? (38:16) NieR: Automata Knuckles’ Chaotix Russian roulette 30: Yeso asks, what is the tucking in your shirt of video games? (39:18) 31: LeFish asks, who is the Sister Rosetta Tharpe of video games? (41:04) Sister Rosetta Tharpe Lara Croft Grace Walker Deborah Wilson Coleco Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel’s Castle Lawrence Schick Baldur’s Gate III Sega Genesis 32: Bebedor asks, what steps are you taking to get John Carpenter on the show? (44:34) John Carpenter The Thing (1982) John Carter of Mars Fantastic Four Ghosts of Mars (2001) 33: Yuji asks, what video game will still be played 5,000 years from now? (45:35) Backgammon Nintendo Entertainment System Pong Can You Pet The Dog? 34: SpencerGifs asks, how do the video game generations break down if you go by design innovation? (47:08) Atari Xbox 360 G4 35: ASmallRabbite asks, what is the most finally making it to an inn with 1hp and no potions moment in your real life? (48:32) Honda Prelude Pontiac Tempest 36: Nemoid asks, how can public institutions like libraries foster positive relationships with game enthusiasts? (51:38) Half-Price Books Wii PlayStation Classic Sega Genesis Mini TurboGrafx-16 Mini Nintendo Classic Mini Rock Band 37: Spencer asks, why did so many companies throw their hat in the console ring in the fifth generation? (55:07) Game console generations, according to Wikipedia 3DO CD-i Sega Saturn PlayStation PlayStation 2 Dreamcast Portland Retro Gaming Expo Funk Soul Brother PC-FX Steam Box VCR 38: Gaagaagiins asks, what is the best and worst default jump button? (58:44) The Godfather the Game God of War III 39: Anonymous asks, what is the Ween of video games? (01:01:31) Ween League of Legends 40: Gruntin’ Gary asks, in what ways have video games become more and less accessible over the years? (01:02:56) 41: RepelHer asks, does the panel just generally never cry, or is there something about video games specifically? (01:04:24) Mother 3 Demonschool Annie Lee’s Blue Monday New Order’s Blue Monday Annie Lee’s Sixty Pounds 42: Spencer asks, is video game marketing different from other marketing? (01:08:20) Call of Duty series Ep. 384 - Keighleyme Pie, with Mike Drucker Golden Sun Commercial The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 43: SecretBilly asks, what niche types of game player would historical figures have been? (01:12:13) Issac Newton Half-Life 2 Wolfgang Mozart Leonardo da Vinci Tetris: the Grand Master The Talos Principle Oscar Wilde Harry Houdini Teddy Roosevelt Dragon Age: Inquisition Iron Bull Marie Curie Overcooked! F. Scott Fitzgerald Martin Luther King Jr. Mafia III Recommendations and Outro (01:14:33): Brandon: Speed Racer (2008), The Golden Buddha (1966) or From Beijing with Love (1994), Flying Saucer Video Frank: watch two things with an actor at the same time Ash: The Boondocks, send Ash recommendations for Chinese historical harem dramas This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by patrons like you. Thank you. Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!

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