Friday the 13th (NES) Retrospective

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JustLikeHeaven
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Friday the 13th (NES) Retrospective

Postby JustLikeHeaven » September 11th, 2018, 4:20 pm

I've got a brand new podcast that I've started with my friend Josh. A few of you might have listened to our other Podcast, The Wolfman's Lounge. Well, that is our cult movie focused podcast and our new project is all about videogames. Mostly retrogames, but we plan to cover new stuff as well. Without further adieu I'd like to introduce you all to DRACULA's ARCADE!

Our first episode is a 30 min look back at the notorious NES game, Friday the 13th. Both Josh and myself think it's a pretty OK game and we've decided to replay it and share some thoughts. We go mostly for entertainment, but hopefully you get some information along the way. We tend to swear quite a bit, so it's decidedly NSFW. If you're interested please check out the episode here:

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-gikif-9959bb

I'd really appreciate if you guys could take a listen and let me know what you think. I'm open to constructive criticism or lavish praise. Again, please feel free to comment and give feedback. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Also, does anyone else like the Friday the 13th NES game? It's really not that bad of a title, and it's hard to not be impressed with its ambitious design. I feel like as a licensed game LJN could have taken the easy way out, but they swung for the fences and tried to make something that fit the IP. I've always admire that.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Friday the 13th (NES) Retrospective

Postby VideoGameCritic » September 21st, 2018, 6:28 pm

I finally got around to listening to this! The 30 minute running time is a little extreme, so I just let it play in the background. This is a pretty interesting discussion of a game that may have gotten a bad rap over the years.

The two guys are pretty fair in their analysis. admitting the flaws but trying to justify them to a certain degree. They also point out a lot of fun little details that might get lost on the casual player. You'll learn some useful tips as well.

They also discuss the Friday the 13th films, trying to figure out which one the game is based on. They have a very off-the-cuff conversational style that's very relatable. It sounds like my friends talking - especially with the profanity.

These guys definitely have an enthusiasm for the NES and it comes through. Listen to this podcast and you'll want to play Friday the 13th. I think I might have to give it another chance.

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Retro STrife
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Re: Friday the 13th (NES) Retrospective

Postby Retro STrife » September 24th, 2018, 4:02 pm

I'm still planning to give this podcast a listen, but haven't gotten to it yet. As for Friday the 13th on NES, I played that a lot as a kid and man was it a jump scare every time I ran into Jason inside the house. So much tension going through those houses.
Between that, and constantly feeling on the verge of death, I think this was the most tense/scary game on the NES. Years later, I was shocked to learn that the game was universally panned by critics and gamers as one of the worst NES games. It has some major flaws, but I always felt that the creepy atmosphere more than made up for it. But maybe as a kid I just didn't realize how bad it was...not really sure.

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JustLikeHeaven
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Re: Friday the 13th (NES) Retrospective

Postby JustLikeHeaven » September 28th, 2018, 3:12 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:I finally got around to listening to this! The 30 minute running time is a little extreme, so I just let it play in the background. This is a pretty interesting discussion of a game that may have gotten a bad rap over the years.

The two guys are pretty fair in their analysis. admitting the flaws but trying to justify them to a certain degree. They also point out a lot of fun little details that might get lost on the casual player. You'll learn some useful tips as well.

They also discuss the Friday the 13th films, trying to figure out which one the game is based on. They have a very off-the-cuff conversational style that's very relatable. It sounds like my friends talking - especially with the profanity.

These guys definitely have an enthusiasm for the NES and it comes through. Listen to this podcast and you'll want to play Friday the 13th. I think I might have to give it another chance.


Thanks for taking the time to listen Dave! I appreciate it. I also really appreciate your insight and comments. Coming from you it means alot. I hope you give Friday the 13th another go! It's one of those games that once it clicks, it's not nearly as bad as it initially seems!

Questions for anyone that would listen to a videogame podcast.

1) What are you looking for in terms of episode length? We've been shooting for 20-30 minutes tops.

2). Do you prefer an episode focused on a single game? Would a genre or topic be better?

3). Would you be more inclined to "listen" if the podcast was also posted on Youtube?

4). We're planning on releasing a new episode once every two weeks. Is that too much or too little?

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Friday the 13th (NES) Retrospective

Postby VideoGameCritic » September 28th, 2018, 5:03 pm

Well, I'm not a podcast guy but maybe that makes my feedback better!

1. I would limit it to 15 minutes max. No long lead-ins - get right to it and keep it tight. As with radio, if there's any dead air people will tune out.
2. I think a single game is fine, or maybe a short series like Ninja Gaiden on the NES.
3. I would be more inclined to listen on YouTube, but if you do that you might as well cycle thru some screenshots of the game.
4. I think once every two weeks sounds about right.

What do you think guys?

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ptdebate
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Re: Friday the 13th (NES) Retrospective

Postby ptdebate » September 28th, 2018, 6:18 pm

On the length question-

Don't you guys listen to podcasts while commuting or traveling? Dan Carlin's Hardcore History is one of my favorites, and episodes come in at 4 hours or more.

Retronauts, my go-to gaming podcast, ranges between 45 minutes and 2 hours.

VideoGameCritic wrote:1. I would limit it to 15 minutes max. No long lead-ins - get right to it and keep it tight. As with radio, if there's any dead air people will tune out.


15 minutes sounds pretty anemic for a podcast. I'd probably turn it away based on the perception that it is likely lacking in substance. I also would prefer not to be in a position where I have to change my listening selection mid-drive (or train ride, etc).

Not really sure if the podcast/radio comparison holds up.

JLH, is there a way to get your podcast on my mobile device so I can listen to it in the car?

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Re: Friday the 13th (NES) Retrospective

Postby VideoGameCritic » September 29th, 2018, 5:24 pm

I feel like I should defer this subject to ptdebate who is definitely more familiar with the format. I only listen to podcasts on rare occasions when surfing the web. But I know a lot of people who listen to them in the car.

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JustLikeHeaven
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Re: Friday the 13th (NES) Retrospective

Postby JustLikeHeaven » September 29th, 2018, 5:42 pm

On the subject of length I've heard arguments for both. With our other Podcast (The Wolfman's Lounge) we played around with episode length from 30 minutes up to 2 hours. Some folks love the longer episodes for commutes. Other people told us they like the shorter episodes as they will binge listen to a few at a time. While I think 15 minutes might be a touch short, I think 30 to 40 minutes on a single topic is more than enough. The last thing you want to do is repeat yourself or be boring. Still it's something Josh and myself are always curious to hear people's opinions about.

For those that are interested in listening on your phone we are on both Google Play Music and iTunes.

https://play.google.com/music/listen?u= ... uu5h4yoiwm

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dra ... 1437098754

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ptdebate
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Re: Friday the 13th (NES) Retrospective

Postby ptdebate » October 1st, 2018, 1:20 pm

JustLikeHeaven wrote:On the subject of length I've heard arguments for both. With our other Podcast (The Wolfman's Lounge) we played around with episode length from 30 minutes up to 2 hours. Some folks love the longer episodes for commutes. Other people told us they like the shorter episodes as they will binge listen to a few at a time. While I think 15 minutes might be a touch short, I think 30 to 40 minutes on a single topic is more than enough. The last thing you want to do is repeat yourself or be boring. Still it's something Josh and myself are always curious to hear people's opinions about.

For those that are interested in listening on your phone we are on both Google Play Music and iTunes.

https://play.google.com/music/listen?u= ... uu5h4yoiwm

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dra ... 1437098754


Subscribed!

I don't want to discourage you from trying a shorter format - I can only speak from personal experience.

30 seems like a good "minimum" to me. And I agree that it depends on the topic. If there's no more to cover on a given topic, no need to pad out the length.

I'll listen to the podcast this afternoon and let you know any further thoughts I have.

CharlieR
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Re: Friday the 13th (NES) Retrospective

Postby CharlieR » October 2nd, 2018, 12:51 pm

I listened to it last night. It was very good. I used the link to download a separate app, but I also searched for it on the podcasts app that came preinstalled on my ipod touch. It was on there; it's nice to have all my podcasts in one place, I also saw you guys did an episode in late September about Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. I'll have to listen to that.

As far as the questions:

1. Length was fine with me. I got the feeling that any longer and it might be too long just for the sake of being long. I also felt that it never got too off-topic.
2. Either one is fine. Focusing on a single game might work better in this format. Genres would be good, but that could make the episodes too long. I’d listen to thirty minutes about Tony Hawk 4, even though I pretty much know that game inside and out.
3. Not necessarily. If I was on the computer and wanted to listen to it while doing other things; I could have multiple windows open. If I was on my ipod touch, I could watch it, but if I closed youtube, the podcast would stop. I like listening to podcasts while checking other apps like mail, fantasy sports, etc. If it was youtube, you’d probably have to get footage of the game, fancy camera, etc.
4. Every two weeks is fine.


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