Another school year ends, I finally play Bloodborne and a plea for podcast feedback

On 06/01/2015 at 09:27 AM by avidacridjam

As of last Friday, I worked my last late night shift until mid/late August. I'm hoping my sleep patterns adjust until then. While I like the solitude of working alone and got used to working into the wee hours, a change of pace is needed, especially after the workload I've been dealing with.

Gamefly sent me Bloodborne near the end of last week and I installed it and have been playing it since Saturday afternoon. I haven't had much experience with the Souls games and while I had some PSN friends tell me that I'd like it more than the others, I knew it would be the kind of game that would produce either a truly positive or negative reaction; no way to be neutral. The first few hours were definitely trying and there was a period where I wondered if I should continue with the game but I kept at that Central Yharnam area, getting used to controls, enemy placement/movement until I knew the area more and more. By Sunday afternoon, I was able to defeat the first boss. Later on last night, I defeated my 2nd boss (Father Gascoigne, I think) and leveled up enough to earn the items to allow co-op play.

In short, I think I have a better grasp of the game and while it won't hesitate to beat you to your knees, it's a truly invigorating gaming experience.

Viewing wise, not a lot of activity although I've made more progess with my Fringe binge watching on Netflix. Last week, I finished season one. Last night, I completed the first 4 episodes of season 2. I love everything about this show: cast (Anna Torv and John Noble, OMG), writing, production design, world(s)-building. Even though the crimes get extremely gruesome (TripOpt, known fan of the show, warned me of that previously), I truly love it.

Netflix is sending me Selma and an Indonesian/Japanese crime film called Killers. Looking forward to both. But this week is big for me, since Jupiter Ascending drops on Blu-ray, DVD and Video On Demand. If you missed out on this one back in February; if the premise seemed too goofy for you; if the Rotten Tomatoes score scared you off (damn that site), you need to give it a chance. It's a bit messy but it was one of my favorite movie-going experiences in memory and easily this year.

Lastly, I'm going to make what seems like a desperate attempt for feedback regarding my recent podcast episode but I'm truly desperate. I've only received two mentions so far and this was an episode I was worried about. If you're listening to the podcast via iTunes, please leave a rating and/or review. I want to know how I'm doing so far. I want to make a better show and it'd help if I had some interested listeners. No big hurry - I know you have lives of your own and more pressing needs - but whenever you can. It would be very appreciated. As a reminder, you can listen to the recent episode through the widget in my profile.

That's all for now. I hope everyone had a good weekend and that this week isn't too rough on anyone.

Blake Turner Staff Writer

06/01/2015 at 09:33 AM

I apologise for not having listened to your podcasts at all, but I can't at the moment. Not until at least next month. At the moment my internet is capped to 30 gb a month and it fucking sucks but I have to save it.

avidacridjam

06/01/2015 at 10:12 AM

Fair enough. Like I said, whenever you can.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

06/01/2015 at 11:38 AM

I'll listen to it, but I'm not really into podcasts. what's the link again?

06/02/2015 at 12:11 AM

http://avidacridjam.podbean.com

06/04/2015 at 12:57 PM

ok I will listen to it in a bit. what are those books in the picture? I can't read them.

06/05/2015 at 01:32 AM

IT by Stephen King and The Count of Monte Cristo (unabridged) by Alexandre Dumas.

06/05/2015 at 01:51 AM

ah. that unabridged shit is no joke.

KnightDriver

06/02/2015 at 02:20 AM

I subscribed.

06/03/2015 at 03:13 AM

Thank you!

Super Step Contributing Writer

06/03/2015 at 03:02 AM

I'm listening to it now. I'm also interested in checking out Bloodborne.

06/03/2015 at 03:16 AM

Hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to get better in the future. I want to schedule a recording with a guest this weekend but if that falls through, I have an idea for my next solo episode and its horror film-themed.

06/03/2015 at 03:50 AM

It's well-mixed. The music is underneath your voice as is should be, and I like the audio nods like using "Fight the Power" when you talk about Do The Right Thing. The intro could be cut down a bit I think, but the music used for it is good. I'd love to hear more in-depth thoughts on a lot of the movies you touch on, but I get that you were doing a general overview of IFC and TCM at the time and still gave some interesting insight into your past. Finally, you sometimes get a bit too matter-of-fact in your tone. This is where having another person often helps, but imagine you're having a passionate conversation with a friend rather than talking to a formal audience. Of course, take my advice with a grain of salt, since I was the "uuuuhhhhhh" guy when we did the podcast together and I'm sure you can find a million problems on my end on that episode.

Overall, I enjoyed the podcast and want to watch El Mariachi soon. I wish I'd known about IFC and TCM before now, but I have watched both those channels when at my parents' much more recently since they have cable. As a younger guy (25), I do take chances on older titles, especially through Netflix. Access to the classics is probably my favorite aspect of streaming now. I might just have to leave you a voicemail.

06/03/2015 at 09:32 PM

1) I'm still the "uuuuhhhhh" guy as well. We'll have to do another episode together to see who comes out on top on that score. ;)
2) Yeah, I recognize that there was more emphasis on an overview than specific points about certain films. That's what flummoxed me for the longest time: how much do I spend on these films? What if there's an opportunity to go more in depth on a title in a future episode. At one point, my thoughts about 2001: A Space Odyssey were going to be much more but one could do an entire episode about that one. It feels a little uneven but like most things regarding the show, I'm kinda winging it.
3) Good point on the "matter of fact" tone. It was kind of a strange subject so maybe I lost focus there.
4) I love that you seek out and take chances on the classics.
5) A voicemail would be appreciated. Thank you!

PixlBit

Another school year ends, I finally play Bloodborne and a plea for podcast feedback

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