Old Gamer’s Almanac

Just Games Booking Dads [w/ E.J. Sanders]

Matt and EJ read two books by noted video game journalist Jason Schreier and we're here to tell you about them! Jason interviewed dozens if not hundreds of game developers on the front lines to put together two books about the trial and tribulations of the games industry. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels (2017) takes a close look, one chapter at a time, at the development history of numerous specific games including Shovel Knight, Stardew Valley, Destiny, and the infamous Star Wars 1313 covering how hard it is just to get games made. Press Reset (2021) narrows that focus by covering numerous studio closures and the over-reaching arms of publishers and executives; following games like Kingdoms of Amalur, Bioshock: Infinite, and Epic Micky.
To hear Matt and EJ talk about more books (children's and Young Adult), check out their show Just Dads Reading Books: https://open.spotify.com/show/49hFagqtZLGVrdEny5vF12?si=fa3fbc457b3c4308
Music by nightcorey. https://soundcloud.com/nightcorey
Consider contributing to our show on Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/oldgamersalmanac) Email us your thoughts on the ongoing list at oldgamersalmanac(at)gmail(dot)com. Or come talk to us on our Discord. (https://discord.gg/ASG2YpyfPx)

Preparing for Alan Wake 2

Today is weird because we're pretty much only talking about one game, but we are not ranking it. Alan Wake 2 comes out soon and Hunter set aside time to replay Alan Wake. However, Matt has never touched it and still would kind of like to play Alan Wake 2 when it comes out. So Hunter is here to give Matt (and you) a crash course on Alan Wake and catch him up on the story so far.
To see the most up to version of the list and this season's schedule, visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/194Zs7HY9o2y4dgOQLsQXT0Q0cBW_Q1WZzkwqG-ALqi0/edit?usp=sharing. THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU ARE LISTENING TO OLDER EPISODES.
Music by nightcorey. https://soundcloud.com/nightcorey
Consider contributing to our show on Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/oldgamersalmanac) Email us your thoughts on the ongoing list at oldgamersalmanac(at)gmail(dot)com. Or come talk to us on our Discord. (https://discord.gg/ASG2YpyfPx)

Shadow of the Colossus (2005)

We near the end of our first 100 games so before we finish we have to talk about the first game that was ever Art. That's right, until 2005 no other video game was Art, but then a team at Sony made a follow up to their 2001 platformer and Roger Ebert let us know we'd finally done it. Shadow of the Colossus is hailed by many as the greatest game ever made and it's our turn to put our ever-important opinions into the mix.
To see the most up to version of the list and this season's schedule, visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/194Zs7HY9o2y4dgOQLsQXT0Q0cBW_Q1WZzkwqG-ALqi0/edit?usp=sharing. THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU ARE LISTENING TO OLDER EPISODES.
Music by nightcorey. https://soundcloud.com/nightcorey
Consider contributing to our show on Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/oldgamersalmanac) Email us your thoughts on the ongoing list at oldgamersalmanac(at)gmail(dot)com. Or come talk to us on our Discord. (https://discord.gg/ASG2YpyfPx)

Super Mario World (1991)

We're 98 games into this list but we haven't talked about the red plumber since episode 1. Today we return to the Mushroom Kingdom to discuss the SNES follow-up to Mario 3, Super Mario World. It's one of the best launch titles ever, but does that mean it's one of the best game ever? Or is it even better than SMB3?!
To see the most up to version of the list and this season's schedule, visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/194Zs7HY9o2y4dgOQLsQXT0Q0cBW_Q1WZzkwqG-ALqi0/edit?usp=sharing. THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU ARE LISTENING TO OLDER EPISODES.
Music by nightcorey. https://soundcloud.com/nightcorey
Consider contributing to our show on Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/oldgamersalmanac) Email us your thoughts on the ongoing list at oldgamersalmanac(at)gmail(dot)com. Or come talk to us on our Discord. (https://discord.gg/ASG2YpyfPx)

Kingdom Hearts 2 (2005)

We've finally come to some sort of finish line. Months ago we played Kingdom Hearts 1 and the Gameboy Advance sequel Chain of Memories and they left a sour taste in our mouth. But our memories held Kingdom Hearts 2 in a high regard...so it was finally time to refresh our memory and see if the door to our hearts is closed or full of light...
To see the most up to version of the list and this season's schedule, visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/194Zs7HY9o2y4dgOQLsQXT0Q0cBW_Q1WZzkwqG-ALqi0/edit?usp=sharing. THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU ARE LISTENING TO OLDER EPISODES.
Music by Utada Hikaru
Consider contributing to our show on Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/oldgamersalmanac) Email us your thoughts on the ongoing list at oldgamersalmanac(at)gmail(dot)com. Or come talk to us on our Discord. (https://discord.gg/ASG2YpyfPx)
 

Demos, Drive-Ins, and Dives

We were both almost done with Kingdom Hearts 2 but are adopting a new philosophy of late that means we aren't rushing the ending and thus negatively affecting our opinion on the game. So in the meantime, maybe we can talk about a bunch of other games we've played this year and games we're looking forward to!
To see the most up to version of the list and this season's schedule, visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/194Zs7HY9o2y4dgOQLsQXT0Q0cBW_Q1WZzkwqG-ALqi0/edit?usp=sharing. THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU ARE LISTENING TO OLDER EPISODES.
Music by nightcorey. https://soundcloud.com/nightcorey
Consider contributing to our show on Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/oldgamersalmanac) Email us your thoughts on the ongoing list at oldgamersalmanac(at)gmail(dot)com. Or come talk to us on our Discord. (https://discord.gg/ASG2YpyfPx)
 

Analogue Pocket

What is this? Linus Tech Tips? No, obviously not. We're far too stupid to give you an in depth product review. But we have been hanging out with new Analogue Pockets for just under two weeks and we wanted to talk about them. So that's what this episode is! Listen, the format of the show is whatever we want it to be and this week we wanted to talk about niche boutique electronics for old geezers. 
To see the most up to version of the list and this season's schedule, visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/194Zs7HY9o2y4dgOQLsQXT0Q0cBW_Q1WZzkwqG-ALqi0/edit?usp=sharing. THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU ARE LISTENING TO OLDER EPISODES.
Music by nightcorey. https://soundcloud.com/nightcorey
Consider contributing to our show on Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/oldgamersalmanac) Email us your thoughts on the ongoing list at oldgamersalmanac(at)gmail(dot)com. Or come talk to us on our Discord. (https://discord.gg/ASG2YpyfPx)
 

The Witness (2016)

No this isn't a 90's PC game. Up top we'll explain what's been going on with the show and tease a little bit of what's to come. After that, we just wanted to talk about The Witness! It's a puzzle game from 2016 about perspective, philosophy, and puzzles. At one point Matt said it was his favorite game of all time and we need find out if that's still the case before we reach 100 games on the list.
To see the most up to version of the list and this season's schedule, visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/194Zs7HY9o2y4dgOQLsQXT0Q0cBW_Q1WZzkwqG-ALqi0/edit?usp=sharing. THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU ARE LISTENING TO OLDER EPISODES.
Music by nightcorey. https://soundcloud.com/nightcorey
Consider contributing to our show on Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/oldgamersalmanac) Email us your thoughts on the ongoing list at oldgamersalmanac(at)gmail(dot)com. Or come talk to us on our Discord. (https://discord.gg/ASG2YpyfPx)