2023 was one of the best years for video games, but it was one of the worst for the video game industry. In the first episode of 2024, Keifer takes an episode to reflect on the year by analyzing The Game Awards 2023, and explaining how it's symptomatic of the issues plaguing the industry.

Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network.

0:00 - Intro and Housekeeping 6:22 - The Game Awards 2023 17:02 - Geoff Keighley versus the World 22:25 - The Time Problem 27:39 - Games for Impact 31:43 - Best Independent Game 33:45 - The Sam Lake of it all 39:24 - Fixing the Presenters 42:20 - Best Adaptation 45:18 - Video Game Layoffs 55:12 - Conclusion

Follow Keifer and support the show: https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner https://linktr.ee/KeiferL

Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/HotSodaDesigns

Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry

Sources for this episode:

Time Spent Issuing Awards:

Nolan, Liam. “The Biggest Problem at This Year’s Game Awards Was Disrespecting the Winners.” The Escapist, The Escapist, 8 Dec. 2023, www.escapistmagazine.com/the-biggest-problem-at-this-years-game-awards-was-disrespecting-the-winners/.

IGN - Awards and Speeches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc9Tc4RCYSQ

Layoffs:

2023 - Game Industry Layoffs - Obsidian Publish, publish.obsidian.md/vg-layoffs/Archive/2023. Gach, Ethan. “Last of US Studio Naughty Dog Is Cutting Developers.” Kotaku, Kotaku, 3 Oct. 2023, kotaku.com/naughty-dog-ps5-playstation-sony-last-us-part-3-layoffs-1850893794.

Parvini, Sarah. “The Video Game Industry Boomed during the Pandemic. Now Thousands Are Being Laid Off.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023, www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-11-20/video-game-industry-layoffs.

Zhou, Cissy. “Tiktok Parent Bytedance to Cut 1,000 Gaming Jobs in Strategic Shift.” Nikkei Asia, Nikkei Asia, 27 Nov. 2023, asia.nikkei.com/Business/China-tech/TikTok-parent-ByteDance-to-cut-1-000-gaming-jobs-in-strategic-shift.

Sinclair, Brendan. “EA Restructuring, Laying off 6% of Workforce.” GamesIndustry.Biz, GamesIndustry.biz, 29 Mar. 2023, www.gamesindustry.biz/ea-restructuring-laying-off-6-of-workforce.

Tong, Anna. “Exclusive: Unity Software to Cut 25% of Staff in ‘company Reset ...” Reuters, Reuters, 8 Jan. 2024, www.reuters.com/technology/unity-software-cutting-25-staff-company-reset-continuation-2024-01-08/. SEGA Unionization fight:

Gach, Ethan. “Workers Accuse Sega of Threatening Mass Layoffs over Unionizing.” Kotaku, Kotaku, 15 Nov. 2023, kotaku.com/sega-sonic-union-layoffs-persona-yakuza-1851026309.

Parrish, Ash. “Sega Workers Form Largest Multi-Department Video Game Union in the US.” The Verge, The Verge, 10 July 2023, www.theverge.com/23789935/sega-union-cwa-unionization-activision-blizzard.

Bobby Kotick:

Sorkin, Andrew Ross, and Lauren Hirsch. “California Drops Sexual Harassment Suit in $54 Million Settlement with Activision.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/12/15/business/dealbook/california-activision-blizzard-sexual-harassment.html.

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Kept you waiting, huh? Manu (aka ManuclearBomb) from the NotACast Pod-Cast and My Brother, My Captain, My Podcast, returns to the show to talk about Metal Gear Solid 2 and the impact it made on his life!

We also talk about this game's legacy, its influences, its controversies, and its prescient themes. Not only that, we also give our thoughts on the recently announced live-action Zelda film, discuss the future of the Metal Gear franchise, the recent Master Collection, and what other pieces of media give us "Big Boss Baby vibes."

Other games discussed in this episode: Elden Ring, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Spider-Man 2, Yakuza, Alan Wake, Control, Max Payne 3, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Survivor, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Metal Gear Solid V, Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2.

Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network.

0:00 - Catching Up with Manu 13:34 - Live-action Zelda News 22:58 - Manu's Gaming Future 35:02 - "Big Boss Baby Vibes" 44:50 - Metal Gear Solid Delta 52:54 - Introducing Metal Gear Solid 2 1:16:35 - No Country For Old Games 1:37:58 - Metal Gear Solid 2 2:58:30 - Recommendations and Outro

Support Manu and his projects: https://www.patreon.com/MyBroMyCapMyPod https://linktr.ee/MBMCMP https://www.patreon.com/NotACastASOIAF https://notacastasoiaf.podbean.com/

Follow Keifer and support the show: https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner https://linktr.ee/KeiferL

Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/HotSodaDesigns

Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry

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With great podcasts there must also come great responsibility. With okay ones you can get a little silly with it though. Avry Robin Ott, Keifer's best friend and the person who provides this show's artwork, returns to the show to talk about what Spider-Man, the character and the 2018 video game, means to him!

We also talk about our favorite superheroes, superheroes in interactive media, the legacy of Spider-Man, the ideology behind the character and his creators, and more! We also come up with ideas for more superhero video games in a brand new segment: I Need A Hero.

Other games discussed in this episode include: Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Pokémon Legends Arceus, Hades, Marvel Snap, the Batman Arkham series, and a bunch of Spider-Man games.

Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network.

Catching up with Avry - 0:00 Favorite Superhero Games - 21:25 Our History with Spider-Man - 34:10 Spider-Man Video Games - 52:30 I Need A Hero - 1:11:45 Introducing Marvel's Spider-Man - 1:18:45 No Country for Old Games - 1:30:00 Marvel's Spider-Man Discussion - 1:42:22 Recommendations and Outro - 2:53:59

Follow Keifer and support the show: https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner https://linktr.ee/KeiferL

Artwork provided by our guest, Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/HotSodaDesigns

Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry

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CONTENT WARNING: Phantasmagoria contains a scene depicting sexual assault. This aspect of the game, as well as the controversy it caused around the time of its release, is discussed in this episode. It is discussed during the No Country For Old Games segment starting at the 57 minute and 45 second mark and is brought up again periodically throughout the episode. Please listen at your own discretion. Episode Description:

Lauren Badillo Milici, writer, poet, and author of Sad Sexy Catholic, stops by to talk about why the uniquely bizarre Sierra point-and-click horror FMV game Phantasmagoria means so much to her!

We also talk about Lauren's horror obsession (games, films, and television), PC games, point-and-click games, FMVs, and get sidetracked a lot!  

Other games discussed in this episode: Faith, Wishbone and the Amazing Odyssey, Alice is Dead, America McGee's Alice, Alice: Madness Returns, Vampire: The Masquerade, Her Story, Immortality, Inscryption, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie game, Starsky and Hutch, SOMA, Control, Phantasmagoria 2, and more! 

Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network.

0:00 - Introducing Lauren 38:00 - Introducing Phantasmagoria 52:15 - No Country for Old Games 1:13:00 - Phantasmagoria Discussion 1:58:45 - Phantasmagoria 2 2:04:00 - Phantasmagoria's Ending 2:10:30 - Recommendations and Outro

Support Lauren and her projects: https://www.laurenmilici.com/ http://patreon.com/motelsiren [

](http://patreon.com/motelsiren)https://www.fandom.com/articles/history-phantasmagoria Follow Keifer and support the show: https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner https://linktr.ee/KeiferL

Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/HotSodaDesigns

Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry

Find out more at https://select-and-start.pinecast.co

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Happy Halloween, super ghouls 'n gamers! Andrew Sherman, head of the Moonshot Podcast Network and host of ARGonauts and The Podcast Mines: There But For the Grace of Pod Go We, stops by to talk about the roguelike deck-building game Inscryption and the impact it made on his life! 

Also, Keifer got Covid and he's _pissed. _

We also talk about our history with card games and deck-builders, Nintendo DS modding and repair, the best games to play during the Fall season, and more!  

Other games discussed in this episode: The Pokémon franchise, the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Hotel Dusk, Baldur's Gate III, Psychonauts, Night in the Woods, Alan Wake 2, Loop Hero, Wildermyth, Slay The Spire, Into the Breach, Immortality, Metal Gear Solid 2, and more!

Timestamps: 00:00 - Keifer's Rant 06:50 - Introducing Andrew 41:38 - Trading Card Games 54:45 - Autumn Games 1:01:45 - Introducing Inscryption 1:20:00 - No Country for Old Games 1:29:30 - Inscryption 2:37:15 - Recommendations and Conclusion

Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network.

Support Andrew and his projects: https://www.twitch.tv/ACSherman https://andrewsherman.carrd.co/

Follow Keifer and support the show: https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner https://linktr.ee/KeiferL

Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/HotSodaDesigns

Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry

Find out more at https://select-and-start.pinecast.co

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HOLD IT! Kev Koeser, co-host of Talking Trek To You, stops by to talk about Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and why the series means so much to them.

We also talk about the uniquely great Nintendo DS library, the visual novel genre, adventure games, and more!

Also Keifer nearly drives himself insane with his longest intro yet.

We also talk about AI: The Somnium Files, Ghost Trick, Hotel Dusk, Oxenfree, Kentucky Route Zero, Metroid Prime, Tales from the Borderlands, Tears of the Kingdom, Xenoblade, Zelda Wind Waker, Zero Escape, and more!

Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network.

Intro - 0:00 Meet Kev Koeser - 11:54 Introducing Phoenix Wright - 49:27 No Country For Old Games - 1:03:41 Phoenix Wright Discussion - 1:16:20 Recommendations and Outro - 2:16:05

Support Kev and their projects: https://twitter.com/MaxRebosRoadie https://twitter.com/TalkTrekToYou https://bsky.app/profile/maxrebosroadie.bsky.social https://talkingtrektoyou.podbean.com/

Follow Keifer and support the show: https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner https://linktr.ee/KeiferL

Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/HotSodaDesigns

Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry

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Mike Pettry, a musician and composer for TV, video games, theatre, and this podcast, comes on the show to talk about the groundbreaking Final Fantasy VII and the meteor-sized impact it made on his life!

We also talk about video game music, how Mike composed the show's awesome theme song, the Final Fantasy franchise, the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, and more!

Other games discussed in this episode include: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid, Tears of the Kingdom, Myst, The Journeymen Project, Mass Effect, Stardew Valley, Octopath Traveler, Persona 5, Pokémon, Red Dead Redemption 2.    

Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences. It is part of the Moonshot podcast network.

Meet Mike Pettry - 0:00 Our love of Final Fantasy - 14:30 Music talk - 23:33 Introducing Final Fantasy VII - 40:00 No Country for Old Games - 1:09:15 Final Fantasy VII Discussion - 1:16:00 Closing Thoughts - 2:22:05 The music of FFVII - 2:27:45 Listener comments and outro - 2:35:15

Theme music provided by our guest, Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry

Follow Keifer and support the show: https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner https://linktr.ee/KeiferL

Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/HotSodaDesigns

Find out more at https://select-and-start.pinecast.co

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Can you dig it? Filmmaker and close friend Roman Fruehan comes out to play AND discuss the Rockstar's 2005 beat-em-up, The Warriors. We talk about the game AND the 1979 Walter Hill film it's based on and why they both mean so much to Roman and how they changed his life.

We also talk movies, video game adaptations of films, make Roman rank them in yet another segment of Rank and Cinephile, and talk about Roman's biggest gaming blind spots.

Other games discussed in this episode: The Bouncer, Bomberman Fantasy Race, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, Eternal Darkness, Incredible Crisis, the Metal Gear Solid franchise, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, Double Dragon, Jet Set Radio, the Yakuza franchise, and more!

Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences.

Support Roman: https://www.instagram.com/revolverroman/

Follow Keifer and support the show: https://linktr.ee/KeiferL https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner

Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/HotSodaDesigns

Theme Music Provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry

Find out more at https://select-and-start.pinecast.co

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Filmmaker and YouTube creator AdequateEmily stops by to talk about why Portal is her favorite game of all time! We also talk about being suspended on Twitter, making our dads violently ill through video games, prejudice in video games, licensed games, and more!

Other games discussed in the episode include: The Half-Life series, Team Fortress 2, Portal 2, the Persona series, Nickelodeon video games, The Godfather, Scarface, The Warriors, and more! Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, interviews his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences.

Cave Johnson here! - 0:00 Introducing Emily - 3:30 Introducing Portal - 48:15 No Country for Old Games - 1:04:58 Portal talk - 1:22:30 Recommendations and outro - 2:08:08

Support AdequateEmily: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOH1FQCrI3EdO3gBjnH0Yxg https://twitter.com/ImprisonedEmily

Follow Keifer and support the show: https://linktr.ee/KeiferL https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner

Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/HotSodaDesigns

Theme music provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry

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Kooloo-Limpah! Writer Jameisen Borak comes on to talk about his and Keifer's favorite video game of all time: The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask. Jamiesen talks about why the game means so much to him, and how it affected his life and influenced him as a writer.

Also, The show gets a new theme song and Keifer gets stuck in a time loop.

We also talk about the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, loneliness, how we find peace and happiness in the face of dread, and video games!

Other topics covered in this episode include: Super Mario RPG, Kingdom Hearts, The Final Fantasy franchise, Twin Peaks, Tears of the Kingdom, the Zelda franchise, time loop games, and more!

Select and Start is a video game podcast where the host, Keifer Lirette, talks with his guests about their most meaningful and memorable video game experiences.

Dawn of a New Theme - 0:00 Introducing Jamiesen - 5:57 Introducing Majora's Mask - 46:04 No Country for Old Games - 1:13:40 Majora's Mask talk - 1:26:28 Final thoughts and outro - 2:47:00

Follow Jamiesen: https://twitter.com/jamiesenborak

Follow Keifer and support the show: https://linktr.ee/KeiferL https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner

Artwork provided by Avry Ott: https://linktr.ee/HotSodaDesigns

Theme music provided by Mike Pettry: https://linktr.ee/mikepettry

Find out more at https://select-and-start.pinecast.co

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