As a podcaster myself, I guess it’s no big surprise that I also enjoy listening to other podcasts. I usually try to avoid the ones within the same topics as mine, because I don’t even want to know what they’re doing. I know that might sound like the opposite of what I should do, but I do what I want. I run with 12 gangs, I do what I want. Whateva.
One of the podcasts that I’ve been faithful to throughout my limited attention span interest level is the PC Gamer podcast. I’ve always enjoyed roundtable podcasts where people who actually know what they’re talking about, talk about the stuff they know about. Plus, I once had the pleasure of interviewing Kristen Salvatore (the now-Editor-In-Chief of the magazine) and we’ve corresponded a few times since then. BUT… yeah, you knew there was going to be a but, right? I need to go on a Dan Stapleton rant.
Dan Stapleton, I must admit was one of the guys on the show who I liked early on. He has an opinion, isn’t afraid to share it, and he is a huge Fallout fan. So we share that, right off the bat. But lately, I’ve found myself just wincing every time he opens his mouth. Not only does he repeat every single word he says two two times.. uh, times before before, he uh, says says uhhh it it.. uh…. but he also cuts everyone off all the time, which drives me up the effing wall. The worst is when someone is trying to talk (usually Norm) and Dan has to TALK LOUDER AND LOUDER SO HE CAN BE HEARD FIRST AND WIN…. then the point that he was so insistent on making…. just sucks because he’s stammering all over the place.
Dan Stapleton aside, I still listen to the show for many many reasons that equal out his annoyingocity. Of course there’s Kristen, who even if I didn’t kindof know, I still like her because she has this wicked sense of humor, and you just know somewhere deep down, behind the scenes, she’s probably the one with all the fart jokes.
Gary Witta, I LOVE. He is absolutely hilarious, very witty and extremely knowledgable about gaming in general. He is also the only one on the panel who gives MMOs any kind of nod. But, that said, I find his cry-baby approach to the show to be disappointing at times. The worst was a recent one where Dan said something about him, in that Dan-Stapleton-way of half-kidding, and Gary decided he was going to pout the rest of the show and not say anything. Very unprofessional, but I admit, entertaining nonetheless.
Everyone else on the show does a decent job and keeps professional, especially Jeremy Williams who seems to act as the anchor on occasion. That might stem from the fact that he’s the one who has to edit the show afterwards, and I know how that goes when your mind is focused on “I wish these guys would get back on track, this is going to be a b**** to edit”, but he does a great job. Sometimes though, I wish he would take the nerf bat to Dan Stapleton, but that would increase post-production time ten-fold, I’m sure. Maybe he could develop a macro that deleted every second word automatically. Then Dan would sound as coherent as the rest of the crew.
Well, I’ve saved the best for last because this person makes the show for me, and when they host, I actually save those episodes on my harddrive. I am, of course speaking of Senior Editor Logan Decker. His completely left-field sense of humor SLAYS ME. His Cat Fantastic episodes, and his love for squirrels, and those game-show themes he does…. wow. I actually find myself getting mildly aroused when I discover that he’s hosting an episode. If he had his own podcast, just about what goes on in that fascinating mind of his, I’d subscribe and buy the t-shirt.
So anyway, before I start telling you all my plans to name my pets and my next Tabula Rasa character after Mr Decker, I’ll stop here. In all, I really enjoy the podcast. I still listen every week and I hope they never stop. It’s the only “corporate” podcast that I listen to and can stand, because even though they’re all paid to do it, it’s still just them BSing about games and ripping on each other and having fun.
