The Two Vague Podcast

VR and tabletop game designer from Small Rice Studios, Doug joins Ben this week to talk about the recently released cozy card game ROAST, which he designed along with his brother Nick (who Ben had the pleasure of meeting at PAX West 2024). Ben had some questions about the design, development, and testing of ROAST—all of which Doug is more than happy to elaborate on and discuss. They also spend some time reminiscing about the board,...

Andrew joins Ben this week for a discussion about a particular mythical beast, cultural symbol, and imaginary icon. One in the POÄNG and one in the pandemic chair—the guys fill us in on what they have been doing lately. Andrew has been thinking about his gardening hobby, researching a method for aging stainless steel, and creating all sorts of artsy things for his Advanced Dungeons Have Dragons pin Crowdfundr campaign. Ben has been...

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Ben, but processing the death of his 21-year-old feline companion Bash has come with a bit of creative inspiration. He has written a lovely, heartfelt eulogy that he will be reciting for us at the end of the episode, but first he has got two game reviews to share: a cute, Norse mythology-inspired, casual strategy adventure game and a super-creepy, Taiwanese, first-person perspective horror adve...

Cheyenne joins Ben this week to talk about a word that gets a lot of bad press, but in reality, it is a necessity in most activities involving progress and self-improvement. After conversing about what games they are playing (and discovering Ben’s Hogwarts House), they dive right in to deep end and commence with the festivities. Topics explored: the “Epic Fail” meme, Tom Platz, CrossFit acronyms, the invention of Post-It Notes, Joh...

Although it would be more thematically appropriate of us to NOT tell you about this week’s episode, we are going to be rebellious and do it anyway—sans mohawk and safety pins.  Andrew joins Ben this week to ruminate over the work punk.  After discussing what they have been up to, debating the importance of a thesis statement (or lack thereof), and sharing their experiences with the game they have both (YES BOTH) been playing, Dunge...

Erik from Imaginary Game Studios joins Ben in HIS virtual studio this week to chat about all manner of things—his experiences as a sports writer, his love of literature, his creative process, and of course his philosophy of game design.  After discussing what’s "under construction" in the world of Rogue Climber, what games they have been playing, and their odd experiences in Chicago (which in itself is a thematically appropriate pa...

Aron Koh from JOFSOFT joins Ben this week to talk about the development of their latest game Pizza Bandit AND one of his favorite words—rather appropriately, iteration.  They start out talking about Aron’s childhood favorite PC games, how Sierra On-line games inspired him to work in the online gaming industry after he graduated, and his experiences working for the Korean game company Nexon on “games as service” games. Next, Ben and...

Andrew joins Ben this week to talk about something which thanks to pop culture is turtle adjacent and thanks to an obscure martial arts publication is also peach adjacent… weird eh?  They catch up on what has been going on in their lives—lots of writing for each! Andrew has been working on his ADHD focused book, and Ben has been playing Edge of Sanity for game review material on Substack. They explore an assortment of topics before...

Ben is flying solo again this week. After managing technical and medical difficulties, he’s champing at the bit and excited to talk about his PAX West 2024 Exhibit Hall experiences! But first, Ben has an abbreviated review of Deathbound; for the full review of this game check out our Substack page! Any feedback would be appreciated! Then Ben dives right in and shares his favorite games and booths at the show this year. If any of th...

Prepare yourself for the conversational snips of the previous thirty episodes… a potpourri of what may be our final clip show for a while. Over the last 3 years we’ve obviously refined a few things. Ben is starting to get right into the show when he’s in charge of recording; a side effect of this is that warmups are no longer as much of “a thing” for us anymore. Ben has also worked diligently on reducing the necessary recording tim...

This week we have an AMAZING episode for you!  We received another PS5 review code compliments of the fabulously kind PR ninja Robert, but before Ben spills the entire cup of tea on his time KIWIWALKS’ latest remaster of the original WitchSpring game, he recounts his 7 days of experiences in Seattle when he wasn’t busy at PAX West 2024 proper.  After the review, Ben shares his LIVE (at the time) “Podcast in a Bag” interviews from t...

In this special pre-PAX West 2024 edition of the Two Vague Podcast… does Ben have a couple of imaginary guests, the titular “Drop Dead Fred” perhaps?  Nope!  He’s got something far more engaging than a Phoebe Cates movie up his sleeve.  Christian and Erik from Imaginary Game Studios join Ben to talk about their experiences in the AAA gaming space and their latest project Rogue Climber!  It’s an episode that is guaranteed to be more...

Norah and Ben are excitedly hosting the pod this week.  The topic word is one that most people associate with childhood, but the benefits for adults are well documented by psychologists.  Ben talks about what he is playing (Wife Quest and Stellar Blade) and Norah talks about the weather before they get in to the meat and potatoes of the discussion and start playing with their fictitious food.  Why are adults reluctant to use the wo...

Andrew joins Ben this week to talk about a particular piece of punctuation that isn’t a dinkus!  People have strong opinions about when and where the ellipsis should and shouldn’t be used, so our hosts decided to investigate… for SCIENCE!  Along the way they discovered a number of new words to share (including dinkus)!  Fortunately there won’t be a vocabulary quiz at the end of the show, but there will be an exploration of the use ...

Lukas Eggen from gameonmedia.net is back in the virtual studio with Ben to do a proper show on a subject that he, as a seasoned journalist, is incredibly qualified to talk about.  Before getting into “the news,” they talk about a few articles that Lukas has been working on for his new publication "Game On!"  Then they discuss how the journalism landscape has changed with the advent of digital media and what games they have been pla...

This week, Ben is joined by long time fan and “aunt of the pod” Norah for a game review episode.  After a BIG thank you to a PR ninja and some miscellaneous chatter about the origin of the “bunny girl” archetype, Ben dives right in to his assessment of the platform / bullet hell shooter mashup, TEVI!  Stay tuned after the show for the latest 2VP tee shirt advertisement, brought to you by Partly Robot Industries.

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Andrew joins Ben for 2VP’s “leather” anniversary and a chat about things AND stuff!  Andrew has been writing, playing with baby CJ, and preparing for a stand-up comedy show.  Ben has been playing games, but instead of following the typical show segment order, he decides to call an audible.  They take the scenic route on their way to talking about the games “Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key” from developer G...

Cheyenne joins Ben in the studio this week for an episode a year in the making!  They start off talking about a big move that Cheyenne is making this year and what games they are playing.  Cheyenne has been playing a couple of Larian Studios game and romancing mostly vampires.  Ben has finished Pacific Drive and is trying to figure out what he’s going to play next.  The hosts discuss the definition, share their results from a wikiH...

Andrew joins Ben this week for a special request word (from a different Ben), but first the gents share what they are up to.  For Andrew it’s growing his multimedia empire; for Ben it is playing video games… obviously.  Then on to the word that they will divide, conquer, and put into …containers?  Additional stream of consciousness thoughts and musings include: The Big Lebowski, what is the internet (according to a U.S. Senator), P...