By Alex

Being a geek is becoming more and more popular, there are more conventions and events springing up all the time and I wanted to check out a new one nearby. This was MASSive Cons first year, and it's named implications are hopefully a look at it's evolution and things to come. It's not Massive yet, but it has potential.  It had the normal show floor featuring artists, vendors, celebrity guests and other things such as the featured cars. But also, and some events have been doing this for a while, is additional rooms not just for panels but for gaming. There was the board game tryout/rental room, and the videogame room with different consoles and tournament on the projector screen.

Our resident artist Brett Kelley accompanied me on the trip and after years together we're still teaching each other. Such as "How come when I go to Worcester, I'm on big streets and there is never any traffic, but then I go to Thats Entertainment or the halloween store or Ralphs and it's a mess."
"We're in the financial district and it's a sunday."
"oh... right. makes sense."

  It was cool having Brett on the outside of the tables for a change, he hasn't gone to a show as an attendee in a long time. And him and Ransom Getty were chatting like old pals, I don't know if I would've gotten as much out of him.  
Ransom --"I got hired by DC to do the relaunch of Suicide Squad for the new 52, there was a crazy deadline and they said 'you work fast right?' and I said 'Have you seen Guarding the Globe?'" and we all laughed.

 Overall, from just going on sunday, this was not an all-day event for us. We got there once the doors had been open for a couple hours and we had done everything we wanted with an hour it ended.
I see conventions as an experience outside of my normal life. While it's nice to provide table top and video games, it's not the reason I came here. People certainly do spend time putting them to use, but I can be an old curmudgeon who has games to play at home. Show me more art. It's easier to approach the artist who has their head down drawing than it is to approach the actress who is reading the newspaper.

In the episode I give props to the organizers who kept the fans informed in many ways. It was Brett that sent me the post where they explain all they tried to do to get Richard Dreyfuss back, their Red Shirts (volunteers/staff) were accommodating and on the ball. Recalling the effectiveness of the Red Shirts is what swayed my grade from the C+ I was going to give it up to a B-.

 I've left a lot out here because I cover lots more on this episode, more than I planned. We bumped a topic which has never ever happened before in the history of this podcast.

I'm not a man of many talents. I'm more a man of many averages. I'm an average gamer, I'm an average writer, I'm an average athlete (Those 3 times a year when I manage to get outside). It's just a fact and I've made my peace with it. But if I were to decide upon one thing of which I'm absolutely below average...it would be art. I can't draw. I can't paint. My stick figures are frequently offended by their very existence. I'd love to be able to say I've made my peace with this as well but art has always been that one skill that I wish I had.

Luckily I have a podcast that gives me an excuse to interview people who have no shortage of artistic talent and Xela is one of them. Being an artist who excels at Magic Card Altering, Xela is a pro when it comes to expanding and elaborating. Her work is so detailed that only those with a sharp eye will even be able to spot the difference between the original art and her alterations. That's talent. Talent that I will never have.

*sigh*

Aside from listening to us talk to her for an hour this week, you can also check out her YouTube channel where she posts time-lapse videos of card alterations. While you're at it go give her Facebook page a "Like" and maybe follow her on Twitter?

Did I mention she's on Instagram, too?

No?

She's on Instagram too. Check it out. Dig the episode. See ya'll next week.

-Jr.

By Joe

The short answer: it’s better than Episode 2, not quite as good as Episode 1.  If you like Borderlands or Telltale games, I’m saying this for the third time: go buy it immediately.  

We find ourselves at the midpoint of Tales from the Borderlands with Episode 3: Catch a Ride!  There’s this inherent problem that most Telltale games because of their episodic nature, that you have to try and remember what happened… Tales takes the Borderlands introduction convention and utilizes it perfectly to catch up while being funny at the same time.

The two biggest concerns from the last episode were the short sequences/game length overall, and the very minimal "game play" that occurred – there was only one sequence of puzzling, and very little action.  Have they been fixed?  The answer is a resounding, “mostly!”.  From a content perspective, there is a ton of game here.  I played it once, and then watched someone else play it immediately after - there are entire other sequences nestled that you will never see, jokes that will go unheard, and items that may not be found.  The writing is still on point (Anthony Burch, writer of Borderlands 2, mentioned that he put in an assist on this episode, and it shows).

Most Telltale games are action-free, but there was an awesome action sequence in the first episode that has spoiled me and left me wanting for more - this episode delivers, but in a way that is a bit choppy and jarring.  Having said that, there is a fair amount of puzzling and exploring in this version, which helps quite a bit.  The tension of wanting to be able to act more works well with the game - you aren’t a crazy powerful Vault Hunter in the main series, and the frustration of being a technician or con artist in a murder world is felt throughout.

The character work is really where Telltale games have stood out for me in the past, and we get this again.  Loaderbot has been a breakout character since Episode 1, and his involvement has only increased by giving him another well-written character to play off of (minimizing spoilers here, as it makes for a great reveal).  And while the lip syncing is criminal, there are some really clever dialogue trees and body language reactions that help flesh out the characters, their relationships, and how you choose to play them.

A special shout out has to be given to the folks who keep finding and creating the excellent soundtrack to this series, as well as the geniuses that do the music video openings.  Music that elicits laughter is far too rare, and gives a subtle indication as to how deep the humor talent well goes at Telltale.

It is worth noting some criticism.  It is common now that Telltale episodic games feature some rough lip syncing and game-crippling glitches, and I did have one load screen freeze out on me with buzzing music.  It makes you close down and you only lose a few minutes, but still - frustrating.  And as a general criticism of the point-and-click adventure genre, these aren’t games that are going to be pushing you to the limits of your reflexes or hand-eye coordination.  However, there is enough here where you are instead being assessed on your judgement and what’s important to you.  It's a mental, social, and emotional engagement.  And when your avatars are a nerd and a street urchin, that makes for an engaging experience.

OVERALL: 8.5/10

Let's go back in time 3.5 years.

If you told me that doing OMV week in and week out would lead to me having the opportunity to talk to some of my favorite artists and creators I would have laughed right in your face. Like a lot. A lot of laughing. In and around your face. To the point where you probably wouldn't want to talk to me anymore.

This week I got to talk to one of my favorite artists/creators.

Taylor Wells is is an LSU grad who currently resides in New Orleans rocking a sweet gig doing design and quality control over at teeVillain. She's also the colorist on a comic book called Chew.

Yep.

For those unfamiliar....go back and listen to pretty much any of our episodes and there's a very good chance you'll hear me gushing about my love for Chew. It's pretty shameless and I regret nothing.

Anyway. Despite having one hell of an ankle injury Taylor was kind enough to chat with us for a bit and regaled us with tales about landing your dream job and how to avoid buying a haunted house. Seriously. Apparently there are a lot of them down there.

While you listen to me enter fanboy mode for an hour be sure to check out Taylor's work. You can find some of it by clicking these links and also by picking up Chew every month. It's the best $2.99 you'll spend all month and it'll only leave you with slight emotional scarring! What a deal!

-Jr.

You'd think after 170 episodes we'd be running out of ways to change things up. You'd think doing the same thing every single week for the past 3 years would get stale and eventually just turn into the same old recycled garbage.

Luckily I work with Alex. And now we have something completely different from anything you've heard from us in the past. Our guest this week isn't a professional in the comics world. She's not a film director nor is she a record holder.

She's 10.

Her name is Megan. She's 10 years old and reads comics, watches cartoons, and is a wizard on her smartphone. (She's also Alex's niece and she was cool enough to delay her date with Alex's pool for a few minutes while we talked with her.) Don't let Megan's age fool you, though. The wisdom of a 10 year old is a welcome refreshment in a world where anyone with WiFi can tear you down in a matter of seconds. 

We also talk the joys of the last day of school. Remember that feeling? Those were the days. Oh, and cartoons. We talk cartoons, too.

-Jr.

Welcome back!

We have a real treat for you all this week as we're joined by the creators of Kyrra: Alien Jungle Girl! That's right: Craig Rousseau and Rich Woodall joined us via Skype and even let us ask them some questions while recording it all in the process. How neat is that??

Longtime fans may remember when we had Rich on our show this past December but for those who might not be familiar with Craig he's a New England based artist who has done work for both Marvel and DC and he's also the co-creator of The Perhapanauts (Which, believe it or not, actually has a Kickstarter going at this very minute. Check it out!)

If you're ever at a convention in the New England area do yourself a favor and hunt these guys down. Supporting good people who make good stuff is what we're all about and I can assure you these dudes are good. (They also make cool stuff. That's a pretty neat bonus.)

Until next week!

-Jr.

I know what you're thinkin'.

You're thinkin' "man I'd love to hear 3 grown men discuss their current gripes with the comics industry for the better part of an hour...then get sidetracked by talking about the best movie released this year."

I'll just leave this episode right here for you to enjoy.

-Jr.

What do you get when you combine YouTube, videogames, walkthroughs, lets plays and daily doses of delicious coffee?

You get Cory Missildine.

Cory is gamer/YouTuber currently on the hunt to catch the mythical 1,000th subscriber. (For the record, I believe OMVPodast was Subscriber #903, no big deal.) While you listen to the three of us talk about videogames and malfunctioning computers head on over to his YouTube channel and help him in his quest to hit quad-subscriber digits. Maybe even leave a comment or two on a video? Just don't mention Goat Simulator....You don't want to open that can of worms.

Now I gotta bail and go watch Kung Fury for the 15th time before I spend the next 12 hours playing Splatoon. (You think I'm joking...but I'm not.) Enjoy!

-Jr.

There's a certain question that always has a slightly different answer regardless of who you ask.

"What is Steampunk?"

To some it's simply "like, you know....old stuff with gears and rayguns and goggles." And techincally they're not wrong. A bit vague, maybe. But it's a sufficient answer for some people.

To others, however, it's far more than that. Some see it as a way to escape the normal day-in, day-out routines that we're all so accustomed to. Some see it as a business opportunity and are able to make a career out of creating/selling various Steampunk accessories and whatnot. Then there's people like myself who see it as a vessel for experiencing new and different things. Some of my favorite bands and most memorable performances came out of Steampunk events and it frightens me to think about all the things I could have missed out on had I just decided to stay home.

What is Steampunk? The truth is I don't really care. What I care about is having a good time with my friends, meeting new people, and watching incredible performances. That sounds like a suitable definition to me.

-Jr.

If I were to try to count how many times Joe has saved our asses while doing this show I'd probably need around 30 extra limbs.

Maybe 40.

So when it was announced that a local theater group Joe is a part of launched a Kickstarter for their production of "Evil Dead: The Musical" it was an absolute no brainer that we had to have him come on and talk about it. See, we here at OMV are no strangers to shameless promotion. Hell, anyone who has been on our show will tell you that we encourage it. One of our pre-show rituals is "ok so we'll make sure to leave some time for you to plug anything and everything you're doing." At the end of the day we're just two dudes who are on a mission to tell you all about the neat shit we encounter.

Evil Dead: The Musical is neat shit.

Take a look at the Kickstarter promo video and see for yourself:

I mean seriously.

I practically hurled my wallet through my computer. You don't necessarily have to do the same thing but even throwing a couple bucks their way would be a huge help. Check out the episode. Listen to Joe talk all about shredding Deadites with chainsaws. Then click HERE and maybe help a group of people far more talented than me put on their dream show. 

Hail to the King, Baby.

-Jr.