Arcade Bookshop

#5 - Final Fantasy IX

In Episode 5 of Arcade Bookshop, Bryce has anxiety about copying all of Caleb's choices, but they both just have really great taste. They talk covering more contemporary games on the show, and they also spin a wheel to choose a random video game for a future episode!
Most importantly, the co-hosts discuss Final Fantasy IX, which is Bryce's favorite game of all time. Caleb dove into research on this game, but couldn't actually play it, so his overwhelm from the unbelievable storytelling of this game as Bryce provides detail is transparent throughout!
They talk intergalactic chicken-monsters, five whole minutes of jump-roping, characters dropped out of airplanes, and crazy planet-fusion. At the height of the discussion, they address themes of identity, family, sacrifice, loyalty, and mortality, diving into the development of several of the major characters in the game. 
 
Stay tuned for the next episode of Arcade Bookshop, when Bryce and Caleb are in love with Final Fantasy IX's literary counterpart, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, on Monday, 10/23.
Play and read along with the guys! See the show schedule for the next 5 episodes below and send them a letter about your experiences!
 
Show Schedule:
 
10/23: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
11/6: Super Metroid for SNES
11/20: At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
12/4: Oxenfree (Cross-platform)
12/18: Riverdale Comics Vol. 1
 
Send game and book pairing suggestions or comments to arcadebookshop@gmail.com.
Find us and send us a message @arcade_bookshop on Instagram.

#4 - Blackmailers Don’t Shoot by Raymond Chandler

In Episode 4 of Arcade Bookshop, Bryce and Caleb touch on running over baby mattresses and The Book Loft at the German Village in Columbus, Ohio, and eating the "goo" which was actually a delicious Ethiopian dinner.
In the main portion of the conversation, the co-hosts discuss Raymond Chandler's first published short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot," a classic case of noir crime fiction. Within the discussion they address getting paid for writing and delve a little bit into Raymond Chandler's background and lifestyle. 
These 1930s noir stories were written in such a formulaic manner to achieve a very specific style that could be duplicated quickly in order to fit perfectly into the old five cent pulp magazines like Black Mask, which "Blackmailers Don't Shoot" was published in. You'll notice common words and phrases between stories in the genre to describe the character's faces, clothes, their mannerisms, and the way they perceive their environment. At the end of the day, they talk about why these stories are important for the time and to experience modern day, but ultimately why they don't hold up well under a literary lens. 
Stay tuned for the next episode of Arcade Bookshop, when Bryce and Caleb try not to go overboard with their takes on Final Fantasy 9, arriving Monday, 10/9.
Bryce and Caleb think it would be fun if you played and read along with them. See the show schedule for the next 6 episodes below and send them a letter about your experiences!
 
Show Schedule:
 
10/9: Final Fantasy 9 for Playstation
10/23: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
11/6: Super Metroid for SNES
11/20: At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
12/4: Oxenfree (Cross-platform)
12/18: Riverdale Comics Vol. 1
 
Send game and book pairing suggestions or comments to arcadebookshop@gmail.com.
Find us and send us a message @arcade_bookshop on Instagram.

#3 - Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True

In Episode 3 of Arcade Bookshop, Bryce and Caleb reach for story in Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True, a point-and-click crime-noir video game made for a variety of platforms. They discuss the version made for the NES, which was apparently much less graphic than the version released for other platforms. Nevertheless, this was the one Caleb played before, so that's what we agreed to talk about.
As a point-and-click game goes, the only story you get in Deja Vu is in the brief description which trigger upon inspecting objects and entering new rooms. The co-hosts use these bits of text along with the brightly-colored, yet gloomy, visuals of the game to talk about this game's story. They may even get a bit ahead of themselves by elaborating on details and adding character traits and plot elements based on what they know of other crime-noir storytelling to make the given plot more interesting that it actually is. 
In any case, Deja Vu is a sweet little video game with its own set of frustrating gameplay mechanics and awesome music that's worth a few short hours of your time to play, though you'll probably have to emulate, since it's not really available to purchase anywhere.
Stay tuned for the next episode of Arcade Bookshop, when Bryce and Caleb discuss the text they decided is Deja Vu's literary counterpart, Raymond Chandler's short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot," arriving Monday, 9/25.
Bryce and Caleb think it would be fun if you played and read along with them. See the show schedule for the next 7 episodes below and send them a letter about your experiences!
 
Show Schedule:
 
9/25: Blackmailers Don't Shoot by Raymond Chandler
10/9: Final Fantasy 9 for Playstation
10/23: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
11/6: Super Metroid for SNES
11/20: At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
12/4: Oxenfree (Cross-platform)
12/18: Riverdale Comics Vol. 1
 
Send game and book pairing suggestions or comments to arcadebookshop@gmail.com.
Find us and send us a message @arcade_bookshop on Instagram.

Update #1

UPDATE!
Bryce talks about when and how often an episode of Arcade Bookshop goes live, sound quality, the Cleveland Gaming Classic, and asks to hear from the Arcade Bookshop community. 
Stay tuned for the next feature episode about Deja Vu, which was made for a variety of platforms, but your hosts played the NES version.
Listen to chats about stories in video games and their literary counterparts every other Monday! 
Play and read along with Bryce and Caleb. See the show schedule for the next 8 episodes below and send them a letter about your experiences!
 
Show Schedule:
 
9/11: Deja Vu for NES
9/25: Blackmailers Don't Shoot by Raymond Chandler
10/9: Final Fantasy 9 for Playstation
10/23: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
11/6: Super Metroid for SNES
11/20: At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
12/4: Oxenfree (Cross-platform)
12/18: Riverdale Comics Vol. 1
 
Send game and book pairing suggestions, comments, or friendly messages to arcadebookshop@gmail.com or @arcade_bookshop on Instagram.

#2 - Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Bryce and Caleb talk about Earthbound's literary counterpart, Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. The discussion addresses Bradbury's writing style, the history of this famous novel, and what he might be saying about parenting, making choices, coming of age, and how it all ties in nicely after playing Earthbound.
Listen to chats about stories in video games and their literary counterparts every other Monday! 
Bryce and Caleb think it would be fun if listeners played and read along with them. See the show schedule for the next 8 episodes below and send them a letter about your experiences!
 
Show Schedule:
 
9/11: Deja Vu for NES
9/25: Blackmailers Don't Shoot by Raymond Chandler
10/9: Final Fantasy 9 for Playstation
10/23: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
11/6: Super Metroid for SNES
11/20: At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
12/4: Oxenfree (Cross-platform)
12/18: Riverdale Comics Vol. 1
 
Send game and book pairing suggestions or comments to arcadebookshop@gmail.com.
Find us and send us a message @arcade_bookshop on Instagram.

#1 - Earthbound

Arcade Bookshop debuts with co-hosts Bryce Johle and Caleb James, who talk about why video games are special to them and how their stories are generally underrated. They discuss their backgrounds in writing and literature, and what this podcast means for themselves as they provide this as a fun, occasionally intellectual conversation for listeners to feel a part of. 
In the meat of the show, they talk about the cult classic Super Nintendo video game, Earthbound, which saw an increase in popularity with the release of the SNES Classic. Earthbound has a surprising amount of depth which requires much speculation with the simplicity of its storytelling, but it provided for a great discussion for the first episode.
Stay tuned in right after this episode comes to a close for Earthbound's literary counterpart, Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury!
Listen to chats about stories in video games and their literary counterparts every other Monday! 
Bryce and Caleb think it would be fun if listeners played and read along with them. See the show schedule for the next 8 episodes below and send them a letter about your experiences!
 
Show Schedule:
 
9/11: Deja Vu for NES
9/25: Blackmailers Don't Shoot by Raymond Chandler
10/9: Final Fantasy 9 for Playstation
10/23: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
11/6: Super Metroid for SNES
11/20: At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
12/4: Oxenfree (Cross-platform)
12/18: Riverdale Comics Vol. 1
 
Send game and book pairing suggestions or comments to arcadebookshop@gmail.com.
Find us and send us a message @arcade_bookshop on Instagram.

Arcade Bookshop (Trailer)

Arcade Bookshop co-host Bryce Johle introduces the podcast and talks about what to expect in each episode. 
Listen to Bryce Johle and Caleb James chat about stories in video games and their literary counterparts every other Monday! 
First two episodes covering the Super Nintendo game, "Earthbound," and the classic spooky novel, "Something Wicked This Way Comes," by Ray Bradbury drop August 28th!
They always keep a controller in one hand and a book in the other.
 
Feel free to send game and book pairing suggestions to arcadebookshop@gmail.com.
Find us and send us some DMs @arcade_bookshop.