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Aimless Podcasts is an encyclopedia about everything regarding the titular podcasts, the hosts and the website. It provides background information for those new to Aimless Podcasts as well as existing fans.
IntroductionEdit
Aimless Podcasts' prominent feature is its weekly podcast, where the four hosts discuss current news stories in the video game industry, a weekly debate or discussion topic, and video games that each is currently playing or anticipating. The main site features regular updates and contributions by each member of Aimless Podcasts. The updates are usually responses to important or recent news stories that fall outside of the usual podcast postings, while the contributions vary by the author in both style and content.
The topics cover information regarding the Top 3 companies currently competing in the video game market: Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft and their respective consoles including handhelds. Aimless Podcasts also features special episodes such as an E3 special and an end of the year special, which break away from the show's usual format. Special guest hosts from the aforementioned Gamer Advisory Panel sometimes make appearances on the show.
HistoryEdit
Aimless Podcasts began in 2008, originally known as the GAP Podcast. The GAP is the shorthand reference to Gamer Advisory Panel, which is an invitation only group of gamers of ages 13 and up, created by Sony as a survey group of "elite" gamers. Because it is invitation only, however, it is often confused for the clothing store of the same name when mentioned to those outside of the group. The podcast went on with just the show itself, which was regularly posted on Talkshoe, itunes and the GAP website. In mid 2009, activity on the Gamer Advisory Panel website began to decline. Towards the end of 2009, a new separate site for the podcast was established as activity on the GAP continued to die down. The new site allowed the GAP Podcast to establish a new identity for itself as the host sought to expand their audience, leading to a name change and the birth of Aimless Podcasts. Aimless Podcasts was named as a way to describe the hosts unusually random discussion style even amongst their structured segments.
The cast of hosts has gone through several changes since the podcast began. In its original incarnation, the GAP Podcast, consisted of Christopher (TKKNMSTR), Jenna (Dagger_32), Christian (Gamer812) and Matt (SinisterDragon). The groups tested several different formats (which can be found here) before recording the first official podcast episode. Ryan (RPGmaniac05) was introduced as a guest host in episode 3 and would go on to replace Matt in future episodes. Marc (IceBreaker) joined the cast a year after its conception, bringing the cast to a total of 5 hosts. Soon after the departure of both Jenna and Marc, Albert (Trioptical) joined as the 4th host, bringing the cast to its current incarnation. As of August 2010, Christian is no longer apart of Aimless Podcasts with Joe (GreyTigerfox) replacing him in the cast line up.
Aimless Podcasts' original format featured a large variety of segments, which often lead to lengthy shows. The show's format, at one point or another, consisted of the following segements:
Weekly Roulette- Featured a "secret" topic each week that the hosts would discuss without previous preparation. Often used for impromptu debates.
Rapid Fire- Each host would have 5 minutes to give a quick review or tip for a game they have played or are currently playing.
Gripe Time- Each host would discussion a feature of a game they are playing or about gaming in general, that he/she finds or found annoying.
The News- Discussions about issues or important announcements in the gaming industry.
Whatcha Been Playing- Each host discusses games he/she played since the previous podcast and sometimes games they were anticipating.
Question of the Week- A general topic presented to the GAP as well as the hosts, who would read the responses on the air and respond to the question themselves.
Community Corner- Blogs posted on the GAP site are discussed on the air.
Who's Playing What Online- The main host (TKKNMSTR) would list the people from is PSN and XBox Live accounts who were online and what they were currently playing.
Retro Modern- Each host would discuss a game he/she wanted to see remade using the current generation technology.
The Great Gaming Debate- Temporarily replaces the Question of the Week segment. A topic about two competing subjects (such as Mario vs. Sonic) where the hosts would pick a side and defend their choice.
There Can Be Only One- A particular topic would be chosen, such as best cutscene etc., and the hosts would only be allowed to choose one game or answer to satisfy the topic.
Currently, the show's number of segments has been drastically reduced, now only featuring a news segment, a discussion topic and the Whatcha Been Playing segment.
The HostsEdit
Christopher (Gaming/Hosting Handle: TKKNMSTR)
Ryan (Gaming/Hosting Handle: RPGmaniac05)
Albert (Gaming/Hosting Handle: Trioptical)
Joseph (Gaming/Hosting Handle: GreyTigerFox)
RelationshipsEdit
The Cast- Each member of the cast met the others on the Gamer Advisory Panel. Here they were able to talk and discuss different topics in their blogs. They also participated in game nights with other members in games such as Socom 2 and 3, Monster Hunter and more. Because of this, the hosts are very informal with each other and often joke with each on the air. This is also the reason behind a lot the random tangents the show is named for.
TKKNMSTR vs. RPGmaniac05- For some reason a rivalry between these two hosts exist. While it seems to stem from their time during the game nights mentioned above, there's no real evidence of when and why this rivalry started. It's quite noticeable as the two often bicker or debate just about any topic. There was once a challenge between the two, to settle their rivalry on Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 2009. Due to poor server conditions, this brawl never came to fruition. However, the rivalry is more friendly than hostile even though it doesn't seem to be going away any time soon.
Reoccurring ThemesEdit
Aimless Podcasts - The show is named for the hosts inability to stay on topic. They often trail off on many tangents at the slightest provocation, which is how they decided upon the name. While the tangents are usually still game related, the hosts often end up talking about something that sometimes isn't even related to the actual topic at hand. They currently to use the tagline "So off topic we can't shoot straight" to describe the flow of the show as well as reference the name.
Voices and Sound Effects - Chris (TKKNMSTR) has a pension for creating voices to serve whatever point he feels necessary to prove. These include his "female" voice that he used to mimic ex-host Jenna (Dagger_32) or whatever a female gamer would say about a particular topic. He'd also use variations to say what other hosts would say about a particular topic as well. Most recently, he has adopted an "old TKKN" voice whenever he makes reference to trends that have occurred in the past. The addition of Joe (GreyTigerFox) has added to this as he often encourages TKKN's actions as well as adds his own voices such as "the voice of the internet". Both of them also create sound effects to accompany talks about games or news topics.
The Big Red Button - Chris (TKKNMSTR) mentioned being stuck in Lost Odyssey for the 360, only to find out that he didn't notice a blinking red button that would be obvious to anyone playing the game. Since then, anytime TKKN finds himself stuck in a game the other hosts will bring up the "Big Red Button" incident to point out how unobservant he is.
Final Fantasy 7 - Ryan's (RPGmaniac05) least favorite Final Fantasy title in the series is Final Fantasy VII (7), while it serves as one of Chris' (TKKNMSTR) favorites. When the game is mentioned for whatever reason for comparisons, news etc., Ryan can be heard groaning or gagging in the background, often dramatically for effect. This has become a gag to the point that the game is sometimes mentioned just to provoke a reaction.
Hype Ray Resistance - Albert (Trioptical) and former member Christian (Gamer812) were both known among the cast for seemingly buying every game that was released. This is further supported by the fact that they own all three current generation consoles as well as various versions of both handheld consoles. Albert attributed this to his lack of "Hype Ray Resistance", which caused him to become very excited (especially after conventions such as E3) about upcoming games and peripherals. This lead to many pre-orders and purchases of gaming merchandise that the remaining hosts deemed unnecessary. Ryan (RPGmaniac05) has exhibited this to some degree due to his pre-ordering sprees, however, unlike the aforementioned hosts, he often cancels many of his pre-orders since many were made while he was caught in the moment.
Hater Pants - Chris (TKKNMSTR) coined the term to describe Ryan's (RPGmaniac05) constantly negative views about many games or trends. He has said that "Haterade" isn't enough to be attributed to his negativity and thus created the article of clothing saying that Ryan must always be wearing them. He has passed this terms off to other people who have made excessively negative comments in response to the question of the week or guest hosts who have made similarly negative responses to other topics.
"(Insert company name here) sucks" - The phrase was initially in response to Sony's advertising/marketing campaign. Ryan (RPGmaniac05) would often spout the phrase during recordings with it eventually becoming his sign off phrase. While Microsoft has currently taken over Sony's place in the phrase, it has been expanded over time to include trends or people as deemed necessary by Ryan. It has becoming expected as Chris (TKKNMSTR) ends each podcast asking Ryan "So RPG, who sucks this week?" after which he will respond with whatever company or person who is on his list that week. Microsoft was at one point elevated to a "super suck" level having given a lackluster E3 conference and future game showings. However, they have since been moved back down to normal levels having released a more competitive console in the market. They still remain on the list for other reasons and have since become the longest running entity on the list.