Postgame.30: Orbs That Make You Evil

Postgame.31 – Socks Are Just Little Guys for Your Feet

Welcome back to Postgame, Sidequest’s monthly-ish podcast where the editors lay down hot takes on cold games. This month, Maddi, Melissa, and Zora tackle six distinct topics by rolling a die and setting a ten minute timer, because why not? Topics include: the price of video games, the end of Polygon as we know it, Epic Games vs. Apple, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Zora’s Dragon Age roleplay, and Belatro. Mistakes: Melissa couldn’t find anything about a specific agreement between game developers, but it’s generally agreed that $60 is the peak price point that the market will support before customers push back. Pieces (or things) we mentioned: * Why Nintendo is so expensive [https://www.businessinsider.com/why-nintendo-is-so-expensive-2025-6] by Margaret Guzman, Clancy Morgan, and Amelia Kosciulek * Video Game Prices: Why Games Are $60, Where Your Money Goes, & Who Benefits Most [https://gamerant.com/video-game-prices-breakdown-514/] by Melissa Brinks * Why New Video Games Still Cost $60 [https://kotaku.com/why-new-video-games-still-cost-60-1545590499] by Evan Narcisse * Pay more to play: Video game publishers ready to hike prices [https://edition.pagesuite.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=efc3ea01-1ae4-4f39-ae89-d96fbcbc0be3] by Olga Kharif and Takashi Mochizuki * The $70 AAA price point — it’s about time | Opinion [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/the-usd70-aaa-price-point-its-about-time-opinion] by Rob Fahey * Playing dangerously: The environmental impact of video gaming consoles [https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/playing-dangerously-the-environmental-impact-of-video-gaming-consoles/] by Claire Asher * Postgame.27 – James Gournalism [https://sidequest.zone/2024/10/28/postgame-27-james-gournalism/] * GYGO Mobile: More Lawsuits [https://sidequest.zone/2025/05/14/gygo-mobile-more-lawsuits/] by Melissa Brinks * No Fun: The Queer Potential of Video Games that Annoy, Anger, Disappoint, Sadden, and Hurt  [https://ourglasslake.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ruberg-No-Fun-QED.pdf]by Bo Ruberg * Cruising Utopia [https://nyupress.org/9781479874569/cruising-utopia-10th-anniversary-edition/] by José Esteban Muñoz * Postgame.29 – Sexuality in Dragon Age [https://sidequest.zone/2025/03/23/postgame-29-sexuality-in-dragon-age/] * Regrettably, the catnip frog photo has been lost at the moment, but we will update the show notes if we can find it! * Curious Crop Pattern [https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/curious-crop] Theme music is Beat Thee by Alexander Nakarada, used under Creative Commons 0. Website [https://sidequest.zone/] | Twitter [http://www.twitter.com/sidequestzone] | Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/sidequestzone] | Instagram [http://www.instagram.com/sidequest.zone] | Patreon [http://www.patreon.com/sidequestzone] EXCERPT: https://sidequest.zone/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Postgame-31-Clip-1-Microtransactions.mp3 [https://sidequest.zone/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Postgame-31-Clip-1-Microtransactions.mp3] Melissa Brinks: Yeah, I started doing these roundups, like, I don’t know, a couple years ago or so. And, my God, it’s relentless, the Apple versus Epic nonsense. Supposedly it’s over. Supposedly they’re gonna drop all future charges or whatever against—like, because it’s just Epic suing Apple. Supposedly they’re gonna drop it going forward. I’ll believe it when I see it. Zora Gilbert: Yeah, it’s a nightmare. Melissa: It’s never gonna end. And if it does, don’t worry, because then there’s 500 Roblox things to talk about. Zora: It’s so—I hate—oh, go ahead, Maddi. I’ve been talking constantly. Maddi Butler: I was just gonna say, remember, the real loser is all of us, because we are rooting for an outcome about microtransactions. I don’t want to root for microtransactions. Melissa: And we’re rooting for Epic Games. Zora: Right, yes. Maddi: I’m not rooting for Epic Games, to be clear. Melissa: Yeah, fair. Zora: This is what I have to—like, this is my thing, is I’m like, I’m in a position where I’m like, “Yeah, Tim Sweeney! You’re fighting on the side that will make the world less bad.” Maddi: Yeah. Melissa: Just heinous. Zora: Yeah! Melissa: Just awful. What if the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny fucking sucked? Maddi: Every day we’re forced to consider it. Like, we’re here. Zora: Yep. Melissa: Yeah.

Postgame.30: Orbs That Make You Evil

Welcome back to Postgame, Sidequest’s monthly-ish podcast where the editors lay down hot takes on cold games. This month, Maddi and Melissa, the two least qualified people for this topic, discuss escapism in games. What is it? Can we do it successfully? What is a Nut Sort-like? Mistakes: The Alexandra Rowland piece about hopepunk Melissa mentions is actually originally published by Festive Ninja, not on Tumblr. Rowland does have a Tumblr post that predates the Festive Ninja article, but that isn’t the one Melissa was thinking of. Pieces (or things) we mentioned: * One Atom of Justice, One Molecule of Mercy, and the Empire of Unsheathed Knives [https://festive.ninja/one-atom-of-justice-one-molecule-of-mercy-and-the-empire-of-unsheathed-knives-alexandra-rowland/] by Alexandra Rowland * Postgame.17: Shit-Ass Wuss Man [https://sidequest.zone/2023/08/02/postgame-17-shit-ass-wuss-man/] * Idle Animations: Breath of the Wild’s Quiet Places [https://sidequest.zone/2018/05/21/idle-animations-breath-of-the-wilds-quiet-places/] by Melissa Brinks * Fake Geek Girls Play Baldur’s Gate III [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcBuDFdSa6VHwica4o-z2pnS2UX7M7W0P] * Review: Wanderstop Is Pretty, but Fails to Capture the Challenges of Healing [https://sidequest.zone/2025/05/05/review-wanderstop-is-pretty-but-fails-to-capture-the-challenges-of-healing/] by Melissa Brinks * 6 Video Games to Play During a Chronic Illness Flare [https://sidequest.zone/2022/01/17/6-video-games-to-play-during-a-chronic-illness-flare/] by Zainabb Hull Theme music is Beat Thee by Alexander Nakarada, used under Creative Commons 0. Website [https://sidequest.zone/] | Twitter [http://www.twitter.com/sidequestzone] | Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/sidequestzone] | Instagram [http://www.instagram.com/sidequest.zone] | Patreon [http://www.patreon.com/sidequestzone] EXCERPT:   https://sidequest.zone/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Clip-1-Away-From-the-Horrors.mp3 [https://sidequest.zone/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Clip-1-Away-From-the-Horrors.mp3]   Maddi Butler: Cozy games are hard for me because— Melissa Brinks: Yeah. Maddi: I just—I think it’s a term that gets blanket applied a lot. Melissa: Yeah. Nobody’s calling Baldur’s Gate 3 [https://sidequest.zone/2024/04/22/baldurs-gate-3-the-real-brain-worms-were-the-friends-we-made-along-the-way/] cozy. But you know what? Maddi: Yeah. Melissa: Maybe it is for me. Maddi: Maybe it—yeah, maybe it is. It’s something that’s going to mean something different to everyone. And I wouldn’t call NieR Replicant [https://sidequest.zone/2020/07/28/no-matter-his-age-the-point-of-nier-is-compassion-not-tragedy/] a cozy game, there’s a lot of lasers and robots and stuff and shooting, Melissa: Yeah. And there’s, I think— Maddi: Oh, sorry, when I think of peak comforting games, that’s it. I listen to that soundtrack all the time. It’s so good. Melissa: Yeah, that’s kind of how I feel about—very different. But that is kind of how I feel about—what was I just talking about? Spiritfarer [https://sidequest.zone/2020/08/03/preview-spiritfarers-charm-whimsy-and-thoughtfulness-impress/]! I listen— Maddi: Yeah. Melissa: —to the soundtrack all the time. Maddi: Yeah. Melissa: It’s a really lovely soundtrack. And there are moments of coziness, right, even in games that I certainly wouldn’t call cozy, like any Soulslike. The bonfires— Maddi: How about Nutsort-like? Melissa: Huh? Maddi: How about Nutsort-like? Melissa: [LAUGHTER] How about Nutsort-like? The bonfires in FromSoft games are quite—they’re a moment of coziness, amidst the horrors. Maddi Butler: Yeah! And like—I mean, before it’s like totally on fire—but the workshop in Bloodborne [https://sidequest.zone/2021/08/24/fighting-futility-with-bloodborne/] you can just like walk around. It’s a nice, nice view, there’s flowers in the field and stuff. Melissa: I think that is the kind of escapism that resonates most with me. Maddi: Yeah. Melissa: When—just to have a moment away from the horrors. Like the show? Support our Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/sidequestzone], and get early access to future episodes of Postgame for just $1 per month!

Postgame.29 – Sexuality in Dragon Age

Welcome back to Postgame, Sidequest’s monthly-ish podcast where the editors lay down hot takes on cold games—in this case, flamin’ hot takes on games ranging from ice-cold to fresh out of the oven. Melissa and Zora sat down to discuss the representations of sexuality and gender in the Dragon Age series, with some (maybe) surprising praise and some (less) surprising criticisms.   Pieces (or things) we mentioned: * The World Wasn’t Ready for the Nuance of Dragon Age II’s Bisexuality [https://sidequest.zone/2025/02/25/the-world-wasnt-ready-for-the-nuance-of-dragon-age-iis-bisexuality/] by Melissa Brinks * Becoming Addicted to Dragon Age in 7 Steps [https://sidequest.zone/2020/03/16/becoming-addicted-to-dragon-age-in-7-steps/] by Naseem Jamnia * What big publishers can learn about representation from small games [https://www.polygon.com/2018/1/12/16878196/butterfly-soup-best-games-2017-year-in-review] by Meg Jayanth * David Gaider’s Bluesky thread about writing Zevran [https://bsky.app/profile/davidgaider.bsky.social/post/3lbnt6ptxjc2b] * David Gaider’s Bluesky thread about writing Dorian [https://bsky.app/profile/davidgaider.bsky.social/post/3lbvml5wqx22m] * Trick Weekes’ Twitter thread about Solas and bisexuality [https://web.archive.org/web/20151105104530/https://twitter.com/PatrickWeekes/status/646891965045448708] * David’ Gaider’s Bluesky thread about writing Cassandra [https://bsky.app/profile/davidgaider.bsky.social/post/3lbypinxktc25] (we didn’t actually discuss this but it’s interesting) * Dragon Age: The Veilguard‘s romanceable companions won’t just wait around for you to woo them—also, they’re all canonically pansexual [https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/dragon-age-the-veilguard-s-romanceable-companions-won-t-just-wait-around-for-you-to-woo-them-also-they-re-all-canonically-pansexual/] by Harvey Randall Theme music is Beat Thee by Alexander Nakarada, used under Creative Commons 0. Website [https://sidequest.zone/] | Twitter [http://www.twitter.com/sidequestzone] | Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/sidequestzone] | Instagram [http://www.instagram.com/sidequest.zone] | Patreon [http://www.patreon.com/sidequestzone] EXCERPT:   https://sidequest.zone/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Postgame-29-Take-Up-Arms-Clip.mp3 [https://sidequest.zone/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Postgame-29-Take-Up-Arms-Clip.mp3]   Melissa Brinks: A lot of people—after it came out, a lot of people interpreted [Josephine] as ace, because you don’t have a sex scene, which is—that’s your headcanon. That’s fine. I don’t have any, like— Zora Gilbert: No. Melissa: —clear— Zora: That’s Varric. Melissa: Yeah. Zora: I’ll die on this hill. I will die on this hill. Melissa: And I support you. Zora: Thank you. Melissa: I don’t want you to die, but if that’s it— Zora: Then take up arms with me, brother! [LAUGHTER] Melissa: You and me on the hill fighting off legions of enemies. But I agree. Like, is Josephine bisexual? Or is she a character for—you know. You know. Zora: Yeah. Melissa: You’ve heard us talk for two hours now.

Postgame.28 – A Good Grade in Dragon Age

Welcome back to Postgame, Sidequest’s monthly-ish podcast where the editors lay down hot takes on cold games. Maddi, Melissa, and Zora have been playing games! Some of them are Dragon Age, which means a disproportionate amount of this podcast is devoted to Dragon Age. Melissa and Zora would say they’re sorry, but the truth is: they aren’t. Pieces (or things) we mentioned: * The Weird and Wonderful World of Nicole He’s Technological Art [https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissabrinks/2018/10/29/the-weird-and-wonderful-world-of-nicole-hes-technological-art/] by Melissa Brinks * Soylent Dick [https://nicole.pizza/soylent-dick/] * ENHANCE.COMPUTER [https://enhance.computer/] (mistakenly called ZOOM ENHANCE) * How to Break D&D for Fun [https://sidequest.zone/2021/07/12/how-to-break-dnd-for-fun/] by Melissa Brinks * A Belated and Nostalgic PAX West 2024 Roundup [https://sidequest.zone/2024/12/09/a-belated-and-nostalgic-pax-west-2024-roundup/] by Melissa Brinks and Kael Lockwood Theme music is Beat Thee by Alexander Nakarada, used under Creative Commons 0. Website [https://sidequest.zone/] | Twitter [http://www.twitter.com/sidequestzone] | Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/sidequestzone] | Instagram [http://www.instagram.com/sidequest.zone] | Patreon [http://www.patreon.com/sidequestzone] EXCERPT:   https://sidequest.zone/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Clip-5-Defending-the-White-Guy.mp3 [https://sidequest.zone/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Clip-5-Defending-the-White-Guy.mp3]   Melissa Brinks: The shit that I have seen about Anders—and some of it was by my own doing, because I was researching this article I was writing—but my God, the things that people say about him. Zora Gilbert: And it’s so crazy that we’re on this podcast, and we’re defending the white guy. [LAUGHTER] Melissa: Yeah. Zora: But— Melissa: He’s my white guy. Zora: “He’s my white guy.” Well, Gale is my white guy. Melissa: You know what? I have a shocking amount of white guys. Am I okay? Zora: I’m not—I’m not. [LAUGHTER] The thing about Anders is that within—you know he’s, he’s the white guy, sure. Melissa: God, if you put Alistair and Anders in a blender, you do kind of get Gale, don’t you? Zora: Yeah… Melissa: Fuck! Maddi Butler: You’re not going to make me play Dragon Age just so I understand that reference. Melissa: Maddi. Maddi: It is just simply not going to happen. Melissa: Maddi, if you put Alistair and Anders in a blender, you get Gale. Maddi: I don’t want to put anyone in a blender. Zora: Alistair wants to go in that blender. Melissa: Yeah, so does Gale. Fuck, Anders does too, honestly. They hunger for the blender. Zora: The thing about—okay, sorry, I have to defend my defending the white guy briefly. And it’s, you know, it’s gonna get into games creating like a fantasy thing to be oppressed so that they don’t have to look at real-world oppression. But that is the thing about Anders, is that in this fantasy world, he is sort of like the model oppressed character. Melissa: Spoilers for my essay, but he’s also bisexual in a world where queerness is not as accepted as we would like to say it is. Zora: As shown by Dragon Age Origins. Melissa: Dorian Pavus. I’m making a snarky face right now. Zora: Yeah. Anders is the only character through which the game chooses to tell a story about oppression, on like a categorical scale. Fenris personally has experienced slavery, and that is very horrible in ways that are not even obvious by me saying that he has experienced slavery. This man has been through it. Merrill personally has experienced prejudice and alienation and essentially excommunication. Aveline personally has experienced tragedy. Anders has personally and sort of like on a community scale undergone and understood and chosen to take a stand against institutional oppression of a class, right? And he’s safe to do that with because he’s a white guy, and BioWare doesn’t know what the fuck they’re doing. But that means that his story is engaging to me on that level, in a way that the other characters’ stories are not. And it also means that people on the internet have opportunities to show their ass about what they—what they sort of think on a narrative moral level outside of the very specific space of political issues that they have identified talking points around. Does that make sense? Melissa: Yeah. I mean, it makes sense to me, but I’ve played the game. Zora: I’m not saying if you don’t like Anders, you’re a bad person. Melissa: I am. No, I’m just kidding. I’m not. [LAUGHTER] Zora: But yeah, it’s… uh, it, eh—[LONG SIGH]

Postgame.27 – James Gournalism

Welcome back to Postgame, Sidequest’s monthly-ish podcast where the editors lay down hot takes on cold games. This time, Maddi, Melissa, and Zora mourn the state of games journalism and try to understand how we got here and where we have left to go. It’s not all depressing—there are still good people doing good work!—but you might want to plan a candlelight vigil to follow this one. Topics and Timestamps: * Nothing specific! This one’s less about the games and more about the journalism. Pieces (or things) we mentioned: * Episode 199 – X-Men: From the Ashes with Nola Pfau [https://fakegeekgirlscast.com/episode-199-x-men-from-the-ashes-with-nola-pfau/] by Fake Geek Girls * NYU Game Center Lecture Series Presents Austin Walker [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM4S_dD2-Q8] * The Games Industry Needs A Stronger Games Media [https://www.thegamer.com/games-industry-needs-stronger-press-media-journalism/] by Andrew King Other things you might like (“like,” in today’s case): On outlets closing: * Dicebreaker’s future remains unclear as silenced site makes editor-in-chief, senior staff writer redundant after IGN takeover [https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2024/06/12/dicebreakers-future-remains-unclear-as-silenced-site-makes-editor-in-chief-senior-staff-writer-redundant-after-ign-takeover/] by Mike Didymus-True * Things Are Not Looking Good For Dicebreaker, One Of The Few Good Board Game Websites [https://aftermath.site/dicebreaker-layoffs-board-games-website-ign-gamer-network] by Luke Plunkett * Media Companies Like Vox Are Feeding Their Journalists’ Work Into An AI Wood Chipper [https://aftermath.site/openai-vox-atlantic-ai-journalism-jobs-sam-altman] by Luke Plunkett * Long-time Staffers At RPS, GamesIndustry.biz, VG247 Surprised By Layoffs As IGN Buys Network [https://aftermath.site/ign-gamer-network-eurogamer-gamesindustrybiz-layoffs] by Nathan Grayson * Dicebroken: the travails of tabletop media and what to do about it [https://buttondown.email/TeethRPG/archive/dicebroken-the-travails-of-tabletop-media-and/] by Jim Rossignol and Marsh Davies * Tabletop Journalism Deserves Better Than This, And So Do You [https://www.rascal.news/tabletop-journalism-deserves-better-than-this-and-so-do-you/] by Chase Carter On the wider games and games writing industry: * Austin Walker on burnout, studio closures, and working in the games industry [https://cohost.org/austin/post/6387629-i-ve-written-like-si] * Several games writers on the state of the criticism scene (and its lack of money) [https://cohost.org/austin/post/6852617-given-my-history-i] Theme music is Beat Thee by Alexander Nakarada, used under Creative Commons 0. Website [https://sidequest.zone/] | Twitter [http://www.twitter.com/sidequestzone] | Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/sidequestzone] | Instagram [http://www.instagram.com/sidequest.zone] | Patreon [http://www.patreon.com/sidequestzone] EXCERPT:   https://sidequest.zone/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Postgame-27-Clip.mp3 [https://sidequest.zone/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Postgame-27-Clip.mp3]   Melissa: There is no lack of good writers in games, but there is a severe lack of outlets willing and able to pay a living wage to make it possible, and this is so harmful to an industry. And I don’t just mean to the individuals writing. I mean without a solid press, corruption goes unchecked because we don’t have investigative journalists, and we don’t have investigative journalists because we can’t pay for investigative journalism, and because the outlets—you need a solid legal team to do that kind of work, and that’s expensive, and other non-gaming press don’t generally want to pick this kind of stuff up because it’s not relevant to the average person. And this is—it’s like watching—you know those really sad videos of a gigantic ice shelf crumbling into the sea because of climate change? That’s how I feel watching games media right now. It’s terrible. It is literally like watching your future crumble away, not because—I legitimately don’t have any interest in being a professional games critic or anything anymore. I’ve moved past that stage of my life, which is not a tragedy, it’s good, actually.