Introducing ‘Something, Something, Spaceships!’ – A New Podcast

I’ve long had a hankering to return to podcasting after my overly ambitious attempt at a lore-based audio drama faded into antiquity in 2012. After some procrastination, technical issues and – to be quite honest, nerves – I finally managed to get my spaceships in a row to produce episode one of Something, Something, Spaceships.

At 1 hour and 20 minutes, the debut episode came out a little longer than I’d planned, but I’m relatively pleased with the result and hope to keep things a little tighter for future episodes. All constructive feedback would be gratefully received. I hope you enjoy it.

I hope to be able to deliver a series of episodes looking at the broader aspects of EVE and other sci-fi games from the past, present and future. I’ll be looking to ensnare an eclectic mix of individuals to co-host an episode with me as I did with this episode’s victim, freelance journalist Petter Martensson of CSICON podcasting network and A Tale of Internet Spaceships documentary fame.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s in this episode.

Episode #1: Communities, Documentaries & Spaceships

• Introductions (00:38)

Mat introduces the Something, Something, Spaceships podcast and his guest co-host Petter Martensson.

• All About EVE (02:06)

Mat and Petter try to give a broad overview of what kind of game EVE Online is, discussing its idiosyncrasies, appeal and what sets it apart from other MMOs.

• EVE Headlines (13:04)

The hosts chew over two of the recent EVE-related events; the new ‘release’, Kronos: The Rise of Pirates and the sad news of the 49 layoffs recently made by CCP Games. They ponder what portent this might hold for the future of New Eden.

• Webbed (29:15)

Mat gets Petter to spill the beans on the progress and content of his soon-to-be released documentary, A Tale of Internet Spaceships, which gets under the skin of EVE‘s community, the player-dev relationship and lifts the lid on Incarna and the ‘Summer of Rage’ with exclusive interviews with lots of important folk.

• Transneural Burning Quiz (38:50)

Not content with Petter’s interview answers, Mat decides to subject him to 10 questions on an array of related topics. The results are interesting. David who? Richard what?

• Flash Fiction Competition (51:50)

Mat announces a competition, inviting submissions of 500 words or less of EVE-related fiction. One selected submission will be made into an audio piece to be played on the next episode of Something, Something, Spaceships. The top three will win 100m ISK. Submissions should be sent to seismic[dot]stan[at]gmail[dot]com. All submissions will be published on Freebooted (no exclusivity required for those with their own blogs, authors retain all rights). Closing date: Sunday 22nd June.

• Beyond New Eden (55:01)

Mat gives Petter the floor to wax lyrical about his favourite MMO, Star Wars Galaxies. Petter explains what was so great about it, why it’s a tragedy it’s no longer around and what other MMO developers – especially CCP Games – might learn from it.