While I've taken great strides at improving my physical fitness since I entered my 40s, I've never found much of a knack for manual labor. A piece of furniture designed for assembly by laypeople doesn't pose too much of a challenge—I know how to follow instructions—but heaven forbid you need me to saw or slice or nail bits together. That includes intense outdoor work like removing earth and relocating it with a primitive apparatus.
With that in mind, this week we're discussing the surprisingly widespread activity of digging in video games. Some titles have built their entire gameplay loop around this very basic task! Host Bob Mackey directs our hole conversation with guests Jeremy Parish and Diamond Feit (hi!) doing our best to keep shoveling in turn.
Description: Video games: can you dig it? Yes, and you can also dig IN them—which is the point of this week's podcast. What started as one man's dream to bury aliens alive has remained a viable concept in video games to this very day; Donkey Kong Bananza, we're looking at you. But how has this simple concept evolved over the years, allowing us to safely simulate tunneling underground without getting our fingernails dirty? On this latest installment of Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Diamond Feit, and Jeremy Parish as the crew assembles in a Portland hotel room and imagines a new life underground.
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MP3, 67 MB | 1:13:44 Direct download Retronauts on iTunes Retronauts at Audioboom
As with all of the episodes Bob produces, this week’s cover art is by Nick Daniel. Follow him on BlueSky, or patronize his Patreon!