One year ago in two weeks, my favorite podcast recorded it's final episode, and did not return to the Internet. The Brodeo starred 1up staffers Sean Malloy, Ryan Scott, Sean Elliot, Jeff Green, Robert Ashley and Anthony Gallegos. On September 11th, 2008, Jeff Green recorded his final podcast and on September 18th, Sean Elliot did the same. I wrote a little bit about it on that day: http://www.theschlock.com/blog/?p=491.
It was my favorite because they had the perfect blend of serious game discussion and deconstruction, mixed with clever humor and ridiculous bizarre stories. Jeff Green spoke very candidly and honestly about his life and thoughts on games. Shawn Eliott would regale ridiculous stories from the past, while going into depth about ideas and game design. Robert Ashley would provide great commentary and further insight into the conversation. Ryan Scott... wouldn't say much. Anthony Gallegos was a goof ball.
This round table always made the conversation revolve in the right direction that was entertaining and thought provoking. If you haven't listened to GFW Radio, definitely check out all the previous episodes. Yes, it's a PC podcast, but PC gaming is a very small component of what makes the podcast so great. All the podcasts are still hosted at 1up.com's GFW podcast page.
Being at The Brodeo reunion was a reunion for everyone in the room. It wasn't just a reunion for the Brodeo members, but all the fans, too. All the fans listened, laughed, and thought in unison while The Brodeo talked about Diapered Anime fans, working in Game Development, playing games no longer being Journalists, Smoking poop, and the Truth behind GFW Magazine's end.
The Brodeo crew have a very unique voice, but the fans really bring out the best in them. In fact, it was fan Aaron Simmer who contacted all the Brodeo members, raised money to fly them to PAX, created the Panel, reserved the room, and organized the entire event for them. It was Bill Mudron who created this excellent Graphic for the reunion, printed out 200 poster sized copies, and sold them at the Panel for $2 to cover the cost.
(I was able to get all 5 Brodeo member signatures on my poster, too!)
And it was all the fans that showed up and gave their attention, their laughter and their questions that brought out the familiarity and comfort of being with like minds and friends.
Much like every episode of The Brodeo, they talked well past their allotted 1 hour mark. And continued for an entire 2 hours and 15 minutes, complete with questions. You can find video of the entire event on Game Videos (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). For a full audio version, check out Geekbox.net.
Here's some horrible pictures I took from my seat in the middle of the room.
