This week down in The Basement: Vic and Scott discuss David Cage’s recent controversial D.I.C.E. talk, “The Peter Pan Syndrome: The Industry That Refused To Grow Up,” in which Cage ticks off a list of nine things that the videogame industry can (and should) do in order to evolve. Cage is, in many ways, spot on. As a medium, we’re still much too in love with guns and what they can do; we still dress women in tiny bikinis and give them amnesia. “It’s time to assess who we are, and what we are doing,” Cage said. Vic and Scott reflect on many of Cage’s sobering claims. Then someone farts and Scott blames Vic and Vic blames Scott. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

Special guest Lorne Lanning joins Vic and Scott down in The Basement this week. Lanning, as you no doubt know, is the creator of the Oddworld series of videogames, which includes one of Scott’s all-time favorites, Stranger’s Wrath. So what has Lanning been up to lately? To find out, Scott and Vic put Lanning through The Basement equivalent of waterboarding, which is different from traditional waterboarding in the sense that The Basement’s style of waterboarding involves action figures and several delicious cakes. Also: Vic and Scott discuss what they’re playing, which includes Vic’s digression on his recent “Mr. Mom” day. And finally, as always, Scott makes it weird at the end by eating a banana on air in total silence.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

LIVE ON TAPE FROM L.A. Vic and Scott leave the basement behind this week and take a trip to a surprisingly dreary Los Angeles, where they set up a makeshift basement in Vic’s hotel room. Topics of conversation this week: THQ’s everything-must-go sale; Atari’s bankruptcy declaration (yes, again); the possible death of triple-A games; and Westjet airplanes, which do not feature any sort of TV or movie screen for bored passengers to fool around with, but instead have all the magazines you could ever want or need. Also: Shortly after this podcast was recorded, Vic’s hotel room toilet mysteriously malfunctioned. Scott would like the record to show that he had absolutely nothing to do with that. Now, stop reading this, hit play, and listen to the 100-Percent-California-Fresh episode of The Basement.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for Dishonored sneak up on you in this episode. Watch out!

Vic and Scott get another surprise visitor—hey, are they really surprises anymore?—down in The Basement. Today it’s legendary developer Harvey Smith, one of the visionaries/creators behind Dishonored which, in case your memory is failing you, won our Rocket & Raygun Game of the Year award. Harvey has plenty of behind-the-scenes stories and revealing anecdotes about the making of the game. If you’re a fan of Dishonored, this episode of the The Basement qualifies as a must-listen. Also, if you’re wondering about upcoming DLC for Dishonored and Dishonored 2, Harvey has no information to share with Vic and Scott on either front. (Though he does admit that there will be some Daud-centric DLC sometime this year.) Also: Vic waxes poetic about the Metroid Prime Trilogy, which he is currently playing, even though he should be playing other things. This is Vic’s symbolic way of saying goodbye to his old friend, the Wii. Raunchy, crass, informative—hey, that’s The Basement.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

Today on The Basement: Vic asks Scott why he has decided to grow a mustache. Then he implores him to do the world a favor and shave it off. Also, Scott rediscovers his love of videogames, thanks in no small part to the upcoming Devil May Cry reboot. Speaking of Devil May Cry, or DmC as it is now known as, Alex Jones (no relation to Scott) drops by The Basement. Alex is the Senior Producer on DmC. Vic and Scott ask Alex why Capcom, for the first time ever, decided to take the series out of Japan and let U.K.-based developer Ninja Theory build the game. Also: Scott asks Alex why they decided, when rebooting the series, to make Dante a huge jerk. Also: Vic and Scott ask Alex if Kratos or Dante engages in the greatest number of threesomes. That’s right: it’s another PG-13-rated episode of VB.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

The One Without Scott. On today’s 94-percent Scott-free episode of Vic’s Basement: Vic interviews Sony marketing guru (and all-around sweet fellow) Matt Levitan. The two of them have a frank, intimate discussion about the future of all things Sony. Does Matt leak any details about the PlayStation 4? He unfortunately does not. Otherwise, we would have to list him as “former Sony marketing guru.” Also: Scott makes a brief appearance at the very beginning and again at the very end of the show, when Vic and Scott discuss their New Year’s resolutions. So what are you waiting for? Press play already, and let the entertaining begin.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

Welcome to the Final Boss of all podcasts. And, just like the Final Boss in every video game, this one refuses to die. It is—and this is big news, so best sit down for this—the audio version of our year-end Rocket & Raygun video game awards. Every word, every moment from four episodes that are airing this month on TV is here for your listening pleasure. That means Steve, Raju, Ben, Jose, Marissa, Shaun, and, of course, Vic and Scott are all in attendance. Special Bonus Side-Effect: Even if you didn’t keep up with all the games this year, you will feel as if you played every title released in 2012 simply by listening to this podcast. It’s seriously amazing. So grab your egg nog, cozy up by the fire, and click the sideways triangle button over there…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

This week on Vic’s Basement, Vic and Scott answer a flurry of old Twitter questions. Trust us, it’s more compelling than it sounds. That’s right, we devote the entire episode to answering questions ranging from our guilty-pleasure movies to whether women who game have bigger libidos than, you know, those other women. Also: Vic and Scott squabble. Because no episode of Vic’s Basement is complete without some squabbling. Click the PLAY button below and give your ears an early Christmas gift.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

Two words that best describe this week’s show: “big” and “news.” Vic and Scott get a visit from Mike Crump who is the studio manager for the just-opened Microsoft-owned Black Tusk Studios. After all the studio closures and downsizings in Vancouver, this is some terrific news. Mike is a tall, thin, mild-mannered man who seems to enjoy wearing relaxed-fit chinos. He delivers his good news—ahem, great news—then sticks around to shoot the s*** with Vic and Scott. Crump can’t talk about what Black Tusk is working on yet, so Vic and Scott—well, mostly Scott—do their darnedest to browbeat it out of him. (Note: Crump never cracks.) Scott speculates that it might be some kind of Dance Central-type game starring Halo’s virtual strumpet, Cortana. Old Crumpers swears that’s not what they’re working on, but Scott still isn’t buying it. Listen and learn, folks.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

This week, Scott and Vic once again welcome a celebrity guest into their dank bunker. Yes, it’s none other than Dr. Greg Zeschuk, who represents 50-percent of the legendary “BioWare Doctors.” Greg, along with his partner Ray Muzyka, made some of the greatest games this industry has ever known including the Baldur’s Gate series, the Neverwinter Nights series, the Dragon Age series, and, of course, the Mass Effect series. Both men recently retired from game-making to pursue other interests. So who, exactly, decides to stop making games? And what, exactly, does Greg plan to do that is better/more fun than making videogames? Both questions—as well as a great many others—will be answered on today’s extremely beery episode of The Basement. P.S. Dr. Greg loves beer SO MUCH.

EXPLICIT WARNING REMINDER: Just a quick reminder that this podcast is a place where Vic, Scott, and Guests may let loose a bit more than the TV show. There may be explicit language during any or all podcast episodes.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS