4Player Podcast
4Player Podcast (commonly abbreviated 4PP) is a multiple award-winning weekly podcast in addition to a daily live broadcast and blog AbOUT video games; based out of Austin, Texas. The four members of the podcast are Brad Simons, David Liao, Nick Henderson and formerly Travis Granger. Special guests and various friends of the players participate in the podcasts and broadcasts as well.
History
4Player Podcast's origins can be found as a podcast, and later, a blog, entitled East Vs West Working Title. The First Podcast occurred on January 11, 2007 featuring Brad and David discussing Twilight Princess. Nick joined the podcast in April 2007. The first postings on the blog occurred in June 2007. In the Fall of 2007, Travis joined the podcast. Also occurring around this time was the switch from the East vs West moniker to 4Player Podcast. Although the name was changing the East vs West blog was still used. 4Player Podcast started to broadcast games live in February 2008 on Justin TV. The 4Player Podcast blog was established on April 2, 2008. On July 2, 2009 a new website and forum was launched. On December 12, 2009, 4Player Podcast won a Podcast Award in the gaming section. In 2010 4Player Podcast continued their streak, winning the 2010 Gaming Podcast Award.
Overview
The 4Player Podcast report in three main types of mediums: A live broadcast, multiple podcasts, and blog postings. These mediums each have their own unique formats.
Live Broadcast
The live broadcast is a streaming web feed and chat that features the members of 4PP and friends playing video games. There is a broadcast every day of the week, a day has not been missed in over three years.
Podcast
There are currently five different types of podcasts produced: the 4Player Podcast, the 4Player Podcast Top Five Podcast, the Dinnertime Podcast, the Revival Podcast, and the Cocktail Time Podcast. These podcast can be subscribed to via RSS, iTunes, and the Zune Marketplace.
4Player Podcast
The 4Player Podcast is the main podcast featuring the four players, and the occasional guests, discussing various topics related to video games. The podcast's hosting duties were shared among each member but as of show number 79 Nick is the official host. The players will first introduce themselves and then share their thoughts and impressions on what they have been playing the past week. The podcast then covers the news, typically compiled by Brad and the forum members, from the past week. Following the news, if applicable, is the Round Table Discussion, which is a segment where the players discuss their thoughts on a certain topic. The topic can be selected by the players or by community via the mail bag or suggestion thread. Then the Community Segment covers what games will be on the live broadcast this week, answers viewer submitted questions and goes over any events in the community. On show number 93 a the Post of the Week segment was introduced, which highlights a post on the blog. The podcast wraps up with the 4Player Minute. Although usually more than a minute long, each player states the following: a shameful secret (something they did recently that they are ashamed of), sweaty palms (something game-related that they are worried about), and hype (something game-related that they are excited about). David hosts his own mini-segment, known as chatter of the week, where he chooses a chatter who contacts him via e-mail, whom he thinks is worthy of an honorable mention. Brad's own unofficial segment is the "[...] You Of the Week," where he chooses one particular person who is worthy of a "[...] You," for whatever the reason May Be. The typical length of this podcast is around two hours long. It can be seen recorded live on the broadcast, typically on the weekend. An archive of the podcast is made available two to three days later.
Top Five Podcast
In addition to the main podcast, there is the 4Player Podcast Top Five Podcast. During this podcast the players give their Top Five list for a certain topic. This topic may be chosen by the players or taken from a suggestion thread. The topics can be anything related to video games. At the start of the podcast the players will say honorable mentions, which are selections that fell short of being in the top five. Then each player will say their number five, working around the table, and then repeating this formula for the rest of the numbers. The typical length of this podcast is around thirty-five minutes long. It can be seen recorded live on the broadcast, typically taking place on the weekend. An archive of the podcast is made available two to three days later.
Dinnertime Podcast
The Dinnertime Podcast is a podcast featuring the players eating out while discussing video games and various topics. It may also contain guests who are from the gaming industry or close friends. The release of this podcast is irregular.
Revival Podcast
The Revival Podcast (formerly known as the Game Club Podcast and informally as "The Order of the Phoenix Down Revival Podcast") is a podcast that was planned to be introduced in January 2009 (but due to time constraints was recorded in February) that is centered around a chosen game and is reflected upon by all the players. The podcast will also contain viewers thoughts on the game selected by reading excerpts of emails sent to the host or via the corresponding forum thread. The first game selected for the Game Club podcast was Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath. The planned frequency of this podcast is monthly.
Cocktail Time Podcast
The Cocktail Time Podcast is a side podcast created and hosted by Joseph Christ with regular guests Nick Henderson, Carlos Ottino, and Nolan Hedstrom. The podcast, as the name implies, has to do with the participants drinking alcoholic beverages during the recording. The scope of the topics discussed is wide, and less linear than the other podcasts but focuses on video games and the video game industry.
Blog
The blog contains daily posts pertaining to their thoughts or news on video games and status updates for the community. Weekly Themes'' began on the week of August 10, with "Time Week". The theme is posted at the start of the week, listing the theme and games to be played fitting to those themes. In addition to Time, other themes include Horror and RPGs. This feature was later discontinued, although recently there was a Pirate Week. TheLaundry List'' is an infrequent posting of games that have not been completed. Each player complies a list of games they are currently trying to finish. This list includes the game title and a percentage of how much they have finished for each game. Often there will be opinion pieces written on various topics such as reviews and moral choice in gaming.
Staff
- Brad Simons - Broadcast Manager/Blog Writer/Broadcaster
- David Liao - Project Manager/Blog Writer/Broadcaster
- Nick Henderson - Podcast Editor & Host/Blog Writer
- Travis Granger - Blog Writer
- Joseph "Christ" Petrick - Reviews Editor/Blog Writer/Podcast Editor & Host
- Nolan Hedstrom - Blog Writer/Broadcaster
- Ben Alford - Blog Writer/Moderator
- Carlos Ottino - Blog Writer/Broadcaster
- Elizabeth Grys - PR Representative/Moderator
- Tim Bacani - Blog Writer/Moderator
- Juan Pantoja - Broadcaster/Japancast Broadcaster
- Ayrton Travina - Japancast Blog Writer/Japancast Broadcaster
- Dae Lee - Japancast Blog Writer/Japancast Broadcaster
- Alan Hoskins - Website Administrator
- Mike Azzato - Ambient Music/Broadcaster/Artist