WiiNintendo

So this Week we will just be doing the Featured Podcast because I was able to get an exclusive interview with the kind people from Show Me Your News. I hope y’all enjoy this interview as much as I did. The reason I wanted this to be the Featured Podcast (again) is because you asked and I really like the things SMYN does like there member involvement which I get into during the review

~Enjoy Max!

WiiNintendo: What Feature, character and Stage are you most excited about in Brawl?

Youko: I’m actually one of those people who will take everything Brawl has to offer in stride, but like everybody, I’ve preferred certain updates over others. When it comes to features, pretty much everybody who listens to Show Me Your News (SMYN) knows that I’m a huge music fan. So the My Music update was just too good to be true for me. I mean, in Melee you had two songs tops for stages, but now in Brawl there is at least four per stage AND you can set how often those appear. And unlockable music tracks with the CD item? Just awesome, I can’t wait to get the soundtrack on my iPod. Although a close second is this new Stage Builder mode, that’s one of those “seriously?!?” kind of updates, in my opinion. My most wanted character in Brawl was Sonic the Hedgehog, so that’s already been fulfilled. Right now, I think a potential main character for me that I will use might be Pit, I love how he’s looking so far. If I still want a playable character to be included that hasn’t been confirmed yet, it would be Ridley from the Metroid franchise, but again, I’m really just taking everything in stride at this point. Every update is a gift, really. Now for stages, the changing aestethic stages, such as Battlefield, Smashville, and Lylat Cruise just look phenomenal, in my opinion. I really like those kinds of stages, where the layout doesn’t really change, but you can still be amazed by what’s happening in the meanwhile. Favorite right now though if I had to pick one? …I’d say Lylat Cruise; the graphics just look too unreal for a Wii game! Though if they added a Green Hill Zone stage from Sonic the Hedgehog, I just might have to change my mind.

WN: Throughout Show Me Your News you’ve had massive member involvement. Is there a certain reason for this?

Youko: Oh yeah, community involvement is definitely the staple on which SMYN is based. From a listener’s standpoint, I think the reasoning is that people would just get sick of ONLY my opinions after a while, despite how many compliments I’ve gotten on my voice and delivery. I wouldn’t blame them, I mean, you even get those who say “who is this guy, and why does he sound like he’s so sure of what he’s saying?” So yeah, the reasoning from that perspective is to take all the opinion focus off of myself for a while, because there are so many others with so many fantastic ideas. But from a creator’s standpoint, I definitely wanted to make the podcast a very community-driven project because…well, that’s who I’m doing it for. Sure, it’s supported and ran on smashboards.com, but Show Me Your News is really for any fan of the Smash Bros franchise and especially those who are anticipating Brawl as much as I am. Is it a little frightening at times that it’s reaching such a massive demographic? Yes, at times, but we’re a community bonded by a work of art, and I’m just trying to forge that bond through ideas, logic, and just sheer enjoyment of the game!

WN: A few segments are scripted (Like rundown) Which must take a lot of time, energy and effort. Does this have any effect on your personal life?

Youko: Yes, sections in the past have indeed been scripted, which I think is why so many are impressed that I’ve been able to keep the weekly dedication. It takes about five hours or so each week just to write the Rundown segment, sometimes even more, and then I still have to record said Rundown, edit the podcast, and do additional segments. It’s somewhat ridiculous in hindsight how much work it really is. But it’s very true that it has become more and more difficult. I attend the University of Michigan, so my workload to begin with is immense, and I think few forget that I actually have a life. With the terrific success of the new Roundtable segment though, I think I’m going to be making changes to the podcast compared to the usual structure to make things easier on myself, but keep up the quality that SMYN is known for. This was slightly reflected in Episode 17, where I was spending the weekend working on homework, watching college football, seeing a movie with a girl, you know, college things…and then at the same time trying to write a podcast for a monster of a week. And it was just so overwhelming. So to get to the point, it does have a significant effect on my personal life, but I’m trying to make changes so that I can keep working on the podcast that I absolutely love and still have time for myself.

WN: We’ve all have heard of the recent Brawl Delay from Dec 3rd, 07 to Fed 10th, 08. you probably weren’t expecting to be doing Show Me Your News for that long. What was going through your mind at the time?

Youko: Hahaha, oh dear. I started the podcast on July 8th, 2007. At that time, the release date for Brawl was undetermined, but E3 was only a few days away. We were expecting sometime before the holiday season, and we were granted that, so I started the podcast figuring that I would do this for the community to document this unprecedented blog of Sakurai’s, give fans something to listen to on the weekend in the lull of news, and to pass the time until the release. But when I was given two more months of work? I was frankly stunned. Yes, it is for the best in terms of game development and the final project. But it really bothered me that people were complaining about “OH NO I HAVE TO WAIT!” and I’m here with my pride and joy becoming a tremendous success and I’ve actually been given MORE WORK. Again though, I can’t stress it enough, I love working on the podcast and it makes the listeners happy to hear it keep going. Just a minor setback, but it’s nothing that absolutely cannot be handled…Besides, I have Guitar Hero III to play in the interim from a video game front.

WN: After Brawl’s release what if any are your plans for the Future of Show Me Your News?

Youko: This question has been asked so many times, and each time, I’m really not sure how to answer it. I have to say upfront though each time that after I give my review of Brawl the week after release, the podcast will no longer be weekly. And I think it will be really relieving for that kind of a break, but at the same time a little bittersweet. The thing I am looking forward to the most though is smashing online with the listeners I’ve made bonds with. As for the life of SMYN, I can easily see the podcast continuing probably every few weeks like most podcasts are, discussing the the newest reactions to the game. You know, new techniques, reactions on some of the characters, what the overall consensus is on the game. That way, there only isn’t documentation on how the game progress came together in its development stages, but also during the life of its release to the public. How much longer that goes for, I cannot say for sure at all, and I’m sure it will be a very unfortunate day indeed when I have to let something that is a big part of me go. But for now, I’m just riding the wave, taking whatever Masahiro Sakurai throws at me as I implore him to…Show Me Your News!

Thank you for the interview, it’s been a pleasure.

Your Welcome I hope we can do this again soon.

_________________________________________________________

Now Lets get to my interview with Smauri Panda.

WN: What Feature, Character and Stage are you most looking forward to in Brawl?

SamuraiPanda: The easy answer for the feature I’m most looking forward to would be multiplayer, but I might as well say something else, so I’ll go with the co-op single player instead. Before it was even announced I made plans with a friend to spend an all-nighter unlocking characters, so the co-op announcement was a pleasant surprise for me. As for stage, I’m one of those people that don’t play on a huge variety of stages. I tend to stick with tournament-legal stages, so I’m looking forward to having more variety than the typical

WN: platform-above-the-main-platform setup that so many stages in Melee shared. That said, Smashville and Lylat Cruise are really appealing to me right now.

SamuraiPanda: As for character, I think I’ve mentioned him a lot in the recent Roundtables, but I really like the way Ike looks right now. I never thought I’d be an Ike fan, especially after hearing such negative impressions of him, but after I saw some videos I just loved the way he moved, and I figured that if he plays like I think he does, then he may be the first character I’ll try to main. Of course, that’s assuming Knuckles isn’t in the game.

WN: You’ve just recently joined Show Me Your News podcast team and you and Youko work so well together which makes for a great podcast. Were you in any way expecting that at?

SamuraiPanda: Before I suggested the Roundtable segment to Youko, I didn’t think we would’ve worked as well as do. Then when we first met in real life, I felt like we could get along alright, but I still wasn’t sure if we’d really perform well together. But as soon as we started chatting about Brawl, we really clicked. We could’ve talked for hours about the game without getting bored. Right there, I knew that the Roundtable was going to be great. I know it seems kind of odd, but I feel like when Youko and I talk about Brawl, its like we’re old friends that met again after a long time apart and reminisce about the past. Quite strange, considering I’ve only actually met him once. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Youko is an easy guy to get along with since he’s pretty chill and a really nice person.

WN: The Round Table has become one of the most if not the most popular segments on Show Me Your News. Did you have any idea that segment would be so popular? What do you think makes people like it so much?

SamuraiPanda: I knew the Roundtable would be popular, because one of the most common complaints about the podcast was that Youko did everything by himself (although he did it very well) and fans wanted more. But I would have never guessed that Roundtable would become this popular. Heck, Youko is even thinking of replacing the Rundown with it! I’m really amazed at how much support the Roundtable has with the community, and as for why people like it so much, I couldn’t really tell you. In the beginning, I would’ve said the segment is popular because Youko and SamuraiPanda, both names known in the Smash community, are discussing Brawl. But we’ve brought people to the forums that had never been members, and never even heard of us before, so I know that’s not the case. Hmm… maybe we should bring this up for the next podcast.

WN: What do you see for the Future of Show Me Your News? and are there any minor or major changes you would like to see in the Show Me Your News?

SamuraiPanda: The future of SMYN is bright as the show is constantly becoming more popular. I think (well, I hope) that the podcast will be well-known amongst all people looking forward to Brawl and not just people who frequent Smashboards. We’re actively trying to make the podcast more accessible to people who don’t know the terms for advanced techniques, and for people who don’t spend all day reading the forums, so hopefully more people can listen and enjoy the show. While I know that making the podcast is a strain on Youko, a change I’d eventually like to see is SMYN becoming a general gaming podcast (with an emphasis on Smash) instead of just a Smash podcast. Right now, SMYN is thriving off of the Brawl fans that are starving for anything they can get, but once Brawl is released, SMYN as we know it would only produce an occasional episode to summarize what the community as been up to. Everything Youko has done to make this an awesome podcast will go to waste, and I personally don’t want to see it die (and I’m sure the fans don’t either). But, if the show is able to include other aspects of the gaming world, then everyone can continue to enjoy SMYN even after the Dojo stops updating. Whether or not Show Me Your News will stay alive is really up to the fans, though, so if you like what hear and want it to keep coming, then tell us!

Here’s the latest SMYN Podcast.

Episode 18 (11/04) - Very Scary Ruins:

STREAM: http://www.esnips.com/doc/5b566f4b-7…1bc4d/DOJO1104
DOWNLOAD: http://smashboards.com/blog/podpress…0/DOJO1104.mp3

______________________________________________________________

I have really enjoyed doing this interview and I hope to do it with other Podcast. Please post what you think of the interview and if you have any comments on anything please don’t be afraid to do so.