Listen to: The Unlimited Hyperbole Podcast
Posted on 28th May 2012 at 09:33 by Joe Martin with 77 comments
Believe it or not, I'm not someone who's usually all that comfortable talking about themselves or pushing their ideas on to others. I'd much rather be left alone with a bottle of wine and a new computer game. So, you'll understand why I want to keep it brief when I say: listen to my new podcast. It's called Unlimited Hyperbole.
While it's a podcast, Unlimited Hyperbole is unlike most other shows in that it is short and intensively edited. It pulls on exclusive interviews with special guests and each episode culls more than an hour of conversation into just 15 minutes of finely honed discussion. Even the topic is controlled, being decided in advance for a season of five episodes.
This first season uses "My Favourite Game" as a topic, with the first episode featuring Dear Esther designer Dan Pinchbeck as my special guest. He talks about his favourite game, STALKER, and how it affected his PHD, his views on game design and more.
As it's only just launched I'm obviously eager to push the show into as many earballs as possible. More than that though, because Bit-tech is where I consider myself to have cut my teeth in journalism, I wanted to see what this readership especially thought of the show.
It'd be really great if any of you who listen to the show would share your thoughts, either in the comments here or on my blog.
To be clear, Unlimited Hyperbole isn't attached to Bit-tech or Custom PC Magazine directly - Simon was merely gracious enough to let me tell you all about it. Thanks, Simon!
While it's a podcast, Unlimited Hyperbole is unlike most other shows in that it is short and intensively edited. It pulls on exclusive interviews with special guests and each episode culls more than an hour of conversation into just 15 minutes of finely honed discussion. Even the topic is controlled, being decided in advance for a season of five episodes.
This first season uses "My Favourite Game" as a topic, with the first episode featuring Dear Esther designer Dan Pinchbeck as my special guest. He talks about his favourite game, STALKER, and how it affected his PHD, his views on game design and more.
As it's only just launched I'm obviously eager to push the show into as many earballs as possible. More than that though, because Bit-tech is where I consider myself to have cut my teeth in journalism, I wanted to see what this readership especially thought of the show.
It'd be really great if any of you who listen to the show would share your thoughts, either in the comments here or on my blog.
To be clear, Unlimited Hyperbole isn't attached to Bit-tech or Custom PC Magazine directly - Simon was merely gracious enough to let me tell you all about it. Thanks, Simon!
77 Comments
Discuss in the forums ReplyPaul, Clive and I did look at relaunching the podcast in some regard, but there was a disagreement on creative vision and who would do the editing, hosting etc - and, at the same time, nobody was paying us to do it.
I did put myself forward to take on certain tasks at that point and was able to provide equipment, but wanted to take things in a different direction to the old "Us round a microphone talking about the news but not really doing it very well approach". I wanted to do something tighter, original and curated.
So, I separated my intent into another project - which became Unlimited Hyperbole - and made it clear that I'd still be up for being a voice on the other podcast and could still provide some equipment if the plan came together and they wanted to move it forward. It never did.
It has just occured to me that i have been visiting this site daily for the past 3yrs and not once registered with all the times i even wanted to comment. ai gary ai...
so here i am, my fav site out there, and well written articles.
<warning> prepare for my rants! :-) </warning>
Easy - grab Google Listen: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.listen&hl=en (that should open Google Play Store if opening on the phone), then add a new subscription and use this feed address http://feeds.feedburner.com/UnlimitedHyperbole
Sorted ;)
I did like the old group ones, as even though they were often shambolic they did have an informal charm about them, which I think was part of their appeal. This more professional approach is still good though - and the shorter length makes it easier to find time for.
In the absence of an official bit-tech podcast, I take it we can expect to see this linked to each week for every new episode?
You can download the file directly through Soundcloud, either at the full site (http://soundcloud.com/cardjoe) or at the admittedly squished widget above. You can then transfer the file to your phone and listen how you please.
Alternately, you can plug the RSS feed (http://feeds.feedburner.com/UnlimitedHyperbole) into the reader of your choice, such as Google Listen. It should also be coming soon to the Doubletwist Podcast Store on Android.
Certainly I like the old ones too - I'd love to bring those back, if we could find a feasible way.
Not sure if I'll be linking to every episode, but you can keep up with the show though iTunes, RSS, Soundcloud or my blog, certainly. If Simon's amenable and I feel I can write enough to justify each post, I may link them here too - but I'm anxious that this is something I'm doing that's separate from my Bit-tech and Custom work.
Or even better, a mix between the two. I often used to think that hardware wise there could be not much to say other than what's in an article - and I'm by no means a massive gamer. So a healthy balance would be my ideal :)
I am with games though, obviously.
That's fair enough - I've got your site bookmarked, so it's just a question of remembering to look!
I can't see why Simon wouldn't want them to be linked here though - considering how popular the podcasts were and how much people wanted them to keep going, I should say you're the one doing bit-tech a favour by producing them gratis!
Just saying... :)
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/06/03/unlimited-hyperbole-2/
It's a bit different!
WHERE'S EPISODE 3?
*shakes*
You can have it when you tell everyone you know about Episodes One and Two :P
Atom Zombie Smasher developer Brendon Chung talks about his favourite game ever, Thief: The Dark Project.
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/06/11/unlimited-hyperbole-3/
Here's Episode 4!
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/06/18/unlimited-hyperbole-4/
Harriet and I are currently working on Season 2 now, so any feedback anyone wants - especially when it comes to guests and topics - is very appreciated.
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/06/25/unlimited-hyperbole-5/
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/07/09/unlimited-hyperbole-6/
Edit: My Opera Speed Dial has pulled a picture of a guy wearing a black tie, I assume that's you Joe?
*Curses broken headphones*
Yep - it must be pulling it from my blog. Enjoy my face!
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/07/16/unlimited-hyperbole-7/
Cool. Good work dude. Have you thought about asking Andy Kelly from PC Gamer on for a chat about DayZ? He's very passionate about it, and as its flavour of the month, will surely net you a few new listeners.
Not a bad idea, but the seasons get planned pretty far in advance - maybe next Season though! Andy's a good guy.
PC Gamer's Chris Thursten and I talk about being scared of innocuous games, such as Sonic 2, as well as BioShock, HP Lovecraft and the root of anxiety!
LISTEN: http://joemartinwords.com/2012/07/23/unlimited-hyperbole-8/
I take it the scripts are fully written out for the monologues to be so long though? And now there's a few days where it's soundcloud only before I can download for my MP3 player?
No scripts. Harriet and I interview the guest, then afterwards discuss talking points and what we'd like to hone in on. The only scripts are my interstitial links, which I usually flesh out as I'm editing.
The interviews themselves therefore end up a lot longer than the podcasts - even the shortest one, with Kieron, was still over an hour of chat - and the topics tend to go a lot more diverse.
As for uploads, they get uploaded to Soundcloud every Monday morning and iTunes tends to ping very shortly after that - but Android and RSS stuff can vary, yeah. I'd fix it, but it's not something I can control to my knowledge; just a matter of when the software calls checks Soundcloud for an updated version.
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/07/30/unlimited-hyperbole-9/
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/08/06/unlimited-hyperbole-10/
We're now looking at suggestions for Season Three, which will take the theme of 'A Matter of Character' - if you have any ideas, get in touch!
Edit: Just started listening. Fantastic podcasts. joe You've really outdone yourself. Loving the differing opinions and the exploration of different aspects within games.
Plus, anyone who reps STALKER in any form is awesome by default.
Also the sound effects during the Skyrim tidbit were a nice addition.
The URL to submit is www.joemartinwords.com/podcast
It's now going to be released on Wednesdays. Season Three starts tomorrow at joemartinwords.com/podcast
Sa-wheet.
Gonna give us a sneak preview of the topic?
First up, James Swallow - the New York Bestselling author behind the Horus Heresy novels and writer for Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/10/17/unlimited-hyperbole-11/
James talks about the characters in Deus Ex, the role of the writer and how his role on Human Revolution defined more than just the dialog, but the character of the whole world too.
In amongst my science, astonomy and skeptic stuff, I don't have many gaming podcasts - only this and the Eurogamer podcast (and the last Eurogamer podcast is well worth a listen; it was a recorded panel session at the Eurogamer expo discussing review scores - really interesting stuff).
You'll like the next episode even better then - it touches on a much more unknown role in game development :)
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/10/24/unlimited-hyperbole-12/
Content aside however, do you mind a more banal question? What microphone rig do you use to record the voiceovers? The audio comes through quite clearly (aside from the odd blip now and then, thanks to the limitations of compression codecs)... I'm looking to upgrade from using a crappy webcam mic to record voiceovers for video, and the microphone options are staggering: from headsets to dynamic mics, right up to condensers on desk mounted boom arms with pop filters. Most podcast recording setups I've seen usually look quite "pro", but I'm wondering if you really need all that to get good quality voiceover audio. I don't want to spend a fortune if I don't have to.
Of course you can tell me to shove it ;)
Glad you like it! The audio tends to vary with each episode, but I try my best to get it clear.
Basically, I record the interviews either in person or over Skype. If I'm over Skype then I'm just using a crappy headset mic and editing myself out later - and I try to make sure that the guest is as clear as possible. If I'm in person then I use my post-production microphone, which is a Blue Yeti.
Getting a good microphone can be important, but you often need not go overboard - managing the situation to cut out background noise is just as important.
I always thought you/joe would be much grumpier sounding. Like the tweets xD
Cheers for the reply.
That was basically my conclusion: a decent microphone - i.e. an actual microphone designed for live or vocal use and not a headset designed for skype/gaming - is important, but I probably don't need to go crazy.
I'll probably take a look at dynamic mics, as they're by far the easiest to interface to my current PC hardware; I won't need esoteric hardware such as a 48v phantom power supply, just a simple XLR to RCA cable. I already have a USB 2-in/2-out audio interface, which has already proven itself with live recordings. Some condensers may be designed for use with a computer and only need USB power - such as the Blue Yeti or Samson Meteor - but condensers are a bit of a jump in terms of cost.
Hopefully background noise shouldn't be a problem; although we're rather close to the city centre, my "man cave" (her words, not mine!) is on the opposite side of the property to the main roads. The only issue I may have is reverb, but even something as simple as a blanket slung up on the wall behind the desk should help deaden reverb. Of course I might have to shoot the cat if she keeps interfering noisily....! ;)
<tangent>Though I'm not even sure I'm going to carry on with my intended project, as I'm not sure I have the time these days... One recent 3.5 minute machinima video took around 6-8 hours of recording & editing!</tangent>
Yeah, blankets and some basic noise reduction editing are your friends. I'm basically recording and editing in my house too, so...
As for editing. *Sigh*. Yes, it can take ages. This latest episode of Unlimited Hyperbole is only ten minutes long but took about 12 hours of editing and recording to finish. The average interview I record is about 90 minutes long on its own!
You thought about making them longer? I'd happily listen for the 25 minutes or so I'm underground on my commute.
I've thought about it, but there's only been a handful of times when I've felt I had to cut out something that was REALLY worth bending the rules for.
By rules, by the way, I mean just that. Unlimited Hyperbole is guided by a series of rules I have to control the format - things like: "No repeat guests" and "One guest at a time". The first one is "No episode longer than 15 minutes".
Partly that comes down to a stylistic choice, but it's also positioned to oppose other game podcasts which I feel aren't worthwhile.
It's possible that some of the cut footage will get released in the future, but it's not on the cards for the moment.
With Duke Nukem!
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/10/31/unlimited-hyperbole-13/
Keep up the good work.
Well, the rest of this season is already done - and doesn't explore the violence angle much, to be honest. I am currently looking at what the fourth season might be about though, if we do one (which is currently up in the air).
The leading suggestion at the moment is something like: "Politics and My Philosophy" but other ideas Harriet and I have discussed have included "What The Problem Is", "The One That Got Away" and "My Hero"
These are all very rough ideas at the moment, but we're eager to know your thoughts, obviously.
We spoke to Devine Lu Linvega, better known as the musician Aliceffkt, about FRACT OSC -
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/11/07/unlimited-hyperbole-14/
Just listened to the last two! Sweet. Very interesting to hear from Jon St John!
Also, when the mirrors edge guy was talking about how most people just speed by and don't see his work I couldn't help thinking about the poor level/environmental designers in games like Burnout.
I'm now so envious of his immense talent I have to hate him. :(
Oh man, now I wish I'd spoken to one of those guys.
http://joemartinwords.com/2012/11/14/unlimited-hyperbole-15/