Episode 18: Choose Your Own Anniversary!

Yep, it’s been just over a year since your two favorite hosts (we’re not above fluffing up our own egos) decided that it might be fun to start up a podcast to talk about the things they felt like talking about and that the rest of the world might get some amusement out of. Now here we are on Episode 18 (or 19 if you count episode 0)!

We invited back some of our most memorable guests from earlier episodes to chat about how things have or haven’t changed since they last visited us.  Lady Erinia, Codi, and Vidyala were kind of enough to share some birthday cake with us and to pick up where we left off on the topics they originally talked about on our show (notably gaming addiction, the gaming industry, and guild leading).  We also slide in some talk on the Norway Killer, on the legacy of Mass Effect 3 as “that game with the bad ending”, on creating a web comic, and on the Calgary Expo.

Find our guests!

Vidyala: Manalicious, From Draenor with Love and @_vidyala
Lady Erinia: @LadyErobria
Codi: She’s elusive, but her blog still exists at Moar HPS!

Some Thank Yous

We would really like to thank all of our guests that we have had on our show over the past year.  You have all helped make each and every episode fantastic. It is wonderful and humbling to know that our WoW community has so many interesting, knowledgeable, and generous residents. As well, a huge thanks and a hug to Clockwork Bard/Skip Cocoa/whatever he wants to go by who graciously hosts most of our episodes and, more recently, our website.  Also, big thanks to Jadissa and Matticus who originally hosted our website and early episodes, respectively.  Lastly, thanks to Fimlys and Frandierty for all their invaluable help and advice on podcasting.

It’s been a fun ride, thus far and we don’t expect it to end any time soon!

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Choose Your Own Anniversary!

Believe it or not, Ophelie and I uploaded our very first episode of the Double O Podcast on April 3rd, 2011, which means that we have been in the business of podcasting for a full year!

While we may not always record as often as we would like to, we are proud to say that we truly enjoy doing what we do and that we stand behind every show that we put out there.  It has been a wild ride and we are just getting started.

With that said – we need some help planning our next episode, which is going to be a very special one year anniversary show.  Ophelie and I decided that we would leave it up to our listeners or our readers to decide who gets to break bread with us on the next show.  You may choose any of our previous guests that we have had on the Double O Podcast before, and assuming that they agree to come back and that we can line up our schedules we will make it happen.

The top 4 people who receive your votes will be asked to join us on our anniversary show, where we will catch up with them and see what they have been up to since we last spoke with them, and we might even give them a chance to turn the tables on us and tell us what they think we should talk about on the show.

Without further ado, here is the list of previous guests, in order of appearance:

- Lady Erinia (“Hooked.”)
- Codi (“Getting Down To Business.”)
- Cynwise (“Cyn, Lose, or Draw.”)
- Vidyala (“O Chat With A Side of V.”)
- Vosskah (“O Chat With A Side of V,” and “Tank N’ Spank.”)
- Markco (“Copper For Your Thoughts.”)
- Fannon (“Parental Guidance Strongly Suggested.”)
- Hydra (“Parental Guidance Strongly Suggested.”)
- Christine (“Parental Guidance Strongly Suggested.”)
- Ceraphus (“Parental Guidance Strongly Suggested.”)
- Frostsorrow (“Tank N’ Spank.”)
- Arielle (“Tank N’ Spank.”)
- Miri (“Tank N’ Spank.”)
- Lodur (“Blinded by the Lightwell.”)
- Lynesta (“Blinded by the Lightwell.”)
- Jasyla (“Blinded by the Lightwell.”)
- Danslatable (“Blinded by the Lightwell.”)
- Thespius (“Chicken Soup for the Casual Raid Leader’s Soul.”)
- Psynister (“Eat, Game, Love.”)
- Fynralyl (“Eat, Game, Love.”)
- Stubborn (“Animal Attraction.”)

Go ahead. Pick four – any four.

Episode 17: Animal Attraction

When we saw Stubborn‘s series on couples and gaming, right away we thought “What a great show idea!”. A few e-mails and a Skype phone call later and we were recording this episode with none other than Stubborn himself.

We spend this episode delving into Stubborn’s posts, discussing tips for gaming couples, couple archetypes, and how to deal with different relationship dynamics in a guild or raid setting. And, of course, we take the time to share what we have been up to these past few weeks, our latest gaming adventures and, yes, our backup plans for BlizzCon.

As a side note, as I was editing the show, I was pretty amused to hear myself rant about the single gamer’s perspective of couples, when very shortly after recording, I suddenly became not-so-single. (Which also had a lot to do with the delay in getting this episode out!)

Stubborn’s posts: (a must-read!)
Couples and WoW, Part 1
Couples and WoW, Part 2
Couples and WoW, Part 3
Couples and WoW, Part 4 - The Finalé
Couples and WoW, Part 5 – Feedback Followup

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Episode 16: Eat, Game, Love

Despite being sick and Ophelie being tired, we still found time to get together and record another heart healthy episode of the Double O Podcast!

On this episode, our guests are the lovely Fynralyl and Psynister, who came on the show to discuss their blog, The Chubby Couple and to discuss all things relating to gaming and living a healthier lifestyle. 

We start off the show by reading an inspirational post by a former guildie, which gave us the idea for the theme of this episode, and then discuss weight loss, making the decision to blog about such a personal journey, the pros and cons of trying to lose a weight as a couple, and what it’s like to be part of a community that encourages many stereotypes about obesity.

A very special thanks goes out to Tayl, from Big Crits, for giving me permission to read her heartwarming post on the show and for being a personal inspiration for me to take better care of myself and to make better choices.  Thank you, Tayl!

Oh, and don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes!

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Episode 15: Breakup To Makeup

At the time of this recording, we had so much exciting stuff going on in our offline and in-game lives that we found ourselves talking about it and drifting into the topic of relationships.

We start off innocently enough by sharing our New Year’s adventures and challenge each other to a Dance Central duel, then get into how we handle the collision of our public and private lives, then we discuss our relationships with our guilds and guildies, and even with World of Warcraft itself.

What do you do when things in game get difficult?  When to stay, when to leave?

What are these expectations of mono-game-y?  Do they make sense?

Tune in for another action packed episode of the Double O Podcast!

P.S.  Since moving to a new host, I’m less familiar with how to do the cute linky stuff at the bottom.  So, if you want a link to our iTunes page, head over here!

Some of the posts mentioned on this episode:

Beru and “Winds of Change.”
Fannon and “Encouraging Infidelity: On Burnout And Blood Bowl.”
Vidyala’s “Business Time, Hard Modes, And The “C” Word.”

 

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Episode 14: Behind the Guild

Welcome to our new website!

We have our own fancy domain now and hosting, courtesy of Jadissa. (I think that qualifies him as a sponsor, right?)

This episode finds O and I in our natural habitat (we’re finding that we really enjoy these easy, laid back shows) talking about what’s going on in our WoW lives.  We’re both experiencing changes within our guilds, so we explore the inner workings of a guild, the dynamics of 25 man vs 10 man casual raiding, discuss which is the bigger evil between “I don’t like the person people but the sex raiding is good” and its opposite, and share the frustrations of trying to find a guild when you’re a good player, but lacking a strong raiding resume.

Enjoy!

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Episode 13: The Write Stuff

After a month long hiatus, where we shook off the dust from BlizzCon and Ophelie recovered from another leg of the Bossy Pally Bus Tour, we are back with Episode 13!

The idea for this episode came directly from one of our listeners, @FFPMMarc, who suggested that we make an episode about people who are new to blogging and what they should know before they get started.  Ophelie and I start off by talking about what blogging platforms we prefer (i.e. Blogger or WordPress), what are some good or bad reasons to decide to start blogging, how to promote your blog and the importance of Twitter, habits of other bloggers that really annoy us, and the highs and lows of collaborative blogging.

Plus, we sprinkle in a little chat about what we’re currently up to in our lives, our recent review on iTunes, and some big plans that Ophelie and I have for the podcast and our website!

Links from the show:

Blog Azeroth
Twisted Nether

As mentioned, we are available on iTunes, for free, 24 hours a day.  Feel free to subscribe to the show, download our most recent episodes, and leave a review.  We love hearing from our listeners and look forward to reading more of your comments and seeing more of your suggestions for us.

Thanks for listening!

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Episode 12: Chicken Soup For The Casual Raid Leader’s Soul

And we’re back with Episode 12! We actually recorded this the night before Oestrus and I left for BlizzCon, but due to me being on the road for the two weeks after BlizzCon, I couldn’t get this up until now.

Back in Episode 6, we spoke about guild and raid leading from a more progression-oriented point of view. This time, we wanted a different perspective. If we believe the statistics that Blizzard keeps throwing at us, then less progressive raiding is the majority, yet we rarely hear about it.

We figured we would remedy that.

We sought out Thespius, who for a few years has been one of the leading voices of “more casual” raid leading, notably through his work at World of Matticus (and as his guildie, I knew he was good XD) and talk about the meaning of “casual raiding”, recruiting, keeping raiders interested, dealing with those who use “casual” as an excuse to be unreliable, handling busy real life schedules, and more!

Looking to get a hold of Thespius?

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/thespius
Email: elder.thespius at gmail dot com
Blog/Podcast: Healer by Nature (Blog) and Raid Warning (Podcast)
Guild: Team Sport on Nerzhul

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Episode 11: Fly On The Wall

After the whirlwinds that were our busy last few episodes, we take some time to kick back and chit chat the way that we always do when we’re on the phone with each other.   Except that we had the record button on, which led to a podcast episode.

Instead of a theme and a relatively organized plan, we ramble on about Blizzcon, our current gaming status, buying pets with WoW gold from people who bought them with IRL gold and, more importantly, whether it’s appropriate to hook up with your Twitter/blog followers.

And!

You might notice some music at the beginning of the podcast which isn’t our usual Bond theme. You might also notice a voice that belongs to neither Oestrus nor I.   That’s because it’s nomination time for the Stopies!

The Stopies are an opportunity to give a shoutout to your favorite podcasters within the Gaming Community and to celebrate the work that’s being done throughout the Gaming Podcastosphere.

Like our show? Nominate us for a Stopie!

Don’t like our show? Nominate us for a Stopie in one of the less flattering categories! (Hey,  I’ve worked hard towards “Biggest Cryass!”)

For more info, check out the Stopcast website and send your nominations to stopcast@gmail.com before October 16.

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Episode 10: Blinded By the Lightwell

Title courtesy of Lou G from Twitter.

After tanks, it’s the healers’ turn to be slid under the microscope.  Our guests talk about the evolution of healing, as well as class differences, how to read healing meters, and they give advice to those out there picking up healing specs for the first time.  Of course, they also take a moment to answer questions submitted by our readers and listeners.

(Questions, by the way, that we really appreciate. Huge thanks to those took the time to send them in to us!)

In case you are wondering who those new sexy voices on the show belonged to, our guests were:

Lodur from WoW Insider, World of Matticus, Raid Warning and For the Lore (whew) was our Shaman
Lynesta from Word of Glory was our Pally
Jasyla from Cannot be Tamed was our Druid
Danslatable from Danslayers was our Holy and Disc Priest.

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