Hot Button

Episode 111: The Failure of the Coleco Chameleon

What do you get when you combine a brand new retro-style system, a botched crowdfunding campaign, and a bunch of tricksters? Why you get the Coleco Chameleon of course! The cartridge based home console that never was, from a team now only known for their deceptive attempt to fool a demographic who was all well too informed to fall for it.

Episode 110: The Dumb History of Flappy Bird

Ten years ago, the popularity and drama of the silly little mobile app Flappy Bird was inescapable. On this episode we investigate its suspicious origins, controversies, bizarre release and unrelease, the ensuing wave of copycats, as well as find out what happens when a creator is tormented by his very own invention.

Episode 109: Don’t Do the Do - The Perils of the 2014 MTN Dew Game_Jam

It’s a good ol’ fashioned reality show nightmare this week as we dig into the time America’s favorite soft drink sponsored a gaming television program full of popular faces and yet, production failed so hard that it never even made it to air!

Episode 108: Suck It Down - The History of Diakatana

This week John Romero is about to make you his bitch as we explore the troubled development and release of one of the largest high profile blunders ever to grace our industry. So join us as we hop back to the optimistic days of the mid 1990s and show you just where this epic sci-fi FPS, created by some of the biggest names in games, went horribly wrong.

Hot Button’s 2023 Game of the Year Deliberations Part 2

We’re back with our second and final part on the best (and worst) of 2023! Why not celebrate Valentine’s Day by listening to us argue four more awards categories, including… Biggest Surprise, Most Disappointing, Worst Game, and of course a ranked top 10 of the Best of the Best! Biggest Surprise - 00:01:45  Most Disappointing - 00:37:53  Worst Game - 01:47:30  Best Game - 02:03:51

Hot Button’s 2023 Game of the Year Deliberations Part 1

With 2024 now upon us, what do you say we take a look back and discuss our top releases of last year. This week we kick it off with awards for Best Aesthetic, Best Narrative, Best Character, and Best Moment! Be sure to return for the remaining categories in Part 2 of 2 coming soon! Note - There will be story spoilers during certain conversations and we will label where to skip ahead in the time codes below.  Best Aesthetic - 00:02:10  Best Narrative - 00:53:49  Best Character - 01:52:22  Best Moment or Sequence - 02:36:08

Episode 107: Unity Returns!

Sometimes something happens that we just can’t sit on. In perhaps what is likely THE most self-destructive move we have ever seen in almost any industry, today we buckle down and discuss the recent explosion of controversy from the folks at the Unity company. Please note that this recording is not only an expansion of the latest anniversary update, but also a follow-up to the history we covered of the game engine in episode 85!

Hot Button Game Awards 2023 Special Follow-Up

The annual VGAs have officially concluded. This week we give a play-by-play of the night’s events as well as our thoughts on every major reveal and announcement. This along with the tallying up the results of who in the podcast room made the most accurate predictions of them all!