Full Transcript for Episode 32: Interview with Craig Personett

ambulance fly past and I was like, that is that that's gotta be for Craig. Do you wanna be do you wanna be an instant guest on Craig: Yeah. Matt: the show? Here's my daughter. She's going to say hello. Goodbye. Floyd: Hey, how's it going? Craig: Yeah. Matt: All right. Bye. Love ya. Good to see ya. All right. Floyd: Special guest star. Matt: Special guest star. She's Craig: Ha ha ha. Matt: about to be a mom for the first time in just a a a matter of two months or less. That's right. Floyd: Wow. Hey, that could be an episode. Ask her how she Craig: Hmm, wow. Floyd: ask her how she feels about having cameras in the living room. Maybe she could be Craig: Ha ha ha. Matt: I can guarantee you she would not want that. He wants to know if you want cameras in the delivery room for one of the podcast episodes. No? Okay. She no Floyd: Exclusive, world premiere. That could be the guest, the baby. Yeah. Matt: There you go. Craig: Right? The first ever. Matt: First, there we Floyd: Exclusive, yeah. Anyways, yeah. Craig: No mind. Matt: She would not appreciate that. So back to con Floyd: the first one to see my niece. I walked into the delivery room as my sister was pushing and I saw the baby start to come out. This was in rural Pennsylvania where you're you just let people walk in and out of the rooms while you're Matt: Ha ha Floyd: having the baby. Yeah. I saw the top of her head. Craig: So much for a sterile field. Floyd: Yeah. Anyway. Matt: Yeah. Well when she was when she was bored that was yeah, like I was one of the stirrups. Like there was a nurse and she's like come here and hold the other leg So I was there for the whole thing, so we got Floyd: You're like, this is how we got into this mess. Matt: into this man. Craig: Ha ha. Floyd: my. Anyway. Matt: so back to Kakur So my d I gu. Floyd: We're gonna have to put a rating on this episode, I think, now already. Yeah. Matt: So so my dad always he told me about when he was a kid, he had lots of siblings, you know. They decided to play Cowboys and Indians back then. That's the you know that's That's what they played back. So they had tied him up with a jump rope, stuck him on top of a ping pong table, and they were dancing around and that sort of thing. Ping pong table poop collapsed. So he fell, smacked his head on the cement. Three days Craig: Mm. Matt: later he woke up in his bed and Floyd: Wow. Matt: they yeah, his Craig: Wow. Matt: mom was just pretty much just stuck him in the bed and waited till he woke up. So Ye you know. Floyd: And he did. So it's fine. Matt: that's what you that's what you did Craig: Wow. Matt: on the farm in Indiana, I guess. But Craig: Yeah. Matt: Made him stronger. Floyd: So Craig, as a web programmer, how do you feel about the current state of of the web and programming in general? Not to change the subject but Craig: Well mm, yeah. Well the beginning of this year I ha I was looking for a job. they were gonna close my department and get rid of us all and we were gonna have to start to look for new jobs and I found it incredibly difficult that a lot was hundreds of applications and you never hear anything from anybody. you know, maybe one in a hundred you got a ding letter from. Matt: Mm-hmm. Craig: And then of course introducing AI into that because I know AI now can just generate you a website and give you the code for it, and you don't have to know hardly anything about it. Floyd: Visit Dingusandingus.com, everybody. Anyway, go Matt: Yeah. Floyd: ahead. That's how that's how we made our website. So Craig: So then you have your but see go ahead. Matt: No, I was gonna say, if anything goes wrong with it, we may not be able to dis figure how to fix it because Craig: Ha ha. Matt: we didn't Floyd: Ha ha. Matt: we're not the ones who can do that. We'd have to call someone like you who actually knows what you're doing. Floyd: Yeah, technically a robot did it, but yeah. Craig: Right. Yeah, see you have the sites now like Square and Wix and it's just all plug and play. They don't really need a a web designer, or a web programmer for it. Floyd: Yeah. Craig: So and then my biggest challenge in looking for a job is now is that that you need to know twenty different languages or twenty different libraries. They want you to know all the stuff that I don't have experience with because of where I work, it's all they've had me locked into certain specific things for so long. So Matt: Mm-hmm. Craig: yeah, I really struggled when was looking for a job. Matt: And you being at the university, I imagine it's really locked into some of the old school crap. It's like never growing past, you know Craig: Well, at the time I I mean I've had experience with Cascade or right now we're in Cascade. I've had some WordPress and Cold Fusion. Floyd: I've I've heard that's really good on on your dishes. Leaves them virtually spotless. Craig: Cascade. Yeah. Floyd: That's all I know about Cascade, so I don't know if that's helpful but Matt: That's why you're not a web broker. Craig: Yeah. Floyd: Ha ha ha Craig: A again they're they're they're C Messes, they plug and play, they give you certain web parts and you just plug in the information. So really I I being hired as a g web programmer, I was r really doing that when I was doing Cold Fusion and had a database behind it and and could do my own thing with it. but then when they moved us all into Cascade or SharePoint at one point, it was SharePoint, You're just a glorified content manager. Because they give you the web parts and you just fill in the information and and there's no actual programming or designing to it 'cause you're locked into their design. So when you went got to that part I didn't I didn't have the experience of having, you know, Node or Ajax or because it was all locked into what they were doing. So Matt: you are now at least working still, so that's a darn good thing. Craig: Yeah, yeah. It's funny, my my job is still a web programmer, but I'm doing ADA compliance on w documents.

Word, PowerPoint, PDFs. So I'm doing a lot of ADA compliance stuff right now. Yeah. Yep. Floyd: So low vision stuff and things like that? Very cool. Craig: So what I mean is that Matt: See, I had to ask him what that w what that wa what that meant. It was like I should know that, but I don't Floyd: Yeah. Well, having having taught at a school recently, a lot of stuff had to go through ADA compliance and a lot of our our software at where I work now has to be ADA compliant. You've got low vision mode, high contrast mode, you know, things like that. But you know, it might not seem like it's important, but if you need it, it's very important. Matt: Mm-hmm. Floyd: And it really can't be an afterthought. It should really be thought as part of the original, design and setup because otherwise it feels like a stapled on afterthought. And in some places it is. but you know, if you're if you're able to get in there early and and kind of get that stuff worked in, you can do a really beautiful thing that still you know, has a design to it and is ADA compliant at the same time. So Matt: I always appreciated back on our time on free realms, the the the lead of the two D FX group, Lori, she was very proactive on we need to make sure this is all colorblind, compatible and all this stuff and she was always pushing for Floyd: Mm-hmm. Matt: that. So I was I mean, that was just kinda cool. That was kind of my first professional like acknowledgement of that and it's like, wow, we need to 'cause we were always dealing with kids' safety and so that was a huge thing, but Floyd: That was a huge that was the big the Copa compliance and the online safety stuff was very big on Matt: Mm-hmm. Floyd: that game. But we should get Lori on the show sometime. She'd be great. Matt: Yeah. I bet she'd yeah. I bet she'd come on and chat with us. Chat Floyd: Reach out to her. Yeah. Matt: with a couple of knuckleheads. dinguses. Craig: Yeah. Floyd: So Craig, where do Matt: man. Floyd: you where do you see gaps in the current setup? Like you you know, you you see you know, maybe from a university perspective, like where do you see the role of web stuff going in the next couple of years or where it where it's at now? Craig: I I believe where I am that they're trying to move all everything under one area, like everything at the university level. and they want to to have to submit tickets to get things done. submit tickets for new websites, submit tickets for this, that and the other. I I really think there was rumors for a while where they had 'cause they had consolidated IT into one university wide IT. 'Cause it used to be each department had an IT person or two and 'cause I did that for a while too and Then they moved them all together. And then the talk was that they were next thing we're gonna do was move all the web people into one group at the university level and they would be you'd have certain areas where you worked, but everything would be ticket driven. good and bad. Yeah. It takes it Matt: I can see that being good and bad. But Craig: yeah, 'cause see it's just like IT, it takes longer. 'Cause there's Matt: Mm-hmm. Craig: things that people submit tickets for now that take days when we could do it in five minutes, ten minutes. If they came to us and said, Hey, I need this done, we could do it in five or ten minutes and now it takes days. Because it's got you gotta submit it, someone's gotta read it, it's gotta be assigned to an area, then it's gotta be assigned to a person, and and then that person's gotta have time to, you know, respond. Floyd: Actually do it, yeah. Craig: Yeah, and I and I feel like the web is probably going to be the same way where I am eventually. Matt: So is that so if someone needed to fix something, are they allowed to touch the thing or do they have to go through the ticket thing and go through the central Okay. Alright. Well, yeah, I guess that makes sure that Craig: no, they have to go through the ticket system. Yeah. No Floyd: Well, the last thing you want is people installing random stuff and then IT gets called and hey, can you fix this? And there's ten different things on there that IT didn't even Matt: Yeah, that's true. Floyd: know about that Craig: Yeah. Floyd: they you know. Is Limewire okay? No, don't don't put that kind of stuff on there. Yeah. Or whatever the modern Matt: man. Floyd: equivalent is to LimeWire, I don't even know. Craig: Yeah. Floyd: Yeah. Matt: Well well my last place I was at, they were s so freaky about anything. We couldn't even install like you couldn't install a new font, you couldn't install brushes for in Photoshop if you needed like new brushes you had to send in Floyd: Well, it's a great way to have a Trojan introduced or a backdoor access thing, Matt: Yeah, I suppose. Floyd: yeah. Matt: It's true. Well. Craig: Yeah, when it and when it's all attached to a network they Yeah. Yeah, they've they've locked down laptops laptop users don't even have admin rights to their own machines anymore. They used to now they don't. And so but Matt: Yeah, that got Yeah. That was something that changed while I was at that studio as well, 'cause when we first got in there we were allowed to 'cause we were you know, they're just like, Don't be stupid and it's like, Okay. Floyd: Wild West, yeah. Matt: Yeah. And then that went away really quick. Floyd: Well the last thing you want Craig: Yeah. Floyd: is somebody installs a cool font that they found online and then surprise there's a keylogger Matt: Mm. Floyd: in there and you know and then they saw that you ordered Taylor Swift tickets and now they got your credit card as well. So Craig: Right. Floyd: yeah. Matt: One of the guys we worked with Craig: So Matt: was a Swifty. So yeah. How did you know? Floyd: See, I that's how I knew 'cause of the font 'cause of the font he installed, I've got his credit card right here. Yeah. No. Matt: Ha ha. Craig: So I don't I don't know how the web worked in like where you work, Matt. So I

don't know how they did their web stuff 'cause I I feel like that it might be a little different than academia. Matt: Y I'm yeah, I'm sure. We were yeah, we were very locked down. we had a you know, they had a private server on their end since we were all remote, you know, but there was a lot of stuff we just couldn't do and like so much so that when they sh shut us down we didn't even get to have access to any of our assets from the game. So it's kinda like, you know, you work six years at a place and then It's gone and you have no y you have no evidence to say, Craig: Right. Matt: Here's what I worked on It's like, yeah Floyd: Yeah. Yeah, well especially Craig: Yeah, so when I was Floyd: if it's like an MMO and then it just disappears and then Matt: Yeah. Floyd: yeah. Craig: So yeah, when I was so when I was looking for Matt: Mm. Craig: a job and they were going to shut down our department, places were like, Well, what it what have you worked on? well, I worked on a of stuff and it used to be online, but because they're shutting down our department Matt: Mm-hmm. Craig: all those things went away. So I had nothing that I could point to and say, Yeah, I did that. Floyd: It's really tough to keep up on that kind of thing. I've been where I'm at now for 10 years. if I have to make a demo reel, I haven't actively made a demo reel in ten years. So Matt: Mm-mm. Floyd: I've got to okay, what have I done? how can I show that? What am I allowed to show? what's a Craig: Mm-hmm. Floyd: good format? How where do I put it? How where does it go? it's a lot of it's a lot of effort. But my my thing Craig: Mm-hmm. Matt: And a lot Floyd: with with academia was always we had so many competing systems. you wanna put your grades in? You gotta load up, snickel fritz then you put your your stuff in there and then you have a a student helping you with the class, like a an an admin. You gotta log their hours in this other package and then and then you gotta go to this other thing like it was just so much stuff that you had to keep track of, yeah. So Craig: hasn't changed. Yeah. 'Cause I'm I'm dealing with Brightspace with my ADA compliance. I'm helping professors with their ADA compliance in Brightspace. And so yeah, but no, that that so they're teaching now through Brightspace and you have to go, you know, to success factors to do your login for time off or reviews, you have to do that through there. But if you want to travel, you have to go to this other system and do it to travel. Matt: Ha ha ha. Craig: Yeah, that hasn't changed. Matt: They'll have you universalize that in in the next year or two, so Craig: Yeah. Floyd: Well it's almost like file formats too. Yeah. you'll Matt: But Floyd: you'll have a file format that gets done and then people use it for a while and it's like industry standard and then more stuff gets added and then it starts to get too bulky and bloated. And they're like, I'm gonna make a file format that everyone can use and then a new one comes out and then the same process repeats. But Matt: Mm-hmm. Floyd: what were we gonna say, Matt? Sorry, Craig: Right. Floyd: I feel like I've cut you off. Matt: No, I was just saying the portfolio thing, a lot of that is almost feels like a moving target as well over this past year 'cause it's kind of like what do they want to see on there? And it's like what's Yeah, and it depends on who's looking. Is it a recruiter, is it the actual art team who's looking at it? It's it's it's been a little frustrating to kinda figure out. Floyd: Well that that's a place where AI has been helpful because all you you can point it at the company and be like, what do Matt: Mm. Floyd: you think they're looking for in a portfolio? And then here's all my junk. Go ahead and cut together a reel with clips from this thing. I've done this with Codex or Claude, Matt: Right. Floyd: where it's got the higher level thinking, and you can just give it access to all the videos and be like, I want a two-minute reel. that highlights my ability to do, XYZ. And it'll find the stuff and cut it together and give you a pretty solid, two minute reel, which is pretty impressive. But Matt: Yeah. That works for animation. But like my stuff is all character building and stuff and it's like Floyd: Yeah, but even so, if it's got image recognition, which all of the major Matt: Mm-hmm. Floyd: engines do now, where it can see the image that you posted, you could just dump all your stuff in there and be like, Show me hard surface models, talk about the poly count, you know, whatever, and it it would probably do it. Matt: But I'd have to then change the portf the online portfolio. Like mine's on Art Station. That's where mine's out. I'm am I gonna change that every time I apply and hope that that company looks while another company's not looking at the what the portfolio or Floyd: Yeah, that's tricky if you've got it on a site somewhere. I've recently updated my LinkedIn and I just basically gave my codecs computer access, open LinkedIn, logged in, so it it was like I was doing it, and I was like, Here, update all this stuff. Here's a bunch of stuff I did, and then it spit out all the stuff and it made it it bolt pointed all the stuff and it was great. I mean like to the average look you know, user of LinkedIn or whatever, whoever looks at that stuff You can't tell if the person typed it or the AI typed it. It's the exact same stuff I would have put in if I took the time to actually do it. Matt: Yeah. Floyd: but it was just I didn't feel like doing it and I like, I should probably update this and then it took like a minute. which was pretty cool. So Matt: Yeah. Be sure to go read it and make sure you're not like King of England or something in there. Floyd: Yeah. Well, you know what's funny is that I am for Craig: Ha ha ha. Floyd: whatever reason, if you go to IMDB and you look me up, it says that I worked on Klaus, which was that two D Santa Claus movie. Matt: Ha ha ha. Floyd: I never worked on

that. I don't know why where that came from or who put it up there, but I bad it's not me. I did not work on that. It's a great film and it would have been beautiful to work on, but I had nothing to do with it. But for whatever reason it's on my IMDB and I don't know how to get it off there. So I could probably use AI to do it, but yeah. Matt: I believe I don't know. You were able to change Shuhei Yashida's information to say that I gave him a big bear hug. So first of all, they gave a TDM. that was Floyd: Well, first of all, you did. Second of all, that th that was Wikipedia. That was really easy to do. So yeah. Matt: they did take that off. Craig: Ha ha ha. Floyd: Well, I can go add it back. I'll do it after the show. Yeah. Matt: man. So he's he was he was a big executive with Playstation when we were there at Sony yeah. Floyd: Sony Computer Entertainment of America, yeah. Matt: And he was visiting one day and was in we he he was sitting in the conference room that we always met for our weekly meeting and had his back to the the door as I came in and I thought it was one of the other guys on the team and ran up and just grabbed him from behind and gave it a huge bear hug and realized it was him and just instantly just like whiteface is like, my gosh and he laughed. He thought it was funny, but yeah. So No, he did not. Floyd: After the fact he left. But and then an email went out, please do not hug Shuyoshida. Craig: Yeah. Ha ha ha. Matt: But after that I had gone on to Bottle Rocket where we were doing Rise of the Kasai and he would come visit 'cause we were making the game for Sony. Floyd: Or sunny, yeah. Matt: Now, all the whole art the character team, like Floyd and myself and stuff, were down in the basement of the building of Bottle Rocket there. So we were always the one so it was a basement, middle floor was just the lobby area, and then upstairs all the other people that worked, the environment, the effects, the execs of the the team, they were all up there. So it was always our job to run up and answer the door when the doorbell rang. and Anytime he came by he would always remember me when I answered the door. He's like, Hey Yeah. Floyd: In the same way the mailman remembers which dog bit him. Yeah. Craig: Yeah. You're the guy that assaulted me. Matt: It was just a hug. Floyd: That's how it starts. And then next Craig: Yeah. Floyd: thing you know, yeah. You're buying dinner. Matt: Well i and and honestly it came from behind, so it could have been the sleeper hold. He didn't know. Floyd: You don't know. Yeah. Matt: That was very embarrassing. But but we survived it. Yeah it is. Floyd: Makes for a good story though. It's good podcast content. Yeah. Matt: man. See we can call people by name if it's a happy story, so we don't Craig: Ha ha ha. Floyd: We'll see if PlayStation Legal gets involved. I don't know. Craig: Right. Matt: not there anymore. He Floyd: He's not, but yeah. Matt: was actually mocking their decision to get rid of physical

media, so it's like you know. Floyd: Yeah, Craig: really? Floyd: it is strange. I it is a huge savings though to not do that, to not have to haul Matt: Mm-hmm. Floyd: media. I was had I had this conversation with my wife. We Matt: Mm-hmm. Floyd: went to the mall, it was her birthday, we went to a store she likes at the Bellevue Mall. And we're walking through one of the stores. and, you know, it's it's like homecoming season. So they have a lot of homecoming dresses and stuff out on display. And and I'm like, it's such a weird thing to like Okay, what do we think that the girls of the world are gonna want? how about this dress? Okay, let's make that dress. Then let's make it in ten different sizes and then ship it to this store and put it on a rack and hopefully one of those girls walks by, sees it, and buys it. It's such a like a a weird thing. Like, you know, I mean I know that's how they used to do it, but like it seems like such a waste because like what if, you know, the XXXXL version of that dress doesn't sell? Now you've got it sitting on a rack. you know, but if you had there's no digital download of address, I don't think, but if whatever the digital equivalent of that would be, it's way easier to just put it up there and then whoever wants it can download it and now you've got it or you don't have it. whatever. Matt: Well, when three D printers get Craig: Right. Matt: cool enough to do that, that's all you gotta do. Download three D print your outfit. Floyd: I have I have 3D Craig: Right. Floyd: printed R V I have an R V and RVs have a lot of plastic parts 'cause they're lightweight and they're cheap. Matt: Mm. Floyd: And I have printed little brackets and little little doodad things that I could probably go to the store and buy it. But if there's a thing on Thingiverse that I can grab and print that, they used to have the ad like you wouldn't download a car, would you? Yeah, I would. I had to download a car so fast. Matt: Ha ha ha ha ha. Floyd: That does not bother me at all. I would definitely do that. So Matt: Yeah. I miss the I do miss the physical media stuff in stores and p you being able to see the stuff we worked on. But you and I have also chatted about in the past that so many games that we worked on that never made it out because they didn't wanna go through the process of printing and those games would have come out if they were digital brands. Floyd: Yeah. Well say it saves millions of dollars. It saves millions of dollars not printing that stuff, shipping it, paying some due to drive it from, you know, the port of entry, well up here Craig: Right. Floyd: in Seattle probably, to like, you know, Minnesota somewhere, just because some kid might come in with his bike money allowance and then buy it. Like it's such a random, you know, thing. But like now you can just go up on Steam and download a game. Speaking of which Ponimals available now, on Steam. Matt: Ha ha ha. Floyd: But I sold I think three copies. So Matt: Hey, all right, your mom bought three of them? Floyd: Yeah. If she could Craig: Ha ha ha. Floyd: figure the computer out, she probably would buy one. But no mom didn't Matt: Ha ha ha. Floyd: buy one. One guy bought one guy argued with me about AI on the internet and he bought it, played it for like six minutes, I think it says, and then complained that it froze his computer and locked up and all this stuff, which I don't believe 'cause I tested it. but yeah. But that's the only review I have is a negative one star review from this dude that doesn't like AI. In his review he's like, He used generative AI. Like, dude, it's all over the page if you look at it. It says right there that that's what I used to make the game. So whatever. Anyway. Matt: So Craig: So I bought a PlayStation four back in what fifteen, I think it was. Fifteen. but I haven't bought an actual physical media. Matt: Ha ha. Craig: Gosh, in ten years? Matt: Really? Wow. Craig: Yeah. Because when the PlayStation store became available I was like, wow, I don't have to get off the couch. I could Matt: Ha ha ha ha ha. Craig: I could just buy it right here. Matt: Yeah. But and that's great until they shut it down or whatever, but no. Floyd: Yeah. Craig: Right. Floyd: We've we've turned off your access, yeah. Craig: Well Yeah, and I feel like the the so many games now have some kind of server related that if they decide to shut that down, the game will just stop. Right? Whether you have yeah. Floyd: Yeah, that's what happened in free realms. It just disappeared like it never even happened. Craig: Whether you have physical media or or n or a you download, if they decide to shut that server down that it has to connect to. Matt: Yeah, that's that's true too. Craig: That game's done. Floyd: Yeah, there was that game Mag, Massive Action Game on PlayStation that I think Zipper Interactive did. It was the like it was a I mean it was long before like, you know, PUBG or any of those kind of games. but it was like I don't remember how many players it might have been ninety nine players total. But that was totally server based that you know, I'm sure the servers are off by now. So you might be able to find Matt: Yeah. Floyd: that game on the store shelf of a GameStop somewhere in the middle of nowhere, but you won't be able play it 'cause servers are off. So Craig: Right. Yeah. Matt: Yeah. It was always it was always fun working on the games that, you know, were locked to the disc like that because you had the sense of accomplishment when it was actually done, sold. You could go on to a new game. Whereas like, you know, we eventually got on games where it's like you're on a li live game and, you know, I loved my time on Free Realms and we did that for what is that, five to seven years or something that that but at the same time, now it's gone because it was never Floyd: Well we did at Sony we did Matt: So Floyd: NBA O eight the life and one of the r Matt: Yeah. Floyd: one of the reviews was it ended with

there is no reason to buy, rent, or ever play this game. And when they gave us physical copies of it, everybody went to the GameStop and traded them in. They had like thirty copies of NBA O eight all lined up there. Yeah. Good times. Craig: Well, it's like Matt: Man. Craig: the free realms is like the Dreamlight Valley that you and I talked Matt: Yes. Craig: about last week. And it's another one Matt: Yeah. I was Craig: of those games if they decide to shut shut down the server at all. I don't think you can play it without the server. Floyd: Well some of the Matt: Yeah. Floyd: some of the games that were our like contemporaries, like Wizards one on one, I think that game's still around. Matt: Hmm. Floyd: Club Penguin I don't think is around anymore. I Matt: Did it finally go away? All right. Floyd: don't know. Maybe it's maybe not. I'm sure somebody'll answer us in the comments maybe. Or maybe not. I don't know. If the Matt: Probably. Well, Greg and I always I mean, back in college we had I had the Super Nintendo, he had the Genesis and stuff and we were you know, that was our weekends. Like, you know, we were not our idea of partying in college was going down to Blockbuster or whatever the video store was and picking renting whatever game and trying to beat it before we had to turn it back in on Monday. So Craig: Yeah. We had a lot of sleepless Floyd: Club Penguin is still around. Craig: nights. Isn't it? Matt: Say that again, Craig. So Craig: We had a lot of sleepless nights staying up late playing video games and or not sleeping and going to class the next day. Matt: Yeah. Floyd: We used to do the we had a video store downtown. I went to Kittstown University in Pennsylvania and the the university is up on a big hill. And you walk down the hill into town. Main Street is on this really steep hill, and then down at the bottom of the hill, there was a video store and you'd go in there and it was old school VHS. This was in the mid nineties, Craig: Hmm. Floyd: and you'd just pick a movie based on you literally judge it by the cover. So you'd pick a movie based Matt: Mm-hmm. Floyd: on we would always rent these B movies, horror movie things. And it was what's the coolest looking or the scariest looking thing? And a lot of times you get it back and you watch it, the movie was terrible. And it's in a lot of cases it had nothing to do at all with the art on the box. there's just some dude got the contract to paint a cover. and they're like, Hey, we can't afford, you know, Drew Struzen, but here's you know, dipshit McGee and he'll paint whatever we ask him. And the guy wouldn't know anything about the movie and he would just paint this thing and like you'd get it. well wait, where's the the the cheerleader with the butcher knives? And she's not even in the movie, she's just on the cover. So yeah. Craig: Ha ha ha ha. Matt: No. We did we didn't bother renting the B movies. We watched Mystery Science Theater three thousand that for that. So Craig: Yes, we

did. Matt: that was that was amazing. That was the so and you said Floyd: A good time. Yeah, we I was in college during the Space Ghost Coast to Coast era. so Craig: No. Mm. Floyd: the T V lounge always had Cartoon Network on in heavy rotation. I don't think Adult Swim was a thing then, but well no, I guess it was because that was part of the adult swim block. I think it was right when Adult Swim launched. then they had like Toonami a little later with the the robot guy in the spaceship as the host. Craig: Mm. Yeah. Floyd: But yeah, that was on heavy rotation. And then also the Nashville network, with Dukes of Hazard playing constantly was the other big thing. There's this guy that lived in Matt: Yeah. Floyd: our dorm that loved the Dukes of Hazard and he would always have it on. if he wasn't in class, he was in the T V lounge watching Dukes of Hazard. So yeah. Craig: Nice. Matt: We worked we worked in the food service together and I just always remember during dinner dinner service they'd have the big flat screen big not flat screen, it was just big rear projection T V out in the dining Yeah, out in the dining room and I Floyd: eight hundred pound television. Craig: Mm-hmm. Matt: just remember like Save by the Bell and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers would be playing. It's like this th like, yeah. Craig: Yeah. Matt: So that Floyd: Yeah, that's about the only thing that's gotten cheaper since then, by the way, is TVs. you get Craig: Mm-hmm. Floyd: a big screen TV now down at the Walmart for under a thousand dollars. And yeah. And but like Matt: Dude, under $200, you can get yourself a giant. Floyd: at the time, if you want I mean, I remember in our dorm, we were getting ready for the students to show up. So the staff, the student staff would show up the week before. And we were moving stuff around. I was helping move one of the TVs, and it took four of us to carry the giant TV and the T Matt: Yeah. Floyd: V launch. And then we set it down. This is summer. We set it down and my leg got pinched between the T V and the table and I had a blood blister on my leg. you can't do that with a T V now, you know? Craig: All right. Floyd: Yeah. Matt: Wan back in the old school Sony computer entertainment America days, the holiday party they would always be, you know, a very f formal you know, you'd dress up and do this whole dinner and dance thing and they would always give away big Sony items and stuff as the prizes and stuff and we won a sixty four inch T V I think at the time 'cause when you win it at the party they don't actually have the item. You get the printout that says, Hey, this is what you got and it was like I think an eight Craig: Mm. Matt: or nine thousand dollar T V is what it was. It was ridiculous. I remember stepping down off the the stage and like at least five people were there offering their like I will pay whatever that sticker price is for that T V and I'm like, All right, well let me you know, we'll think about it 'cause I didn't think for the life of me we'd actually keep it. you know, it's a huge freaking TV. We had a nine T V at home. So it was like what w and so yeah. So come Monday when we got back to the office and I remember Kim calling and she was like, It's not like we're gonna buy that something like that. Might as well keep it, right? It's like, yeah, Yeah. Floyd: T V only weighed four and a half tons. that was a giant television. Craig: Right. Matt: And the apartment we lived on was like up three flights of metal stairs that zigzagged on itself. So trying to get that stupid box up the stairs. We got up near the door and got it pinched. and we had to rip the box all off of it and lift it up out of it to get it out of there. and that was one of the guys helping move in was Steve Mercury who's been in there who's been on the show multiple times. Floyd: Yeah. Several times. Yeah, multi appearance guests. Steve Mercard. Matt: Yeah. Floyd: yeah, that T V was so big if you watched a show about the sun you'd get a sunburn. Like that was a giant television. Matt: It lasted a long time. So it was real blurry for the po the past ye the last year we had it, but Floyd: you know what that always reminded me of, Matt? You ever see the old droopy cartoon where the wolf escapes from jail and he burrows into the television Matt: Yeah. Floyd: of the warden and then he has to act out all the stuff 'cause he's inside the television? That's what that TV reminded me of. it was big enough somebody could fit in there. So yeah. Matt: I loved that though. Well weren't you the one that convinced some of your students that the the red box that there was an employee inside that? Craig: Ha ha ha. Floyd: Well, maybe. I may have mentioned that to them. Matt: And these were college age students. Floyd: I don't I Craig: Yeah. Floyd: don't mean you're smart just because you're in college. So I had a student you'll appreciate this as a web programmer. I had a student ask me how much C hashtag they needed to know to work in video games as a programmer. And I said a little bit more than that, because they meant C sharp, not C hashtag. But yeah. But you don't know what you don't know. I mean that's why you're in college is to learn stuff, right? So I Matt: gosh. Craig: Yeah. You're right. Right. Floyd: I pulled them aside after it's like it's not C hashtag, it's C sharp. Matt: Yeah. Floyd: But yeah. Matt: So have have the students gotten any better at on campus since we've been there? Craig: Still the same. Floyd: Well that's the downside of college, right? you you get this young group of minds that come in and you fold and then you mold them and you shape them into what they're gonna become and then you usher them out into the world and then you get the next batch of idiots that come in that Craig: Yeah. Floyd: don't know anything. That's just part of the job. you you're constantly doing this this thing. I used to te I don't teach currently, but I taught for a long time. And yeah, you just get to a point

where they're they know what's going on and it's time to start over with a new bunch of people that don't know what's happening. But that's part of it. Craig: Yeah, 'cause I used to work with the grad students a lot on different grant related projects and you know, getting them to know the systems of here's you g who you go to for this, here's who you go to for that, you come to us for this, and you get all to where they know what they're doing. And then they leave and then you get the new batch in and they don't have any idea what Yeah, you gotta start all over again. Floyd: Start all over again. Yeah, I always had to be careful with the grad students though because I had one grad student who was super driven and he wanted to be a tech artist. And he did this whole thing in Unreal Engine of a character walking bipedal character. Now this is pre AI. He programmed all this stuff, and it was so the character could stand on uneven surfaces and stay balanced. So like if he was on an incline, his right leg would be higher than his left leg and he'd like maintain his balance and then he'd turn around and now he's balanced the other way and all this stuff. And it was amazing. He did a great job and he put collision stuff on all the the ground and you'd walk over a log or rock, whatever, and it was perfect. And then jokingly, the Friday before he was supposed to present, he was gonna supposed to present on Monday, he said, What do you think? And I was giving him his final grade. It's like this is amazing. And I said it'd be great if it worked in Unity too, but Unreal is fine. By Monday, he had rewritten the entire thing to also work in Unity, which was amazing. And I was like, Craig: jeez. Floyd: dude, you didn't have to do this. I was just kidding. He's like, No, but you were right, it would be good to have it in both engines. okay. So yeah, and he he he Craig: Wow. Floyd: landed a job right out of school. So Matt: I was gonna say what studio does he own now? Floyd: Yeah. Who well he was I think he was at turn ten for a long time. I don't know w what he's doing now, but yeah. Amazing stuff. I mean you can do a lot when you're driven, but yeah. Craig: That's the dedication. Yeah. Floyd: So Matt: Yeah. That guy, he's always doing that stuff. The whole time I've ever worked with him, he would go home over the weekend and be like, Aha, I did this 'cause they said I couldn't So Yeah. So Yeah, we had Yeah, I'm talking about you. No. So Floyd: Yeah. You think about me? Matt: 'cause he'd yeah. They told us Well, we've said that we've said that on the podcast before, getting the weird stuff into free realms just because people said, that wouldn't work and it's like yeah, it's like getting the octopus the octopus mountain stuff. It's like tell me that's not possible. Floyd: yeah, if you want something if you want something done, tell me that's not possible. That's my favorite. That only makes me want Craig: Mm, yeah. Floyd: to do it more. So Matt: That's also how

you got some of the programmers to do stuff like in at Bottle Rocket. You just say Floyd: Yeah. Well I yeah, if you don't know how to do it, I'll just wait and I'll ask the other guy 'cause I you you probably don't know how to do it, but he will. No no no, I'll do it and then next thing you know, it's in the game. Yeah. So that only works a few times before they get wise to what you're doing. So Yeah. They remind me of Matt: Well, they were office mates. So Craig: Mm. Floyd: the two guys from the cartoon Waikiki Rabbit, where they're hungry and the one guy looks over and he turns into a hamburger and he tried and tries to bite him. Yeah. Yeah. Keith and Carrot, yeah. Matt: Was that was that you that hung the image from that cartoon outside their office or they did. They yeah. Floyd: That might have been Steve. I don't know. Somebody did. They really did look like those guys though. Yeah. Matt: They did. So man. So wow. Craig: Are you guys playing anything? Matt: I the last thing I've played was I gonna forget the title of it. It was one of the Ninja Turtles games for the for the Switch, but it was the old it was done it was a modern take on the old archa arcade beat up style. Yes, I think that was the name of it. Floyd: Shredder's re Shredder's Revenge. That was great. Yeah. Craig: Mm, yes. Matt: Man, that was yeah. That one's been a lot of fun. but Floyd: That was great. Craig: I remember I remember playing that. When that came out. Didn't we play Matt: Yeah. Craig: that on the Nintendo? Matt: We may have played one of the older ones on that. This one's on the switch just recently. You need to come out again. Actually I'm closer now, so come on out even soon. You can just actually drive right over. Yes, he did. That's true. Yeah, but you had your home with you too. Craig: Right. Floyd: Yeah. I I drove over. It just took me several days. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's cheating. That's cheating. Craig: Ha ha ha. Matt: Yeah. But hey, you were able to fit in the driveway, which I still don't know how you did, but Floyd: Yeah, well we carry butter, in the R V so that if we get to a spot where it's a tight fit we just get out and we just rub it all down with butter so we can kinda slip in and out of there. But yeah, Matt: man. Floyd: we almost got the mailbox, but we didn't. Matt: Yeah. Well the roads in our neighborhood are super narrow even for cars, so I still can't believe you you drove the R V in this man. But if it's not that I didn't Floyd: Yeah. Sometimes when I get into a tight spot I'll just close my eyes and say, Jesus, take the wheel, which my wife loves. But yeah. Matt: Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Craig: Yeah. Floyd: It's worked so far. Yeah. Matt: That works. Well what what do you I know you were playing Dreamlight Valley, Craig, last two it's two weeks ago now that we were hanging that we s were there. Gosh. Craig: Two weeks ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah. so I ha also been playing the Indiana Jones game. Floyd: the circle what's it called? Golden circle? No.

Yeah. That's really well done. Yeah. Craig: Yeah. Yes. Circle, yes, yes. Yes. Matt: Heard that was good. Craig: Yeah. I really enjoyed it. of course Batman Lego. Floyd: Those are well done too. Matt: Now that one was supposed to be really good, like Arkham Asylum but with Lego. Dude. I Craig: Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yes exactly a yes. It's so much fun. Matt: I gotta tr I gotta get that one. I gotta try that one. Craig: That yeah, that one is so much fun. especially when you drive the Batmobile and you just drive over people and they explode into Lego pieces, it's great. Matt: Ha ha ha Craig: Kinda. Floyd: That kinda happens in real life too, but yeah. Matt: Not not quite Lego Beast. A little squishier. Is i is that is that Lego Floyd: Not quite. Yeah. Yeah. Matt: Batman a is it a multiplayer or is it just single? Craig: I Floyd: I think it's single. Craig: thought it I think it's single. I think he's right. I think it's single. Matt: okay. Craig: So yeah, so I've had that one and I downloaded what was I downloaded? it's free right now for some reason. Almost Human. Floyd: Barbie skate adventure. Craig: Almost human Does that sound right? Floyd: That's a game, I don't know if that's what you downloaded, but yeah. Craig: I'm looking. Floyd: Be careful. Craig: Right. Matt: Almost human games. Craig: Once human. Matt: Once human Craig: And it looked pretty good, so I thought, let me try this. So I downloaded it but I haven't played it yet. Matt: It looks post apocalyptic. Craig: So, Matt: Hmm. Floyd: Very cool. Craig: So, the other ones I've played is Doom, Dark Ages, and Robocop. Matt: Is a new RoboCop? Craig: Yeah, it was Robocop Rogue City. And it's a lot of fun. It it's kind of more like along the movie line, follows the movie line a little better. And Matt: Okay. Floyd: Do get to take the the bad robots guys out of the thing in Robocop two and he pulls the guy's spine out and holds it as a club and then smashes the brain against the ground? Craig: Yeah Matt: Ha ha ha ha. Craig: then not that far. That'd be cool, but not that far. Matt: Now it is it that that version of Ropa Cup or the newer movie version that was or is it classic? Craig: Classic. Matt: Okay. That's cool. Floyd: The so the new movie one I did not like as much as the original. I thought the original, especially now that I'm a father and I'm older, that movie hits totally differently if you watch the original Robocop. Matt: Mm-hmm. Floyd: but I did like in the newer Robocop, which is I'm sure several years old now, the part Matt: Yeah. Floyd: where he's like, Show me what's left of me and they open it all up and it's just his lungs and stuff, and he's Matt: Yeah. Floyd: freaking out. Like that's pretty cool to see that Craig: Yeah. Matt: Yeah. Floyd: to that level of detail. But but yeah, the original one's still way better. I think. So. Matt: Yeah. That was Craig: Right. Matt: always good. didn't we have I thought we had a Robocop game for the the PC when we were there in in college. Floyd: There was a side scroller one that was popular. Matt: I thought we had that may have been Robocop two, I'm not sure. Do you remember which ones we played, Craig? The I'm Craig: Mm, I I don't. Matt: Do remember the the Batman game that was on the PC that was the side scroller? He always had that really over exaggerated Craig: yeah. Matt: turn animation to go through the doors in and out of the buildings. Craig: Yeah. Matt: The rest of he's all stiff all the time except when you go through a door and then it's like this real smooth, like ooh Craig: Right. Yeah. Floyd: As you do, Yeah. That's how I go through that's how I go through the doors. Cape or no cape. Matt: As you do. I mean once you put a cape on you want to look Floyd: Yeah. We had a Batman game on the Super N or no, on the original Nintendo. that was really good. It was based on the Tim Burton movie, I think. Matt: Was it the one with the was it the Batman Returns? Floyd: No, it was the it was I think it was just called Batman. Let me look up. Matt: Okay. Hmm. I'm sure we played all the Batman games. Floyd: Yeah, it was it was a sun it was the Sunsoft game. Yeah, it was from the Batman game from nineteen eighty nine. It was a sun soft game. It was loosely based on Tim Burton's movie. but Matt: Okay. Floyd: Batman was like blue in that and you could get like batarangs and throw them, you could like climb up the wall and jump from wall to wall and like you'd be on the wall for split seconds. It was almost like felt a little bit like Shinobi. Have you ever played that back in the day? Or Ninja Gaiden? Yeah. So Craig: Mm, yes, yes. Yeah. Matt: Yeah. Floyd: yeah. lately I do a lot of Xbox gaming and I usually just play either Arc Raiders, which I haven't touched in a little while, or Sea of Thieves. I play a lot. Probably unhealthy amount of Sea of Thieves. But it's a good time. No, there's a bunch of people playing Matt: I think you're the last person playing that Sea of Thieves. Floyd: still. Like to sink kids, make scream, and then yeah, it's a good time. Matt: Okay, yes. Craig: Mm-hmm. Matt: I no, I'm just looking up images from that Batman game and yes, Greg, you and I definitely played that and were very frustrated because it kinda looks like the the Ninja Turtles game from Craig: Mm-hmm. Matt: which was darn near impossible. But Yep. Floyd: Super tough, yeah. Talk about anxiety Craig: Yeah, yeah. Floyd: trying to swim through the dam with the electrical coral that Matt: Mm-hmm. Floyd: you're or the electrical Craig: Mm-hmm. Floyd: seaweed that you couldn't touch. Yeah. And it's timed Craig: Yeah. Matt: Well Floyd: too. come on, pick pick something. Give us a the break. Yeah. Craig: Yeah, right. Matt: Yeah. Floyd: It's already hard enough trying to swim through the little thing, but yeah, once you're timed, forget it. Craig: Right. Yep. Matt: Yep. This this Batman game was had thugs and that sort of thing, but then there was also the weird creatures just like Ninja Turtles ended

up having these weird like okay, these aliens or whatever, they Floyd: Didn't go with it, yeah. Matt: just yeah, they're just like grabbing stuff from all their other games. It's like Floyd: So I think that I think that was a different game originally and then they just skinned it to be the Ninja Turtles at the last minute. But Matt: Yeah, probably. Craig: Right. Floyd: I liked Donatello in that game because if you were in the levels where it was like the two story house, you could put the bow staff up through the floor Matt: Yeah. Floyd: and you would just do this motion and the guys would just walk right into it. You could take out before you got there. Matt: Yeah. Floyd: But if you scroll too far and then came back, the guys would reappear. So you had to be careful to not you'd time it. Yeah. Matt: Yeah. Infinite respawn stuff. That was Craig: Yeah. Matt: annoying. 'Cause you get you would get you could get knocked back as well off of the Floyd: Uh-huh. Matt: thing and then have to come back and all thirty enemies are back on the value of each of the way. Floyd: Everybody's there, yeah. And now you've already eaten the pizza that you found. so you can't get your health Craig: Mm-hmm. Right. Floyd: back. That was something that video games in the eighties and nineties taught me is that if you ever find food laying around under a trash can, go ahead and eat it, because you'll it'll make you feel better. Yeah. Was it was it final fight? Matt: You get full health. You know, it doesn't really work that doesn't really work that Floyd: There was like a whole ham hock that you'd find behind a trash can. You'd Hagar would come by and do the tornado spin and then you just there's the ham hock. You're fine. Yeah. Matt: How many times have you eaten that ham hock you found behind the dumpster? Floyd: It's always Craig: Yeah. Floyd: behind that same dumpster. I don't know if it's like a restaurant throwing it away Matt: Ha ha ha. Floyd: or like it's some homeless guy setting it there on purpose or what, but yeah. It's always the same trash can. Matt: never made it behind the dumpster. I got flattened by the door of the dumpster, so Floyd: Yeah. what was another game kinda like that? Double Dragon. That was a great game. Matt: Yep. Craig: Mm. Matt: Yep. Which is those Ninja Turtle games were just like you know, the cool beat ups were those were always fun. Floyd: Yeah, that was a glorified double dragon. Only had four characters. So the X-Men one was great. The Avengers Matt: The X Men and and Avengers one those were so much fun. Yeah. Craig: Yeah. Floyd: one, Captain America, America, still need your help. every Matt: Yeah. Floyd: time he died. Then there was the Ninja Turtles game where they had Leonardo, and every time you'd use his sword, just a standard attack, he'd he'd go, slide some dice! Matt: Slice of dice! Floyd: Slide some dice. it was terrible. You like play it with the volume down, 'cause like, alright, we get it. You got swords, alright. Craig: Yeah. Floyd: You gotta say it every time? Come on. Yeah. They really didn't think that through. Craig: Mm. No. Matt: Yeah, going from dumping quarters into arcades now you just the game just tells you exactly what you need to do. It's we we were never given instructions, it's just like okay, hit this button. It's like hope for the best. Floyd: Did you see the stuff about the new Wolver Craig: Right. Floyd: the stuff for the new Wolverine game? Where there's Craig: Yeah. Floyd: bunches of videos online where people set the controller down and you're driving a motorcycle, you're trying to catch up to this thing, and the motorcycle's like slamming into the side and hitting trees and stuff, and you're still progressing through the level. You haven't touched any buttons and it just goes right through. Matt: Ha ha ha. Floyd: Or there's quick time events and you have to time it right to hit it. The guy still does the thing anyway, whether you hit the button or not. It's like what the hell's the point? I'm just watching a movie at this point. It's like playing with your big Craig: Right. Floyd: brother and your controller's not plugged in. back in the days when you had to plug your controller in. You give the little kid the one that's not Matt: Ha ha ha. Floyd: plugged in, you're doing such a good job Yeah. Craig: Yeah. Matt: Wait a minute, is that what you were doing to me? Floyd: The secret's out. Now I used to play Super Nintendo with Mortal Kombat 2 on the Super Nintendo with my roommate, and then if he was losing he'd reach over and he'd yank the chord out of the SNES so that you you couldn't play anymore. You had to quick like scramble to get in. And while you're doing that, he's doing a low kick over and over again. Like, Matt: Ha ha ha. Floyd: you can't just do the one move. You gotta you gotta do other stuff. Yeah. Well good times. Craig: Gosh. Matt: my gosh, what was what's the what's the fighting game that has the like all the characters had like a giant sword or something. It was it was still like a one on one street fighter type. Floyd: yeah yeah. Bushito blade. Is that what you're thinking of? Bushido Blade was the one where if Matt: Maybe that was it. Floyd: you timed it right, you could hit the person and they die instantly. it was on the PlayStation, right? Is that what you're talking about? Craig: je. Matt: Well it was I think it was PS three, the one I the one I had played. Because I've never I've never been good at the the fight games like that where the like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat but I remember playing with one of the guys this was at S C E A, and he was a big fan of the game and he's like, Come on, let's play this I alright, sure And he was like, I'm really you know, good because he he knew all the moves and stuff And I just got in there and started going Because I don't know how to play it and I kept beating Floyd: You don't know Scott. Matt: him and he got so busy he's like, You're not even playing I'm like Floyd:

It's hard to go against somebody that doesn't have a strategy. Like even in a game like Sea of Thieves, you know, you've got your ship and you've got cannons and you can board people and you can do all this stuff. And you you start to get into the rhythm of it, like, okay, I'm gonna put some cannon shots into this and then I'm gonna go over and try to board and do this thing. And then sometimes you'll come up against somebody that doesn't even know what they're doing, and they'll be completely unpredictable. Like, Well w wait, why did he do that? Like you're supposed to do this and that's what we're ready for, and this other thing Craig: Right. Floyd: happens and now you're sunk before you can react. Yeah. So Good times. Matt: Chaos. No. Have you ever played Go ahead. Floyd: So what's the so go go ahead. Matt: I was just gonna ask if you if if you had ever played Sea of Thieves, 'cause I have not. I've watched videos of it and it looks really fun, but Floyd: It's super fun. Craig: I have not. I have not played that. Floyd: It's Xbox or PC. It's also on Playstation, actually. Matt: Is it Floyd: and and crossplay like you can play against guys on Playstation. usually when we see a ship that has Playstation anything on it, we go out of our way to sink and ruin their night. Just because it was an Xbox game originally. 'Cause we're Matt: 'cause your mic's Floyd: Xbox, yeah. So Craig: Right. Matt: I'm impressed that that's cross platform. 'Cause that used to All right. Floyd: Yeah. They did a really nice job with it. And it works great. I mean, it's a little weird because like if you're in an Xbox party, you can't have a PlayStation person in your party. and a lot of times when we're playing, we'll have an Xbox party which is like on top of the game. So you can talk to each other all the time and the other team can't hear you speaking. If you're doing it in-game, they can hear you. and I have all speaking to the ADA compliance stuff, there's an accessibility thing where you can have if somebody's got a mic, it'll show up on your screen as text. So I crank that way up. So if somebody I'll see the text on my screen. I'm about to get on their ladder and then I'm just standing there with my gun waiting for the guy to come up the ladder. I'm Matt: Ha ha ha Floyd: like, what a surprise. Here you are on my ladder. Who would have guessed? Matt: Yeah. Floyd: But yeah. Craig: So I've I've played Killer Clowns from Outer Space. And so it's the newer game there and y you either play the clowns or you play the people. And of course you're trying to wrap everybody up in cotton candy if you're the clowns and if you're the people you're trying to escape. But when the game loads there's a like a little waiting room where everybody pops into this to to play the game and it tells you what they're playing on. So I can play with people that are playing on PC or Xbox or PlayStation. okay. Floyd: okay. Craig: I can see what platform they're playing on. So I think that's kind

of neat. Do you treat them any differently, depending on what they're Floyd: Do you treat them any differently depending on what platform they're on? Craig: on? No. No. Not once the game starts because you're just running around trying to save your life and not be killed by clowns or Yeah. Yeah. No Floyd: Yeah. Speaking of which, Matt: Now is it Floyd: go ahead. Matt: is it first person is a first person shooter or third third point third person so you can see the your your character. It is. Nice. Yeah, I like so Craig: third person, you're behind them. Yeah. Nice. They're the same ones that put out the new Halloween game where you play either Michael Myers or people trying to escape from Michael Myers. Yeah. wow. Floyd: The shape. The shape. That's what he was called in the original Halloween. Matt: wow. Craig: And I think Floyd: The actor was credited as the shape. Craig: I think it's the same way. From what I've seen. It's it's played the same way. Okay. Matt: Okay. Floyd: Speaking of which, you know, Halloween and horror movies and stuff, the new Friday the thirteenth show on Peacock Craig: Yeah. Floyd: called Crystal Lake is really good. If you've Craig: Yes. Floyd: not seen it and you were a fan of any of the Friday the thirteenth movies of any Craig: Yes. Floyd: era, that show was amazing. I'm up to episode, I think, four or five now. but it had me hooked Craig: I'm just Floyd: in the first like twenty minutes. I was sold on it. Craig: Yeah, I'm just behind you on watching it and yeah, I really enjoy it. I think it's really good. Floyd: I was like, I don't know how they're gonna tie this all together or make this when I first heard about the project, I was like, Matt: Well it's it's a super prequel, right? Floyd: Yeah, when I first heard about it, I Craig: Yeah. Floyd: was like, this is gonna be dumb. And then they're like Linda Cardellini, I think is the actress's name. I was like, Well, actually she's a really Matt: Mm-hmm. Floyd: good actress, maybe it'll be decent. Craig: Yeah. Floyd: And then I watched the first episode and they and then the credits and stuff like the opening titles are like the old style of of graphics they had in the g in the movie and stuff. And I loved those films. you know, it all of them, even the super cheesy more current ones, I think are great. but yeah, talk about a franchise that really took a while to find its feet. Jason didn't even get his mask until the third film. you know, and that's when you say Jason Voorhees, everybody knows the hockey mask. That was until the Matt: Mm-hmm. Floyd: third movie, which was the three D one that is usually Craig: Yeah. Floyd: the throwaway movie. but that was the one that really set the tempo for the rest of the franchise after that. So Craig: And they're talking about a second season for that already. Floyd: It's really good. I don't know how they're gonna get a second season out of it. I I haven't watched the first season all the way to the end yet, but it's Craig: Yeah. Floyd: really good. I like it a lot. Matt: Well did you guys I mean, obviously. Craig knows I'm not a big horror film person, but I I've been exposed to several just living with him over the years. We So I'm still messed up from Chucky, so thanks a lot for that. Floyd: If you ever want to see something funny, look up the Spanish dub of when she goes to throw in the fireplace. And he turns around and yells at her, but it's all in Spanish. It's hysterical. Yeah. Yeah. Matt: Someone posted that recently, I think I saw that. But but the what was it? My wife watched the Bates Mot I think it was called Bates Motel, the prequel to to all she really liked that Craig: Mm. Yes, I watched that. Matt: series and thought it was good. Did you did you watch it as well? Okay. Craig: Yes. I watched that too and enjoyed it. Yeah. Yeah. Floyd: I never saw that. Psycho was okay, but it wasn't that was a slow burn type of movie. A little bit. there was some action in it too, but it was like I I like the maybe it's just because it's a little bit older too. I like the the cheese factor in a lot of the eighties horror movies. my two favorite Craig: Yeah. Floyd: movies are The Gate. If you've never seen that. It's basically it's a Canadian movie. It's these kids, Matt: Mm. Floyd: they're the parents go away for the weekend. And they leave the sister in charge. She's in high school, and then the brothers in middle school. The sister has a big party, so the middle school kid, the boy, invites his friend from down the street over and he's got a heavy metal album. And they read the liner notes of the album and it opens this pit in their backyard that these little demons come out of. And every time they try to close it, it gets bigger and bigger and then it ends with this giant thing coming out of the gate. it's really good. It's a great film. And then the other one Matt: That was the that was the that one has they showed it in the trailer and stuff and just I've watched how they did the effect or whatever, like the guy Floyd: Practical effects, yeah. Matt: the guy falling over and boom turning into the glasses. Mm-hmm. Floyd: That was amazing. I was gonna mention that. So it was all practical effects, because there was no CG then. They built the bedroom giant and had Matt: Mm-hmm. Floyd: people in little monster costumes and they put that as a back plate over a guy that just like fell and then at the point where he hits the ground, they swap out the guy for all these little demons that run around the room. It was awesome. But it still holds up. Matt: to that still holds up looking like super creepy and but Floyd: I like that movie and there's a movie called Night of the Creeps. that's like a bunch Craig: yeah. I've seen that. Floyd: of horror movies stapled together. So it starts out, there's like this alien spaceship, and they're shooting at this thing, they're trying to prevent this alien from getting off. And it crashes these it's like these little slugs. And they

crash the the spaceship Matt: Okay. Floyd: into the ground and on the earth, and it's like the nineteen fifties and there's kids hanging out at the you know, couples in cars at like make out point. And there's also killer on the loose for some reason. And this killer on the loose and he goes to kill this one guy and the cop goes out to like the beat cop to like catch this guy and the slug things get in the mouth of the guy that dies, and then he gets put in the morgue and he's like cryogenically frozen. And then they cut forward to the eighties. That beat cop is now a detective, and he regrets his past, you know, not being able to save this girl that he liked and everything. And these kids as a prank take the Body out of the morgue for some frat house prank and it thaws out and the slug thing gets out and repopulates. But when it gets in you, it turns you into a zombie. So it's also like a zombie movie. Craig: No. Floyd: but then one of my favorite lines, one Matt: Every movie in one Floyd: of my favorite lines in it is they're in the girl's sorority house, and the detective is in there trying to protect them, and they've got all the stuff, and this bus crash happens because this dog is possessed and is in the middle of the road. Bus driver sees it, it's a terrible effect. The guy's eyes get baked, the dog has like a weird expression out there. The guy cuts the wheel, flips the bus, and kills everybody in the bus. and the slugs get in their mouths and they all come alive and they go to the sorority house. And the line from the movie is the detective looks outside, he's like, Girls, the good news is your dates are here. The bad news is they're dead. That's like the Craig: Ha ha. Floyd: big line in the movie, yeah. But yeah. Great film. Night of the creeps, go see Matt: Thumbs up. Floyd: Float says five stars. Yeah. I didn't get my sign yet. I ordered a last drive in sign I'm gonna put up behind me. like a neon fake neon sign. But it didn't get here Craig: Nice. Floyd: yet. I was hoping I'd have it for the Halloween episode. Did not get here yet. So I'll put it up when it comes Craig: Mm. Matt: feel like I've s I feel like I've seen the I feel like I d Yeah. I'm wondering if that's one Floyd: They used to play Night of the Creeps on T V heavily edited, right around this time of year, Holly. Matt: you and I watched back in the day. Craig: We saw Knight of the Comet. Matt: okay. So Floyd: Totally different night. Matt: Yeah. Yeah, it was the it was the other night. No. But I'm pretty sure we I'm pretty sure we Craig: Yeah. Yeah, it was the interview. Yeah. It was the next night. Floyd: Yeah. Matt: It was the next night. But I'm pretty sure we man. Floyd: Yeah. It is a terrible week, yeah. Matt: No. But I n I I definitely saw Killer Clowns from Space. That one wa that Craig: Yeah. Floyd: Kiloclons from outer space. Yeah. Matt: one's just funny. Yeah. 'Cause they use the same a lot of the same prosthetics, at least the molds and stuff they used later in Ernest Scared Stupid. A lot of the a lot of the trolls were basically the the killer clowns. Just Floyd: So is it just me or does Craig: nice. Floyd: John Cena look every day more and more like Ernest P. Worrell? Doesn't he look Craig: huh. Floyd: like if you look at side by side, they look like they could be related. Craig: Hmm. Yeah. Matt: Depending on what expression, yeah. So we can have him on the show and ask him. Yeah. You can't see him. Yeah, we don't want him on the show right now. Floyd: John Cena. Yeah. Rest in peace, Jim Varney. Great actor, yeah. Anyway. Hey, what that Craig: Right. Floyd: would that make a great Halloween episode. speaking of which, what is the transformer or toy of the episode, Matt? Craig: yeah. Matt: I'm glad you asked. Because it is Halloween. Floyd: 'Cause we're an hour s hour, eight minutes into it. Matt: Yeah, they makes it into the hour. So some Transformers Halloween edition. We have a Dracula Dracula crossover dude and the Frankenstein monster crossover. Draculus and Craig: Nice. Matt: Frankentron. Frankentron, yeah. This one was Floyd: Frankentron. They start long and hard on. Craig: Nice. Matt: They're both heavy remolds of a couple other figures. this was the headmaster Mindwipe, he turns into a big bat. but the original figure did not have this cool cloth cape, you know, that just Craig: Hmm. Matt: gets in the way when you try to transform. You gotta take it and throw it off to the side. Yeah. Floyd: You just get everything pinches into it and you have to pull it out. Craig: Ha ha ha. Matt: But this one was based on the impactor figure, but I actually I really like Craig: Hmm. Matt: Get it to focus. I don't know. I really liked the mold on this one. He comes with like one of those like lab Tesla coils. Yeah. So Yeah. Floyd: Tesla Tesla Tesla coil. Craig: Tessa coils, yeah. Matt: But no. Floyd: Is there a is there a hind wipe that turns into a toilet or something? That'd be cool. Matt: Th there is a shoot, I don't remember what company does it. But there is a there is a Japanese company that's made a he's like a little samurai that turns into a toilet. So Craig: Nice. Matt: I do not have that figure. Yeah, you were joking, but yeah if you can th Yeah it's Floyd: I was joking, but that's cool. I heard it's crappy. Just kidding. Craig: Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Matt: Wa waa. So Floyd: Done. Anyway, Craig, it was great having you on the show. Any any Craig: Thank you. Floyd: any suggestions for people that are watching that might want to be web programmers at a big university? Craig: no, I I I really don't. Matt: Run away, kids, Craig: Hmm. Matt: run away Craig: Yeah. Floyd: You can put your answer into sniggle blots or whatever you call the software that they should be looking into for this stuff. Every they all have weird names. So yeah. Yeah. Craig: Right. Yeah. Right. Matt: Snickleblots and snickle frits? With your with your C hashtag. Floyd: Yeah, C C hashtag. Craig: See how Floyd: speaking Matt: gosh. Floyd: of C hashtag, we'll see you later, everybody. make Matt: All right. Floyd: sure you make sure you like and subscribe, ring the bell for updates, drop some comments below. Or you can always email us. You can ping us at dingusandangus.com is our email. unless you're one of the folks that I always Matt: Please do. And go play Ponimals. Floyd: get the I always get the email, hey, we can help you improve your SEO search. Like, no, just watch the show and share it. That would help us improve our SEO search. So yeah. Yeah, and play Ponables. Available now on Steam, wherever quality computer games are sold, which is on the internet. Matt: Or you can play it for six minutes and leave a crappy radio. Floyd: You could be like that other guy. Yeah. Yeah, I just got an alert that said Craig's device is struggling. Okay. Craig: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Matt: no Craig: Right. Matt: Well it's time for you to Floyd: when you turned off your background, it's you're crystal clear now. Craig: Yeah, right. Floyd: Wow. With the Caitlin Clark poster. Very cool. Craig: Yeah. So Matt: Now is that yours or is that someone else's no? Craig: No, that is not mine. No. Matt: Could have been someone that was wearing the sneakers, I don't know. Craig: Right. Yeah. Yeah. Floyd: Alright, well thanks everybody. We should probably end because it says unstable connection. So yeah. Alright, thanks. Matt: Thanks a lot. hurry. Bye. Craig: Yes.