The Sunday Scroll

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Latest Episodes:

Interview with Patrick Klepek Aug 27, 2023

Hey folks! If you'd love to hear 90 minutes of Remap & Crossplay's Patrick Klepek being charming and insightful then this episode is for you!
If you're thinking "hey didn't John say this episode would also have some news magazine segments," you're totally right! I talk a bit about why this episode didn't quite come together the way I wanted, but the good news is that the planned conversation with Patrick was amazing and worthy of releasing now instead of next month.
Big thanks to Patrick! Please go check out Remap and Crossplay if you haven't. I'm a subscriber to both and love diving in every single week to those shows/prose.

The Sunday Scroll is hosted and produced by John Warren with podcast art by Taylor Hicklen. Music is provided by Epidemic Sound.
You can support this podcast by joining John's Patreon, where you can get early episodes of the show, YouTube videos before they're posted publicly, and exclusive access to This Used To Be A Tweet, a weekly newsletter.
Rating and reviewing The Sunday Scroll on Apple Podcasts and Spotify really does help. Thank you for listening!

I'm Rebooting The Sunday Scroll!!! Ahhhhh!!!!!!!! Jul 29, 2023

Hey folks! Episode title is pretty self explanatory (and I'll describe my thoughts in more detail in the audio itself), but I'm going to retool the show a bit to incorporate more outside help and get it closer to the original concept I had for the show! I really wanted to make an insightful and strange news magazine show but as my time has been eaten by a lot of other professional responsibilities I've gotten farther and farther away from my original vision.
Bummer! So, after some deep thought I decided that instead of continuing to make a show I'm happy with but not psyched about, I'd change the format to once a month (every last Sunday) and bring on more talent to make everything better!
The plan is to see you again on August 27! I've already got one segment, a conversation with Remap's Patrick Klepek, planned for the return episode. Wish me luck, y'all, and I'll be back in about a month!

Josh Sawyer, Andrea Shearon with the News, and More! Jul 09, 2023

On this episode of The Sunday Scroll, John is joined by Obsidian Entertainment's Josh Sawyer to discuss:

24 years and counting in game development
Working with a smaller team to make Pentiment
How an idea evolves over the course of 25 years
The best cycling tours
Advice for a starter wristwatch

Andrea Shearon is also here to run down the news of the week, including:

Niantic's Los Angeles studio shutting down
Unity's controversial AI tools
Steam Summer Sale

John also mentions some of his Steam Summer Sale picks and has a minor existential crisis right into your ears! All of this and more on The Sunday Scroll!

Jess Howard, Andrea Shearon with the News, Final Fantasy XVI Review, and More! Jun 25, 2023

On this episode of The Sunday Scroll, John sits down with GameSpot Editor Jess Howard to chat about:

Covering SGF in Los Angeles
Highlights from the show
Nintendo Direct thoughts
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Final Fantasy XVI
FTC v Microsoft

Andrea Shearon delivers the biggest news of the week, including:

xQc's huge contract with Kick
Twitch vs Kick's rev share models
Nintendo Direct roundup

Finally, John goes deep on what he likes and dislikes (unfortunately much more of the latter) about Final Fantasy XVI.

Ben Pack, Andrea Shearon with the News, Summer Game Fest 2023, and More! Jun 11, 2023

On this week's Summer Game Fest 2023 special, John is joined by former Giant Bomb host Ben Pack, who stopped by to discuss:

Mr. Beast's complex internet presence
Kiryu becoming a secret agent
Mortal Kombat 1's sensational violence
and more!

Andrea Shearon also joins us with the news, including:

SGF's greatest hits (so far)
The sorry state of all male all white all cis panel shows
Call of Duty removing Nickmerc's skin pack over his homophobic tweet\
and more!

Ash Parrish, Merritt K, Andrea Shearon with the News, and More! May 28, 2023

We're back on a new two week rotation with super cool segments featuring:

Ash Parrish from The Verge (0:02:13)
- Tears of the Kingdom (0:04:00)
- Sony Showcase 2023 (0:42:45)
- Succession's final days (0:57:51)
Andrea Shearon with the news (1:03:10)
Merritt K, author of LAN Party (1:14:46)
- Replacing Morrowind's soundtrack with Interpol's Turn On the Bright Lights (1:17:36)
- Tears of the Kingdom (1:19:24)
- AI, the WGA strike, and the future of content (1:33:36)
- Exploring New York City (1:40:55)
John Warren (that's me) discussing reactive and proactive apologies from game devs as well as Sony's precarious multiplayer strategy (2:20:37)

Minisode: Overwatch 2's Hero Mode, One Week with Tears of the Kingdom, and More! May 21, 2023

This week, John's riding solo in our first minisode of The Sunday Scroll. We'll be back next week with a normal episode full of interviews and news from Andrea Shearon.
Stories covered this week include:

Blizzard shutting down Overwatch 2's Hero Mode
Tears of the Kingdom's huge first week

Jeff Gerstmann, Rebekah Valentine, Andrea Shearon with the News, and More! May 07, 2023

We got another BEEFY Sunday Scroll featuring interviews with:

Jeff Gerstmann (starts at 0:02:43) lends his three decades of games media experience to the current landscape, what it means to produce work in this space independently, and thoughts on Tears of the Kingdom ahead of its release.
Rebekah Valentine (starts at 1:36:37) chats about beating Majora's Mask for the first time, learning how to wield patience as a cook and baker, and planning a wedding that honors your true vibes.

Andrea Shearon is here to take you through the week's biggest stories, including:

Those Tears of the Kingdom leaks
The CMA's decision to halt the Blizzard/Activision merger
Hype for Armored Core VI

John also chimes in to recommend you check out Tape to Tape, a new hockey roguelite you might be interested in. He also discusses the problems with Arkane's Redfall and laments spending two hours with the new Ant-Man.

Austin Walker, Danielle Riendeau, Andrea Shearon with the News, and More! Apr 23, 2023

The latest episode of The Sunday Scroll is SUPER SIZED with interviews featuring:

Austin Walker (starts at 0:02:40) goes deep into the big things he learned running a major media brand for a corporation, how he juggles multiple worlds at once, and Breath of the Wild's unparalleled legacy in the days leading up to Tears of the Kingdom.
Danielle Riendeau (starts at 1:37:07) discusses what she gets out of playing over three thousand hours of one video game, the therapeutic benefits of combat sports, and the one thing everyone should know about calling emergency services.

Andrea Shearon is here to take you through the week's biggest stories, including:

Nintendo's punitive judgment against Gary Bowser
Genshin Impact's actor turmoil
The likelihood of those Persona 3 remake rumors
A rundown of Final Fantasy XVI's most recent showcase
Valheim working on creative mode

John's also here to recommend Dead Ringers on Prime Video and picking up the Street Fighter 6 demo. He also wonders what's up with the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters not getting quality of life updates (yet) on PC.

Julia Alexander, Niki Grayson, Andrea Shearon with the News, and More! Apr 09, 2023

The latest episode of The Sunday Scroll features great conversations between host John Warren and:

Julia Alexander (starts at 0:02:25) talks about WWE's big sale to Endeavor, Disney's revolving door of executives, and Nintendo's big bet with Illumination.
Niki Grayson (starts at 1:05:33) changes the trajectories of several major corporations and dives into their photography and tufting skills.

Andrea Shearon is here to take you through the week's biggest stories, including:

Mario's big box office opening weekend
Breath of the Wild's bonkers multiplayer mod
Behind the curtain of E3's demise
Final Fantasy XIV 6.4 is coming
Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters getting bonuses on console
Resident Evil 4's major first patch

Alex Donaldson, Terence Wiggins, & Epic's Big Fortnite Bet Mar 26, 2023

The latest episode of The Sunday Scroll finds host John Warren catching you up with the week's news in games and entertainment and having enlightening conversations with some of his favorite colleagues in the industry:

Alex Donaldson (starts from 2:00:00) talks about Square-Enix's strange 2022, their NFT gamble, and Final Fantasy XVI
Terence Wiggins (starts from 1:18:00) talks about how he got into cookie baking, setting the stage in the kitchen, and a little about the great sport of professional wrestling

Also mentioned in this episode:

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Street Fighter 6
Resident Evil 4 (Remake)
Counter-Strike 2

Industry news provided by:

Patricia Hernandez at Kotaku
Levi Winslow at Kotaku
Ethan Gach at Kotaku
Darryn Bonthuys at Gamespot

Gita Jackson, Kyle Orland, & Paul Tamayo Mar 12, 2023

The premiere of The Sunday Scroll finds host John Warren catching you up with the week's news in games and entertainment and having enlightening conversations with some of his favorite colleagues in the industry:

Gita Jackson (starts from 2:03.0) discusses Twitter's unraveling, the pitfalls of reviewing Hogwarts Legacy, and Daisy Jones & The Six
Kyle Orland (starts from 1:10:37.0) talks about his new book Minesweeper coming soon from Boss Fight Books
Paul Tamayo (starts from 1:47:48.0) joins John to discuss Wayfinder, the new season of F1, and the beauty of creating offline rituals for yourself

Also mentioned in this episode: