Heart Piece Podcast

No one ever discovered anything by sitting inside their house. Well, thanks to the Internet, maybe that's not entirely true. Still, you can only experience so much within the comfort of your home/apartment/dorm/condo. If you really want to see what's out there, you gotta walk the walk! In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe discuss the importance of regular exploration and how it can widen your social circle and improve your relationship building skills. There's also an Extra Piece at the end of this one! Head over to hppodcast.com and click on the episode post to check out the after-show. BONUS: The origin of Vania, Willy Wonker, LinkUp! RUNTIME: 47 minutes 46 seconds

Most everyone who's played an RPG knows a thing or two about party management. You've got to make sure you've got the right composition of do-gooders to vanquish the dark forces. However, we bet most folks haven't considered how they can use the same party management logic from video games to build better social circles in real life! In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe discuss the idea of party management in video games to see how it can be applied in real life. Whether at work, in class, on the court or on the beach, we'll help you power up your social circles by making sure you've got the right kind of company for the situation! BONUS: Breath of the Mods, The Wiz, Boost or Break RUNTIME: 40 min

Today's the day. You got a good night's sleep. Your morning smoothie is ready. You printed 3 copies of your resume. You've got your phone. Your keys are in hand. You're wearing your lucky socks, your "hire me" blazer, and Joe Esposito is telling you you're the best around. Today's the day! You're halfway down the highway. Then it hits you. You forgot your pants... Job Hunt Quest Failed. You left a critical piece of equipment in your closet. In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe talk about using the concept of inventory management in gaming to help with the constant struggle to make room for yourself, your job, your friendships, goals, dreams, relationships, health, and aspirations in the real world. You'd never hunt a Rathian without Antidote, so never go job hunting without pants!   BONUS: #POCcasters, The "Blue Suit", Link Up! RUNTIME: 40 min

Greetings HPeeps! Did you miss us? As we're sure you're aware, we've been on a bit of a cooldown. So we thought, why not talk about that for today's episode? Afterall, sometimes you need to ease back from the fast track and take it easy. Relax. Perhaps to re-energize yourself with a slice of pepperoni. In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe discuss the importance of spending time away from the the hustle and bustle or everyday life to reconnect with yourself, others, and the world around you at your own pace. Your social life will thank you for it! Oh, and the answer was the Baroness Von Sketch Show. And it's not on Netflix. Sorry.   BONUS: HIRMA, Meet Mr. Miyagi, Bust-A-Doodle RUNTIME: 40 min

Visualize this moment in time whilst we paint you a picture. You are out perusing the internet and you strike up a conversation with a complete stranger. You say "ya-ma-to," they say "ya-mo-to," and next thing you know, you wake up in your recording studio at 6 am with a microphone in your face and an empty cup of what was probably coffee once with nothing but a foggy memory of your life choices over the past 8-10 hours to show for it. The real twist? That's kind of a true story. In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe are joined by the indie game developer behind the One Night Stand, the lovely Lucy Blundell. We chat about her games' recent nomination for an Independent Games Festival award, why she should marry her boyfriend and the logistics of milking cows (or people?) on the Nintendo Switch. Top it all off with gratuitous amounts of the late great George Michael and a hot and steamy version of a fan favorite mini

MAGfest 2017 was awesome! There's nothing quite like pressing your face against a friend's face, attending random elevator parties, playing Japanese rhythm games like no one is watching, having your face melted repeatedly by amazing artists and DJs, and planning the post-mortem services for your bank account after you finish buying ALL the merch. Yup, MAGfest is awesome. You know what's not awesome? MAGstress! There's so much to do! So many people and performances to see, games to play and pizza to eat! Just how the heck do you juggle the unjuggleable Con Life? In this episode, MasterWife returns to join MasterJoe as they recap their MAGfest 2017 experience and share the secret to making the most of your con experience without getting overwhelmed by the chaos. This episode is full to the brim so listen up HPeeps! Andrew Jackson! p.s. special thanks to all of our friends and listeners that we got to see and meet at MA

A wise person once said, the way to a man's heart is through his abdominal food bag. Turns out that's very much true! In this episode, Masterjoe is joined by the newly engaged gamer couple, Hotsammysliz (in his second appearance on the podcast) and Ms. Marvel! We chat about how their relationship progressed to the big questions, their plan to answer lots of repeat questions at MAGfest, and share some little known facts. For example, did you know that one of us can crochet? Which game does Sammy like better, Sonic Adventure 1 or 2? And what is a Stroopwafel?! Masterwife was busy working her big girl job and had to sit this one out but we hope you enjoy and miss her presence as much as MasterJoe did :

Note: Storytime HPeeps! We recorded this episode last week but before we could upload it, MasterJoe's computer died! The video card went bad so the computer had to be sent in for repair. 3-5 miserable business days later, we have our computer back and are happy to finally release this episode for you all. We hope you enjoy! Humankind has made lots of improvements over the years. We added motion to pictures, brought color to TVs, and made 2D relationships more appealing than their 3D counterparts. Wait, what? Just what the heck are we going to be talking about here?! In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe are joined by special guest Justin Choe to discuss just what it is that makes 2D characters appealing and how we can use that knowledge to improve our real life relationships. We also sidebar into chatting about the treatment of real life Japanese women and whether or not Japanese feel that relationships are bothersome. We bet you don't know how to prono

Dating can be a grind for gamers. You're out there doing your best to climb the ladder but you just can't seem to rank up, or worse, you may be getting demoted. Maybe you've been looking for that Shiny Pokémon in the tall grass but keep running into Pidgeys. Or perhaps you've stomped all the goombas and dished out the coins only to discover your prince or princess was in another— well you get the idea. There's got to be a more effective way, right? MasterWife and MasterJoe explain the concept of "action-adventure dating" and how you can change up your dating strategy to start having better dates. Whether you're single or already in a relationship, there's something for you in this episode! Also, what the heck is Geocaching? Why isn't there a Geekeasy near us? And why shouldn't you name your newborn baby girl Sonic?! BONUS: Tetris Champion, Ben Briggs, Bust-a-Doodle  RUNTIME: 43 min

Do you smell that? The sweet yet slightly sweaty fragrance of the kind of soul food gaming that only happens once (maybe twice) a year? Thanksgiving brings people together, and when people get together, epic gaming occurs. MasterWife and MasterJoe share of their favorite Gamesgiving games to play with friends and family. After your done throwing down in the dining room, let us know how you throw it down in the living room! BONUS: The Origin of Wendy, U GAME IT, Bust-A-Doodle RUNTIME: 37 min

These are trying times in America. Tensions are high, opinions and thoughts are being flung left and right, and every venture out into the World Wide Web seems to be littered with more random encounters than Lufia 1. How can we navigate this minefield of high-powered opinions without unleashing our ultimate attack? Well, you could either stock up on Holy Water (or Max Repel if that's more your speed), or you can use a little thing called Empathy. MasterWife and MasterJoe use the concept of Back Seat Gaming to talk about the effects of empathizing with others as a means to achieve understanding and establish common ground. No one likes a back seat human. Learn to ride shotgun instead! HEY! Is that Another MHPotW bumper?! BONUS: NES Classic woes, Huemanatee, Link Up! RUNTIME: 43 min

Moving is hard. You literally uproot your entire life and transplant it into a new place. You have to find a new place to live, get use to your new boss, make new friends. You have to re-hang all of your nerd art (UGH)! Or maybe you're move is less drastic. Perhaps you're going to college or just starting a new job. Maybe you're moving from the basement to the attic, who knows. Started at the bottom... Getting acclimated to the "new" can be a big challenge, but as a gamer you're better equipped to handle that challenge than you think! MasterWife and MasterJoe share what video games taught them about how to conquer strange new worlds in real life. Say, is that an actual MHPotW bumper?? Don't forget to set the timer. BONUS: Life's Most Stressful Things, World 2 Quiz, Link Up RUNTIME: 36 min

Take a look at your Friends Lists and Follower counts. Of the [insert amount here] people on those lists, how many of their first names do you know? Do you know where they are from? What they like to do for fun? For work? Actually, do you know anything about any of them besides their gamertag or Twitter handle?Odds are, you don't know all that much about the real people who populate your friends lists. So how can we cure the anti-socialness of social media? Simple. By being brave enough to be social again! In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe discuss the idea of demystifying the mystery of avatars and getting to know the people behind them to form more meaningful relationships. Put on your bold pants, listener. This one comes with a challenge! Oh and enjoy the copious amount of Star Fox quotes because Star Fox Zero launches today :)BONUS: Boost or Break, Miitomo, Voice Actor Casting?RUNTIME: 43 min

Greetings from MasterJoe and Dr. MasterWife! It's been quite a while but the Masters are back in #HPHQ and better than ever. Thank you all for supporting us in our absence. In fact, this entire episode is about support! Life can be pretty challenging sometimes (don't we know). You may have an important test to study for or a big assignment at work to get done. Maybe you're just trying to tackle the Dark Zone in The Division. Just like in video games, when the going gets tough, the tough bring healers! Or engineers, or spell casters, or more healers! Always more healers. MasterWife discusses her long and arduous journey from graduate student to doctorate degree holder and MasterJoe spouts nonsense while reacting to multiple trigger words and phrases, resulting in a few songs and some movie quotes. Prepare yourselves HPeeps. Support is inbound! P.S.: Never get the airport sandwich. BONUS: Capt

MasterWife and MasterJoe are back from MAGFest 2016! Such an amazing festival/convention. This episode comes fresh off the ride home from the event so we just had to recap all the amazing time we had. If there ever was a gamer family reunion, this was it. We got to meet, see, and hang out with a bunch of old and new friends, jam out to some incredible music, and of course play a ton of games. If you weren't there this year, you definitely need to be there next year! RUNTIME: 28 min

What's this? Another episode of the HPP in the same week? Yup, and just in time for Valentine's Day. In this episode, MasterWife returns from PhD land to chat with Emma and Phillip at #HPHQ about an incredibly rare specimen in the world of tabletop gaming: A two-player card game! Originally created by Emma as a Valentine's Day present for her game-designer boyfriend, Heartcatchers is an adorable game of deception and secrets which is currently in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign to be printed and shipped. Hey, we know a thing or two about Kickstarter ourselves :)BONUS: Boost Or BreakRUNTIME: 38 min

We have an idea for a movie. Drummer, a lady gamer, and a black guy all go to a dance contest. It's called, today's episode of the Heart Piece Podcast. Right? You're welcome. MasterJoe and MasterIce chat it up to talk about the revised theory of separation. Fun fact: It's not six degrees anymore. You're a lot closer to everyone else in the world than you think. Well, in theory at least.MasterJoe ran into the original Mario Bros. world record holder, Steven Kleisath, and got a visit from his old buddy Krysti Pride, who had some interesting news! Grab your Notepads and your TextEdits. It's time to talk about #hplinks! And please, peeps, don't let elderly people use seesaws.BONUS: Senior Seesaw, Circle of Gaming Life, Mario Bros.RUNTIME: 40 min

PUT THAT DOWN LITTLE JOHNNY! (Ahem) You know what's great about the Heart Piece Podcast? You can listen to it even while attending to your kids! After all, the gamers of the 80s are now becoming parents and some of them are having kids of their own. MasterIce knows about the joys struggles of parenthood first hand and shares some perspective on what it's like to make the transition to being a parent first and gamer second. Special appearance by his two kids, plus we share the number one game parents should be playing with their kids, as told by kids.BONUS: Caution: Snow, Boost or Break, Master Niece and NephewRUNTIME: 37 min

David Hayter is out of Metal Gear Solid. Kiefer Sutherland is out of 24. And I could have sworn I left my sandwich on the counter just a minute ago! Who can you trust these days? My brother MasterIce makes his debut as the interim co-host of our podcast, sitting in for MasterWife, as we talk about backstabbers, teamwork, and which one of those concepts Ubisoft's The Division will lean towards when it launches. We've even got some beta codes from the folks at Red Storm to give away. Trust us.   BONUS: Sinbad the Sailor, 8-bit Christmas, #BHPOTW, Grind & BoomRUNTIME: 29 min

So we learned a thing. When your bank sends you a new debit card right before you take a trip, take it with you so you can activate it, pay you podcast hosting services, and continue to be able to upload episodes! Sorry this one is coming so late we'd been in Florida having far too much fun. All is well now.Nevertheless, MasterWife makes her long awaited return to the cast. We talk about a foolproof way to keep your New Years Resolutions, our latest co-op game obsessions, the best sushi in South Florida (oh-em-gee, soo-goh-ee), our despair over a recent change at Chick-Fil-A, and what's coming down the pipe for the podcast in 2016!Also, sorry about the audio. Out of town so we recorded this in a car. BONUS: NYE Party, #TeamHoneyMustard,  RUNTIME: 24 min