FunFactor cover art

FunFactor

FunFactor

By: Ty Schalter & Aidan Moher
Listen for free

About this listen

 Ty Schalter (VICE, FiveThirtyEight) and Aidan Moher (WIRED, Vulture) review what rocked and what sucked about the classic video game magazines that inspired them to become professional journalists, authors, and critics—and what they can tell us about today's digital media and games.

New episodes drop every other Tuesday!Ty Schalter & Aidan Moher Art Literary History & Criticism Politics & Government Science Fiction
Episodes
  • Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy, with set designer Gavin Verhey [S1E9]

    Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy, with set designer Gavin Verhey [S1E9]
    Jul 15 2025
    ISSUE LINK: The Duelist No. 21, January 1997

    ALLISON MCKENZIE'S TERRA PRINT: FFVI - Terra and Mog Print

    It's a bonus BONUS! Ever since the Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy set dropped, our Discord's hottest channel has been #ttrpgs-and-card-games. Aidan and Ty decided that if it's all they could talk about, and all our most engaged listeners could talk about, then heck why not interview Magic: The Gathering design lead Gavin Verhey, who was the design lead for the FF set as well?

    Then Aidan dropped a bomb on us: A contemporary review of Final Fantasy VII in Wizards of the Coast's classic Magic mag, The Duelist!

    We not only had an amazing interview with Gavin, we had a great discussion afterwards reacting to everything he said, and discussing all the fun we've been having playing Magic--and in a sense all our favorite Final Fantasy games--at the same time.

    -----
    Sources include the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections.

    The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 41 mins
  • Nintendo Power 88 - Super Mario 64 [S1E8]

    Nintendo Power 88 - Super Mario 64 [S1E8]
    Jul 1 2025
    ISSUE LINK: Nintendo Power 88, September 1996

    Gamemaster Classified book KS page

    "Fun" & Games Podcast home

    The episode so many of you have been waiting for: Our first look at Nintendo Power!

    And boy, is it ever a big one--the debut of Super Mario 64, the game that would define the Nintendo 64, and the company itself, for the entire console generation (and, arguably, beyond). Packed with tons of incredible original art and exclusive assets, it's also got a very...interesting...review of the game itself.

    What's our review of their review? And, does reviewing what amounts to in-house advertorial content even matter?? Listen to find out!

    -----
    Sources include the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections.

    The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 16 mins
  • ULTRA Review Crew Bonus UNLOCKED - Mollie Patterson of EGM & GameFan [S1B2]

    ULTRA Review Crew Bonus UNLOCKED - Mollie Patterson of EGM & GameFan [S1B2]
    Jun 24 2025
    Mollie Patterson's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mollipen.bsky.social
    Mollie Patterson's homepage: https://mollielpatterson.com/
    The EGM Compendium Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/egmbook/egmcompendium

    UNLOCKED AND FREE FOR ALL LISTENERS: A FunFactor ULTRA Review Crew bonus episode!! We talk with the great Mollie L. Patterson of EGM and GameFan fame about her (very) early years as a 'zine writer, joining the rough-and-tumble world of GameFan, and graduating to layouts and editing at EGM.

    Of course, we also talk about the state of games media, the EGM Compendium project, and how some of the retro stuff we loved has stayed relevant today.

    We thank all of you, so much, for supporting the show. If you dig it, please tell people! We'd love nothing more than to get more cool people in the ULTRA Lounge of our Discord server--and have the support we need to keep doing this show we love.

    -----
    Sources include the Internet Archive, Retromags.com, our original research, and our personal magazine collections.

    The FunFactor theme, and all other original songs, are composed and performed by Millennium Falck. Check out his work at millenniumfalck.com!
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 31 mins

What listeners say about FunFactor

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
No Reviews are Available
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.