Total Playtime: Let's Fix This With Product Placement
Total Playtime is a Patreon-supported podcast about videogames, hosted by Alice Bell, Jon Hicks, Brendan Caldwell and Nate Crowley. Jank has partnered with them and we'll be posting new episodes each week.
I regret to say that we were unable to record a regular news episode this week. Everybody was away or ill or both, with the exception of Brendy who is a new parent and thus is going to be preoccupied, exhausted and/or covered in body excretions for the forseeable future.
To tide our regular listeners (and Jank readers) over, we are resurrecting a former Patreon-exclusive episode: Episode Q, which previously aired in October 2025. In it, Alice and I are once again bedeviled by Games Satan, and compelled to save a series of well-known videogame franchises from oblivion thanks to financial support driven by product placement. The twist is that Nate Games Satan chose the products, which lead to some previously unforseen partnerships between triple-A videogame brands and small-to-mid-size service companies in the West Midlands.
There is no way this sort of analysis would exist without the backing of our Patreon supporters, to whom we extend our gracious thanks. You can join them over on Patreon to unlock another year's worth of this sort of thing. Further thanks to Marsh Davies for the artwork, God Ribbon for the music and Alix Attenborough for the editing. Comments, questions, branding decks and spicy mashed potato recipes are all welcomed at totalplaytimepod@gmail.com; Alix recommends adding blended curry leaf, garlic, chilli flakes and coriander.
We'll be back with a regular Patreon episode, and shared with Jank readers, next week.
Games!
Minecraft, Baldur's Gate 3, Elden Ring, The Witcher 3, Dark Souls, Mass Effect, Yakuza 0, Fallout New Vegas, Team Fortress 2.
Links!
Nate is the Honda City with optional Motocampo and Alice is the Honda Beat.
Recommendations!
The Mitchells Vs The Machines, The Tour De France: A Tale In Hotels, and The Puzzle Wood.
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