It's Time for GOtcha... Podcast

All right, this has been kind of hinted over some of the posts from the past couple of weeks, but it's something that I'm somewhat pleased to finally get off my mind and out in the open. A year ago, I threw out the conjecture that I may be willing to create a podcast, given enough time to say what I want to say and do what I need to do to get that going. And while that hasn't happened by the virtue of my own efforts, it has happened thanks to a collaboration with a really good friend. I now present... GOtcha Podcast, a podcast about Pokémon Go and a little about Pokémon in general. The podcast is under my friend's name, but I have a stake in it regardless, enough that I can call it "mine".

With that in mind, I want to formally introduce my friend, partner, and host for this podcast. His name is Handoyo Saputra, and he's actually not a stranger to this blog. He's the "Techno Captain" that I addressed also about a year ago: he manages said web site in addition to what he does day in and day out. He's also a darn good Pokémon Go player, even competitively; he's the little-known first Ace (yes, the SLA rank) in our country that I referred to in an earlier post, and though he's been on a recent downturn, he's knowledgeable enough that I still consider him a good reference. We have maintained our presence in the past few SLA tournaments by our raid group, including one where we ended up battling each other. We consider his PvP prowess and my Pokémon involvement to be a good match for this podcast.

The idea for this podcast came about a few weeks ago. Handoyo pitched the idea to me and I immediately agreed. The next week, we started recording the first episode, and this was hinted by my post on social values of Pokémon Go, as we recorded that very day. Episode 1 was quickly wrapped up, edited, and uploaded, and we were off to a great start. The next week, we worked on Episode 2 and even had a great time; that's when Twilight Wings came up in the discussion. It was also then that further issues of copyrights came up, which I duly noted in my discussion of Let's Play videos. We had already planned Episode 3 to be made, but other things came up and we've had to shelve it. But I'm sure that the time will be right soon and we can get working on it.

In our initial planning and episode, we set out to include three segments of different content, and we did. The first is updates on events, happenings, new features, and so on and so forth in Pokémon Go. The second is trivia on a featured Pokémon or perhaps a family of them if relevant. The third is what we call "PvP Corner", as special discussions on the hot-and-happening PvP scene. All these segments will continue to be part of the podcast as things go on. In the second episode, we started off with an introductory segment, though this could easily be repurposed - more on this shortly. We also added a new segment at the end called "Weekly Challenge" where we set goals on things for us to achieve, similar to in-game International Challenges that crop up during special times, but more specific for us, and we would compare progressions each week. Since Episode 3 hasn't been made, we may be considered to have "extra time" to complete them. Apart from that, we seem to have a good thing going.

As can be surmised, this was intended to be a weekly podcast. But with Episode 3 being delayed, it seems that we might try to make this whenever the week permits us to make it; I suppose this is a personal hope of mine (and maybe his as well). Special editions are perhaps not out of the question as well if and when something big in Pokémon Go comes up - and current situations die down - and we can be there for it, cover it, the whole nine yards. In a later edition, we might also try to invite a few special guests to be interviewed, using that variable segment; perhaps they could be top local players, other fans, top national players, and so on. We might also look into other means of recording if that can be the case, especially once we ultimately desire for this to be available on YouTube as well. Right now we're only doing voice, but visuals will surely become important for a YouTube edition. As with any social initiative, we're also open to user input to make things a whole lot better.

I've been part of podcasts before as guests (see above), but this is the first time I'm in the "co-host" position, and I have to say I enjoy it. Handoyo and I have our regular outlets for informing the masses through writing, mine being this blog and his being the news portal, but this podcast is certainly another thing. It represents our combined efforts to bring out something engaging for the Pokémon game we have in common, being Pokémon Go. We have our perspectives - being that I'm a longtime Pokémon player and he has a way with PvP - and that makes this podcast unique, perhaps enough to appeal to those who don't play Pokémon Go. We really enjoy playing Pokémon Go as something that exists within the breadth of things that are Pokémon, and if our experiences playing the game and making this podcast are of any indication, we can take that enjoyment to Pokémon in general, and bring along listeners for the ride.

The podcast can be heard through the following services:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6L9926mTSbAekglsFrQ4V4

Anchor: https://anchor.fm/gotcha-podcast

While the podcast is in Indonesian, I've been cleared, in a way, to provide an English translation for the episodes, which will be on this blog... eventually. That will take time, of course.

For now, I hope you enjoy. Let's keep going, and see you next time!

One year ago: The Appeal of the TCG

Two years ago: A Pokémon Watch

Three years ago: Three's Demise