I love the podcast! I listen to every episode every Wednesday! I've known Dipstick since '05 and met him IRL last year. He's a cool dude.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoy the podcast. Melty Breadcast, to me, represents a podcast produced by a minority. Sure, there aren't a lot of fighting game related podcast out there to begin with, but this is the only one centered on a less traditional 2D fighter. Maybe down the road when Melty Blood dies out and new franchises from French Bread or whatever become the new ish, the Breadcast will lose some relevance, but that's what relaunches are for. "Relaunch" being a term in the sense of perhaps reinventing the Breadcast with a new, more relevant focus.
But until that happens, the Breadcast is still highly relevant and gives a strong voice to the more underrepresented fighting game player. I can understand if you guys are getting weary. Releasing these on a regular weekly basis is not easy, and I hold you guys in high regard for being able to do so thus far. I don't know from experience but I can certainly empathize. But if you want to continue the Breadcast (and I hope you do), I have some comments and suggestions.
Character SpotlightMBAA has a lot of characters. A lot of characters times three. Try picking one character out of the cast each week and do some analysis. Which moon style is most commonly used? What kind of play style is predominant with this character? Where does this character fall within the tiers? Who are some noted skilled players of this character? What makes this character unique from the rest of the cast? What are the strengths of this character? What are the weaknesses of this character? What are some viable ways to approach the match against this character; perhaps give some specific examples of how you guys approach the match with your own character (spacing, baiting, etc.). What is the key goal to pursue when winning against this character? For example, against Nero, most would agree the most important key to playing against him is patience during the neutral game (I don't really know, I'm just BS'ing). Discussing all these aspects and possibly more can fill in 10 minutes.
Mechanic SpotlightFor as many characters in the game, there are just as many system mechanics in MBAA. Pick one system mechanic and talk about its uses. Maybe there's a mechanic you don't see being used often enough in American play that you want to rant on about regarding is usefulness. Perhaps there's a mechanic that you see too many players misusing. Try and talk about it at length to discuss how it should be used properly. This will give you maybe 2-5 minutes worth.
Poverty SpotlightAs I've noted, the Breadcast covers Melty Blood. MB is a small, non-traditional fighting game. As such, the Breadcast, in my eyes at least, represents those lesser known games that no other fighting game podcast even alludes to. Try picking one poverty game and have an expert of that game come on the show and discuss it. What is it? When was it released? How does one obtain it? How does it play? How many buttons are there? What aspect(s) about the game makes it unique? What aspect(s) of the game does it borrow from others? How does it compare to Melty Blood? How does it compare to more traditional fighting games? How many characters are in it? What do the tiers look like? What character does the "expert" play? How does that character play? What other quirks of the game might possibly appeal to anyone who might want to play around with it (does it have lolis?)? Doing a feature like this would probably take up a large amount of time and could possibly even fill an entire episode. If that happens, maybe use this feature biweekly/monthly/etc.
Interview Sp00kyWith the advent of SF4 and live online streaming, Sp00ky has become an instantly recognizable figure in the greater fighting game community seemingly overnight. Thus, with that overwhelming exposure, most of the people nowadays who know of Sp00ky may not know of him being a rather prominent figure in the Melty Blood community. Ask him some of the questions you've asked the other players you interviewed. History, favorite opponent, putting people on blast, etc. etc. Since he's become more involved in the SF4 scene, try picking his brain about how Melty Blood fits into the larger equation of fighting games today. What does he think of the current state and the future of Melty Blood? Of other anime style fighting games? Does he still find time to play MB? He runs a live stream and commentates matches often. Because of that, I'm sure he's trained himself to always have something to say. Just shooting the shit with him and recording it can yield an interesting interview.
Interview a West Coast PlayerRun some of the same structured questions you've posed past interviewees. Ask them about their scenes. Talk about the character they use. Maybe expand upon the Character Spotlight by getting their thoughts. Personally, I think
Xenozip is quite an insightful and articulate player. He's been around for a long time and is also good at the game. Try also
Xie.
Again, I do hope you guys decide to continue doing the podcast. It gives me something to listen to in the car when the other podcasts are finished.