Journey Zone’s new season pairs McElroys with Saturday morning cartoons

Ten years in the past this month, when The Journey Zone began as a one-off precise play experiment on the My Brother, My Brother and Me podcast, two of its 4 hosts labored right here, at Polygon. Actually, Justin and Griffin McElroy helped co-found this place, after we labored collectively at one other online game web site (RIP Joystiq) way back to 2007. I point out this, within the curiosity of disclosure, as a result of I’m not neutral in terms of all issues McElroy.

It’s been 10 years for the reason that present started and quickly grew throughout many seasons and lots of of episodes, throughout a bestselling graphic novel collection and numerous stay reveals. I can measure my life alongside its evolutions.

Once I listened to the primary episode of The Journey Zone — this could be the introductory Steadiness arc, up and working by itself podcast feed later in 2014 — I did so whereas constructing some basement cabinets, partially to carry some child stuff overflow for a 9-month-old upstairs. The newest episode I listened to was the pilot episode for TAZ’s new season, Abnimals (not a typo), throughout a current household drive to the seashore, with a now 10-year-old listening alongside. The theme tune remains to be caught in his head (extra on this later).

“Think about a world during which the entire anthropomorphic animal hero reveals of the ’90s and early 2000s existed on the identical time,” explains this season’s Dungeon Grasp, Travis McElroy (or “zookeeper,” because the workforce floated in an early episode shared with me). “And inside that world there have been three workforce members who had been faraway from their former groups for varied causes now attempting to kind their very own type of ragtag group attempting to exist on this world of heroic teenagers. And this time no swears.”

These three workforce members embrace Roger Mooer, a Charolais cow — effectively, technically a bull — with a knack for spy stuff and a present for ballroom dancing, as performed by Clint McElroy, their dad; Navy Seal, an aquatic coMMAndo who can be a beefy anthropomorphic Ross seal and isn’t and has by no means been, it have to be famous, a member of the armed forces, as performed by Griffin McElroy; and Axe-O-Lyle, an excessive firefighting axolotl who can regrow his limbs… however it’s type of embarrassing, as performed by Justin McElroy.

Why the shift to a family-friendly format? “What kind of modified my thoughts on it was seeing how significant it was to me to search out respectable stuff that I like listening to with my children,” Justin says. “We’ve a number of podcasts that they’re obsessive about and it’s good to search out ones that I’m into too. So making one thing that might serve that function I really feel was additionally type of a public good, or at the least serving our viewers effectively.”

“Lately, as I’ve been doing meet-and-greets and we’ve been doing conventions and stuff, there’s simply much more children coming by way of,” Travis agrees. “Twelve-year-olds with their graphic novels to be signed, and much more individuals talked about their children being into The Journey Zone.”

Exterior of an absence of swearing, I requested how they’re selecting to adapt their improvisational storytelling for youthful listeners. Ought to we count on one thing akin to a G ranking?

“I don’t know, no one mentioned G-rated, Chris,” Travis says. “PG-13, perhaps…”

“I like TV-Y,” provides Griffin.

Travis continues, “I’ve gone again by way of and watched lots of the supply materials cartoons and interested by it in that framework of what these setups are, what they’re doing and what the stakes are, as a result of, for instance, with the unique 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, they made the Foot Clan robots. So we are able to simply kick him within the face all day. It’s robots, man! Don’t even fear about it.”

The pilot episode I listened to had henchmen who had been knocked out, however by no means killed; environmental assaults as an alternative of weapon-based assaults; a Huge Unhealthy doing a heist (grasping!); and a few longer story arc thriller with a shock cliffhanger ending. All of the whereas, the play system Travis designed for the collection — which rests on rolling two to a few d8 cube — gives loads of room for the flexibleness and improv that has outlined the present’s final decade whereas additionally emphasizing momentum.

“I’m attempting to maintain motion and momentum in my head,” explains Justin. “After we had been doing earlier seasons, the comedy was virtually at all times the purpose. And so if one thing’s humorous however not essentially propulsive, we’ll type of sit in it and fiddle with it till it stops being humorous after which transfer alongside. However I’ve been cautious in my head considering this isn’t going to be attention-grabbing for those who’re youthful; you simply need one thing to occur. Let’s make one thing occur. And if one thing hasn’t occurred shortly, I’ll make one thing else occur.”

For the tabletop role-playing curious kiddo in your home, this will assist whet their urge for food for their very own seat on the desk, however it gained’t give them a framework to host their very own adventures.

“Once I made up the principles system, I needed one thing that isn’t chunky, isn’t difficult in order that we don’t have to spend so much of time explaining or including up varied die. I needed it to be like, You roll, good, go. In order that we might focus extra on shifting the story ahead and doing the motion,” Travis explains. “There are some great variations of precise play stuff that you simply watch or hearken to and discover ways to play the sport. I imply, it’s great, however that’s not what I pictured this season to be and so I didn’t need it to be faculty. I didn’t need it to really feel like faculty.”

What does come by way of in Abnimals is a give attention to household, Clint McElroy — in a becoming position for the patriarch of the household — says. “One factor that runs by way of all the pieces we do in TAZ that can be relevant right here, and this was a continuing in [Teenage Mutant Ninja] Turtles and lots of these different reveals, was household. I don’t suppose there’s any manner we might do one thing that didn’t have one thing to do with household, whether or not it’s discovered household or precise household coming collectively. We’re going to discover that in Abnimals as effectively.”

Now you can hear (with or with out your loved ones) to the preliminary “setup” episode of The Journey Zone: Abnimals , conveniently embedded on the prime of this put up. However I’ll additionally encourage you to indulge within the season’s theme tune, with music by Eric Close to, lyrics by Close to, Justin McElroy, and the web’s Jonathan Coulton, and carried out by Coulton.

Regardless of what you’ve gotten heard
We’re on the top of our powers
Atop the tallest of towers we stand
(They’ll by no means cease us now)

So take my hand for those who belief
That we’ll do what we should
Till it’s turning out identical to we deliberate
(We’ll discover a manner in some way)

Yeah the street is lengthy
However our mojo’s robust
And until I’m fallacious (and I’m not)
We’re on the top of our powers

Replace: Added an embed for the primary episode to the put up, and up to date some language to mirror that the season is now stay.