Meet the Gaming Outsider
Our Philosophy
The Gaming Outsider is a video game podcast with a focus on its community. Each week, the hosts discuss industry news, the games they’ve been playing, and a community-focused topic around video games. The hosts have dedicated themselves to maintaining a positive, family-friendly persona while also offering a critical, yet fair perspective on video games they play.
The Gaming Outsider podcast crew is helmed by Scott Clark, an obsessive gamer with over ten years of podcast hosting experience. He leads the discussion with Zack Parkerson, an encyclopedia of gaming knowledge; Jacob Gunderson, a long-time gaming enthusiast; and Chris Behrensmeyer, an avid retro video game collector. The crew also welcomes industry guests, contributing reviewers, and even community members to the show.
Listeners of The Gaming Outsider subscribe to the podcast for a number of reasons, but the most important is how they feel like a small part of the show. Each week, The GO posts a weekly topic revolving around video games on social media, asking for responses from the community. Insightful responses are read by the hosts to further the conversation. Additionally, the hosts provide consistent and quality insight about happenings in the video game industry while remaining as objectively positive as possible. The crew also has a variety of preferences when it comes to the video games that they play and review. Most listeners gravitate to one particular host and eventually trust that person’s judgment when it comes to selecting games that they would enjoy playing. Those looking for an entertaining mix of all things video games should not miss any episode of The Gaming Outsider.
“There’s no such thing as a bad game, just games that aren’t for you.”
You can find our episodes wherever you listen to podcasts; this includes Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or even on YouTube, where the show streams live and fans can interact with the cast via chat during recording.
For more information or to request to be a guest on The Gaming Outsider, you can contact Scott Clark at scott@thegamingoutsider.com.
Meet the Crew
Scott L. Clark
Editor-In-Chief
@GOcastScott
The Hollywood Outsider
As a kid, Scott was mesmerized by the ability to manipulate objects on a television screen. His first console was an Atari 2600 in 1983. As he’s grown, he’s learned to appreciate games as an amazing story vehicle that makes a player an active participant in the story instead of a casual observer.
Scott started podcasting in 2009 with his first show called “The Official Thread Podcast.” Although that project was short-lived, he soon after became a regular host on the award-winning “The Hollywood Outsider,” a film and television podcast. Fast forward from 2011 to today, and he’s still podcasting and writing editorials about his favorite hobby.
Moved by the continued support of the community and the many requests to keep the podcast alive, Scott continues with The Gaming Outsider. The GO Community carries a level of respect for others opinions and doesn’t rely on negativity. Most are either close friends or active members of the community, and he enjoys working with every one of them.
When Scott isn’t working on the podcast, he teaches 8th grade at Harlem Middle School, collects NES cartridges and Zelda paraphernalia, and even runs a DJ business called “Class Act DJ’s”.
As of April 2025, Scott’s Xbox Live gamerscore is over 265,000 points!
His top 5 favorite video games of all time are:
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- Pinball FX 2/3
- Portal 2
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Super Metroid
Zack Parkerson
Senior Editor/Podcast Co-Host
@GoCastZack
Smirk!
Starting at a very young age, Zack’s grandpa made him play through every console, starting with the Atari 2600, and their associated greatest hits to “earn” the next one. His grandfather was a smart man, and Zack attributes much of his passion for video games to this experience. According to Zack, they are the best medium for storytelling as the interactivity inherently makes the player more involved.
Zack has extensive experience in podcasting and journalism. He’s written for other sites before The Gaming Outsider to hone his skills. He had a podcast for the hit television show “24,” and was a guest host on both “The Hollywood Outsider” and “Remake This Movie Right!” Formerly, he was a co-host and co-creator of the podcast Smirk, a storytelling and discussion podcast. If you enjoy digging deeper into what’s behind a story or discussions on complex moral issues, there are 100 excellent episodes awaiting you.
When he isn’t sharing his insights on video games, movies, and short stories, Zack is often thinking about the many games he’d like to make or stories he’d like to write. Having been consistently depressed for nearly three decades, he’s thrilled to report he’s finally happy in life and lucky in love. He also deeply loves PlayStation, even if they don’t always make it easy for him.
Zack has been the Senior Editor for The Gaming Outsider for years, and he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
His top 5 favorite video games are:
- Red Dead Redemption II
- Red Dead Redemption
- Nier: Replicant
- Grand Theft Auto IV
- Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Jacob Gunderson
Co-Host
Jacob is not entirely sure when or where all of this started; all he knows is that he has been playing games most of his life. The first console he remembers is the NES, although when he got it, the system was probably almost a decade old. Total Recall wasn’t a movie and Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t an action hero. It was just a game where a guy in a strange green outfit punched people in sewers. His copy of Super Mario Bro. came with Duck Hunt and World Class Track Meet and he played Snow Brothers with his Mom. It never really occurred to him that there were other games or newer games! At some point he got a Sega Genesis and games like Vectorman, BattleToads, and Comix Zone drew him further in and playing games became a new norm.
With the addition of a Nintendo 64 for Christmas and a little bit older. thoughts of “We can buy these?!” started forming. Then he really started to pay attention to the names and actively looking for new games to play. Suddenly there were countless games to play, all of different styles and sizes. Searching for new games to play and seeing what others were playing led to the discovery of the Playstation. Watching someone play Driver Jake saw that the look and feel of these games were different, and a Playstation fan was born. Games like Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, and Ape Escape were the staple of everyday play.
Now Jacob uses his experiences with games and a slight background in computer programming on The Gaming Outsider. He also uses the experiences of his family, who share in his hobby. Not a day goes by that the sound or talk of games isn’t in the air at the Gunderson home. They discuss everything from overall news to specific updates to their favorite games. While it may sound like gibberish to some, it makes perfect sense to them.
Chris Behrensmeyer
Co-Host
@GOcastChrisB
From the moment Chris laid hands on his Atari 2600, he was addicted. As a kid, one of his absolute favorite games was “Space Invaders”, and he could beat anyone who challenged his top score. He is passionate about preserving video game history and sharing his love of all things gaming with the current and future generations.
Chris has been a previous guest host and contributing writer for The Gaming Outsider. He enjoys The GO Community because it is a tight-knit group that loves sharing a mutual love for games (and occasionally other topics).
A true American superhero, Chris works as a Paramedic/Firefighter when he’s not podcasting. He also has two young boys with whom he loves hanging out, and he loves traveling and reading sci-fi, fantasy, and basic physics. Oh, and he doesn’t like chocolate candy.
When asked about his biggest gaming accomplishment he responded with “have you seen my collection?!”
His top 5 favorite video games are:
- Galaga
- Centipede
- Assassin’s Creed 2 (and basically the entire series)
- Fallout 3
- Super Mario Bros. 3
Kevin Honigford
Producer
From childhood, video games were an integral part of Kevin’s life. PC gaming became his first love, when his father handed him a stack of games on 5” floppy disks and told him that if he wanted to play the games, he needed to learn to run them from DOS. On Christmas 1991, the world’s biggest Sonic the Hedgehog fan was born when he opened his Sega Genesis, and the Blue Blur ran wild on his television screen.
When he’s not doing his best to make Scott, Zack, Chris, Alyssa, and Jake sound amazing, Kevin works as a manager and salesman at Jack’s Tire Sales and Service in Madison, Wisconsin. In between those two, he plays games with his sons Logan and Skyler. He has a Sonic the Hedgehog memorabilia collection that he is quite proud of.
His top five favorite video games are:
- Grandia 2
- Sonic 2
- Final Fantasy VII
- Sword of Vermillion
- World of Warcraft (Specifically Wrath of the Lich King)
Alyssa White
Editor
@Lyssarie
Alyssa started her journey into gaming at the tender age of four, due to her uncle. She was captivated by watching him play Tomb Raider on the PS1, and as soon as he handed her the controller her whole life changed. They tackled totally kid-friendly games such as Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, and Dino Crisis afterwards. She credits him with nurturing her love for not only games, but just being a nerd in general.
She has worn many hats. She’s been a freelance writer, content creator, hosted a local TV show at one point, had her poems and short stories published in literary magazines, and wrote award-winning essays.
Alyssa gradually became a full-time member of The Gaming Outsider. She was originally a guest on the podcast. Alyssa adored the crew instantly and jumped at any chance to work with them. This eventually led to her becoming a writer for the site. She now co-hosts the podcast and provides all of the lovely giggles viewers hear during the episode.
When she isn’t gaming, you can catch her indulging in many different areas of geek culture. Alyssa is a massive fan of anime and manga, loves to watch films of all genres, and won’t hesitate to dive headfirst into a novel. She also loves her family and friends more than anything.
Her top 5 favorite games are:
- Mass Effect 2
- Tomb Raider
- Deadly Premonition
- Bioshock
- Pokémon Silver
Marc Szymanski
Senior News Editor
@marcszy
Starting in 1981 with an Atari 400, Marc was instantly hooked on video games. River Raid, Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, Frogger, the list goes on and on. One thing was certain, “Marc, you spend too much time playing video games.” Fast forward to 1986 and his rich cousin was gifted an NES for Christmas. Marc wanted one very badly and knew that his parents weren‘t going to contribute to his mental demise. When he returned home, he signed up for a paper route to support his habits and purchased his very own NES from Service Merchandise!
In 2013, Marc came across a nifty little podcast with a focus on their incredible community. It is called “The Gaming Outsider.” As an adult with children, his video gaming time was reduced. But, as his children grew older, he found himself with some additional free time and a pull towards playing video games again. He needed a podcast to help get back up to current times. In December 2023, Marc‘s love of writing (he was once an English major planning to be a high school teacher) brought him to ask Scott how to become a contributing writer for the website so now you get to look at that ugly, yet professional, mug above.
When Marc is not playing games and writing reviews, he is a Team Leader of Software Engineering for the Rocket Family of Companies.
His top 5 favorite video games of all time are:
- Metal Gear Solid
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Super Mario Sunshine
- Luigi’s Mansion
Sean Coates
News Editor
Despite being born and raised on the coast of Southern California, Sean never developed a liking for seafood. Luckily his tastes in gaming never wavered and he’s been passionately button-mashing ever since.
Although he entered the real world in the mid-80s, Sean didn’t truly enter the gaming world until Christmas of 1990, when he unwrapped his first NES. A veteran of the great Console Wars, he fought proudly on the front lines of his local playground and schoolyard for Team Nintendo. It wouldn’t be until 2000 that he finally picked up his first non-Nintendo system: the Sony PlayStation. In the late 2000s, Sean developed a love for retro gaming, back when it was still a niche and affordable hobby. His crowning retro achievement? Getting the chance to hold the famously one-of-a-kind Sony/Nintendo Play Station prototype!
In 2019, while working as a courier driver and battling Greater Los Angeles traffic, Sean went searching for new gaming podcasts to keep him company on the road. A quick Spotify search led him to The Gaming Outsider and immediately became an avid listener. Little did he know that six months later, he’d get to meet the Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editor during what would turn out to be the very last E3, capping off the day with Korean BBQ. Today, Sean writes reviews and handles gaming news for the site, proving that sometimes, fate has a funny way of leveling you up.
When he’s not writing or gaming, Sean works as a supervisor for a third-party delivery company contracted with Amazon, making sure your packages get where they need to go, ideally in one piece.
His Top Five Favorite Games Are:
- SimCity 3000
- Goldeneye 007
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Wolfenstein: The New Order
Honorable Mention: San Francisco Rush 2049
Paul Hein
News Editor
Paul’s parents, like Nostradamus, were wise enough not to buy him a gaming console. When he asked for a Game Boy in 5th grade, his dad said he didn’t think he could manage his time well with one. Paul’s dad was absolutely right. When his friends introduced him to gaming with the Commodore 64 and Atari 2600, he would spend all his time at their houses playing any games he could get his hands on. From I on the Apple IIc to Last Crusade, Wolfenstein 3D, and eventually the fantastic Wing Commander on his dad’s work 486 (which he would often kick him off so he could work).
One of his proudest “gamer” moments was when he and his friends convinced their high school computer lab supervisor to give them admin rights. They used this access to load Doom on every computer in the lab and played hours of multiplayer after school.
In early 2020, he was introduced to a podcast that focused on the positivity of gaming. He thought, “Those are my people!”. He volunteered at R2V2 when it started back up, helped Scott get his first BG3 run done, and now helps with the news. He’s proud to be the Wisconsin side anchor of the crew; you’ll see him running around R2V2 and giving his two cents on the news here on the site.
When he’s not gaming, he runs a martial arts school, reads a lot, and enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children, who continue to eat into his prime gaming time.
His Top Five Favorite Games Are:
- Wing Commander
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Mass Effect (all of them)
- Cyberpunbk 2077
- Baldur’s Gate 3
Nate Lucas
Site/Art Designer
Facebook: Nathaniel J Lucas
Nate is a freelance graphic designer and hardcore gamer from Rockford, IL who created the legacy art and logos for The Gaming Outsider. Nate also collaborated on the newly refreshed art as well.
Top 5 favorite games (in no particular order)
- Chrono Trigger
- Final Fantasy VI
- Final Fantasy VII
- Dragon Spirit (NES)
- Zombies Ate My Neighbor
New art for 2017 created by Dustin Baker from DustyGrafix. His work can be found at his DeviantArt page.
Intro music for the show created by Grant Henry of Stemage. Check out the band’s Soundcloud page here and the official website here. Check out his awesome work on Metroid Metal below.