Vault: She Won't Rest Until She's In A Video Game, And She's So Close

Summary

The Bert Show: "Vault: She Won't Rest Until She's In A Video Game, And She's So Close"

Date: March 23, 2026
Hosts: Bert, Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy, and the Bert Show Cast
Main Guest/Focus: Melissa and her quest to be featured in a video game

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode of The Bert Show, the team revisits their “superficial goals” for the year, with a special focus on Melissa’s pursuit to voice a character in a video game. The story unfolds as Melissa details her surprising opportunity with an Atlanta-based game studio, High Res Studios, to become a character in their upcoming game, “Global Agenda.” With the full cast chiming in, the episode mixes behind-the-scenes insights, on-air banter, and invitations for listener participation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Revisiting Superficial Goals

(Starting at 01:00)

• The show opens with the cast sharing their superficial (non-serious) personal goals for the year.
  • Bert wants to catch a blue marlin, despite many failed attempts.
    • “Every time I go deep sea fishing, I mean I've probably spent over $1,000 now... and they laugh at me. They point with their little long noses. Not today, buddy.” — Bert (01:11)
  • Jen aims to play a decent round of golf, tapping into her childhood muscle memory.
  • Wendy desires to have a personal connection to an NFL player and snag a ticket to the season opener, even joking about accepting distant relations.
  • Jeff aspires to appear on a game show.
  • Melissa sets her sights on voicing a character in a cartoon or video game, celebrating her love of “geek” culture.

2. Melissa’s Game-Changing Opportunity

(04:27 – 10:57)

• Melissa reveals her dream came closer to reality when High Res Studios, creators of “Global Agenda,” invited her to tour their Alpharetta studio and offered her a role as a “shopkeeper” character in their much-anticipated game.
  • “They are Bert Show listeners. And they actually almost immediately offered and came in studio, actually, and offered me the chance to voice a character in this game, Global Agenda.” — Melissa (04:53)
• Discussion on the making of modern video games:
  • The cast expresses amazement at how much effort and time go into game development, with teams dedicated to programming, digital art, and in-game cinematic sequences.
  • “Even the smallest detail, like the shadows that follow the characters, have to be perfect, you know?” — Bert (06:02)
• The team jokes about how far technology has come and riff on the immersive process of motion capture used at the studio.
  • “So this is the room where you go in and you put the suit on and... the little golf ball things are actually little sensors... So in the game, your character moves exactly like you do.” — Melissa (07:40)

3. Interactive Video Game Roles & Listener Suggestions

(08:52 – 11:19)

• Melissa’s in-game shopkeeper will not be a warrior but a key NPC (non-player character) that players interact with to buy items.
  • She’s open to listener ideas for special “trigger codes” that could make her character perform fun or silly actions.
    • Examples from the cast: dancing, handstands, or eyebrow tricks.
  • “Their assignment for me was to figure out what things I wanted to do with these codes. Like, you know, what crazy things would I allow my character to do that somebody playing the game could actually make me do?” — Melissa (09:44)
  • “I'm happy to take suggestions on what you think my character should do because I have opened myself up and I told them that I will incorporate suggestions from listeners in this game.” — Melissa (10:38)
• She provides her email (melissa100atlanta.com) for fans to send in their ideas.

4. Reflections & Behind-the-Scenes Insights

(Throughout)

• The show gives listeners a rare behind-the-scenes peek into the melding of entertainment media (radio) and the gaming industry.
• The cast’s comic banter keeps the topic light and engaging, with multiple jokes about roles, motion capture technology, and the unusual fun of being immortalized in digital form.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bert:
  “Every time I go deep sea fishing, I mean I've probably spent over $1,000 now... and they laugh at me. They point with their little long noses. Not today, buddy.” (01:11)

• Melissa:
  “They are Bert Show listeners. And they actually almost immediately offered... me the chance to voice a character in this game, Global Agenda.” (04:53)
  “So in the game, your character moves exactly like you do. Or they have to base every character on an actual person. Because if you play a game now, it's pretty realistic.” (07:40)
  “Their assignment for me was to figure out what things I wanted to do with these codes... what crazy things would I allow my character to do that somebody playing the game could actually make me do?” (09:44)

• Bert (on video game detail):
  “Even the smallest detail, like the shadows that follow the characters, have to be perfect, you know?” (06:02)

• The Cast

  • Joking about Melissa’s character being able to perform unusual actions suggested by listeners.

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:00 – Superficial goals of the cast
• 04:27 – Melissa introduces her video game voice acting goal
• 04:53 – How High Res Studios offered Melissa the opportunity
• 06:02 – Discussion of game development detail and realism
• 07:19 – Behind-the-scenes: motion capture explained
• 08:52 – Melissa’s shopkeeper character and listener involvement
• 10:38 – Melissa invites listeners to submit ideas for her character

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Tone & Style

The show’s tone is casual, playful, and accessible — filled with self-deprecating humor and banter between friends. The cast is welcoming, enthusiastic, and invites their listeners to become part of Melissa’s quirky quest.

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Summary

This episode showcases the fun and fellowship of The Bert Show team, as personal ambitions take center stage. Melissa’s ongoing journey to bridge her love of gaming with her radio career resonates as a story of curiosity, serendipity, and geeky joy — all with the support of an engaged and participatory audience. The behind-the-scenes world of video game development is illuminated, inviting listeners to help make radio and gaming history together.

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For those wanting to join in:
You can submit your ideas for Melissa’s in-game actions by emailing her at melissa100atlanta.com.

Transcript

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[B]

Hey, the bird. So we all made superficial goals for 2009. Things that, you know, not deep seated goals.

[D]

Right?

[B]

Emotional goals, you know, something superficial that we could all try to. Try to get done this year. Mine was try to. I gotta catch a blue marlin this year. I mean, for years I've been hunting this thing down and every time I go deep sea fishing, I mean I've probably spent over $1,000 now deep sea fishing. And they look up into the boat and they laugh at me. They point with their little long noses. Ah, not today, buddy. Not gonna happen for you.

[E]

And Jeff, when did you catch your first marlin?

[B]

Well, you weren't even walking yet, right?

[F]

Yeah, it wasn't. It wasn't really me, but it was my. I mean it technically was my pole. Not the one who pulled it into the boat, but the one who got it with my pole.

[B]

Yeah. And I. It was. And it's happened more than once for you?

[F]

No, it only happened once. But I'm. When I was just. Because the way you, when you go deep sea fishing, it's such a. Like, it shouldn't really be called deep sea fishing because the crew does everything. Yeah, you get.

[B]

You get on the boat and then

[F]

they tell you, they ask you where you want to sit and you sit down. So I just sat next to whoever was. I was with you know, like my dad or whatever chose that seat totally randomly and they cast the pole out and they put in the whole thing. And then basically your whole job is to. When the reel starts to go, you tell someone and then they pull it out and they strap you in and this whole big thing. But if you're like 12 years old, then somebody else does it. Sorry about that.

[B]

He was 12 when he got his done. And I'm telling you, I'm not six, seven, eight times now. Maybe I've gone deep sea fishing. Mexico, Greece, you know, Florida. Nowhere. They're all flipping me off. So it's gonna happen this year, though. And Jen, what was your superficial goal?

[D]

My superficial goal was to play a decent 18 holes of golf this year. I used to play as a kid. I played as a teenager in like father daughter tournaments with my dad and stuff like that. Actually played as a kid all the way through being a teenager and then was a typical teenager and didn't want to do anything my parents wanted me to do. So I stopped playing golf. But I feel like I have a natural swing, and it's kind of one of those things that you have muscle memory.

[B]

Why do you think you have a natural swing?

[D]

Because I learned it younger, you know what I'm saying? So it's not an awkward thing for me.

[B]

I see.

[D]

You know what I'm saying? To swing a golf club feels natural. Does that make sense? Like, I don't know if I'm all. I would be all that good at it as an adult, but I think I have some muscle memory on it. So I would like to. I'd like to pick that back up again.

[B]

And when you say play a decent round of golf, is that like under 100?

[D]

I guess so. I don't really know. I mean, but just to be able to get out there and play again. And now that it's getting a little bit nicer outside, I can start working on that goal.

[E]

Wendy, Mine is super superficial. Mine is actually. Yeah, mine's actually today an NFL player by the time next season starts and be in the stands when the whole football season gets underway. And right now it's my. It might not work out. So I'm going for brothers, cousins, nephew, nephews, relationships.

[G]

It's only February. You got time. It's only February.

[E]

That's true. The draft. If I don't have somebody by the draft, then I'm screwed.

[B]

If you have a third cousin that is in the CFL or playing in that World Football League or what, Absolutely.

[G]

I'll take it There's a new league coming in. Oh, yeah, the new league.

[E]

I can do European football. Just come on.

[F]

She don't care. She'll do rugby at this point, if you're on a recreational rugby league that meets every other Saturday at Piedmont Park,

[G]

I'll do slow pitch.

[B]

If you're playing with a ball that roughly looks like a football, anything.

[D]

Right.

[B]

That hasn't happened yet. And Jeff, yours this year I want

[F]

to get on a game show.

[G]

Oh, yeah, that's right.

[F]

On a big slum dog.

[G]

Slum dog, yeah. And Melissa, mine was to voice either in a cartoon or a game because I said I'm the resident geek on the show and I love all that stuff. And I thought, well, if I'm in radio, why can't I figure out a way to get my voice on one of those things? So that was my superficial goal for this year, is to get into either, like I said, a cartoon or a game.

[B]

I was the only one getting closer.

[F]

If you pay attention to Melissa, she makes a lot of sound effects during the show.

[G]

That's right. As the older I get. But yeah. No. And soon after we talked about this earlier in the year, I did not realize that here in Atlanta, actually in Alpharetta, there is a studio that is creating a game, has been spending four years on this game called Global Agenda. And it's High Res Studios in Alpharetta. And so they are Burt show listeners. And they actually almost immediately offered and came in studio, actually, and offered me the chance to voice a character in this game, Global Agenda.

[B]

Now, the first thing you said there, I was surprised that it took this long to do a game. Four years, you said. They've been working on it.

[G]

Four years. If you ever play a video game, this is an online with all those initials mmo. They're going to kill me because I

[B]

don't have the initials.

[F]

Multiplayer.

[G]

Yes. So it's starting out online. And if you ever see any of these games and actually read the credits of a game, you will see, I mean, all these names that pop up because it takes that long for all the games are so intense. And so there's so much work that goes into it because you don't think about when you're playing it, all the scenery, all the movements that the characters do, all the options there are for

[D]

what, you know, if you do this, then comes this. Exactly.

[B]

Even the smallest detail, like the shadows that follow the characters have to be perfect, you know?

[G]

Exactly.

[F]

I just thought there were video cameras in the land of gnomes and you were the gnomes were controlled by telepathic signals that came when you played things on your keyboard.

[G]

That's the same story you were telling when you were drunk Saturday Night, Joe. You know that, right?

[D]

No.

[G]

Anyway, so I actually had a chance to visit hi Res Studios. They invited me to their Alpharetta offices and had me come in and take a tour. And so I went into hi Res and got to see all the guys that design. So there's like three different departments where you have the programmers that are putting the code in. Then you've got some art guys that are actually kind of molding these suits and you know that the characters wear and kind of creating what they do. Then you have another kind of art area where if you ever play a video game, when you're going in between levels, there's almost like these little mini movies that play. And so there's actually a different department of people who actually are technically making little mini mov so that they go into this game. And one of the places they sent me into was this huge room that's, you know, it's just this big empty room, but there's a grid on the floor and then there's almost like little cameras on all the corners of the room. And then there's a green screen and

[B]

so large cameras or like little itty bitty little cameras. Okay, like webcam type. Deal.

[G]

Yeah, little cameras.

[F]

And this is the first time you've been in an empty room filled with webcams. Right, Carter, we believe you.

[G]

This was a new one in theirs I have not been in. So anyway, so this is the room where, if you've ever watched any special effects movie or any, you know, behind the scenes of the people that have the suits on with the little golf

[D]

ball looking things on.

[G]

So this is the room where you go in and you put the suit on and you have. And the little golf ball things are actually little sensors. And so those cameras are picking up only those sensors, nothing else. And so that's why you have to wear a black suit and is so that they can record your movement. So in the game, your character moves exactly like you do. Or they have to base every character on an actual person. Because if you play a game now, it's pretty realistic. And so it's based on actual people. So their staff are the ones that they have based all the movements of all these characters on, you know, by them putting the suit on and just moving around in the studio. So the first meeting, that initial meeting was so that I could get a tour. So That I could talk to them about the different characters. Their idea for me is in this game, a lot of games when you play, then you upgrade to buy things when you get certain points. Well, they have an actual area, an alleyway, where it's almost these stores where you go in and you talk to someone and purchase items in the store. And so I would be one of the shopkeepers. So in order to utilize my voice more and to have more personality into it, instead of a warrior, I'm actually going to be the person you have to come either buy a new vest from or a new weapon from or they haven't really. They haven't made a decision.

[F]

Give us a line. So, Berta, vest.

[G]

So anyway, so that. So we have to determine. Because we haven't determined that yet. And I'm not gonna audition for you now. So anyway, so there. So we have to determine that on what I'm gonna sell. But one of the things that they

[F]

said, I would like a vest, please.

[G]

One of the things that. That is also in video games that I wasn't aware of, that if you know a certain code, you can make a character do certain things. And they have codes in there of, like, if you want to see them dance, if you want to see them do a handstand, if you want to see them do whatever. Well, the beauty of high res and them being they're the creators of this global agenda. They can do whatever they want. And so their assignment.

[B]

You better be real nice to those people.

[G]

So their assignment for me, it was to. Because I go actually do the voiceover work and do the suit work in March. So they're. They're.

[F]

Would you like to see my sword?

[G]

So their assignment for me was to figure out what things I wanted to do with these codes. Like, you know, what crazy things would I allow my character to do that somebody playing the game could actually make me do?

[B]

So what can we make you do? Well, you don't know yet.

[G]

I don't know yet. I mean, that's. I'm certainly open to listeners.

[D]

What if you did like a.

[F]

Can you do a standing back?

[E]

I can do your eyebrows.

[B]

Yeah. This morning. Can you lick your own eye?

[G]

They'd have to put one of those sensors on my tongue. And I'm not gonna tell you what I can do.

[D]

What about the Ralph Macchio Karate Kid kit? Could do that.

[G]

Anything. I can do anything.

[B]

So you can suggest to them. Anything at all?

[G]

Anything at all.

[B]

Okay. Can I have their email address? Cause I would like to. I've got a Couple of suggestions and I don't think that you'll. Okay, but I think we'll enhance the video experience. So you're not gonna be a character that will die or kill people?

[G]

No, but I will be a character that you talk to. So any character can come in there and talk to me. And so yeah, I'm happy to take melissa100atlanta.com I'm happy to take suggestions on what you think my character should do because I have opened myself up and I told them that I will incorporate suggestions from listeners in this game.

[F]

Please say may I have a handful of nuts.

[D]

Do you know what the name of your character is going to be?

[G]

I do not. I do not know yet. But anybody who is a gamer, I think the next PC Gamer magazine actually has a two page article about Global Agenda. So they are launching. Launching. I believe they're scheduled to launch at the end of this year. So we came at the right time where they've been working on it for four years but they're getting ready to to release the game.

[B]

So Melissa is asking what would you like to see her do in this video game? And you can email her. I would suggest you carbon copy all of us. Hey, the birch show.

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