Easy Allies Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Easy Allies Wiki

Frame Trap was a bi-weekly Easy Allies podcast where host Brad Ellis and co-host Michael Damiani alongside a rotating Ally and Don Casanova in the Control Room, would discuss more in depth about what they've been playing and tackle a variety of topics related to video games and other media.

Frame Trap Episode 200 was the series finale as Brad announced he was leaving Easy Allies in December 2023 for another opportunity. Going forward, in-depth gaming discussions will continue to live on in the Easy Allies Podcast.

History[]

Easy Allies announced on April 6, 2016 they were producing a second podcast in addition to the Easy Allies Podcast and asked for user-submitted questions for the first episode. Frame Trap premiered a few days later on April 11, 2016.

On February 4, 2019, Frame Trap premiered a new logo, graphics, and presentation for the podcast in the first episode filmed in the studio.[1]

Easy Allies started a new sub-series titled Frame Trap EX on August 5, 2020. These shorter episodes feature highlighted discussions clipped from full episodes of the Frame Trap podcast. However, these clipped segments were later discontinued with the final episode releasing on November 25, 2020.

On September 17, 2020, Easy Allies announced[2] that as part of their partnership with Roost, some of their series were launching on RoosterTeeth.com. Starting October 21, recent episodes of Frame Trap, the Easy Allies Podcast, Box Peek, Achieve It Yourself!, and Mysterious Monsters would be featured on the site. These shows were selected to serve as an introduction to Easy Allies and for the overall fit with Rooster Teeth's audiences. New episodes will still be posted around the same schedule on the Easy Allies YouTube channel and podcast feeds.

On March 12, 2021, Easy Allies announced a schedule change for Frame Trap and Friend Code. Moving forward, both shows were changed to release for early access on Mondays and and go public on Wednesdays on opposite weeks. This update was made to spread them out from each other as well as the Easy Allies Podcast and other shows.

Easy Allies officially returned to The Studio as a group on June 10, 2021.[3] The date coincided with all of the Allies being fully vaccinated and COVID-cleared as well as the first day of E3. Frame Trap - Episode 135 "E3 2021 Noodles and Broth" was the first episode to mark their return to The Studio and was also streamed live during their E3 coverage.

On June 21, 2022, Ben announced he was leaving Easy Allies on July 1 due to his wife getting a new job back in his home state of Iowa. He cited that he and his wife were wanting to advance to the next stage of their lives and how they wanted to spend more quality time with loved ones. It was also announced that Frame Trap would continue with Bradley Ellis as the new host and Damiani as co-host. Frame Trap - Episode 161 "Cowabunga!" was Ben's final episode as host of Frame Trap.[1]

Brad's first official episode as host of Frame Trap was Episode 162 - "A Monstrous Course." One of the first changes Brad made as host was to shift community-submitted questions from email to Patreon similar to the rest of the EZA shows and podcasts. The first episode hosted by Brad premiered in early access for Patrons on July 6, 2022. In the next episode, Frame Trap officially welcomed Don as a permanent addition to the podcast in the Control Room.

Frame Trap Episode 200 was the series finale as Brad announced he was leaving Easy Allies in December 2023 for another opportunity. Gaming discussions will continue to live on in the Easy Allies Podcast.

Format[]

Current Segments[]

  • Opening: General non-gaming discussion to start the podcast.
  • Discussion: Gaming and non-gaming discussion on what everyone has been playing or watching.
  • Sort It Out!: The panel and Patrons airs out their grievances on what annoys them about video games.
  • Keep It Up!: The panel and Patrons give commendations on things in the video game industry.
  • Questions: User-submitted questions and discussion points. Formerly known as Emails.

Past and Recurrent Segments[]

  • Caught in a Frame Trap: After saying a trigger word or phrase, the panelists have to play a game in order to fend off the demons of the Frame Trap realm. They then have to perform an act to escape.
  • Noodles and Broth: An annual E3 segment in which each panelist has to present two games they were most impressed with at E3. The noodles are a big name title and the broth is a lesser-known game.
  • Face-Off: Two franchises are pitted against each other and the panelists have to say which is better.
  • BESTAKE: Awarded to the panelist with a standout opinion in the first half of the podcast in which they have to try to maintain an opinion combo.
  • ONE SENTENCE: A panelist has ten words to say one sentence to an executive of a video game company.
  • SHOUT-OUT!: One of the panelists is given an opportunity to give a shout-out to a non-video game related thing and explain why they're shouting it out.
  • PSA!: A negative shout-out where one of the panelists is chosen to call something out on any topic of their choice.
  • HOTTAKE!: A big central video game topic the panel discusses in depth.

Special Guests[]

Below are the special guests that have been featured on Frame Trap to date:

Date Guest Episode
Jan 23, 2017 Ryan Stevens
  • Former Managing Editor, GameTrailers
  • Video Producer, Fanbyte
Episode 21: "A Rush of Games"
Apr 29, 2019 Maximilian Dood
  • Fighting Game Content Creator
Episode 80: "Heart Kollector"
Mar 30, 2020 Mitchell Saltzman
  • Editorial Producer, IGN
Episode 103: "Back From The Dead"
Jun 9, 2021 Mitchell Saltzman
  • Editorial Producer, IGN
Episode 134: "Striving"
Mar 16, 2022 Mitchell Saltzman
  • Editorial Producer, IGN
Episode 154: "Triangle Triumph"
Jul 21, 2022 Brandon Jones
  • The Golden Voice
Episode 163: "Cats and Rabbids"
Mar 16, 2023 Brandon Jones
  • The Golden Voice
Episode 180: "The Jones Zone!"
Apr 13, 2023 Kyle Bosman
  • The Dark Prince of Nerd Media
Episode 182: "Bosman Check In"

Credits[]

Graphics

  • Concept & Design: Joe Ellis (@Joe_David_Ellis)
  • Animation & Motion Graphics: Chris Leroux

Music

References[]


Easy Allies Podcasts
Recurrent Podcasts Easy Allies PodcastFrame TrapFriend CodeReaction ShotsFiasconauts
Past Podcasts Zelda TalkEZAnimeTabletop EscapadesIt's EZ to Like Anime
Advertisement