Checkpoints

My guest today is Erica Lahaie, a designer, illustrator and concept artist based out of Montreal. I'm a particular fan of the incredible work on Shrouded Isle but all of her art is amazing. Also she has the best URLs. We go deep on our mutual love of the Tony Hawks Pro Skater series, talk about the mythical PS2 modem and her SOCOM 2 adventures, how she got her first break posting in the Giant Bomb forums and why we both think that rhythm action is probably the best video game genre. "Gleam the cube buddy, yeah!" PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Zillion, Crash Team Racing, Tony Hawks Pro Skater Series, SOCOM 2, Amplitude, Rez, Modern Warfare 2, Need for Speed Underground, World of Warcraft, DOTA2, Bloodborne, Mass Effect, Gone Home, Parasite Eve Theme song by Samuel Baker Art work by

My guest today is Clint 'halfcoordinated' Lexa. Clint is a beloved and incredible speed runner and a common highlight of GamesDoneQuick. Despite being born with a condition known as hemiparesis which limits the use of one side of his body, Clint has become a beloved and incredible speedrunner, with his one handed runs of intense action games like Vanquish and Nier being among the highlights of GamesDoneQuick these past few years. His experience in overcoming accessibility issues has also led to him becoming an advocate for better accessibility in games. He is also just the best guy. We talk about how god modes in games meant he was never put off, how he got hooked on the frenzied brilliance of Gunstar Heroes, playing competitive Smash Bros, the thrill of mastering a video game, how he develops his speed run strategies, whether or not you write a script for a marathon, his Matrix like understanding of the AI in Castle Crashers, and why he'll never speed run Mario Odyssey. "I'm not going to say anyone can do

My guest today is Jennifer Scheurle, the game design lead at Opaque Space currently working in collaboration with NASA on the VR game Earthlight. The team recently won studio of the year and game of the year at the Austrailian Game Developer Awards. We talk about how cool it is to work with NASA, her childhood playing games in Germany and why PCs rule, how a particularly harrowing experience with a bear in the original Tomb Raider turned her off games for years, how she might need an intervention to save her from Love Nicky why she moved to Austrailia to make games, and her deep love for Shadow of the Colossus. "You think you're scared now? Wait till your parents get the bill for breaking Daedalus." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Tomb Raider, The Clue, 7 Days to Die, Counter Strike, Shovel Knight, The Secret of Monkey Island, Love Nicky, World of Warcraft, To the Moon, The Beginners Guide, Shadow of the Colosuss, Portal Theme song by Samuel

My guest today is that rarest of unicorns, a video game designer who moonlights as a drag queen. Richard Franke first got into games through his comic book art, and after spending many years working on a variety of titles - most notably the Burnout series - he left to found Magic Notion and create Kitty Powers Matchmaker, whose titular character is based on Richard's own drag queen persona. We talk about his older brother passing on video game wisdom, his fear of 3D Monster Maze, recreating arcade games on the play ground, how he inadvertently created an Animal Crossing community, the design iteration that goes into making the perfect Burnout crash, and the wonderful sight of the designer of a game appearing on a youtube stream of their game as the main character of the game they created. “We all came into this world naked. The rest is all drag.” PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Kitty Powers Matchmaker, Pong, Donkey Kong, 3D Monster Maze, Worms,

My guest today is the velvet owl Will Porter - Former PC Zone editor, freelancer, and the writer of Project Zomboid, Alien Isolation and No Man's Sky.We talk about how the PC Zone vs. PC Gamer rivalry is no joke, whether growing up on a farm puts you off farming sims for life, how it felt to be a Betamax kid in a VHS world, and how working in the bowels of Canary Wharf made him feel like he was living in Half Life.We also hit on Drop 7 addiction, the challenges of working on a game like No Man's Sky, the exotic allure of Flashback, how much we miss middle tier games and the carnal thrills of games like Max Payne, Duke Nukem and Bulletstorm."Damn, those alien bastards are gonna pay for shooting up my ride."PATREON - patreon.com/checkpointsiTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEWGames discussed: Zool, Imogen, Repton, Championship Manager, Half Life, Doom, Duke Nukem, Bulletstorm, Flashback, Drop 7, Elite, Carmageddon, the Fallout series, Deus Ex, Powerstone, Ready to Rumble, Abzu, Goldeneye,  Far Cry,

Hello! So good to be back. My guest on today's episode is the amazing Mike Cook Mike is an AI researcher, the founder of #procjam (this year's even has just started so you should check it out.) and the creator of ANGELINA an AI system that makes video games. As you can imagine, this is a mind blowing and fascinating talk. It honestly completely reshaped the way I think about and understand AI. There's also a ton of great video game stories like the surprise LAN party he had for his 10th birthday, how Command & Conquer cracked open his mind, his mum keeping the secrets of Monkey Island to herself, his 1000s of hours with DOTA 2 and how the AI he created to create games reflects the games he creates himself. "He's smart, nice, liked by all. Why is he targeted for destruction?" PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Zool, Comman & Conquer: Red Alert, DOTA, N++, Final Fantasy 8, Broken Sword, Spelunky, Metal Gear Solid, Desert Golfing, PUBG, Fortn

My guest on today's episode is the Jolie Menzel. Jolie is a game designer and developer who started her career at Telltale games and currently works at Ubisoft as the Narrative Desiger for the upcoming South Park - The Fractured But Whole. We talk arcade games on the Jersey Shore, the pride and shame in Dance Dance Revolution, how her science teacher taught evolution via Pokemon, her love of the Sonic Fandom, and how she maybe got a little too into Minecraft. We also hit on her time in Japan, a side quest into Fashion, why Dave Mirra BMX holds such fond memories, her teenage foray into sprite comics, working on South Park, and how she rage quit out of her very first date. "You can just hang around outside in the sun all day, tossing a ball around, or you can sit at your computer and do something that matters!" PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Ms. Pac Man, Pokemon Stadium, Smash Bros, Galaga, Sonic Adventure, Marvel vs Capcom, Final Fantasy V, Da

My guest on today's episode is the features editor of Eurogamer, co-host of the Eurogamer podcast and one of my favourite writers, Christian Donlan. As anyone familiar with Christian or the Eurogamer podcast will expect, this episode goes off on a lot of tangents, but we always end up back at videogames - some highlights include how Uncharted might just be a magic trick, how great writing can give you that same Aha! moment the best games can, and how failing at Spelunky helped him cope with his MS diagnosis. In a packed show we also hit on the hilarity of Spy vs. Spy, the genius of the original Ghostbusters game, the profound impact of Animal Crossing, how important video game magazines were, his friend Stu who brought him back to games, the potential of AI crafted experiences, and how you should never play Cluedo with him and his sister. "Nice day for the race." "What race is that?" "The human race. Kids growing up, so on. Hope for the future." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIB

My guest on today's episode is Arthur Gies. Arthur is a veteran video game journalist, former reviews editor for Polygon and long time host of Rebel FM. We talk about his recent decision to leave Polygon and go back to grad school to study fine art before digging back through his video game milestones including: early memories of Atari 2600, video game sense memories, the power of sequels, how SEGA broke his heart, how Halo made him fall in love with games again, the impact of Bioshock, the thrill of meeting your heroes, the highs and lows of DOTA 2, and why Falllout is his favourite place to escape to. "We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us. " PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: ET, Q*Bert, Super Mario Bros 2, Goonies 2, Castlevania 2, Megaman 3, Halo, Nights into Dreams, Soul Caliber, God of War 3, Fighting Vipers, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Virtua Fighter, Bioshock, Fallout, Mass Effect, Geometry Wars, Pacman CE DX, Nidhogg 2, DOTA 2,

Checkpoints 100! Massive thanks to everyone that listens to and subscribes to the show, and of course to all of my previous guests, without whom the show literally wouldn't exist. A milestone show requires a milestone guest, so today I'm joined by the creator of several iconic games including Full Throttle, Grim Fandango and Psychonauts and the founder and CEO of Double Fine, Tim Schafer. We hit on a bunch of topics as we meander through Tim's life in games including computer clubs, summer camps, building kit PCs with his dad, how pirating a game almost cost him his job at Lucasarts, playing Pictionary with Death, the highs and lows of running your own studio and how Animal Crossing made him want to lead a better life. "Whenever I smell asphalt, I think of Maureen." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Herzog Zwei, Adventure, Animal Crossing, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Psychonauts, Super Mario 64, Street Fighter 2, Legend of Zelda Breath of the

My guest on today's show is Teddy Dief. As well as having an incredibly enjoyable name to say out loud, Teddy is also a writer, game designer, Squarebowl founder and the creative director of Square Enix Montreal. We talk about high stakes Duck Hunt battles, being all in on Nintendo, getting an early introduction to game design via Nintendo Power VHS tapes, whether or not fitness is a game and, much to my personal delight, his time as a member of the acapella group The Clef Hangers. We also hit on the scratch and sniff cards of Earthbound, how he learned responsibility from the Sony Playstation, the impact of Final Fantasy 7, how Battlestar Galactica made him want to make games, the development of Hyper Light Drifter and why he cherishes the magic of Squarebowl. "There's a world where I can go and tell my secrets to." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, Donkey Kong Country, Earthbound, Secr

My guest today is a writer, designer, creator of Lady Killer in a Bind and the namesake of Love Conquers All Games, Christine Love. In a wild and divergent talk we hit on how 18th Century twitter would be angry about how novels weren't real writing, the connection between Link's Awakening and Twin Peaks, why Pokemon feels like folk lore, and the thrill of meeting strangers on the internet. We also talk about the impact of Ace Attorney, her coaching sessions in Street Fighter 3rd Strike, playing Final Fantasy 6 to get over a break up, a showdown in a Japanese arcade and why she's thrilled that games have embraced romance. "Well, my story, surely, would furnish out a surprising kind of novel, if it were to be well told." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Ace Attorney, Planetarium, Link's Awakening, Pokemon, Street Fighter 2, Splatoon, Street Fighter 3rd Strike, Farenheit, Counter Strike, World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, Disgaea, Final Fantasy

My guests on today's show are the creators of the amazing FTL and the upcoming Into the Breach, Justin Ma & Matt Davis AKA Subset Games. We talk about how they both moved to China to get their first job in games, working at 2K in Shanghai, and how they got to know each other as desk mates and eventually, inspired by weekly board game sessions, decided to try and make a game together. That chance meeting led to one of my favourite games of the past ten years, FTL. This episode is packed. We talk about both of their early video game loves like Full Throttle and X-Wing, what it was like for Justin growing up with a dad who worked at Activision, how Matthew rediscovered boardgaming in college which ultimately, set him on a path to China and back again. We also talk a lot about their creative relationship, the upcoming Into the Breach, and a whole bunch about the development of FTL including the boardgame influences, the impact of the kickstarter and how they wanted to make players feel like Jean Luc Picar

My guest on today's episode is Ben Andac. Ben does a whole bunch of stuff: writer, producer, designer, business developer. He's recently gone freelance after spending many years working at larger companies like Sega and Sony, problem solving, fostering new talent and ensuring the games being released on the platform are as good as they can possibly be. We talk about his early love of the Master System, how his early experience of games was an attempt to wean him off reading, his competitive Virtua Fighter skills and how Rez convinced him to quit his job and get into games. Also; the thrill of discovering new designers and how to foster relationships, how movies are interactive, his founding role in a games media giant and how a love of Joe Danger led to No Man's Sky. "Fear is the mind killer." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Alex Kidd, Phantasy Star, Wonder Boy 3, Shinobi, Virtua Racing, Sega Rally, Aladdin, Flash Back, Street Fighter 2, Virt

My guest on today's episode is Walt Williams. Walt is the writer of Spec Ops - The Line and the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront 2. He'll also be releasing a book next month called Significant Zero which is a behind the scenes look at modern AAA development which, if you're a fan of this show, you're very likely to enjoy. We talk about his early love of Adventure on the 2600, video game branded breakfast cereal, the impact of Final Fantasy 6, why Red Dead Redemption is maybe the best game, and how much he loves video games with endings. We also talk about how he almost became a preacher, why Batman is really just an enabler for the Riddler, why video game nostalgia can be so much more powerful than other mediums and how he almost didn't take the gig writing Star Wars Battlefront 2 until a tweet from John Boyega pushed him over the edge. "What happened here was out of my control..." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Adventure, Super Mario Bros, Zeld

My guest on today's episode is Brendan Keogh, a Brisbane-based critic, journalist, and academic. He's written a book about Spec Ops - The Line, tons of amazing articles for places like Edge, Polygon, The New Statesman, Ars Technica and as of this year has started making some games for fun. Brendan Keogh wrote a thesis about Grand Theft Auto 4 and a book about Spec Ops - The Line so you know the type of episode this is going to be. There are two fine beards either end of a Skype call and they will be stroked. Also bonus cameo from Brendan's dog. PLUS - how he wore out a controller playing Geometry Wars 2, why he loves the weight of GTA 4, the evergreen pleasures of Doom, why Binary Domain is an overloooked classic, why Alien Isolation works so well and, in a term I'm definitely going to steal, why Far Cry 2 is his chicken soup game. "Let's go to bowling!" PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Grand Theft Auto 4, Spec Ops The Line, Catacombs of Solaris

My guest on today's episode is Rod Humble. Rod has an incredible CV - CEO of Linden Labs, head of the EA Play label responsible for the Sims, game artist in residence at the San Francisco MOMA and current Jam City GM - but at heart he is a guy who loves and is fascinated by playing, making, and talking about games. Here are some highlights of a particularly packed episode: We talk about being moved by scale, an early love of the precise lines of Atom Invaders and the wonder of the seaside arcade, how his early love of design was encouraged by code pages in magazines, and how an early teacher once told him you have two paths ahead of you, computers or crime. There's also the profound impact of Elite, why Tetris resonates so much with so many, Will Wright stories, how he originally turned his nose up when he was given the Sims to look after, but quickly realised how wrong he was, and how his whole life has been a golden age for videogames. "We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents." PATREON - p

My guest on today's episode is Anthony Gallegos - currently working as a game designer on Marvel Heroes, Anthony previously spent years working in the enthusiast press for sites like 1up and IGN, and has been everyone's favourite on a whole host of podcasts including GFW Radio, The Gamespy Debriefings, The Comedy Button and of course Rebel FM. We talk growing up on a naval base, the ubiquity of the NES in America, how multiplayer games were the bedrock of his early gaming life, his zoology aspirations, his time in Scotland, how a looming deadline helps beat imposter syndrome and how meeting Arthur Gies while they both worked at a Tower Records changed the course of his life. We also talk about a whole bunch of games - the never ending allure of PUBG, mainlining Everquest in college, why Gone Home was such an inspiration when he started working in design and why a little jank in a game can make all the difference. "Mind what you have learned. Save you it can." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HER

My guest today is Daniel Cook, chief creative officer at SpryFox, creators of Triple Town, Alphabear, Road Not Taken and many more. Previous to Spryfox Daniel worked at the brand new Epic Mega Games (later simply Epic games) before spending a few years at Microsoft. He has also maintained his incredible design blog Lostgarden for over a decade. We talk about how much he loved the Amiga, Bitmap Brothers in particular, growing up in rural Maine, his work in the demo scene in the mid nineties, his deep love of deluxe paint and how he got his start in games thanks to an unsolicited portfolio sent by his friend. He also shares some incredible insight into the business of making games, how much he loved MUDs, the frustration he felt at Microsoft and why flash portals convinced him to get back into game design. "We're not going to open a newspaper one day and read about you being eaten by a bear, are we?" PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Triple Town, S

My guest today is Ed Key, game designer, creator of the incredible Proteus and founder of Twisted Tree games. We talk Kendall Mint Cake, why the Spectrum game Oh Mummy! had such a profound impact on his younger self, why Stellaris ticks so many boxes, how his dad would gamify their family walks, why Brian Eno and Ultima 7 are forever linked in his brain, and how Proteus almost came with a fold out cloth map. "Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Oh Mummy! Proteus, Ultima 7, Chaos Engine, Stellaris, Civilisation II, FTL, Kentucky Route Zero, Forest of Sleep, Batallion Wars, Counter Strike, Mount and Blade, Joust, Tekken 3, Pikmin, Captain Blood, Sensible Soccer