Checkpoints

My guest today is Omar Cornut, founder of Lizardcube and creator of the recent, and excellent, remake of Wonder Boy : The Dragon's Trap.

We talk growing up in Paris and Egypt, the SEGA Computer 3000 (!), how he traded up from a home made Inidiana Jones board game to a Game & Watch, his founding of a video game course while still a student, and why Psycho Fox is burned into his brain.

We also hit on Omar's role in the emulation scene of the late nineties when he created MEKA, one of the best Master System emulators, his time at Media Molecule, the complicated IP history of Wonder Boy, and how his quest to seek out every secret in The Dragon's Trap led to the founding of a company and the creation of a game.

"What was that? An exhibition? I said emotional content, not anger. Now try again!"

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Wonder Boy 3, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Alex Kidd in Shinobi World, River Raid, Aztec Adventure, Ice Climber, Tetris, Evil Twin, Psycho Fox, Soul Bubbles, Kid Chameleon, Super Hexagon, GNOG, Super Mario Kart.

My guest today is Dominique Ferland AKA Dom2D an illustrator and game designer who most recently designed the excellent Finthook for Tribute Games.

We talk about the lack of games in small town Quebec, the incredible music of Pictionary on the NES, early graph paper game designs and the inspirations behind Flinthook.

We also talk through his strange journey to game design via advertising, how Spelunky took over his life, the joy of playing games with a guide and how Proteus taught him to stop worrying and love video games.

"Death is the only adventure I have left, Smee."

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Pictionary, Flinthook, Fez, Proteus, Spelunky, Guitar Hero, Slender Man, Gladiator School, Resident Evil 7, Dune, Towerfall, Jaipur, Worms, Bionic Commando, Wario Ware, The Legend of Zelda

My guest today is Margaret Roberston, former editor of Edge magazine, now game director at PlayDots and industry liaison for the New York Game Centre.

We talk about forgotten classics of the Atari ST & Amiga era like Captive and Midwinter, the absurdist joy of Ranarama, the Playstation homebrew scene and how she fought through the pain for the love of Guitar Hero.

We also reminisce about the genuine magic of early internet forums, how she got the job on Edge in the bar after the interview, why Final Fantasy 12 is conclusively the best and how designing brilliant games can be the way to someone's heart.

"My, Earth really is full of things! ."

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Ranarama, Harrier Attack, Captive, Midwinter, Super Mario Kart, WipeOut, PN03, Katamari Damacy, Manhunt, Guitar Hero, Final Fantasy 12, Half Life 2, Amped 3, Uplink, World of Warcraft, Drop 7, Horizon Zero Dawn, Home Free, Kileak the Blood,

My guest today is Hannah Nicklin an award winning game designer, writer, academic, theatre maker, bike rider and talk giver. As the myriad of adjectives suggest, she's a brilliant guest. We talk about weird Comic Relief tie in game Sleepwalker, how Tony Hawk Pro Skater introduced her to punk rock, why controller literacy is such a forgotten problem, that time she bought 100 CDs and a Gamecube on a camping trip and how theatre is a game so old we've forgotten it's a game. We also hit on street games, her work at Hide & Seek, zines about grandpas, her passion for cycling, how Kentucky Route Zero is one of the greatest games ever made and why Jazz really makes her laugh. "Hey man, Jaws was never my scene and I don't like Star Wars." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Sleepwalker, The Lion King, Deus Ex Machina, Loot Rascals, Kentucky Route Zero, Proteus, Cribbage with Grandpas, A Good Snowman is Hard to Build, Mario Kart, Burly Men at Sea, Portal, Tony Hawks Pro Skater, Discworld Noir, Command and Conquer Red Alert

My guest today is the studio director and co founder of Media Molecule, Siobhan Reddy. We talk about the founding of the studio, the development of Little Big Planet and their upcoming title Dreams. We also meander through Siobhan's video game history, from her early love of the Game & Watch, how Resident Evil really shifted her understanding of games and awakened a life long love of horror games, why Bioware games are like a warm blanket, how working on punk fanzines influenced her career and how you never really learn how to make games, you just learn how to make that one. "In my dreams I can walk. My legs are strong. In my dreams I am the Wizard Master." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Game & Watch, Soma, Resident Evil, Flame and the Flood, SSX, Burnout, Little Big Planet, Dreams, Dragon Age, Dead Space, Monkey Island, Hitman, DIscworld Noir, D & D,

My guest today is Harrison G. Pink, a world designer who currently works on Mafia 3 at Hangar 13 and has previously worked on the Walking Dead and Tales from the Borderlands at Telltale. We talk about growing up in Bermuda, solving Kings Quest puzzles while playing in the sea, how shareware trading and PC helped him through boarding school, how Myst changed his life and why The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker seemed like a game made just for him. We also hit on the storytelling potential of games, how endless hours of Unreal helped him hone his early game design chops, how Megaman made him bite his controller and why Bastion is perfect. "What do they call it when everything intersects?" "The Bermuda Triangle." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Mafia 3, The Walking Dead, Dark Castle, Myst, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Math Blaster, Doom, King's Quest, Command & Conquer, Zork, Starcraft, Unreal, Smash Brothers, Geometry Wars, Megaman 2, Bastion, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Another World

My guest today is Robert Yang, a game developer and a teacher at the NYU Game Center. Robert's games are most known for their explorations and interpretations of gay sex, from spanking in Hurt Me Plenty to dick pics in Cobra Club, and we talk on what compelled him to focus in on these themes, and how something as seemingly juvenile as a dick pic simulator is actually a scathing critique of our surveillance culture. We talk about his bad first impressions of video games, how Final Fantasy changed his mind, his introduction to modding through StarCraft and Half Life, that one time he interviewed for Valve and how best to approach a spanking game in VR. We also hit on our favourite Golden Axe characters, Super Smash Bros. hipsters, how tough it is to do intimacy well in a video game, why twitch won't let people stream his games and how pop songs are some of his strongest influences. "Every Final Fantasy game is basically about growing up, going through a goth phase and then killing God." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Ladykiller in a Bind, Sonic, Golden Axe, Command & Conquer, Starcraft 2, Overwatch, Halo, Super Smash Bros, Oikospiel, Fatale, A good snowman is hard to build, Counter Strike, Half Life,

My guests today are the creators of the incredible local multiplayer game Overcooked, Phil Duncan and Oli Devine AKA Ghost Town Games. We talk about both of their early experiences with home computers and the divergent interests they inspired in them, why Sonic was so fun to draw, why Tails is the worst, the thrill of local multiplayer, the best version of Tony Hawks and how you're never ready to start a studio so why not just do it now? "Anyone can cook but only the fearless can be great." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Dizzy, New Zealand Story, Tony Hawks Pro Skater, Sonic 2, Streets of Rage, Bomberman, Kinectimals, Lost Winds, Bioshock, Wrecked, Storage Inc, The Old Republic, Overwatch, Event 0, Dead Space,

My guest today is the senior reporter for Waypoint, Patrick Klepek. We talk about how we can't quit Weezer despite their best efforts, how he pitched a Playstation to his little brother to ensure they got it as a shared christmas gift, his incredibly young start in video games and the lack of romance that defined his early video game journalism career. We also hit on his speakeasy style Halo 2 multiplayer set up in college, his mammoth battle of wits with Dan Rykert during the Mario Maker Mornings, the profound effect of Papá y Yo, and how he learned to stop worrying and love Dark Souls. "The redhead said you shred the cello, and I’m Jell-O." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Tecmo Bowl, Pong, Twisted Metal, Final Fantasy X, Resident Evil, Halo 2, Super Mario Maker, Spelunky, Nioh, Papa Y Yo, Dark Souls, Night in the Woods, Yakuza Zero, Mega Man 2

My guest today is Ken Levine, creative director and co-founder of Irrational and now Ghost Story Games, and the creative force behind some of the most iconic titles in video game history including System Shock 2, Thief and the Bioshock Series. We talk about the physical thrill of early mechanical games, his bad news bears-esque teenage deliquency - bumming smokes and playing arcades - his bumpy path into video game design via Hollywood and how the theatre prepared him for running a video game studio. We talk about why the original Castle Wolfenstein was so stressful, how obscure gem Herzog Zwei should get way more credit, why Rocksmith is one of the best games he's ever played and how the Legend of Zelda ruined a relationship. "We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us." PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Adventure, Asteroids, Pac Man, The Legend of Zelda, Dark Castle, Road Rash, Herzog Zwei, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Ikari Warriors, Castle Wolfenstein, Star Control, World of Warcraft, Portal, Inside, Thief, Shadow of Mordor, Her Story, X-Com, Invisible Inc, Rocksmith