Checkpoints

Checking for AUTOSAVE. Ah, the 20th of October 2016, simpler times. I attended the 4th Games are for Everyone event at the Caves in Edinburgh. A mixture of art gallery, videogame arcade and club night, the labyrinthine venue was transformed into an interactive wonderland including real life haunted houses, yoga ball controllers, awkward arcades, competitive hugging and a Moby Dick game you control with a giant piece of drift wood. I spoke to the organisers of the event and many of the developers who had created the incredible work on display. We Throw Switches (the organisers, curators and box carriers) - https://twitter.com/WeThrowSwitches Vaida Plankyte (Competitive Cuddling Simulator) - https://twitter.com/underskinnyhrt Niall Moody (Hummindbird) - https://twitter.com/NiallEM Aubrey Hesselgren (The World Is Flat) - https://twitter.com/HilariousCow Cesar Parent (Gravity Pong) - https://twitter.com/cesarparent No Code (The House Abandon) - https://twitter.com/_NoCode James Medd (The Awkward Arcade) - https://twitter.com/awkward_arcade "Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, call me Ishmael." PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW RSS HERE Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is Alexander O. Smith, a veteran translator who has worked on an incredible array of video games including Vagrant Story, Phoenix Wright, Vanquish and one of the greatest games ever made, Final Fantasy 12. Being a huge fan of the game, I ask a lot of questions about Final Fantasy 12 and Alex gives a lot of great answers, (like how important Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic was to the crew of the Rabanastre.) We talk a lot about where his love of language first arose, and the art and science of a good translation. We also take the customary stroll through Alex's personal video game history including an early love of Vector arcade games, making his own MUDs, becoming the GenCon Tetris champion in 1989 and how one of the greatest gaming moments of his life took place one night in Wales. "Incidentally, what is the going rate for rescuing Princesses these days? Food would be a good start -- the good stuff, mind you." PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: FF12, Phoenix Wright, Brick Out, Game & Watch, Asteroids, Dungeons & Dragons, Tetris, Zork, Portal 2, Battlezone, Civilisation, Magic, Bard's Tale, Rock Band RSS HERE Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is Alexander O. Smith, a veteran translator who has worked on an incredible array of video games including Vagrant Story, Phoenix Wright, Vanquish and one of the greatest games ever made, Final Fantasy 12. Being a huge fan of the game, I ask a lot of questions about Final Fantasy 12 and Alex gives a lot of great answers, (like how important Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic was to the crew of the Rabanastre.) We talk a lot about where his love of language first arose, and the art and science of a good translation. We also take the customary stroll through Alex's personal video game history including an early love of Vector arcade games, making his own MUDs, becoming the GenCon Tetris champion in 1989 and how one of the greatest gaming moments of his life took place one night in Wales. "Incidentally, what is the going rate for rescuing Princesses these days? Food would be a good start -- the good stuff, mind you." PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: FF12, Phoenix Wright, Brick Out, Game & Watch, Asteroids, Dungeons & Dragons, Tetris, Zork, Portal 2, Battlezone, Civilisation, Magic, Bard's Tale, Rock Band RSS HERE Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is Tim Constant, founder of Panic Barn and creator of the Tiki Taka Soccer series of video games. Me and Tim chat about his rich history and love of games, including an obsession with Champ Manager, a homemade Out Run cabinet and the struggles of being the only gamer in the village. We also talk about the struggles of maintaining and independent studio, how a live quiz game he worked on almost took down Channel 5, and that time he had to choose between his Everquest guild or his girlfriend. "The ball is round, the game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory." PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Tiki Taka Soccer, Championship Manager, PES, Bonk, NBA JAM, Out Run, Worms, E-SWAT, Mr. Heli, Everquest, The Witcher 3, New Star Soccer, Altered Beast, Bamboozle. RSS HERE Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker -

My guest today is Tim Constant, founder of Panic Barn and creator of the Tiki Taka Soccer series of video games. Me and Tim chat about his rich history and love of games, including an obsession with Champ Manager, a homemade Out Run cabinet and the struggles of being the only gamer in the village. We also talk about the struggles of maintaining and independent studio, how a live quiz game he worked on almost took down Channel 5, and that time he had to choose between his Everquest guild or his girlfriend. "The ball is round, the game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory." PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Tiki Taka Soccer, Championship Manager, PES, Bonk, NBA JAM, Out Run, Worms, E-SWAT, Mr. Heli, Everquest, The Witcher 3, New Star Soccer, Altered Beast, Bamboozle. RSS HERE Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker -

My guest today is Tom Bramwell, former editor of Eurogamer, former Head of Writing at Riot Games and all around good guy. We talk about Tom's ridiculously early start in videogame journalism fuelled by a passion for videogame magazines, his deep love of FIFA and how Destiny has provided some of his finest gaming memories. In a relaxed and meandering chat, we also touch on a love of collecting, the life lessons of The West Wing, playing Rock Band in the penthouse of a Vegas casino, why he never got on with Yoshi's Island and the endless hilarity of FIFA's Impact Engine. "Welcome to the NFL." PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: FIFA, Dark Souls, Hearthstone, Destiny, Space Invaders, Trials HD, Deus Ex, Quake, Doom, League of Legends, Rock Band, Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Nomad Soul, MDK, California Games, Sonic the Hedgehog, Wriggler, Yoshi's Island, Mario Kart. RSS HERE Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is Tom Bramwell, former editor of Eurogamer, former Head of Writing at Riot Games and all around good guy. We talk about Tom's ridiculously early start in videogame journalism fuelled by a passion for videogame magazines, his deep love of FIFA and how Destiny has provided some of his finest gaming memories. In a relaxed and meandering chat, we also touch on a love of collecting, the life lessons of The West Wing, playing Rock Band in the penthouse of a Vegas casino, why he never got on with Yoshi's Island and the endless hilarity of FIFA's Impact Engine. "Welcome to the NFL." PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: FIFA, Dark Souls, Hearthstone, Destiny, Space Invaders, Trials HD, Deus Ex, Quake, Doom, League of Legends, Rock Band, Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Nomad Soul, MDK, California Games, Sonic the Hedgehog, Wriggler, Yoshi's Island, Mario Kart. RSS HERE Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is JP LeBreton. Having worked on a variety of games including Bioshock 1 & 2 and The Cave for Irrational Games and Double Fine respectively, JP has since gone solo and is currently working on Autobiographical Architecture as well as various other small projects. We meander through the games that shaped JP's life. As well as a life long fascination and love of Doom, we hit on the mystery and promise of his first experience with a Commodore 64, how places in videogames can be as evocative and powerful as real world locations , why he was jealous of the UK home computer scene of the 80s, and how N++ caused him an injury. He also talks quite frankly about how challenging the video game industry can sometimes be, but how games themselves can often be a salve to this negativity, and remind you why you loved them all over again. 'Something magical is happening that I don’t understand and it’s coming from the machine.' Best outro music ever! courtesy of With Ether PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Doom, Mr. Robot, Biosock, Forbidden Forest, Syndicate, Quake, Racing Construction Set, Wolfenstein, System Shock, Metroid Prime 2, N++ RSS HERE Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is JP LeBreton. Having worked on a variety of games including Bioshock 1 & 2 and The Cave for Irrational Games and Double Fine respectively, JP has since gone solo and is currently working on Autobiographical Architecture as well as various other small projects. We meander through the games that shaped JP's life. As well as a life long fascination and love of Doom, we hit on the mystery and promise of his first experience with a Commodore 64, how places in videogames can be as evocative and powerful as real world locations , why he was jealous of the UK home computer scene of the 80s, and how N++ caused him an injury. He also talks quite frankly about how challenging the video game industry can sometimes be, but how games themselves can often be a salve to this negativity, and remind you why you loved them all over again. 'Something magical is happening that I don’t understand and it’s coming from the machine.' Best outro music ever! courtesy of With Ether PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Doom, Mr. Robot, Biosock, Forbidden Forest, Syndicate, Quake, Racing Construction Set, Wolfenstein, System Shock, Metroid Prime 2, N++ RSS HERE Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is Simon Byron, formerly a videogame journalist and PR person, now a co-host of videogame radio show One Life Left, Publishing Director at Curve Digital and creator of hit mobile games Bang Man and Up Down Left Right. He is also the reigning Sensible Soccer World Champion. We talk about growing up around arcades in Bournemouth, how anarchic early video game journalism was, the highs and lows of video game PR - from playing in front of thousands at the Isle of Wight festival to sending bags of offal in the post. We also chat about his shift into publishing and some of the difficulties of the modern video game market (spoilers: there's too much and it's all great), his brief stint as a commentator on GamesMaster and that time he tried to desecrate the grave of Jimi Hendrix. 'Why you gotta play that song so loud? (Because we want to, because we want to)' PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Ikari Warriors, Guitar Hero, 10 Second Ninja, Human Fall Flat, Defender, Dragon's Lair, Sensible Soccer, Doom 2, Aladdin, Star Wars Battlefront, GTA, JFK: Reloaded, Skyrim RSS HERE Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki