Checkpoints

My guest today is Steve McNeil, one of the creators and team captains of Go 8 Bit, a videogame comedy show that started life as a fringe experiment and has now been turned into a real life TV show! It starts tonight in the UK at 10pm on Dave. We talk through Steve's life in games, from Pong on the Adnan Grandstand through to the very latest in virtual reality. We touch on his love for the early British videogame pioneers like Jeff Minter and the Oliver Twins, university sessions of Brian Lara Cricket, his deep love of Split/Second Velocity and the potentially friend-ending joy of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. We also touch on Steve's comedy career, how he got his start as a plant in a Brendon Burns fringe show, the origins of Go 8 Bit and the challenge of adapting it for TV, the crazy tech of Wifi Wars and how much Bob Mortimer loves first person shooters. 'Drink the brine!' iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Pong, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Chuckie Egg, Dizzy, Split/Second, GTA 4, Brian Lara Cricket, Ico, Assassin's Creed 2, Track and Field, Gang Beats, South Park and the Stick of Truth 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 Tony Coles, a freelance videogame writer and former videogame PR. The length of the episode gives you some idea of how passionate and excited Tony is by videogames. This episode runs on the rocket fuel of enthusiasm and nostalgia. We talk about Tony's first experience of Space Invaders on a German Military Base and how that continued to be the defining game of his youth, early video game hacks involving shoot em up simulators and Maria Whittaker, some horror stories of play testing, why video game PR was not for him, and how he was the first writer to ever get a named credit in Edge. We also chat about the wonders of the SID chip, how Jet Set Willy instilled a love of exploration, how much we miss the Aki wrestling games, why Ikaruga is the most powerful example of games as art and why more games should have a shout button. 'My Ninja brings all the boys to the yard.' iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Mercenary, Space Invaders, Defender, Ikaruga, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate, SWAT 3, Super Shinobi, Fingers Malone, Oblivion, Ultima 3, X-Com, Thunderforce, Golden Axe, Barbarian, Doom, Aliens vs. Predator, Tron 2.0, International Soccer, Uncharted 4. 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 Tony Coles, a freelance videogame writer and former videogame PR. The length of the episode gives you some idea of how passionate and excited Tony is by videogames. This episode runs on the rocket fuel of enthusiasm and nostalgia. We talk about Tony's first experience of Space Invaders on a German Military Base and how that continued to be the defining game of his youth, early video game hacks involving shoot em up simulators and Maria Whittaker, some horror stories of play testing, why video game PR was not for him, and how he was the first writer to ever get a named credit in Edge. We also chat about the wonders of the SID chip, how Jet Set Willy instilled a love of exploration, how much we miss the Aki wrestling games, why Ikaruga is the most powerful example of games as art and why more games should have a shout button. 'My Ninja brings all the boys to the yard.' iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW Games discussed: Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Mercenary, Space Invaders, Defender, Ikaruga, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate, SWAT 3, Super Shinobi, Fingers Malone, Oblivion, Ultima 3, X-Com, Thunderforce, Golden Axe, Barbarian, Doom, Aliens vs. Predator, Tron 2.0, International Soccer, Uncharted 4. RSS HERE Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

Checking for Autosave. This is a special episode of Checkpoints all about the relationship between performance and playing games. I spoke with a number of actors about how their relationship with games was shaped by their experience of acting. Marta Da Silva talks about the challenges of motion capture - Kirsty Strain discusses some of the more bizarre details of voice over work - Ben Sherwin talks about role playing servers - Paul Kozinski and Colin Little chat about some of their more embarrassing performances playing videogames - Amy Conway talks about how a TED talk about videogames formed the basis of her new theatre show - Tony Coles argues the case for the player as the virtuoso and William Pugh discusses the challenge of creating a game to be performed, and has some things to say about youtubers. 'You gotta do what? I gotta believe!' iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW RSS HERE CrowsCrowsCrows - http://www.crowscrowscrows.com/ The Nearly Men - https://twitter.com/nearlymen Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

Checking for Autosave. This is a special episode of Checkpoints all about the relationship between performance and playing games. I spoke with a number of actors about how their relationship with games was shaped by their experience of acting. Marta Da Silva talks about the challenges of motion capture - Kirsty Strain discusses some of the more bizarre details of voice over work - Ben Sherwin talks about role playing servers - Paul Kozinski and Colin Little chat about some of their more embarrassing performances playing videogames - Amy Conway talks about how a TED talk about videogames formed the basis of her new theatre show - Tony Coles argues the case for the player as the virtuoso and William Pugh discusses the challenge of creating a game to be performed, and has some things to say about youtubers. 'You gotta do what? I gotta believe!' iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW RSS HERE CrowsCrowsCrows - http://www.crowscrowscrows.com/ The Nearly Men - https://twitter.com/nearlymen Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is Ellie Gibson, one half of the Scummy Mummies Podcast/comedy team, an award winning videogame journalist and coming to TVs near you as the videogame expert in Dara O'Briain's Go 8 Bit. We talk about the dual impact of Jet Set Willy and Band Aid's Feed The World, the bizarre interview process for her first gaming job, an unforgettable press trip for the videogame Black which involved James Bond's stunt double and a ring of fire, why it really should be about ethics in Vietnamese Journalism, the history of Eurogamer, Dave 'The Animal' Perry, and why you shouldn't say the word Joypad on TV. 'Simon, sidestep to your left!' iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW RSS HERE Fruit Mystery http://taxiderby.tumblr.com/mystery Games discussed: Jet Set Willy, Fruit Mystery, Tomb Raider, Super Mario Kart, GTA, Candy Crush, New Zealand Story, WipeOut, Rockstar Ate My Hamster, The Suffering, Sky Odyssey, Pokemon Go Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is Ellie Gibson, one half of the Scummy Mummies Podcast/comedy team, an award winning videogame journalist and coming to TVs near you as the videogame expert in Dara O'Briain's Go 8 Bit. We talk about the dual impact of Jet Set Willy and Band Aid's Feed The World, the bizarre interview process for her first gaming job, an unforgettable press trip for the videogame Black which involved James Bond's stunt double and a ring of fire, why it really should be about ethics in Vietnamese Journalism, the history of Eurogamer, Dave 'The Animal' Perry, and why you shouldn't say the word Joypad on TV. 'Simon, sidestep to your left!' iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW RSS HERE Fruit Mystery http://taxiderby.tumblr.com/mystery Games discussed: Jet Set Willy, Fruit Mystery, Tomb Raider, Super Mario Kart, GTA, Candy Crush, New Zealand Story, WipeOut, Rockstar Ate My Hamster, The Suffering, Sky Odyssey, Pokemon Go Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is Dr. Jo Twist OBE. As the CEO of UKIE, the games trade body, Jo works tirelessly to ensure that the UK is a place where videogame developers can thrive. We talk about moving from Hong Kong to Scotland, how she was prescribed her first videogame by an optician, the ubiquity and charm of Game & Watch, the wonders of online communities, her work with Special Effect and why vidoegames can create such powerful social connections. Other Buggers Efforts.

My guest today is Dr. Jo Twist OBE. As the CEO of UKIE, the games trade body, Jo works tirelessly to ensure that the UK is a place where videogame developers can thrive. We talk about moving from Hong Kong to Scotland, how she was prescribed her first videogame by an optician, the ubiquity and charm of Game & Watch, the wonders of online communities, her work with Special Effect and why vidoegames can create such powerful social connections. Other Buggers Efforts.

My guest today is Chris Remo. Chris is designer and a composer at the videogame studio Campo Santo and the producer and host of Idle Thumbs. After spending a number of years as a videogame journalist Chris moved into development, working on games like Gone Home, The Cave, Thirty Flights of Loving and most recently, Firewatch. We talk early obsessions with Civilization, first discovering Star Wars via the PC X-Wing games, college dorm Starcraft battles, playing through the videogame canon in a matter of months, and why his love of Lucasarts adventure games have played such a pivotal role in his life. Videogames. iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW RSS HERE Games discussed: Gorilla.bas, Starcraft, Civilsation, X-Wing, Imbroglio, The New York Times Crossword, Halo, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, The Legend of Zelda, Quake, Spelunky, Super Metroid, Firewatch, Sim City Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki