Checkpoints

My guest today is Chris Suellentrop. Chris is writer on national affairs & digital culture and his work has appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Kotaku, Slate and Wired. Chris has been involved in political writing since 2000, but over the past few years he has become more and more focussed on videogames. He also hosts the excellent podcast Shall We Play a Game? which was recently featured on NPR. We talk about how the Atari crash afforded Chris a rich library of games as a kid, if presidential candidates play games, why a university paper on Myst changed how he viewed games forever, and how in college a dormitory wide Madden tournament reignited his love of games and forged some of his fondest videogame memories. Clear eyes, warm hearts, can't lose. iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW RSS HERE Games discussed: Hearthstone, Clash Royale, Madden, Tecmo Bowl, Myst, Uncharted, Zelda, Combat, Meteoroid, Portal, Bioshock and RC Pro Am. Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

Checking for Autosave. On June 11th 2016, Glesgames VIII took place at the Drygate bar here in Glasgow. It was an excellent event, with a ton of good and cool people and excellent local multiplayer games. This episode is all about that. Features interviews with Simon Marshall and Catbell games, chat with some of the attendees about their greatest gaming accomplishments, and highlights from the panel show that opened the event. iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW RSS HERE GLESGAMES - https://glesgames.wordpress.com/ Catbell Games - http://www.catbellgames.com/ Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

Checking for Autosave. On June 11th 2016, Glesgames VIII took place at the Drygate bar here in Glasgow. It was an excellent event, with a ton of good and cool people and excellent local multiplayer games. This episode is all about that. Features interviews with Simon Marshall and Catbell games, chat with some of the attendees about their greatest gaming accomplishments, and highlights from the panel show that opened the event. iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW RSS HERE GLESGAMES - https://glesgames.wordpress.com/ Catbell Games - http://www.catbellgames.com/ Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is John Davison. John is currently the general manager of Glixel, a new gaming website by the publisher of Rolling Stone, but is perhaps best known to most as the VP of 1up and one of the original hosts of 1up Yours. We talk through John's inrcedible career in the games press, from his early work in the UK games press on PC Player and PC Zone, the cover disk wars of the mid nineties, becoming an editor aged just 21, his move to America, the impact of 1up Yours and what inspired him to create What They Play. We of course hit on a bunch of games too. How Skyrim and Oblivion ruled his life, why Archer MacLean's Dropzone gave him his first taste of videogame press, the generational impact of Doom and how games are a form of expression, not just in what you make, but in how you play. This was a treat. I don't want to go to work today. I want to stay home and play. On my vidoegames. iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW RSS HERE Games discussed: Dropzone, Doom, Xenogears, Zelda, Skyrim, Oblivion, The Witcher 3, Agar.io, GTA 3, Mincraft, Star Raiders, Pole Position. Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is John Davison. John is currently the general manager of Glixel, a new gaming website by the publisher of Rolling Stone, but is perhaps best known to most as the VP of 1up and one of the original hosts of 1up Yours. We talk through John's inrcedible career in the games press, from his early work in the UK games press on PC Player and PC Zone, the cover disk wars of the mid nineties, becoming an editor aged just 21, his move to America, the impact of 1up Yours and what inspired him to create What They Play. We of course hit on a bunch of games too. How Skyrim and Oblivion ruled his life, why Archer MacLean's Dropzone gave him his first taste of videogame press, the generational impact of Doom and how games are a form of expression, not just in what you make, but in how you play. This was a treat. I don't want to go to work today. I want to stay home and play. On my vidoegames. iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW RSS HERE Games discussed: Dropzone, Doom, Xenogears, Zelda, Skyrim, Oblivion, The Witcher 3, Agar.io, GTA 3, Mincraft, Star Raiders, Pole Position. Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is Adriel Wallick a programmer, developer and creator of the Train Jam, an annual game jam that, unsurprisingly, takes place on a train as it travels across the US toward GDC. We talk about juggling work and creativity, living in the Netherlands, making a game a week for a whole year, the origins of Train Jam, transitioning from working on satellites to the videogame industry and why 1997 was such a vintage year. We hit on a ton of games too, the endless exploration of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, why Thomas was Alone was the perfect game at the perfect time and the gut wrenching laughter of QWOP - The Opera. We also light a candle for the tireless footsoldiers of GameFAQs. What is a man? (flings his wine glass aside) A miserable little pile of secrets! But enough talk... Have at you! SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW HERE RSS HERE Games discussed: Super Mario Bros, Final Fantasy 9, Unirally, Destiny, Halo, Chrono Cross, Thomas was Alone, Rock Band, Jackbox Party, Diablo 3, Castlevania - SOTN. Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

My guest today is Adriel Wallick a programmer, developer and creator of the Train Jam, an annual game jam that, unsurprisingly, takes place on a train as it travels across the US toward GDC. We talk about juggling work and creativity, living in the Netherlands, making a game a week for a whole year, the origins of Train Jam, transitioning from working on satellites to the videogame industry and why 1997 was such a vintage year. We hit on a ton of games too, the endless exploration of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, why Thomas was Alone was the perfect game at the perfect time and the gut wrenching laughter of QWOP - The Opera. We also light a candle for the tireless footsoldiers of GameFAQs. What is a man? (flings his wine glass aside) A miserable little pile of secrets! But enough talk... Have at you! SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW HERE RSS HERE Games discussed: Super Mario Bros, Final Fantasy 9, Unirally, Destiny, Halo, Chrono Cross, Thomas was Alone, Rock Band, Jackbox Party, Diablo 3, Castlevania - SOTN. Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

Today's guest on the show is Marc Flury. Marc worked at Harmonix before leaving to form his own company, Drool. Alongside his partner and Lightning Bolt alum Brian Gibson, they've spent the last few years working on the upcoming rhythm violence game, THUMPER. The all caps are mine, but entirely necessary. As an American who now lives in Seoul, Marc has a unique perspective on the game dev scene in the country, and the type of games people love to make and play. Spoilers: it's not just Starcraft. We talk about the development of Thumper, the pain of programming and the highs and lows of working in such a small team. We also hit on his time working on Beatles Rock Band, meeting Yoko Ono, being bullied away from arcade machines in an Italian resort, the beautiful systems of Pikmin and his spiritual and psychedelic awakening as the host of The Space Show. Space is not only high, it's low. It's a bottomless pit. SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW HERE RSS HERE Games discussed: Super Mario Bros, Beatles Rock Band, Thumper, Act Raiser, Monkey Island, Space Team, Pikmin, Gitaroo Man, Braid, House of the Dead, X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter. Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

Today's guest on the show is Marc Flury. Marc worked at Harmonix before leaving to form his own company, Drool. Alongside his partner and Lightning Bolt alum Brian Gibson, they've spent the last few years working on the upcoming rhythm violence game, THUMPER. The all caps are mine, but entirely necessary. As an American who now lives in Seoul, Marc has a unique perspective on the game dev scene in the country, and the type of games people love to make and play. Spoilers: it's not just Starcraft. We talk about the development of Thumper, the pain of programming and the highs and lows of working in such a small team. We also hit on his time working on Beatles Rock Band, meeting Yoko Ono, being bullied away from arcade machines in an Italian resort, the beautiful systems of Pikmin and his spiritual and psychedelic awakening as the host of The Space Show. Space is not only high, it's low. It's a bottomless pit. SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW HERE RSS HERE Games discussed: Super Mario Bros, Beatles Rock Band, Thumper, Act Raiser, Monkey Island, Space Team, Pikmin, Gitaroo Man, Braid, House of the Dead, X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter. Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

Today's guest on the show is Shailesh Prabhu, creative director of Yellow Monkey Studios and owner of one of the finest beards I know of. We talk about the videogame scene in India, the Nintendo Samurai (!), how the credits sequence at the start of Day of the Tentacle completely shifted how he understood games, and the agony and ecstasy that comes with starting your own videogame studio. We also hit on the joys of rhythm games, how having limited access to lots of games can make you an absolute pro in the ones you have, cricket, Counter Strike and the joy of making things. SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW HERE RSS HERE Games discussed: Road Fighters, Mortal Kombat 2, Day of the Tentacle, Black, Socioball, Huebrix, Super Mario, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Device 6, Thief, Arkham Asylum and Counter Strike. Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki