Checkpoints

My guest on today's show is Shahid Ahmad. For many people, Shahid is best known as the Playstation Indie Champion. He was part of a team that changed the landscape at Sony, and made Playstation a home for indie developers, developing the rich ecosystem we see today. But before that, Shahid had already had a rich and varied history with videogames. Starting as a bedroom coder in his teenage years, Shahid has gone on to work in almost every facet of the industry - development, production, publishing, composing - as well as playing in bands and starting his own business. He's won it all, lost it all, and won it all back. His life in games is an extraordinary story. We talk about getting RSI playing Speedball, sibling rivalry in Street Fighter, why Space Invaders is like the monolith in 2001, and the formula for knowing when a game should be greenlit. (Spoiler, there isn't one.) Games discussed - Star Raiders, Speedball 2, Jet Set Willy, Gauntlet, Call of Duty, Olli Olli, Velocity 2X, CoD: Modern Warfare, Knight Lore and Mario Kart.

Today's guest is Jon Robertson. John is a stand up comedian, the host of Videogame Nation on Challenge TV and the creator of the world's only live-action videogame, The Dark Room. We talk about his introduction to Nazi Germany via Wolfenstein 3D and an eccentric grandfather, why all Australians prounce SEGA incorrectly,why Deadlock is the greatest turn based strategy ever made and how brutalising Buff Bagwell in WCW/NWO Revenge bonded him with a friend for life. We also hear some harrowing tales of school camps, how a love of gaming and anime gave his early stand up career a boost and the incredible origin story of The Dark Room. Games discussed: New Zealand Story, Wolfenstein, Sonic, Columns, Altered Beast, GODS, Red Alert 3, Deadlock, XCOM 2, Goldeneye and Castlevania 64. You can play the Dark room yourself here Good luck, Darren!

Today's guest is Jon Robertson. John is a stand up comedian, the host of Videogame Nation on Challenge TV and the creator of the world's only live-action videogame, The Dark Room. We talk about his introduction to Nazi Germany via Wolfenstein 3D and an eccentric grandfather, why all Australians prounce SEGA incorrectly,why Deadlock is the greatest turn based strategy ever made and how brutalising Buff Bagwell in WCW/NWO Revenge bonded him with a friend for life. We also hear some harrowing tales of school camps, how a love of gaming and anime gave his early stand up career a boost and the incredible origin story of The Dark Room. Games discussed: New Zealand Story, Wolfenstein, Sonic, Columns, Altered Beast, GODS, Red Alert 3, Deadlock, XCOM 2, Goldeneye and Castlevania 64. You can play the Dark room yourself here Good luck, Darren!

My guest on today's show is Gita Jackson, a Chicago based writer and critic and one of the hosts of the Match 3 Podcast. You may have read some of her work on Giantbomb or Polygon or Twitter or Paste. She is smart and funny and her gaming history is absolutely nothing like mine which makes for a terrific guest and a perfect example of why I started this show. From early games of NBA JAM with her brother to her current obsession with Dwarf Fortress we chart Gita's life in games. There's the gothic melodrama of Final Fantasy X, the visceral thrill of Skyrim & Saints Row, the life affirming experience of The World Ends with You and the rediscovery of games through the lens of academia. There are many tangents but boy do we cover a lot of games including: NBA JAM, Final Fantasy, Pokemon, Skyrim, Saints Row, GTA, LA Noire, Ico, Rez, Crusader Kings 2, Dwarf Fortress, Watchdogs, Game Dev Story, We Know the Devil and Life Line. XOXO

My guest on today's show is Gita Jackson, a Chicago based writer and critic and one of the hosts of the Match 3 Podcast. You may have read some of her work on Giantbomb or Polygon or Twitter or Paste. She is smart and funny and her gaming history is absolutely nothing like mine which makes for a terrific guest and a perfect example of why I started this show. From early games of NBA JAM with her brother to her current obsession with Dwarf Fortress we chart Gita's life in games. There's the gothic melodrama of Final Fantasy X, the visceral thrill of Skyrim & Saints Row, the life affirming experience of The World Ends with You and the rediscovery of games through the lens of academia. There are many tangents but boy do we cover a lot of games including: NBA JAM, Final Fantasy, Pokemon, Skyrim, Saints Row, GTA, LA Noire, Ico, Rez, Crusader Kings 2, Dwarf Fortress, Watchdogs, Game Dev Story, We Know the Devil and Life Line. XOXO

Steven Bailey is stupid clever. He has a PHD in mathematics, he's likely written some of the best videogame writing you've ever read, and now as a videogame analyst he's charting the future of the industry. From unbelievable stories of arcade nirvana in the Welsh valleys through to mapping the future of the industry via writing for teletext, living in hospitals and the life altering properties of Guardian Heroes. This is one of the most insightful and candid conversations I've had on the show so far. Steven has confessions from his time as a videogame journalist, fond memories of friendships forged in multiplayer Secret of Mana, frustration at the Witness and delight at selling Mr C off Hollyoaks a Dreamcast. Tidy!

Steven Bailey is stupid clever. He has a PHD in mathematics, he's likely written some of the best videogame writing you've ever read, and now as a videogame analyst he's charting the future of the industry. From unbelievable stories of arcade nirvana in the Welsh valleys through to mapping the future of the industry via writing for teletext, living in hospitals and the life altering properties of Guardian Heroes. This is one of the most insightful and candid conversations I've had on the show so far. Steven has confessions from his time as a videogame journalist, fond memories of friendships forged in multiplayer Secret of Mana, frustration at the Witness and delight at selling Mr C off Hollyoaks a Dreamcast. Tidy!

Greg Rice is the VP of Business Development for Double Fine, and was the producer of the Double Fine Adventure and Broken Age. Greg Rice also has a minor in dance. I was first exposed to Greg through the Double Fine Adventure, the excellent documentary by 2 Player Productions about the development of Broken Age. Games are such huge collaborative projects that it's rare to get such an insight into the people behind the scenes and the many hands that go into making a game. Greg seemed the perfect example of somebody who contributes so much to the development of a game, but whose hand may go unseen in the final product. I was delighted to talk to him. We talk about learning to read with Zelda, playing GTA as a tourist, why the Dreamcast is the greatest console, his experience playing VR Rez in the vibration suit and his unlikely journey to Double Fine via Opera Singing, Musical Theatre & training to be a doctor (!?) Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa. Games discussed: Super Mario Bros. Goldeneye, Rez, Guitar Hero, Proteus, Psychonauts, Destiny, 140 and The Lion King.

Greg Rice is the VP of Business Development for Double Fine, and was the producer of the Double Fine Adventure and Broken Age. Greg Rice also has a minor in dance. I was first exposed to Greg through the Double Fine Adventure, the excellent documentary by 2 Player Productions about the development of Broken Age. Games are such huge collaborative projects that it's rare to get such an insight into the people behind the scenes and the many hands that go into making a game. Greg seemed the perfect example of somebody who contributes so much to the development of a game, but whose hand may go unseen in the final product. I was delighted to talk to him. We talk about learning to read with Zelda, playing GTA as a tourist, why the Dreamcast is the greatest console, his experience playing VR Rez in the vibration suit and his unlikely journey to Double Fine via Opera Singing, Musical Theatre & training to be a doctor (!?) Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa. Games discussed: Super Mario Bros. Goldeneye, Rez, Guitar Hero, Proteus, Psychonauts, Destiny, 140 and The Lion King.

Checking for autosave. From January 29th to January 31st 2016, thousands of teams around the world decamped to various locations, formed teams, and made videogames. I spent the weekend at the site in Glasgow Caledonian University, and this special episode of Checkpoints follows three teams on that site through the whole weekend. It also features never before heard interviews with Adam Saltsman, Richard Lemachand, Iain Simon and Greg Rice about their experience with Game Jams. As an extra modifier for this episode, I decided to try and record, arrange and edit the show in the same time frame as the people taking part in the show. I've had to add on a few extra hours so I could add in the final day's recordings, but I've pretty much finished it. I am exhausted. It was an amazing weekend and I saw so many brilliant and inspired game created by passionate and devoted creators. The teams I specifically followed were For The Village, No Code and Kecak. You can checkout their games at the Glasgow Game Jam page here: http://globalgamejam.org/2016/jam-sites/scottish-game-jam-glasgow If you click locations at the tope of that page you can also check out some of the thousands of other games made this weekend. I'm about to check out some of the games made in Nepal. What a world!