Checkpoints

This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, a guest talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that have forged connections & games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

My guest on today's show is Teddy Dief. As well as having an incredibly enjoyable name to say out loud, Teddy is also a writer, game designer, Squarebowl founder and the creative director of Square Enix Montreal.

We talk about high stakes Duck Hunt battles, being all in on Nintendo, getting an early introduction to game design via Nintendo Power VHS tapes, whether or not fitness is a gameand, much to my personal delight, his time as a member of the acapella group The Clef Hangers.

We also hit on the scratch and sniff cards of Earthbound, how he learned responsibility from the Sony Playstation, the impact of Final Fantasy 7, how Battlestar Galactica made him want to make games, the development of Hyper Light Drifter and why he cherishes the magic of Squarebowl.

"There's a world where I can go and tell my secrets to."

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, Donkey Kong Country, Earthbound, Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy 7, 8, 12, 13 and 15, Xenogears, Hyper Light Drifter, Rock Band, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Star Wars Galaxies, Quadrilateral Cowboy, Time Splitters 2, Everything, Night in the Woods, Virgina, Nier: Automata, Catherine, Edith Finch

Theme song by Samuel Baker

Art work by Craig Stevenson

This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, a guest talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that have forged connections & games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

My guest today is a writer, designer, creator of Lady Killer in a Bind and the namesake of Love Conquers All Games,  Christine Love.

In a wild and divergent talk we hit on how 18th Century twitter would be angry about how novels weren't real writing, the connection between Link's Awakening and Twin Peaks, why Pokemon feels like folk lore, and the thrill of meeting strangers on the internet. 

We also talk about the impact of Ace Attorney, her coaching sessions in Street Fighter 3rd Strike, playing Final Fantasy 6 to get over a break up, a showdown in a Japanese arcade and why she's thrilled that games have embraced romance. 

"Well, my story, surely, would furnish out a surprising kind of novel, if it were to be well told."

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Ace Attorney, Planetarium, Link's Awakening, Pokemon, Street Fighter 2, Splatoon, Street Fighter 3rd Strike, Farenheit, Counter Strike, World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, Disgaea, Final Fantasy 6, Metal Gear Solid, Mass Effect

This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, a guest talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that have forged connections & games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

My guests on today's show are the creators of the amazing FTL and the upcoming Into the Breach, Justin Ma & Matt Davis AKA Subset Games.

We talk about how they both moved to China to get their first job in games, working at 2K in Shanghai, and how they got to know each other as desk mates and eventually, inspired by weekly board game sessions, decided to try and make a game together. That chance meeting led to one of my favourite games of the past ten years, FTL.

This episode is packed. We talk about both of their early video game loves like Full Throttle and X-Wing, what it was like for Justin growing up with a dad who worked at Activision, how Matthew rediscovered boardgaming in college which ultimately, set him on a path to China and back again.

We also talk a lot about their creative relationship, the upcoming Into the Breach, and a whole bunch about the development of FTL including the boardgame influences, the impact of the kickstarter and how they wanted to make players feel like Jean Luc Picard.

"Engage."

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: X-Wing, Mech Warrior, Mortal Kombat, Legend of Zelda, Mario 64, Rez, Full Throttle, Fallout, Planescape, X-Com, System Shock 2, Spelunky, Papers Please, Portal, Prey, PUBG, Advance Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones

This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, a guest talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that have forged connections & games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

My guest on today's episode is Ben Andac. Ben does a whole bunch of stuff: writer, producer, designer, business developer. He's recently gone freelance after spending many years working at larger companies like Sega and Sony, problem solving, fostering new talent and ensuring the games being released on the platform are as good as they can possibly be. 

We talk about his early love of the Master System, how his early experience of games was an attempt to wean him off reading, his competitive Virtua Fighter skills and how Rez convinced him to quit his job and get into games. 

Also; the thrill of discovering new designers and how to foster relationships, how movies are interactive, his founding role in a games media giant and how a love of Joe Danger led to No Man's Sky.

"Fear is the mind killer."

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Alex Kidd, Phantasy Star, Wonder Boy 3, Shinobi, Virtua Racing, Sega Rally, Aladdin, Flash Back, Street Fighter 2, Virtua Fighter, Dance Dance Revolution, Rez, Ico, The Last Guardian, Call of Duty Modern Warfare,  World of Warcraft, Pro Evolution Soccer, Journey, Gone Home, Night in the Woods, Crush, Joe Danger, No Man's Sky

This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, a guest talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that have forged connections & games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

My guest on today's episode is Walt Williams. Walt is the writer of Spec Ops - The Line and the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront 2. He'll also be releasing a book next month called Significant Zero which is a behind the scenes look at modern AAA development which, if you're a fan of this show, you're very likely to enjoy.

We talk about his early love of Adventure on the 2600, video game branded breakfast cereal, the impact of Final Fantasy 6, why Red Dead Redemption is maybe the best game, and how much he loves video games with endings.

We also talk about how he almost became a preacher, why Batman is really just an enabler for the Riddler, why video game nostalgia can be so much more powerful than other mediums and how he almost didn't take the gig writing Star Wars Battlefront 2 until a tweet from John Boyega pushed him over the edge.

"What happened here was out of my control..."

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Adventure, Super Mario Bros, Zelda, Marble Madness, Final Fantasy 6, Jak and Daxter, World of Warcraft, Arkham Asylum, Spec Ops the Line, Gone Home, Civilisation, Star Wars Battlefront 2, Guitar Hero, Dark Souls, Night in the Woods, Portal 2, Red Dead Redemption, The Last of Us

This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, a guest talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that have forged connections & games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

My guest on today's episode is Brendan Keogh, a Brisbane-based critic, journalist, and academic. He's written a book about Spec Ops - The Line, tons of amazing articles for places like Edge, Polygon, The New Statesman, Ars Technica and as of this year has started making some games for fun.

Brendan Keogh wrote a thesis about Grand Theft Auto 4 and a book about Spec Ops - The Line so you know the type of episode this is going to be. There are two fine beards either end of a Skype call and they will be stroked. Also bonus cameo from Brendan's dog.

PLUS - how he wore out a controller playing Geometry Wars 2, why he loves the weight of GTA 4, the evergreen pleasures of Doom, why Binary Domain is an overloooked classic, why Alien Isolation works so well and, in a term I'm definitely going to steal, why Far Cry 2 is his chicken soup game.

"Let's go to bowling!"

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Grand Theft Auto 4, Spec Ops The Line, Catacombs of Solaris, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Alien Isolation, Call of Duty, Minecraft, Far Cry 2, Zelda BOTW, Nuclear Throne, Tiny Tower, Geometry Wars 2, Final Fantasy 7, Just Cause 2, Flightmare, Time Crisis, Doom, Kong, Striker

This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, a guest talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that have forged connections & games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

My guest on today's episode is Rod Humble. Rod has an incredible CV - CEO of Linden Labs, head of the EA Play label responsible for the Sims, game artist in residence at the San Francisco MOMA and current Jam City GM - but at heart he is a guy who loves and is fascinated by playing, making, and talking about games. 

Here are some highlights of a particularly packed episode: We talk about being moved by scale, an early love of the precise lines of Atom Invaders and the wonder of the seaside arcade, how his early love of design was encouraged by code pages in magazines, and how an early teacher once told him you have two paths ahead of you, computers or crime.

There's also the profound impact of Elite,  why Tetris resonates so much with so many, Will Wright stories, how he originally turned his nose up when he was given the Sims to look after, but quickly realised how wrong he was, and how his whole life has been a golden age for videogames.

"We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents."

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Atom Invaders, Star Wars, Missile Command, The Marriage, The Humans, Elite, Tetris, Brutal Paws of Fury, Everquest, The Sims, Cults and Daggers, School Daze, Bounty Bob, Hearthstone, Second Life, Blocks World

This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, a guest talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that have forged connections & games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

My guest on today's episode is Anthony Gallegos - currently working as a game designer on Marvel Heroes, Anthony previously spent years working in the enthusiast press for sites like 1up and IGN, and has been everyone's favourite on a whole host of podcasts including GFW Radio, The Gamespy Debriefings, The Comedy Button and of course Rebel FM.

We talk growing up on a naval base, the ubiquity of the NES in America, how multiplayer games were the bedrock of his early gaming life, his zoology aspirations,  his time in Scotland, how a looming deadline helps beat imposter syndrome and how meeting Arthur Gies while they both worked at a Tower Records changed the course of his life.

We also talk about a whole bunch of games - the never ending allure of PUBG, mainlining Everquest in college, why Gone Home was such an inspiration when he started working in design and why a little jank in a game can make all the difference.

"Mind what you have learned. Save you it can."

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Super Mario Bros, Fester's Quest, Rust, PUBG, Everquest, World of Warcraft, Gone Home, Tony Hawks Pro Skater, Bushido Blade, Mortal Kombat, The Terminator, Counter Strike, Oblivion, The Walking Dead, Gone Home, Company of Heroes, Jack Box Party Pack, Tribes, God of War 2

This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, a guest on the show talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that forged connections with others & games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

My guest today is Daniel Cook, chief creative officer at SpryFox, creators of Triple Town, Alphabear, Road Not Taken and many more. Previous to Spryfox Daniel worked at the brand new Epic Mega Games (later simply Epic games) before spending a few years at Microsoft. He has also maintained his incredible design blog Lostgarden for over a decade.

We talk about how much he loved the Amiga, Bitmap Brothers in particular, growing up in rural Maine, his work in the demo scene in the mid nineties, his deep love of deluxe paint and how he got his start in games thanks to an unsolicited portfolio sent by his friend.

He also shares some incredible insight into the business of making games, how much he loved MUDs, the frustration he felt at Microsoft and why flash portals convinced him to get back into game design.

"We're not going to open a newspaper one day and read about you being eaten by a bear, are we?"

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Triple Town, Steambirds, Zaxxon, Donkey Kong, Faerie Tale Adventure, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, StarGlider 2, Tyrion, Quake, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Tetris, Counter Strike, Star Fox Adventures, Thimbleweed Park, Peggle, 1 vs 100, Realm of the Mad God, Hidden Kingdom, Journey

This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, a guest on the show talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that forged connections with others & games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

My guest today is Ed Key, game designer, creator of the incredible Proteus and founder of Twisted Tree games.

We talk Kendall Mint Cake, why the Spectrum game Oh Mummy! had such a profound impact on his younger self, why Stellaris ticks so many boxes, how his dad would gamify their family walks,  why Brian Eno and Ultima 7 are forever linked in his brain, and how Proteus almost came with a fold out cloth map.

"Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors."

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Oh Mummy! Proteus, Ultima 7, Chaos Engine, Stellaris, Civilisation II, FTL, Kentucky Route Zero, Forest of Sleep, Batallion Wars, Counter Strike, Mount and Blade, Joust, Tekken 3, Pikmin, Captain Blood,  Sensible Soccer