Checkpoints

This is a show about video games, 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 Edmund McMillen, the creator of Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac, Gish and many, many more. He was also one of the developers profiled in the excellent Indie Game The Movie.

We talk about a lot of videogames as we meander through Edmund's life in games. A deep love of early Nintendo, the hilarity of Katamari and Conkers Bad Fur Day, the genius of Overwatch, the wonders of Shareware, and the urban legend generator that is Mortal Kombat 2. 

We also talk about his career in games.  How he got started making flash games just to freak out his college teacher, how he got hooked on the instant gratification of publishing games online, his involvement in the early indie scene in California, his awkward encounter with the Melvins, why Indie Game the Movie was a success and why every developer should make their own version of the Legend of Zelda.

THE BATHROOM WE OPEN THE SHOW TALKING ABOUT - http://twitter.com/edmundmcmillen/status/791717019896860672

"You can't keep the artist down, the art just happens."

PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Goonies 2, Snake Rattle & Roll, Milon's Secret Castle, XCOM, Doom, Descent, Fallout, Gish, Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac, The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, WoW, Katamari, Envirobear, Overwatch, The Witness, Warhammer, Magic The Gathering. 

RSS HERE

Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow

Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk

Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

This is a show about video games, 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 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

This is a show about video games, 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 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 - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

This is a show about video games, 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 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

This is a show about video games, 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 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

This is a show about video games, 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 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

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 Rami Ismail, a Dutch/Egyptian video game developer, creator of presskit() and one half of one of the most prolific and successful independent video game studios of the past few years,  Vlambeer. 

We talk about his very early fascination with how games worked and pulling apart code in QBasic, why the Polystation was a blessing in disguise, questionable tactics in Starsiege: Tribes,  why he enjoys giving talks so much, the runway train that is Vlambeer and the mystery of it's logo, 

"I do what I do for many reasons, and those reasons are life and influence and impact and death and responsibility and legacy and also videogames."

PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Gorillas.bas, Destiny, Nuclear Throne, Starsiege: Tribes, Transport Tycoon, Uncharted 4, Golden Sun, Tiltbrush, Job Simulator, Split/second, Blue Dragon, Metal Gear Solid, Deus Ex, Killer Loop, Contra, Doom, Starcraft.

RSS HERE

Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow

Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk

Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

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 Ori Takemura. Originally from Russia, Ori is an award winning UX and product designer, a video game designer and the founder of qixen-p design. This is perhaps the most international episode yet. I spoke to Ori about growing up in Russia, winning design awards in Germany, being inspired by Japan and living in Singapore.

This is a hell of a chat. We talk about growing up with games in Russia (the 16 bit console wars were televised!), what it's like playing Command & Conquer Red Alert as a Russian teenager, how a Bang & Olufsen CD player changed his life, how Braid changed his life again, how the UX design of twitter is like a video game and how many downloads you can get for your game when you're hit by a truck.

"I'm sorry, but the princess is in another castle."

PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Braid, Space Invaders, Tetris, Carmageddon, Quake, Snake Bird, Ending, Shapist, Tallnum, Bro Force, Command & Conquer, GTA, Scorched Earth, Monument Valley, Thomas was Alone, Deus Ex.

RSS HERE

Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow

Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk

Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

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 Alexis Kennedy, the founder of Failbetter Games, creator of Fallen London, creative director of Sunless Sea, and as of just a few days ago, the first ever guest writer for BioWare.

We talk about how his love of narrative games was awakened playing Colossal Cave on the mainframe at the Oxford University Atmospheric Physics department, the wonder of table top gaming and how Dungeons & Dragons can become a full time job, whether or not the lore in Dark Souls was made up on the fly, the bold decision to leave his job in financial tech and found Failbetter games, and the perhaps even bolder decision to leave that in order to explore his creative process.

There's also a bonus segment at the end we recorded just a few days ago about his relationship with BioWare, and how he landed the job as their first ever guest writer.

'Press X to write sonnets, press Y to write odes.'

PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Colossal Cave, Adventure, Space Invaders, Sunless Sea, Baldurs Gate, Spelunky, Darkest Dungeon, The Thick of It game, Quake, Civilisation, Crackdown, Starcraft, Elite, Dark Souls

RSS HERE

Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow

Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk

Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

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 Bennett Foddy, the creator of QWOP, GIRP and Multibowl and a professor at the NYU Game Center.

We talk about Bennett's extraordinary journey to game design via philosophy, ring tone advertisements and a brief stint as the bassist for the band Cut Copy. We talk about a whole heap of different games, and get into why Australia is a country of pirates, why philosophers don't play videogames, why he values breadth over depth and why the remix should be a new form of game design.

'To pretend, I actually do the thing: I have therefore only pretended to pretend.'

PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: QWOP, Multibowl, Demons Souls, Dark Souls, Joust, Stephen Sausage Roll, 720, Off the Wall, Rampage, Gauntlet 2, Rastan Saga, Elite, Legend of Zelda - Skyward Sword, ROM CHECK FAIL, Commander Keen, Command and Conquer, Way of the Exploding Fist, Ikari Warriors, Alien 8

RSS HERE

Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow

Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk

Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki