Human Can Opener Podcast

In the latest episode of Human Can Opener I interview the legendary video game designer, Josh Sawyer. Josh Sawyer has been involved in some of the most iconic games of the past 30 years, working on the cancelled Fallout 3, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout New Vegas, Pillars Of Eternity and Pentiment.

We discuss the career journey of Josh, his experiences working across a variety of projects and teams, and all of the interesting game design ideas that came from them.

Timestamps Josh Sawyer

00:00 Early Years

24:00 Obsidian & Fallout New Vegas

1:12:00 Pillars Of Eternity

1:20:00 Pentiment

1:43:00 Disco Elysium

Remember you can check out the full story of Disco Elysium with Max Stats in the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwfvoKfZEWS9akVSbg99jds3

Check out 3 seasons of Disco Elysium Podcasts in the playlists below:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwfsoqZ9RcDqBRc8HiKp7qYM

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwclAOOf_bSyaXFsJatB3879

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-Qbwf2kzBtXPbFJDCkwd1qWBwb

Check out all the Cool Secrets & Video Essay Stuff Here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwcS3GwXrL7lrRSsFynQU10a

Maybe you want Disco Elysium Memes?

Find them here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwdkX53f-6nL6RaUDYHO4qqj

Follow me on social media here:

https://x.com/The41stPrecinct

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https://bsky.app/profile/the41stprecinct.bsky.social

Support the channel here: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/the41stprecinct

Märten Rattasepp is a freelance writer who worked on Disco Elysium, Pentiment, Death & Taxes, and Broken Alliance.Timestamps00:00 Introduction to Märten Rattasepp17:52 Getting involved with ZAUM and Disco Elysium32:17 Märten's work on Disco ElysiumRemember you can check out the full story of Disco Elysium with Max Stats in the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwfvoKfZEWS9akVSbg99jds3Check out 3 seasons of Disco Elysium Podcasts in the playlists below:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwfsoqZ9RcDqBRc8HiKp7qYMhttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwclAOOf_bSyaXFsJatB3879https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-Qbwf2kzBtXPbFJDCkwd1qWBwbCheck out all the Cool Secrets & Video Essay Stuff Here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwcS3GwXrL7lrRSsFynQU10aMaybe you want Disco Elysium Memes? Find them here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwdkX53f-6nL6RaUDYHO4qqjFollow me on social media here: https://x.com/The41stPrecincthttps://www.instagram.com/the41stprecinct/https://bsky.app/profile/the41stprecinct.bsky.socialSupport the channel here: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/the41stprecinct

Legendary video game documentarian, cretor of noclip and of course the recent Disco Elysium 6 part documentary series, Danny O'Dwyer joins me on the Human Can Opener Podcast. We talk about the so-called "good old days" of starting out in a pioneering era for crowd funded video content, some of the fun stuff Danny got up to making early documentaries, and of course we explore the experience of making a documentary on Disco Elysium.You can check out the Disco Elysium series up to episode 5 now, with early access on the final episode plus incoming bonus content coming to their patreon!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH6mUTHZ5C4&list=PL-THgg8QnvU4a7h__E8u1XhML9076xNfoBig shoutout to  @NoclipDocs  for consistently producing some of the best video game documentaries out there. If you haven’t checked them out yet, you’re missing some incredible behind-the-scenes stories from the games industry, make sure to subscribe to their Youtube & Social channels on the links below:youtube.com/@NoclipDocsyoutube.com/@noclip2youtube.com/@noclippodcastyoutube.com/@nocliparchivenoclipvideo.bsky.socialinstagram.com/noclipvideoAnd if you want to help them keep making these films, consider supporting them on Patreon: patreon.com/noclip

Christofer Bodegard returns to the podcast to discuss the now released cRPG inspired by Disco Elysium & Planescape Torment, Esoteric Ebb!Esoteric Ebb is a single-player CRPG inspired by the freedom of tabletop adventures. Unravel a political conspiracy with your goblin sidekick. Roll dice in tense encounters. Become a cleric of legends or completely ruin the campaign.You can purchase Esoteric Ebb on Steam here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2057760/Esoteric_Ebb/Check out the website for Esoteric Ebb: https://esotericebb.com/

Disco Elysium writer Olga Moskvina joins me on the Human Can Opener Podcast.

In this exclusive interview, I talk with Stefanie Joosten, the actress, model, and musician best known for portraying Quiet in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.Stefanie shares her experiences working with Hideo Kojima, her transition from gamer in to games industry icon and the evolution of her creative career.We also chat about her recent playthrough of Disco Elysium, what she took away from its storytelling and world-building, and how narrative-driven games continue to inspire her as an artist.You can follow Stefanie on Twitch & Social Media via the links below:Twitch: https://m.twitch.tv/stefaniejoosten/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stefaniejoosten/Timestamps:00:00 Pre Show Chat05:49 Stefanie's Favourite Games17:49 Japan & Metal Gear Solid33:57 Gamescom 202542:00 Twitch Streaming47:31 Disco Elysium

In this episode of Human Can Opener i’m joined by People Make Games co founder, Chris Bratt. Most of you will probably know Chris from the two documentaries PMG have published on the seemingly bottomless pit of drama and intrigue which has come as a result of ZAUM studio’s battles in the court of law and of public opinion.Chris and PMG did a huge amount of work to uncover much of the detail in this story, revealing much of it to all of us for the first time, but they did also face a lot scruinty for the overall message they communicated.We talk about the first documentary, the responses to some of that criticism, how those events influenced the production of the follow up documentary, and explored in greater detail some of the challenges Chris and the team faced not just in their work on ZAUM but the channel as a whole.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro01:22 Who Is Christ Bratt & What Is PMG?30:29 Who Stole Disco Elysium? (First Documentary)1:26:47 The Disco Elysium Saga Keeps Getting Worse (Second Documentary)1:45:48 Closing ThoughtsSupport People Make Games Below:https://www.youtube.com/@UCZB6V9fUov0Mx_us3MWWILg https://www.patreon.com/cw/PeopleMakeGamesView The Two Disco Elysium Docs Here:https://youtu.be/JGIGA8taN-M?si=e3QJmm2mX6PMDD9Dhttps://youtu.be/lZEAs6M1wts?si=jvovlR4IcZ5iKaNECheck Out More Human Can Opener Here:Season 1:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwfsoqZ9RcDqBRc8HiKp7qYM&si=WdgfsA58MHwxpjVkSeason 2:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwclAOOf_bSyaXFsJatB3879&si=zgVgl-jf8ZLzb2KRSeason 3:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-Qbwf2kzBtXPbFJDCkwd1qWBwb&si=inDjgXgBizBzUdO-

This episode of Human Can Opener features Twigames founder Veleriy Minenko.Twigames is an independent game development studio based in Kyiv, Ukraine, founded in 2015. The team of around 20 developers, artists, and designers specializes in full-cycle game production, offering services from programming and art to porting and narrative design across PC, console, mobile, and VR/AR platforms. In addition to contract work, Twigames are now working on their very own title called Hollow Home, a narrative-driven game inspired by real stories of life during the war in Ukraine. Valeriy talks candidly about the challenges they have faced during the last 3 years since the invasion of Ukraine and how they have managed to continue being creative in the face of those circumstances.You can support Twigames by playing the demo of Hollow Home and wishlisting here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2362070/?snr=1_5_9__205

Join me in a thoughtful conversation with Giulia Martino—an italian game critic, and devoted gamer who has an immense passion for indie games and the people behind them.Giulia’s reflections on becoming a writer, her hobby as an amateur mycologist, independent game development and her broader engagement with the indie scene, some of her favourite indie games to look out for this year, and some key articles she has written on serious topics such as the war in Ukraine and the genocide taking place in Gaza.Please make sure to read all of Giulias work via the links below:https://www.giuliamartino.eu/https://www.finalround.it/staff/6/giulia-martinohttps://multiplayer.it/account/utente/1812924/giulia-martino/articoli/TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro00:42 First Steps As A Gamer19:00 Becoming A Game Critic32:00 Mushrooms!40:00 Indie Games01:10:47 Games Being Made In War Torn Countries - Ukraine & Palestine1:43:22 PlayHer & Female Representation In games1:57:16 Disco Elysium, ZAUM, and Hopes For The Future

Speaking to members of the Group IBEX translation team about Sacred & Terrible Air.