You know who directed your favorite films and wrote your favorite screenplays… so why don’t you know the names behind your favorite video games? On this episode, host Cody Gough interviews Patrick Hickey, Jr, author of “The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult and Classic Video Game Developers,” about his conversations with the creators of games like NBA Jam, Night Trap, Maniac Mansion, and more.

Show Notes:

* Patrick Hickey, Jr, creator of ReviewFix.com, discusses:

* The process of inviting game developers to tell him their stories, and what motivated him to share their tales in the first place

* Why the video game industry historically hasn’t put names above brands the way that movie studios and other entities have done in the past

* Some of the most fun and interesting stories from his time writing the book

* How the world of professional wrestling overlaps with his stories and what he’s working on next

* His first forays into voice acting, as well as how he’s found himself contributing to video games in ways he never would have imagined just a few years ago

* You can also hear Patrick as a voice actor in Relentless Rex (the Dino), The Padre (Padre Alexander, the main character), and Tr.1.S (p05). Patrick also wrote Tr.1.S and is the story editor for The Padre.

* Plus: Patrick can do a voice that sounds exactly like The Shockmaster, an infamous botched pro wrestling debut

* Pick up your copy of “The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult and Classic Video Game Developers,” on Amazon or anywhere books are sold.

* To nominate an SNES Classic game for them to review on their next episode, email [email protected] or tweet at Cody @ProducerCody and/or Jon @eatplaygame

* Learn how to connect with us on the GonnaGeek Network, syndication on WGN Plus, our YouTube channel, and more!

* Podcast theme song intro/outro credit: ‘Unity‘ by TheFatRat with permission

* Game/Life Balance AUS official web site: http://www.gamelifebalanceaustralia.com

* Learn something new in just a few minutes every day on Cody’s daily podcast for Curiosity.com