We chat with Mark Darrah about his career at BioWare, including his work on Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Baldur's Gate, and more. Join the veteran game devs as they discuss the art of storytelling in an open world, and highlight the influence of The Ur-Quan Masters on the Mass Effect series.

Check out Mark Darrah's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qabZM40_bN4

0:00 - Theme music

0:14 - Introductions

1:54 - Ur-Quan Masters and Mass Effect

4:14 - Exploring open worlds

10:25 - Storytelling in open worlds

12:18 - Multiplayer storytelling

23:27 - Main content vs side content

25:14 - What do fandoms like

30:30 - Storytelling techniques

34:18 - Making games in teams

43:25 - Conflicting visions and Dragon Age: Inquisition

53:23 - Making a satisfying sequel

1:10:56 - Mark and UQM

Follow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/theurquanmaster

Discuss with us on Discord - https://discord.gg/rasVCDmYKp

Please support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/pistolshrimp

Learn more about Pistol Shrimp - https://pistolshrimpgames.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fred and Dan talk with Chris Remo about designing and writing Firewatch, his ongoing work at Valve, and getting his start at Double Fine. Chris talks about his love for The Ur-Quan Masters and Super Melee, and shares his creative experience across music, writing, and game design.

Check out Chris Remo's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUOi3hyPkt8

0:00 - Theme music

0:14 - Introductions

1:55 - Super Melee and battles

6:47 - Retro gaming

11:00 - Chris and game music

13:02 - Generalists vs specialists

18:15 - Creative process at Double Fine

21:27 - Writing for games

29:18 - Firewatch as a reactive world

32:05 - The hero's journey in games

35:05 - Chris's career in games

36:11 - Narrative design

42:30 - Game genre expectations

50:40 - Chris and UQM

Follow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/theurquanmaster

Discuss with us on Discord - https://discord.gg/rasVCDmYKp

Please support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/pistolshrimp

Learn more about Pistol Shrimp - https://pistolshrimpgames.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fred and Dan chat with Ken Levine about his leadership on the BioShock series, plus his storytelling on System Shock 2, Freedom Force, and Thief: The Dark Project. Ken shares his love for The Ur-Quan Masters and Super Melee, and explains the subtle art of game feel and centering the player's story.

Learn more about Ken and Ghost Story Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOkyTvraWps

0:00 - Theme music

0:14 - Introductions

1:52 - Super Melee

5:06 - UQM combat and story

15:15 - Ken and Unholy War

16:40 - Game feel

25:50 - Player feedback

30:05 - Canon in BioShock and UQM

35:52 - Graphics and the audience

40:04 - Quality assurance

44:26 - Ken's start in the game industry

49:57 - Freedom Force

Follow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/theurquanmaster

Discuss with us on Discord - https://discord.gg/rasVCDmYKp

Please support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/pistolshrimp

Learn more about Pistol Shrimp - https://pistolshrimpgames.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fred and Dan chat with Tim Cain about his career in games, including his leadership on Fallout, Arcanum, The Outer Worlds, and more. Tim explains why The Ur-Quan Masters is one of his favorite role-playing games, and shares his insights on telling an interactive story and finding a game's tone.

Check out Tim Cain's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A08OTbsi_NA

0:00 - Theme music

0:14 - Introductions

1:38 - Tim and UQM

4:31 - Story and characters

10:35 - Colorblind players

13:30 - Procedural generation

17:18 - Making UQM

22:52 - Aliens and Star Trek

27:20 - Tim's start in games

30:24 - Everyone thinks they can write

35:02 - Essence of a great role-playing game

37:42 - Finding a game's tone

44:27 - Game genres diverging

46:46 - Teaching game design

49:21 - Tools and technology

59:54 - Developing UQM2

1:04:43 - Developers playing games

1:08:46 - Multiplayer and MMOs

1:18:46 - Player-driven story

1:25:06 - Tyranny at Obsidian

1:27:05 - Inspiring the player

1:28:42 - What Tim wants to play

1:33:25 - Game trends

1:36:32 - Mysteries in Fallout and UQM

Follow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/theurquanmaster

Discuss with us on Discord - https://discord.gg/rasVCDmYKp

Please support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/pistolshrimp

Learn more about Pistol Shrimp - https://pistolshrimpgames.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our 30th Anniversary Celebration, we have an additional, special episode of the Pistol Shrimp podcast with UQM illustrator George Barr. George was responsible for many of the iconic, physical illustrations which would then become digitized for use in UQM. Beyond UQM, George contributed artwork to science fiction and fantasy works from books, to magazines, to Dungeons and Dragons rule books.

This interview was originally conducted when Paul and Fred visited George’s residence to acquire some of his original works. George talks about his beginnings in art, what it was like to be in Los Angeles on the set of Star Trek, and his techniques for working with physical mediums. It contains several sections where George, Paul, and Fred are rifling through sheafs of artwork which, unfortunately, are not able to be appreciated entirely in an audio recording.

A text transcript is also available.

However, this interview is also special for another reason. In Paul’s own words:

Some of this artwork was, indeed, created for other purposes without UQM2 in mind. We wanted George to be a part of UQM2 just as much as we wanted him to be a part of UQM, and we’re excited to show you some of his involvement. Spoiler Alert: These images are going to be part of UQM2. Also Spoiler Alert: We may or may not have no idea how or why just yet. Maybe you can tell us!

We hope you enjoy this conversation with a key member of the original UQM team and a first look at some of the new pieces that have been created for UQM2 (even if no one knew it at the time).

Last but not least, some of the original UQM pieces seen here are being provided for the first time in the form of high-resolution scans. They contain many pixels and can be downloaded in a very large zip file here.

All the photographs and art for UQM and UQM2 are available on our Patreon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our 30th Anniversary Celebration, we have a special episode of the Pistol Shrimp podcast with none other than Erol Otus. Erol was responsible for several creative parts of The Ur-Quan Masters – art, sound, writing, and voice – but was primarily responsible for creating physical and digital paintings of the various aliens' communications screens. Beyond UQM, Erol has contributed art and design to products and games ranging from Dungeons and Dragons to Skylanders.

Originally recorded for the 25th anniversary, Paul sits down with Erol to discuss what it was like to work on art in the time of UQM, D&D, their experiences with games in Berkeley, California, and even limericks.

A text transcript is also available.

Erol has generously provided some of his artwork outside of UQM to share, as well, on our Patreon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Reiche and Lee Hutchinson returnin for another episode of our podcast about the creation of UQM, UQM2, and the many steps taken to get here.

The main topic for this discussion is all about how war & space (and war in space) influenced our personal upbringings and the history of gaming through our lenses, which in turn influenced us. Why is Paul so obsessed with space combat? What did we learn from science museums, the threat of nuclear warfare, and pressing buttons in front of screens?

Additional information and photos of topics discussed available on Patreon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the first in what we hope will be a series of dialogues with Pistol Shrimp about the making of The Ur-Quan Masters 2. In this opening installment, UQM2 contributor Lee Hutchinson sits down with series co-creator Paul Reiche and digs in on the role character dialogue plays in storytelling. Come for the behind-the-scenes details, stay for Paul’s anecdotes about the early days of the games industry and the role Pogo the Possum played in UQM’s conversation engine!

Check out the Patreon post for visuals and more information about some of the things discussed!

A text transcript is also available.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.