The Unofficial PopCap PopCast

Isaac and Steve continue their chat with artist-engineer Josh Langley, this time getting bigly big into Bejeweled in many of its forms, among tons of other things. WOW! 

CHAPTERS
00:00  The Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:19  Hello and Welcome
00:49  Josh Langley
01:06  Previously on...
02:13  You Don't Want the Score to Go Over a Million
03:32  High Points at PopCap
04:28  Bejeweled 3
13:39  Leaving PopCap
15:44  Top Tank
22:06  Nano Man
24:08  So Many Resources
25:25  Blue Wizard
26:06  Shell Shockers
29:19  Kids Don't Mind Minecraft Level Graphics
35:02  Really Big Shot in the Dark
35:33  We Didn't Set Out To Destroy Your Children's Education
36:47  Medium-Sized Fish in a Very Small Pond
37:06  New and Cool?
38:26  Belltown Bird
38:59  Endlessly Entertaining  

LINKS

Top Tank Post Mortem
https://medium.com/@FunFetched/top-tank-a-post-mortem-that-sort-of-isn-t-cb023d0646d4

Nano Man - web URL?
https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=29017

Shell Shockers
https://shellshock.io

Isaac and Steve chat with game-making powerhouse Josh Langley, an artist-coder double threat responsible for a ton of behind the scenes PopCap glory as well as Heavy Weapon, one of the greatest bullet hell shooters ever unleashed upon the world. MEGALASER!!! Also featuring several minutes of footage from PopCorn Dragon, an unreleased PopCap classic.

CHAPTERS
00:00  The Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:19  Hello and Welcome
00:45  Josh Langley
01:15  The Whole Package
01:48  Jack of All Trades
02:26  Commodore 64
02:56  Tandy Color Computer 3
03:21  Radio Shack
06:50  Working on Farms, Computer Aided Draftsman
08:08  2D renders
08:16  The Gems in Bejeweled 2
08:39  How Did You End Up at PopCap?
14:10  Bejewled Deluxe
15:06  Atomica Guy
15:48  Heavy Weapon!!!
22:47  Biggest Breakaway from Casual Game Model
28:36  A Swipe at When Pigs Fly
30:57  Bejeweled Twist & 3
31:41  Egg Fu
31:58  Coming Up With Games Strictly From Puns
34:59  The Popcorn Dragon Situation
40:30  Popcorn Dragon LIVE!
51:47  So What Happened?
53:20  4th and Battery?
55:35  I Only Rage on the Inside
56:20  Honestly, Thank You
59:08  And On That Bombshell
59:59  Atomic Tank (Reprise)
  

#popcap
#popcapgames
#pvz
#plantsvszombies 
#bejeweled
#heavyweapon

Join former PopCap Games writer/designer Steve Notley as he plays through games he worked on.

This week: Part 3 of Peggle Adventure mode, featuring the flippy Frenchness of Claude and the terrifying horrorminding of Renfield.

Listen in awe as Steve fumbles his way through a bunch of Peggle levels. Delightful!

#popcap
#popcapgames
#peggle

CHAPTERS

00:00  Pop Plays
00:18  Hello Greetings Welcome
00:35  Peggle
00:59  Claude
01:36  5-1 Pearl Clam
05:20  5-2 Insane Aquarium
08:04  5-3 Tasty Waves
12:34  5-4 Our Favorite Eel
15:29  5-5 Love Story
20:02  Renfield
20:33  6-1 Waves
23:22  6-2 Spiderweb
27:52  6-3 Blockers
30:52  6-4 Baseball
33:22  6-5 Vermin
38:39  See You All Next Time

Even more and ever deeper with Isaac, Steve and Jason Kapalka, co-founder of PopCap Games!

CHAPTERS
00:00  The Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:19  Hello and Welcome
01:27  Previously On...
02:05  The iPhone Port
03:23  PvZ 2
04:41  Cash Cow
06:49  Something Very Powerful
07:26  Frictionless Entry Point
07:53  PopCap: Games With Character (except Bejeweled)
11:01  Toolbox of Secret Sauces?
13:18  Who Is Playing This Game?
16:57  Candy Crush
19:06  Mobile Is Its Own Thing
21:00  Freemium Model
26:31  Analytic Feedback
28:56  Super Easy To Do An Impulse Purchase
31:48  100 Guys To Find That 1 Guy
31:57  Animal Issues
33:27  Kids
36:28  Dominion 3
39:40  Unspeakable Complexity
44:55  Angène de Portrine
46:18  The Buyout
50:56  Larry Bowman
57:02  Supposed to Stick Around
59:25  Garden Warfare Was Not the Kind of Game PopCap Could Make
1:03:09  John Woo
1:04:45  Kind of Amorphous
1:05:01  Get Stuff Done By Hovering
1:06:08  Stormcrow Tavern & Mysterious Package
1:08:12  Space Tyrant
1:11:59  Half the Team
1:17:03  The DNA and Influence
1:21:44  Charmed Existence
1:24:15  Now or Then?
1:24:22  It's Not Like It Used To Be, But It'll Do

LINKS

Blue Wizard
https://bluewizard.com/

Mysterious Package
https://mysteriouspackage.com/

Dinosaur Erotica - Lola Faust
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lola-Faust/author/B0BK59Q62W

Arcana Spirit Lounge
https://arcanabar.com/

Storm Crow Manor
https://stormcrow.com/

Steve and Isaac go allllll the way back, before PopCap was a glint in anyone's eye, with PopCap Co-Founder Jason Kapalka. How did PopCap come to be? Do video games make money? What was it like to create Bejeweled? What did he think of Plants vs Zombies during its development? All this and so much more. Indulge!

CHAPTERS
00:00  The Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:19  Hello and Welcome
00:48  Jason Kapalka is Indeed Very Special
01:49  Blue Wizard
03:24  Long Before PopCap
03:45  The Gateway
06:15  Computer Gaming World
06:32  TEN/Pogo
08:05  The Hustle of the Writing Job
13:50  Dark Sun Online
15:55  meeting Brian and John
19:51  Sexy Action Cool
21:49  creating Bejeweled
31:10  Microsoft paying a couple grand a month
39:00  Omnipresent on Burrito
44:47  Drink Responsibly Often
49:58  PvZ Getting Off the Ground
59:20  There's No Way We Can Sell This For $20 on Steam
1:00:28  Maybe Plants vs Zombies Would Work on iPhone
1:00:32  And on that...

#popcap
#popcapgames
#pvz
#plantsvszombies 
#bejeweled

Unofficial PopCap Popcast co-host and former PopCap Games writer/designer Steve Notley plays some PopCap Games he worked on. 

This week we continue with Peggle Adventure mode, exploring the Egyptian mysteries of yarn-obsessed Kat Tut and the head-scratching spacial utterances of that oddest of aliens, Splork Sporkan.

The Peggle gameplay and background chitchat doesn't get hotter or more enthralling than here on Pop Plays, so do yourself a favor and check it out!

Former PopCap writer/designer Steve Notley plays some PopCap Games he worked on over the years, narratin' all the while.

First up: Peggle, one of the great games of all time. OF ALL TIME. Thrill along with Steve as he plays through the first two sections of Peggle's Adventure mode, introducing us to Headmaster Bjorn Unicorn and the irrepressible Jimmy Lightning. 

It's white-hot Peggle action with loads of commentary, chit-chat, and inaudible mumbling. Hooray!

Isaac and Steve continue their conversation with Monte Michaelis, Art Director on Plants vs. Zombies 2. 

Monte shares his unique perspective on the complex processes that led to the followup to the classic original PvZ, discussing ups, downs, frustrations, triumphs, plus all sorts of stuff in between and besides. Revel in the reveals, PvZ fans!

CHAPTERS

00:00  The Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:19  Hello Greetings Bonjour
01:13  Previously on...
01:52  Planet vs. Zombies
04:02  Flash Facebook PvZ
11:26  Everything Around Us Is Shifting
13:28  Desirability, Viability, Feasibility
17:03  Vague Target, Vague Solution
19:39  Lionizing Suffering
20:34  Worthwhile Experiences
22:04  Surviving as a Creative
30:51  It's About Time
37:13  Premium to Freemium
42:32  PvZ2 Is Trying To Do a Really Difficult Thing
44:02  Still Dealing With the Consequences
45:29  The Winchester House
47:41  Peak Joy and Rough Trenches
50:19  Spintop
52:33  I Remember My Emotions
54:21  The Best Version of Myself
58:45  Just Keep Moving
1:00:09  Where Is My Happiness In This?

LINKS

badpennygoods.com
https://www.badpennygoods.com/
(real physical goods)

ADPList
https://adplist.org/mentors/montye-michaelis
(mentoring)

thisismonte.com
https://www.thisismonte.com/
(Monte stuff!)

LinkedIn Monte Michaelis
https://www.linkedin.com/in/montemichaelis/
(Monte has been extremely busy since his PopCap days. So many talents and experiences!)

Isaac and Steve get into it with Monte Michaelis, Art Director on Plants vs. Zombies 2. 

Being one of the few people who worked through much of PvZ2's early development, Monte has a unique perspective on the forces that shaped the follow-up to the classic original. 

Game Jams, unicycles, cat cutouts and the all-important art of distiguishing between what's clever and what's clear are just a tiny fraction of the mysteries these three old-school PopCappers discuss. Chow down, PopCap and PvZ fans!

CHAPTERS

00:00  The Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:19  Hello Greetings Bonjour
00:58  Welcoming Monte Michaelis
02:53  Biggs Darklighter
03:13  Semi-rural Alaska
04:18  Animation
11:22  First Introduction to PopCap
12:44  "Where's My Art?"
16:40  Working on Blitz
18:17  Commercial Value of Attention
22:50  Game Jams
23:20  Michael Jackson Unicycle Daredevil
27:37  Disco Zombie
31:48  Being Clever vs. Being Clear
34:03  Snackers
35:05  Moving Into Plants vs Zombies 2
38:49  Vector Rather Than Pixel
42:06  Plant Food
43:47  Farmageddon
46:32  "PvZ2 is cancell bed."
46:59  Higher Fidelity
49:49  New Peashooter & Sunflower Animations
58:32  PvZ2 Design: Mohan Rajagopalan
59:28  Exponentially Better
1:00:35  And On That...

LINKS

badpennygoods.com
https://www.badpennygoods.com/
(real physical goods)

ADPList
https://adplist.org/mentors/montye-michaelis
(mentoring)

thisismonte.com
https://www.thisismonte.com/
(Monte stuff!)

LinkedIn Monte Michaelis
https://www.linkedin.com/in/montemichaelis/
(Monte has been extremely busy since his PopCap days. So many talents and experiences!)

Isaac and Steve continue the conversation with hyper early PopCap hires Jeff Weinstein (code) and Tysen Henderson (art/design). This time around worms are booked, wishes are made, star police are allied, and indy game studios are quit from after they're bought by titantic multinational billion-dollar corporations. So much stuff!

CHAPTERS

00:00  The Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:19  Hello Greetings Bonjour
01:20  Previously on...
05:40  Original Bookworm
08:09  DJ Qbert's Wave Twisters
10:07  Let's Follow Up Bookworm
15:13  An Overarching Bad Guy
16:42  Comical Dialogue
18:27  Writing in Games
23:11  The Couch
25:26  The AAA of Casual Games
26:43  Bookworm Adventures 2
29:11  Robo Dojo
36:03  Allied Star Police
39:47  Too Loud
40:53  Bookworm Heroes
45:31  End Up in the Ditch
46:13  Time to Split
50:42  Shortcut to Riot
52:38  A Lot of Nothing
53:16  Chrono Dojo
54:00  The Last 15 Years
55:08  Space Otter Charlie
56:03  PopCap Replay System
1:00:44  One Good Brian Story
1:03:00  Takeaway
1:05:12  I Miss Playing Foosball With You
1:06:36  And On That...

LINKS
DJ Q-Bert - Wave Twisters - Animated Film - 2001
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQVRTdRnQiQ