Play, Watch, Listen

40 Episodes
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By: Alanah Pearce

Join Alanah Pearce (game writer), Mike Bithell (game director), and Austin Wintory (game composer) as they talk about all the games, movies, TV and 'whatever else' that took their interest that week, from three unique perspectives in the games industry.

IP Rights & Stop Killing Games
#173
Last Wednesday at 11:50 PM

Austin, Mike, and Alanah chat about IP Rights and our (very early, uniformed lol) thoughts on the "Stop Killing Games" petition.


Mike talks TRON: Catalyst! (& Alanah learns to code)
#172
07/12/2025

This week, Mike and Alanah talk about learning to use game engine Godot, the brilliant lighting in TRON: Catalyst, and ethics in genitalia shown in film.


A Chat to the Creator of Blue Prince!
#171
06/17/2025

This week, Alanah, Mike, and Austin sat down to chat to Tonda Ros - the director of Blue Prince. Apologies for Tonda's echo!


We love Blue Prince (but maybe won't finish it, is that okay?)
#170
05/24/2025

Alanah and Austin chat Blue Prince, addictive video games, and Satisfactory.


From The Banner Saga to Towerborne (ft. Arnie Jorgensen)
#169
05/08/2025

This week, Mike, Alanah, and Austin chat to co-founder of Stoic, the creators of The Banner Saga and, more recently, Towerborne!


Our Nintendo Switch 2 Reactions!
#168
04/06/2025

This week, Alanah and Mike discuss the Switch 2 presentation! 


Lay-Offs, Microsoft's new AI (sorry, Phil), and Who Framed Roger Rabbit
#167
03/07/2025

This week, Alanah and Mike start out by talking about the lay-offs across WB Games, then jump into talking about Microsoft's newly announced AI "Muse", and then we - finally - get Alanah's thoughts on Who Framed Roger Rabbit.


Talking to Eternal Strands director Mike Laidlaw!
#166
02/26/2025

This week, Austin and Alanah sit down to talk to Mike Laidlaw, the game director of Dragon Age: Origins who most recently started his own studio and make ETERNAL STRANDS. Which Austin also worked on, because of course he did. He cannot be contained.


The Studio Making Four Games A YEAR!? (ft. Xalavier Nelson)
#165
02/15/2025

Apologies for the delay here - the audio file was corrupted! This week, Mike and Alanah are joined by Strange Scaffold's Xalavier Nelson Jr to talk about how the studio makes so many high quality games, and what it really means to be a good game director.


164. The State of Video Games in 2025
#164
01/27/2025

After a break due to the LA fires - which we talk about to begin with here - we chat about a recent 200-page document called "The State of Video Games in 2025" from Matthew Ball. If you'd like links to the charities we mentioned, please check those out on the YouTube version of the podcast!


Game Design Challenges & the Indiana Jones Game!
#163
12/23/2024

Happy four years of PWL! Sorry about Mike's audio here, we don't know what happened.


162. Can Indies Save The Games Industry?
#162
12/06/2024

Alanah left her job at Sony, and Mike got in trouble for saying something on Bluesky. We discuss the state of the games industry now that it's December 2024, and the notion that "indies will save" everything.


Should DLC Be Nominated for Game of the Year?
#161
11/24/2024

We're back from a brief hiatus! Immediately discussing: should Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree be nominated for GOTY even though it's a DLC? Also: Mike announced another video game! 


We Love 11 Bit Studios
#160
10/18/2024

This week, FROSTPUNK 2! 


Star Wars: Outlaws and Bugs in Video Games
#159
09/20/2024

This week, AUSTIN TURNS 40 (technically over a week ago at the time of publishing). So, we indulge him with almost an entire episode about Star Wars (Outlaws) and video game bugs.


158. Should Games Cost More?
#158
09/07/2024

This week, Alanah, Austin, and Mike discuss the economic state of the games industry and if game prices need to go from $60 to $70.


This Episode is Mostly About The Expanse
#157
08/21/2024

After a month off, we have returned to bring you TOP QUALITY VIDEO GAME CONTENT! But mostly, a lot of us talking about the TV show The Expanse. And Sex in the City?


GamePass gets a Price Increase
07/20/2024

Austin, Mike, and Alanah chat about Austin's demanding freelance schedule, the GamePass price increase (and GamePass' impact as a whole), and the Halifax Harbor Explosion. Note: almost all details of said Halifax explosion are, indeed, incorrect.


Alanah is Suddenly Obsessed with 1993's Myst
#155
07/02/2024

Alanah and Mike discuss OLD game development! And Myst! 


Our thoughts on Summer Game Fest... & Music Licensing
#154
06/17/2024

This week we talk about Summer Game Fest and, because we never stay on topic, music licensing! Also featuring Rahul. 


Games Journalism is Very, Very Broken
05/29/2024

This episode features journalist Nathan Grayson chatting to Mike and Alanah about the state of games journalism (and that side of the industry) in 2024. This comes after IGN announced multiple aquisitions.


The Fallout TV Show ft. Tim Cain (the creator of Fallout!)
#152
05/11/2024

This week, Alanah and Austin chat to one of the creators of the Fallout franchise, Tim Cain, all about the Fallout TV show. Includes spoilers.


From Actor to Game Director!
#151
04/29/2024

This week, we talk to Abubakar Salim about his transition from actor to full-blown game director. How did he do it!?


WE TURN ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY!
#150
04/12/2024

Featuring Rahul Kohli, and the return of Troy, AND we're all in the same room!?


This year's GDC
#149
03/30/2024

This week, Mike and Alanah chat about GDC, LinkedIn, business cards, and give great life advice.


TikTok Ban, Kate Middleton, Dune 2 & More!
#148
03/18/2024

A LOT OF TOPICS THIS WEEK, WE SIMPLY CAN'T BE CONTAINED.


Even More Games Industry Lay-Offs
#147
03/04/2024

This week Mike and Alanah chat about the continued lay-offs impacting the games industry.


Games We Wish We Could Play Again for the First Time
#146
02/17/2024

It's an Austin and Alanah special, and we actually talk about video games the WHOLE TIME!? This week, we talk about games we wish we could play again, and games that fundamentally 'change' however many hours in.


Zoom of Theseus
#145
02/06/2024

The title says it all, I don't understand what more context you could possibly need?


The Gang Has an Existential Crisis
#144
01/20/2024

Apologies for the weird audio mix here. Regardless, this week we talk about Society of the Snow (a little), and then delve into the world of AI and capitalism. Again. Oh no.


What is "game direction", anyway?
#143
12/26/2023

This is publishing a little later than planned because of internet issues, but this week we talk about Cunk on Earth, game direction, and more! Thanks for another year of listening to Play, Watch, Listen, everyone!


The Lay-Offs (& Our Favourite Things of the Year)
#142
12/10/2023

You can't talk about good games this year without also talking about lay-offs, so hey, let's do both!


The Fall of the House of Usher ft. Rahul Kohli & Andy Grush!
#141
11/19/2023

This week, Austin and Alanah chat to Rahul (actor) and Andy (composer and 1/2 of the Newton Brothers) about their work on The Fall of the House of Usher! Also, Stray Gods gets nominated for a Grammy, and the F1 Grand Prix debuts in Vegas. Apologies for the audio levels.


Unity's CEO Resigned
#140
10/15/2023

An update on the Unity system, and an important question: do you own any baskets? Why?


We Have Questions About Starfield's Design
#139
09/25/2023

This week, Mike and Alanah go over some of the biggest question's about Starfield.


Explaining the Unity Engine drama ft. Rami Ismail
#138
09/20/2023

We're back! This week Austin chats about Jacob Collier - apparently the best musician alive - and then Alanah asks Mike and special guest Rami Ismail all about the Unity drama.


The Games Industry and Communication
#137
08/23/2023

This week, Mike and Alanah discuss some of the responses to Baldur's Gate 3's exceptional quality.


136. Taylor Swift and Stray Gods (ft. Liam Esler!)
#136
08/17/2023

We have our first ever guest! Summerfall Games' Liam Esler joins Alanah and Austin to talk about Taylor Swift's enormous Eras Tour, plus, of course, the launch of Stray Gods.


Austin talks Stray Gods
#135
07/30/2023

This week, Alanah, Mike, and Austin are back to chat about Stray Gods, plus a little bit of Barbie and Oppenheimer at the very end.


Who is the Apple Vision Pro for?
#134
06/10/2023

This week, we talk about Apple's new Vision Pro and how it might assist with each of our vocations, as well as AI, again. Turns out it's still relevant. Who'd have thought?