The Examined Game
Visit theexaminedgame.com for all episodes.What do video games reveal about us? In The Examined Game Podcast, peabody-nominated documentary producer Steven Lake speaks with the creators of the world’s most celebrated video games about how they were made and the personal and professional impact games have had on their lives.Steven is a Peabody-nominated producer whose work has appeared on Netflix, BBC Storyville, PBS, and The Guardian.About Steven LakeSteven Lake is the host of The Examined Game Podcast and a Peabody-nominated documentary producer. His work has appeared on Netflix, BBC Storyville, PBS, Al Jazeera, and The Guardian.Hi...
Mastering The Modern Adventure Game | Francisco Gonzalez (Rosewater, Lamplight City, A Golden Wake)
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Today we are talking with Francisco Gonzalez as we go in depth on the genre of video game that I have been playing longer than any other in my life: point and click adventure games. I have been a fan of Francisco's games ever since I stumbled upon Lamplight City. I then had the pleasure of playing back retrospectively through his earlier work, which includes A Golden Wake and Shardlight, before eagerly anticipating the release of Rosewater, an epic western point and click adventure.
We talk about our shared love of...
The Talent Behind Video Game Hair Design | Amandine Marest (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)
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Today I get to talk with Amandine MarestHair & Technical Character artist Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. We cover all things hair related in video games. Amandine's work in Clair Obscure is incredible and it was such a pleasure to deep dive into just how much she and the team thought about the hair in this game and how it represented the personalities of its characters.
We also discuss her love of Final Fantasy hair, including Lighting's from Final Fantasy 12 and of course I get into my own rabbit hole about the contradiction between...
The Mathematics of Interactive Storytelling - Jon Ingold (80 Days, Heaven's Vault, TR-49)
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In today's episode of The Examined Game I speak with co-founder of Inkle Studios, Jon Ingold. I am a huge fan of the work both he and Joseph Humfrey have done under Inkle Studios. Beyond finding new ways to iterate on the adventure game genre, they’ve also done an incredible job of creating mobile-friendly games, giving audiences who might otherwise never play a game like 80 Days the chance to experience one.
One clear takeaway from this conversation is that Jon loves writing. If you've ever played an Inkle Studios game, yo...
The Dial Up Entrepreneur | Scott Miller (Apogee Entertainment, Duke Nukem 3D, Wolfenstein 3D)
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In this episode I speak with Scott Miller, founder of Apogee Entertainment (Commander Keen, Duke Nukem) and 3D Realms (Max Payne, Prey). Scott helped pioneer the shareware model of game distribution in the late 80s and early 90s, releasing large chunks of games for free online long before Steam existed, and asking players to mail in cheques or call directly to order the full version.
Scott literally helped build the gaming industry as we know it today from the ground up. After being rejected by major publishers in his early years...
Hell Broke Loose - The Making of Far Cry 2 | Clint Hocking (Creative Director)
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Today I’m talking with Clint Hocking, Creative Director of Far Cry 2 and Watch Dogs: Legion.
Clint has had a long and varied career in the video game industry, working on the original Splinter Cell games, as well as roles at Ubisoft, Valve, LucasArts, and Amazon Game Studios. This ended up being one of the most dense and thought-provoking conversations I’ve had the privilege of recording. The way Clint thinks about video games and how we as players engage with them was such a pleasure to listen to.
We s...
Making Atomfall: Risk & Reward | Ben Fisher (Head of Design)
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In today’s episode, I speak with Ben Fisher, Head of Design on Atomfall and Sniper Elite: Resistance. Ben is a key creative figure at Rebellion, and we take a deep dive into the philosophy and design process behind Atomfall’s open-world RPG structure.
We talk about the steps that Atomfall had to go through to teach players how to engage with the world they were entering from the very first moments. Atomfall has a different pace to your average open world game, so Ben breaks down the game’s opening in rema...
Writing Outer Wilds: Joy, Grief, and Letting Go | Kelsey Beachum (Outer Wilds, Avowed, Outer Worlds)
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Today I sit down with Kelsey Beachum, writer of Outer Wilds, for a deeply honest conversation about the creative process, including what it was like collaborating with her brother Alex Beachum on one of the most loved indie games of the past decade.
Kelsey clearly poured so much of herself into the writing for Outer Wilds. I actually had no idea just how personal this game was for her. This of course bought up a ton of questions about what it must be like to put your heart on your sleeve...
Scope, testing, and Finishing Games | Nina Freeman (Cibele, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage)
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In today’s episode I speak with game developer Nina Freeman about mistakes, reflection, and the role personal experience can play in game design.
Nina is known for her autobiographical approach to games, incorporating real moments from her own life into projects like Cibele, as well as her work on Tacoma and, more recently, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.
We talk about her early experiences with games, from edutainment titles at the public library through to discovering games like Myst and how they shaped the way she thinks about storytelling and...
Why Platformers need to evolve | Chris Wade (Big Hops)
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The Examined Game #5
In today’s episode I speak with Chris Wade, creator of Big Hops. Big Hops immediately caught my attention as a platformer. While most modern platformers still build on the foundations laid down in the 1990s, Big Hops takes inspiration from emergent gameplay systems found in games like Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Arkane Studio's Dishonored and applies to the platformer genre.
If that sounds like an interesting proposition you're right it is.
Chris talks about the early development of...
Why Great Games still Fail | Mario R. Kroll (Video PR & Marketing expert)
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In today’s episode I speak with Mario R. Kroll, founder of UberStrategist
. Mario has spent more than 30 years working across PR, publishing and marketing in the video game industry, helping studios figure out how to get their games noticed in an increasingly crowded market.
This was a candid conversation about visibility, marketing, networking and the realities of trying to launch games today. We talk about what actually gets a game noticed, why so many developers leave marketing until far too late, and how difficult it has become for smaller ga...
How Portal Was Written | Erik Wolpaw (Portal)
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The Examined Game #4
In this episode of The Examined Game I speak with Erik Wolpaw on writing for video games.
Erik is best known for his work on Portal, Portal 2, the Half-Life 2: Episode One and Half-Life 2: Episode Two, as well as his time at Valve and Double Fine Productions
working on Psychonauts. We talk about environmental storytelling, just how difficult it is to make games funny, and how much of Portal’s world was built through suggestion rather than exposition. Erik breaks down how characters like GLaDOS and Whea...
Why Play Matters | Julia Minamata (The Crimson Diamond)
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The Examined Game #3
Julia Minamata is the solo developer of The Crimson Diamond, a love letter to the classic Sierra On-Line parser adventures. I adored playing The Crimson Diamond and wanted to talk with Julia about the power of play in video games and why classic adventure games still resonate so strongly with players today.
We discuss Julia’s inspiration for the game and the idea of building a game like a doll’s house for the player to lose themselves in. We wade into some hard-core adventure game dept...
Restoring the Mona Lisas of video games | Larry Kuperman (Nightdive Studios)
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In today’s episode I speak with Larry Kuperman, Vice President of Business Development at Nightdive Studios. Larry retired not long after this interview, so I was pleased to chat with such an industry veteran.
Nightdive have made a well-deserved name for themselves with their remakes and remasters of classic games including System Shock, System Shock 2, Blade Runner, Star Wars: Dark Forces, The Thing, Quake and many others.
I sat down with Larry to discuss the ups and downs of remastering and remaking games. We talk about player expectations an...
When Naughty Dog Took A Risk On Uncharted 2 | Richard Lemarchand (Uncharted, Naughty Dog)
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I sat down with co-lead game designer on the original Uncharted trilogy, Richard Lemarchand, to talk about the creative process Naughty Dog took when making Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and how Naughty Dog
approached pacing, cinematic gameplay and level design.
Richard talks about working alongside Amy Hennig, Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann on the original Uncharted trilogy, and how the studio evolved from games like Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter into more story-driven games like Uncharted and The Last of Us.
A large part of the conversation focuses...
