Send us Fan Mail Today I'm talking with Bennett Foddy, creator of QWOP, GIRP, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, and co-creator of Baby Steps. Bennett's games are known for torturing players, but today I get to deep dive into the philosophy behind his design choices, and they run a lot deeper than you might think. Bennett is incredibly thoughtful and considered when it comes to players, which might surprise you considering the challenges he puts in their way. In this interview, we talk a lot...

Send us Fan Mail Hi all, Steven Lake here from The Examined Game. So i've had a couple weeks where i've been short of a guest but I didn't want to leave you totally hanging so I thought i'd have a chat with you all about the new Resident Evil movie, how Star Wars Zero Company has saved me from a bad save scumming habit and to get really honest with you about my addiction to buying and not playing Assassin's Creed games. I'm trying to get a good work flow in place so i'm not missing wee...

Send us Fan Mail Technoblade Never Dies Documentary Announcement: https://youtu.be/Lj0mDrEKSmA?si=N0pV54fYQg5HlnxF Variety Piece: https://variety.com/2026/film/news/technoblade-never-dies-documentary-minecraft-riot-games-1236850438/ Today my guest on The Examined Game Podcast is me... Steven Lake. Look life has been busy with a few projects and for the first time in 7 months I didn't line up a guest for the podcast. So I thought i'd spend a bit of time telling you what i'm up to outside of t...

Send us Fan Mail Today I am talking with Jon Ingold, co-founder of Inkle Studios. Inkle have brought us some incredible adventure games over the years, including 80 Days, TR-49, Heaven’s Vault, Expelled and Overboard. This discussion was part of Telltale Games’ Choices Matter Festival, which premiered on Steam back in August. They gave myself and Jon the opportunity to dive into all the potential that comes from great choice making in video games. We cover everything from The Walking Dead thr...

Send us Fan Mail Today I am talking with Carrie Patel, director of Avowed, who worked on the Pillars of Eternity series as well as The Outer Worlds while working at Obsidian. I've long wanted to have a discussion around the direction that Obsidian decided to take with its RPGs by making games that actually get released! So we talk about the scope and ambition that went into making a game like Avowed, how Obsidian made an RPG that could stand on its own two legs and separate itself from the Sk...

Send us Fan Mail Today I’m talking with Sean Velasco, creator of Hollow Knight and Mina the Hollower. Mina was my first Soulslike. That might sound strange, given the genre’s reputation for brutal difficulty, but Mina came with a whole range of modifiers designed to make the game more accessible. The funny thing is, I never ended up using them. Instead, I persevered. So I wanted to talk to Sean about the philosophy behind Mina, the idea of making a Soulslike that could be accessible to eve...

Send us Fan Mail Today on The Examined Game, I'm talking with Mark Darrah, who spent over two decades at BioWare. Mark was part of the studio's early days as it took a huge risk on the original Baldur's Gate. He then helped shepherd the studio through a series of hits, including Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, and was an integral part of helping to launch the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. This is such a fascinating insight into the ups and downs that come with monumental success in...

Send us Fan Mail Today on The Examined Game, I’m talking with Cole Medeiros, who was tasked with working alongside ConcernedApe (Eric Barone), the creator of Stardew Valley, to turn one of the most beloved video games of all time into a board game. We talk about the ups and downs, challenges and pressure of not only making a great board game, but doing it with the IP of one of the greatest video games of the 21st century. Cole tells us about the unconventional interview that got him the job,...

Send us Fan Mail Doug Cockle, the voice of Geralt from The Witcher video games, believes that underneath Geralt’s cold exterior is a man who feels things deeply. So today I’m talking to Doug to discuss the beating heart beneath one of video games’ greatest protagonists: how Doug came to find Geralt’s voice, what he sees in the character, and what we can learn from Geralt, someone who is always willing to step up and leave the world a little better than they found it. In this conversation, we...

Send us Fan Mail Today I'm talking with Nate Purkeypile, the former Bethesda artist behind some of the studio's most iconic environments. Nate is a 22 year game industry veteran who worked on Fallout 3, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 and Starfield during his time at Bethesda Game Studios. He was Lead Artist on Fallout 76, as well as Lead Lighting Artist and Senior World Artist during the early development of Starfield. Across those games, Nate helped create some of Bethesda's most memorable ...