Episodes
Writing for the Game That Blew Your Mind | Jonathan Zimmerman (Life …
Send us Fan Mailwrite me at steven@theexaminedgame.com and let me know what you think!What does it feel like to land your dream job working on the follow-up to a game that blew your mind? This is exactly what happened to Jonathan Zimmerman when he landed a writing gig on Life Is Strange: Be…
How Inkle Studios Built a Sustainable Game Studio | Joseph Humphry
Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode of The Examined Game I talk with co-founder of Inkle Studios (80 Days, TR-49, Heaven’s Vault, Overboard, A Highland Song, Expelled, Sorcery) Joseph Humphry. This interview is a counterpart to my chat with Jon Ingold, the other co-founder of Inkle. I talked with J…
How Outer Wilds Taught Us to Make Peace With Death | Alex Beachum Cre…
Send us Fan Mail In today's episode of The Examined Game, I am talking with the creator of Outer Wilds, Alex Beachum. We get into the weeds of how the original prototype of the game came about back when Alex was studying game design, his approach to development, including the idea of "emotional pro…
Mastering The Modern Adventure Game | Francisco Gonzalez (Rosewater, …
Send us Fan Mail 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 ple…
The Mathematics of Interactive Storytelling - Jon Ingold (80 Days, He…
Send us Fan Mail 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…
The Dial Up Entrepreneur | Scott Miller (Apogee Entertainment, Duke N…
Send us Fan Mail 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…
Hell Broke Loose - The Making of Far Cry 2 | Clint Hocking (Creative …
Send us Fan Mail 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 …
Making Atomfall: Risk & Reward | Ben Fisher (Head of Design)
Send us Fan Mail 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 A…
Writing Outer Wilds: Joy, Grief, and Letting Go | Kelsey Beachum (Out…
Send us Fan Mail 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…
Scope, testing, and Finishing Games | Nina Freeman (Cibele, Lost Reco…
Send us Fan Mail 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 wel…
Why Platformers need to evolve | Chris Wade (Big Hops)
Send us Fan Mail 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 sys…
Why Great Games still Fail | Mario R. Kroll (Video PR & Marketing exp…
Send us Fan Mail 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 w…
How Portal Was Written | Erik Wolpaw (Portal)
Send us Fan Mail 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 wo…
Why Play Matters | Julia Minamata (The Crimson Diamond)
Send us Fan Mail 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…
Restoring the Mona Lisas of video games | Larry Kuperman (Nightdive …
Send us Fan Mail 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 remak…
When Naughty Dog Took A Risk On Uncharted 2 | Richard Lemarchand (Unc…
Send us Fan Mail 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 wo…