This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each week, a guest on the show talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that forged connections with others and games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

A few days before his 40th birthday I sat down for a meander through videogame past with Kieron Gillen. After a long and storied career in videogame journalism - from early beginnings at Amiga Power to becoming one of the founders of Rock, Paper, Shotgun via New Games Journalism - Kieron has moved on to a successful career as a comic book writer and been annoyingly great at that too. With a hugely successful run of books from Thor to Darth Vader, as well as his two creator owned books with Jamie McKelvie, Phonogram and the Wicked and the Divine, which has recently been optioned for a TV series.

We discuss a lot of videogames. Early disappointment with The Hobbit, the importance of Gauntlet, the quality of writing in Speedball 2, creating poets in Princess Maker, the communal joy of Chaos, an alternate God Hand future, how Let's Plays are the final form of New Games Journalism and you don't want to know what he thinks about Zelda. Also a story of a testicle based injury caused by City of Heroes. You're welcome.

Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk

Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki

SUBSCRIBE HERE

RSS HERE