This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, 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 & games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

My guests today are Mare Sheppard and Raigan Burns, the founders of Metanet Software and the creators of N++.

We talk about the promise of early programming, the impact of Sonic the Hedgehog, how they met and bonded over freeware games, the design lessons of Wip3out, an NHL 2001 tournament that has spanned over a decade, why a broad education is perfect for video games and, in perhaps the most controversial statement on the show thus far, how Crash Team Racing is better than Mario Kart.

As well as chatting enthusiastically about a whole bunch of video games, we also hit on the development of N, how it felt to lead the charge for indie games on Xbox Live Arcade, the fear of selling out, and the positives and negatives of being a perfectionist.

"Lyrics, fill in the gap. Drop that bass and get the Ninja Rap"

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: N++, Lode Runner, Bionic Commando, Chime, Ascii Arcade, Sonic the Hedgehog, Tetris Attack, Aero the Acrobat, Day of the Tentacle, Space War, Dark Castle, Aladdin, Doom, Commander Keen, Super Mario World, Lumines, NHL 2001, Doom the Rogue Like, Kutar, Gish, Nuzomou, Hyper Light Drifter, Spelunky, Dream quest, Braid, Jumper, Cave Story, Jump and Bump, Dark Souls, Animal Crossing, Crash Team Racing

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Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow

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

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