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

My guest on today's show is Teddy Dief. As well as having an incredibly enjoyable name to say out loud, Teddy is also a writer, game designer, Squarebowl founder and the creative director of Square Enix Montreal.

We talk about high stakes Duck Hunt battles, being all in on Nintendo, getting an early introduction to game design via Nintendo Power VHS tapes, whether or not fitness is a gameand, much to my personal delight, his time as a member of the acapella group The Clef Hangers.

We also hit on the scratch and sniff cards of Earthbound, how he learned responsibility from the Sony Playstation, the impact of Final Fantasy 7, how Battlestar Galactica made him want to make games, the development of Hyper Light Drifter and why he cherishes the magic of Squarebowl.

"There's a world where I can go and tell my secrets to."

PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, Donkey Kong Country, Earthbound, Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy 7, 8, 12, 13 and 15, Xenogears, Hyper Light Drifter, Rock Band, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Star Wars Galaxies, Quadrilateral Cowboy, Time Splitters 2, Everything, Night in the Woods, Virgina, Nier: Automata, Catherine, Edith Finch

Theme song by Samuel Baker

Art work by Craig Stevenson