Today's guest is Cara Ellison, best known for her videogame journalism, in particular her soon to be immortalised as a book "Embed with" columns, which saw her travel the world meeting developers and checking out the local videogame scenes. She's now moved into development and is currently working on the narrative team for Dishonoured 2 and a bunch of other secret things. She's also really into Drake. Like, really. We talk DOTA, Goldeneye, Her Story and why her heart will always be with PC Zone.
Rebroadcast - Episode 13 - Geoff Glendenning
Today's guest is Geoff Glendenning, a marketing guy whose work on the UK launch of the original Playstation shifted the popular perception of gaming.
Rebroadcast - Episode 12 - Meg Jayanth
Today's guest is videogame writer and creator Meg Jayanth. We have a lengthy chat about her work as the lead writer on Time Magazine's game of 2014, 80 Days before delving into all kinds of other narrative based games. We talk IFs, MUDs, MUSHs and Fanfic. We also hit on our differing approaches to play, how she can't bear to say goodbye to Commander Shepherd, making GTA your own, the peculiar ending to Sim Tower and my poor romantic performance in 80 days. Oh Passepartout....
Rebroadcast - Episode 11 - Sean Vanaman
Today's guest is Sean Vanaman. award winning game designer, one of the founders of Campo Santo and a host of Idle Thumbs. He also wishes he was a little bit taller. He wishes he was a baller.
Rebroadcast - Episode 10 - Oli Welsh
Episode 10 - Our guest on today's show is the editor of Eurogamer, Oli Welsh. As has become tradition we talk about the Spectrum, we compare film criticism to game criticism and discuss his journey to Eurogamer via Draenor. Along the way we hit Wipeout, Mario Kart, Test Drive Unlimited and a beautiful piece of brotherly love. Essential.
Rebroadcast - Episode 9 - Jonathan Smith
Today's guest is Jonathan Smith. Formerly of Tt games, who were responsible for the recent LEGO game renaissance, he is now co-director of the newly opened National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham. We talk Nimrod and MUD, Command & Conquer, Sleep is Death, Hyper Sports, Lego Star Wars and how Space Pants made him proud.
Rebroadcast - Episode 8 - Simon Parkin
Today's guest is Simon Parkin. A writer & videogame journalist who regularly contributes to Eurogamer, The New Yorker, The Guardian and a variety of other publications. He also helped design the controversial tower defence game Sweatshop, which was famously banned from the App Store.
Rebroadcast - Episode 7 - Kirsten Kearney
Today's guest is Kirsten Kearney , a videogame journalist and former frag doll, and we talk about everything. Romance, business, murder, politics, image, obsession and revolution. All focussed through the lens of some unlikely games: Rainbow Six, Xenoblade Chronicles, Fallout 3, and Assassin's Creed Unity.
Rebroadcast - Episode 6 - Iain Cook - CHVRCHES
Today's guest is Iain Cook of the popular music combo CHVRCHES. We discuss Galaga, Destiny, gaming on tour, Street Fighter 4 grudge matches and the inexplicable gaming creation known as Pi Man.
Rebroadcast - Episode 5 - Maffew of Botchamania
Episode 5: Maffew Gregg is the creator of long running web show Botchamania. We discuss Sonic on the Master System, Aladdin, Super Smash Brothers Melee and the curious case of an obese Rock found in a fan's copy of WWF No Mercy for the N64. This is awesome - clap clap clapclapclap!.
Rebroadcast - Episode 4 - Mark Sorrell
Mark Sorrell started his career in gaming working for late night TV call in show Quiz TV and now works as a a consultant and advisor on fremium game design, behavioural change, value perception and strategy. We talk about Superman on the Atari VCS, behavioural psychology, World of Warcraft and why Final Fantasy XII is not only the best Final Fantasy but one of the greatest videogames of all time.
Rebroadcast - Episode 3 - Rhodri Broadbent - Dakko Dakko
Rhodri Broadbent makes videogames. Starting on games like Fable, Starfox 3DS and numerous Pixel Junk games, Rhod started his own video game company based in Wales called Dakko Dakko. We talk about videogames vs. computer games, the Legend of Zelda, Lemmings, Japan and the best Christmas present ever.
Rebroadcast - Episode 2 - Ste Curran
Ste Curran is a veteran video game journalist, host of video game radio show One Life Left and a video game developer and consultant. We talk to Ste about pop music, F-Zero GX, Space Truckers, Halo and how a chance encounter with Parappa the Rapper changed his life forever.
Rebroadcast - Episode 1 - Leo Tan
Leo Tan works for Turbine Games in Boston, and has previously worked for Activision and Capcom completing PR for games like Guitar Hero and Street Fighter 2. We talk to Leo about piracy, hairdressing, Bloodwych and the zen of the 0.1 line in Super Monkey Ball.
Epilogue - Declan Dineen
This is a show about video games, 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!
In a special epilogue episode the tables are turned as I sit down with Violet Berlin and she interviews me about the games that shaped my own life.
We talk about blind runs of Alex Kidd, Tony Hawks Pro Skater as teenage therapy, why death wouldn't stand a chance against my Science Genius Girl, why I always skip the cutscenes, how far I was willing to go to get a Gamecube and why DDR is still one of the greatest games ever made.
We also of course talk about Checkpoints, how my own experiences form the structure of the show, trends and tropes I've discovered from interviewing so many people, and of course the poetic reasons for it's conclusion.
Thanks so much for listening!
Declan x
PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints
iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW
Theme song by Samuel Baker
Art work by Craig Stevenson
Episode 128 - Robert Ashley
This is a show about video games, 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!
Consoles don’t really brag about bit ratings anymore. Growing up with games, the leaps between generations felt profound From 8 Bit to 16 Bit, to 32, to Nintendo 64! It was exciting. The last consoles to even mention it in their marketing were the Dreamcast and the Playstation 2. They were the 128 bit consoles. They were the end of an era.
The same is true for Checkpoints. Episode 128 is the final episode.
This isn't bad news. There will be a special Epilogue episode coming in a week or two where I’ll talk about the reason for the finishing the podcast in much more detail, suffice to say this isn't a sad ending. I'm just sticking the landing.
Appropriately enough my final guest is the creator of the much loved and missed video game podcast A Life Well Wasted, Robert Ashley. Robert was one of the very first people I ever contacted about coming on the show, and I'm delighted that he decided to temporarily come out of video game podcast retirement to talk. As well as A Life Well Wasted, Robert is one half of the amazing I Come to Shanghai, a former video game journalist and of course a GFW radio alum.
We talk about his formative video game experiences in Texan dive bars, how the internet ruined the mysteries and rumours of the arcade, how he invented new ways to play Super Mario Bros, his ultimately fruitless efforts to enjoy Final Fantasy, how an arcade called Einstein’s led to him dropping out of college, and why live events are often the best place to enjoy indie games.
We also talk on his work as a journalist, the time he got into a brawl over Goldeneye, why he’d play Samba di Amigo with death, how Psychonauts still doesn’t get the credit it deserves and of course the history and future (!) of A Life Well Wasted.
Thanks so much to everyone for listening and supporting the show. I have had the best time.
Declan x
PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints
iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW
Theme song by Samuel Baker
Art work by Craig Stevenson
Episode 127 - Julian 'Jaz' Rignall
This is a show about video games, 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 today Julian 'Jaz' Rignall. A formative character in my life in games during his role as the editor for magazines like Mean Machines and CVG, Julian is the first guest I've spoken to on checkpoints that I did drawings of as a child.
As well as reminiscing about the UK magazine scene of the eighties and nineties, we talk about growing up in Aberystwyth and the arcade scene that forged his love of games, his time winning the 1983 computer game championship at Club Xenon in London, his move to America and his tumultuous time working for Virgin Interactive, his role in the nascent IGN, and how through it all his love of games has never faltered.
We also hit on why Defender is still so good, he origins of JAZ as a moniker, the soothing charms of Hearthstone and Destiny, how games like Rescue on Fractulus made him realise games could be something truly extraordinary and why his twelve year old self likely wouldn't believe him if he explained a game like World of Warcraft existed.
"Pick any game you want. I'm good at all of 'em. I've got 97 of 'em. "
PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints
iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW
Theme song by Samuel Baker
Art work by Craig Stevenson
Episode 126 - Chris Bell
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 today is Chris Bell, a game designer with a remarkable CV that includes thatgamecompany's Journey and the upcoming Sky, What Remains of Edith Finch, Way and 12 Minutes.
As well as being an incredible designer Chris is also filled with stories. We talk growing up in Boston playing games in the Pala, that time he kicked a TV off the wall emulating the Power Rangers, joining a Jewish Fraternity in University (the token Catholic) and giving video game presentations to his fraternity brothers, his time as a professional Counter Strike player and the incredible saga of Leaping Lizzie rare spawns in Final Fantasy 11.
We also hit on him being headhunted by EA, the Edith Finch pitch that led to him becoming the lead designer, how navigating a Japanese fish market gave him the inspiration for his first game, the joy of coming to a game with no prior knowledge, and the time he spent living at Will Wright’s house.
"I think he'd already made up his mind. That's what I want to remember about my brother. The day he made up his mind to fly... and he did. "
PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints
iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW
Theme song by Samuel Baker
Art work by Craig Stevenson
Episode 125 - Gabby DaRienzo
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!
Today I'm joined by Gabby DaRienzo and we have an incredibly lively and upbeat chat about death and video games. Gabby is the co-founder of Laundry Bear games. creator of the wonderful Mortician's Tale, and also the host of the Play Dead podcast where she speaks with fellow developers about death in video games.
We each chat quite openly about our own experiences of loss and the intoxicating cocktail of emotions that can throw up, including the loss of her mum during the development of the Mortician’s Tale and how that impacted the game, and also how games have a unique way of letting us explore loss and grief and death in powerful and unusual ways.
We also hit on nightmare fuel Windows 95 game Night Light, why Majora's Mask made her want to make video games, how she became a ghost in the Sims 2 (and how it's actually the best Sims game), how fun the management sim of actual management can be, Left 4 Dead marathons in university, what makes a great achievement, and how she was so good at Crossy Road the developers thought she was a bot.
"You all say that. But I grant no reprieves."
PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints
iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW
Theme song by Samuel Baker
Art work by Craig Stevenson
Episode 124 - Johnnemann Nordhagen
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 today is Johnnemann Nordhagen - the creator of the incredible Where the Water Tastes Like Wine - and he has some wonderful stories to share.
We talk spelling games in Colarado on an Apple IIe, learning to program in DOS, losing years in Discworld MUDs, how soothing Burnout Paradise can be and the genius of Kentucky Route Zero.
We also hit on the highs and lows of making games in the 21st century, the bold step of leaving QA to found Fullbright and make Gone Home with Steve Gaynor & Karla Zimonja, the even bolder step to forge a path on his own, how he got Sting to be in his video game and that time he played Serious Sam with some Russians on the Trans Siberian Express.
"Where am I? I'm in Boise, Idaho. No, no, no, wait a minute, I'm in Anchorage, Alaska. No, no, wait, I'm in Casper, Wyoming. I'm in the lobby of a Howard Johnson's and I'm wearing a pink carnation."
PATREON - patreon.com/checkpoints
iTunes HERE - SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW
Theme song by Samuel Baker
Art work by Craig Stevenson