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Episodes Interviews

Season 8, Episode 32

We’re [text removed due to copyright claim] at the following link.

I suppose I could just do a running joke of having copyright claims throughout this post, but we’ve had enough of that on just this episode alone (if you watch it on Twitch). I’m honestly not opposed to it, personally. It’s something I know isn’t really ever going to go away, but I’m not very fond of how it’s being handled on Twitch. In fact, I’m not fond of a few things they’ve recently done over there. We’re trying out some streams on Hitbox for the time being and may actually move over completely at some point, but we’ll keep you posted on that.

It wasn’t a far stretch to figure this particular episode would get flagged for audio, both on Twitch and Youtube. That’s due to a request made from Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann on audio he’d like us to use for opening and closing the interview we had with him and Jason Gregory. They joined us (pre-recorded) to talk about The Last Of Us Remastered. It’s a more technical conversation than I was expecting and it really surprised me how interesting that actually was over just talking about the game itself.

And, by the way, it’s mentioned in the show during the beginning but the song choice was the one played during The Last Of Us: One Night Live, done exclusively for the live audience at the theatre.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 8, Episode 31

The name of the game is the following link.

At least once in the show for the past two weeks I’ve been bringing up the fact that I was reading Console Wars – a new book by Blake J. Harris. Finally, Blake is able to join us live on the phone and we talk for a solid hour about growing up during the Nintendo Vs. Sega war of the early 90s. During the conversation we learn what sparked him to write such a book and set out on what must have felt like a daunting task to reach back into the past and pull out so many nuggets of information as to what went on in the houses that Mario and Sonic built.

It’s a fascinating story. Sometimes funny (the hell that was Super Mario Bros. The Movie) and a little sad (again, Super Mario Bros. The Movie), but always fun to follow the timeline of what I remembered doing way back then and see how the companies were…well, actually making me do those things.

I was their puppet, and I enjoyed every minute of it as a 13 year old.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 8, Episode 30

We’re trying to find the positive side of things at the following link.

I’ve told this story before, but my favorite press conference at E3 this year was Sony’s. Although it had nothing to do with what they presented. All of my enjoyment of that press conference comes down to the person I sat next to while in attendance.

I’d seen HipHopGamer at previous E3’s and other events. I mean, the guy’s hard to miss. He’s outspoken. He’s loud. He’s very loud. And that wrestling title belt sticks out like a sore thumb at something like E3. However, I’d never met him or really spent ANY kind of time around the guy. That is until this year’s Sony E3 press conference. My experience of which I won’t soon forget.

HipHopGamer joins us in this episode to tell us what (or who) got him into gaming and shares with us a little of why, not only is he so excited at these press conferences, but also why he’s always so positive.

His attitude towards things, gaming in particular, is one I hope rubs off on me, personally. He seems in a much happier place because of that, and I’d really like to be in that place myself.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 8, Episode 17

We’re digging up the past at the following link.

For me, personally, this whole E.T. in a landfill thing was never a myth or some urban legend. For whatever reason throughout my life I always knew it to be true and, in fact, I never knew there was any question as to the validity of the claim. It kind of surprised me to see tweets and headlines about “the rumors are true” or “legend confirmed” or whatever. Now that I think about it, I guess that’s why they went out there to dig them up – because if it was a known fact, then why do it to begin with?

Regardless of reasons we had other things to discuss, such as the new DLC for Batman: Arkham Origins. You’ll only get my take on it, but hopefully it’s enough to give you that informed decision before a purchase or putting in the time.

Also in this episode we get to speak again with Rand Miller from Cyan. We had him on about 6 months ago to talk with us about Obduction’s kickstarter and he’s back to give a bit of a development update. This interview is actually about 45 minutes long but only 30 minutes are in the show proper and stick to talk about Obduction. Those of you looking for talk of Myst, Riven, and an interesting little story about Disney & Myst should stick around after the show.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 8, Episode 16

We’re letting Matt go without cause at the following link.

We’re not really letting him go, but we have no say in what his job needs of him and it apparently needs him to fly 9 and a half hours ahead of us in time zones where he’ll spend most of the rest of the year. As with most of these things, we wish him well in his future endeavors.

Speaking of future endeavors, we’re quite curious what’s going on with Bungie and the release of Marty O’Donnell from their staff. These things happen but not usually on the terms that we know of publicly from what he’s tweeted so far in being fired from the company. Normally it is either a mutual split or both parties stay mum on the subject. Although, either way, people are going to speculate and that’s no different here.

Unexpectedly in this episode we received a call from Cailleah Scott-Grimes who tells us of her kickstarter project, She Got Game, a documentary about women’s experience in gaming. This was a completely unplanned and unprepared interview. I only mention that because of how easy it was to conduct given the subject matter – something worth talking about, and something worth making a documentary over. If you’d like to contribute, there’s still time left before the Kickstarter is over.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 8, Episode 5

We’re thanking you all for 8 years and 300 episodes at the following link.

It really shouldn’t be me writing this. James does these and better than me, but he was unable to attend our 300th episode due to work commitments. I can’t say what he would write here, but I know at some point he’d thank you. And I think that’s a lot of what this episode is. As much as it’s a lot of you and our guests over the years calling in to congratulate us on 300 episodes, it’s just as much all of us involved thanking you for listening for so long and over so many bumps along the way.

We’ve gone from weekly episodes to near daily episodes all the way down to sometimes monthly and even less, but you’ve all stayed with us during that time, right back to where we are now – a weekly live radio broadcast. You can’t possibly know what that means to us because we can’t properly express our gratitude for it. What we can do is give you 2 commercial free hours of your calls, past memories, and some special guests calling in.

Some of those guests we hear from in this episode include Phil Kollar, Bobby Loertscher from Zen Studios, David Hayter, John Lowrie & his wife, Ellen McLain, Naveen Nattam from Twisted Pixel, previous host Daniel who now works at Bungie, Major Nelson, & Amy Hennig from Naughty Dog.

So, for the past 8 years, 300 episodes, location changes, host changes, surplus of episodes and lack of episodes…thanks for listening. And enjoy the show…

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Episodes Interviews

Season 7, Episode 45

We’re having the hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye at the following link.

It’s been a while since we’ve been on a regular schedule to do our show, so having one themed for the holidays was almost an afterthought. So, tis the season for some video game Christmas themed bumper cuts!

Dennis reunites with the show and tells us what he’s been playing for the past six months or so. As well, he and ArJay give us an update on the whole situation with SkullGirls, while Matt and myself touch a bit about our time with the first episode of season 2 of The Walking Dead – spoiler free, of course.

We also wrap up our interview with Sam Abbott from Compulsion Games, makers of Contrast. In part 2, Sam tells us about their deal with Sony for being a launch title for a next gen system, what they think of the reviews so far, and what we can expect for Contrast & Compulsion games.

Everyone at In-Game Chat hopes you all have a great Christmas and we’ll see you this Saturday for our final show of 2013!

Oh, and James comes back next week too.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 7, Episode 44

We’re not making any money off this at the following link.

It’s my own personal feelings that begin the episode, mainly dealing with how to “fix” the VGX/VGA’s. It isn’t so much a fix as it is something completely different. Something not said in the show that I will say here is that if you are looking to see the industry you enjoy so much being honored respectfully and in a way you’d probably like the VGA/X to do it – keep an eye on the two award ceremonies I mention in the show. That said, we’re toying with the idea of our own end of the year re-cap, but the way we did it once before. We’ll keep you posted.

Also in this episode you’ll find Part 1 of an interview with Sam Abbott from Compulsion Games. They made Contrast, a game you might have missed had they not gotten the opportunity to take a slot alongside Resogun for PS Plus members who also own a PS4. That isn’t the only reason you should pay attention to them, however. Sam is great to talk to and gives us some honesty and openness about the making of Contrast and how it’s been received so far. He has a lot more to say, so we hope you’ll tune in next week for Part 2 of that interview.

Oh, and Dennis comes back next week too.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 7, Episode 43

We’re all out of cringe at the following link.

Two years ago we did a live stream commentary of the VGA’s. One hour in and Arjay had to leave. He told us then it was due to a prior commitment, but he tells us now it was because of the VGA’s. We can’t really blame him for it back then and we really wouldn’t have held it against him or anyone else had they done it during this show. It helped that most of it was on mute the entire time so we really only paid attention when, you know, games were being shown. It became a distraction during the broadcast but you do get to hear (and see) genuine first look reactions to some of the big reveals as they happen.

Outside of all that, we got to speak with Twisted Pixel about their latest game for the Xbox One, LocoCycle. We cover the games genesis and evolution as well as address the review scores and that one specific card it has been dealt in particular with some reviews. Plus, there’s a glimpse to be seen of their next project – one that, only based on two images, seems to be headed in a completely different direction for the studio.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 7, Episode 42

We’re flying our whale carcass at the following link.

You might think that opening line is strange, but that would tell me you haven’t seen the trailer for WindForge yet. You should fix that. Afterwards, have a listen as we talk with Evan Hahn from Snowed In Studios about WindForge and what it takes to come up with some of the things you just saw in that trailer.

Also in this episode is a quick rundown of the latest on my Xbox One issue and we share a bit of our time (and the slightest of possible spoilers – nothing major) for Assassin’s Creed 4.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 7, Episode 38

We’re hearkening back at the following link.

The consoles are damned close now, aren’t they?  We’re near the end of a six-month campaign of speculation, spec comparisons, theorycrafting, and shit-slinging, and we’re about to enter a six-year period sure to be filled with more of the same.  It’s nice to take a quiet moment, then, and enjoy oneself by tearing through a flimsy package and liberating a fresh new toy.  For a few minutes, the PS4 was less important than its controller, and the console war less interesting than the satisfying click of a button.

In an effort to get even further away from a cynical present, we connect with a wonderful memory and speak with one of the men who helped deliver it.  Twenty years after the release of Myst, Rand Miller of Cyan, inc joins us to discuss the development of exploration and puzzle-solving game Obduction, and the history of the games that shaped a genre.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 7, Episode 35

We’re live from the great beyond at the following link.

In a surprise turn of events, we aren’t sick to our stomachs over a David Cage game.  We’re divided, but that alone is saying something considering our feelings about Heavy Rain.  We are not divided, however, about how much we’d like to see the Kickstarter success of Undead Overlord.  We speak with Cameron Petty & Martin Smith of Jumpcore Productions about changing our perspective on zombie gameplay.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 7, Episode 34

We’re welcoming our 64-bit overlords at the following link.

We had expected the new consoles to deliver benefits to PC gamers at some point, but we’re happy to see a few of those changes arrive early.  We’re incredibly excited about the prospect of games that finally know what to do with all the RAM and CPU cores we’ve got laying around, and we can’t stop talking about it.

We’re also excited to spend a half-hour with Sanya Weathers of Undead Labs, creators of the damn fine zombie-apocalypse-survival-simulator State of Decay.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 7, Episode 5

Season 7, Episode 5 is available here.

In addition to fielding live call-ins (which have yet to materialize), we’re also once again hosting interviews with developers, producers, performers, and other notable members of the games industry.  It’s a joy to reach out to the men and women who craft the intricate, beautiful, and rousing experiences we spend so very much of our time and money trying to absorb.  We like to think the interviews help our subjects in some small way, and that you enjoy them as much as you can, but we know for sure how good they are for us.  We greatly appreciate the time and attention of anyone who’s  given us theirs, and we hope to appreciate a lot more people in the future.

Thanks very much to Neil Sorens, creative director at Zen Studios, for joining us on tonight’s broadcast.

 

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Episodes Interviews

The Eleven Inches Episode

We’re finding out new things about Twisted Pixel at the following link.

You could call this an interview but given the relationship we have with Josh Bear and Michael Wilford from Twisted Pixel, it feels more like we’re just catching up and having fun.

We’ve got a lot to do of both, actually, as it’s been a while since we’ve spoken to the guys at TPG. In that time they’ve released Comic Jumper (complete with a mention of us in the credits and a big ol’ picture of Jackel as an unlock-able), announced Ms. Splosion Man, and have been working on two brand new IPs we should be hearing more about in a few months.

This is as unorthodox an episode and interview you’ve probably ever gotten from us, so enjoy, and thanks for listening.