Tag: video games

Episode 18 – Conversation with Discrete Infinity, developer of Immaculate Drag @DscreteNfinity

Posted on | by Link S

In this episode I speak with Discrete Infinity, solo developer of Immaculate Drag, narrative designer, and contributor to many previous games and projects.

Start – 5:15 – Introductions

5:15 – 14:00 – We talk about his first real introduction to video games with Myst as well as his families involvement in gaming in the wake of Myst.

14:00 – 24:00 – Discrete Infinity explains how they got into narrative design… And how that influence really stems from DnD

24:00 – 34:00 – We discuss what people can do if they are looking to try and become narrative designers in the industry

34:00 – 39:30 – We discuss their favorite game as a child and why

39:30 – 51:00 – We discuss their current favorite games and then on to discussing games like Pathologic and what they like from Ice Pick Lodge.

51:00 – 1:07:00 – We discuss their view on the current landscape for fandom and interactions with fans. Their view on the indie development scene.

1:07:00 – 1:20:00 – We dig a little deeper and discuss the communities surrounding bigger and smaller companies and how there is a tendency to see people dehumanize those working at larger communities, disregarding them being just as passionate about their projects.

1:20:00 – 1:24:00 – We discuss their game a little more

1:24:00 – End – Closing up

To learn more about The Immaculate Drag, be sure to check them out on twitter at https://twitter.com/DscreteNfinity

Be sure to follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RedTunicPodcast for the latest updates about the podcast, guests, and other game related things

Episode 12 – Conversation with Special Effect Events Coordinator Becky Frost @beckyfr0st

Posted on | by Link S

Direct Anchor link: https://anchor.fm/theredtunicpodcast/episodes/Episode-12—Conversation-with-Special-Effect-Events-Coordinator-Becky-Frost-beckyfr0st-e122h7e

In this episode I speak with Becky Frost, Events Coordinator Special Effect. A charity organization based out of the UK that specializes helping those with physical disabilities play video games.

00:00 – 2:15 – Introductions

02:15 – 9:00 – What all Special Effect does and how Becky got working for them

9:00 – 13:45 – We discuss the kind of impact Becky has seen from the organization

13:45 – 20:00 – We discusse the hardware/software changes and the good it can all do from her perspective being in the industry.

20:00 – 25:45 – I ask a question about her opinion on accessibility. I also asked this question in a way that almost seems aggressive, and that is entirely on me

25:45 – 28:00 – We talk about what Becky got into gaming, what she enjoys about video games and how she enjoys them now.

28:00 – 33:15 – We talk about what her favorite games were as a child, and why she really enjoyed them.

33:15 – 37:00 – We talk about games that Becky feels might not hold up to today’s standards, and discussing text based adventure games and their resurgence.

37:00 – 41:00 – We talk about what her current favorite games that she is currently enjoying

41:00 – 45:30 – We talk about what kind of trends in gaming she has enjoyed seeing over the last few years

45:30 – 50:15 – I turn the floor over to Becky and let her talk about how you can help the organization

50:15 – End – Closing

An article regarding the Tekken player that we had discussed during the podcast

Learn more about Becky by checking out her twitter at https://twitter.com/beckyfr0st

Learn more about Special Effect by checking out their twitter at https://twitter.com/SpecialEffect, their Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/specialeffectteam/, their Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SpecialEffectCharity/, and their website which has all sorts of great information www.specialeffect.org.uk

Episode 8 – Conversation with Liz MacDonell @LizMacD22 of Clever Plays

Posted on | by Link S

In this episode I speak with Liz MacDonell, community manager at Clever Plays. An indie game studio based out of Montreal, developers of Leap of Fate, and Operation Tango (Which as of this time, now has a release date!)

In this conversation, I talk with Liz about the Clever Plays studio and having the company based in a city with a lot of other indie game dev studios and the kind of environment it creates (00:00 – 5:00)

We discuss Liz’s background and how she got into her role at Clever Plays by initially creating an “unofficial stream team” with a collection of other streamers and getting her feet wet being a community manager for the group Jabroni TV where she learned how to juggle such roles of managing social media, and schedules, and video editing which prepared her for the opportunity at Clever Plays. She also touches on how important it is to have a great support group that is going to help push you to succeed (5:00 -11:30)

Liz also shares some advice on what she feels has helped her prepare for her role and that to always be willing to learn and polish your skills. She makes an important point as well about the difficulties of getting into the role as it requires having the right voice and passion for the studio, and that when looking for a role like this, to keep your motivation up as being the right fit is incredibly important and you’ll eventually find one that is the right fit for you and the studio. (11:30 – 17:10)

We then talk about how Liz got into video games and what her fond memories of her first console and favorite PS2 game, Dark Cloud. Having to share the experience with her brother and the two getting to experience the game together. As well discussing her experience with Dark Cloud and potentially enjoying its sequel (17:10 – 28:00)

We move on to then talking about what she is playing and enjoying now, and Liz touches on the beauty of playing co-op games and how you can share and experience games together. One of the important things Liz brings up is the joy you can get from enjoying a game with friends and how it only enhances the experience, especially now during the pandemic when it’s harder and harder to actually spend time together with people. (28:00 – 35:10)

We briefly touch on a game she felt did not hold up well, in this case Harvest Moon Save The Homeland for the PS2, and while I can and will agree with Liz that it did a lot of things that paved the way for future Harvest Moon games, I will also agree with her that it really is not the best entry to start with in the series. (35:10 – 41:00) and quickly move on to discussing trends she has enjoyed seeing rise, and how she enjoys the rogue-like/lite genre and even enjoys watching other people play them more. We continue this discussion on rogue-likes, specifically Hades, and how even if you aren’t able to play at a high level, being able to enjoy it via another person, or playing it on its “easy” mode without having to struggle with some of the difficulties of the genre. This leads to the discussion of being able to enjoy watching video games on services like Twitch and being able to share their experience with them and the community (41:00 – 56:00)

I would have been remiss if I didn’t ask Liz, the community manager, her thoughts on the landscape for being able to communicate with fans easier thanks to the technology as well as the importance of trying to create a welcoming community and try and foster its growth. (56:00 – 1:07:00)

We wrap it up with Liz giving some more information on their asymmetrical game, Operation Tango, what it’s about and where you can find more information for it (Links can be found below in the link tree!)

To learn more about Clever Plays, check out their Link Tree below which includes their Twitter, Twitch, website, and everything else to stay up to date with them and to participate in their community!

Click here to view their linktree

To read more of what Liz has to, check her out on Twitter @LizMacD22

To learn more about the collective group she mentioned in the episode, check out their site at http://jabroni.tv/

Episode 6 – Conversation with Oscar Brittain @moomoomang

Posted on | by Link S

In this episode I speak with Oscar Brittain, one of the developers at Henry’s House, currently working on the storefront management game Kardboard King’s.

In this conversation, we discuss what kind of game Kardboard King’s is and what the intentions behind it were, and how they were trying to recapture the feeling of going to the card shop as a kid and getting to enjoy that feeling.

We discuss how a surgery lead to him discovering video games, and then how getting laid off from his job lead him down a path of going back to school and then inevitably to him deciding to just go for it and take the plunge to try and make a video game.

Oscar also had a unique approach to learning to make games by focusing more on learning good design principles before trying to make something.

We also talk about how Oscar enjoys games can be completely unique and deliver a new and surprising experience, and how games, such as Ubisoft games, can deliver exactly what you expect and how those can create a juxtaposition to entirely different games and help you appreciate new and different elements all the more. With Oscar also not playing a lot of games when he was younger, he shares how playing older games is always surprising to see what great ideas older games were able to deliver on, and what older game ideas are still present today.

You can find more information about Henrys House and their projects below:

Kardboard King’s on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1298480/Kardboard_Kings/

Nanomon Virtual Pet on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1498060/Nanomon_Virtual_Pet/

Henry’s House Twitter @HenrysHouseAU

Oscar Brittain’s Twitter @moomoomang

Episode 5 – Conversation with Rich Vreeland @DisasterPeace

Posted on | by Link S

So it seems I hit some more technical issues, however this time they are on my end! I have a small echo that seems to come and go – I believe these are related to the recording method and hopefully I am able to correct them for the future episodes! Live and learn haha

In this episode I speak with Rich Vreeland, and as his website bio says, “ties the name Disasterpeace to the things he sends into the sonic ether. Disasterpeace has over 50 albums to its credit, in addition to having designed, scored and programmed sound and music related things in a number of mediums including games, film, television and theatre. Rich is particularly interested in creative novelty and lives in Los Angeles.“

We discuss many things, such as how he got his start, advice on how others can get into this field from his own experiences, and how pushing forward regardless of how out of your element you are can lead to good things.

From his start doing music on a role playing wrestling forum, to finding and getting involved in the TigSource forums. How he came to enjoying game music, what he liked, and spending way too much time for my mental sanity talking about Marble Madness. As well as the kind of newer/current game music he is enjoying.

We also touch on despite how easily accessible the gaming market is, it also creates a situation where it’s difficult to find a game to enjoy as you’re inundated with so many options (And how this isn’t unique to games, but most entertainment medians).

We also talk about his views on social media and how he chooses to interact with it and how it works best for him, and a certain game he can’t quite get into.

You can learn more about Rich by checking out his website below, and I strongly encourage everyone to do so –

DisasterPeace.com

Episode 4 – A conversation with Miguel Sternberg @SpookySquid

Posted on | by Link S

Unfortunately right out the gate I need to extend an apology to Miguel. We had some technical difficulties during the recording, and I was not confident enough in how I should let him know this until it was too late. In the future I will have a better idea of how to tackle this in the event it comes up, but that doesn’t fix my inexperience for this episode.

In this conversation I speak with Miguel Sternberg, developer at Spooky Squid Games, a microstudio known for creating Russian Subway Dogs a score attack game where you play as a subway dog trying to steal food from passengers on the metro, and They Bleed Pixels a brutally challenging platformer with an Eldritch twist.

We discuss what Spooky Squid Games is, what working at a microstudio is like and how it can feel different from working within larger organizations/teams on projects, and potential inspirations for future projects.

We also discuss how Miguel got into the industry, starting with friends making hobby projects on the Game Boy Color, and Capybara games, and then into the freelance world starting with cell phone games before landing in his own studio where he could work on his own projects.

You can find more information about SpookySquid games via the information below:

Spooky Squid Games webpage: spookysquid.com
Twitter: @spookysquid

Also check out Russian Subway Dogs, and They Bleed Pixels at the store links below!

Russian Subway Dogs on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/762610/
They Bleed Pixels on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/211260/
They Bleed Pixels on Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/they-bleed-pixels-switch/

Episode 3 – Conversation with Matt Dabrowski @madguy90

Posted on | by Link S

In this conversation, I speak with Matt Dabrowski, creator of Streets of Rogue, a top down rogue-like that provides a near endless amount combinations and a hilarious amount of freedom to play however you want.

We discuss where Matt got his start making games on the proto-Unreal engine, as well as starting his gaming journey with FPS titles like Wolfenstein and Doom… Interesting food for thought, but it’s never the mothers that bought their kids Doom, it was always the fathers. As well as the evolution of the arcade/boomer shooter genre, point and click and adventure game.

We also touch on why Matt wanted to make a rogue-like game that he describes as an immersive sim rogue like. Matt also makes a very good point that investigating the market when making a game, that knowing the current market and what is going to be well received and potentially successful. As well as what to potentially look forward to in his next game.

If you have never played Streets of Rogue before, it is highly recommended and can be enjoyed alone or with friends.

You can find more information for Streets of Rogue via the information below:

Website: Streets of Rogue

And can follow Matt at @madguy90 on Twitter

Episode 2 – Conversation with Tom Beardsmore @Coatsink

Posted on | by Link S

In this conversation I speak with Tom Beardsmore, co-founder of the development studio and publisher, Coatsink.

We discuss where and how Coatsink got its start, starting out as a mobile game developer, finding time to play games with a family and sometimes the sacrifices we have to make to do so. As well as other topics.

If you’ve never played any games developed or published by Coatsink, I highly recommend it. They have a variety of games you can read more about on their website, however two of their more recent games, Cake Bash and PHOGS, are both great games that are both fun and enjoyable and I can’t help but recommend them enough.

You can find more information about Coatsink via the information below:

Website: https://coatsink.com/

Twitter, Instagram, & Facebook @Coatsink

And you can also find more information about Tom by checking out his Twitter @WhyAlwaysMad

Episode 1 – Conversation with Michael Brown @Boneloaf

Posted on | by Link S

With the first episode of The Red Tunic Podcast, I had a conversation with Michael, one of the three brothers behind the Boneloaf development team and Gang Beasts.

Episode 1 via Anchor

In this conversation we discuss how Gang Beasts came to be, some of Michael’s favorite games, some wild “show” ideas for Gang Beasts, and how Michael finds DOTA2 is a good way for him to relax.

However, one of the most important things I think Michael touches on is that we need to remember developers are people too, just trying to create what they feel is best for their game and that just because the product they are making is meant to be enjoyed, shouldn’t create an atmosphere where we allow toxicity to bleed out when we aren’t happy with some of their changes. Basically, we’re all people and we have to be kind to each other, especially when the product is meant to bring joy and happiness.

If you have never played, or really heard of Gang Beasts, I encourage everyone to look into it. It is a great party game that never ceases to amuse me, and I recommend everyone check out their Twitter to see some of the wild GIFs they post up just to give an idea of what fun can come.

You can find more information about Gang Beasts via the information below

Website: http://gangbeasts.game

Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: @gangbeasts & @boneloaf

You can read about upcoming updates that will apply to at https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/app/285900