Kotaku Splitscreen

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Anthem's Development And BioWare In Crisis Apr 04, 2019

Show notes

Baba is... everyone? Kirk, Jason, and Maddy are all playing the wonderfully clever puzzle game Baba Is You, which they're talking about this week alongside Sekiro, Pokemon, and Phoenix Wright. Then it's time to dive into Jason's new article about the making of Anthem (30:20) and the crisis of burnout at BioWare. Topics discussed include the video game industry's sustainability, how Anthem turned out the way it did, and whether big-budget video games can ever be made in a healthy way. Finally, some off-topic chat on PEN15, The Orville, and Captain Marvel (50:18).Music pick of the week: “Moanin’” by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers from their 1959 album Moanin’Show notes: How BioWare's Anthem Went Wrong by Jason Schreier; The Writer Will Do Something by Tom Bissell and Matthew BurnsLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stadia: Streaming Dies Twice Mar 28, 2019

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Episode 172: Just what does newly minted Bloodborne expert Jason think of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice? How does Kirk feel about missing out on all that sweet, sweet GDC content? And why is Maddy playing Pokemon Go? Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, all those questions are answered and more. First it's video game talk, on the likes of The Division 2, Baba Is You, and Sekiro. Then it's the news of the week (50:29) on Zelda indies, Switch rumors, and Google Stadia, followed by off-topic talk (1:20:19) on The Dropout, Hamilton, and Umbrella Academy.

Music pick: “When it Rains” by Brad Mehldau from his 2002 album “Largo”

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What It's Like To Start A Game Studio With No Bosses Mar 25, 2019

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Scott Benson and Bethany Hockenberry, two members of the team that made Night In The Woods, are now part of a games studio without any bosses. It's a worker co-op called The Glory Society, and at GDC 2019, Scott and Bethany dropped by the podcast to explain why they prefer bylaws to bosses. In the second half of the episode, longtime Splitscreen guest Matthew Burns came by to talk about his new visual novel about artificial intelligence and also, how cool he thinks SpeedTree is. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Creators Of Into The Breach Came Very Close To Giving Up On It Mar 22, 2019

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Justin Ma and Matthew Davis, the creators of FTL and Into The Breach, sat down with Jason and Maddy at GDC 2019 to discuss the intense creative stress involved in making their most recent game. Despite wanting to pull the plug on Into The Breach many times, the duo forged onward and made a strategy game that is elegant in its simplicity. In the second half of the show, Christine Love joins us to talk about her past visual novels (Analogue: A Hate Story, Ladykiller In A Bind) and her pivot towards making an RPG called Get In The Car, Loser! which will have actual combat mechanics alongside the dialogue trees. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tim Schafer Talks Unionization, Streaming, And The Future Of Double Fine Mar 21, 2019

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At GDC 2019, Double Fine boss Tim Schafer is losing his voice, but he still croaked through his annual Splitscreen appearance to discuss the union joke he told on stage at the IGF awards, the state of Psychonauts 2, and his thoughts on Google Stadia. We explained to him how unions work so that he can tell even better jokes about them next year. In the second half of the episode, Gabe Amatangelo of QC Games told us about his history at Bioware, the cancellation of Shadow Realms, and the eventual creation of a not-so-different dungeon crawler called Breach, which launched in early access earlier this year. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sacrificing Sleep To Raise The Dead With Jesse Snyder Mar 21, 2019

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Jesse Snyder, creative director at NantG and formerly the creator of Call of Duty's Zombies mode, sat down with Jason and Maddy at GDC 2019 to tell the real story of how the zombies came to life. The mode began as a late-night passion project that actually got a lot of internal pushback, and eventually, Snyder realized he'd rather make "crazy" games than super-realistic ones. After that, we talked to Andrew Maximov about Promethean AI, a piece of software aimed at helping artists create in-game universes more easily. If it works the way that Maximov says, this AI tech will be like a (robot) junior artist who does the boring, fiddly grunt work so that video game artists can focus their creative attention on grander things. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Google Stadia Boss Answers (And Dodges) Our Questions Mar 20, 2019

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At GDC 2019, shortly after announcing Google Stadia, Phil Harrison sat down with Jason and Maddy to reveal more details about Google's new game streaming platform. He didn't say how much it will cost, but he did clarify the importance of a good internet connection to making this service work as well as it should. Plus, you'll need a Chromecast and one of Google's new controllers to make Stadia work on your TV. After we try and fail to get Phil Harrison to tell us whether Google has official E3 plans, we sat down for another interview with Sarah Elmaleh, the voice of Anthem's female protagonist. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Devil May Cry 5's Outrageous Cutscenes Mar 14, 2019

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Episode 171: Devil May Cry 5 is outrageous, and Splitscreen's here to talk about it. First, Jason, Kirk, and Maddy get into the games they've been playing -- Breath of the Wild, Broken Age, Destiny, etc. -- before diving into the mania of the newest Devil May Cry. Then it's time for news of the week (36:03) on Nintendo's Labo VR, EA skipping E3, and Valve removing a game called Rape Day from Steam. Finally, some off-topic chat on Captain Marvel, Succession, Leaving Neverland, and tips for working well from home (59:53).

Music pick of the week: The Wood Brothers, “Snake Eyes” from their 2015 album Paradise

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Days Gone Is One AAA-Ass Video Game Mar 06, 2019

Show notes

Episode 170: Surprise! It's a one-day-early episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, here to talk to you about Bloodborne (which Jason's finally finished), Danganronpa (which Maddy's almost finished), and the many games Kirk is playing, like The Division 2 and Ape Out. There's news of the week (36:13) on Pokemon, Anthem crashing PS4s, and THQ Nordic's major screw-up, and then Jason shares some impressions of the upcoming zombie game Days Gone, which he got to play for an hour and a half at a Sony event two weeks ago. Then it's time for some off-topic talk (59:16) on Killing Eve, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Big Mouth, followed by Kirk's music pick of the week and a brief Russian Doll spoilercast.

MUSIC PICK OF THE WEEK:

“Under the Sea” by Fearless Flyers from their Debut EP

Watch the video here

LINKS:Wesley Morris on Michael Jackson Slate Culture Gabfest Russian Doll spoilercast

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The Nintendo-Microsoft Love Affair Feb 28, 2019

Show notes

Episode 169: Kirk's on jury duty this week, leaving Jason and Maddy to talk about Bloodborne and Danganronpa without him. They also talk about beloved Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime retiring and the rumors of a Nintendo-Xbox love affair, then take some listener questions on Anthem and games as a service (35:10). Then it's time for off-topic talk (52:40) on X2 and Russian Doll as well as JASON'S surprise Music Pick Of The Week. It's a good one. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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