My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin

Latest Episodes:

Luke Muscat, gamemaker (Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride). Aug 12, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Luke Muscat, the Australian video game designer behind some of the best-known smart phone games yet made. After graduating from Queensland University of Technology with a degree in IT and Games, he joined Halfbrick Studio, a game developer in Brisbane that specialised in games licensed from film and TV.

There he designed a simple yet compelling iPhone game in which players must slice fruit thrown into the air by swiping the device's touch screen with their finger. Fruit Ninja released in 2010. Within a year it had sold more than 20 million copies. In 2011 my guest developed another once-in-a-lifetime hit with Jetpack Joyride, a game that won a slew of design awards and that continues to be a bestseller today. After a stint working as head of design for the company that makes Snapchat, in 2022 my guest went independent, and is now preparing to release his first indie title, Feed The Deep, a lovecraftian deep sea roguelike.

LINKS

Feed the Deep Steam Page

Luke's Game Dev YouTube Channel

Quake 'Annihilation' video.

Simon's 2013 New Yorker piece on 'endless runners'

Daryl Baxter's 50 Years of Boss Fights.

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tribute Episode: Brett Jones, artist (Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark, Guardians of the Galaxy). Aug 05, 2024

Show notes

A special episode to celebrate the life and work of Brett Jones, an artist and animator for video games, film and television who passed away in July. Jones worked on the seminal N64 movie tie-in game, Goldeneye 007, which successfully brought the first person shooter genre to consoles.

He made instrumental contributions to its sequel, Perfect Dark, then left the games industry to create VFX for film and television, contributing work to The Last Jedi, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Dr Who.

This is a previously unreleased interview with Jones, conducted in 2022 as research for a Guardian article commemorating the 25th anniversary of Goldeneye 007.

LINKS

The game’s Bond: the making of Nintendo classic GoldenEye 007 – The Guardian.

Fundraiser for art exhibition of Brett's work, scheduled for November 2024.

Brett's website.

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Meretszky, author of interactive fiction (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; A Mind Forever Voyaging). Jul 29, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is the American video game developer Steve Meretzky. Born and raised in Yonkers, New York, he attended MIT, where he earned a degree in construction management. In 1981, after two years spent working in the construction industry, a friend asked him if he would like to become a tester for Infocom, a publisher that specialised in interactive fiction. He agreed and was soon invited to write a game of his own, the science fiction game Planetfall.

After he included a reference to Douglas Adam’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in the game, my guest was invited to collaborate with Adams in adapting the novel into a best-selling game. In 1988 he wrote A Mind Forever Voyaging, an ambitious and politically charged work that stretched the boundaries of what a video game could do ––and saw him become one of the first interactive fiction writers admitted to the Science Fiction Writers of America.

After stints working for Blue Fang Games, Playdom and King, he is currently VP of design at the mobile games company PeopleFun.

LINKS

BBC Documentary from 1985 takes us inside Infocom.

Play 30th Anniversary Edition of Hitchhiker's Guide in your browser.

Google's AI experiment with Zork...

Hire Ed Hawkins to voice your game.

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rhianna Pratchett, writer for games (Heavenly Sword, Mirror's Edge, Tomb Raider). Jul 22, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is an English writer for video games, TV, film, comics, and books. Born into a literary household – her father was the celebrated fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett –– she studied journalism at the University of Arts in London. After graduating she joined the staff of PC Zone, where she worked her way up from editorial assistant to the role of section editor. In 2002 she left journalism to write video games, soon earning a BAFTA nomination for her work on Heavenly Sword.

In 2013 she wrote the award-winning reboot of Tomb Raider, then its sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider, for which she won the Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing award from the Writers Guild of America. My guest has also written comics for DC, Dark Horse, and Marvel, and her film and TV projects include collaborations with Film 4, and the Henson Company.

As well as being the first woman to write a Fighting Fantasy novel, she has co-authored Campaigns & Companions: The Complete Roleplaying Guide for Pets. Last year she hosted the BBC Radio 4 series Mythical Creatures, a compendium of Britain’s mythic beasts, and what they tell us about our history.

LINKS:

Rhianna's website.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/mar/12/terry-pratchett-moomins-rhianna-pratchett

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard Sparks, librettist, writer (L.A. Opera, Not the Nine O'Clock News). Jul 15, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is the British scriptwriter and librettist for opera, Richard Sparks. In 1978 he wrote a sketch for Rowan Aktinson, the actor who later played Mr Bean, which Atkinson performed in the Secret Policeman’s Ball, a series of benefit shows organised by John Cleese to raise funds for Amnesty International. The success of the sketch led my guest to become a writer for BBC2’s ‘Not the Nine O’Clock News’ comedy show, and a slew of other TV writing gigs followed.

In 1992 he moved to Los Angeles where he began to write libretti for the L.A. Opera. In 2016 he directed Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which starred Jack Black in the leading role. Now he has returned to his comedy roots, with the publication of “New Rock New Role”, a fantasy comic novel about a retired teacher who discovers video games while in his sixties.

Website: https://richardsparks.com/

The School Master Sketch

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kelsey Beachum, narrative designer (Outer Wilds). Jul 08, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is the American game writer and narrative designer Kelsey Beachum. After graduating from Michigan State University, she worked in publishing, first as editor of the Cryogenic Society of America, then in editorial operations for the satirical current affairs publication, The Onion.

In 2012 stared work on a space-mystery game titled Outer Wilds. Published in 2019 by Annapurna Interactive, Outer Wilds released to widespread acclaim. My guest was named a Nebula Award finalist for her writing on the game, which also won the 2020 BAFTA for Best Video Game.

On this very podcast Ronan Farrow described the storytelling in Outer Wilds as “incredible.”

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike Drucker, comedy writer, the Tonight Show. Jul 01, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Mike Drucker, an American comedy writer and producer. After graduating with a master’s degree in literature from New York University, he worked as a localisation editor for Nintendo, writing English language jokes for games such as Kid Icarus: Uprising.

After a year working as Head Video Writer for the website IGN, he joined Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, then, in 2014, went with Jimmy to the Tonight Show. After a stint as head writer for Bill Nye Saves the World, my guest became co-head writer and executive producer for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, a show for which he was nominated for five Emmys and won two Writers Guild Awards.

More recently he returned to the Tonight Show writing sketches for the likes of Jon Hamm and Ryan Reynolds. He’s also currently working on a book titled, Good Game; No Rematch a heartfelt memoir about the classic video games that entertain and inspire us, and even hold the power to transform our lives.

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Sherman, director of e-sports, Riot Games. Jun 24, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Michael Sherman, director of esports for Riot Games. While attending the University of Texas at Dallas for Computer Science, he worked as an Automotive Safety Software Engineer for Texas Instruments, inventing a wireless car-seat that would sound an alarm if a child was left in the car.

In 2013 he moved into the emerging world of competitive video game playing, developing broadcast tools for live esports competitions. The following year he dropped out of college to help oversee the growth of college-level League of Legends in North America at Riot Games. In 2022 he joined the team behind Teamfight Tactics, a chess-like spinoff of League of Legends, working to establish the game as a competitive eSport. Today, he is helping to build Riot’s forthcoming fighting game, 2XKO.

NOTES

Twitter: @RiotSherman

A Falconer Enters the World of Video Games

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Correspondence Special #3: What was the best year for video games? Jun 20, 2024

Show notes

In this special correspondence edition, host Simon Parkin reads out listeners' correspondence, answers questions, and offers at least one clue about a forthcoming special guest.

Hear Simon discuss which was the best year for video games, which video game characters would make the best stand-up comics, and what Hollywood will do for #content when the only video game left to adapt is Fortnite...

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eric Barone, creator of Stardew Valley. Jun 17, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is the American game designer and musician Eric Barone. Born in Los Angeles, he spent his childhood in the suburbs of Seattle. In 2011 he graduated from the University of Washington Tacoma with a degree in computer science, but was unable to find employment. He started developing a video game to hone his programming skills. Supported by his girlfriend, and an evening job he took as an usher at the Paramount Theatre, for four years my guest worked on his game, a farming simulator.

In 2016 he released Stardew Valley, which became an overnight success. To date, it has sold well over thirty million copies, while continuing to evolve via regular updates. In 2021 my guest announced a follow-up, Haunted Chocolatier, which casts players as the owner of a chocolate shop.

He once described video games as “a powerful form of art, a peaceful escape from the chaos of modern life, and a way to have experiences that are impossible otherwise... Through these means, games have a powerful and growing influence on culture.”

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected