Steve

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Posts posted by Steve

  1. Posted

    Tone Control 28:

    Tone Control 28


    Karla Zimonja
    We've been through a lot together, Karla and I. And now, in what seems a fitting series finale for Tone Control, my business and creative partner sits down with me at the Fullbright office for a long conversation about her background in TV animation, how we came to cross paths in the games industry, and what we've made together. That's it, folks. Thank you for listening.

    Games Discussed: Grim Fandango, The Neverhood, Asheron's Call, Asheron's Call 2, World of Warcraft, Zoo Tycoon 2, BioShock, BioShock 2, Minerva's Den, Gone Home, Tacoma

     

  2. Posted

    Tone Control 27:

    Tone Control 27


    Derek Yu
    Derek Yu has been making video games for almost as long as he can remember. In that time he's helped build thriving indie game developer communities, created more than one classic indie game, and called Jack Thompson's bluff. Now he's on to his next adventure: fatherhood, and reflecting that experience in the upcoming Spelunky 2. Learn all about Derek's life work, and where he's headed next, in the penultimate episode of Tone Control.

    Games Discussed: Aquaria, I'm O.K., UFO 50, Spelunky, Spelunky 2

     

  3. Posted

    4 hours ago, osmosisch said:

    I loved this. Especially fun was hearing Steve being made uncomfortable by Robert, and clearly enjoying the discomfort, and Robert enjoying both the discomforting effects and the way in which Steve was enjoying it. Appropriately many levels for a couple of level-designers :)

     

    Ha, yeah, I hope it came off OK! I think it can be like that, trying to speak well in someone else's cultural territory without embarrassing yourself... but I hope it was an interesting conversation worth having!

  4. Posted

    Tone Control 26:

    Tone Control 26


    Robert Yang
    Robert Yang is awesome. Educator, advocate, and subversive game developer all in one, his work focuses on issues of gay culture, sex and sexual politics, consent, surveillance, and the absurdity of digital eroticism. He also does great talks at conferences like GDC, where I caught up with him this year to chat about his work and outlook on what games can be.

    Games Discussed: Counter-Strike, Half-Life 2, the Radiator mods, Hurt Me Plenty, Succulent, Cobra Club, Stick Shift, The Tearoom

     

  5. Posted

    Tone Control 25:

    Tone Control 25


    Siobhan Reddy
    Due to some scheduling requirements, we take a break from our GDC chats to visit sunny London, England! While I was in the UK for BAFTA, I sat down with longtime Media Molecule Siobhan Reddy to talk about her time spent helping run her parents' skate shop in Australia (!), the world of mid-'90s web design (!) and working on Discworld Noir (!!) before her time as a producer on the Burnout series, and her years at Media Molecule helping lead creativity-focused productions like Little Big Planet and the upcoming Dreams.

    Games Discussed: Discworld Noir, Burnout 3, Burnout Revenge, Little Big Planet, Tearaway, Dreams

     

  6. Posted

    Tone Control 23:

    Tone Control 23


    Richard Lemarchand
    Naughty Dog Month is completed by my interview with Richard Lemarchand! One of the sweetest, most thoughtful and supportive folks I know in game development, Richard charts... ;) his course from jolly olde England to the sunny shores of Santa Monica, California, going from a kid growing up on ZX Spectrum and arcade games, to helping create one of modern gaming's most iconic series.

    Games Discussed: A bunch of old ZX-81 and Spectrum and arcade games, The New Zealand Story, X-Com, the Soul Reaver series, the Uncharted series

     

  7. Posted

    Tone Control 22:

    Tone Control 22


    Bruce Straley
    Naughty Dog Month begins on Tone Control! This time I'm talking to former Dog Bruce Straley about his long and storied career-- starting with a Sega Genesis X-Men game I played as a kid (!) all the way through his work as a game director on the Uncharted series and The Last of Us. Join us on a trip across console generations, with a view into how some of Naughty Dog's most iconic series came to be.

    The Games Discussed of Us: X-Men (Sega Genesis), Generations Lost, Gex, Gex 3D, Jak & Daxter, Crash Team Racing, Uncharted series, The Last of Us

     

  8. Posted

    4 hours ago, osmosisch said:

    Lovely chat! Thanks as always :)

     

    One small note of criticism, there were points that it was a bit frustrating for me to not hear the end of where she was going with something due to you interrupting / finishing the thought. 

    Ahh, I'll try to keep it in mind! This was my first session after not having recorded one of these for a number of years, so maybe I got more into the flow as I recorded more this season. Thanks for the note!

  9. Posted

    On 3/3/2018 at 12:18 AM, castorp said:

    I'm just catching up with season two and wanted to thank you for this great podcast! I hope even though it is pretty quiet in here everybody is listening to Tone Control.

     

    Oh, and Gone Home and Tacoma are fantastic also. I convinced friends to play Gone Home who don't play games, and they loved it.

     

    Hey, thank you so much for the kind words (on all fronts!) Yeah, as much as on some level I really do Tone Control for myself (as an excuse to talk to cool people in the industry about Real Stuff we usually wouldn't chat about) I hope people are listening to S2 and enjoying it as well! Thanks for saying hi :)

  10. Posted

    Tone Control 21:

    Tone Control 21


    Meggan Scavio
    Anyone who's been to GDC knows, it's a massive, vibrant, overwhelming, inspiring event. As a game developer, it's one of the most important weeks of the year-- and holy hell, it seems like a lot to manage, generally! So I spoke to Meggan Scavio, longtime General Manager of GDC (who's now moved on to be President of the AIAS, running the DICE conference instead) about her years helping to shape what GDC is, and how she came to run some of the biggest and most exciting game development events in the world.

    Topics Discussed: Omaha, Nebraska; teenage hardcore shows; antique roadshows; printed circuit board gatherings; SAVOR; etc.

     

  11. Posted

        Tone Control 20:
        
        Tone Control 20

        
        Davey Wreden
        A thirteen-foot-tall octopus named Edward Scissorhands rampages into your life and destroys everything you love. What do you do? If you're me, you interview him! This hellish creature, also known as Davey Wreden, is the creator of two of the most mind-bending indie story  games in recent history, The Stanley Parable and The Beginner's Guide. Discover how his life and outlook, and his propensity for eight-armed havoc, led to the creation of these modern indie classics.

        Games Discussed: The Stanley Parable, The Beginner's Guide, Gone Home, Tacoma, games that include a copy of Infinite Jest in them

         

  13. Posted

    Tone Control 19:

    Tone Control 19


    Harvey Smith
    Harvey Smith is a mensch. Not only has he been a lead or director on some of the most inspiring and foundational Immersive Sim games of the last 20 years, he's also just a sweet, friendly, thoughtful guy who's great to talk to and has a wonderful southern accent. And lucky you, last time I talked with him, I had my recorder turned on! Hear insight on everything from the advent of the System Shock and Deus Ex series, up through modernizing those concepts into Dishonored, and beyond.

    Games Discussed: System Shock (in VR!), Deus Ex, BioShock and BioShock 2, Osmosis, the Dishonored series

     

  14. Posted

    8 hours ago, osmosisch said:

    I loved this. Thanks so much guys. It's hilarious how much vocabulary you share, like the 'owned' thing -- I've not used people used it so Steveishly before.

     

    The rain came up slowly at such a perfect time I thought at first you had edited it in. Extremely relaxing, I love that sound.

     

    Is Nina on these forums as well? Or should I '@' her on the tweets?

     

    Hah, thanks so much! Yeah it was a fun conversation and yeah I ruin people's language, unfortunately.

     

    Nina is not on the Idle Thumbs forums as far as I'm aware, but pinging her on twitter would be the way to go! Thanks for listenin :)

  15. Posted

    Tone Control 18:

    Tone Control 18


    Nina Freeman
    It's like rain on your podcasting day. It's when a train goes by, and you can't hear what I say. It's the hammer blows, that ruin your take. And who woulda thought, it figures. Despite a variety of exciting sonic interruptions, Steve and Nina soldier on to talk through her work a s Nuovo Award-winning indie game designer of titles like how do you Do It?, Cibele, and Lost Memories Dot Net, and her experience becoming a level designer on Tacoma at Fullbright. Pull up a chair, settle in, and don't let the distant hooting throw you.

    Games Discussed: Myst, Final Fantasy X-2, how do you Do It?, Cibele, Kimmy, Lost Memories Dot Net, Gone Home, Tacoma

     

  18. Posted

    Tone Control 17:

    Tone Control 17


    Charles Webb
    New Bordeaux, Louisiana, 1968. As the turbulent '60s come to a close, New Bordeaux has been carved up by unscrupulous interests: the mob, the Klan, moonshiners, gun runners, and more have hacked off their piece of this storied southern hub of music, voodoo and vice. Who can step in and wrest control of the city back for its people, its community? Lincoln Clay, son of the south and recent Vietnam Vet, takes it upon himself to restore a little order to this city on the bayou. And who could step in to help write such a character? Charles Webb, self-styled "Senior Black Writer" at Hangar 13, joined the Mafia III team after a long and winding path that included writing narrative-driven cell phone games in the early 2000's (!), a stint at Microsoft, a bit of professional film criticism, and more. Join us on the journey that led Charles to help bring one of the most fascinating game characters in recent years to life. Recorded live on site at 2K's studios in Marin.

    Games Discussed: Mafia III, BioShock 2, Minerva's Den, Halo, Dragon Quest 2 or 3, a bunch of stuff in old Nintendo Power magazines, a bunch of awesome-sounding narrative driven cell phone games from the early 2000's (!) that Charles worked on, etc.

     

  19. Posted

    Tone Control 16:

    Tone Control 16


    Mariel Cartwright
    Ahh, classic 2D animation! The art of drawing the same thing in slightly different poses over and over and then flipping through them so fast that they look like one fluid, moving thing. Beautiful, inspiring... but gosh, that sounds like a lot of work! And that work falls to intrepid folks like Mariel Cartwright, the Lead Animator of Skullgirls, and Art Director/Lead Animator of the upcoming INDIVISIBLE! Come along with us on a journey that involves Shrek, Marvel vs. Capcom, the harshest of Canadian winters, and of course, doing lots and lots of drawings.

    Games Discussed: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories UFO Ending, Barbie and the Three Musketeers, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, DarkStalkers, Skullgirls, Indivisible, Tacoma

     

  22. Posted

    Tone Control 15:

    Tone Control_Leighton Gray_EpArt.png


    Leighton Gray
    Welcome back... to Tone Control! Steve shipped another game, so conversations with video game developers begin anew. Kicking off Season 2 of Tone Control, Steve sits down with Leighton Gray, one of the main creative forces behind the daddy dating hit Dream Daddy! Steve discusses daddies, art school, Disneyland, the perils of sudden success, toilets, and daddies, with one of the most exciting up-and-coming creative figures in indie game development. Thanks for joining us!

    Games Discussed: Dream Daddy, Dragon Age Inquisition, Gone Home, Tacoma, the game of dodging student debt and navigating the challenges of being a public persona

     

     

  23. Posted

    Oh hmmm, I kind of forgot how you toggled on the commentary but I know I definitely heard it all, but I have the UK boxed copy, so perhaps the patch was already installed.

     

    I might just rebuy this to have it on PS4 anyway though.

     

    Ahh yeah, the boxed copy is definitely the patched version. To access on PC, choose New Game, and then on the screen before you actually click "Start", go into the Modifiers menu and turn Commentary on.

     

    Do you add and/or subtract a certain number of ghosts for the console release?

    Anyway, thanks for the fantastic game, I wish you a million copies sold, ghosts and all.

     

    The console ports contain 10000x more ghosts than the PC version.

  24. Posted

    If I'm understanding the video right, Steve, is there more commentary for this release?

     

    Nah, it's the same commentary as in the PC version. But we added the commentary in a PC version patch, and the option was kind of hidden, so a lot of people missed it. We're just trying to highlight it as part of the console release.