![]() Gabby is the co-founder of Laundry Bear games. Today I'm joined by Gabby DaRienzo and we have an incredibly lively and upbeat chat about death and video games. That's what I want to remember about my brother. ![]() We also hit on him being headhunted by EA, the Edith Finch pitch that led to him becoming the lead designer, how navigating a Japanese fish market gave him the inspiration for his first game, the joy of coming to a game with no prior knowledge, and the time he spent living at Will Wright’s house. We talk growing up in Boston playing games in the Pala, that time he kicked a TV off the wall emulating the Power Rangers, joining a Jewish Fraternity in University (the token Catholic) and giving video game presentations to his fraternity brothers, his time as a professional Counter Strike player and the incredible saga of Leaping Lizzie rare spawns in Final Fantasy 11. My guest today is Chris Bell, a game designer with a remarkable CV that includes thatgamecompany's Journey and the upcoming Sky, What Remains of Edith Finch, Way and 12 Minutes.Īs well as being an incredible designer Chris is also filled with stories. We also hit on why Defender is still so good, he origins of JAZ as a moniker, the soothing charms of Hearthstone and Destiny, how games like Rescue on Fractulus made him realise games could be something truly extraordinary and why his twelve year old self likely wouldn't believe him if he explained a game like World of Warcraft existed. A formative character in my life in games during his role as the editor for magazines like Mean Machines and CVG, Julian is the first guest I've spoken to on checkpoints that I did drawings of as a child.Īs well as reminiscing about the UK magazine scene of the eighties and nineties, we talk about growing up in Aberystwyth and the arcade scene that forged his love of games, his time winning the 1983 computer game championship at Club Xenon in London, his move to America and his tumultuous time working for Virgin Interactive, his role in the nascent IGN, and how through it all his love of games has never faltered. Thanks so much to everyone for listening and supporting the show. We also talk on his work as a journalist, the time he got into a brawl over Goldeneye, why he’d play Samba di Amigo with death, how Psychonauts still doesn’t get the credit it deserves and of course the history and future (!) of A Life Well Wasted. We talk about his formative video game experiences in Texan dive bars, how the internet ruined the mysteries and rumours of the arcade, how he invented new ways to play Super Mario Bros, his ultimately fruitless efforts to enjoy Final Fantasy, how an arcade called Einstein’s led to him dropping out of college, and why live events are often the best place to enjoy indie games. As well as A Life Well Wasted, Robert is one half of the amazing I Come to Shanghai, a former video game journalist and of course a GFW radio alum. Robert was one of the very first people I ever contacted about coming on the show, and I'm delighted that he decided to temporarily come out of video game podcast retirement to talk. I'm just sticking the landing.Īppropriately enough my final guest is the creator of the much loved and missed video game podcast A Life Well Wasted, Robert Ashley. There will be a special Epilogue episode coming in a week or two where I’ll talk about the reason for the finishing the podcast in much more detail, suffice to say this isn't a sad ending. The last consoles to even mention it in their marketing were the Dreamcast and the Playstation 2. Growing up with games, the leaps between generations felt profound From 8 Bit to 16 Bit, to 32, to Nintendo 64! It was exciting. Listen Listen again Continue Playing.Ĭonsoles don’t really brag about bit ratings anymore.Games discussed: Zool, Comman & Conquer: Red Alert, DOTA, N++, Final Fantasy 8, Broken Sword, Spelunky, Metal Gear Solid, Desert Golfing, PUBG, Fortnite, Black and White, Rogue Process, Invisible Inc. There's also a ton of great video game stories like the surprise LAN party he had for his 10th birthday, how Command & Conquer cracked open his mind, his mum keeping the secrets of Monkey Island to herself, his 1000s of hours with DOTA 2 and how the AI he created to create games reflects the games he creates himself. It honestly completely reshaped the way I think about and understand AI. Mike is an AI researcher, the founder of #procjam (this year's even has just started so you should check it out.) and the creator of ANGELINA an AI system that makes video games.Īs you can imagine, this is a mind blowing and fascinating talk. My guest on today's episode is the amazing Mike Cook Games that have inspired them, games that have forged connections & games that have soothed wounds. Each episode, a guest talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. ![]() This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them.
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