** In June 2018, Ben Esposito was on his way to a game conference when he received a email that said his game had been stolen. ** The idea he had been working on for six years was already for sale, by someone else. It might have been inevitable. We examine what happens when a bigger company sees an opportunity in your personal small game. We talk to creator of Donut County, Ben Esposito, the chief operating officer of Noodlecake Studios , Ryan Holowaty and many others about how a French media co...
Aug 23, 2019•26 min
It's summer crossover time! Here's a special episode with CJRU 1280 AM's comic book show Radio Free Krypton ! Justin Chandler joins us as Arman and Daniel about what makes a great Spider-Man story. How do you make an authentic Spider-Man New York? Just how important is that Parker luck? This episode was made possible thanks to donors to CJRU 1280 AM. Donate to our illustrious home base. Thanks to the Free Music Archive for the following songs: "BMX Hero" by Pierlo, "Shun-in" by Pleiades. Built t...
Jul 26, 2019•55 min
E3 this year gave us a window into gaming's future. What's beyond it? Phoenix Simms joins us for a conversation about game streaming, political discourse and the raddest video games at this year's E3. You can find more of her work here: https://twitter.com/phoenixsimms Music on this weeks episode were from Broke for Free, "Heart Ache" and "Warm Up Suit." We found them on the Free Music Archive. We're produced out of CJRU 1280 AM in downtown Toronto and made by Arman Aghbali and Daniel Rosen. Fin...
Jul 18, 2019•45 min
Gaming's annual grand exhibition, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is only a few more days away. But why does it look like a shadow of its former self? Brian Crecente at Variety Gaming gives us a window into the organization behind the trade expo. His story at Variety: Inside the Disarray Facing the Video Game Organization Behind E3 Thanks to the Free Music Archive for the following songs: : "Air Hockey Saloon" by Chris Zabriske, "Southside" by Lee Rosevere, and "Kopeika" by et. Built to P...
Jun 07, 2019•26 min
We're ranking every video game ever made, and we're clearing out as much of Kingdom Hearts as we can: The Uncle who Works for Nintendo - 2014 - Michael Lutz (Matt Ishii) World of Warcraft - 2004 - Blizzard (Holly Babaran) Bastion - 2011 - Supergiant (Lyle Scott) Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety - Software Creations - 1995 (Jon Ore) Bayonetta - 2009 - Platinum Games (Ibrahim Faruqui) Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories - 2004 - Jupiter (Vivian Ng) Super Metroid Shadow the Hedgehog. New addition...
Apr 22, 2019•52 min
We've been fascinated by Kingdom Hearts since childhood. But is a series worth going back to? We investigate the value of a long derided series by talking to fans who grew up with the series, and adults who are trying to make sense of it today. Special thanks to Reid McCarter and Astrid Rose of Bullet Points' Blood of Friendship πx: Re: Podcast. Thanks to the Free Music Archive for the following songs: "Lake Eerie Wolves" by Fields of Ohio, "Focus" by A. A Aalto. Thanks to OCRemix for the follow...
Mar 21, 2019•39 min
We continued to be haunted by a gamified spirit, as we recount the best and worst games of 2018. Worst Game We Didn't Play Red Dead Redemption 2 The Quiet Man Fallout 76 Assassin's Creed: Odyssey Best Game to Play Between the End of High School and Start of University Battletech Monster Hunter World Hitman 2 Dragon Quest XI Valkyria Chronicles 4 Best Game But From the Year 1993 Myst Magic the Gathering Doom Star Trek the Next Generation Interactive VCR Board Game Virtua Fighter Dan's List Return...
Jan 31, 2019•55 min
We have a new terrible idea: Rank every video game ever made. We like video games. We like them a lot. So now, we decided to rank them all from best to worst. We're starting with 8, and we'll soon have them all. Tune in as Dan and Arman discuss the following games (submitted by the following people): The Uncle who Works for Nintendo - 2014 - Michael Lutz (Matt Ishii) World of Warcraft - 2004 - Blizzard (Holly Babaran) Bastion - 2011 - Supergiant (Lyle Scott) Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety ...
Nov 23, 2018•1 hr 11 min
So everything is broken: What do we do to fix the world we love? Dr. Kishonna Gray tells us how to identify the legacy of issue facing the gaming industry, and how the gaming community can give us a small window into the future of society. Emma Vossen comes back to teach us a little more about gaming's leaky pipeline.
Oct 25, 2018•47 min
And heeeeere's part 2 of "Crisis of Toxic Nerds," a multi-part documentary investigating where the toxicity in geek culture comes from, and what we can do about it. In this part, Radio Free Krypton hosts Justin and Jacob try to make sense of an old beast with a new face: Comicsgate. They speak to comics writer and editor Stephanie Cooke , rapper More or Les , professor Benjamin Woo and writer and PhD candidate Safiyya Hosein about how toxicity develops and the importance of diverse representatio...
Sep 28, 2018•33 min
In partnership with Radio Free Krypton we're doing two (three) episodes on toxicity in nerdom. Our episode focuses on toxic masculinity in gaming specifically. We talk to talk to Laine "Superphrenic" Yuhas about Dota 2, sexism and her organisation, Desoladies . Later, researcher Emma Vossen , an expert on gaming and gender, gives us a run down on what it means to be a gamer, and why that sucks for everyone. PLUS : It's CJRU 1280 AM Fund Drive time! Together with Radio Free Krypton, we have a gro...
Sep 27, 2018•46 min
Phoenix Sims of Third Person Space joins us to talk about spec work, women in games, and politics. Plus, everything we actually liked from this year's show. Here's the games we might recommend you check out following this year's E3: Bravery Network* Cyberpunk 2077 Ghosts of Tsushima Beyond Good and Evil 2 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Wolfenstein: The Young Blood Tunic* *Both of these are Canadian productions! Part of Beyond Good and Evil 2 will likely be made in Canada, but it's Ubisoft. Everythin...
Jun 21, 2018•50 min
By suing two media organizations, Quantic Dream has done something unprecedented. When it comes to their work environment though, it's distressingly average -- with sexual misconduct, shady contracts, and a disregard for the rules. We talk to journalists and a critic who have dove deep into what makes Detroit Become Human tick. Mediapart Canard PC Le Monde Mashable's Detroit Become Human review Thanks to the Free Music Archive for "silent eyes," "building stories," " and "unexplored corridor" by...
Jun 07, 2018•35 min
This episode contains the following segments: Our understanding of history can change how we depict it, and who gets to play the hero. We look at Kingdom Come: Deliverance as a case study. We talk to David Perry and Reid McCarter. Here's Reid's original article in Unwinnable, and Geraldine Heng's book on race in medieval Europe. Daniel Rosen gives us a look into Yakuza 6, the new adventure of the affable criminal Kazuma Kiryu, and why he's loved exploring its version of Japan. Thanks to the Free...
Apr 23, 2018•37 min
A ghost returns and we look at the most important games of the year
Dec 31, 2017•33 min
We look back on a great year for video games in what happened to be a terrible year overall. Janine Hawkins, David Wolinsky, Yifat Shaik, Taylor Bai-Woo, Gabriel Zoltan-Johan, and Jonathan Ore join us for a conversation about what it means to make money in video games today.
Dec 31, 2017•1 hr
Matthew Gault tells us about a time in his life where Fallout 3 became his second job. And we look at a very very long list.
Dec 22, 2017•25 min
We talk about what to call imperfection and we play some co-operative storytelling karaoke.
Oct 27, 2017•45 min
We look back at one of the most influential anthology of games - how its creating new ways to make money.
Oct 13, 2017•28 min
Games writer Walt Williams likes to crunch, but the rest of the industry may not have a choice.
Sep 29, 2017•30 min
We look at a Profound Waste of Time, a U.K. gaming magazine,
Apr 13, 2017•39 min
Jonathan Ore from the CBC joins us again to talk about Nintendo news and the future of the industry
Feb 09, 2017•48 min
Built to Play gives our year end awards to the best games we did and did not play
Dec 30, 2016•55 min
Built to Play brings together the Hand Eye Society, Gabby DaRienzo, David Wolinsky, Ried McCarter and Nadia Oxford to talk 2016
Dec 22, 2016•1 hr
We talk about the ongoing contraversy around No Man's Sky and the Nintendo Switch
Nov 11, 2016•47 min
George starts a game he hadn't heard of, and then falls down the rabbit hole.
Nov 03, 2016•22 min
In support of CJRU's fund drive, we did a live episode of Built to Play! Subscribe (iTunes) Subscribe (Stitcher) We talk to Patrick O'Rourke about Playstation VR. Zach Gage tells us why he's afraid of chess. Mare Sheppard and Raigan Burns from Metanet Software describe their pursuit for perfection. Daniel Rosen scoured the web for some of the biggest disasters in dubbing. To donate visit CJRU.ca THANKS TO THE FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE FOR "Erotic Robotics," "Intergalactic Lounge Music" BY Polish Ambass...
Oct 20, 2016•56 min
Join us live on Oct 17 for our very first live version of Built to Play. We'll be starting at 1 p.m. ET on CJRU.ca or if you live in Toronto, 1280 AM.
Oct 17, 2016•2 min
We recap the Phoenix Wright series so far
Oct 13, 2016•55 min
In 2015, a top Super Smash Bros Melee player was ready to give up his character to preserve his legacy. Instead he did something weirder
Oct 06, 2016•29 min
