On this week's episode of The 1099, The Outer Worlds narrative designer Nitai Poddar and senior game designer Brian Heins join Joe to talk about how they made such a weird and comedic universe full of sci-fi late-stage capitalism. The guys talk about creating complicated communities like Edgewater, how each companion reflects a different point-of-view on the plight of the universe, and how gray area game design fills in all the gaps. If you love hearing about how narrative and game design intert...
Nov 11, 2019•42 min
Ex-Game Informer editor Javy Gwaltney joins to talk about the tragic Game Informer layoffs, finding a new home with The Outer Worlds PR team, that awkward situation over at Deadspin and what it means for online media. We also gush over Javy's Game of the Year. Can you guess what it is? It's...Outer Worlds...duh. But the boys talk about the game's comforting RPG gameplay, its Late Stage Capitalism politics, and more. Show edited by Aidan Hall: https://twitter.com/AidanHall93 Show hosted by Joseph...
Nov 04, 2019•1 hr 11 min
PC Gamer's resident Rainbow Six Siege authority Morgan Park joins the show to talk about an entirely different shooter: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. It's been like...a long time since we had a proper Modern Warfare game, but how does this reboot stack up compared to the original trilogy and more recent games? Are the politics behind its huge focus on chemical weapons anything to think twice about? How does multiplayer hold up when things get slowed way the heck down? And is Captain Price a good...
Oct 28, 2019•57 min
On this week's episode, journalist and author Reyan Ali joins us to discuss his new book -- appropriately titled NBA JAM: THE BOOK. Get an inside look at how one of Midway's most famous games came together, how it helped spark off a renaissance of arcade playtime across the country, how it invigorated a devout fan community of amateur detectives, and how it found its way into the hearts and minds of actual NBA players like SHAQ. Seriously, Shaq has this amazingly touching anecdote. I say this ev...
Oct 22, 2019•1 hr 8 min
You ain't lived until you've put in your time in the gig economy. NEO CAB is a game all about being the last human Uber driver in a futuristic San Francisco-ish city, and we've got creative director Patrick Ewing on the show to tell us about how this weird, beautiful narrative about long rides, short conversations, and flaky friends came together. You'll hear about the people they consulted, like the enigmatic UBER GOD, how you design a game narrative focused on brief conversations with (possibl...
Oct 07, 2019•52 min
What do a government employee, an assassin, and a mischievous bird all have in common? Well, they all enjoy murdering and/or annoying other people, but they're also getting reviewed by yours truly and Gamasutra news editor Alissa McAloon. That's right, we review Untitled Goose Game, Remedy's Control, and the conclusion of Hitman 2, and quite frankly, what's the difference? So get ready for a honkin' good time, because Alissa is the world's premiere authority on the world of assassination. FOLLOW...
Sep 30, 2019•1 hr 15 min
Terri Schwartz is many things. She's IGN's editor-in-chief of entertainment (the Hollywood and Netflix half of IGN), she's the embodiment of hustle, and she's one of my favorite people I've ever worked for. On this week's episode of the 1099, Terri and I talk about the art of covering Hollywood as colossal giants like Disney sweep up properties left and right, while Netflix and others raise their defenses for the ongoing streaming wars. What does it take to cover such a different world of movies...
Sep 16, 2019•54 min
In what might be one of my favorite episodes in some time, Telling Lies and Her Story creator Sam Barlow joins the 1099 to talk about how you write, shoot, and build a live-action mystery game like Telling Lies. Oh, and we also talk about how Alfred Hitchcock was the first great game designer, how reading grocery receipts can tell you all you need to know about a person's life, and how a video of a sleeping David Beckham served as inspiration for Telling Lies' more intimate tone. Support the 109...
Sep 09, 2019•1 hr 23 min
On this week's episode, Game Developers of Color Expo Organizer Shawn Alexander Allen joins to talk about all the lessons we can learn from an event that aims to change the industry, not just talk about it. Whether it's providing more opportunities for students, increasing diversity in the workplace, or just reflecting the lived experiences of black and brown people through a game's systems, there's a lot - a LOT - to dig into here. SUPPORT GDOC: https://gamedevsofcolorexpo.com/ Shawn Alexander ...
Sep 02, 2019•1 hr 17 min
You don't need me to tell you that games journalism is a tough business. Shortly after we recorded this episode, Game Informer laid off nearly half of their staff. Brian Crecente, a co-founder of Kotaku, Polygon, Rolling Stone's Glixel, and Variety's gaming coverage has been through those same ringers, and they never get any easier. But picking yourself back up and starting a new games media website doesn't have to be an insurmountable task. Crecente joins the 1099 to discuss the aftermath of Va...
Aug 26, 2019•1 hr 4 min
On this week's episode, I hang out with Rooster Teeth Games director Michael Hadwin and lead designer Casey Donnellan to talk about how they've built up Rooster Teeth's very own game development studio, plus the road to releasing Vicious Circle, their brand new "un-cooperative" sci-fi shooter game, available now on Steam! We talk about Hadwin's history with 3D Realms and founding multiple studios, lessons learned from developing games based on the RWBY franchise, Rooster Teeth's design philosoph...
Aug 19, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Cults are a fascinating (and occasionally gruesome) thing, and perhaps no one knows this better than Richard Rouse III, director on The Church in the Darkness. Imagine telling someone you're making a top-down stealth action game where you infiltrate a cult in the middle of South America to rescue your sibling. Rouse walks us through the design process for such an experience, and how the complicated reality of a cult influenced how he built this hostile community. We also discuss our favorite cul...
Aug 12, 2019•58 min
Our best buddy Kalief Adams (of Spawn on Me fame) returns to chat about why we loved watching EVO 2019, the tournament's biggest moments, how diversity played a huge role, and why people of color love the fighting game community. DONATE to IGN's fundraiser for the victims of the Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas shooting. LINK: https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/08/05/how-to-donate-el-paso-dayton-relief-victims-support-charity SUPPORT SPAWN ON ME: https://twitter.com/SpawnOnMe FOLLOW KAHLIEF: https...
Aug 06, 2019•40 min
Friend of the show and PCGamesN writer Ian Boudreau joins Joe to talk about war games that go beyond World War II, and helps us analyze why we're so dang obsessed with "Tacticool," or the hypersexualization of guns. If you've ever obsessed over strategy games, but wondered how they could push the envelope in terms of storytelling, this is a talk for you. Ian also shares his experiences as a military journalist, and many an anecdote about the Game Informer intern days are shared. Follow Ian: @IBo...
Jul 23, 2019•1 hr 14 min
When you think about streaming, especially Fortnite streaming, you don't really think about groups of people. You think of a solitary streamer hustling away and landing sick headshots all day long. In a world full of young men and women trying to hustle to stardom, we especially don't think about the mentors in our lives who helped guide us along the way. Fortnite pro Jack AKA Cizzorz of the FaZe clan has taken it upon himself to mentor one lucky contest winner, so I caught up with him on what t...
Jul 15, 2019•33 min
The man of many headlines returns. Famed analyst and host of the Pachter Factor, Michael Pachter, joins the 1099 once again to discuss the shaky future of GameStop after its stock value plummets, what the future of game streaming looks like for Google Stadia, Microsoft's XCloud, and even PlayStation, and what prices we can expect for next-gen hardware like the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett. If you want all the business talk you can handle, you've found it. Follow the 1099: @ the1099Podcast on Twitter Fo...
Jul 08, 2019•57 min
That's right. We're talking about anime. Washington Post editor Gene Park happened to watch the world famous anime Neon Genesis Evangelion at the tender age of 16. Like many young adults around him, as well as Evangelion's cast, Park grappled miserably with his mental health, and felt like he had nowhere to go. A year later, he would attempt to take his own life, and was hospitalized and kept in a psychiatric ward. It was only after another 19 years of mental health issues, alcoholism, and vario...
Jul 01, 2019•54 min
I absolutely cannot believe Outer Wilds exists. It is a game that is so...me, and everything I love about video games. Discovery, curiosity, cosmic beauty, and cosmic dread. As soon as I sat down to play it, I knew I had to interview the team on how they brought this interstellar Indiana Jones mystery to life. I'm joined by creative director Alex Beachum and art director Wesley Martin of Mobius Digital, two gentlemen who grew up loving the outdoors and video games. After a student version of Out...
Jun 24, 2019•1 hr 5 min
Content Warning: Discussions of warfare, trauma, death, and suicide. On this week's episode, I let my good friend John Phillips take the mic to talk about his thoughts and feelings on how Infinity Ward and Activision are marketing the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot as the grittier, extra-realistic take on modern combat. Rather than having a full conversation, John has given me permission to rehost the audio he posted a little while back. I felt it illustrated his thoughts more eloquentl...
Jun 20, 2019•43 min
Xbox Scarlett, Bethesda, MOTHERFUCKING KEANU REEVES. OK, we didn't get Keanu for the show, but we do have Aiden Strawhun and Joseph Knoop to talk about E3 hopes and reactions to Microsoft's HUGE show. The duo also discuss what's happening in the IGN War Room and what it's like to work there during E3. Joe has moved into his damn LA apartment finally, so there's that too. E3! Hype! KEANU! Follow Aiden: @astraww Follow Joseph @JosephKnoop Support ZW Buckley at zwbuckley.com SHARE THE SHOW ON SOCIA...
Jun 10, 2019•32 min
When was the first time you encountered sex in a video game? I've wanted to talk to Ana Valens for a long while about the amazing world of sex in video games, and how it intersects with marginalized identities. She's a trans/sex columnist at Daily Dot and a brilliant authority on the intersections between, sex, gender, and geek culture. We dive into the ways gaming culture still struggles to take its queer players seriously, how famous characters are "reclaimed" as queer icons, and the differenc...
Jun 03, 2019•1 hr 15 min
I'm ridiculously busy getting ready to move to LA in less than a week, so you bet your ass I forgot to schedule a guest for The 1099. This week we're taking things easy, and I'm joined by my wonderful partner Aiden Strawhun, who you may recognize from IGN, GameSpot, Kotaku, and elsewhere. We talk about 1) how video games brought us together, and 2) the magic of long distance gaming, and how sharing virtual spaces like Stardew Valley or Overcooked has help us not only get through the first months...
May 27, 2019•1 hr 4 min
At this year's ID @ Xbox event during GDC, I fell in love with a little game called Raji: An Ancient Epic. The game blends old God of War-style action with Indian, Balinese, and Hindu mythology into a really beautiful and polished package. It made me eager to talk with the developers, and I got not one, not two, but three. Avichal Singh, Ian Maude, and Shruti Ghosh from Nodding Heads Games joined me to talk about how the stars aligned for them all to meet and make Raji, how difficult it can be t...
May 20, 2019•1 hr 7 min
Detective Pikachu is, believe it or not, the first legitimately good video game movie, and a big part of that is thanks to the wonderful writing by folks like Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit. On this episode of The 1099, Hernandez joins me to talk about growing up with Pokémon, how he helped build the Pokémon world of Ryme City, and the film's themes of striking out on your own and striving for redemption. It's without a doubt one of my favorite conversations I've ever had on this show, and I thin...
May 13, 2019•55 min
THE BIG ONE, folks! Former X-Play host Morgan Webb joins us to talk about the glory days of broadcast games media, plus a big focus on how she's building a constructive culture over at Bonfire Studios as they work on their first game, and all the lessons she's learned between. Also there's some stuff about cutie oranges, morbid jokes about book clubs, and swearing. It's fun for the whole family. Thank you for coming this far on this incredible journey with us. Time to start planning for Episode ...
May 06, 2019•57 min
On PART ONE of Episode 200, I'm joined by the former and far more handsome host of The 1099, Josiah Renaudin, back from the halls of EA for one brief moment in time. The boys discuss Josiah's job at EA, his team, and reflect back on Josiah's time steering the show. It's a prelude filled with lots of touchy-feely good times and gratitude. Don't miss out on it, and don't miss out on PART TWO of Episode 200, featuring former X-Play host and current Bonfire Studios member Morgan Webb, which should b...
May 06, 2019•36 min
If you're like me, you grew up in a heyday of superhero cartoons, and none stood higher than Justice League. On this week's episode, an integral part of those heroics joins me. Voice actress Susan Eisenberg has helped define Wonder Woman's image and mass popularity since 2001, working on Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and later the Injustice video games from NetherRealm. We chat about the evolution of the character through the years, why Wonder Woman has persisted, and the latest DC a...
Apr 29, 2019•53 min
On this week's episode of The 1099, Spawn On Me co-founder and very rad dude Kahlief Adams joins me to talk about 6+ years of highlighting people of color in the games industry, plus their new GoFundMe drive for 2019-2020. In a media field that still struggles to achieve greater diversity, what does it take to foster up-and-coming writers and creators of color? What steps does the industry need to take to create a better platform for marginalized voices? And how are people of color and other mar...
Apr 22, 2019•1 hr 9 min
On this week's episode, Falcon Age creative director Chandana Ekanayake AKA 'Eka' joins The 1099 to talk about the game's themes of colonialism, family, and reclamation. It's not often we get to see Southeast Asia (Sri Lanka in this case) represented so proudly in gaming, and we dig into Eka's life growing up in Sri Lanka, then Maryland, and how his identity has shifted throughout adulthood. Plus, how they made one of the most convincing (and cute) animals in games to date, and what it's like st...
Apr 15, 2019•1 hr
Content Warning: Discussion of serious illness, including cancer and alcoholism. You know, there are plenty of writers and media folks out there that I idolize. But one of the guys I look up to most is a guy named Blake Hester, a writer most seen on Polygon, but also a former intern at Game Informer, just like me. I’ve always been captivated by his features writing, where he’s explored the history of Red Dead, Crash Bandicoot, Sonic the Hedgehog, and interviewing Geoff friggin’ Keighley for six ...
Apr 08, 2019•1 hr 2 min
