Toad on Games

Liam Edwards joins me to talk about the games industry in Kyoto, AAA devs moving to indie, having to make yourself the brand, and his games Scrappers and Cursed to Golf.

For this episode, I share my own experiences in the games industry, from GAME to The Mirror, Numskull, and Super Rare Games. I also share advice on how to get into the video games industry.

PushDustIn joins me to talk about his translation work with Source Gaming, his research work for DidYouKnowGaming, working with the PixelJunk games, and his Memory Card podcast. We also discuss journalists crediting work and Sakurai's blog post about KFC.

Larry Bundy Jr. joins me to talk about his popular YouTube channel, the history of his Fact Hunt series, the relationship between PR & content creators, the retro gaming community, mainstream news covering games, and that time Shigeru Miyamoto's family member told him off.

Shesez from popular YouTube show Boundary Break joins me for the 2nd time to discuss his show about behind-the-scenes secrets in games, its effect on the industry since we last spoke, how he finds his tools, sleepy time games, and the issues facing YouTube as a platform.

Tristan Cooper, owner of renowned Twitter account Can You Pet the Dog, joins me to discuss pettable dogs in video games, the strange effect the positive movement has had on the industry, marketing, and the worries of pressuring developers.

Voice actor, casting director, and writer Reece Bridger, who served as a writer for the recent 3D platformer Pumpkin Jack, discuss his experience on the game, some exclusive easter eggs and lore, in-depth voice acting & writing tips, and how separating your personality & politics from your art is impossible.

Paul from Fossil Games joins me to talk about their pixel art horror games, Sunshine Manor and Camp Sunshine, the former's recent Kickstarter, and why we love horror games & movies.

Games industry vet Quang from Asobi.tech discusses his new physical Game Boy Color game Super JetPak DX (in the making since the 90s), his upcoming game Mao Mao Castle, his extraordinary video game console collection which tours gaming events, his Pocket Pixel t-shirt brand, and his uncredited Game Boy Color works.

Wren Brier, creative lead of Witch Beam Games' upcoming zen puzzler Unpacking, joins me to discuss her game about taking things out of boxes and putting them away, its inspirations, balancing indie creativity with commercial viability, novel games, and the psychology of collecting & checklists.

New Game Plus editor and freelance games writer Olly Smith joins me to discuss the ups and downs of video games journalism, impostor syndrome, pitching and speaking to PR, the benefit of reading reviews after playing a game, and more.

Rocket Adrift's Lindsay, Titus, and Pat join me to discuss their upcoming 90s teen drama dating sim, Raptor Boyfriend: A High School Romance, and their podcast Dark Future Dice, where they play the tabletop role-playing game Cyberpunk 2020.

We also discuss why whiteboards are useful to creatives, their smaller jam game, and their attention to lore details - even for rad raptor boys.

Allison James joins me to talk about working with Atari on PONG Quest, the game she developed as one half of Chequered Ink, as well as designing fonts which have appeared in Detective Pikachu, GTA Online, Watch Dogs, and more.

We also discuss her indie game releases such as Ne Touchez Pas, Remaddening, and the excellent NAL is Alive collection on Steam.

Robin & Aimee from Gayming Magazine join me to talk about the LGBTQ+ video games outlet, and why such a thing is important. We also discuss the upcoming worlds-first Gaymer Awards, queer representation in video games (and why indies are ahead of the curve), why gamers 'queerify' games, and even how someone tried copyrighting the term 'gaymer'.

Chris from Saved You A Click Video Games joins me to discuss the popular gimmick Twitter account, clickbait in journalism, the controversial topic of the account's ethics, and his plans to address the industry with a new website. (Please note due to potentially sensitive topics, he can only speak for himself and not the other account runners!)

Chris from retro gaming community GamesYouLoved joins me to talk about the retro games community, how to build a community, retro game buying tips and even the big question... what IS 'retro gaming'?

Clive 'N' Wrench developer Rob Wass joins me to talk about his upcoming mascot 3D platformer, licensed PS1 games, how playing games becomes research for developers, and why Muppet Monster Adventure is his fave game.

New Blood Interactive CEO Dave Oshry joins me to talk about the collective's games, including retro FPS throwbacks DUSK, Amid Evil, Maximum Action, ULTRAKILL, and Gloomwood, as well as FAITH and Unfortunate Spacemen.

We also discuss their weird URLs, hating money, low-poly games, their VR prototype roots, and pig farms.

Coffee Talk director Fahmi joins me to talk about the hit visual novel game he worked on, what sets it apart from other titles in the genre, and crunch culture.

Switch Player, Ninty Fresh and The Vita Lounge magazine owner Paul Murphy joins me to talk about the modern state of print media, throwaway culture, and his successful magazine ventures.

Pocket Gamer editor and Big Boss Battle co-owner Dann Sullivan joins me to talk all things mobile gaming - what makes them different, how they're marketed, Apple Arcade, and Pocket Gamer's upcoming LaunchPad event. We also discuss board games and biscuits!

Indie games expert & journalist Jupiter Hadley joins me to talk about indie game jams, the itch.io Black Lives Matter bundle, the originality of small indie games, preserving indie games, and more!

Anodyne 2 developers Melos Han-Tani and Marina Kitta join me to talk about Anodyne 1 and 2 (which was my Game of the Year for 2019), low-poly games, how Tony Hawk's Pro Skater influenced them, and what they're working on next.

YouTuber DreamcastGuy joins me to talk about the Dreamcast, demo discs, the future of games within games, and what growing up poor meant for us as gamers.

George from The Bonsai Treehouse joins me to talk about their indie games Snowdown and You Are Worthless: A Video Game Where Nothing Happens, as well as their unique approach to game storytelling and narrative design.

Ash from SMG Studio joins me to talk about their new hit game Moving Out, as well as Death Squared, RISK, No Way Home on Apple Arcade, working with Team17, and the Australian indie games industry.

Conor Clarke from the National Videogame Museum joins me to talk about the importance of preserving video games and their culture, how the museum is surviving the COVID-19 crisis, and how video game companies help (and hinder) gaming preservation.

Former McDonald's corporate chef and food YouTuber Chef Mike Haracz joins me to talk about the history of video games + food, licensed food games, and THAT szechuan sauce drama.

Sonic & Nintendo news YouTuber TWIP joins me to discuss the stumbles of the Sonic the Hedgehog brand and where it's gone wrong, as well as the Pokémon brand issues and Animal Crossing: New Horizons' success.

15 people join me to share their personal stories on how video games have positively changed or saved their lives.

Thanks to the following people for sharing their amazing stories:

Thomas Noppers, video game artist for The Escapists, Lethal League, and Penarium, who also makes papercraft toys, joins me to discuss Nintendo Labo, the cardboard toy peripheral series for the Nintendo Switch.

Video game & anime voice actress Kira Buckland joins me to discuss her voice work as 2B in NieR:Automata, voice acting tips, geek culture elitism, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Super Meat Boy designer and programmer Tommy Refenes joins me to talk about the original indie hit and its upcoming sequel, Super Meat Boy Forever, his appearance on Indie Game: The Movie, the Wii port's cancellation, and gaming difficulty & accessibility.

Legendary game composer Grant Kirkhope joins me to discuss his entire entire composing history, from his time at Rare (Banjo Kazooie, GoldenEye 007, etc.) to Yooka-Laylee and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

YouTuber Shesez joins me to discuss his his popular YouTube series Boundary Break, a show that breaks in-game cameras to show behind the scene secrets, as well as the trials and troubles of managing a successful YouTube channel.

Delisted Steam game collector (and my real-life twin) Reecebullet joins me to discuss delisted digital games and the community that hunts them down.

Big Boss Battle and Final Boss Fight writers Dann Sullivan and Dan O'Reily join me to discuss the controversy around No Man's Sky, Pokémon GO's success, and how consoles may move to an incremental model.

Physical games publishers Limited Run Games, IndieBox, and SOEDESCO join me to discuss the resurgence of physical media, why preservation is important, and the problems facing digital-only content.

The Sims community group Beyond Sims joins me to discuss what makes the game series and its community special. We also talk about the toys-to-life genre, the revival of 3D platformers, late review embargoes, always-online games, and 'preorder culture'.

In this pilot episode, I discuss the never-ending 'PC vs console' debate, why Microsoft & EA keep closing studios, the perception of value with game, and why video games have been leaking.

The opening jingle of the Toad on Games podcast, which features a different video games industry guest every Monday sharing their stories and discussing the hottest topics.