Built to Play

** 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 conglomerate operates and why there are so many mobile game clones. Music on this weeks episode were thanks to the Free Music Archive. We used "Self-Driving" and "Sentimental" by Sro, "The first person crossing the bridge since a century" by Komiku, "I Used to Need the Violence" and "Rewound" by Chris Zabriskie, "Bargains" by Steve Coombs, "fascinating earthbound objects" by free energy, and "CopperNickle" by UncleBibby. We're produced out of CJRU 1280 AM in downtown Toronto and made by Arman Aghbali and Daniel Rosen. Find out more at: https://builttoplay.ca

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 to Play is a product of CJRU in the heart of downtown Toronto. It was produced by Arman Aghbali and Daniel Rosen. If you like the show please subscribe and rate us online. It helps more people find the show and gives us an idea how we're doing. Find out more at: https://builttoplay.ca

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. Find out more at: https://builttoplay.ca

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 Play is a product of CJRU in the heart of downtown Toronto. It was produced by Arman Aghbali and Daniel Rosen. If you like the show please subscribe and rate us online. It helps more people find the show and gives us an idea how we're doing. Podcast art from Alex C on Flickr.

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 additions: Kingdom Hearts 2 - 2005 Re:Coded - 2010 358/2 Days - 2009 Birth By Sleep - 2010 Dream Drop Distance - 2012 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage - 2017 Thanks to OCRemix for the following songs: "Protect Your Kingdom" by Smooth4Lyfe, "Respite (Kingdom Hearts)" by Emunator. Built to Play is a product of CJRU in the heart of downtown Toronto. It was produced by Arman Aghbali and Daniel Rosen. If you like the show please subscribe and rate us online. It helps more people find the show and gives us an idea how we're doing.

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 following songs: "Protect Your Kingdom" by Smooth4Lyfe, "Respite (Kingdom Hearts)" by Emunator, and "Simply Be-groove-ed" by Tetrimino. Built to Play is a product of CJRU in the heart of downtown Toronto. It was produced by Arman Aghbali and Daniel Rosen. If you like the show please subscribe and rate us online. It helps more people find the show and gives us an idea how we're doing.

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 of the Obra Dinn Yakuza 6 Celeste Arman's List Spider-Man God of War Gorogoa Music used in this episode: Return of the Obra Dinn Main Theme by Lucas Pope, Destiny from Yakuza 6 - composed by Hidenori Shoji, Memories of Mother (Hip Hop Trap Remix) from God of War - originally composed by Bear McCreary, remix by Rifti Beats, Ressurections from Celeste - composed by Lena Raine

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 - 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 THANKS TO THE FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE FOR: “THE WHITE” AND “THE BLACK FRAME” BY ROLEMUSIC. IT’S DYING. PLEASE HELP IT. BUILT TO PLAY IS A PRODUCT OF CJRU IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN TORONTO. IT WAS PRODUCED BY ARMAN AGHBALI AND DANIEL ROSEN.

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.

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 representations in comics. Originally broadcast on CJRU 1280 AM in Toronto. Written and reported by Justin Chandler and Jacob Dubé. Produced by Jacob Dubé, Justin Chandler and Mitchell Thompson. RFK-specific fund drive awards can be found here!

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 group goal of $140. If we can pull that off, we’ll do a full bonus episode together! In it, we’ll recap and analyse the new Spider-Man video game. It’ll be a blast, and we really want to do this. Are Syrian refugees and a love of Spider-Man not good enough? Well, don’t worry, we have a few more incentives. If you donate $5 you’ll be entered into a draw to win a copy of Monster Hunter World on a platform of your choice. So Xbox One. PS4. PC. You name it. At $10 we’ll steal a formatting idea from War Rocket Ajax, and rank 7 of your video games of choice. So send us some names, and we’ll tell you if they’re better than Shadow the Hedgehog or worse than Super Metroid. Plus, you get a raffle ticket for Monster Hunter. At $20 you’ll get all of that, and we’ll read a message of your choice on air. This ONLY works if you use the B2P offer code. Visit store.cjru.ca to learn more about the program, and make a pledge!

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. Everything is made everywhere. Thanks to the Free Music Archive for "My Sound" by Drum Kid and "Button" by Chad Crouch. Plus, OCRemix for "Incognito" by DjjD and "Smash and Burn" by WillRock. Built to Play is a product of CJRU in the heart of downtown Toronto. It was produced by Arman Aghbali and Daniel Rosen. If you like the show please subscribe and rate us online. It helps more people find the show and gives us an idea how we're doing.

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 2 Mello, and "Dream," by Chan Wai Fat, "Button" by Chad Crouch and "Sono Tranquile" by Obsibilo. Built to Play is a product of CJRU in the heart of downtown Toronto. It was produced by Arman Aghbali and Daniel Rosen. If you like the show please subscribe and rate us online. It helps more people find the show and gives us an idea how we're doing. Feel free to comment down below.

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 Music Archive for "If(you>us)" and "Snooze" by Yaul, and "What Does Anybody Know About Anything," and "Out of the Skies, Under the Earth," by Chris Zabriskie, and "Holy Enough" by Steve Coombs. Also "過去の思い出" by Mewmore. Built to Play is a product of CJRU in the heart of downtown Toronto. It was produced by Arman Aghbali and Daniel Rosen. If you like the show please subscribe and rate us online. It helps more people find the show and gives us an idea how we're doing.

A ghost returns and we look at the most important games of the year

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.

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.

We talk about what to call imperfection and we play some co-operative storytelling karaoke.

We look back at one of the most influential anthology of games - how its creating new ways to make money.

Games writer Walt Williams likes to crunch, but the rest of the industry may not have a choice.

We look at a Profound Waste of Time, a U.K. gaming magazine,

Jonathan Ore from the CBC joins us again to talk about Nintendo news and the future of the industry

Built to Play gives our year end awards to the best games we did and did not play

Built to Play brings together the Hand Eye Society, Gabby DaRienzo, David Wolinsky, Ried McCarter and Nadia Oxford to talk 2016

We talk about the ongoing contraversy around No Man's Sky and the Nintendo Switch

George starts a game he hadn't heard of, and then falls down the rabbit hole.

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 Ambassador. OCRemix for "Clockwork Groove" by Eino Keskitalo. WE ALSO USED CLIPS FROM THE TURNABOUT JAZZ SOUL COMPILATION ALBUM.  BUILT TO PLAY IS A PRODUCT OF CJRU IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN TORONTO. IT WAS PRODUCED BY ARMAN AGHBALI AND DANIEL ROSEN. IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND RATE US ONLINE. IT HELPS MORE PEOPLE FIND THE SHOW AND GIVES US AN IDEA HOW WE'RE DOING. FEEL FREE TO COMMENT DOWN BELOW.

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.

We recap the Phoenix Wright series so far

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

We talk about the Electronic Entertainment Expo floor and card games Subscribe (iTunes)Subscribe (Stitcher) Preston Dozsa joins us after his week long trip to Los Angeles to play Gwent for 10 hours, and also see the E3 floor.  For some of our E3 Press Conference jostling, follow us on Twitter.  THANKS TO THE FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE FOR "Neon Skies" BY LEE ROSEVERE. BUILT TO PLAY IS A PRODUCT OF CJRU IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN TORONTO. IT WAS PRODUCED BY ARMAN AGHBALI AND DANIEL ROSEN. IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND RATE US ONLINE. IT HELPS MORE PEOPLE FIND THE SHOW AND GIVES US AN IDEA HOW WE'RE DOING. FEEL FREE TO COMMENT DOWN BELOW.

We're busy with E3, so here's our full interview with Greg Stolze on Unknown Armies and its history. BUILT TO PLAY IS A PRODUCT OF CJRU IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN TORONTO. IT WAS PRODUCED BY ARMAN AGHBALI AND DANIEL ROSEN. IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND RATE US ONLINE. IT HELPS MORE PEOPLE FIND THE SHOW AND GIVES US AN IDEA HOW WE'RE DOING. FEEL FREE TO COMMENT DOWN BELOW.

Daniel and Arman talk about why harassment and death threats are never the answer, the nature of game delays and why you should always listen to your Uncle Jackie.

We talk to Nina Freeman about growing up online, her game Cibele, and digital ephemera. Plus, we hear about a woman's experience in high school playing World of Warcraft.

Greg Stolze tells us about why Unknown Armies isn't afraid to make you weaker as you get stronger

We brought Jonathan Ore from the CBC to discuss the coming end of the Wii U

Robert Gagno, a pinball master, and escape room puzzle designers reveal what makes them tick

We talk handcrafted games, program detectives and memories

We talk about Leland Yee, and Rami Ismail talks airports

A system with a design flaw, an industry that may be on drugs and a localization that took out some surprising creep

We talk about Mini Metro, the future of virtual reality and narrative experiences for your eyeballs

The curse continues with the ghost of Yamaguchi

We talk about 30 years of Mario, an award ceremony, game literacy, and Fate Tectonics

Built to Play chats with Patrick O'Rouke and David Wolinsky about VR, the word Indie and the best games of 2015

Built to Play looks at moving from one place to another and fail at Mario Maker

We explore a man's love affair with Galaga, a post-apocalyptic Kingdom Hearts future, and Monopolists discuss one of the most popular board games of all time.

We visit a Malaysian theme park and discuss Internet Ethics Subscribe (iTunes)Subscribe (Stitcher) In this week's episode there are the following segments: Daniel and Arman discuss Ubiland Malaysia. We return to the ancient TWIX-ON. Then we find our way to define ethics on the internet and Machinima's two-year-old advertising crisis. (0:00) Colby Dauch tells us about building board games, and what building a board around the world of popular game BioShock Infinite meant for his company. (29:20) A preview of things to come (54:55) THANKS TO THE FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE FOR "hey ragdoll" by Boyscout Discovery, "Sunrises" by Adrianna Krikl, AND "the clouds were like lace" BY Ben McElroy. BUILT TO PLAY IS A PRODUCT OF THE SCOPE AT RYERSON RADIO STATION IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN TORONTO. IT WAS PRODUCED, EDITED AND WRITTEN BY ARMAN AGHBALI AND DANIEL ROSEN. IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND RATE US ONLINE. IT HELPS MORE PEOPLE FIND THE SHOW AND GIVES US AN IDEA HOW WE'RE DOING. FEEL FREE TO COMMENT DOWN BELOW.

Subscribe (iTunes)Subscribe (Stitcher) It's our preview for this coming season of Built to Play, all about the feeling an intent behind play. We have a great line up coming, but first we thought we'd sharea little primer with you all about what it means to play. THANKS TO THE FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE FOR "La Montage" and "Until Dawn" by Rockit Maxx. BUILT TO PLAY IS A PRODUCT OF THE SCOPE AT RYERSON RADIO STATION IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN TORONTO. IT WAS PRODUCED, EDITED AND WRITTEN BY ARMAN AGHBALI AND DANIEL ROSEN. IF YOU LIKE THE SHOW PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND RATE US ONLINE. IT HELPS MORE PEOPLE FIND THE SHOW AND GIVES US AN IDEA HOW WE'RE DOING. FEEL FREE TO COMMENT DOWN BELOW.

We analyse worker's rights, being reassigned as a janitor, Amazon, kickstarter, and the world of Kingdom Hearts 3. Plus we replay an old interview in full. David Craddock tells us about the origins of Diablo.

We do a belated farewell to Nintendo's long passed president and catch up with some WiiU and 3DS games

Breaking down full motion video, non-existent game consoles, plus we follow a level design marriage and the end of a company.