Podcast appearances and mentions of Soren Johnson

This week, we share Coracle's very first Soundings Seminar from 2014—a conversation between an Anglican Priest (Bill Haley) and a Catholic ministry leader (Soren Johnson). They discuss the importance of Christian unity, from the prayers of Jesus to the church today.  They explore how and why the Evangelical and Catholic traditions need one another.Learn More About Trinity House CafeView Our Full Archive of Soundings Seminarsinthecoracle.org  |  @inthecoracleSupport the show

Soren and Ever Johnson are founders of Trinity House, and Joseph had a chance to sit down with Soren and discuss what makes a home really imitate the love of the Trinity.The mission of Trinity House Community is to inspire families to make home a taste of heaven for the renewal of faith and culture. Consider launching a Trinity House Community Group for families at your parish. For just $499/year, this turn-key model offers families a "date night + family night" experience and is now blessing families at 34 parishes in 14 states! Subscribe to receive Soren & Ever's weekly Heaven in Your Home Lettershere. Every Tuesday, you'll receive inspiring stories and practical tools for your own "Trinity House."  Check out their Heaven in Your Home Letters & Guide: Inspiration & Tools for Building a Trinity House (Amazon, $24.99)Print up the Heaven in Your Home Flowchart and hang it on your fridge as a reference point for your family's growing life in Christ! Visit their ministry's Trinity House Cafe + Market, which offers "a little taste of heaven at the corner of Church & Market Streets" in the heart of old town Leesburg, VA.  As always, check out our work, and join our email list, at https://ouroutpost.org/join our free resource library platform herecatch our other podcast, Love Your Marriage, by clicking here: https://ouroutpost.org/podcasts/see what we have upcoming in terms of events here: https://ouroutpost.org/events/send us an email at hello@ouroutpost.organd please rate, review, and share!If you're a Catholic husband, feel free to sign up for some time to chat with Joseph! https://bookme.name/ouroutpost/45-minutes-with-joseph

The Civilization Series returns with Soren Johnson, lead designer of Civilization IV, Offworld Trading Company, and Old World. They discuss the teasers for Civilization VII, what they're excited for, what they're worried about, and what they hope will change about the series. They also discuss the 4X releases since their last meeting, including Humankind.

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Minecraft, with this special Christmas edition. We talk a little about seeds and sharing them, carpeting your friend's base, stories of ongoing Minecrafting, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: A few more hours of Minecraft Issues covered: wall-to-wall carpeting, Defeating Games for Charity, Minecraft gear, motion capture, finding Tim's base, stairs being my hallmark, the importance of community, a potato generator, farming spaces and pens, not being deep on the tech tree, building being an important part, learning about sheep and their needs, grass propagation, sudden appearance of grass, emergent properties and experimentation, getting quickly to the nether, leaning on villagers, building up the spawn point, monster generation, XP as currency, upgrading villagers, a system to get quickly to villages, a very deep hole, climbing out of a big hole, getting connected to the world, blockiness contributing to readability, replayable/pseudo-randomness, selecting a seed, determinism, a multiverse of deterministic universes, a shareable number that you can replicate, difficulty progression in other games, getting same-y, going to the end, investing yourself, asking why?, making and letting go, spreading out to other games, Deathgaze and other end-game FF6 discussion. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Phil Salvador, BioStats, Mega 64, Mark Garcia, LostLake86, MysteryDip and progeny, Lord of the Rings (obliquely), Valheim, Dark Souls, Breath of the Wild, Indiana Jones (obliquely), Minesweeper, Bridge, Starfighter, Spelunky, Skyrim, Soren Johnson, Civilization, No Man's Sky, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Corbin Bernsen, Pacific Drive, Final Fantasy VI, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers. Next time: End of year review! Links: Defeating Games for Charity Twitch: timlongojr Discord https://t.co/h7jnG9J9lz DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we conclude our series on 2006's Dead Rising. We visit the end of the game a bit and then turn to our takeaways, before tackling a reader question. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Finished the game! Issues covered: the enemy mix, just being a journalist, being interrupted by Otis, the arrival of the army, captured by cultists, constant use of the chainsaw, adding an enemy and its impact, greater XP rewards, state changes and controlling the state change, an ongoing narrative, how games end, overtime mode, the helicopter arrival, how new game+ or post-game works these days, frustration with unplugging the bombs, vehicle troubles, reach exceeding grasp, having the wrong feelings, the wall mission, early replay to skills gather, the bomb cyclone, the open world structure and its rogue-like nature, picking the good inspiration, weapon variety and payoff, finding new things to do on your run, conducive to achievements, systems over mechanics, different kinds of mastery, getting little bang for buck from first person or special moves, zombies as level design, tuning and balancing, item progression, humans as the real enemies, psychopaths, little survivor stories, balancing silliness and poignancy, when you've changed your mind, individuating the clones, adding humor, using more and less of the language, moving to systems over mechanics, moving away from design documentation, iteration over inspiration, defensiveness, solving for growing team size with documentation. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Dark Souls, MegaMan, Fallout, Bethesda Game Studios, Morrowind, The Witcher 3, Grand Theft Auto, Lost Planet, Monster Hunter, Dragon's Dogma, Resident Evil (series), Dawn of the Dead, Gears of War, Vampire Survivor, Robotron 2084, Fatal Frame, mystery dip, Republic Commando, George Lucas, The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, Robin Williams, William Shakespeare, Harley Baldwin, Starfighter (series), Soren Johnson, Sid Meier, LucasArts, Halo, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy VI, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: ??? TBA ??? Errata: You do not in fact have to carry all the queens at once. Brett may not have advanced Isabela's conversation enough. Twitch: timlongojr Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we start a new series on Heroes of Might and Magic. We talk about the boardgame of it all and where the vibes are with this one, among other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Some standard, some campaign Issues covered: hearing the journey and thoughts of our listeners, deep regrets about Megaman, games that scare us, learning the patterns, hearing about the Final Fantasy thoughts, learning about FF15 at two different publishers, a game you can't pick up and play for an hour, seeking out a full game experience, dialing down the map challenge, a more dense map, lots of map options, seeing a new map, considering whether the maps are generated algorithmically, playing a little too disposably, how this game might be played, lack of boardgame clarity, extreme depth, depth of the tactical mode, opacity and complexity, the aesthetics of the time, dormant franchises vs active ones, lacking iteration and interaction on the design and with the players, possible outcomes from opacity, balance in defending the castles, how slowly should I move on the map, getting over the hump, getting services in The Sims, kind words about the 'cast. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed:  Kaeon, Biostats, CalamityNolan, Megaman, Day of the Tentacle/Maniac Mansion, Contra, Cuphead, Andrew Kirmse, Full Throttle, Dark Souls, Belmont, Final Fantasy (series), Jason Schreier, Mark Garcia, LostLake, Metal Gear Solid V, Crystal Dynamics, Tomb Raider (2013), Square Enix, Eidos, Halo Infinite, 343 Industries, The Sims, X-COM, Soren Johnson, Civilization, Jurassic Park, Wizardry, Ubisoft, New World Computing, Infogrammes, Dwarf Fortress, Avalon Hill, Universal Paperclips, Frank Lantz, G, Tristan, Stone Librande, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers.  Next time: More of HOMM! Twitch: timlongojr Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

Good morning! On today's show, Matt Swaim and Anna Mitchell welcome Soren Johnson from Trinity House Community to share their efforts to help build holier families, and also get more practical wisdom from the Desert Fathers with Fr. Augustine Wetta, OSB. Plus all the latest news, weather, sports and a whole lot more…

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Jake Solomon, best known for the XCOM reboot and Midnight Suns. They discuss his first, failed attempt at XCOM, why 75% does not mean 75%, and how many copies of XCOM he sold at Power Gamer in Glen Burnie, MD. This episode was recorded on April 26, 2023.

This episode marks the beginning of a new series focused on the Civilization series of games. Dirk and David are joined by Soren Johnson to discuss their background with the Civilization games, and how they got introduced to the series. They discuss the development of the earlier games, as well as the broader strokes of Civilization, including the hallmarks of a 4X game, what design space Civ occupies, and where they would like the series to go in Civ 7 and beyond.

 Hablamos Calvo Exposito y yo sobre la charla en la GDC de Soren Johnson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsCigLYxNYsLos juegos de la semana Stationfall y Las Vegas RoyalePara acabar un popurri de series.DESCARGAR

Dirk and David are joined by Soren Johnson, friend of the show and founder of Mohawk Games. The trio answers questions and design problems from the community, and follow up on recent episodes. Topics include achievements and collectables, the importance of having an art style, when to innovate and when to fall back on convention, and how to integrate community involvement in the design process.

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Trespasser: The Lost World. We talk more about the physics of the game, the problems of video game proprioception, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: To level 4 (Brett), to level 6 (Tim) Issues covered: abracadabra, discussing fixed point vs floating point, obvious and easy-to-fix bug or patch problem, backface culling, finding a human space, inelastic collisions vs elastic collisions, physics modeling and fussiness, infinite forces, doors and jambs, physics object modeling, tech demos, the box stair stepping problem, imagining a third person view, spending an hour to get up to a second floor, box vs pill, your arm and proprioception, snaking through doors, being able to rotate the boxes, a diversion into evolutionary/genetic algorithms, the abominable procedural animation, lining up the crosshairs and weird satisfaction, learning how the guns shoot, sniper spotting, procedurally generated animation systems, what works and what looks right, unnatural alive and dead, watching two T-rexes fight, approximating with ideal objects, trees: nemesis edition, sumo or inflatable costumes, standing still and they can still see you, pathing and getting back to a player behind a tree, getting away from the T Rex, emergent behavior, recontextualizing the world to get the magic, a sticky good bad game, scaring off some velociraptors with an empty gun. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: PlayStation, Minnie Driver, Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy, GIRP, QWOP, Halo, Seamus Blackley, In the Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises, JFK, Spore, No Man's Sky, Soren Johnson, Civilization, Far Cry 2, Reed Knight, TIE Fighter, Arkham Knight, Control, Alan Wake, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.  Next time: Finish the game! Notes: Genetic algorithms was the term Brett was looking for Hayao Miyazaki video Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @timlongojr and @devgameclub Discord  DevGameClub@gmail.com

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Jake Solomon, best known for the XCOM reboot and Midnight Suns. They discuss how much money he had to give back to Accenture, how to animate multiple units at the same time, and why Sid suddenly started golfing so much. This episode was recorded on April 25, 2023.

Dirk is joined by returning guest host Soren Johnson in today's episode in the Design Talk series. Dirk and Soren speak with Richard Lemarchand, distinguished game designer and now-professor most well-known for his work on the Uncharted series. Richard details his journey through his game design career, and the skills and processes he learned along the way. Special consideration is given to control design, and the importance of them on game feel and playability.

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Trent Kusters, co-founder of League of Geeks, best known for the strategy game Armello. They discuss why Armello has so much output randomness, whether they fudge the odds, and how to turn off a Game-as-a- Service. This episode was recorded on September 8, 2023.

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Trent Kusters, co-founder of League of Geeks, best known for the strategy game Armello. They discuss how he faked his way into games journalism, how to sneak risky ideas past licensors, and how to make games feel big. This episode was recorded on September 8, 2023.

In this episode, Soren interviews tabletop designer Cole Wehrle, best known for his work on Root, Oath, Pax Pamir, and John Company. They discuss whether John Company is satire, how the East India Company was like QWOP, and the importance of German postal rates. This episode was recorded on March 22, 2023.

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we add a bonus to our series on Metroid Prime by looking into Metroid Fusion, before turning to the mail bag. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Almost all of it Issues covered: the space jump boots, connectivity with the GBA, Metroid nostalgia, a hardcore game, GBA architecture, moving goalposts, kinship between Metroid and Legend of Zelda, snacking on Dread, an A bug in a final room, code save states, a limited control set and linear upgrades, having keycards/security access, Samus's lack of agency, changing what you think about the character, enjoying the setting, not knowing where to go, not thinking about space in a particular way, host origin stories, roles we've had, leaving for opportunities, burning out, a book club for games, keeping up with technology, learning languages, not being able to share what we're doing yet, how we keep going, hitting versions of writer's block, context shifting, being good with just a small amount of work, project doldrums, mental thinking, sometimes you just need idle time, gaining perspective via sharing, asking why questions, shifting between productivity approaches, disguised linearity, games where the level design pulls you along, trusting the developers and trusting your players, player empowerment, games we didn't get, not enjoying the controller for FPSes but changing later, getting revved up by programming and needing cooldowns. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Blarg42, TheSecondQuest, Game Boy Advance, Pokemon Stadium, Zelda: Four Sword, Crystal Chronicle, PacMan, Splinter Cell, Tingle Tuner, Legend of Zelda, Mercury Steam, Dead Space, Event Horizon, Team Ninja, Tomonobu Itagaki, Kyleanderror13, Republic Commando, Star Wars: Starfighter, LucasArts, Tomb Raider, Jonathan Williams, Bethesda Game Studios, Fallout 3, Mario (series), Rebel FM, Naughty Dog, Looking Glass, System Shock 2, Irrational Games, Soren Johnson, Civ 3, GamaSutra/Game Developer, Sixty Second Shooter Prime, Jamie Fristrom, PlayStation Vita, Commander Keen, Luke, RPG Maker, Bvron, Fumito Ueda, Shadow of the Colossus, The Last Guardian, Ocarina of Time, Link to the Past, Arcane Studios, Dishonored, Prey, Death Loop, Planescape: Torment, Castlevania, Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, Ori and the Blind Forest, Dark Souls, Jarkko Sivula, GoldenEye, Demon's Souls, Resident Evil, Nathan Martz, Final Fantasy (series), Dungeons & Dragons, Trespasser, Skyrim, Minecraft, Dragon Quest Builders, Valheim, Dwarf Fortress, Joel Burgess, Capy Games, Ubisoft, Watch Dogs, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: TBA! Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @timlongojr and @devgameclub Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Tanya Short, co-founder of Kitfox Games and best known for her work on Moon Hunters and Boyfriend Dungeon. They discuss why her parents had to get a second phone like, how she accidentally made a roguelike, and whether Moon Hunters should have combat. This episode was recorded on March 23, 2023.

In this episode, Soren and Leyla interview veteran game designer Charlie Cleveland, founder of Unknown Worlds and best known for his work on Natural Selection and Subnautica. They discuss why Moonbreaker is the first digital miniatures game, if players would notice if critical hits were removed, and whether the game should have an undo. This episode was recorded on March 19, 2023.

It's an all-star panel as Len and Mike Williams are joined by Mohawk Games' and Idle Thumbs' own Soren Johnson and Paradox Tinto's Johan Andersson to chip away at a tricky target: the different design goals between a more "Board Gamey" strategy game like Civilization and the "Simulationist" breed exemplified by Europa Universalis. We discuss what we like and don't like about each one, who the audiences are for each, and how to navigate the significant overlap in those audiences. In the end, maybe it's not as adversarial after all...

Raised Evangelical, Soren Johnson entered the Catholic Church after much prayer, study and discernment. His faith has only grown as he's served as a teacher, communications professional and co-founder of Trinity House Community.

In this episode, Soren and Leyla interview veteran game designer Charlie Cleveland, founder of Unknown Worlds and best known for his work on Natural Selection and Subnautica. They discuss why Charlie Cleveland moved to Cleveland, how he did Kickstarter before Kickstarter, and whether Subnautica was intended to be a survival game. This episode was recorded on March 20, 2022.

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Liz England, best known for her work on Scribblenauts, Sunset Overdrive, and Watch Dogs: Legion. They discuss how she organized her mom's RPG inventories, what is the boiling point of a lion, and whether system complexity matters if the player can't see it. This episode was recorded on September 17, 2022.

In this episode, Soren and Leyla interview veteran game designer Harvey Smith, best known for his work on the Deus Ex and Dishonored series. They discuss what TDA stood for at Origin, if Dishonored is just Thief but faster, and why it is sometimes better to be heavy handed. This episode was recorded on March 23, 2022.

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Matthew Davis, co-founder of Subset Games and best known for his work on FTL and Into the Breach. They discuss whether FTL is a roguelike, how they resolve conflict at Subset, and whether Soren can convince them to add unlimited undo to Into the Breach. This episode was recorded on Sept 19, 2022.

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Justin Ma, co-founder of Subset Games and best known for his work on FTL and Into the Breach. They discuss how he bombed his first game industry interview, why the AI in FTL can't behave like a human, and whether Into the Breach should have unlimited undo. This episode was recorded on March 24, 2022.

In this episode, Soren and Leyla interview independent game developer Chris DeLay, co-founder of Introversion Software and best known for his work on Uplink, Darwinia, Defcon, and Prison Architect. They discuss how to play Prison Architect without a prison, why the game needed cutscenes, and how to design an economy when the world is ending. This episode was recorded on March 24, 2022.

In this episode, Soren and Leyla interview independent game developer Chris DeLay, co-founder of Introversion Software and best known for his work on Uplink, Darwinia, Defcon, and Prison Architect. They discuss why they hid the credits screen for Uplink, who Darwinia's Dr. Sepulveda is based on, and whether you can have too much fun playing Defcon. This episode was recorded on March 22, 2022.

Len and Jon are joined by Leyla and Soren Johnson to talk about Old World's Steam launch and its first big expansion. We got their thoughts on the Early Access process, figuring out how to depict historical cultures like the Hittites when sources are sparse, and where the ancient era 4X might go next.

Rob has invited Layla and Soren Johnson, CEO and Design Director at Mohawk Games respectively, onto Waypoint Radio this week to chat about their time in game dev- from Soren's time at Firaxis as lead designer on Civilization IV and Layla's time in the State Department to transitioning into running their own studio and creating games alongside a dedicated fanbase in early access. They also chat about their 4X game Old World and it's new expansion Heroes of the Aegean, and trying their best to design from different historical perspectives that people might not expect. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Tom Chick and Bruce Geryk interview Soren and Leyla Johnson about their new historical 4X, Old World. They discuss whether the Old World timeline really makes sense, how they approach Early Access differently, and why Soren didn't want to give up on the name 10 Crowns.

Today I bring you one of the world's more renowned strategy videogame designers – the designer of Civilization IV, one of the most beloved in the series (probably my favorite one still), and the founder of Mohawk Games, who created Offworld Trading Company, and most recently, Old World. Old World has been out for awhile … Strategy Can Be Fun – Soren Johnson on OLD WORLD Read More »

Hey friends, welcome to this week’s show! This week, Spaz, Julie, Thorston, Jacob and I sit down with Leyla and Soren Johnson, both of... The post SGJ Podcast #384 – Old... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Soren Johnson looks at the difference in respect and envy and the path of mercy vs. the path of self-assurance and self-righteousness. Support the show (https://ecclesianj.churchcenter.com/giving)

In this episode, Soren interviews Luca Redwood, the developer of 10000000, You Must Build a Boat, and Photographs. They discuss why 10000000 has no commas, how he makes sure the player never gets unlucky, and why you need to build a boat. This episode was recorded March 18, 2019.

Bob talks with Leyla and Soren Johnson of Mohawk Games about Old World, History Respawned's History Game of the Year for 2021. Topics include the response to Old World, the historical research that went into the game, Old World's Order System, how Old World fits into the historical 4X genre, and future plans for the game. Please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/historyrespawned Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)license.dig.ccmixter.org/files/texasr…iofish/49560 Ft: W. A. Mozart, Big Bonobo Combo

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Robin Hunicke, co-founder of Funomena and best known for her work on MySims, Boom Blox, and Journey. They discuss why developers overperform their authority in large companies, how they almost accidentally made Journey a competitive game, and why they decided to let thatgamecompany run out of money to ship the game. This episode was recorded December 1, 2021.

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Robin Hunicke, co-founder of Funomena and best known for her work on MySims, Boom Blox, and Journey. They discuss why HyperCard was so great, why AI development is game design, and how Steven Spielberg almost made Angry Birds for EA. This episode was recorded March 24, 2018.

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran RPG designer Josh Sawyer, best known for his work on Icewind Dale, Fallout: New Vegas, and Pillars of Eternity. They discuss the purpose of grinding, the difference between viable and optimal characters, and why RPG players don't welcome rebalancing their games. This episode was recorded March 24, 2018.

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran RPG designer Josh Sawyer, best known for his work on Icewind Dale, Fallout: New Vegas, and Pillars of Eternity. They discuss how making a website for a tattoo parlor led to his game career, what is the purpose of traps in an RPG, and how much lore is too much lore. This episode was recorded March 24, 2018.

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on Resident Evil 4. We talk about various set pieces at the end, a bit about ammo types and balance, and of course, our takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Finished the game! Issues covered: having more cutscenes and quotable lines, set piece stuff that reminds you of other series, tying back to the series, parallels with Metal Gear Solid, being campy vs leaning into camp, new enemy types, whether an enemy was skippable, feeling resource poor, weapon choices, conserving resources as much as you can, losing resources to being unable to line up enemies, making ammo more powerful via upgrades, killing parasites with flash grenades, whether resource constraints are balanced for all players dynamically, leaning more heavily on QTEs, replacing mechanics with QTEs, forcing exposition, camera authoring, uninteresting skill challenges, Ashley driving and the rail-shooting, being more action-y than survival horror, wish fulfillment/power fantasy, where you can kill enemies, Krauser and backstory, leaning on prior character knowledge, feeling like the Saddler battle doesn't pay off, not having the right location, the eye in the mouth, the series going darker, replaying the jetski scene again and again, controller problems, planned obsolescence, the rainbow proposition, sturdier controllers, credits story time, ending with a bit of a whimper, Mike we hardly knew ya, Brett's Book Recommendations, the commitment to design tension, the pacing of combat, linear macro design with arena sections, agency in level flow, the AI states and how they work everywhere, the great balancing across the whole game, balancing a game you can't change, pushing your game further but not too far, adding the right things and leaving the right things behind. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Metal Gear Solid, Konami, Capcom, Die Hard (obliquely), Killer 7, Grasshopper Interactive, Suda51, Fatal Frame, Hideo Kojima, Dark Souls, 28 Days Later, Gamecube, PS4, Nintendo, Deus Ex, Sylvia Moreno-Garcia, Mexican Gothic, Julian Gollop, X-COM, Soren Johnson, Civilization III, Control, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: Good question! Thought you might ask! Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @timlongojr and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Soren Johnson looks at the incarnation of Jesus and how the scriptures have all been pointing to the stunning reality of "God With Us." Support the show (https://ecclesianj.churchcenter.com/giving)

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Chet Faliszek, who co-founded Stray Bombay and is best known for his work at Valve on games such as Left 4 Dead and Portal 2. They discuss what shampoo sales have to do with Old Man Murray, why he tests his games in a foreign language, and why game design is easier for co-op games. This episode was recorded August 17, 2021.

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Andy Schatz, who founded Pocketwatch Games and is best known for his work on Monaco and Tooth and Tail. This episode was recorded March 23, 2018. They discuss what Monaco and Rashomon have in common, how familiarity with your best players can be more valuable than metrics, and why the flag bearer in Tooth and Tail can't attack.

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Andy Schatz, who founded Pocketwatch Games and is best known for his work on Monaco and Tooth and Tail. This episode was recorded March 23, 2018. They discuss how he tried to live out Ultima's virtues, why no one was ever able to rip-off The Sims, and why we both hate click-the-stick.

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on 2007's Bioshock. We set the game in its time and talk about how it expanded the audience for a shooter with sim elements, as well as other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up to Neptune's Bounty Issues covered: the name change, retaining identity after being acquired, what is a brand, the games that year, the Shock-verse, wanting System Shock 3, missing the immersive sim, starting with the wrench and a power, the success of the game, broadening the appeal of immersive sim elements, the difficulty of balancing immersive sims and testing them, improving the shooting, a successful E3, keeping secret the weird beginning, the theme park opening, the bathysphere and the mystery, marine life being used once, delivering a really solid moment, a single location that is a character in and of itself, a sleeper hit, the games blogosphere, the "Bioshock slot", taking a chance on something quirky, superhero games often being bad, establishing an Art Deco aesthetic, amplifying fear by setting it underwater, leaning into the horror early, Dutch angle usage, needles, survival horror elements, staying in first person, story bits and teasing narrative out over time, growing story space, well-implemented audio logs, a good choice for narrative delivery, foreshadowing and making a place feel lived in, easy to enjoy, getting some stuff really right, Kindly filling folks in on Atlas, setting up the smoke and mirrors, reapproaching the 4X genre from an old hand, the fun that is Ratchet & Clank, choosing a language based on the regional flavor, how long to show the tutorialization, teach the player without them knowing they are being taught, dynamic tutorials. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Irrational Games/2K Boston, Firaxis, Microsoft, Bethesda Game Studios, SWAT 4, Republic Commando, Portal, Halo 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl, Metroid Prime 3, Crysis, Nintendo Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, The Orange Box, Half-Life (series), Team Fortress 2, Medal of Honor: Vanguard, Call of Duty: Vanguard, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Uncharted, The Witcher, Peggle, PuzzleQuest, Crackdown, WoW: The Burning Crusade, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Lulu LaMer, PlayStation, Xbox, Rainbow Six: Vegas, System Shock 2, Ken Levine, Cloud Chamber, Prey, Arkane, Deathloop, Bioshock Infinite, The Incredibles, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Todd Howard, Fallout 3, Arkham Asylum, Skyrim, Rocksteady, Warner Bros., Jules Verne, Control, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Johnny Pockets Grattan, Old World, Soren Johnson, Civ III, Drew, Ratchet & Clank, Traveller's Tales, LEGO (series), GTA, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Ni No Kuni, SEGA, Ghost Squad, House of the Dead, Yakuza, Metal Gear (series), Death Stranding, Alan Wake, Remedy, Dragon Quest Builders, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: TBD! More Bioshock! Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @timlongojr and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Today's Flash Back Friday comes from Episode 55, originally published in July 2012. Shawn Andrich, host of Gamers with Jobs Podcast, began podcasting before iTunes existed, when podcasts were only MP3s available on websites. Jason Hartman and Shawn walk through the changes in podcasting and talk about the current format of the show. They discuss the conversation of the show, which has four hosts and covers a range of topics related to gaming and gamers. One of the techniques Shawn and his other hosts use is video in order to signal one another so as not to talk over one another, producing an almost edit-free podcast. Shawn also explains they use Google+, using Google Hangouts, something less often used by podcasters, and how each host records their own audio track, which is then spliced together by the audio technician. He feels it is the best audio quality when hosts are in different locations. Other topics Jason and Shawn cover includes advertising, going into detail about why advertisers don't like to advertise on podcasts, and donation drives that work very well to draw community support. They wrap up the interview with great advice on producing a successful podcast. Gamers With Jobs is the brainchild of Shawn Andrich and Sean Sands, both gamers who, oddly enough, didn't have “real” jobs when they launched the site years ago. It began as a news site with a forum, and evolved into what you see today: a safe haven for all the girls and guys who grew up with games and have families to feed and bills to pay. Seeing that news wasn't really getting the job done, Gamers With Jobs became the premier independent editorial site and community you see today. A cornerstone of the site, the Gamers With Jobs Conference Call prides itself on a professional-quality production that rivals that of many commercially produced podcasts. Featuring some of the very same writers from the front page, the podcast brings you smart, in-depth discussion about the latest games, issues and design quandaries of the day. We are also very fortunate to have regular guests like Ken Levine, Jeff Green, Shawn Elliott, Soren Johnson, John Carmack and others on the show. The host of the show, Shawn has been working on gaming websites for over a decade. Before the Conference Call, he was co-host on the GWJ Radio podcast and the short-lived Escapist Radio show. He plays games on every platform and in nearly every genre. His loathing for WoW and what it has done to otherwise interesting people is legendary. Website: www.GamersWithJobs.com www.Twitter.com/ShawnAndrich