It's Gothic time! Yes, finally, after countless requests, Matt Chat covers the 2001 German CRPG Gothic. Of course, this game launched a trilogy, and apparently Risen is keeping the lineage alive. Lots of fun stuff in this game, and some pioneering stuff like the ability to skin animals (you can even get their teeth and claws!), cook food (grilled chicken!), and much more. Plagued by one of the slowest starts in any CRPG, though, it hasn't attracted the attention that it really deserves. If you can get through the first 3-4 hours of it, you'll be hooked. Just don't blow all your ore at the swamp weed stand!

Download the mp4 here.

In the final segment of my interview with Mark Soderwall, we chat about his work on Fracture, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Clone Wars, and much more. We also talk about the importance of game history, what it takes to be a professional game developer, and Mark's choice of reading material.

Download the mp4 here.

Be sure to watch around the 20 minute mark for a special Vintage Games surprise!

My apologies for not posting these sooner! This is the second and third parts of my interview with Mark Soderwall, who's giving us the lowdown on what it's like to be a graphics artist. He's got 20 years of experience and tons of stories--including juicy stuff about what Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Wachowski brothers are like backstage. It's good stuff.
Episode 130:

Episode 131:

Download Episode 130.
Download Episode 131.

Hi, guys! I'm back with part three of my interview with the amazing Josh Mandel. In this segment (which is frankly required viewing for any true fan of classic computer games), Josh talks about how thinks went awry at Sierra, eventually sending him on a quest to find a new publisher in Legend. He also chats about his favorite creation, Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, and the future of adventure games as a viable genre.

Download the mp4 here, and don't forget to drop a few dollars into the bard's hat!

I'm back this week with part two of my funtastic chat with Josh "Josho" Mandel. This time, the maestro chats about why point-and-clicks were a dumbing down from the parser days, the making of Freddy Pharkas, his voicework as King Graham, his thoughts on LucasFilm and Myst (loves the former; loathes the latter), and Space Quest 6.

If you want to buy Space Quest 4-6 for only $10, DRM free, get it here to support Matt Chat at no extra cost to you!

You can download the mp4 here as well.

In this first segment of my interview with Sierra designer Josh Mandel, we chat about how Josh got his start, remaking King's Quest, Zeliard, Leisure Suit Larry, Laffer Utilities, and much more. We also talk about the difference between creating puzzles for parsers vs. point-and-clicks. Josh thinks the latter was a dumbing down with grave consequences for the genre.

Download the MP4.

This week, I finally get around to retrospecting Bethesda's 1996 masterpiece Daggerfall, the game that for many fans is still the best ever Elder Scrolls game. While not without its share of bugs and interface issues, it's still a terrific achievement and demonstrates the possibilities of procedurally-generated content in CRPGs. Just don't make the mistake I did of not checking ALL the options for keyboard and mouse. :)

Still, the resulting misadventures are pretty darn funny.

Download the mp4.

Lots of great stuff in this last segment of my interview with Gas Powered Games' Chris Taylor. Here we start getting into some stuff that really disappointed Chris, as he struggled to achieve quality despite pressure from publishers. He also talks about how important it is not to bite off more than you can chew (Space Siege), and why he thinks consoles are the future of RTS. He's very candid throughout, and you definitely don't want to miss the ending when he talks about striking the right balance between pleasing gamers (with modding tools) and publishers (with profitability).

Note: I encourage you to watch the downloadable version this time. YouTube is screwing me with their algorithms again, this time providing advertising for Square Enix at my expense. I'll post it here nonetheless. Last time I ever use clips from one of their stupid game trailers.

Download the video here.

Jonas Kyratzes is an indie designer who enjoys pushing the boundaries of game design. He's got a lot of great projects under his belt, including The Museum of Broken Memories, Alphaland, Last Rose in a Desert Garden, and much more. Using a more "chat like" format than usual, Jonas and I discuss a range of topics including art, politics, entertainment, and of course, gaming.

Watch above or Download the mp4.