In my second installment of my interview with Neal Hallford, we chat about his masterpiece, Betrayal at Krondor. Famous among CRPG aficionados for its epic story and superb writing, BaK is set in the fantasy world of Raymond E. Feist. Unfortunately, Neal did such a great job mimicking Feist's style that many people wrongly assume that it was Feist who penned the game script! The interview also covers why a proper sequel to the game was never made.

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This week's Matt Chat features the first slice of an interview with fantasy author and game designer Neal Hallford, best known for his work on Betrayal at Krondor, Dungeon Siege, and Planet's Edge. He talks here about his roots and inspirations, which include Cinematronic's Space Wars arcade game. We also chat about his time at New World Computing, where he worked with Might and Magic creator JVC. There's lots of great stuff here for retro fans to enjoy.

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You can support Neal's new Kickstarter project for his fantasy novel here.

Joel Billings is back for one final time (at least for this interview series!) to tell us about the decline and fall of his one great company. Why isn't SSI with us today? Then there's the great What-ifs--What if Trip Hawkins had been at the meeting with EA? What if SSI had held off just a bit longer before selling out to Mindscape? Enjoy!

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This week, I'm pleased to present a very special guest: Richard "Lord British" Garriott, the father of computer role-playing games. I'm sure this man needs no introduction with you guys. We talk mostly here about his Shroud of the Avatar kickstarter, which you definitely don't want to miss if you're a fan of Ultima and Ultima Online. The game will offer some really neat innovations, including a scalable multiplayer option and tons more interactivity than we've grown accustomed to. I'm in at the $125 tier for the box and cloth map.

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This week I'm joined by distinguished designer and id co-founder Tom Hall. In this first 20 mins or so of a 60+ minute interview, we chat about Tom's Kickstarter project Worlds of Wander. An ambitious platform game creator tool, WoW has unfortunately not done well, raising only $45,000 of a $400,000 goal. Tom's obviously disappointed and bit disheartened, but we still have a good chat about platform gaming in general and some of Tom's picks for exemplars that aspiring designers should study.

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MadonnaI had the honor a few days ago of being a guest on the All Gen Gamers podcast. The topics are pretty eclectic, ranging from Samantha Fox Strip Poker to Madonna's bush (what'd you expect when you put a bunch of 30-something retrogamers together?). We also talk about Matt Chat, PC games, and much more. If you aren't familiar with this podcast, it's hosted by the top dogs of the YouTube retrogaming community. I highly recommend all of their channels; suffice it to say, if you like Matt Chat, you'll love these guys.
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Matt Chat fans, you are in for a great episode this week: It's Graeme Devine on the amazing story of The 7th Guest, a bestselling, groundbreaking adventure game that helped launch the CD-ROM as a storage medium. It was so ambitious that it actually got Graeme and his partner fired from Mastertronic, only to re-form as their own company and release this beast upon the world. It made them overnight sensations. Grab some popcorn and hear what all the fuss was about!

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Episode 150! Even I'm amazed that I've produced so many episodes. So many reviews! So many interviews! So many bad jokes! Yes, it's time to celebrate. Besides a great interview with Shane R. Monroe--who I assume most of you are familiar with here, I offer up a special "thank you" in the form of an old school demo!

You can download the video here. Below are some thoughts on the show and reflections on 150.

I'm back this week with a review of my pick for "Game of the Year," Legend of Grimrock! An awesome game for so many reasons, Grimrock has the added advantage of being independently produced and available for only $15! Get it direct from the developer and you'll still get a Steam key for sharing achievements.

*Warning.* My video contains a few minor spoilers. Nothing that should ruin your fun, but if you're worried about it, just listen to the audio or watch it after you've completed the game.

Grab the mp4 here!