Episodes

RollerCoaster Tycoon is a legendary title that's stood the test of time for 25 years. Now, thanks to the efforts of Graphite Lab, RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic is finally coming to Switch to ignite the passion of the most diehard fans and introduce a new generation of players to the original title that kicked off the enduring franchise. I'm joined by two return guests: Matt Raithel, studio director at Graphite Lab, and Carly Francis, community manager at Atari and RCT fan number one. We talk abou...

After a one-episode break, we're now back to Digital Eclipse content with the impending release of Tetris Forever. Joining this week are DE's Chris Kohler, editorial director, and Jason Cirillo, lead designer and programmer of Tetris Timewarp, an original title included in Tetris Forever. We cover a lot of ground in this one, from our first experiences with Tetris, some behind-the-scenes of the development of Tetris Forever, a lot about Tetris Timewarp, and, of course, playing a silly game. YouT...

Just in time for Halloween, Nightdive Studios did what it does best. They released a remastered gem from first-person-shooting history that blended spooky shooting with live-action FMV story: Killing Time Remastered. Fortunately, I was able to assemble four guests from the team that worked on the title to speak about it. Joining this pod are Nightdive's Grover Wimberly IV (Project Manager/Producer), Adam Grayshon (Project Coordinator), Josh Dowell (Game Programme), and End (Game Programmer). We ...

Since its debut in 1993, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers has continued to capture generations of kids while leaving a deep and enduring nostalgic love for the colorful heroes. Enter Digital Eclipse's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind - the 90s-era beat-em-up that never was. Joining me to preview the title are returning guests Dan Amrich (content editor) and Stephen Frost (head of production) in addition to Jeremey Williams (lead engineer). We talk about our history with Power Rangers, the...

Two years ago, Atari and Digital Eclipse released one of the greatest odes to video game history Atari 50: the Anniversary Celebration. Turns out there's a lot more story to tell, thus leading to two announced DLC for the darling title. Joining me to dive into the first installment of the DLC, The Wider World of Atari, are Digital Eclipse's Dave Rees (Software Engineer), Dan Amrich (Content Editor), and Stephen Frost (Head of Production). We talk about what led to the creation of the DLC, how a ...

Mark Perloff is no stranger to this podcast, but has yet to be the subject. Until now! Being the lead producer on Yars Rising, it seemed like a great to bring him on to learn more about his journey to Atari, pry for some behind-the-scenes insights into Yars Rising, and then ask a slate of random questions that I love to do so much. YouTube: https://youtu.be/rg13xej-yjk Yars Rising AVAILABLE NOW! Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2534370/Yars_Rising/ Epic: https://store.epicgames.com/en-U...

Less than 24 hours after getting home from Gamescom in Germany, James Montanga, director of Yars Rising, kindly agreed to join me once again for a more light-hearted episode of the podcast. My goal: talk a bit more about Yars Rising beyond what was covered in our preview in Episode 31, and discuss Gamescom and demoing games to press. We cover all that and more throughout this hour-plus-long episode. Enjoy! Video link: https://youtu.be/vOFlRz-Rdb4 Wishlist/Preorder Yars Rising Steam: https://stor...

Tim Lapetino, writer of the book, The Art of Atari, was hired as Atari's creative director earlier this year. Few people know our company like he does as he's literally written a book on it! Tim and I (Jason) haven't had too many discussions together, so this was a great opportunity to learn more about his history and share that with you all. I hope you enjoy the discussion as much as I did! Video link: https://youtu.be/sy8YTAWRmlU Wishlist/Preorder Yars Rising Steam: https://store.steampowered....

A little over a year ago, Atari and Graphite Lab launched Mr. Run and Jump to critical acclaim. Little did we know at the time, that it would catch the speedrunning eyes of Altabiscuit and lead to runs at SGDQ and the upcoming PAX West. What better a time, then, to bring our friends from Graphite Lab, studio director Matt Raithel and MR&J director John Mikula, back to the podcast to talk speedrunning their title and speedrunning in general? Video link: https://youtu.be/AQaHnmScLyg Wishlist/Preor...

You ready for some retro-inspired punishment of the Nordic variety? If so, you've come to the right place. Volgar the Viking II is on the horizon and I've asked Kris Durrschmidt (Creative Director / CEO of Crazy Viking Studios) and Calvin Vu (Producer, Digital Eclipse) to join me to discuss all thing Volgarr and the games that inspired it. Video link: Wishlist/Preorder Yars Rising Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2534370/Yars_Rising/ Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo...

It's quiet and I want some noise, so I asked for questions from you, the audience to provide. And provide you did with dozens of write-ins that comprise the entirety of this episode. Joining me are VP of Games, Ethan Stearns, and Senior Director of Communications, David Lowey. We cover a wide variety of subjects including the future of RollerCoaster Tycoon, details behind Atari hardware choices, and which Spice Girl we'd be. NeoSprint: OUT NOW! Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2217910/N...

Yars Rising has been making waves recently with a new gameplay trailer dropping, a demo during Steam Next Fest, and a preview cycle out of Summer Games Fest. To keep the good times rolling, I invited James Montagna (game director) and Mark Perloff (lead producer) to talk all about the title. We dive into the origins of the game's concept, how a metroidvania is crafted, and so much more. Video link: https://youtu.be/SD-xb83rHug The Yars Rising remix contest: https://www.iconcollective.edu/atari W...

Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is out of early access and available across a bevy of platforms. What better time to get Digital Eclipse on the pod to talk about it? I've assembled a party consisting of Ian Sherman (Senior Engineer), Nick Bruty (Art Director), and Justin Rosenthal-Kambic (Animation Lead) to get deep into the maze of development that's brought this classic to modern platforms as only Digital Eclipse can do. Video link: https://youtu.be/6vSjTvEalYc New Release: Wizar...

No jokes here: the April 1st-announced PO'ed is very real and out right now, so let's talk about it! Joining this week are Nightdive Studio's CEO, Stephen Kick, and Lead KEX Engineer, Samuel "Kaiser" Villarreal. Samuel is the reason why PO'ed has graced modern platforms and you'll hear all about the title's history and how it's made the journey from the 3DO to 2024. YouTube Link: POed AVAILABLE NOW: Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2697470/POed_Definitive_Edition/ Switch: https://www.ni...

The Recharged series came from the desire to create classic Atari IP from the ground up for modern hardware while retaining its arcade spirit. Enter Alan-1, the team that's bringing the franchise full circle back to Arcades with plenty of surprises along the way. We cover a lot here, including the background of Alan-1 themselves and what makes their first in this collaboration, Asteroids: Recharged, so unique and worthy of your quarters. YouTube Link: Lunar Lander Beyond AVAILABLE NOW: Steam: ht...

Hot on the heels of Lunar Lunar Beyond's release earlier in the week, we wanted to put a shine on the team that made the beautiful cutscenes throughout it: Bewilder. I'm joined by Nicolas Rix, animation director, and Pieter Jordan, lead compositor, to go into the process of creating these animations and how they added a new dimension to the world of Lunar Lander Beyond. Lunar Lander Beyond AVAILABLE NOW: Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2376270/Lunar_Lander_Beyond/ Epic Games Store: htt...

It's official: NeoSprint is exiting early access and racing to all platforms soon! What better time to see what's changed since we last checked in months ago at the start of the VCS early access period? And who better to do so than the head of developer Headless Chicken, Jose Pablo Monge Chacon (JP), and Atari's senior art director, John Kauderer, a creative driver on the title? YouTube link: https://youtu.be/mJawSuLf04w Wishlist NeoSprint: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2217910/NeoSprint/ W...

Lunar Lander Beyond is on the horizon so what better time to sit down with Dreams Uncorporated for some behind-the-scenes discussions? Joining me this week: Alvaro Martinez (director), Jeff Cardenas (executive producer), and Carlos Rocha Silva (Dreams Uncorporated CEO). Video link: Wishlist/Pre-order Lunar Lander Beyond: Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2376270/Lunar_Lander_Beyond/ Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/lunar-lander-beyond-switch/ PS4/PS5: https://store.play...

In celebration of Jeff Minter and all things Llamasoft, we are joined by the entirety of the Llamasoft team, Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin, plus Chris Kohler from Digital Eclipse. We dive into the making of Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story, talk through some of the games in the collection, and touch on the recently updated Akka Arrh on PS5 with PSVR2 support! Video link: https://youtu.be/Hcru4ev_Ksk New Releases: Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2236680/Llamasof...

Ethan and Shah join the pod again to just chat and see where the conversation leads. We talk a bit about qomp2 and Lunar Lander Beyond marketing before going all in on Star Wars gaming as we celebrate this week's release of Star Wars: Dark Forces Remastered. New Releases: qomp2: https://link.atari.com/play-qomp2 Star Wars: Dark Forces Remastered: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2292260/STAR_WARS_Dark_Forces_Remaster/ Wishlist Lunar Lander Beyond: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2376270/Lun...

Graphite Lab is back on the pod to talk about the imminent qomp2! Matt and Mark return, along with lead designer Brad Austrin to play and discuss the making of qomp2. We go through the approach to designing a sequel to an indie cult classic, building on such simple gameplay, and how to integrate narrative into a game about PONG ball. Video version of this episode with gameplay can be found here: [need link] Wishlist Upcoming Games: qomp2: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2243510/qomp2/ Lunar L...

Larry Kuperman, Director of Business Development at Nightdive Studios, joins the podcast for another getting-to-know-you episode. We start by getting into the relationship between Nightdive and Atari since the acquisition and then get into more personal subjects like Larry's background and our position on the term "boomer shooter". Wishlist Upcoming Atari and Nightdive Games: qomp2: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2243510/qomp2/ Lunar Lander Beyond: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2376270/...

Matt and John from Graphite Lab return to chat about the newest update to Mr. Run and Jump! Tune in to hear about the new ghost feature, how the speedrunning features came to be, and what Mr. Run and Jump actually is. Get Mr. Run and Jump: https://link.atari.com/mrj Wishlist Upcoming Games: qomp2: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2243510/qomp2/ Lunar Lander Beyond: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2376270/Lunar_Lander_Beyond/ Join the Atari Discord: https://link.atari.com/atari-discord Follo...

Carly Francis, community manager, joins us to read some holiday letters from you, the Atari fans, to kick off the new year with equally heavy doses of positivity and nostalgia! Wishlist Upcoming Games: qomp2: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2243510/qomp2/ Lunar Lander Beyond: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2376270/Lunar_Lander_Beyond/ Join the Atari Discord: https://link.atari.com/atari-discord Follow us: Atari: https://twitter.com/atari Jason Polansky: https://twitter.com/JaysOfDoom Etha...