MGIF S5 E1: Masud Milas

Man it feels good to be back.

“Making Games Is Fun” is now “ The MGIF Podcast”. Not a drastic change of branding, I agree, but I wanted to subtly change it to reflect the small changes in format.

I love games, but games are a part of wider life to me, as I think they are to everyone, and I wanted to reflect that in the pod. I’d been a bit unsure for some time about what was missing from the format to make it as authentic as possible and, whilst I’m sure none of you noticed, it’s important to me to make this thing as real and natural as possible.

Portraits are no longer linked to the pods, although I am still taking them - they’ll be along later - and videogames aren’t the only subject we cover (although still a massive one because I play lots of them).

This change in format allows me to chat not just to game developers, but to anyone whose life has games in them, either professionally or personally. I’d already broken the rules in previous episodes by chatting with writers and streamers, so why not throw the rulebook out the window?

As you’ll hear in this episode, I’m more interested in people who aren’t completely in the loop about games all the time, or see them as a more casual hobby. Y’know, normal people!

Despite loving games, there are times where I don’t love them, or I can’t be arsed with them, or I have major criticisms about the industry or the content that’s being put out, and you can’t reflect those feelings if you feel compelled to talk about gaming all the time; that brings us back to the idea of authenticity - I can’t be authentic if I’m asking a question about games for the sake of it, when I’m not actually interested in the answer, right?

Also, in the interests of adding to authenticity, and because I love this stuff, I’m aiming to add more audio of me travelling, meeting guests, doing things with guests other than just sitting down and talking, and recording the sounds of wherever I am, to get some nice texture. I want you to feel like you’re here with us.

Right that’s enough of my famous overexplaining, I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the new season, and please spread the word far and wide - share, subscribe etc - cos THIS time I’m hoping to make it bigger than ever.

Thanks and much love to you all,

Gary

MGIF S4 E8: Anita Wong

Hit play for the podcast interview below. MGIF is also available on iTunes or with whatever podcast software you use. Just search for "Making Games Is Fun" and hit subscribe.

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This episode of Making Games Is Fun is with Anita Wong.

Anita works at the PR company Indigo Pearl, known for their work with Devolver Digital and Blizzard, amongst many others.

We look at Anita’s early, rubbish jobs before she got into PR, as well as how she got the job at Indigo Pearl. We talk about the business of PR and how it’s actually very important and not full of evil people.

We explore Anita’s love of fashion and how she would like to make more meaningful connections between fashion and games. There’s also a LOT of talk about shit and piss for some reason (definitely her fault not mine). She also always insists on doing a version of the photo below whenever we work together:

You can follow Anita at @houndstoothian

Thanks for listening. If you’re new to the series, take a look at our Patreon to find out what I’m all about, why I love doing this and how you can help. Just go to patreon.com/MGIF. The smallest contribution makes the biggest difference when everyone pitches in, so if you have two dollars you won’t miss every month, head on over to the patreon and support this ongoing document of the industry. Thanks!

MGIF S4 E7: Ho-Yee Li

Hit play for the podcast interview below. MGIF is also available on iTunes or with whatever podcast software you use. Just search for "Making Games Is Fun" and hit subscribe.

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This episode of Making Games Is Fun is with Ho-Yee Li.

Ho-Yee is a producer at Mediatonic, and has just released their first game, Murder By Numbers.

We talk about how it feels to be, at the time of recording, on the cusp of releasing a videogame. We also chat about extracurricular activities, such as Ho-Yee’s contributions to the upcoming Animal Crossing podcast, Asstown (the name will be explained). We also talk about growing up with social gaming and arcades, and how we try to replicate that in modern times.

We also get into Ho-yee's route into the industry and how difficult it was to find a way in, as well as explore the ever-expanding breadth of roles available to people in the industry.

Finally, we chat about the amazing, now-released picross / murder mystery / visual novel crazy hybrid that is Murder By Numbers.

You can follow Ho-Yee at @feline_dacat

Thanks for listening. If you’re new to the series, take a look at our Patreon to find out what I’m all about, why I love doing this and how you can help. Just go to patreon.com/MGIF. The smallest contribution makes the biggest difference when everyone pitches in, so if you have two dollars you won’t miss every month, head on over to the patreon and support this ongoing document of the industry. Thanks!

MGIF S4 E6: George Batchelor

Hit play for the podcast interview below. MGIF is also available on iTunes or with whatever podcast software you use. Just search for "Making Games Is Fun" and hit subscribe.

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This episode of Making Games Is Fun is with George Batchelor of State of Play.

George works at State of Play by day, and by night he creates “sad animal games”; conversation-based experiences featuring a broad variety of charming fauna.

He is currently working on “Bird Alone”, a sort of “Headspace” meets “Bury Me My Love” number, expect significantly more light-hearted. We talked about the inspiration and ideas behind Bird Alone, how his work is an opportunity for him to reflect himself and answer some questions of his own and how indie titles convinced him he wanted a job in games.

You can follow George at @georgebatch

Thanks for listening. If you’re new to the series, take a look at our Patreon to find out what I’m all about, why I love doing this and how you can help. Just go to patreon.com/MGIF. The smallest contribution makes the biggest difference when everyone pitches in, so if you have two dollars you won’t miss every month, head on over to the Patreon and support this ongoing document of the industry. Thanks!

MGIF S4 E5: Dan Maher

Hit play for the podcast interview below. MGIF is also available on iTunes or with whatever podcast software you use. Just search for "Making Games Is Fun" and hit subscribe.

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This episode of Making Games Is Fun is with Dan Maher, editorial director at Explosive Alan, although you may know him from Inside XBox and Videogame Nation.

We chatted about Dan growing up with a love of games, and how he knew from a young age tha being a games journalist was all he wanted to do in life. We also discussed being brought on to salvage Videogame Nation and turn it into the fun, memorable show it became and we look at his career path from Inside XBox to Explosive Alan.

You can find Dan on Twitter at @MrPointyHead

Thanks for listening. If you’re new to the series, take a look at our Patreon to find out what I’m all about, why I love doing this and how you can help. Just go to patreon.com/MGIF. The smallest contribution makes the biggest difference when everyone pitches in, so if you have two dollars you won’t miss every month, head on over to the patreon and support this ongoing document of the industry. Thanks!

MGIF S4 E4: Ricky Haggett

Hit play for the podcast interview below. MGIF is also available on iTunes or with whatever podcast software you use. Just search for "Making Games Is Fun" and hit subscribe.

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This episode of Making Games Is Fun is with Ricky Haggett!

Ricky, previously of Honeyslug, now heads up Hollow Ponds with his wife and is working on a currently unannounced title.

I talked to Ricky about how Hohokum came about from a variety of prototypes, and his process of taking various game ideas to fruition, and the little “accidents” that occur along the way. He also talks of making games for old mobile phones and for the mighty Amiga back in the day.

Ricky also reveals how Wilmot’s Warehouse started life as what he considered to be a mad idea by his colleague Dick Hogg, as well as getting into a playfight with Keita Takahashi, creator of Katamari Damacy, as they tested the game they made together, Tenya Wanya Teens.

You can find Ricky at @KommanderKlobb

Thanks for listening. If you’re new to the series, take a look at our Patreon to find out what I’m all about, why I love doing this and how you can help. Just go to patreon.com/MGIF. The smallest contribution makes the biggest difference when everyone pitches in, so if you have two dollars you won’t miss every month, head on over to the patreon and support this ongoing document of the industry. Thanks!

MGIF S4 E3: Daniel Krupa

Hit play for the podcast interview below. MGIF is also available on iTunes or with whatever podcast software you use. Just search for "Making Games Is Fun" and hit subscribe.

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This episode of Making Games Is Fun is with the wonderful Daniel Krupa of RKG.

Dan formed YouTube channel RKG with his two friends and work colleagues Gav Murphy and Rory Powers when they left their roles at IGN UK to turn their IGN youtube series Prepare To Try into a full time endeavour. I chat to Dan about starting RKG and the continuation of the Let's Play series with Retry. We explore what going on that adventure felt like and the decision behind doing it in the first place. We look back at RKG’s one year anniversary and how it feels to get that milestone under their belt.

From left to right: Gav Murphy, Daniel Krupa and Rory Powers, the trio behind RKG Video

We also talk about Dan’s relationship with games growing up, his Ukranian background, and how IGN brought him out of his shell and helped make him who he is today.

Dan is a wonderful man and a great podcast guest, so it was a pleasure to hear his story so far.

Thanks for listening. If you’re new to the series, take a look at our Patreon to find out what I’m all about, why I love doing this and how you can help. Just go to patreon.com/MGIF.

You can follow Dan at @krupa

MGIF S4 E2: Jim Unwin

Hit play for the podcast interview below. MGIF is also available on iTunes or with whatever podcast software you use. Just search for "Making Games Is Fun" and hit subscribe.

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This episode of Making Games Is Fun is with Jim Unwin.

Jim is a game artist and a UI/UX developer currently working at Glowmade, an indie dev studio based in Guildford.

Jim has worked in the industry for many years, being involved with Core Design back in the day. He has also worked at Lionhead, Kuju, Media Molecule and Sony, amongst others.

I sat down with Jim in Loading Bar Brighton to discuss his early gaming memories, the story of his career so far, how being a headstrong, arrogant young man taught him a few important life lessons, his involvement with the swell in popularity of videogames around the Playstation 1 era, and his hopes for the future.

Jim is lovely and an industry veteran, so it was great to get insight and stories from his life to paint a picture of an industry that has grown large, but still needs to grow up somewhat.

You can follow Jim @jim_unwin

Thanks for listening. If you’re new to the series, take a look at our Patreon to find out what I’m all about, why I love doing this and how you can help. Just go to patreon.com/MGIF. The smallest contribution makes the biggest difference when everyone pitches in, so if you have two dollars you won’t miss every month, head on over to the patreon and support this ongoing document of the industry. Thanks!