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PODCAST

The Examined Game

Visit theexaminedgame.com for all episodes.What do video games reveal about us? In The Examined Game Podcast, peabody-nominated documentary producer Steven Lake speaks with the creators of the world’s most celebrated video games about how they were made and the personal and professional impact games have had on their lives.Steven is a Peabody-nominated producer whose work has appeared on Netflix, BBC Storyville, PBS, and The Guardian.About Steven LakeSteven Lake is the host of The Examined Game

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All Episodes

76:21

The Game Dev Trying to Ruin Your Life (And Save It) |...

The Examined Game ·

2026/10/08

Send us Fan Mail Today I'm talking with Bennett Foddy, creator of QWOP, GIRP, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, and co-creator of Baby Steps. Bennett's games are known for torturing players, but today I get to deep dive into the philosophy behind his design choices, and they run a lot deeper than you might think. Bennett is incredibly thoughtful and considered when it comes to players, which might surprise you considering the challenges he puts in their way. In this interview, we talk a lot...

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16:21

The Examined Game Special - Resident Evil Movie, Star...

The Examined Game ·

2026/09/29

Send us Fan Mail Hi all, Steven Lake here from The Examined Game. So i've had a couple weeks where i've been short of a guest but I didn't want to leave you totally hanging so I thought i'd have a chat with you all about the new Resident Evil movie, how Star Wars Zero Company has saved me from a bad save scumming habit and to get really honest with you about my addiction to buying and not playing Assassin's Creed games. I'm trying to get a good work flow in place so i'm not missing wee...

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24:43

Betting My Career on Talking About Video Games — 6...

The Examined Game ·

2026/09/23

Send us Fan Mail Technoblade Never Dies Documentary Announcement: https://youtu.be/Lj0mDrEKSmA?si=N0pV54fYQg5HlnxF Variety Piece: https://variety.com/2026/film/news/technoblade-never-dies-documentary-minecraft-riot-games-1236850438/ Today my guest on The Examined Game Podcast is me... Steven Lake. Look life has been busy with a few projects and for the first time in 7 months I didn't line up a guest for the podcast. So I thought i'd spend a bit of time telling you what i'm up to outside of t...

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68:01

TellTale Game's Fireside Chat with Jon Ingold (Inkle...

The Examined Game ·

2026/09/18

Send us Fan Mail Today I am talking with Jon Ingold, co-founder of Inkle Studios. Inkle have brought us some incredible adventure games over the years, including 80 Days, TR-49, Heaven’s Vault, Expelled and Overboard. This discussion was part of Telltale Games’ Choices Matter Festival, which premiered on Steam back in August. They gave myself and Jon the opportunity to dive into all the potential that comes from great choice making in video games. We cover everything from The Walking Dead thr...

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63:33

How Obsidian Make Games That Actually Come Out |...

The Examined Game ·

2026/09/09

Send us Fan Mail Today I am talking with Carrie Patel, director of Avowed, who worked on the Pillars of Eternity series as well as The Outer Worlds while working at Obsidian. I've long wanted to have a discussion around the direction that Obsidian decided to take with its RPGs by making games that actually get released! So we talk about the scope and ambition that went into making a game like Avowed, how Obsidian made an RPG that could stand on its own two legs and separate itself from the Sk...

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78:13

The Studio Making Soulslikes For Everyone | Sean...

The Examined Game ·

2026/08/31

Send us Fan Mail Today I’m talking with Sean Velasco, creator of Hollow Knight and Mina the Hollower. Mina was my first Soulslike. That might sound strange, given the genre’s reputation for brutal difficulty, but Mina came with a whole range of modifiers designed to make the game more accessible. The funny thing is, I never ended up using them. Instead, I persevered. So I wanted to talk to Sean about the philosophy behind Mina, the idea of making a Soulslike that could be accessible to eve...

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93:48

A BioWare Insider Explains What Went Wrong | Mark...

The Examined Game ·

2026/08/26

Send us Fan Mail Today on The Examined Game, I'm talking with Mark Darrah, who spent over two decades at BioWare. Mark was part of the studio's early days as it took a huge risk on the original Baldur's Gate. He then helped shepherd the studio through a series of hits, including Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, and was an integral part of helping to launch the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. This is such a fascinating insight into the ups and downs that come with monumental success in...

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47:15

The Man Concerned Ape Trusted with Stardew Valley

The Examined Game ·

2026/08/19

Send us Fan Mail Today on The Examined Game, I’m talking with Cole Medeiros, who was tasked with working alongside ConcernedApe (Eric Barone), the creator of Stardew Valley, to turn one of the most beloved video games of all time into a board game. We talk about the ups and downs, challenges and pressure of not only making a great board game, but doing it with the IP of one of the greatest video games of the 21st century. Cole tells us about the unconventional interview that got him the job,...

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30:15

What We Got Wrong About The Witcher | Doug Cockle,...

The Examined Game ·

2026/08/11

Send us Fan Mail Doug Cockle, the voice of Geralt from The Witcher video games, believes that underneath Geralt’s cold exterior is a man who feels things deeply. So today I’m talking to Doug to discuss the beating heart beneath one of video games’ greatest protagonists: how Doug came to find Geralt’s voice, what he sees in the character, and what we can learn from Geralt, someone who is always willing to step up and leave the world a little better than they found it. In this conversation, we...

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60:44

Confessions of A Bethesda Veteran | Nate Purkeypile...

The Examined Game ·

2026/08/04

Send us Fan Mail Today I'm talking with Nate Purkeypile, the former Bethesda artist behind some of the studio's most iconic environments. Nate is a 22 year game industry veteran who worked on Fallout 3, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 and Starfield during his time at Bethesda Game Studios. He was Lead Artist on Fallout 76, as well as Lead Lighting Artist and Senior World Artist during the early development of Starfield. Across those games, Nate helped create some of Bethesda's most memorable ...

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70:51

90s Games Were Built Different | Stephen Kick...

The Examined Game ·

2026/07/30

Send us Fan Mail Today on The Examined Game I am speaking with Stephen Kick, Studio Head at Nightdive Studios. Stephen is responsible for some of the greatest video game remasters, remakes and re-releases of the last decade, including System Shock, System Shock 2, The Thing: Remastered, Turok, Quake, DOOM + DOOM II, STAR WARS: Dark Forces Remaster, Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Blood, Outlaws and many more. This was an extremely personal deep dive into ...

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41:06

I Asked The Witcher Voice Actor What His Career Has...

The Examined Game ·

2026/07/21

Send us Fan Mail Today I'm speaking with actor Doug Cockle. Doug is best known as the voice of Geralt in The Witcher series, but has also voiced Bhaal in Baldur's Gate 3, Victor Vran in Victor Vran, and the Narrator in Tails of Iron. This is Part One of a two-part interview. This is probably the most open and honest conversation i've had to date on the podcast. When I sat down with Doug, I had no idea we'd end up spending so much time talking about one of the biggest decisions of his life: ...

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61:52

Why You Shouldn't Give Players What They Want |...

The Examined Game ·

2026/07/15

Send us Fan Mail Today I'm talking with indie game designer Edmund McMillen (The Binding of Isaac, Mewgenics, Super Meat Boy) about the way he approaches making games. Edmund has a pretty simple philosophy when it comes to game design, even if the games themselves are extremely complex and multilayered. He designs games to please himself, and so far that's worked remarkably well as a business model because it turns out there are millions of other players who want to play the kinds of games he...

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37:47

From Pillars of Eternity to Pentiment | Josh Sawyer...

The Examined Game ·

2026/07/07

Send us Fan Mail This is Part 2 of my two part interview with Obsidian's Josh Sawyer. The first episode can be found here: WATCH HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HDXqBgMxy0&t=1448s LISTEN HERE: https://www.theexaminedgame.com/from-icewind-dale-to-fallout-new-vegas-josh-sawyer-obsidian-part-1/ In today's episode we dive into Pillars of Eternity, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire and Pentiment, what it took to get Pentiment made, and the act of defiance that came from making a g...

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64:20

How The Drifter Modernised The Adventure Game | Dave...

The Examined Game ·

2026/06/29

Send us Fan Mail Today on The Examined Game I am talking with the writer, developer and designer of The Drifter, one of my absolute favourite point and click adventure games of the last few years. I am in a constant pursuit of a great point and click adventure to scratch an itch that's been bothering me since childhood, after being exposed to the classic LucasArts (Sam & Max, Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, Monkey Island) and Sierra (King's Quest, Police Quest, Gabriel Knight) games....

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49:02

From Icewind Dale to Fallout: New Vegas | Josh Sawyer...

The Examined Game ·

2026/06/23

Send us Fan Mail Today on The Examined Game, I’m joined by Josh Sawyer (Joshua Sawyer) Studio Design Director at Obsidian Entertainment. Josh is an industry veteran whose credits include Icewind Dale, Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, The Outer Worlds, Pentiment, and many more. So what do you talk about with someone who has worked on so many beloved RPGs? We discuss how games can convey grief, the joy and frustration of not letting players kill God, his beginnings as a web...

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77:05

Dream Come True - Writing For Life is Strange |...

The Examined Game ·

2026/06/15

Send us Fan Mail write me at steven@theexaminedgame.com and let me know what you think! What does it feel like to land your dream job working on the follow-up to a game that blew your mind? This is exactly what happened to Jonathan Zimmerman when he landed a writing gig on Life Is Strange: Before The Storm. What followed was a near-decade-long relationship with this beloved franchise, alongside his work as Narrative Director for The Expanse: A Telltale Series. Among the many influences Jonat...

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73:28

How Inkle Studios Built a Sustainable Game Studio |...

The Examined Game ·

2026/06/11

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode of The Examined Game I talk with co-founder of Inkle Studios (80 Days, TR-49, Heaven’s Vault, Overboard, A Highland Song, Expelled, Sorcery) Joseph Humfrey. This interview is a counterpart to my chat with Jon Ingold, the other co-founder of Inkle. I talked with Joseph about what it takes to make a video game company sustainable in this day and age, and their approach to efficient game design, narrative design, branching narrative, not over extending and the...

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67:42

We're All Going to Die - Creating Outer Wilds | Alex...

The Examined Game ·

2026/06/01

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode of The Examined Game, I am talking with the creator of Outer Wilds, Alex Beachum. We get into the weeds of how the original prototype of the game came about back when Alex was studying game design, his approach to development, including the idea of "emotional prototyping", which helped build the bedrock that would become one of the most loved games of all time. Honestly, I don't think that is an understatement. People who play Outer Wilds love Outer Wilds, ...

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73:44

Mastering The Modern Adventure Game | Francisco...

The Examined Game ·

2026/05/25

Send us Fan Mail Today we are talking with Francisco Gonzalez as we go in depth on the genre of video game that I have been playing longer than any other in my life: point and click adventure games. I have been a fan of Francisco's games ever since I stumbled upon Lamplight City. I then had the pleasure of playing back retrospectively through his earlier work, which includes A Golden Wake and Shardlight, before eagerly anticipating the release of Rosewater, an epic western point and click adv...

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