Quest Markers – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Anna C. Webster joins Marina Ryan to talk about her game development journey.

They delve into what it’s really like being a games writer, how narrative design roles vary from studio to studio, their love of the Resident Evil series, and much more.

Grab a coffee, and join us for a chat!

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00:00) Preview 

(00:00:40) Intro

(00:04:30) How Anna got into game development

(00:08:30) Training as a performer

(00:10:00) Lesser-known facts & misconceptions about being a video game writer and music composer

(00:19:03) Using theatre techniques in game writing  

(00:21:51) What does a narrative designer do? 

(00:26:33) How narrative designers collaborate with QA 

(00:28:32) Talking freelancing

(00:34:05) How we got into Resident Evil 

(00:38:55) Our favourite Resident Evil games

(00:41:41) Our Resident Evil hot takes

(00:44:26) Our love of Code Veronica and Ada Wong

(00:46:18) Resident Evil hot takes continued 

(00:48:57) Favourite narrative moments in Resident Evil

(00:55:49) Resident Evil 9

(00:58:56) Raid! 

(00:59:39) What advice would Anna give her younger self?  

(01:1:44) Outro

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FOLLOW US

Anna’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/annacwebs.bsky.social 

Anna’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@annacwebs Anna’s Website: https://annacwebster.com/ 

Marina: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠  

Live Show on Twitch: ⁠https://twitch.tv/marinahascoffee

Quest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠

Music by Marina Ryan

David Kazi (Hollow Knight, ExoOne, Ember League) joins Marina Ryan to talk about his game development journey.

They delve into what it was like working on Hollow Knight, the challenges that came with working on orbital physics for Exo One, and David’s journey in co-founding his own game studio, including what it means to bear the ever-changing role of Creative Director.

Grab a coffee, and join us for a chat!

* * * * * * * 

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00:00) Preview 

(00:00:30) Intro

(00:02:30) How David got into game development

(00:10:37) What it was like working on Hollow Knight

(00:17:53) What it was like working on Exo One (moving from 2D to 3D development)

(00:23:47) David’s journey starting up Ember League

(00:27:28) Ember League’s debut game 

(00:29:26) Excitement and hope in working on games  

(00:32:10) Overcoming challenges when working on a game 

(00:39:49) The role of Creative Director – what does David work on week-to-week? 

(00:47:33) The importance of curiosity 

(00:52:22) David’s game dev philosophy

(01:01:00) Game engines, indie game development, and player expectations

(01:08:20) What advice would David give his younger self? 

(01:11:56) Outro

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FOLLOW US

David: https://x.com/davidkazidev 

Ember League: https://x.com/ember_league

Marina Ryan: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠  

Live Show on Twitch: ⁠https://twitch.tv/marinahascoffee

Quest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠

Music by Marina Ryan

Marina sits down with returning guest Ren to talk about the games they’re currently playing. 

They talk about collecting mermaid items in Animal Crossing, how the Elden Ring DLC feels like an entire sequel, Stardew Valley’s similarities to the original Animal Crossing, the cheekiness of Paper Mario, and our love for Final Fantasy XIV.

Grab a coffee, and join us for a chat!

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro 

(05:38) Animal Crossing

(12:12) Elden Ring DLC: Shadow of the Erdtree

(20:24) Stardew Valley

(28:14) Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

(32:03) Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

(53:38) Outro

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FOLLOW US:

Quest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠Ren: https://renraven.carrd.co/  Marina Ryan: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠  

Music by Marina Ryan

Marina sits down with Xander from Xander’s Cut to talk about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3. 

They talk about the importance of foreshadowing, whether Xenoblade 2’s DLC was better than the base game, their thoughts on Xenoblade 3’s ending, and their favourite musical pieces. 

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro 

(06:00) Overview of the games

(11:37) Pyra and Mythra’s story 

(16:55) Is Xenoblade 2’s DLC better than the base game? 

(22:53) Favourite music

(28:25) The ending of Chapter 5 in Xenoblade 3 

(33:21) Xenoblade 3’s final act and ending 

(38:55) Moebius as characters & a critique of capitalism

(44:03) Favourite characters  

(49:22) Final thoughts and outro

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LINKS & SOCIALS:

Quest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠

Xander: https://www.youtube.com/@xanderscut/featured

Marina Ryan: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠ 

Marina sits down with Thomas Roland to talk about the second half of the mainline Resident Evil series.

They talk about why it matters to have character-driven stories in the horror genre, their favorite moments and twists, and what game they think is the scariest in the entire series.

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro 

(06:17) Overview of the games

(16:09) Why character-driven stories matter in horror games

(22:18) Favourite moments in RE5

(28:04) Favourite moments in RE6

(33:16) Favourite moments in RE7

(38:44) Favourite moments in RE8

(46:31) Playing the sideline games

(47:37) Scariest Resident Evil game? 

(50:25) Final thoughts and outro

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LINKS & SOCIALS:

Quest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠

Thomas Roland: https://x.com/itsRhet 

Lore Dump: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGhgiyBSgi4pVaR7pQK6IIQ

Monty Zander: https://www.youtube.com/c/MontyZander 
Marina Ryan: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠ 

Marina and Minnie sit down to talk about one of the most beloved games of the last 2 decades: The Sims.

They talk about player-led emergent narratives, the stories they crafted for their Sims, how differently they played the games, the chaos of co-op mode, the first time they saw the Grim Reaper, and their particular fondness of The Sims 2.

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro 

(05:05 Game overview 

(07:38) What Sims games we’ve played 

(09:28) Sims 2 is peak Sims

(11:28) The Sims 4 is still adding content 

(13:57) how we played The Sims 

(28:28) The Grim Reaper, guinea pigs, fires, swimming pools, and Sunny the clown

(40:15) Would we stream The Sims? 

(42:20) Why is The Sims so beloved? 

(45:17) Final thoughts and outro

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LINKS & SOCIALS:
The Sims GDC Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjuOSgPdtS0

Quest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠

Minnie’s socials & Etsy store: https://linktr.ee/leminnie

Marina’s socials: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠ 

Marina sits down with Zack Parkerson to talk Nier once again, but this time, we’re trading in Replicant for Automata.

We talk about Nier Automata’s masterful narrative design, how it misdirects the player until the very end, our favourite side quests, and why we love this game so much. 

Grab some headphones, make a coffee, and let’s talk about one of the greatest games ever made. 

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Introductions & What We’re Currently Playing 

(09:51) Story Summary 

(10:37) Is This “Depression, The Game?” 

(14:08) A Deeply Human Game 

(15:59) The Philosophy Debate

(17:08) Nier Automata’s Narrative Design 

(19:39) Nier Reincarnation & Drakengard 3 

(20:56) Mastery in Misdirection 

(30:37) Favourite Builds 

(35:07) The Music

(40:03) Should You Play Automata or Replicant first?

(46:18) Favourite Side Quests 

(52:11) Final Thoughts & Wrap Up

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SOCIALS:

Quest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠ 

Zack’s socials: https://twitter.com/GOcastZack 

The Gaming Outsider: https://thegamingoutsider.com/ 

Marina’s socials: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠ 

Marina sits down for a solo episode and the first one on our new segment, Side Quest! 

She answers some community questions and dives into Elden Ring’s new DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, FFXIV and Dawntrail, FF7 Rebirth’s upcoming release, Baldur’s Gate 3, Bloodborne, and Resident Evil 7. A HUGE thank you to our community for all the support.

Grab some headphones, make a coffee, and let’s talk games. 

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:49) Elden Ring DLC: Shadow of the Erdtree

(08:53) FFXIV & being caught up on MSQ

(09:59) FF7 Rebirth & reflections on Final Fantasy 7

(13:58) Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 3

(14:51) Bloodborne NG+ fashion run

(17:57) Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

(20:53) Music & more community questions 

(24:50) Outro

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SOCIALS:

Quest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠ 
Marina’s socials: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠ 

Marina sits down with professional opera singer-turned-voice actor MarcoMeatball to talk all things video game music. We talk about how FFXIV and Granblue Fantasy: Relink blend genres, the sadness in Bloodborne’s soundtrack, how vertical music sequencing is used in Nier Automata, how ambient music is used to shape a narrative, and much more. We also talk about the music in the games we’re currently playing, as well as some of our favourites.   Grab some headphones, and let’s dive in. * * * * * * *  TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction (01:51) Meeting Marco (05:40) Marco’s Recent Games: Granblue Fantasy: Relink, Warframe, Yakuza: Kiwami (09:54) Bloodborne, its brilliant sounds design choices, & how its music sets its narrative tone (15:26) Baldur’s Gate 3 takes us back to medieval times (18:18) Initial thoughts on Nier Music (19:25) Warframe, using music to displace pain, and whether context matters (21:21) There’s so much good video game music out there (22:50) How Enshrouded’s music surprised Marco   (24:05) Nier Automata, Chaos Language, and the game’s use of vertical music sequencing (32:01) FFXIV and blending genres (38:02) Music, storytelling, and how the player feels (43:05) FFXIV and Answers’ narrative misdirect of the century  (46:14) Community question: “How does ambient music help the player understand the tone of the narrative?” (Elden Ring, Bloodborne, World of Warcraft) (52:07) Final thoughts & outro * * * * * * *  SOCIALS: Quest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠  Marco’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarcoMeatball  Marco’s socials: https://linktr.ee/marcodmeatball  Marina’s socials: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠  

Marina sits down with games journalist Jack Alex Roberts and game dev Sherveen Uduwana to talk about our Tarnished journeys in the Lands Between. We talk about our love of Elden Ring’s lore, narrative design, music, how we got into the Soulsborne genre, what builds we played, our favourite moments in the game, how difficulty is used as a lever for intentional storytelling, and much more. Grab a coffee, and let’s dive into the Lands Between.  * * * * * * *  TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction (03:10) Meeting our guests (08:06) Story summary (16:45) Our Tarnished and the builds we played (26:15) Elden Ring’s narrative design, open world, and experience (38:50) How we felt exploring the environments in the Lands Between (45:46) Favourite narrative themes   (54:05) “Marika is Radagon” (1:03:45) Music chat  (1:11:48) Community questions (1:42:41) Final thoughts & symbolism (1:48:08) Outro * * * * * * *  THANK YOU’S: VaatiVidya: https://www.youtube.com/@VaatiVidya  V-Limit: https://www.youtube.com/@VLimit11  Anyone who’s contributed and annotated the Elden Ring Fandom site: https://eldenring.fandom.com/wiki/Elden_Ring_Wiki  * * * * * * *  SOCIALS: Quest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠  Sherveen: https://twitter.com/SUduwana Midautumn Game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1582380/Midautumn/  Jack Alex Roberts: https://twitter.com/jackalexroberts  Marina Ryan: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠