The Examined Game – Details, episodes & analysis

Today I’m talking with Clint Hocking, Creative Director of Far Cry 2 and Watch Dogs: Legion.

Clint has had a long and varied career in the video game industry, working on the original Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series, as well as roles at Valve Corporation, Ubisoft, LucasArts, and Amazon Game Studios.

This is one of the most dense and thought-provoking conversations I’ve had the privilege of conducting. The way Clint thinks about video games — and how we, as players, engage with them — genuinely shifted my perspective.

We take a deep dive into the making of Far Cry 2, exploring the systems and mechanics that make it so distinctive, from its dynamic world design to its underlying philosophy of player agency.

The conversation also gets surprisingly meta. At one point, we unpack a deceptively simple question: should a character be able to pet a cat in a game? That leads into a broader discussion about player expectation, character consistency, and how small interactions can either reinforce or undermine a game’s internal logic.

If you’re interested in game design, player psychology, or the thinking behind one of the most divisive shooters ever made, this is a conversation worth your time.

In today’s episode, I speak with Ben Fisher, Head of Design on Atomfall and Sniper Elite: Resistance. Ben is a key figure at Rebellion, and we break down how Atomfall’s opening establishes tone, pacing, and player behaviour in its open-world RPG design.

We get into the granular detail of how players are guided through environmental cues, limited resources, and design decisions that steer the player away from a “run and gun” attitude. 

We also explore the game’s core philosophy: designing for uncertainty. Ben talks through the iterative process behind Atomfall’s systems, from dynamic loot and environmental storytelling as well as the risk he and the team took on their “leads” mechanic that replaces traditional quest structures—encouraging players to act more like detectives than objective-followers. 

Today I sit down with Kelsey Beachum, writer of Outer Wilds, for a deeply honest conversation about the creative process — including what it was like collaborating with her brother Alex Beachum on one of the most loved games of the past decade.

We discuss the fear and anxiety of putting your work into the world when you've poored your heart and soul into it and the strange phenomenon of imposter syndrome that can come even when the response from players is overwhelmingly positive. Kelsey reflects on what it means to feel unworthy of the reception a game receives — and how she navigated that.

We also dig into Kelsey's career since Outer Wilds, which has included work on Avowed and The Outer Worlds and talk candidly about burnout — what causes it, what it costs, and the importance of finding collaborators and companies whose values align with your own.

This was one of the most open and generous conversations I've had on the show. Kelsey held nothing back, and I think anyone who makes things — games, films, stories — will find something here that resonates.

In today’s episode I speak with Nina Freeman about how one learns from their mistakes, and how one learns to learn from them.

Nina is a video game developer who finishes every game she starts. She is known for her autobiographical approach, incorporating her own personal life experiences into her work.

I’m a huge fan of Nina’s personal projects, including Cibele, as well as her contributions to Tacoma and, more recently, Dont Nod’s Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.

Today i'm speaking with Chris Wade, game director at Luckshot Games and creator of Big Hops. Big Hops really caught my attention as a platformer that bought in emergency gameplay mechanics to create a truly unique experience. Kotaku said Nintendo could stand to learn a thing or two from Big Hops, and I have to agree. I believe the platforming genre needs to evolve or else it will be left behind. 

We dig into what it takes to make a stand out platformer in 2026, and how Chris built out his own niche with the game, taking influence not only from the likes of classic RARE games and Mario Odyssey, but also games like Dishonoured and Breath of The Wild.

Today I'm speaking with Mario R. Kroll, founder of UberStrategist. Mario has over 30 years of industry experience in PR and marketing within video games.

This was a fun and candid conversation about what it takes not only to get a game noticed in a crowded marketplace, but also how to get yourself noticed. I value open, honest, and engaging conversations, and that’s exactly what I got from Mario. We covered everything from what it takes to get a game noticed today through to how to cope with imposter syndrome.

Mario entered the video game industry over 30 years ago by teaching himself web development to build and run Wargamer.com, a fan-made matchmaking and community site for strategy gamers that grew into a full-time operation and led to his first professional opportunities. This eventually led to him moving into publishing, PR, and marketing before founding UberStrategist, where he now helps game studios launch and position their games.

The Examined Game #4

In this episode of The Examined Game I speak with veteran Valve writer Erik Wolpaw on the power of great writing in video games. 

I am such a huge fan of Erik's work, particularly across the Portal series and the Half Life Episodes. 

We talk about how you can truly elevate a game's impact with good writing, and the balancing of not letting the story detract from the forward moment of the game. 

Above all else you must remember, the cake is a lie. 

#halflife #portal #valve #podcast #videogames #gaming #gamingpodcast #left4dead2 

The Examined Game #3

Julia Minamata is the solo developer of the text parser adventure game The Crimson Diamond, a love letter to the classic Sierra On-Line adventures. I adored playing The Crimson Diamond and wanted to talk with Julia about the power of play in video games. We discuss her inspiration for the game and the idea of building a game like a doll’s house, with many different points of interactivity for the player to lose themselves in.

We also talk about the pressures of being a solo developer and how making the game became its own escape for Julia when her work as an illustrator was stalling.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1098770/The_Crimson_Diamond/

https://www.thecrimsondiamond.com/

The Examined Game #2

In today's episode I speak with Larry Kuperman, Vice President of Business Development at Nightdive Studios. Nightdive Studios have made a well-deserved name for themselves with their near-flawless remakes and remasters of classic games, including System Shock, System Shock 2, Blade Runner (a personal favourite of mine), Star Wars: Dark Forces, The Thing, and many others.

I sat down with Larry to discuss the ups and downs of remastering and remaking, covering everything from player expectations through to the legal maze one has to navigate when resurrecting games from the past.

The Examined Game #1

In today's episode I pose to Richard Lemarchand, the co-lead game designer for the original Uncharted trilogy, the question: “How do you learn to take risks in AAA games?”

I have wanted to speak with Richard on this topic ever since I heard an interview where he described taking inspiration from the art game The Graveyard by Belgian developers Tale of Tales when designing the Nepalese village in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. I speak with Richard about the interactive art form that is gaming and what games owe players in terms of engagement and interactivity. 

Richard is a British game designer and Professor of Cinematic Arts in the USC Games program at the University of Southern California. 

He has been a part of the Gex, Pandemonium and Soul Reaver series.