Tales under the cat tree: Conversations on Imagination, Tech & Human Adventure

Duleepa Wijayawardhana | Tech Leader & Storyteller

From the interactive masterpieces of video games to the turning points of history and the thrills of real-world exploration, our reality is defined by the stories we tell. Tales under the cat tree is a weekly exploration of the architecture of imagination. Hosted by tech leader and lifelong geek Duleepa Wijayawardhana, we dive into the mechanics of world-building. Whether that building happens in the code of software, on the tabletop of a roleplaying game, in the pages of literary fiction, or halfway up a mountain, every guest brings a new perspective. Join us for deep, eclectic conversations with creators, adventurers, and thinkers as we dissect the narratives that shape our culture and our future. Because ultimately, words create the worlds we live in. Read more and find full transcripts at https://tales.dups.ca

  1. Ep50: Are Video Games Art? Part 1 - Brecht and the Ancient Greeks

    3 DAYS AGO

    Ep50: Are Video Games Art? Part 1 - Brecht and the Ancient Greeks

    Dups and Dr. Warkentin discuss whether video games qualify as classical art. They examine the philosophy of play and compare traditional theater structures to modern game design. Key Topics: The Philosophy of Play: A look at Schiller’s concept of the "drive to play" (Spieltrieb) and how playing games connects logical and emotional thinking.Aristotle vs. Brecht in Gaming: Comparing linear, fixed narratives (Aristotelian) like The Last of Us to interactive, choice-driven narratives (Brechtian) like Baldur's Gate 3.Player as Co-Author: How a player's individual gameplay style and decision-making process become part of the artwork itself.Digital Ephemerality: The challenge of preserving video games as technology becomes obsolete, and the role of archivists in saving early games.

    22 min
  2. Ep49: Newfoundland Alternative music and CHMR with Johnny Nolan (Part 2)

    13 APR

    Ep49: Newfoundland Alternative music and CHMR with Johnny Nolan (Part 2)

    This is the second part of our series on 80s and 90s alternative music from St. John's, Newfoundland with my friend Johnny Nolan. Today we feature music from Schizoid, Malpractice and The Reaction. A special note: On April 1, 2026, and this is not an April Fool's Joke. The student's union at Memorial University voted to shut down CHMR. In a day and age where voices are being muzzled around the world and avenues of expression being more and more controlled, I am saddened that a place that brought artists and journalists to Canada and the world will no longer exist. I don't however think the battle is over. Please reach out to CHMR and MUNSU before June 1. If you disagree with CHMR being shut down, let your voice be heard. I am not in St. John's these days, make sure you don't lose a valuable asset to the community. Once something like this is gone, you can never really recover it. Does radio need to change with the times? Of course it does, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Featured music: Death Deliverer by Schizoid, Album Total Mayhem, courtesy of TeePee Records$1.44 day by Malpractice, courtesy of John Nolan and MalpracticeOn The Beach by The Reaction, courtesy of Mike Fisher and The Reaction rYbmbewbPSXkUZJ7S1uk

    30 min
  3. Ep48: Forging swords and knives with video game CEO Trent Oster

    6 APR

    Ep48: Forging swords and knives with video game CEO Trent Oster

    From ancient times to today, gods and humans have hammered red-hot metal into shapes of weapons and crafts of beauty. In Ancient Greek mythology, Hephaestus and in fantasy, beings such as Sauron forge the ultimate weapons in the insane heat at the heart of volcanoes. Without human blacksmiths, who were the technologists of their day, we would not have the tooling and the world-building that have brought us to today. However, in our present day we take machined metalworking for granted. We don't think twice about stainless steel knives in our kitchens. What were once luxury goods can now be bought for pennies in thrift stores. Today I am talking with Trent Oster. Trent and I worked together at BioWare, where he was a founding member, as well as Project Director and Producer when I was helping with Neverwinter Nights. These days, he is the CEO of Beamdog. Aside from its own intellectual property such as Mythforce, Beamdog has been instrumental in bringing Dungeons & Dragons games such as Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, and even Neverwinter Nights back as enhanced editions that run on modern computers. But today, Trent and I will not be talking about video games. Many of us in the tech industry have hobbies which we take to extremes of all kinds. Mine include writing and photography, but Trent's is on a scale of power hammers, steel, and red-hot chemistry. This is a dense discussion on smithing, knifemaking, and the wonders of metallurgy. In the show notes, I've added pictures of the knives he has produced that we talk about. I've also included a video of Trent's power hammer, the machine that he affectionately calls "Thumpy". Visit the show notes at for pictures and video Tales under the cat treel: Episode 48

    30 min
  4. Ep47: BioWare Stories Part 4 - Sound design with Dave Chan

    30 MAR

    Ep47: BioWare Stories Part 4 - Sound design with Dave Chan

    This is part 4 of my series on BioWare. In this episode, I'm lucky to have Dave Chan talking about sound design and more. Dave started working at BioWare before me on games such as MDK2, Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2. We overlapped on games such as Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire. Dave has had a long career in video games, for a full list please check out his profile on Moby Games. Episode HighlightsFrom IT to Audio Director: Dave shares how a chance encounter with BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk at a computer store led him from IT to doing placeholder sound effects for MDK2. Dave eventually became a full-time audio designer.Scrappy Studio Days: Listen in for a hilarious late-night outtake from MDK2 involving a monkey, a blow-dryer, and K-Y Jelly. Dave also reflects about the sheer passion of BioWare fans .Behind the Sounds:Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Dave reveals that none of the sound effects were actually taken directly from the films; they were all meticulously reproduced in-house or by contractors like Paul Gorman.Lost Outtakes: Dave laments losing unreleased, hilarious outtakes of the iconic character Minsc (and his giant miniature space hamster, Boo) from Baldur’s Gate.Lost in Translation: A funny anecdote about how the French localization of Baldur’s Gate combat sounds ended up sounding a bit too much like a porn film.The Philosophy of Sound: Dave explains his approach to audio, such as crafting the desolate, isolated atmosphere for The Long Dark. He also breaks down why user interface (UI) sounds are actually the hardest to design: they must be noticeable, unique, and critically, not annoying after thousands of clicks. Mentions & LinksGreg Zeschuk: BioWare co-CEO and founder.Trent Oster: Beamdog CEO and next week’s guest!Ben Burtt: Legendary film sound designer who crafted iconic Star Wars audio.Episode 27: BioWare Stories Part 1 - Craig MillerEpisode 28: BioWare Stories Part 2 - Craig MillerEpisode 29: BioWare Stories Part 3 - Georg Zoeller and Emmanuel Lusinchi

    21 min
  5. Ep46: Sharpeville, Apartheid, Canada - a conversation about racism

    23 MAR

    Ep46: Sharpeville, Apartheid, Canada - a conversation about racism

    March 21 is designated by the United Nations as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In South Africa, it is Human Rights Day. On March 21, 1960 police opened fire into a crowd of protestors at Sharpeville in South Africa. This event would start the process of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan-African Congress (PAC) being outlawed, Nelson Mandela being jailed, and the start of direct resistance against the South African Apartheid regime. The events of Sharpeville happened to be part of my master's thesis when I was studying under Dr. Christopher Youé at Memorial University. As a person of colour, and often a minority wherever I have chosen to live, race and racism is a topic that fascinates me, but also scares me to bring up. Today on the podcast, I have my good friend and former professor, Dr. Erwin Warkentin, on the show for exactly that conversation. We are two very different people from opposite sides of the world with very different backgrounds. So have a listen to our conversation about race, racism, Apartheid, and indeed, the Sharpeville Massacre. Further Reading Read and learn more about the Sharpeville MassacreA YouTube playlist of music from the movement against Apartheid Anti-Apartheid Legacy: Centre of Memory and Learning One of my favourite anti-Apartheid songs is Asimbonanga by the late great Johnny Clegg and Savuka. Here's a famous video of Nelson Mandela joining Savuka on stage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGS7SpI7obY

    31 min
  6. Ep45: The St. Patrick’s Day Drunk Dial Contest

    16 MAR

    Ep45: The St. Patrick’s Day Drunk Dial Contest

    Between 2003 and 2009 my friends and I used to host something called the St. Patrick’s Day Drunk Dial Contest. What was the St. Patrick’s Day Drunk Dial you ask? At its heart, it was a simple attempt to connect friends from university in Newfoundland and who were now spread throughout Canada and the world. St. Patrick’s Day, which is the national day of Ireland, is also celebrated around the world wherever Irish immigrants settled. In Newfoundland, it’s a rare public holiday as winter blows its last. It was a day friends would gather at the pub. When I left Newfoundland and the shamrocks went up in all the bars no matter where I was living, I longed to hear the voices of my friends. Initially I had asked friends to phone me when they were out, night or day, on St. Patrick’s Day. Later someone gave my phone number out to strangers and the calls I received got weirder and even more fun. Each year the tradition grew until in 2009 when we decided to go big with an advert on Time Square and more. So this is the story of the St. Patrick’s Day Drunk Dial Contest along with the calls of many of the winners. I hope you have have great St. Patrick’s Day, no matter your nationality, but especially to all my friends in Ireland and those of Irish descent. Show Notes and Highlights Interview with Niall Brown including the fallout from the Global TV news spot.Watch the Global TV news spot from Montreal, 2009The Times Square ad and pictures of the 2008 Montreal St. Patrick’s Day parade. God Save the Queen, Instrumental by the Band of the Grenadier Guards, 1952 from the Wikimedia Commons

    22 min
  7. Ep44: Mountaineering Misadventures with Keli and Mike

    9 MAR

    Ep44: Mountaineering Misadventures with Keli and Mike

    Why do humans purposefully subject themselves to freezing winds, exhausting altitudes, and perilous drops? In the first of our mountaineering series, host Dups opens with an autobiographical story from Indian Ridge in the Canadian Rockies. Then, Dups is joined by two long-time friends and climbing partners, Mike Mannion and Keli Ryan, to discuss the philosophy, humour, and hazards of modern mountain trekking. From the ethical dilemmas of summiting Mount Everest to being circled by vultures on Kilimanjaro, this episode explores the irresistible pull of the peaks. Show Highlights Indian Ridge: Dups shares a personal story of a solo summit attempt in the Canadian Rockies.The Philosophy of Climbing and the lure of Everest: Mike Mannion breaks down how his love for hiking and indoor climbing evolved into global mountaineering. Mike and Dups discuss the ethical issues of putting people at risk for a tourist summit.Kilimanjaro, the Barafu scale, and freezing on Elbrus: Keli Ryan shares her memories of tackling Kilimanjaro. Keli recounts the reality of altitude sickness, and other stories from Kilimanjaro. She contrasts that with the cold of Elbrus and lessons for life About the Guests Mike Mannion: A seasoned trekker who has climbed alongside Dups in the Rockies, Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.Keli Ryan: A long-time friend of Dups who joined the team for the ascent of Kilimanjaro and tackled the freezing, technical climb of Mount Elbrus in Russia. Mentions & Resources Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies by Alan Kane

    21 min
  8. Ep43: The lens of history with photojournalist Greg Locke

    2 MAR

    Ep43: The lens of history with photojournalist Greg Locke

    We walk through life as one among a multitude, but what happens when you are tasked with standing in the eye of historical storms? In this episode, we explore what it truly means to bear witness to the darkest and sometimes, most profound, moments of the human experience. Award-winning photojournalist Greg Locke joins the show to share his incredible journey spanning forty years of covering crime, business, politics, and war. From the surreal, celebratory chaos of the Berlin Wall coming down , to the savage heartbreak of the Bosnian War, Greg takes us behind the lens of the stories that shaped our modern world. He opens up about the moral weight of photographing grief , the absurdity of navigating lawless borders , and why we cannot simply turn away and ask, "Who cares?" In This Episode, We Discuss: The Accidental Photojournalist: How serendipity and a restless desire to explore the world launched Greg's forty-year career.The Party at the End of the World: Arriving in Berlin the exact night the gates opened in 1989, and capturing the chaotic, history-making street parties.Greg's "Lost Years" in the Balkans: Navigating the brutal civil war in Sarajevo.The Philosophy of Bearing Witness: Why we must document human misery so the world doesn't forget.Close Calls and Absurd Realities: Surviving a terrifying encounter at a burning checkpoint in Sarajevo , and how Greg bribed a guard to get into Zaire.The Exodus: The story behind one of Greg's most powerful photographs About Our Guest: Greg Locke is a veteran photojournalist with four decades of experience covering international affairs, conflict, and politics. His work has been featured in major publications including the Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun, Reuters, and Time Magazine and won numerous awards. He has spent extensive time documenting crises around the world from Africa to the Americas, and was the first photographer to be awarded the CAJ/CIDA fellowship for journalism in the area of foreign affairs and international development by the Canadian Association of Journalists and the Canadian International Development Agency. Learn more about Greg Locke at https://greglocke.com

    20 min
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About

From the interactive masterpieces of video games to the turning points of history and the thrills of real-world exploration, our reality is defined by the stories we tell. Tales under the cat tree is a weekly exploration of the architecture of imagination. Hosted by tech leader and lifelong geek Duleepa Wijayawardhana, we dive into the mechanics of world-building. Whether that building happens in the code of software, on the tabletop of a roleplaying game, in the pages of literary fiction, or halfway up a mountain, every guest brings a new perspective. Join us for deep, eclectic conversations with creators, adventurers, and thinkers as we dissect the narratives that shape our culture and our future. Because ultimately, words create the worlds we live in. Read more and find full transcripts at https://tales.dups.ca

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