The Examined Game

Steven Lake
  • 5.0 (1)
  • VIDEO GAMES

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 Lake Steven Lake is the host of The Examined Game Podcast and a Peabody-nominated documentary producer. His work has appeared on Netflix, BBC Storyville, PBS, Al Jazeera, and The Guardian. His films include Roll Red Roll, described by The New York Times as “an essential watch,” as well as Phantom Parrot, rated 4 stars by Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian, and Dungeon Masterhood, a coming-of-age documentary with dragons.

  1. The Talent Behind Video Game Hair Design | Amandine Marest (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)

    6D AGO

    The Talent Behind Video Game Hair Design | Amandine Marest (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33)

    Send us Fan Mail Today I get to talk with Amandine MarestHair & Technical Character artist Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. We cover all things hair related in video games. Amandine's work in Clair Obscure is incredible and it was such a pleasure to deep dive into just how much she and the team thought about the hair in this game and how it represented the personalities of its characters. We also discuss her love of Final Fantasy hair, including Lighting's from Final Fantasy 12 and of course I get into my own rabbit hole about the contradiction between Cloud's hair and his personality in Final Fantasy 7. We also discuss how games like The Last of Us, Red Dead Redemption and God of War inspired Amandine's work, as well as how she got into the industry and her decision as a student to double down on focusing on hair design. This interview shows just how much love and attention was put into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as we are able to go into so much detail about one single aspect of the game, and how it works alongside all of the other incredible moving parts.  The Examined Game Each week, host Steven Lake asks the creators behind some of the world’s most influential video games about the meaning of life (in video games), leading to conversations about the personal and creative impact games have had on their lives.

    1h 5m
  2. The Mathematics of Interactive Storytelling - Jon Ingold (80 Days, Heaven's Vault, TR-49)

    MAY 11

    The Mathematics of Interactive Storytelling - Jon Ingold (80 Days, Heaven's Vault, TR-49)

    Send us Fan Mail In today's episode of The Examined Game I speak with co-founder of Inkle Studios, Jon Ingold. I am a huge fan of the work both he and Joseph Humfrey have done under Inkle Studios. Beyond finding new ways to iterate on the adventure game genre, they’ve also done an incredible job of creating mobile-friendly games, giving audiences who might otherwise never play a game like 80 Days the chance to experience one. One clear takeaway from this conversation is that Jon loves writing. If you've ever played an Inkle Studios game, you'll know that writing is the absolute foundation of their work. We discuss the profound influence that text adventure games had on Jon, as well as games like Monkey Island and his lasting love of The Last Express, and the collaborative approach he and Joseph take to getting projects off the ground. There is nothing quite like an Inkle Studios game. Whether it’s 80 Days, Heaven's Vault, Overboard!, Expelled!, or their most recent game TR-49, there’s a reason their work resonates so deeply with players. One of my favourite parts of this conversation is Jon going into detail about the concept of choice in video games, and the work they do at Inkle to remove the feeling of binary “PRESS A or PRESS B” decisions, instead steeping players in the emotional reality of decision making. Finally, we discuss the similarities between mathematics (Jon originally trained as a mathematician) and writing, and the power of finding the most efficient and succinct path to a solution, whether through numbers or through words. The Examined Game Each week, host Steven Lake asks the creators behind some of the world’s most influential video games about the meaning of life (in video games), leading to conversations about the personal and creative impact games have had on their lives.

    1h 26m
  3. The Dial Up Entrepreneur | Scott Miller (Apogee Entertainment, Duke Nukem 3D, Wolfenstein 3D)

    MAY 4

    The Dial Up Entrepreneur | Scott Miller (Apogee Entertainment, Duke Nukem 3D, Wolfenstein 3D)

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode I speak with Scott Miller, founder of Apogee Entertainment (Commander Keen, Duke Nukem) and 3D Realms (Max Payne, Prey). Scott helped pioneer the shareware model of game distribution in the late 80s and early 90s, releasing large chunks of games for free online long before Steam existed, and asking players to mail in cheques or call directly to order the full version. Scott literally helped build the gaming industry as we know it today from the ground up. After being rejected by major publishers in his early years in the industry, he decided to do things his own way. We discuss his early attempts to break into the industry, the rejection from publishers like EA and Sierra, and how that pushed him to build his own path through BBS systems, dial-up distribution, and early online communities. I’ve been playing Scott’s games since I was in single digits. Cosmo’s Cosmic Adventure and Wolfenstein 3D were some of my favourite games growing up, playing them on our family Amstrad with the dining table chair pulled up to the keyboard. The conversation covers his work with John Romero and John Carmack at id Software on Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D and the rise of the FPS genre, as well as the development of Duke Nukem 3D and how it differentiated itself from Doom through humour, interactivity, destructible environments and world design. We also talk about the early PC gaming era, game demos, shareware, PC Gamer magazine culture, box art, game marketing, and how games like Duke Nukem, Max Payne, Shadow Warrior, Rise of the Triad and Prey were shaped by player feedback and experimentation. This is a conversation about the foundations of PC gaming, the origins of indie distribution, and the mindset that helped shape modern game development long before digital storefronts and platforms like Steam existed. The Examined Game Each week, host Steven Lake asks the creators behind some of the world’s most influential video games about the meaning of life (in video games), leading to conversations about the personal and creative impact games have had on their lives.

    59 min
  4. Hell Broke Loose - The Making of Far Cry 2 | Clint Hocking (Creative Director)

    APR 27

    Hell Broke Loose - The Making of Far Cry 2 | Clint Hocking (Creative Director)

    Send us Fan Mail 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 Splinter Cell games, as well as roles at Ubisoft, Valve, LucasArts, and Amazon Game Studios. This ended up being one of the most dense and thought-provoking conversations I’ve had the privilege of recording. The way Clint thinks about video games and how we as players engage with them was such a pleasure to listen to. We spend a huge part of the conversation diving into Far Cry 2 and unpacking the systems and mechanics that make it feel so distinctive all these years later. Clint talks about the philosophy behind the game’s hostile world design, the tension between player freedom and frustration, and how the team approached emergent gameplay in a way that allowed players to create their own stories through systems colliding with one another. This was really one of the first games that allowed you to feel chaos ensure as you interact with the world around you, and of course inspired what the Far Cry series would go on to be.  We talk about the psychology of players, the idea of safety and vulnerability in open world games, and why certain mechanics completely change the way we emotionally relate to a space.We discuss things as deceptively simple as whether a character should be able to pet a cat in a game which opens up a much bigger discussion around player expectation and character consistency. There’s also a lot in here about immersive sims, tabletop RPGs, “ludonarrative dissonance,” and the challenge of designing games that trust players rather than constantly guiding them. If you’re interested in game design, player psychology, or the thinking behind one of the most divisive and influential shooters ever made, I think you’ll get a lot out of this conversation. The Examined Game Each week, host Steven Lake asks the creators behind some of the world’s most influential video games about the meaning of life (in video games), leading to conversations about the personal and creative impact games have had on their lives.

    1 hr
  5. Making Atomfall: Risk & Reward | Ben Fisher (Head of Design)

    APR 21

    Making Atomfall: Risk & Reward | Ben Fisher (Head of Design)

    Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, I speak with Ben Fisher, Head of Design on Atomfall and Sniper Elite: Resistance. Ben is a key creative figure at Rebellion, and we take a deep dive into the philosophy and design process behind Atomfall’s open-world RPG structure.  We talk about the steps that Atomfall had to go through to teach players how to engage with the world they were entering from the very first moments. Atomfall has a different pace to your average open world game, so Ben breaks down the game’s opening in remarkable detail, explaining how environmental cues, limited ammunition, enemy placement, dialogue systems, and even the way the player physically holds a weapon were all carefully designed to communicate that this is not a traditional “run and gun” shooter. Instead, Atomfall pushes players toward caution, observation, uncertainty, and exploration.  We also discuss the game’s ambitious “leads” system, which replaces traditional quest structures with something far more open-ended and investigative. Rather than being told exactly where to go and what to do, players gather fragments of information and piece together their own understanding of the world. Ben talks about the enormous creative risk behind that decision, how the system evolved late into development, and why the team wanted players to feel more like detectives than objective-followers.  Along the way, we explore the influence of immersive sims, British speculative fiction, and games like Riven, Dark Souls, Fallout, and Deus Ex. Ben also talks about the iterative reality of game design, how Rebellion balances creative risk with player expectations, and why so much of game development comes down to building systems that allow you to fail, adapt, and discover the right ideas over time.  The Examined Game Each week, host Steven Lake asks the creators behind some of the world’s most influential video games about the meaning of life (in video games), leading to conversations about the personal and creative impact games have had on their lives.

    1h 3m
  6. Writing Outer Wilds: Joy, Grief, and Letting Go | Kelsey Beachum (Outer Wilds, Avowed, Outer Worlds)

    APR 14

    Writing Outer Wilds: Joy, Grief, and Letting Go | Kelsey Beachum (Outer Wilds, Avowed, Outer Worlds)

    Send us Fan Mail 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 indie games of the past decade. Kelsey clearly poured so much of herself into the writing for Outer Wilds. I actually had no idea just how personal this game was for her. This of course bought up a ton of questions about what it must be like to put your heart on your sleeve for the whole world to see. As you can imagine she has some thoughts on this! We also get into 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 disconnected from the success of a game like Outer Wilds and how she learned to navigate that emotionally. We talk about burnout in the games industry, what causes it, what it costs creatively, and the importance of finding collaborators, studios, and creative environments whose values genuinely align with your own. Beyond Outer Wilds, we also discuss Kelsey’s work on Avowed and The Outer Worlds.  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, documentaries, music, writing will find something here that resonates. This is basically a conversation on creation and what we give to our projects. It reminds me about the disconnect between the maker and the audience. What we put into a creative endeavor is often different to what the audience gets out of it. I don't see this as a bad thing in the slightest and there is a joy in see how ones work is interpreted compared to what was going through our heads when we made it.  The Examined Game Each week, host Steven Lake asks the creators behind some of the world’s most influential video games about the meaning of life (in video games), leading to conversations about the personal and creative impact games have had on their lives.

    1h 9m
  7. Scope, testing, and Finishing Games | Nina Freeman (Cibele, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage)

    APR 6

    Scope, testing, and Finishing Games | Nina Freeman (Cibele, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage)

    Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode I speak with game developer Nina Freeman about mistakes, reflection, and the role personal experience can play in game design. Nina is known for her autobiographical approach to games, incorporating real moments from her own life into projects like Cibele, as well as her work on Tacoma and, more recently, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.  We talk about her early experiences with games, from edutainment titles at the public library through to discovering games like Myst and how they shaped the way she thinks about storytelling and interaction. Nina came up through New York game jams and collaborating with friends. A large part of the conversation centres around learning from mistakes. And learning to learn from mistakes. Nina has not been able to avoid the trap of scope creep, but rather than seeing it as a bad thing she has learn't to live with the fact that this is just something that developers do, and to sometimes just embrace it. Nina discusses why she values finishing projects over chasing perfection, how she approaches playtesting and criticism, and the difficulty of revisiting released work when all you can see are the things you wish you had more time to improve. We also get into what it feels like to release such personal work and the strange feeling of having strangers connect deeply with experiences drawn from your own life.  We spend time talking about narrative design in games and the unique way games allow players to embody characters unlike themselves. Nina explains how mechanics, dialogue choices, and environmental storytelling can help players inhabit another person’s perspective in ways film often cannot. We also discuss her work on Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, building believable friendships, nostalgia, and why seemingly small interactions can carry emotional weight in games.  Finally, Nina talks about her upcoming horror project exploring body image, memory, and her relationship with her mother. The Examined Game Each week, host Steven Lake asks the creators behind some of the world’s most influential video games about the meaning of life (in video games), leading to conversations about the personal and creative impact games have had on their lives.

    1h 19m
  8. Why Platformers need to evolve | Chris Wade (Big Hops)

    MAR 30

    Why Platformers need to evolve | Chris Wade (Big Hops)

    Send us Fan Mail The Examined Game #5 In today’s episode I speak with Chris Wade, creator of Big Hops. Big Hops immediately caught my attention as a platformer. While most modern platformers still build on the foundations laid down in the 1990s, Big Hops takes inspiration from emergent gameplay systems found in games like Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Arkane Studio's Dishonored and applies to the platformer genre. If that sounds like an interesting proposition you're right it is.  Chris talks about the early development of the game and his decision to move away from the traditional “make a fun toy first” style of development and instead approach Big Hops from a top-down design philosophy. His core question was simple: what would happen if a 3D platformer embraced systemic gameplay and player-driven experimentation in the same way Breath of the Wild did for Zelda?  We discuss the challenge of making a platformer stand out in 2026, the importance of having a strong gameplay hook, and why the frog tongue mechanic became the central design pillar of the game. Big Hops contains no combat. This decision added an extra level of complexity when it came to giving players enough to do in the world to keep them interested. Chris' design philosophy is that most indie combat systems feel underwhelming compared to movement mechanics, and instead focused on traversal, experimentation and player expression.  We talk about his team losing their publisher late into production, how they kept the game alive, and the strange experience of watching players and speedrunners completely break systems in ways the developers never expected. We also talk about Nintendo’s design philosophy, Zelda, Mario, Banjo-Kazooie, Animal Crossing, Psychonauts, Dark Souls, storytelling in platformers, voice acting, emergent gameplay and why players form emotional connections to virtual worlds in the first place.  The Examined Game Each week, host Steven Lake asks the creators behind some of the world’s most influential video games about the meaning of life (in video games), leading to conversations about the personal and creative impact games have had on their lives.

    1h 7m
See All (13)

About

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 Lake Steven Lake is the host of The Examined Game Podcast and a Peabody-nominated documentary producer. His work has appeared on Netflix, BBC Storyville, PBS, Al Jazeera, and The Guardian. His films include Roll Red Roll, described by The New York Times as “an essential watch,” as well as Phantom Parrot, rated 4 stars by Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian, and Dungeon Masterhood, a coming-of-age documentary with dragons.

Information

  • Creator
    Steven Lake
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Examined Game
  • Show Website
    The Examined Game

You Might Also Like