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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.
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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 hi...
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 ...
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. #ha...
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 s...
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 ...
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 f...
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