Kotaku Splitscreen

Episode 172: Just what does newly minted Bloodborne expert Jason think of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice? How does Kirk feel about missing out on all that sweet, sweet GDC content? And why is Maddy playing Pokemon Go? Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, all those questions are answered and more. First it's video game talk, on the likes of The Division 2, Baba Is You, and Sekiro. Then it's the news of the week (50:29) on Zelda indies, Switch rumors, and Google Stadia, followed by off-topic talk (1:20:19) on The Dropout, Hamilton, and Umbrella Academy. Music pick: “When it Rains” by Brad Mehldau from his 2002 album “Largo” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Benson and Bethany Hockenberry, two members of the team that made Night In The Woods, are now part of a games studio without any bosses. It's a worker co-op called The Glory Society, and at GDC 2019, Scott and Bethany dropped by the podcast to explain why they prefer bylaws to bosses. In the second half of the episode, longtime Splitscreen guest Matthew Burns came by to talk about his new visual novel about artificial intelligence and also, how cool he thinks SpeedTree is.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Justin Ma and Matthew Davis, the creators of FTL and Into The Breach, sat down with Jason and Maddy at GDC 2019 to discuss the intense creative stress involved in making their most recent game. Despite wanting to pull the plug on Into The Breach many times, the duo forged onward and made a strategy game that is elegant in its simplicity. In the second half of the show, Christine Love joins us to talk about her past visual novels (Analogue: A Hate Story, Ladykiller In A Bind) and her pivot towards making an RPG called Get In The Car, Loser! which will have actual combat mechanics alongside the dialogue trees.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At GDC 2019, Double Fine boss Tim Schafer is losing his voice, but he still croaked through his annual Splitscreen appearance to discuss the union joke he told on stage at the IGF awards, the state of Psychonauts 2, and his thoughts on Google Stadia. We explained to him how unions work so that he can tell even better jokes about them next year. In the second half of the episode, Gabe Amatangelo of QC Games told us about his history at Bioware, the cancellation of Shadow Realms, and the eventual creation of a not-so-different dungeon crawler called Breach, which launched in early access earlier this year.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jesse Snyder, creative director at NantG and formerly the creator of Call of Duty's Zombies mode, sat down with Jason and Maddy at GDC 2019 to tell the real story of how the zombies came to life. The mode began as a late-night passion project that actually got a lot of internal pushback, and eventually, Snyder realized he'd rather make "crazy" games than super-realistic ones. After that, we talked to Andrew Maximov about Promethean AI, a piece of software aimed at helping artists create in-game universes more easily. If it works the way that Maximov says, this AI tech will be like a (robot) junior artist who does the boring, fiddly grunt work so that video game artists can focus their creative attention on grander things.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At GDC 2019, shortly after announcing Google Stadia, Phil Harrison sat down with Jason and Maddy to reveal more details about Google's new game streaming platform. He didn't say how much it will cost, but he did clarify the importance of a good internet connection to making this service work as well as it should. Plus, you'll need a Chromecast and one of Google's new controllers to make Stadia work on your TV. After we try and fail to get Phil Harrison to tell us whether Google has official E3 plans, we sat down for another interview with Sarah Elmaleh, the voice of Anthem's female protagonist.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 171: Devil May Cry 5 is outrageous, and Splitscreen's here to talk about it. First, Jason, Kirk, and Maddy get into the games they've been playing -- Breath of the Wild, Broken Age, Destiny, etc. -- before diving into the mania of the newest Devil May Cry. Then it's time for news of the week (36:03) on Nintendo's Labo VR, EA skipping E3, and Valve removing a game called Rape Day from Steam. Finally, some off-topic chat on Captain Marvel, Succession, Leaving Neverland, and tips for working well from home (59:53).Music pick of the week: The Wood Brothers, “Snake Eyes” from their 2015 album ParadiseLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 170: Surprise! It's a one-day-early episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, here to talk to you about Bloodborne (which Jason's finally finished), Danganronpa (which Maddy's almost finished), and the many games Kirk is playing, like The Division 2 and Ape Out. There's news of the week (36:13) on Pokemon, Anthem crashing PS4s, and THQ Nordic's major screw-up, and then Jason shares some impressions of the upcoming zombie game Days Gone, which he got to play for an hour and a half at a Sony event two weeks ago. Then it's time for some off-topic talk (59:16) on Killing Eve, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Big Mouth, followed by Kirk's music pick of the week and a brief Russian Doll spoilercast.MUSIC PICK OF THE WEEK:“Under the Sea” by Fearless Flyers from their Debut EPWatch the video hereLINKS:Wesley Morris on Michael JacksonSlate Culture Gabfest Russian Doll spoilercastLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 169: Kirk's on jury duty this week, leaving Jason and Maddy to talk about Bloodborne and Danganronpa without him. They also talk about beloved Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime retiring and the rumors of a Nintendo-Xbox love affair, then take some listener questions on Anthem and games as a service (35:10). Then it's time for off-topic talk (52:40) on X2 and Russian Doll as well as JASON'S surprise Music Pick Of The Week. It's a good one.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 168: BioWare's Anthem is out! But is it any good? First up, the Splitscreen crew talks about the games they've been playing, like Bloodborne, Tetris 99, and Far Cry New Dawn. Then it's time for a breakdown of BioWare's new loot shooter (31:16), which Kirk and Jason have both been playing. They discuss Anthem's many bugs, the problems with EA's early access program, and how the game generally looks and feels. Finally, off-topic chat on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Russian Doll, and Bohemian Rhapsody.Show notesMusic pick of the week: “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen from their 1975 album A Night At The OperaLindsay Ellis - 'Independence Day vs. War of the Worlds': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KioF1sTQFtEJake Kaufman & Tommy Pedrini - Final Fantasy VI 'The Impresario': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xFhULStbkQLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Nintendo Direct week, and you know what that means: Everything old is new again. First, Jason, Maddy, and Kirk talk about the games they've been playing, from Danganronpa to Bloodborne. Then they talk about Nintendo's big announcements including Super Mario Maker 2, Box Boy+Box Girl, and a remake of Link's Awakening (22:31), and close off the show by talking Sex Education, Big Mouth, and other shows they've been enjoying (49:43).Kirk's music pick of the week: “Dancing Queen” by ABBA from their 1976 album ArrivalKotaku's music pick of the week Spotify playlistLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maddy, Jason and Kirk take the stage at the Bell House in Brooklyn, NY for a live episode of Kotaku Splitscreen. They talk Apex Legends, Battle Royale games in general, Mario vs. Zelda, and take a bunch of audience questions. Thanks to everyone who came out!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maddy, Kirk, and Jason unite to talk about the many games they've been playing, including Resident Evil 2, Wargroove, Bloodborne, and Destiny 2. Then they take a deep dive into Kingdom Hearts (34:01), debating over whether the story is convoluted, analyzing why people love it so much, and dissecting the pros and cons of the brand new Kingdom Hearts III. Finally, off topic talk (1:06:45) on the Fyre Festival documentaries and Happy Endings.Music pick of the week: “Use It” by The New Pornographers from their 2005 album “Twin Cinema”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason, Kirk, and Maddy open up the mailbag to answer some of your great questions on Bloodborne, video game music, the cults of personality that surround the video game industry, our dream Assassin's Creed settings, and much, much more. Plus: NFL playoff stories!Music pick of the week: “Green Lights” by Sarah Jarosz from her 2016 album “Undercurrent” (video here)Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirk, Maddy, and Jason unite to talk about one of the wildest video game news weeks in recent memory! First they talk about the games they're playing, including Resident Evil 2, Danganronpa, and Destiny 2. Then they dissect this week's news (32:41) on Bungie ditching Activision, the messy Gearbox lawsuit, and EA canceling its open-world Star Wars game. They close things off with off-topic talk (1:18:58) and the NFL playoff story of the week.Music pick: “Overtime” by Knower, from their YouTube channel (seriously, watch it!)Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices