Kotaku Splitscreen

At GDC, Kirk and Jason talk with Double Fine president and CEO Tim Schafer about receiving the GDC lifetime achievement award, working on Psychonauts 2, and that one time Will Wright saved Double Fine.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Kirk and Jason talk with Respawn producer Tina Sanchez about breaking into the games industry, moving from Infinity Ward to Respawn, and the empowering phenomenon of the #MeToo movement.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirk and Jason kicked off GDC 2018 by chatting with Zachtronics writer/composer Matthew S. Burns about how he approaches writing puzzle-game music that you notice, but you don't NOTICE.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At GDC in San Francisco, Kirk and Jason chat with Tanya X. Short, captain of indie game studio Kitfox Games, about her unusual approach to structuring her game studio and how she helps her staff combat crunch and burnout.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason and Kirk talk with ex-BioWare general manager Aaryn Flynn about his years making RPGs (and running a studio) in Edmonton, as well as his experiences working at EA.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At GDC in San Francisco, Jason sat down with Jen MacLean, executive director of the International Game Developers Association, to get her take on all the recent talk of unionization among game developers.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Why wouldn't I believe you? You're here." Kirk and Jason are joined by IGN's Marty Sliva and Andrew Goldfarb to talk about The Leftovers, going season by season to dissect the show and discuss why we all love it so much. Warning: There will be spoilers!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At South by Southwest in Austin, Jason and Kirk took the stage along with Telltale Games’ Leah Hoyer and the Guardian’s Keza MacDonald to talk about interactive storytelling, the rise of games as a service, and whether or not Jason actually has a “Soothsayer Hat.”Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirk and Jason sit down with Rise of the Black Panther writer (and former Kotaku colleague) Evan Narcisse to talk about Ryan Coogler's Black Panther film and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason talks to Hermen Hulst, managing director at Guerrilla Games, about the studio's success with Horizon: Zero Dawn, how they moved past the grittiness of Killzone, and how he feels about crunch.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Donald Trump about to ban video games for life? Probably!!! Kirk and Jason talk about that and other big news like loot boxes and Diablo for Switch (6:27), then dig into some of the games they've been playing (41:14), like Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Arkham Knight, and Ni no Kuni 2.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this special episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, Kirk and Jason travel back to Destiny 1 and the era of Sleeper Simulant, Outbreak Prime, and the Vault of Glass. It’s a story about secrets and secret hunters, and how Destiny's most fabled mysteries eventually become real.CREDITSWritten and produced by Jason Schreier and Kirk HamiltonInterviews conducted by Jason SchreierEdited and mixed by Kirk HamiltonMusic composed and performed by Kirk HamiltonEditorial oversight by Stephen TotiloAUDIO SOURCINGOfficial Destiny 2 TrailerOfficial Taken King TrailerPhillip Kenney Climbing to the top of Atheon’s Throne RoomPrimeguard, World’s First Vault of Glass completion:Vylsith, Vault of Glass Oracle Fightiraspberrykiwi commentary on vault of glass hidden areaViva La Fraggie Scent of the Worm guideDaniel Jurado’s amazing Vault of Glass glitch videoLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirk and Jason jump right into news on Mafia 3's developer laying people off, Kentucky's governor blaming video games for shootings, and the System Shock reboot facing development troubles. Then they answer some listener questions (23:01) on console vs. PC gaming and getting your husband into The Witcher 3. They finish things off (48:05) by chatting about games they're playing: Assassin's Creed Origins and A Case of Distrust.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirk and Jason break down the news before getting into some nitty-gritty about what they've been playing (25:48), including Civilization VI, Dragon Quest Builders, and Into The Breach. Why do we play games, anyway? LET'S FIGURE IT OUT. Then they talk about the Olympics, whether it's OK to be friends with Nazis, and all sorts of other good stuff (51:47).Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirk and Jason talk about The Leftovers and Nintendo Labo before moving into the controversial news of the week (18:37), including the shocking bombshell that that's actually Toad's head. Then, Larian CEO Swen Vincke joins the show (36:53) to talk about his incredible new role-playing game, Divinity: Original Sin 2. He talks about what it was like to develop the game, how they find bugs, and what his favorite quests are. Then, Kirk and Jason talk Rise of the Tomb Raider and Monster Hunter: World (1:07:17).Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices