In this special pre-PAX West 2024 edition of the Two Vague Podcast… does Ben have a couple of imaginary guests, the titular “Drop Dead Fred” perhaps? Nope! He’s got something far more engaging than a Phoebe Cates movie up his sleeve. Christian and Erik from Imaginary Game Studios join Ben to talk about their experiences in the AAA gaming space and their latest project Rogue Climber! It’s an episode that is guaranteed to be more exciting and interesting than driving a desert bus from Las Vegas to Tucson, Arizona.
Ben’s interview with Christian 00:00:20 - Introducing Imaginary Game Studios founder and Meticulous game creator Christian 00:02:46 - Correction, the game Ben played at the Local H concert was Battle Arena Toshinden 00:04:25 - Finding the fun, exorcising the design demons, mixing inspiration, and rage climbers 00:07:52 - The indie game flavor of the month, Steam genre tag problems, and the Cybertruck 00:11:55 - Ben’s arcade memories, Christian’s time in Japanese arcades, and a Dreamcast tip 00:14:53 - Getting Over it with Bennett Foddy, Penn & Teller’s Desert Bus, and Airplane Mode 00:17:54 - Capsule hotels, themed stuff in Japan, Studio Ghibli stores, and back to Desert Bus 00:21:25 - Cozy rage, Christian’s experiences in the AAA space, and speculating on the cause 00:24:40 - Cutting Peter Dinklage’s Ghost, and stratification of creatives, leaders, and execs 00:27:27 - The Imaginary Game Studios game jam, YouTube content creation, and the news 00:28:32 - Favorite word - imagination
Ben’s interview with Erik 00:30:19 - Introducing 2VP to Erik, focus required, a lifeline for Meticulous, and the first to play 00:33:07 - Meeting Christian at EA, working at Blizzard on Diablo 3, and a heroine killing spoiler 00:36:38 - The perils of stories “under wraps,” crafting meaningful stories, and is it censorship? 00:39:19 - The easiest thing to change, creating a simulacra, incorporating feedback, and DEI 00:42:55 - Everyone is NOT a narrative expert, the creative process, and remembering Anthem 00:45:08 - Getting to the fun questions, Counter-Strike bunnyhopping, and a Venn diagram 00:48:34 - Correction, only review copies of Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors were made 00:51:11 - Favorite word - a tie between scofflaw and bindlestiff
Erik’s interview with Ben 00:52:50 - Where did you come up with the word concept? 00:54:44 - Tell me about your dad, what would his favorite word be, and connecting with Norah 00:57:54 - Ben gets a little personal about his relationship with his father 00:59:42 - What story about your father do you think had the biggest impact on you? 01:00:40 - Erik talks about his experiences writing for a Sports Illustrated subsidiary 01:02:19 - Andrew and Erik are in the same boat, the 23 year gap, and the booth babe sash
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References, Links, and Tags
Follow all the shenanigans Imaginary Game Studios is up to… On their website: https://www.imaginarygamestudios.com/ On their Discord: https://discord.gg/YyDD7ECtdJ On their YouTube channel - they post all sorts of stuff from gaming news, to gaming podcasts, to game jams, to the occasional cooking video:
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