The Fourth Curtain

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The Fourth Curtain

Alexander Seropian & Aaron Marroquin

104 episodes

1 month ago

VP of Amazon Games Christoph Hartmann is our guest. At BMG he helped launch GTA and went on to co-found 2K Games and publish NBA 2K, Civilization, Bioshock and Borderlands. We discuss the upcoming King of Meat, a very fresh take on how AI can help gamedev and more - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] Intro: Christoph Hartmann [00:20:32] From Music to Games: Christoph’s First Break at BMG Christoph shares how his early exposure to computers led to an internship at BMG Interactive — a mov...

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All content for The Fourth Curtain is the property of Alexander Seropian & Aaron Marroquin and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

VP of Amazon Games Christoph Hartmann is our guest. At BMG he helped launch GTA and went on to co-found 2K Games and publish NBA 2K, Civilization, Bioshock and Borderlands. We discuss the upcoming King of Meat, a very fresh take on how AI can help gamedev and more - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] Intro: Christoph Hartmann [00:20:32] From Music to Games: Christoph’s First Break at BMG Christoph shares how his early exposure to computers led to an internship at BMG Interactive — a mov...

Show more...

Episodes (20/104)

The Fourth Curtain

Live Long and Prosper with Amazon's Christoph Hartmann

VP of Amazon Games Christoph Hartmann is our guest. At BMG he helped launch GTA and went on to co-found 2K Games and publish NBA 2K, Civilization, Bioshock and Borderlands. We discuss the upcoming King of Meat, a very fresh take on how AI can help gamedev and more - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] Intro: Christoph Hartmann [00:20:32] From Music to Games: Christoph’s First Break at BMG Christoph shares how his early exposure to computers led to an internship at BMG Interactive — a mov...

1 month ago

1 hour 22 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

Trip Hawkins, the Electronic Artist

We're thrilled to speak with Trip Hawkins, founder and CEO EA, 3DO, Digital Chocolate and more. From childhood football strategy, to WWIII Sims, he grew to make a company of electronic artists who made legendary games. Calming Steve Jobs, hacking consoles and many firsts - this week! Episode Highlights [00:01:20] Celebrating 100 Episodes and a Wild Week for EA Alex and Aaron mark The Fourth Curtain’s 100th episode and react to the breaking news that Electronic Arts is being taken private. [0...

1 month ago

1 hour 29 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

Ghost of Yotei's Mud Blood and Steel, with Sucker Punch

It's a one-two move with Sucker Punch's Chris Zimmerman and Brian Fleming. Now shipping Ghost of Yotei, they tell us about leaving Microsoft for Sony and becoming a gamedev powerhouse. Tales of exact pitches and being great instead of good - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] Intro: Chris Zimmerman & Brian Fleming of Sucker Punch Productions An introduction to Chris and Brian, co-founders of Sucker Punch Productions (Sly Cooper, Infamous, Ghost of Tsushima). [00:08:23] “Name it Anyt...

1 month ago

1 hour 16 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

The Origin Stories of Elder Scrolls' Paul Sage

We get an inside look this week from Paul Sage, founder and CEO of Ruckus Games. Inspired by Ultima 3, he worked his way up to lead designer of Ultima Online, to Borderlands 3 and more. Now working on a new project at Ruckus, we talk LEDs to 2600, Multima and when players outsmart you - this week! This week's episode contains mentions of suicide. Viewer discretion is advised. Episode Highlights [00:00:00] Intro: Meet Paul Sage [00:09:15] Founding Ruckus Games: Origins of the Studio an...

2 months ago

1 hour 13 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

How to Make an Atari Sandwich, with David Gardner

What does it take to lead in an industry that’s constantly reinventing itself? This week's guest David Gardner takes us behind the scenes of his journey from studio founder to EA games executive to venture capitalist at LVP, sharing lessons on leadership, risk, and the future of play. Episode Highlights [00:00:00] Intro: Meet David Gardner An introduction to David Gardner’s journey in games, from his early days to becoming a leader at Electronic Arts and later a venture capital investor. [00:...

2 months ago

1 hour 17 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

Indie Megabooth's Digital Nomad Kelly Wallick

This week we talk with the founder of the Indie Megabooth and games VC Kelly Wallick. Through her indie beginnings to her investing portfolio, community has always been the core. We discuss the Indie Game Festival, spotting hits and making a great pitch deck - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] Founding the Indie MEGABOOTH: Building a Platform for Indie Games Kelly shares how she launched the Indie MEGABOOTH, creating a showcase that gave indie developers global visibility at major conv...

2 months ago

1 hour 18 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

Fallout's Feargus Urquhart Stares into the Abyss

Our guest is Feargus Urquhart, founder and CEO of Obsidian, the premier maker of videogame RPGs. Having mastered 27 second pizzas he moved to testing and production of huge titles like KOTOR, Baldur's Gate and Fallout. We discuss snatching victory from the jaws of defeat with Pillars of Eternity, and when a feature is real - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] Founding Obsidian Entertainment: From Black Isle to New Beginnings Feargus shares how he and his former Black Isle colleagues lau...

3 months ago

1 hour 19 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

Making Myst a World with Rand and Robyn Miller

Our guests are Rand and Robyn Miller, founders of Cyan (World) and creators of the smash game Myst. From humble beginnings in Hypercard kids' games, they made the 3D puzzle experience Myst which changed the world of adventure games. We discuss GRR Martin stories, line art to 3D and more - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] How Myst Was Made: The Birth of a Gaming Landmark Robyn and Rand Miller reflect on the early days of Cyan and how they created Myst—a genre-defining game that shaped...

3 months ago

1 hour 26 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

World of Warcraft's Seth Sivak Tips the Dealer

Our guest this week is Seth Sivak, VP Development for World of Warcraft at Blizzard. From early years at Zynga he became Founder and CEO of Proletariat, shipping big games like Spellbreak. We discuss being an Imagineer, the three components of creative decisions and "always be pitching" - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] Why Games Fail: No Audience, No Hype Seth explains how several recent games failed not from poor quality, but because they launched without building an audience...

3 months ago

1 hour 15 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

Night Street's Mac Reynolds Captures the Last Flag

Our guest this week is Mac Reynolds, CEO and co-founder of Night Street Games, making the PvP shooter Last Flag. As manager of the band, Imagine Dragons, he learned how to find magic from the grind and now applies that to a videogame. We discuss Eagle Scouts, learning to advocate and CTF - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] Realizing How Hard It Is to Make a Game Mac shares how his early assumptions about game development were quickly shattered after launching Night Street Games....

4 months ago

1 hour 12 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

Oregon Trail's Phillip Bouchard Blazes Deadly Paths

Our guest this week is the poster boy for educational software going massively mainstream, Phillip Bouchard. Starting in the world of mainframes he created a worldwide hit on Apple II and beyond. We talk Apple getting kickstarted and science for fun and profit this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] The Legacy of The Oregon Trail: Still Remembered 40 Years Later Philip reflects on the surprising longevity of The Oregon Trail, a game still remembered decades after its release and played by n...

4 months ago

1 hour 1 minute

The Fourth Curtain

Killer Instinct's Adam Boyes Tears Down the Walls

Our guest this week is Adam Boyes, longtime co-CEO of Iron Galaxy and now founder of Vivrato. From Killer Instinct to The Last of Us Part I, he’s helped bring major games to life and now supports devs launching their own. We discuss putting in raunchy stuff, nemawashi and his magic deck of challenges - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] "Shipping Will Burn You": Why Making Games Is the Best Teacher Adam kicks off with advice for aspiring devs: build, release, and learn from failure—bec...

5 months ago

1 hour 20 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

Dead by Daylight’s Rémi Racine Bets on Himself

Our guest Rémi Racine is the founder & CEO of Behaviour Interactive—the studio behind Dead by Daylight and dozens of other titles. A veteran of the games industry for over 25 years, Rémi has helped shape not just iconic games but also the entire Canadian game development landscape - this week! 00:02:10 — From Montreal to Mainstream: Remi’s first game at age 24 Discover how Remi’s early passion project turned into a pioneering move in Canadian game development. 00:08:45 — The Birth o...

5 months ago

1 hour 7 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

Uncharted's Nolan North's Weird Ability to Yell

Our guest Nolan North has brought to life your favorite videogame characters with his voice! From Uncharted's Nathan Drake and Assassin's Creed's Desmond Miles, to scores of others, he is a top talent in the industry. We discuss the freedom of preparation and being broke but happy - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] From Soap Operas to Sound Booths: Nolan North’s Unexpected VO Journey Nolan shares how a friend encouraged him to pivot from acting on Port Charles to voice acting—kicking...

5 months ago

1 hour 16 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

Hogwarts Legacy's John Blackburn is Cool in the Arcade

Our guest John Blackburn is a founder and CEO of Avalanche Software, makers of hundreds of games for dozens of platforms, such as Hogwarts Legacy and Disney Infinity. He has tales of when games paid royalties and having to take a chance. We discuss how to talk to execs and being true but not canon - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:00] Mortal Kombat Funded Avalanche’s Origins John Blackburn reveals how Avalanche Studios was launched thanks to Mortal Kombat Trilogy royalties—literally ban...

5 months ago

1 hour 9 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

What Have You Got to Lose with Blizzard's Michael Morhaime

Our guest Michael Morhaime was President and CEO of Blizzard during its glory years, shipping Warcraft, Starcraft, World of Warcraft, Diablo and more! Now Founder and CEO Dreamhaven he's won an Emmy and is in the AIAS Hall of Fame. We discuss red tape, how many billion dollar franchises you need on your resume and more - this week! [00:01:00] Blizzard’s High Standards: Canceling Half Their Games Mike reveals that Blizzard canceled nearly half of its projects to maintain quality, highlighting...

6 months ago

1 hour 13 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

The Sims' Bing Gordon is Specifically Right

Our guest Bing Gordon has had a long successful run in videogames and tech. From marketing lead to Chief Creative Officer at EA, he helped shaped NASCAR, The Sims and other huge titles. We discuss pitching, two beer strategies and Speilberg's smoke test - this week! Episode Highlights [00:04:00] How Bing Gordon Helped Launch Electronic Arts Bing shares the story of co-founding EA when it was a scrappy startup in 1983, including raising $2 million in funding and being the company’s one-person ...

6 months ago

1 hour 15 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

Portal's Kim Swift's Cake is Not a Lie

Our guest Kim Swift turned a student demo into the mega-hit Portal. Previously the Head of Creative for Xbox Games Publishing, she also did level design on Left 4 Dead and was Design Director for Star Wars: Battlefront II. We discuss how to pitch, owning IP on Mars and whether or not the cake is a lie - this week! Episode Highlights [00:00:21] Kim Swift’s Game Design Origin Story Kim talks about how she got into game development by modding games like Doom and Quake, which eventually led to he...

6 months ago

1 hour 15 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

The Blinding Flame of Red Dead's Christian Cantamessa

Our guest Christian Cantamessa began in point and click adventures before becoming lead designer and writer for Red Dead Redemption. Now CEO of Day 4 Night Studios Inc., he is also the writer and director of the film, Air. We discuss concern about GTA III, embracing the game and telling stories in games - this week! [00:00:00] – From Donald Duck to GTA III: Career Whiplash Christian recalls the surreal leap from working on a Donald Duck GBA game to contributing to Grand Theft Auto III at Roc...

6 months ago

1 hour 21 minutes

The Fourth Curtain

Command and Conquer's Louis Castle's Triple Threat

Our guest Louis Castle helped invent real-time strategy games with Command and Conquer and has a BAFTA for Boom Blox. Now leading Childlike Wonder Games, we discuss casino ethics, switching to real-time and building toys - this week! Top 8 Highlights [00:00:00] – Lifelong Learning: The Key to Game Design Success Louis Castle opens the episode by emphasizing the importance of constant learning as a game designer, citing curiosity and adaptability as essential traits. [00:06:00] – Founding W...

6 months ago

1 hour 8 minutes