In this part of my interview with Peter Oliphant, we finally get the dirt on Stonekeep's storied development cycle. What was going on behind the scenes of this monumental game? Peter gives us the lowdown in an emotional rant about the frustrations he suffered as control was wrested for him in a series of executive decisions by Interplay's Brian Fargo. Even with all of his experience working in Hollywood, his feedback was not even considered during the making of the FMV sequences--to disastrous effect.

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Hi, Matt Chatters! I'm back this week with part 2 of my interview with Peter Oliphant, child actor turned game developer. In this part, Peter talks about his transition from Hollywood to Silicon Valley, which includes stops (and stories about) Sierra On-Line, Cinemaware, and Interplay. Peter's a big fan of the Atari 800, so we spend some time talking about that system and his games Wall War and Mr. Cool. Then it's on to Rocket Ranger and S.D.I. before ending with Lexi-Cross, a unique blend of Battleship and Wheel of Fortune.

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This week launches a new series of interviews with Interplay programmer and designer Peter Oliphant. Peter has an amazing history as a child actor, math whiz, and finally game designer, with boatloads of interesting stories about all of it. In this first part of the interview, we focus on Peter's work for Mattel, creating some of the early handheld electronic games like World Championship Football and Gravity. Then we get into his work as an actor, working alongside such notables as Dick Van Dyke and Jimmy Stewart, as well as some cult classics like Hotrods to Hell.

You can download the mp4 here.

If you regularly enjoy Matt Chat, why not do your part to keep it going strong? I know it may look like nothing but fun, but believe me, I put a lot of real work into making these shows each week. Why not help me out by making a small donation or setting up a subscription today? It only takes a minute, and you'll be doing YOUR part to keep these interviews and retrospectives coming. Thanks!

In the final segment of my interview with Mark Soderwall, we chat about his work on Fracture, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Clone Wars, and much more. We also talk about the importance of game history, what it takes to be a professional game developer, and Mark's choice of reading material.

Download the mp4 here.

Be sure to watch around the 20 minute mark for a special Vintage Games surprise!

This week begins my interview series with Mark Soderwall, an awesome guy with 20+ years in the industry. His resume is huge, with jobs at Mindcraft, Atari, and LucasArts. He's worked on games NBA Live, the Terminator games, Demon Stone, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, just to name a few. Now he's devoted himself to training the next generation and inspiring indie developers with his Game Creators Vault. Enjoy!

If you haven't supported the show, don't be a scrooge! If you like these videos, please put a dollar in my stocking!. Come on, McDuck, it's Christmas! As always, you can download the MP4 for playback on your mobile device.

Hi, guys, this week Jay and I chat about the sales of Frayed Knights and the apparent effect that massive piracy has had on their rapid decline. While Jay acknowledges that DRM has its problems--especially when it makes a pirated product superior to a legal one--it's hard to deny that some kind of protection is essential to maximize sales. Watch the video and let us know YOUR opinion on DRM.

Download the mp4 here.

The San Antonio Express-News has posted the Web version of their article, The game isn't over yet for retro gamers. While I am clearly mentioning this particular article because I was interviewed in it, I'm also happy to say that it's well-written and researched, which is certainly not the norm for something mainstream like this. So, head on over to their Website and check out the article on our favorite hobby, pronto!

Jay is back this week to talk more about his work on Frayed Knights and its many inspirations and precedents, including his favorite CRPG--Ultima VII.

NOTE: The above video has some missing footage around the 28 minute mark. The version below has been corrected.
mattchat125.mp4. You can also grab an audio-only feed here: Matt Chat 125.mp3.
Don't forget to shop at GOG using my affiliate link! Some great stuff this week for adventure game lovers.

This week debuts my new interview series with the Rampant Coyote, aka Jay Barnson. You probably know Jay from his blog and game site, as well his fantastic indie CRPG Frayed Knights: The Skull of S'makh-Daon, which yours truly helped to be beta test. In this segment we talk about Jay's extensive industry background, which includes some projects you've probably heard of if you owned a PS1--Twisted Metal and Warhawk! Enjoy.

As always, you can download the video. This week also marks the beginning of my Subscriber Goal of 7,000 subs by the end of the year. As of this writing, I'm at 6,256, so quite a bit of work left to go. If you have a forum, blog, Reddit, Twitter account, or WHATEVER, please post there about your favorite episodes and try to spread the word so we can grow our community into a force to be reckoned with! Thanks!