April 22, 2020
Ten years ago a company named Vicious Cycle decided to give a wet behind the ears designer a shot in the industry- Rob Howard. Though Rob's time at Vicious was short, it was memorable, with titles such as Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon and Despicable Me: The Game under his belt.
Since the closure of Vicious Cycle, Wayne Harvey (founder and CTO of the company) has moved on to start Tiki Tantrum LLC. They've already released a game: Elevated Video Poker. However, this game laid the groundwork for the company's next title, The Soak. The Soak is an RPG with amazing "Garbage Pail Kids" style art (you can't look away!) with a fascinating underlying card game mechanic. Wayne talks at length about The Soak (currently in development) as well as his varied and interesting past in the video game industry. A must listen!
March 31, 2020
Patrick joins us at *a secret undisclosed location* (a mobile setup was used, hence the slightly lower sound quality!) to talk to us about the following game design topics:
Part 1: Service to the Player and Metal Gear: Rob discusses how his "service to the player" concept is utilized in the Metal Gear Solid series, starting with the PSP game Mobile Ops, leading all the way to the Phantom Pain.
Part 2: Patrick and Rob talk about the classic Taito series Rastan and its design triumphs and missteps.
March 16, 2020
Ever wonder what it is like to be a part of an entire game development cycle? Rob and Kip have been in plenty, and want to share the good times, the bad times, and everything in between! In this series first, the two hosts talk about the little-known stage known as the "the pitch," where game developers hope to secure contracts with publishers to create the game of their dreams... or just something to pay the rent.
Lots of new music here!
New opening music: Open Dragon by Rob (yes, me)
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/robhoward3
Stratty Patty by frequent guest Konrad Honey, aka Konrad Silver:
https://soundcloud.com/konrad-silver-honey/stratty-patty
Shelter in Place by Rob, again:
https://soundcloud.com/rob-howard-7/timeforpanic
ALSO! WE WANT YOUR QUESTIONS! Have questions about pre-production, getting signed, production, or anything else relating to the process of a game dev cycle? Send them our way via rohoGames on twitter, or nervous pixels AT gmail DOT COM.
March 1, 2020
Certainly one of the most fascinating games ever released, Shenmue provided players with both an amazing open world and puzzling design choices. Rob, Kip, and Patrick dig into this interesting game, digging into what it does well and where it might confuse modern players.
February 17, 2020
Rob is a professor of practice at Purdue University, which means he sometimes gets to talk about his craft at area conferences. With permission from the M+Dev organizers (thank you!), we present Rob's talk: Finding Theory in Fun: Teaching Level Design as a Discipline. Enjoy!
February 2, 2020
Legendary Japanese developer Nihon Falcom is mainly known for the Ys series. In 2015, however, they released a game that features a modern urban setting, much like the Persona games, called Tokyo Xanadu. Rob and Patrick explore this peculiar JRPG!
January 9, 2020
Patrick is a game encyclopedia. He's played almost everything (well, I suppose not Shaq Fu, to our great disappointment!). So Rob and guest Jason Gahler grill Patrick on his Super Nintendo knowledge and opinions... you won't believe what he has to say about classics such as:
Chrono Trigger
Actraiser
Space Megaforce
Contra III
Super Castlevania IV
And more! We had a lot of fun recording this, hence the extra length! Enjoy!
December 29, 2019
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! With the Grid Snaps team out and about on holiday adventures (which hopefully includes lots of gaming), we bring you this classic episode from our archives.
In Patrick's 2nd Grid Snaps appearance, he discusses the niche Japanese RPG series Hyperdimension Neptunia. With colorful characters, awesome RPG battles, and a fun console wars plot, join Rob and Patrick as we explore this unique game series. One of the most popular episodes from our early days!
December 22, 2019
Taito is a legendary company that made enormous contributions to the development of both arcade and home console video games. Rob, Adam Pratt of arcadeheroes.com and Patrick discuss several games from Taito's early days, including:
-Western Gun (Gun Fight)
-Space Invaders (of course!)
-Rastan
