My guest today is the American writer and game designer Chet Faliszek. In the nineties he and his friend Erik Wolpaw founded the website Old Man Murray. The satirical online publication poked fun at video gaming’s sacred cows and established a tone that is still prevalent across the internet today.

After catching the attention of Half-Life creator Gabe Newell, the pair joined the video game developer Valve. There my guest contributed to the writing on Half Life 2 Episodes 1 and 2, co-wrote Portal, then led development of Left 4 Dead and its sequel.

In 2017 he left Valve, eventually founding his own studio Stray Bombay. The company's first game, The Anacrusis, is a brightly coloured and joke-filled cooperative first-person shooter set aboard a stranded spaceship.

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Friend of the podcast Glenn Moore joins Simon for a special bonus episode to discuss April's book-club-game, Stephen's Sausage Roll edition.

This previously supporter-only episode gives a taste of the bonus monthly episode My Perfect Console supporters receive through Patreon.

Throughout April 2024, Glenn and Simon, together with many of the My Perfect Console listeners, played through the strategy game Stephen's Sausage Roll, a game chosen by the neuroscientist and writer Patrick House.

Listen to Glenn and Simon discuss their experiences playing the game –– with bonus thoughts on Inscryption, Killer Frequency, the New York Times' game offerings, and much more!

Be attitude for gains. https://plus.acast.com/s/my-perfect-console.

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My guest today is the American novelist and short story writer, Veronica Roth. Born in New York and raised in Illinois, she studied creative writing at Northwestern University. While a student, she wrote Divergent, a dystopian science fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic version of Chicago.

The book sold to a publisher even before she graduated, and the film rights a few months later. Two sequels followed, creating a trilogy that has now sold more than 35 million copies worldwide. More books followed including, in 2020, her first adult novel, Chosen Ones.

Now, in her forthcoming book, When Among Crows, my guest returns to Chicago, in a story that combines Slavic folklore and the city’s underworld.

Be attitude for gains. https://plus.acast.com/s/my-perfect-console.

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