In this episode, Sean and Bridget are joined by special guest Nic McConnell, Age Ratings Manager at Riot Games, to discuss his favorite Kirby game: Kirby Canvas Curse. Together they reflect on Canvas Curse's amazing visuals and level design, the enduring appeal of the DS's touchscreen controls, and the unique background of the game's director Motomi Katayama (who worked on a surprising range of series from Ridge Racer to Tekken). Then for the latter part of the show, Nic describes his work in the age ratings space, with fascinating insights on what it's like to help Riot navigate the distinct cultural perspectives of audiences and ratings boards around the world.

You can find Nic on Bluesky at @mcconnell.bsky.social or watch him read video game manuals on Instruction Derby at https://www.twitch.tv/nicmcconnell and @instructionderby.bsky.social.

Are there other DS platformers you thought made great use of the touchscreen? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.

We will also now be uploading a version of the podcast to YouTube. Subscribe to us, and you can expect more visual versions of our longform episodes to be posted there a few days after they release in the podcast feed.

Join us online:

Kirby Conversations

Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social

IG: @kirbyconversations

Threads: @kirbyconversations

Bridget

Bluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.social

Sean Douglass

Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker

IG: @captaindangerous

Gigi

Carrd link

Our opening music is by Megan Kelz (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).

Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/

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