Verity is standing in for Susan this episode and we welcome Ready Up team member Adam Gulliver, who is recently back from perusing the wares at EGX. Apologies for the sound quality this episode, everything that could go wrong did, and back ups of back ups were bought into play.

What have you been playing?

• Adam tells us what football is like in the year 2018 with PES 2018 and Dean tries to dredge up any residual football knowledge. Much the same as it turns out. By the way this is what football looks like in 17776 – scroll down and prepare for an existential and crazy ride.
• Adam’s been playing Danganronpa V3: Deadly Harmony, a kind of Anime murder highschool, and he’s been enjoying it despite the rise of fan service. Which leads to a tangent about watching Saved by the Bell and Hang Time on Trouble.

• Verity’s been up a mountain recently (and if her internet connection is anything to go by she’s still up there) so she took the opportunity to brush off her 3DS and play Harvest Moon: A New Beginning.
• Verity keeps the nostalgia going with a discussion of Lethis: Path of Progress, which is a throw back to the Caesar games. There’s a spectacular tangent to Dark City: “We make your dead our wessels!”
• Dean has started playing Divinity: Original Sin 2, and has to fill in Verity and Adam on the joys of this game’s unique twist on cooperative play.

Spotlight: EGX

We sent Adam to EGX and we hear a little about what he saw, for a more detailed report see his write ups on the site. We touch on Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Super Mario Odyssey, The Occupation, Production Line, Rogue Trooper Redux and Dean talks about seeing the developer session with Jake Solomon on the creation of XCOM.

Two Truths, One Lie

It’s time to wrap up with Adam, an we discover the embarrassing truth of what’s on our bedside tables!

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Susan and Dean welcome back Stephen Downey from Outsider Games! After releasing Wailing Heights, Outsider Games are back with a new point-and-click adventure – Jennifer Wilde.

Check out the Jennifer Wilde Kickstarter here. Follow @OutsiderGames on Twitter, or check out their website. Or why not go back and listen to Stephen’s first appearance on the podcast?

What have you been playing?

• Stephen had some time with Destiny 2, and is a part of the Sexy Irish Guardians Clan (oh yeahhhhh). The community aspect of the game is making a real difference! Stephen and Dean then explain to Susan the appeal of Destiny, and Dean shares some thoughts on his Raid experience.
• Stephen has also been playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Isn’t it all just cooking and rocks?

• Dean has also been enjoying Mario + Rabbids, which isn’t just XCOM for babies, but full of fun and crazy elements that make it a joy to play. Stephen and Dean also reveal that Nintendo’s Switch marketing totally worked, since they’ve made use of the Switch with friends during trendy rooftop parties.
• Susan has been exercising her typing skills with Epistory: Typing Chronicles, a game with a fox and a girl fighting enemies and restoring a storybook world.

Spotlight: Outsider Games and Jennifer Wilde

• After finishing the musical point-and-click adventure Wailing Heights, Outsider Games has gone to Kickstarter to fund their next game, Jennifer Wilde.
• Jennifer Wilde is based on a comic book that Stephen drew a few years ago. It features art student Jennifer, who through various circumstances ends up calling the ghost of Oscar Wilde, and using his help to solve a mystery. Set in 1920s Paris, the game makes use of a lovely comic book art style, and music to match the era.
• There’s a free demo of Jessica Jennifer Wilde on the Kickstarter page if you want to try it out!

Two Truths, One Lie

We round off this episode with our usual game. Stephen definitely didn’t just make these up 30 seconds ago, and we indulge in a little bit of time travel.

Thanks for listening to the podcast! Do us a solid and leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show! Subscribe using iTunes or our Podcast RSS Feed. Any feedback? Tweet us @readyup.

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Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico

Susan is joined by guest host, Kitty. The two of them welcome indie developer Hampus Bankler, who is the sole developer of multiplayer fighter jet indie game Sky Knights.

Follow @SkyKnights_Game on Twitter, join the Sky Knights Discord server, and find out more at skyknights-game.com. Sky Knights is currently in Early Access on Steam, and is available for £6.99.

What have you been playing?

• Hampus has been playing tactical strategy SWAT team game Doorkickers, where things don’t always go to plan despite your best intentions.
• Hampus also been exploring the depths of the ocean with friends in We Need to go Deeper. Each player can only see what they’re responsible for, so you’ll have to rely heavily on teamwork and communication. It’s not always easy when you’re being attacked by tentacle monsters!
• Kitty has been working her way through the rock-hard Cuphead, and having a lovely, cartoony, controller-throwing time.
• Susan has discovered a worrying aptitude for murder in Shadow of Mordor. 

Spotlight: Hampus Bankler and Sky Knights

• Hampus talks about his experience as a solo developer, and how you need to get by with a little help from your friends (aka testers).
• Sky Knights is a multiplayer fighter jet battle game with fast-paced shooting action. Just don’t ask Susan to land a plane.
• Hampus also talks about his work at Rovio, and writing the original code for Angry Birds 2. Which may still be in there… somewhere…

Two Truths, One Lie

We finish off the episode with our usual game, in which we wonder just how many game development studios there are in Stockholm, and just how much do people love Top Gun.

Thanks for listening to the podcast! Do us a solid and leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show! Subscribe using iTunes or our Podcast RSS Feed. Any feedback? Tweet us @readyup.

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Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico

Susan is joined by guest host, Fran for a special episode where they chat to comic book and video games writer, Antony Johnston.

Follow @AntonyJohnston on Twitter or find out more at antonyjohnston.com. You can also check out Antony’s podcast Unjustly Maligned.

Antony talks through the worlds of comic book writing, and video games writing – how he got into the industry, what happened when he got there, and what it was like having one of his graphic novels made into a Hollywood blockbuster. He also talks through the writing process for Dead Space and scripting endless insults for orcs in Shadow of Mordor.

Whole lotta signin’ goin’ on #atomicblonde

A post shared by Antony Johnston (@antonyjohnston) on Oct 31, 2017 at 12:15pm PDT

Finally, in Two Truths, One Lie he shows off his storytelling skills… Can Susan and Fran see through the tall tales?

Thanks for listening to the podcast! Do us a solid and leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show! Subscribe using iTunes or our Podcast RSS Feed. Any feedback? Tweet us @readyup.

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Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico

Susan is joined by Verity and Kieran, Ready Up’s most wholesome team member.

You can catch Kieran when he streams with the team on Fridays over on Twitch!

What have you been playing?

• Kieran is a long-time fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, and feels that with Origins, the series is finally back on track. He’s also been dipping a toe into Heroes of the Storm.
• Verity entered the madness that is Danganronpa V3, and still doesn’t quite know what to think of it all so she’s also been unwinding with some Sims 4: Dogs and Cats.
• Susan has been playing Slime Rancher, and the game turns out to be darker than anyone first thought…

Site/Guest spotlight

• The team talk about playing Fortnite and Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds on stream
• Left 4 Dead 2 has also held up surprisingly well as a multiplayer game
• Finally, the team chat about what they’re most looking forward to, including finally stumping up for a Nintendo Switch and the Horizon Zero Dawn DLC.

Two Truths, One Lie

• Is Kieran a musical genius, Pictionary-challenged or a Spore superfan?

Thanks for listening to the podcast! Do us a solid and leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show! Subscribe using iTunes or our Podcast RSS Feed. Any feedback? Tweet us @readyup.

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Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico

Regular hosts Dean and Susan are joined by Cliff Harris of Positech. Cliff is the developer of the upcoming game Production Line, the acclaimed Democracy games and the glorious Gratuitous Space Battles among others. He is a one-man game-making machine, but also a Conveyor Belt Connoisseur and the most esteemed Earl of Efficiency.

Follow Cliff on Twitter: @cliffski or check out positech.co.uk

What have you been playing?

• Cliff has been playing the contraversial Star Wars Battlefront II and finds that actually, the single-player campaign is pretty good!
• Unsurprisingly, Cliff is also very much into Factorio, and reveals a deep-seated love for efficiency in all its forms.
• Dean has been having great fun with Super Mario Odyssey, and for some reason this sparks a great debate about controllers versus keyboards.
• Dean also attended the Game Anglia game developer conference, East Anglia biggest (only?) event of its kind. Dean also speaks passionately about John Romero’s distinguished taste in clothing.
• Susan has ventured into Endless Space 2, and with a little help from the developers has made a start in conquering the galaxy.

Guest spotlight

• Cliff has plenty of stories to tell, and he’s not making them all up, he promises. His colourful career includes everything from boat and bridge-building through to IT support and eventually games development.
• Cliff has tales from his time at Lionhead, Elixir Studios and more.
• Cliff talks about acting as a publisher for games such as Political Animals, Big Pharma and Shadowhand.
• Cliff also talks his latest title, Production Line which is currently in Early Access on Steam.

• The harsh realities of game development leads to an interesting discussion about videos games as services, and the expectations versus the reality of those entering the industry as well as those playing the games.
• Thanks to Cliff’s love of systems, we also have a little diversion into Kanban, Agile and various other management systems. It’s riveting stuff, we promise!

Two Truths, One Lie

• Cliff already told quite a few crazy (but true) stories… But he still has a few more up his sleeve!

Thanks for listening to the podcast! Do us a solid and leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show! Subscribe using iTunes or our Podcast RSS Feed. Any feedback? Tweet us @readyup.

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Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico

We welcome our guest, Ready Up writer and resident comedian James, but we’ll have to see if he can get over his abandonment complex with Dean (it was an open relationship!).

What have you been playing?

• We get straight into discussing Assassin’s Creed: Origins. Everybody form an orderly queue as we discuss weapons with numbers on them, horse physics, and Hippo toilet regimes!
• James has been testing his patience with Cuphead. At least he tried.
• Obviously Susan has been playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, where the time wasting mechanics of the series are a perfect fit for mobile.
• Dean’s been playing a digital adaptation of a classic civ building board game, Through the Ages by Vlaada Chvatl.
• Dean’s been chipping away at the moons in the Super Mario Odyssey end game, which inevitably leads to a discussion of… PPI?

Guest spotlight

• We talk to James, who isn’t a hipster game developer, about Friday the 13th, which won best Indie game at the Golden Joystick awards.
• We talk licensed games and the perils of a public vote.
• To get your fully unbiased and scientifically tested awards check out The Ready Up Awards, coming soon! We get a sneak preview of Dean’s favourite, bureaucratic horror game Prey.

Two Truths, One Lie

• We move on to Two Truths, One Lie, where James attempts to mesmerise us with stories of his abilities as a fancy dresser, a player of games and a budding games critic.

Thanks for listening to the podcast! Do us a solid and leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show! Subscribe using iTunes or our Podcast RSS Feed. Any feedback? Tweet us @readyup.

Like what we do at Ready Up? You can donate a couple of quid, or subscribe to us on Twitch. Subscribing is also free if you have Amazon Prime!

Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico

Scott and Dean welcome Tommy and Matthew from Table Flip Games on a special Twitch stream to discuss and play their new infinite runner Sure Footing, and we squash a few bugs along the way!

We talk to the Table Flip folks about their academic background (particularly Tommy’s expertise in AI), tell dad jokes, discover the true difference between the sexes and hear Scott issue forth some classic trivia as well as a few occasional random outbursts: “Ah it’s a giant face!” And of course we challenge Matt and Tommy to a game of Two Truths One Lie.

Sure Footing is available now on Steam or at itch.io.

Find out more about Sure Footing at tableflipgames.co.uk/surefooting, find them on Facebook or follow @TableFlipGames. You can also watch Tommy’s excellent YouTube series AI in Games.

Thanks for listening to the podcast! Do us a solid and leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show! Subscribe using iTunes or our Podcast RSS Feed. Any feedback? Tweet us @readyup.

Like what we do at Ready Up? You can donate a couple of quid, or subscribe to us on Twitch. Subscribing is also free if you have Amazon Prime!

Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico.

Scott, Stewart and Verity sit down to look at their personal highlights and predictions for the upcoming Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) this year.

The team deep dives into whether there will be a Bloodborne 2, what happened to Brendan Fraser’s career path, is Pokemon Yellow really the best Pokemon, what could go wrong in a Final Fantasy 7 remake, what device will Skyrim be released on and just what the hell is going on in Death Stranding. We also discover that Scott really hasn’t played very much Red Dead Redemption.

• Shadows Die Twice
• Nintendo’s Plans – Pokemon & Ports!
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
• Final Fantasy 7 Remake
• No Hardware News (is good news)
• Fallout 76: MMO or Battle Royale
• Anthem & EA Lootboxes
• Death Stranding – What the hell is it?
• Playstation Roundup

Scott, Kieran and Cameron got together to react to the first full day of E3, a jam-packed affair with conferences from Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Bethesda and Square Enix.

EA:

• Cameron wishes for a return to Bad Company-style single-player campaigns in the Battlefield series
• Unravel Two and Sea of Solitude are welcome indie interludes between all the SPOOOORTS
• Could Respawn’s new Star Wars game be a modern answer to the glory days of Dark Forces/Jedi Knight?
• We all have mixed feelings on Anthem: it might be too soon, it’s too Destiny, and there’s not enough romance.

Microsoft:

• We completely forget which numbered Halo entry the new title, Infinite, would even be!
• Stewart gets his predicted wish with FROM Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a new Souls-like (probably)
• Scott is excited about: DLC for Cuphead; Tunic, the Zelda-esque game starring an adorable fox; and Battletoads, mainly because of its brazen trailer
• Cyberpunk 2077, the new title from Witcher developers CD Projekt Red, has everyone elated

Bethesda:

• RAGE 2 is a welcome sequel, especially for Kieran, who liked the original more than most!
• Scott is greatly anticipating DOOM Eternal after the stellar 2016 game, hoping it will be a DOOM 2… 2.
• A bevy of Elder Scrolls announcements are spotlit by an Elder Scrolls VI tease. Could it take place in High Rock?
• New IP Starfield is announced. Insert your ‘Skyrim in space’ jokes here.
• Our first full look at Fallout 76 elicits discussions on whether we want an online Fallout game, and we all go back on forth on the issue!

Square Enix:

• Platinum’s new medieval fantasy action title, Babylon Fall, is announced for PlayStation 4 and PC
• Scott is still looking forward to the chunky, HD pixel art of Octopath Traveler… and it’s out in almost exactly one month!
• The gang rush through a quick round-up of the rest, just in time to sign-off and watch Ubisoft! Phew!

Susan and Verity sit down to talk through the good, the bad and the WTF of E3. They cover a lot of games but here are some highlights:

• To open, the pair discusses the pandas present in the Just Dance 2019 presentation.
• Susan’s nostalgia is in full force for Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! We also have a full appreciation for correctly-scaled Pokémon.
• Nintendo spent an awfully long time talking about the new Smash and disappointing the internet by not featuring Waluigi as a playable character.
• Verity is struggling to resist the call of the ocean (and the loot!) with Skull & Bones

• Ghost of Tsushima looks like a story in a lesser-known era that is definitely worth exploring.
• Susan and Verity talk about The Last of Us: Part II and the tonal shifts of the gameplay trailer. Looks like more terrifying and violent stealth action is in store, but there are a lot of mysteries still to be revealed.
• Neo Cab catches interest, even with very little detail released.

• Two Point Hospital is Theme Hospital reborn. Susan and Verity have a keen interest in the causes and treatment of saucepans on heads, and ghostly appearances.
• Will someone explain what the hell KIDS is?
• While we’re at it, WHAT IS GOING ON IN DEATH STRANDING? WON’T SOMEONE TELL US?

Susan and Verity chat to the lovely, recently blue-haired Tanya X Short from Kitfox Games, developers of The Shrouded Isle, Moon Hunters, Shattered Planet, and the upcoming Boyfriend Dungeon.

We talk about what we’ve been playing, how to date your weapons and how to get Hato Moa to design a character for your game. We also round things off with a little game of Two Truths, One Lie.

Find out more about the game at boyfrienddungeon.com, back the game on Kickstarter or follow @kitfoxgames.

Thanks for listening to the podcast! Follow us on twitch.tv/readyup to get notified of future recordings and other streams.

Do us a solid and leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show! Subscribe using iTunes or our Podcast RSS Feed.

Any feedback? Email us via podcast@ready-up.net or tweet us @readyup.

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Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico.

Susan and Dean chat to fellow Ready Upper and roving reporter Adam about the games that were on display at EGX. Adam queues for the games like a good soldier with Susan’s encouragement. Meanwhile, Dean attempts to do a jigsaw puzzle.

Thanks for listening to the podcast! Follow us on twitch.tv/readyup to get notified of future recordings and other streams.

Do us a solid and leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show! Subscribe using iTunes or our Podcast RSS Feed.

Any feedback? Email us via podcast@ready-up.net or tweet us @readyup.

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Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico.

Susan, Verity and Kieran get together for a majestic recording of the podcast, complete with a jellybean jigsaw. The group talk about what they’ve been playing and their scariest moments in gaming before flipping the table and condemning their jigsaw pieces to the void. Hooray!

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Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico.

Susan and Dean chat to Matt from Gas Lantern Games, the solo dev of the upcoming Ant Empire. Go ahead and follow @antempiregame!

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Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico.

Susan and Adam chat to Lexa from the Manga Forum Podcast and Dead Horse Podcast! Go ahead and follow @themangaforum or on Apple podcasts, and @HorsePodcast or on Soundcloud. In this episode, we go on a wild ride through everything anime, manga, sim games and more.

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Do us a solid and leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show! Subscribe using iTunes or our Podcast RSS Feed.

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Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico.

Susan and Dean chat to Liam and Ben from the Conversation Hat Podcast! Go ahead and follow @ConvoHatPodcast or check them out on Soundcloud, or wherever you like to listen to your podcasts. A good place to start is ‘Gaslit by LucasArts‘, the episode where Susan and Stewart answered questions from the hat. In this episode, we chat about Fallout 76, Red Dead Redemption 2, and more.

Thanks for listening to the podcast! Follow us on twitch.tv/readyup to get notified of future recordings and other streams.

Do us a solid and leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show! Subscribe using iTunes or our Podcast RSS Feed.

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Ready Up Podcast theme music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico.

It’s the last episode of the podcast! Susan and Dean chat to Team Ready Up to find out their origin stories, their favourite memories and what they are going on to do next.

0:00 – Introduction
2:28 – Aodhan
10:40 – Adam
21:17 – Iain
26:20 – Stewart
42:22 – Kieran
49:52 – Cameron
1:04:21 – Fran
1:13:03 – Kitty
1:28:40 – Verity
1:35:43 – Scott
1:49:29 – Susan and Dean

Thank you very much to everyone who has listened to and supported us over the years. We’ll see you all again, in other corners of the internet!

Ready Up Podcast theme intro music courtesy of Tommy Tallarico.