Video Gameography

Let’s rock, baby! Season 6 of Video Gameography gets stylish as we examine the Devil May Cry series! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be covering the history and lore of Capcom’s premiere action franchise. On this episode, we'll say "Jackpot" to Season 6 as we conclude with the latest title in the series, Devil May Cry 5. Released March 8, 2019, Devil May Cry 5 serves as a return to the classic timeline after an over-decade-long hiatus. Nero reprises his starring role, but he's joined by Dante and mysterious newcomer V. The three demon slayers, alongside familiar allies, unite to combat a powerful demon lord. Longtime DMC director Hideaki Itsuno wanted to hit a "homerun" with the title after realizing he may not have many games left in him, so he went all out. That includes adopting Capcom's famed RE Engine to give the game its most realistic visuals ever and giving players three wildly different playable characters. We'll unpack the game's development history, its story (including the big twist), and ponder where the series could go next.  Join me, Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), and guest Ty Galiz-Rowe (@owoathkeeper), editor-in-chief at Uppercut, as we explore Devil May Cry's big comeback.  And with the end of Season 6, I'd like to formally announce that this will be the final season of Video Gameography for the foreseeable future as the show will be taking an indefinite hiatus. It may return. It may not. Due to our smaller staff versus the demands of the show's format, keeping up it going alone has simply become more challenging, and it feels like the perfect time to bow out and end on a high note. I'd like to thank everyone who has tuned in and enjoyed the podcast, all of the incredible guests, as well as the show's creator and my original co-host Ben Reeves (@BenjaminReeves) for allowing me to tag with him on this adventure. I'd like to also thank John Carson (@John_Carson) for being a wonderful second partner on the show. Be sure to show those two some love, because the show wouldn't have been nearly as good without them.  If you’d like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under “Community Spaces.”

Let’s rock, baby! Season 6 of Video Gameography gets stylish as we examine the Devil May Cry series! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be covering the history and lore of Capcom’s premiere action franchise. Today we examine the franchise's boldest, most divisive, but arguably strongest entry yet in DmC Devil May Cry.  Desiring to shake up the series, Capcom turned to British studio Ninja Theory to reboot and reimagine Devil May Cry. Encouraged by the publisher to be as wildly creative as possible, the team behind Heavenly Sword and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West dreamed up a grittier version of Dante who inhabits Limbo City, a world existing in parallel with the demonic realm. This relationship spectacularly manifests in the city itself coming to life, shifting its buildings and roads to hinder and assault the demon slayer.  Sporting jet black hair and the ability to tap into angelic and demonic powers, this new vision of Dante garnered heaps of vitriol from fans who saw DmC as too drastic of a departure, despite the game launching to rave reviews. In this episode, we'll examine how DmC came to be, the role Capcom played in the game's wildest ideas, Hideaki Itsuno's reaction to the project, the backlash Ninja Theory endured, and give our overall impressions of the narrative and gameplay.  Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), former GI editor John Carson (@John_Carson), and with special guest Bob Buel (@bobbbackwards) of the 99 Questions podcast as we unpack and pay respects to Ninja Theory's memorable stab at Devil May Cry.  If you’d like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under “Community Spaces.”

Let’s rock, baby! Season 6 of Video Gameography gets stylish as we examine the Devil May Cry series! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be covering the history and lore of Capcom’s premiere action franchise, and this episode takes aim at the lauded yet somewhat polarizing Devil May Cry 4.  Devil May Cry 4 took the series to a new generation of hardware, including Xbox for the first time. That's only one of the many firsts for this entry. Capcom moved Dante aside to place newcomer Nero in the starring role, who brought his demon arm Devil Bringer as the new centerpiece mechanic. Dante wasn't completely shunned, however; players control him during the adventure's questionably designed back half. In this episode, we'll discuss DMC 4's bizarre 2005 reveal, Capcom's reasoning behind Nero's conception, the fan reaction to the Xbox launch, and what it's really like to visit Fortuna's inspiration, Vatican City.  Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7) and the returning host of The Great Game Debate podcast Wes Bates (@GreatGameDeb8), as we unpack Nero's big debut.  If you’d like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under “Community Spaces.”

Editor’s Note: this episode was recorded before the recent Game Informer layoffs where, unfortunately, John Carson was let go from the company. This episode, along with the upcoming DmC episode, was filmed in advance and will serve as his final appearances on Video Gameography. I want to personally thank John for all of his help, and I will miss the knowledge, passion, and personality he brought to every episode. The future of Video Gameography after Season 6 is currently being determined as Game Informer reorganizes with our much-reduced staff. I will keep you updated, but please follow John on Twitter (handle posted below) to wish him well and send any job opportunities or leads his way. – Marcus Stewart Let’s rock, baby! Season 6 of Video Gameography gets stylish as we examine the Devil May Cry series! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be covering the history and lore of Capcom’s premiere action franchise. After mucking through the gunk of Devil May Cry 2, our reward comes in the form of arguably the series’ magnum opus: Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening.  After inheriting the disaster that was DMC 2, director Hideaki Itsuno implored Capcom to allow him to helm a sequel from the beginning. Combining his background in fighting games with fan feedback from the last game, Devil May Cry 3 featured a return to the mechanically technical, brutally difficult challenge gameplay that put the series on the map. The story serves as a prequel starring a younger Dante and introducing his villainous twin brother Vergil, establishing a sibling rivalry that would emerge as one of the key pillars of the franchise’s lore. DMC 3 arrived on March 1, 2005, and was critically lauded as one of the best action games ever made. How did Capcom right the ship? Tune in to find out.  Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), John Carson (@John_Carson), and host of The Great Game Debate podcast Wes Bates (@GreatGameDeb8) as we take a stab at Dante’s coming-of-age comeback.  If you’d like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under “Community Spaces.”

Let’s rock, baby! Season 6 of Video Gameography gets stylish as we examine the Devil May Cry series! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be covering the history and lore of Capcom’s premiere action franchise. This week we go all the way to hell with Dante as we unpack the mysterious low-point in the series, Devil May Cry 2. Releasing a short 15 months after the release of Devil May Cry, Dante returns with a 2-disc adventure that’s more often than not seen as the worst game in the series, and there are very good reasons as to why it turned out that way. In this episode of Video Gameography, we talk about the tumultuous development cycle that didn’t include the team behind DMC, Team Little Devils. From an unknown first director to arcade-focused developers making their first console game and a late transition of direction, Devil May Cry 2 has all of the trappings of a project that would have been canceled. That is, if not for the man who would shepherd the series for years to come.  Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), John Carson (@John_Carson), along with Game Informer Editor-In-Chief Andrew Reiner (@Andrew_Reiner)  If you’d like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under “Community Spaces.”

Let's rock, baby! Season 6 of Video Gameography gets stylish as we examine the Devil May Cry series! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be covering the history and lore of Capcom’s premiere action franchise. This week we start from the beginning as we unpack one of the most influential action games ever, Devil May Cry. Arriving stateside on October 16, 2001, the game stars Dante, a demon hunter (and half-demon himself) on a mission to stop underworld emperor Mundus from invading the human world. The game began life as Resident Evil 4, helmed by a hotshot young director named Hideki Kamiya who veered the game from survival horror to stylish action. While it proved too drastic of a departure for Resident Evil, Capcom knew they had something and reworked the project into its own franchise. Listen on to learn how Dante was conceived, our thoughts on the game’s story, and how we fared against the game’s legendarily brutal difficulty. Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), John Carson (@John_Carson), along with MinnMax contributer and former Game Informer editor Joe Juba (@Joejuba)  If you'd like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under "Community Spaces."

We've emerged from the depths of the BioShock series to begin a fresh season of Video Gameography! We're doing things differently this time as we're discussing the gameography of a developer rather than covering an individual game series. That studio is Supergiant Games, the acclaimed indie developer of Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades. This week, we conclude our season by analyzing 2020's Hades.  Unlike Supergiant Games' previous titles, Hades had two release dates. Its first release came on December 6, 2018 when it launched in early access on PC, while the full game was available to be played on September 17, 2020. Hades takes everything the studio has learned up to this point and blends them into an ambitious rogue-lite that's developed in a way the team has never experienced before: with the gaming public playing the game as it's being made. Check out this episode to learn the backstory of how Pyre's large cast of characters inspired the evolving narrative of Zagreus and his dysfunctional diety family, how the studio fared developing an early access game, and learn all about Greek mythology from our guest, the incomparable Jill Grodt. Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), John Carson (@John_Carson), along with Game Informer associate editor Jill Grodt (@Finruin) for a verbal stroll through the history and narrative of Hades! If you'd like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under "Community Spaces."

We've emerged from the depths of the BioShock series to begin a fresh season of Video Gameography! We're doing things differently this time as we're discussing the gameography of a developer rather than covering an individual game series. That studio is Supergiant Games, the acclaimed indie developer of Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades. This week, we continue our season by analyzing 2017's Pyre.  Pyre was released on June 25, 2017. After Supergiant struggled to create Transistor, the team adopted a looser "anything goes" approach for Pyre. The game blends together disparate elements reflecting the team's interests such as a high-fantasy setting, a large cast of engaging characters, a ritual in the form of a basketball/soccer-like competition, and Oregon Trail-inspired exploration. Tune in to find out how Supergiant concocted the game's centerpiece "sports" game, its approach to crafting a larger branching narrative (including an ever-changing end credit song), and which members of the Nightwings we chose to liberate and the ones we abandoned in the Downside. Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), John Carson (@John_Carson), along with video game consultant and former Game Informer editor Suriel Vazquez (@SurielVazquez) for a verbal stroll through the history and narrative of Pyre! If you'd like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under "Community Spaces."

We've emerged from the depths of the BioShock series to begin a fresh season of Video Gameography! We're doing things differently this time as we're discussing the gameography of a developer rather than covering an individual game series. That studio is Supergiant Games, acclaimed indie developer of Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades. This week, we continue our season by analyzing the second game in Supergiant's catalog, Transistor. Released for PlayStation 4 on May 18, 2014, and PC a day later, Transistor was a very different game for Supergiant to make compared to its freshman effort a few years prior. Development started just a few months following the release of Bastion, and while its first game was a success, the tight-knit studio wanted to prove what it did wasn't lightning in a bottle. In this episode, we discuss the various ways Supergiant pushed against the ever-present shadow of Bastion in the games design and the studio's production methods. We also cover the process of creating a new retro-inspired cyberpunk setting, the unique tactical action combat, and how the studio landed on a voiceless lounge singer named Red and her talking sword, the Transistor, as the main characters. Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), John Carson (@John_Carson), and Game Informer Magazine Content Director Matt Miller (@MatthewRMiller) for a verbal stroll through the history and narrative of Transistor!  If you'd like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under "Community Spaces."

We've emerged from the depths of the BioShock series to begin a fresh season of Video Gameography! We're doing things differently this time as we're discussing the gameography of a developer rather than covering an individual game series. That studio is Supergiant Games, acclaimed indie developer of Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades. We kick things off by examining their debut outing, Bastion. Bastion launched on Xbox Live Arcade on July 20, 2011, and was created by a ragtag team of seven friends that formed the core of Supergiant (all of whom remain at the studio today). Developed under two years entirely in co-founder Amir Rao's father's living room, Bastion gave the upstart team a chance to create the game of their dreams after spending years working for triple-A studios. We'll discuss Bastion's unorthodox development cycle (it had no pre-production phase), the origins of beloved elements such as its narrator and soundtrack, and how the game's success launched Supergiant into stardom.   Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), John Carson (@John_Carson), and Prima Games staff writer Jesse Vitelli (@jessevitelli) for an entertaining and informative chat about the history and narrative of Bastion! You can also decide which one of us does the best narrator impression.   If you'd like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under "Community Spaces."

Now that Season 3 of Video Gameography is complete, and the Uncharted series has been, well...charted, we're diving below the depths and soaring above the clouds to spotlight the Bioshock series in Season 4. This week we welcome our guest Bryan Vore back on the show as we take to the skies and explore the last game in this unfortunately short trilogy, Bioshock Infinite. Bioshock Infinite started pre-production around the same time as Bioshock 2, but while 2K Marin was exploring the depths of the seas once again, Ken Levine and his team at 2K Boston/Irrational Games had their heads in the clouds. Focusing on American exceptionalism, Bioshock Infinite introduces players to the floating city of Columbia, an engineering feat inspired by the World's Fair attractions of yesteryear. We discuss the troubling development that miraculously came together late in the process as well as the main characters, Booker DeWitt and Bioshock's first constant companion in Elizabeth. And listen until the end as we reveal what's in store for the next season of Video Gameography! Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), John Carson (@John_Carson), and former Game Informer Editor Bryan Vore (@Bryan_Vore) as we unpack the history and narrative of the final Bioshock released to date! If you'd like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under "Community Spaces."

Now that Season 3 of Video Gameography is complete, and the Uncharted series has been, well...charted, we're diving below the depths and soaring above the clouds to spotlight the Bioshock series in Season 4. This week we're putting on the diving suit and exploring Bioshock 2. Bioshock 2 launched in February 2010 with developer 2K Marin, led by former Irrational employees who departed the studio after Bioshock 1's release, given barely two years to follow-up one of the best games ever. Bioshock level designer Jordan Thomas sat in the creative director's chair for the sequel, a major promotion that proved challenging both artistically and mentally for the rookie leader. We discuss the original premise of the Big Sister, the game's more action-oriented approach, as well as how its acclaimed Minerva's Den expansion led to the founding of indie studio Fullbright. Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), John Carson (@John_Carson), and Game Informer Video Editor Alex Stadnik (@Studnik76) as we unpack the history and narrative of Bioshock's sophomore outing! If you'd like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under "Community Spaces."