The Fourth Curtain

Our guests Paul and Katy Bettner are the Co-CEOs of Playful Games. Paul got his start making Age of Empires and Halo Wars. Together Paul and Katy made the leap into mobile founding NewToy, where Words with Friends became one of the most-played games of all time. They’re now working on Wildcard, a game aiming to fulfill the promise of web3. We talk Alec Baldwin, terrible MySpaces and feelings this week! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

Our guest Peter Moore keeps ending up on top, whether it’s Reebok, Sega, EA Sports or Liverpool FC. His remarkable journey begins with semi-pro football, veers into videogames to become a father of the Dreamcast, head of EA Sports and has come full circle as owner of Santa Barbara Sky FC. Stories of recruiter calls, a dead Seaman and the Four C’s this week! Visit Peter's new football team: https://www.santabarbaraskyfc.com/ Peter's Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/peter_moore_how_my_life_journey_led_to_becoming_ceo_of_liverpool_fc Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

You may know not the name of our guest Mitch Lasky, but you absolutely know his work. He created Activision’s third-party business and basically kicked off mobile gaming. As a VC he played a key role in the creation of Riot, Discord, Twitter and a dozen other hit businesses. Longtime partner at Benchmark Capital he’s now an owner of the LAFC soccer team. We talk the role of venture capital, marketing takeovers and more this week! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

A circus veteran who literally wrote the book on game design, Jesse Schell had a major impact on one of the biggest IPs in contemporary culture. Founder of Schell Games (member of the very exclusive “no layoffs” club) and now working on Among Us and other VR games, he has long taught entertainment technology at Carnegie Mellon. We talk Imagineering, chickens and eggs, and very specific predictions this week! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

Co-Founder of 2K Games, Susan Cummings has closed some of the biggest deals in videogames – Bioshock, Borderlands, she got XCOM for free! Now the CEO of Tiny Rebel Games she’s making a Petaverse which is cooler than the metaverse. Rockstar vibes, checkbook fun and our second brush with Patrick Stewart, this week! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

Computer graphics pioneer Lorne Lanning founded Oddworld Inhabitants and made six Oddworld games for multiple platforms including helping to launch the original Xbox. His journey has taken him from playing one of the first ColecoVisions to making animations for the DoD’s “Star Wars” program, to videogames. We talk voice acting, how to get a free Cray and the impact of AI this week! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

Filmmaker and graphic novel artist Jordan Mechner got his start with the smash hit videogames, Karateka and Prince of Persia. His technique of using rotoscoping brought unique fluidity and realism to his titles. We talk The Last Express, his graphic novel Replay and echoes of the past this week! You can visit Jordan's website at http://www.jordanmechner.com Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

Mike Wilson’s commitment to game artists getting their due is impossible to overstate. From his beginnings at DWANGO and iD, to Gathering of Developers, to Devolver, he has pursued a lifelong mission of getting #gamedevs their rightful piece of the pie. A fascinating trip through the last 30 years of game business this week on The Fourth Curtain! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

Like many of our guests, Dennis "Thresh" Fong has many “firsts” to his name. Not just first pro gamer, but first influencer, builder of many first gamer communities. Now his company Good Games Well Played is successfully combating toxicity in games. A great conversation with Fatal1ty mentor and Elon Musk competitor this week! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

With a list of awards and firsts as long as your arm, this week’s guest made the “god game” into an artform, and then went on to multiple other genres – Syndicate, Dungeon Keeper, Black and White, Fable. Hear how he works like a Victorian, can’t afford a pavement artist and avoids inspiration from other games this week! Peter's Blog: https://developmolyneux.blog/ Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

This week our guest has several high profile innovations to his name – shareware in games, bullet time before The Matrix. He helped launch id Software and then Duke Nukem, Max Payne and so much more. He's back with a new iteration of Apogee delivering pure fun in a retro aesthetic. Come hear how Scott discovered the Build engine and hired, then fired his own parents! Character names and indie risk, this week on The Fourth Curtain! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

This week we meet up with Q-Games founder, Star Fox maker and all around technical wizard Dylan Cuthbert! Dylan is one of the few game developers to have made it big on three different continents! His story of how he got his first job at 17 in the UK will blow your mind. We talk hacking, legendary Japanese devs and much more this week! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

This week our guests are lifelong gamers Slim and Trevor. Together they put Valorant on the map and have now formed a new studio, RaidBase, to build a PvP sandbox game where players can build reputations. With experience in pro gaming and the psychology of games, we talk MMOs, hierarchies of needs and complex testing techniques, this week on The Fourth Curtain! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

The massively prolific John Romero made 86 games before the hit Castle Wolfenstein and follow-ups DOOM and Quake. Now working on a new shooter in Unreal, he speaks to us about work ethics, culture shocks and starting over, this week on The Fourth Curtain! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

Alex and Aaron welcome in the new year, preview our second season, make predictions for 2024, share some insights from the 'wall of wisdom' and answer listener questions. Plus learn how to enter to win an OLED Steam Deck! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

Alex and Aaron wrap up the year highlighting the ten things they learned doing a podcast that features the most interesting minds in videogames! Plus, a bag of chips! Make that five bags of chips - which we rate along the way. Do we uncover the true meaning of 'Honey Butter'? Listen to find out - and to find out how to win a brand new OLED Steam Deck! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

Creator of Pong, Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, Nolan Bushnell has had a galactic impact on both video games and culture in general. The only person to have employed Steve Jobs, through a series of happy accidents he set the video game industry in motion. A truly unique conversation about good problems, hind brains and more this week on The Fourth Curtain. Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

Founder of the Inspiracy, Noah Falstein went from playtesting Joust, to making Sinistar, to ground-floor stints at LucasArts, 3DO, Dreamworks and finally Chief Game Designer at Google. We talk through his very interesting career, with stops at VR, AI, medicine and more! Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

Strap in for a wild ride everyone! In part two of our deep dive we talk to the Father of the Xbox Seamus Blackley, He co-founded Looking Glass and Dreamworks Interactive, before making the Xbox and funding games at CAA. Get ready to be schooled on ancient Egypt by a strong candidate for The World’s Most Interesting Man. Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505

President of Game Content and Studios for Microsoft's Xbox, Matt Booty manages many of the biggest video games in history - Minecraft, Halo, Elder Scrolls, Fallout. Starting as an audio designer at Midway he transitioned to studio management and beyond. We talk similarities with theater, tricky deadlines and the importance of communities this week. Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life! Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com Featuring the music track Liberation by 505