One Cool Thing

On this episode, we meet Jill Murray who chats to Hannah Nicklin about skating. Jill Murray is a Canadian creative director, coming fresh from the launch of Invincible Presents: Atom Eve. She is a writer for indie and AAA games, best known for her work as Lead Writer on Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and a bunch of the Assassin's Creed games but other highlights of her credits include Moon Hunters, été, and Subnautica: Below Zero. After starting out by studying theatre, she’s also worked in web development and published two YA novels. She’s been working in games for an impressive amount of time, with credits going back to 2012, and has among her many awards the Writers Guild of America award for Excellence in Videogame Writing stands out as a particular highlight. Liner Notes elladjbaldeInvincible Presents: Atom Evehttp://discoglo.be/ One Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

On this episode we meet Wren Brier who chats to Hannah Nicklin about Eki Stamps & Goshuin. Wren is a Brisbane-based game artist and creative director with a particular talent for and interest in pixel art. She’s curated a whole pixel art exhibit with the Brisbane Powerhouse as well as running workshops alongside other outreach work with Women in Games Brisbane. Wren has been working in games for about a decade as a freelance and in-house artist before most recently undertaking a major collaboration with Witch Beam Games as the creative director on the hit indie game UNPACKING. Liner Notes unpackinggame.comExample of Eki StampsExample of Go-shuinWren on TwitterWren on BlueskyOne Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

On episode 20 we meet Char Putney who chats to Hannah Nicklin about "Negative Space" by BR Yeager. Char Putney is a multiple award-winning Irish writer from Dublin who currently lives in Copenhagen. She’s been a lot of things in her rich and varied life so far, from a yoga teacher to working production and management positions at Google and Facebook, writing for games such as Divinity Original Sin, Baldur’s Gate, NUTS and Char was also the story lead on our recently announced brand new story-driven adventure game SALTSEA CHRONICLES. Liner Notes unrelatableTeatro GrottescoExperimental FilmThe Visible FilthThings We Lost In The FireHouse of LeavesThe Ministry for the FutureChar’s websiteWrite with LaikaNegative Space by B. R. YeagerSaltsea ChroniclesOne Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

On this episode, we meet Goldie Bartlett who chats to Hannah Nicklin about wimmelbilder. Goldie Bartlett is an illustrator and artist based out of Melbourne Australia. She works in paint, pencil, digital media and videogames. Recent games which feature her work include Florence and Movement Study 1, and most recently launched Wayward Strand as part of the core team of Ghost Pattern Games. Wayward Strand is described on their website as a heartfelt interactive story, told in a curious way. She’s also in the art and digital art field, contributing to graphic novels, and the internationally exhibited Now Play This commission THE GRANNIES which is a documentary short film about Goldie and their pals The Grannies, pushing the boundaries of Red Dead Online. She also produced a beautiful hand drawn map for the merch for Untitled Goose Game. Liner Notes twitter threadThe Melbourne MapBoschBot - by The White PubeThe Garden of Earthly DelightsHidden FolksI commissioned some beesFlowWayward StrandA Puzzling Day at Castle MacPelicanWimmelbilder SubredditLynda Barry - What it IsOne Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

On this episode, we meet Terry Burdack who chats to Hannah Nicklin about natural philosophy. Terry Burdak is a game developer based out of Melbourne Australia. The company he co-runs is called Paper House, and they make games and other creative things inspired by the world around them - that’s everything from a wonderful short story game where you play as a wombat in the heat of an Australian Summer available, to their upcoming single-player god game set in a tiny wooden toy version of Melbourne. As well as a strong sense of Aussie, and Melburnian identity Wood & Weather also has a sense of physical comedy and humour which really brings the game to life. Liner Notes A Short History of Nearly EverythingPlus Paper House GamesWood & Weather on SteamPaperbarkFor context on the land on which and about which Paperhouse makes games: This map gives a rough outline of VictoriaThis map shows language groupshereOne Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

On this episode, we meet Sharna Jackson who chats to Hannah Nicklin about barges. Sharna Jackson is a British game writer, artistic director and author. Before writing full time she was artistic director at Site Gallery in Sheffield, on the board of Sheffield Doc/Fest - a film festival that focuses on documentaries - and an advisor on several projects centering on children. Her award-winning books for children - around tween age, 10+ - as well as being great fun, are also interested in lifting up voices lesser heard in fiction. She is also the curator of ENSEMBLE - a UK based exhibition which celebrates UK games talent from Black, Asian and underrepresented ethnicities. Liner Notes The Anna MariahomepageTwitterThe Good TurnHigh Rise MysteryBlack Artists Shaping the WorldSaltsea Chronicles on SteamThe log of Rek and Devine (100 Rabbits) of their 51 day passage from Japan to CanadaSaltOne Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

On episode 16 we meet Des Gayle who chats to Hannah Nicklin about The Matrix. Des Gayle is a prolific British producer who has over 20 years of experience in the field of games. From working on the launch of the original Xbox at Microsoft, to being the original producer for the Square Enix Collective, and work on the first Life is Strange series. As well as being on BAFTA-winning teams, Des is a deputy chair for the BAFTA games committee, a key member of the POC in Play team, and currently divides his time between being an Exec Producer at Radical Forge, and his indie outfit Altered Gene, as well as living in Thurigen in Germany with his family. Liner Notes The Hellbrand on SteamDes' TwitterLife is StrangeFlashpointThe Analyst: RedactedOne Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

In this episode, we meet Lisy Kane who chats to Hannah about being in a band. Lisy Kane is a Melbourne-based videogame producer and co-founder of Girl Geek Academy, a social enterprise set up to achieve (trans and nb inclusive) gender equality in the tech industry. As a producer, Lisy made a huge impact as a Production Director at League of Geeks (who mostly recently released Armello in 2019, and recently announced Jumplight Odyssey). She has since moved to running production initiatives for Kelper Interactive, which is the new publishing arm of Kowloon Nights. Liner Notes: The Videogame Industry Does Not ExistDIY, and DIY Too Girl Geek AcademyENOUGH TALK epithets.bandcamp.comKelper InteractiveLeague of GeeksThe Tyranny of MeritLisy's website One Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

On this episode we meet Matthew Seiji Burns who chats to Hannah Nicklin about Two Visions of Zen. Matthew Seiji Burns is a writer, director, composer and game designer based in Seattle on the West Coast of the USA. All in all Matthew has worked on games as varied as AAA games like Halo 3, to high-concept Indies like Eliza as part of his long standing collaboration with Zachtronics, and on high impact yet tiny works of Interactive Fiction like The Writer Will Do Something or The Arboretum. He has a 6 record back catalogue on bandcamp with Zachtronics. Liner Notes Matthew’s work: Personal websiteSteam eShopusic for Zachtronics gamesBooks and other references on the show: How the Swans Came to the LakeWikipediaZen Mind, Beginner's MindZen Is Right HereWikipediaTouching GroundThree Steps, One BowOne Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

On episode 13 we meet Claudia Molinari who chats with Hannah Nicklin about dreaming. Claudia is a graphic designer, illustrator and art director originally from Italy but who also lived in the UK for a while. After working as a graphic designer for a number of years she co-founded We Are Müesli with Matteo Pozzi, who are an indie game studio who focus on story-driven games such as Venti Mesi a game about italian anti-fascism and they also work on non-digital games too, for example Colp di Stato a card-based game that sees you explore the 1972 attempted coup by Junio ​​Valerio Borghese in Rome where the far-right tried to seize power in the country. Liner Notes: studio's websiteLinkedInInstagramTwitterFacebookTikTokTumblrOne Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

About This Episode On episode 12 we meet Cara Ellison who chats to Hannah Nicklin about A Dictionary of Angels. Cara Ellison is a Scottish designer and writer for videogames, who also writes for TV and comics. Before working in game dev, Cara was a journalist and worked in books, comics and radio. Her website explains that most of all she’s interested in expanding “ideas of what interactive entertainment can do, and who it is for.” Liner Notes LinktreeA Dictionary of AngelsThe Final GirlsCara’s website One Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

Liner Notes Nan Shepherd’s The Living MountainEleanor Davis’ You & a Bike & a RoadHannah’s essay on Zwift under lockdown for New Rules Mountain High: Europe’s 50 Greatest Cycle Climbs - Daniel Friebe & Pete GoldingZwiftA Short HikeStacklandsAran's Bike TripSokpopSkidlands One Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

About This Episode In episode 10 we meet Josie Giles who chats with Hannah Nicklin about the late Rachel Pollack's Unquenchable Fire. Josie is a writer and performer from Orkney, who now lives in Leith, Edinburgh. You might have heard of her recently because her super cool verse novel Deep Wheel Orcadia won the 2022 Arthur C. Clarke Award for science fiction book of the year. Liner Notes “How to Look at Art” by Lynda Barry Making Comics by Lynda Barry Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time Rachel Pollack’s site:The Beatrix GatesJessica Amanda Salmonson Josie’s WebsiteOne Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

About This Episode In episode 9 we meet Moo Yu who chats with Hannah Nicklin about Legally Blonde. Moo is a gameplay programmer with an extremely distinguished two decade long career. He’s worked on larger-scale games like LittleBigPlanet, Ratchet and Clank before moving on to smaller-scale indie games. Moo was the lead, and indeed only programmer on the super cool Knights and Bikes. His current game is being made under the name of Team Artichoke which hints at his motto ‘games with a little heart’. Liner Notes Legally BlondeThe Real Reason Fans Hate the Last Season of Game of ThronesBlake Snyder’s Save the CatMoo’s TwitterMoo’s TikTok One Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

About This Episode In episode 8 we meet Kate Dollarhyde who chats with Hannah Nicklin about gardening. Kate is a Nebula and GLAAD Media Award-winning game designer and writer of speculative fiction. She’s had short stories published in Fireside Fiction, Lackington’s, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, among other magazines and has also been the co-editor-in-chief of the speculative fiction magazine Strange Horizons. Liner Notes World War Z (book)Burnout (Nagowski sisters)Arcadia by Tom StoppardThe Dawn of Everything (Graeber and Wengrow) PentimentMutazioneTwitterInstagram“The Three Sisters of Indigenous American Agriculture”Planet B podcast One Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

About This Episode On episode 7 we meet Kaitlin Tremblay who chats to Hannah Nicklin about found footage horror movies. Kaitlin is a Toronto-based narrative designer and writer working all across the scale of games from writing on indie works like A Mortician’s Tale to working as a team lead narrative designer on Watchdogs Legion. They were also recently released an excellent looking book Collaborative Worldbuilding for Games. Liner Notes Kitty HorrorshowVera Drake (dir: Mike Leigh)Collaborative Worldbuilding for Video GamesTwitterInstagramGeneral websiteHost (Rob Savage, 2020)The Blair Witch Project (1999, Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick)Cannibal Holocaust (1980, Ruggero Deodato)Inside (Playdead)Knock-Knock (Ice-Pick Lodge)The Medium (Bloober Team) Stilstand One Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

About This Episode In episode 6 we meet Nicole He who chats with Hannah Nicklin about Dipthyque’s L’ombre Dans l’Eau. Nicole He is and independent game developer and creative technologist based in New York. As well as directing two whole unannounced video games right now, Nicole’s work as a creative technologist uses digital tech to explore questions of modern living through and with that tech. Liner Notes Patrick Süskind’s Perfume: A Story of a MurdererDiptique’s L’Ombre dans l’EauJORVIK Viking Centre viking scentsNicole’s website One Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

About This Episode In episode 5 of One Cool Thing we meet V Buckenham who chats to Hannah Nicklin about pottery. V is an artist, curator, game designer and that space between games and tech and art which is sometimes called ‘creative technologist’. Liner Notes Tom Armitage Technology as a MaterialEpicyclesSokpop’s sok-editBenjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical ReproductionDownpourWebsiteV’s socials: InstagramMastodonCohostTwitterOne Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

About This Episode In episode 4 we meet Jake Elliott of Cardboard Computer who chats to Hannah Nicklin about Christopher Strachey's "Love Letter Generator". Jake is probably most well-known for being one-third of Cardboard Computer, who made the era-defining and extraordinarily ambitious Kentucky Route Zero series. But he’s also a musician, runs an excellent Patreon where he teaches and shares his practice as a writer-programmer, and he makes ‘artware’ - art made with and about software. Liner Notes Bletchley Park’s museum websiteAn article Christopher Strachey wrote in 1954, in which he discusses the Love-letters program, for the magazine "Encounter": The Strachey article in Jacob Gaboury's "Queer History of Computing" seriesJake stumbled through a quote from this essay also by Gaboury, from 2022: "the lack implicit in the future-oriented teleology of computation need never be repaired if we learn to love the lack, inhabiting that space in a way that does not feel shattering, dwelling in the gap between love and the letter."David Link is an artist & researcher who has explored Strachey's work in great detail in writing and in some incredible installation art.David Link's essay on "Love-letters"David Link on Strachey's "Draughts" programAdvX 2018 - Jon Ingold - Sparkling Dialogue: A MasterclassJake’s Patreon One Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.

About This Episode On episode 3 of One Cool Thing, we meet Halima Hassan one of our Die Gute Collaborators who chats with Hannah Nicklin about the importance of communities. Halima was one of our game writing interns in 2022 and has since moved on from us to work with the game design collective ghosts as a lead writer, and in her newly minted game writing portfolio describes herself as being interested in telling stories that surprise, challenge, and deal in radical comfort. Liner Notes The White PubeThe GranniesJosie GilesBurnout -Halima’sLinktree social account/personOne Cool Thing Production Credits One Cool Thing is hosted by Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin and is produced, edited and sound designed by Tom Whalley. Additional production and research by Úna-Minh Kavanagh and our theme music by Nick Ellis who can be found on Bandcamp as tenby.