Interview

It turns out dropping psilocybin while playing a kaleidoscope can be scary.

Talking Shakespeare, torn muscles, and bigger cup sizes with a voice acting star.

Game design is all about problem solving. So, why not tackle relationships?

His game, now out on PSN, is the most anticipated indie game of 2012. Here’s what he had to say about testing, writing, and bugging out.

Ivan Buchta stands accused of espionage for taking pictures in Greece. We talked to him about designing landscapes days before his arrest.

A chat with Johannes Grenzfurthner, the brainiest pervert of them all.

The co-creator of J.S. Joust and Dark Room Sex Game talks to our correspondent about game jams.

The creator of the wonderful Empty Black loves “thuggish blockbusters”. She just can’t make them yet.

Meet Anthony Burch, the twenty-something who wrote the hysterical and surreal shooter sequel.

A conversation with Enemy Unknown lead designer Jake Solomon.

A conversation with the woman who named a song after us, kind of

A conversation with Miriam Bellard, the co-creator of Seduce Me

What’s inside this box?

When does the challenge of rules guide rather than impose in games as well as music? We talk to Will Wiesenfeld, aka experimental musician Baths, about the parallels between casual immersion in music and games, the results of demanding diversity in Mass Effect, and how to not break the “ghost rules.

Why do videogames value failure more than we do? We talk to philosopher and queer theorist Jack Halberstam about financial failure, the queerness of computer-generated films, and where videogames have yet to change.

When did demons get so soft? The sound designer of Diablo III Joseph Lawrence tells us how the squishy sounds of hell came from spaghetti, gunpowder, raw meat, and more.

Fresh off the reality show Work of Art, the Sucklord continues to subvert toys and the stigmas attached to them. We caught him in his New York studio to talk about turning characters gay, echelons of play, and the importance of Star Wars.

Buddhist metal duo Yamantaka // Sonic Titan recently contributed to Klei Entertainment’s upcoming Mark of the Ninja. We talk to Ruby Attwood and Alaska B about the cosmic in Chun-Li cosplay and creating drum patterns as code.

Yager’s military shooter, Spec Ops: The Line, cites Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness as its influences. Can a videogame about shooting make its player feel not just the physical conflict of war, but the moral conflict as well? We talk to the lead designer about the setting and the role of horror

Where will games take us in an age of multi-user play, drone pilots, and constantly improved graphics? Artist Mark Tribe speaks on his exhibition Rare Earth and the intersections between videogames, art history, simulation, politics, and war.

Why do we need to make our own fun? Joel Henriques, DIY toy advocate, tells us why kids need to develop both computer and crafting skills, and why a stick can be many things to many people.

In 1983, Bill Butterworth began shooting his local arcades in the dangerous, sex-driven halls of Times Square. We talk to Hilton Ruiz about the upcoming book of Butterworth’s photography he discovered and edited, what it’s like to be a child among prostitutes and pimps, and why NBA Jam killed the ar