Lauren Mee's guest appearances

Lauren Mee

Script Lock

Everybody's Talking At Once

EA Talks

Laura Michet

Brendon Chung

Greg Kasavin

Paula Rogers

Matthew Burns

Anna Kipnis

Tim Schafer

Chris King

Jill Murray

Chandana Ekanayake

Garry Schyman

Sean Vanaman

Robin Hunicke

Walt Williams

Marc Laidlaw

OwlTail

Alyssa Wong

We’re BACK! AGAIN! And we swear we’re gonna post more episodes this year than we did last year! Alyssa (writer of fiction, comics, and games. Winner of the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the Locus Award, finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and her fiction has been shortlisted for the Hugo, Bram Stoker, and Shirley Jackson Awards. Comics credits include Marvel, DC, Star Wars, and Adventure Time, and she’s also written for Overwatch, and Story and Franchise Development at Blizzard Entertainment) and Lauren (Senior Writer at Insomniac Games where she is currently working on Spider-Man 2, and was previously Lead Writer on Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Before Insomniac she was a writer at Telltale Game where she worked on The Walking Dead: The Final Season and Batman The Enemy Within) joined us to talk about how a theater studies degree is useful in games, shipping characters, writing hours, how hot Emperor Nefarious is, interacting with actors, writing characters and situations you hate, what draws them to horror storytelling, sexy monsters, what they need to nail down first in a story, what makes a good villain, worldbuilding, types of stories they don’t often see in games that they’d love to write, and a whole lot more!Our Guests on the InternetAlyssa's Twitter, and you should check out Doctor Aphra and Iron Fist!Lauren's Twitter, and you should check out Spider-Man 2 when it comes out!Stuff We Talked AboutJohn Carpenter liked Ratchet &amp; Clank: Rift ApartParagonAlyssa’s first tweet about Emperor NefariousUnpackingFears to FathomDevotionThe Walking Dead: The Final SeasonThe BoysStarboundDishonored: Death of the OutsiderDisco ElysiumDragon Age: InquisitionWhat You Left Behind by Alyssa Wong (the Overwatch short story about Baptiste) Our theme music was done by Isabella Ness, and our logo was created by Lily Nishita.

We’re BACK! AGAIN! And we swear we’re gonna post more episodes this year than we did last year! Alyssa (writer of fiction, comics, and games. Winner of the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the Locus Award, finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and her fiction has been shortlisted for the Hugo, Bram Stoker, and Shirley Jackson Awards. Comics credits include Marvel, DC, Star Wars, and Adventure Time, and she’s also written for Overwatch, and Story and Franchise Development at Blizzard Entertainment) and Lauren (Senior Writer at Insomniac Games where she is currently working on Spider-Man 2, and was previously Lead Writer on Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Before Insomniac she was a writer at Telltale Game where she worked on The Walking Dead: The Final Season and Batman The Enemy Within) joined us to talk about how a theater studies degree is useful in games, shipping characters, writing hours, how hot Emperor Nefarious is, interacting with actors, writing characters and situations you hate, what draws them to horror storytelling, sexy monsters, what they need to nail down first in a story, what makes a good villain, worldbuilding, types of stories they don’t often see in games that they’d love to write, and a whole lot more!Our Guests on the InternetAlyssa's <a href="https://twitter.com/crashwong" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and you should check out <a href="https://www.marvel.com/comics/series/29161/star_wars_doctor_aphra_2020_-_present" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Doctor Aphra</a> and <a href="https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/alyssa-wong-michael-yg-all-new-iron-fist-series-announcement" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Iron Fist</a>!Lauren's <a href="https://twitter.com/itsgunnabemee" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and you should check out <a href="https://youtu.be/qIQ3xNqkVC4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spider-Man 2</a> when it comes out!Stuff We Talked About<a href="https://thefilmstage.com/john-carpenter-on-scoring-halloween-kills-videogames-and-basketball/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John Carpenter liked Ratchet &amp; Clank: Rift Apart</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragon_(video_game)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Paragon</a><a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/crashwong/status/1404186416431697921" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alyssa’s first tweet about Emperor Nefarious</a><a href="https://www.unpackinggame.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Unpacking</a><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1671340/Fears_to_Fathom__Home_Alone/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fears to Fathom</a><a href="https://shop.redcandlegames.com/games/devotion" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Devotion</a><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/866800/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Walking Dead: The Final Season</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boys_(TV_series)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Boys</a><a href="https://playstarbound.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starbound</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dishonored:_Death_of_the_Outsider" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dishonored: Death of the Outsider</a><a href="https://discoelysium.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Disco Elysium</a><a href="https://www.ea.com/games/dragon-age/dragon-age-inquisition" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dragon Age: Inquisition</a><a href="https://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/gallery/MH2T6XNHIXXZ1560535557651.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">What You Left Behind</a> by Alyssa Wong (the Overwatch short story about Baptiste) Our theme music was done by <a href="https://www.isabellaness.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Isabella Ness</a>, and our logo was created by <a href="https://www.lilynishita.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lily Nishita</a>.

Alyssa Wong & Lauren Mee

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 113. Ratchet &amp; Clank: Rift Apart is a big heartfelt spectacle of a game—you’ve likely seen some of its dream-vibrant, mirror-polished visuals, and a bit of its cartoony gunplay—and as the game’s Lead Writer, Lauren Mee had a huge amount to do with the heartfelt part of that equation. Rift Apart is a game about blowing stuff up and about difficult friendships. It’s wacky and warm, at once a relentless sugar rush and a contemplation on who else we could have been, and who we might yet be. That’s quite a balance to strike, and in this conversation, Lauren talks us through the process of striking it. You can play Ratchet &amp; Clank: Rift Apart on PS5.You can hear the soundtrack on Apple, Amazon, and Spotify.You can also follow Lauren (and Insomniac Games) on Twitter. ——— • It was Keza MacDonald in The Guardian who said that Rift Apart is “the video game equivalent of eating an entire packet of Haribo at once, or reading a book written entirely in all-caps.” • For more on latter-day Telltale, do check out our conversation with Juan Vaca. • Here’s where Dia Lacina said that “this is a game about friendship and games about friendship fucking rule. Rift Apart is better than action figures.” ———“All The People Say (Season 4)” by Drew Messinger-Michaels.“Ode to Nefarious” and “Sweet Home Sargasso” from the Ratchet &amp; Clank: Rift Apart OST by Mark Mothersbaugh and Wataru Hokoyama. We’re on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Spotify, PocketCasts, Overcast, Podyssey, and RadioPublic. You can also subscribe using good old-fashioned RSS. Logo by Aaron Perry-Zucker, using Icons by by Llisole, Dávid Gladiš, Atif Arshad, Daniel Nochta, Mike Rowe, Jakub Čaja, Raji Purcell and IconsGhost from the Noun Project. Left-click to play. Right-click to download.

<h3>ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 113.</h3> Ratchet &amp; Clank: Rift Apart is a big heartfelt spectacle of a game—you’ve likely seen some of its dream-vibrant, mirror-polished visuals, and a bit of its cartoony gunplay—and as the game’s Lead Writer, Lauren Mee had a huge amount to do with the heartfelt part of that equation. Rift Apart is a game about blowing stuff up and about difficult friendships. It’s wacky and warm, at once a relentless sugar rush and a contemplation on who else we could have been, and who we might yet be. That’s quite a balance to strike, and in this conversation, Lauren talks us through the process of striking it. You can play Ratchet &amp; Clank: Rift Apart on <a href="https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP9000-PPSA01473_00-RATCHETCLANKRIFT" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PS5</a>. You can hear the soundtrack on <a href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/ratchet-clank-rift-apart-original-soundtrack/1569269951" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ratchet-Clank-Apart-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B095VLLJX9" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3lnaZvEbWBN61nTXpTD7sN" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>. You can also follow <a href="https://twitter.com/itsgunnabemee" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lauren</a> (and <a href="https://twitter.com/insomniacgames" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Insomniac Games</a>) on Twitter. ——— • It was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/games/2021/jun/08/ratchet-and-clank-rift-apart-review-playstation-5-insomniac-games-sony" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Keza MacDonald in The Guardian</a> who said that Rift Apart is “the video game equivalent of eating an entire packet of Haribo at once, or reading a book written entirely in all-caps.” • For more on latter-day Telltale, do check out <a href="https://etao.blog/2019/07/09/podcast-60/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">our conversation with Juan Vaca</a>. • Here’s where <a href="https://www.pastemagazine.com/games/ratchet-clank/ratchet-clank-rift-apart-review/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dia Lacina said</a> that “this is a game about friendship and games about friendship fucking rule. Rift Apart is better than action figures.” ——— <a href="https://soundcloud.com/carpe-demon/all-the-people-say-season-4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">“All The People Say (Season 4)”</a> by Drew Messinger-Michaels. “Ode to Nefarious” and “Sweet Home Sargasso” from the Ratchet &amp; Clank: Rift Apart OST by Mark Mothersbaugh and Wataru Hokoyama. We’re on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/everybodys-talking-at-once/id699052673" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ldGFvLmJsb2cvY2F0ZWdvcnkvcG9kY2FzdC9mZWVkLw==" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/everybodys-talking-at-once-podcast/everybodys-talking-at-once" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dd4c3d64-55d2-429c-b40c-5a050c1d1c6b/Everybodys-Talking-At-Once" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7G6zxPV0fh2ukmAJ3AnzNK" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://play.pocketcasts.com/web/podcasts/index#/podcasts/show/b6bba420-5bc0-0132-d57c-5f4c86fd3263" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PocketCasts</a>, <a href="https://overcast.fm/itunes699052673/everybodys-talking-at-once" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Overcast</a>, <a href="https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes699052673-Everybodys-Talking-At-Once" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Podyssey</a>, and <a href="https://play.radiopublic.com/everybodys-talking-at-once-GZLrv6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RadioPublic</a>. You can also subscribe using <a href="https://etao.blog/category/podcast/feed/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">good old-fashioned RSS</a>. Logo by Aaron Perry-Zucker, using Icons by by Llisole, Dávid Gladiš, Atif Arshad, Daniel Nochta, Mike Rowe, Jakub Čaja, Raji Purcell and IconsGhost from <a href="https://thenounproject.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the Noun Project</a>. <a href="http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/etao.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/etao-podcast-113-lauren-mee-1.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Left-click to play. Right-click to download</a>.

Hope Too Is Rad, with Lauren Mee