At Irrational, it’s likely no surprise that we play a lot of games. In this podcast, Level Designer Shawn Elliott talks to folks in the studio about which games in 2011 inspired them, gave them new professional insight, or maybe just introduced them to new ways to grief their friends. Listen as we wax philosophical about how Dead Island’s reward loop hypnotized us, how Naughty Dog inspires us with their voice over recording process, and how Modern Warfare 3’s weapon mechanics satisfied and delighted us. You’ll also hear how the complex decisions we had to make in Deus Ex fascinated us as gamers and game designers, and the lessons we learned about ourselves as people while playing Skyrim.

• Part 1: Dead Island – Shawn Robertson, Nate Wells
• Part 2: The Use of Voice Over in Games in 2011 – Jim Bonney, Jeff Seamster
• Part 3: Deus Ex – Forrest Dowling, Alexx Kay, Ken Strickland
• Part 4: Modern Warfare 3 – Ray Holbrook, Dan Scholten
• Part 5: Skyrim – Ken Levine, Sarah Rosa

Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section below!

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 10

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• Podcast produced by James Bonney and Elena Siegman.
• Editing by Ant Bear Audio.

Podcast music provided by:

• George Glass
• The Monolaters
• Taxpayer
• Elena Siegman

One of the largest facets of the video game industry lies with the various game conventions that all developers must attend in order to show off their wares. Throughout the history of Irrational, the minds behind the games would often travel to the various gaming shows throughout the year, giving them unique experiences, including past events where some team members attended as part of the press. Not only did the team get to meet some of their heroes from the industry, but they also gained invaluable lessons when examining the wins, the failures, and the gaps between making and promoting a game.

• Part 1: The First Con – Ken Levine, Nate Wells
• Part 2: The Middle Years – Ken Levine, Nate Wells, Shawn Robertson, Chris Kline
• Part 3: Showing BioShock Infinite – Ken Levine, Nate Wells, Shawn Robertson, Chris Kline
• Part 4: The Other Side – Shawn Elliott, Joe Fielder, Chris Remo
• Part 5: Press Past – Shawn Elliott, Joe Fielder, Chris Remo
• Part 6: Covering Conventions – Shawn Elliott, Joe Fielder, Chris Remo

Be sure to let us know what you think in the forums, and in the comments section below!

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 9

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• Podcast produced by James Bonney and Shawn Elliott.
• Editing by Ant Bear Audio.

Podcast music provided by:

• Signal Hill (Theme music)
• Cathode Rays (Part 1 intro)
• The Monolaters (Part 2 intro)
• The Monolaters (Part 3 intro)
• Cathode Rays (Part 4 intro)
• Justin Schwenk (Part 5 intro)
• Signal Hill (Credits music)

Does Irrational Games have a mission? Can there possibly be any methods to its well-documented madness? We’re ringing in the new year with an attempt to answer those questions, viewed through the lens of an employee who joined Irrational just four months ago. Discussions with studio members of all stripes–ranging from other relative newcomers all the way to co-founder Ken Levine–reveal that nothing is certain in the world of game development. And that’s just fine.

• Part 1: The Co-Founder – Ken Levine
• Part 2: Immigrants – Don Norbury, Jeff Seamster, Josh Davis, Murray Kraft
• Part 3: Gatekeepers – Bill Gardner, Shawn Robertson, Robert Tzong, Chris Kline
• Part 4: Natives – Alexx Kay, Nate Wells, Scott Sinclair, Shawn Robertson

Going forward, Irrational podcasts will continue to release once a month, but our plan is to alternate Irrational Behavior with Irrational Interviews. If you already subscribe to the individual podcast RSS feeds, please replace them with this new combined feed that incorporates both Behavior and Interviews.

Direct Download Episode 8

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Irrational Podcasts iTunes Page

Podcast music provided by:

• George Glass (Theme music)
• Spirit Kid (Part 1 intro)
• Permafav (Part 2 intro)
• Patrick Balthrop (Part 3 intro)
• Walking Sleep (Part 4 intro)
• The Monolators (Ending music)

In this episode of Irrational Behavior we let you look behind the scenes of the creation at the BioShock Infinite trailer.  Some of the people responsible for directing and creating the trailer discuss the constant evolution of the material as well as the hurdles that had to be overcome along the way in order to get to what you see released.

WARNING: This episode of Irrational Behavior is filled with spoilers.  Watch the trailer at http://www.BioshockInfinite.com before listening to the podcast.

• Part 1: The Creative Vita-Chamber
• Part 2: Infinite’s Horizon
• Part 3: Listen Up!
• Part 4: Days in the Dark

This completes the first season of Irrational Behavior.  The show will be going on a break but stay tuned to IrrationalGames.com for the latest news and content on BioShock Infinite as well as the return of Irrational Interviews starting September 1st.  Continue to discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior and BioShock Infinite in our forums.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 7: Part 2

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Podcast music provided by:

• Signal Hill
• Taxpayer
• Cathode Rays

What are we working on and what does it mean to us here at Irrational Games, that is what we discuss in this special episode of Irrational Behavior.  We asked you the fans to call us up and leave your best guess on what we are working on.  After sorting through hundreds of voicemails we put together some of the best.  Perhaps yours was used.  We also talked to the staff what they think of the pending announcement.  What does it mean to them professional and personally.

Stay tuned to IrrationalGames.com for more content and come back later this month for a full episode of Irrational Behavior.

Discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior over in the forum.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 7: Part 1

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Podcast music provided by:

• Justin Schwenk
• Tim Davies Big Band
• Geoff Graves

Do game makers game differently?  In this episode of Irrational Behavior we ask the team if they are able to turn off their critical filters and play the part of consumer.  From the untold developer chatter during lobby sessions in the latest multiplayer games to conquering  great single player experiences, how do we play and what do we think.  We also ask the team on games that influenced them in their roles and impacted the games they helped create.

• Part 1: Team Deathmatch
• Part 2: Appetite for Deconstruction

Stay tuned to IrrationalGames.com for more content related to this month’s podcast.

Discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior over in the forum.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 6

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Podcast music provided by:

• Signal Hill
• Patrick Balthrop
• Rich Vreeland
• Razors in the Night

Additional Production provided by:

• Tim Franklin

Sharks, spiders, the dark, and chemistry exams.  These are just a couple of the things that we are scared of.  In this episode of Irrational Behavior we look at the things we are scared of and how it affects the way we make games.  Guest Andrew Weaver of Indiana University explains why we enjoy fun and the staff shed light on the challenges of making a game scary.

• Part 1: What Are We Afraid Of
• Part 2: Why Fear is Fun
• Part 3: The Art of Fear
• Part 4: The Feel of Fear
• Part 5: The Sound of Fear

Stay tuned to IrrationalGames.com for more content related to this month’s podcast.

Discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior over in the forum.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 5

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Podcast music provided by:

• Signal Hill
• Walking Sleep
• Geoff Graves
• The Happy Hollows

What do the dorky things that we do say about ourselves? More importantly, do they give game developers an edge? This month’s episode of Irrational Behavior explores some of our secret pastimes: dollhouse construction, action figure hoarding, cosplay, and live-action role-playing included.

• Part 1: Guys and Dolls
• Part 2: Tired of Sleep
• Part 3: Off Kilter
• Part 4: Cosplay Confession
• Part 5: WE LOVE LARPING
• Part 6: Roasted

Stay tuned to IrrationalGames.com for more content related to this month’s podcast.

Discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior over in the forum.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 4

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Podcast music provided by:

• Signal Hill
• Frederik Kaupang
• Geoff Graves
• Filippo Beck Peccoz
• Rich Vreeland/DisasterPeace
• Justin Schwenk

Telemarketer Ken Levine. Playboy illustrator Scott Sinclair.  This month’s episode of Irrational Behavior explores what we did before we began developing videogames.  This months episode highlights include the commiserations of former game store clerks, an artist who accidentally concealed a Satanic message in a Christian comic for children, and a confession from the man who claims to have created the deer in Golden Tee Golf.

Stay tuned to IrrationalGames.com for more content related to this month’s podcast.

Discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior over in the forum.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 3

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Podcast music provided by:

• Signal Hill
• Josh Rathbun
• Patrick Balthrop
• Justin Schwenk
• Fillipo Beck Peccoz
• Giancarlo Feltrin

Irrational was once a tiny team that made games on miniscule budgets. Today we’re much, much bigger and the budget’s grown along with the ambition of the group’s games. This month’s episode of Irrational Behavior explores what these changes have meant for the studio’s culture and the individuals who’ve been on board as the industry itself has had to adopt the professional practices of big business. Episode highlights include an insider take on the making of Thief, designers Dorian Hart and Alexx Kay waxing nostalgic on the days when they were allowed to do voice over work for Freedom Force, as well as the story of a mysterious onanist who secretly used artist Shawn Robertson’s office for forbidden self-pleasures.

Stay tuned to IrrationalGames.com for more content related to this months podcast.

Discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior over in the forum.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 2

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Podcast music provided by:

• Josh Rathbun
• Matt Grimm
• Geoff Graves
• Rich Vreeland/DisasterPeace
• Signal Hill

In any game development studio, you’ll find a bunch of inspired and imaginative people who have a lot to get off their chests. To save on counseling fees, we decided to sublimate these repressed feelings about their gaming lives by sticking a microphone in their faces and creating a series of podcasts that offer an insight into what makes us – and our games – tick.

Each podcast will explore a particular theme in what we hope is an entertaining and insightful way, and this theme will also evolve throughout the month on the Irrational Games website itself. Visit regularly and you’ll find content on the site that helps illustrate what we’re trying to describe in the podcast, or expands and explores the theme further.

Please contribute to the discussions about the podcasts in the forums and if you have a great idea for a future theme then let us know! We might even send you something to say thanks. But don’t hold us to it.

So to kick off, we chose a brutal theme – “ideas that died”. We explore what happens when creativity runs into technical restrictions, a lack of clear consensus, and – at times – its own convolution. You’ll glimpse abandoned BioShock tidbits, as well as an as yet unrevealed game from four years ago when Irrational Games backed away from a zombie invasion. And much, much more.

Oh, and you’ll understand why ‘dog in a wheelchair’ is the answer to just about any question…

Irrational Behavior podcasts act as tables of contents for stories that appear here on IrrationalGames.com each month. January’s content continues to explore dead ideas with the following features:

Discuss this episode of Irrational Behavior over in the forum.

iTunes Link

Direct Download Episode 1

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Podcast theme song, “Luna Park”, provided by Signal Hill from the album, “More After We’re Gone”.