Since launching IrrationalGames.com we’ve been thrilled by the public’s reaction to our monthly features From the Vault and Irrational Behavior. Today we are excited to announce the pilot episode of Irrational Interviews. Irrational Interviews features Ken Levine and Shawn Elliott sitting down with members of the entertainment industry and having a frank and open discussion on a wide variety of topics.

For the pilot episode we are happy to have Todd Howard, Executive Producer and Game Director from Bethesda Softworks.  Howard has been at Bethesda since 1994, with countless classics under his belt including The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and most recently Fallout 3. Howard is well known for his sense of humor and his drive to make great games.

Head over to the forums for the usual lively discussion.

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Direct Download Episode 1

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• Produced by James Bonney, Shawn Elliott and Alan Bise
• Music Provided by The Happy Hallows

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.

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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.

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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.

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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…

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