My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin
In My Perfect Console, Simon Parkin, award-winning author video game critic for The Observer invites well-known guests from the worlds of gaming, film and television, music, comedy and more to pick the five video games they would like to immortalise on a fictional games machine. They discuss those five games in chronological order of release, interspersed with biographical chat about the guest’s life and career –– a lens that often leads to new and unexpected insights.
"Thoroughly modern and ahead of its time...a gift." - NEW YORK'S VULTURE
"Charming, insightful." -- THE GUARDIAN
TIME OUT'S 50 Best Podcasts
VULTURE's Best Podcast of the Year
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- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 70 minutes
- Episodes
- 152
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Maddy Thorson, game-maker (Towerfall, Celeste).
My guest today is Maddy Thorson, a Canadian writer and designer for video games. At the age of 14, she obtained a copy of GameMaker, software on which she learned to make simple games. After studying…
Holly Gramazio, curator, novelist (The Husbands).
My guest today is Holly Gramazio, a writer, curator, and game designer. Born in Australia, she earned her PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Adelaide, then moved to London where she founded…
Listener Console Special #1
In this special episode, five My Perfect Console supporters share the games they would like to put on their ideal, fictional games machine, and the reasons behind their choices. If you would like to …
Luke Muscat, gamemaker (Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride).
My guest today is Luke Muscat, the Australian video game designer behind some of the best-known smart phone games yet made. After graduating from Queensland University of Technology with a degree in …
Tribute Episode: Brett Jones, artist (Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark, Guardians of the Galaxy).
A special episode to celebrate the life and work of Brett Jones, an artist and animator for video games, film and television who passed away in July. Jones worked on the seminal N64 movie tie-in game…
Steve Meretszky, author of interactive fiction (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; A Mind Forever Voyaging).
My guest today is the American video game developer Steve Meretzky. Born and raised in Yonkers, New York, he attended MIT, where he earned a degree in construction management. In 1981, after two year…
Rhianna Pratchett, writer for games (Heavenly Sword, Mirror's Edge, Tomb Raider).
My guest today is an English writer for video games, TV, film, comics, and books. Born into a literary household – her father was the celebrated fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett –– she studied journa…
Richard Sparks, librettist, writer (L.A. Opera, Not the Nine O'Clock News).
My guest today is the British scriptwriter and librettist for opera, Richard Sparks. In 1978 he wrote a sketch for Rowan Aktinson, the actor who later played Mr Bean, which Atkinson performed in the …
Kelsey Beachum, narrative designer (Outer Wilds).
My guest today is the American game writer and narrative designer Kelsey Beachum. After graduating from Michigan State University, she worked in publishing, first as editor of the Cryogenic Society o…
Mike Drucker, comedy writer, the Tonight Show.
My guest today is Mike Drucker, an American comedy writer and producer. After graduating with a master’s degree in literature from New York University, he worked as a localisation editor for Nintendo…
Michael Sherman, director of e-sports, Riot Games.
My guest today is Michael Sherman, director of esports for Riot Games. While attending the University of Texas at Dallas for Computer Science, he worked as an Automotive Safety Software Engineer for …
Correspondence Special #3: What was the best year for video games?
In this special correspondence edition, host Simon Parkin reads out listeners' correspondence, answers questions, and offers at least one clue about a forthcoming special guest.
Hear Simon discuss whi…
Eric Barone, creator of Stardew Valley.
My guest today is the American game designer and musician Eric Barone. Born in Los Angeles, he spent his childhood in the suburbs of Seattle. In 2011 he graduated from the University of Washington Ta…
Nina Freeman, gamemaker (Cibele, Tacoma, Last Call).
Nina Freeman is an American independent video game writer and designer. While a student at Pace University in New York, she was drawn to the work of Frank O’Hara and other poets of the New York Schoo…
Abubakar Salim, actor (Napoleon, House of the Dragon).
My guest today is the British actor Abubakar Salim. Born in Hertfordshire to a family of first-generation Kenyan immigrants, he joined the National Youth Theatre at the age of sixteen, then won a sch…
Chet Faliszek, gamemaker (Half-Life 2 series, Left 4 Dead series, The Anacrusis).
My guest today is the American writer and game designer Chet Faliszek. In the nineties he and his friend Erik Wolpaw founded the website Old Man Murray. The satirical online publication poked fun at …
MPC Game Club: Stephen's Sausage Roll (feat. Glenn Moore).
Friend of the podcast Glenn Moore joins Simon for a special bonus episode to discuss April's book-club-game, Stephen's Sausage Roll edition.
This previously supporter-only episode gives a taste of the…
Veronica Roth, novelist (The Divergent Trilogy, When Among Crows).
My guest today is the American novelist and short story writer, Veronica Roth. Born in New York and raised in Illinois, she studied creative writing at Northwestern University. While a student, she w…
Correspondence Special #2: The best game Keita Takahashi never made.
In this special correspondence edition, host Simon Parkin reads out listeners' correspondence, answers questions, and offers at least one clue about a forthcoming special guest.
Hear about the genius…
Teddy Dief, gamemaker (Hyper Light Drifter, We are OFK).
My guest today is the American videogame designer and writer, Teddy Dief. Born in Illinois, they graduated from Columbia University with a degree in music, computer science, and Japanese. Then while …