2024-08-27
1 小时 8 分钟This episode is sponsored by Thalamus Digital, publisher of retro and indie video games such as 10 Second Ninja X, Alien Death Mob and Rainbow Laser Disco Dungeon.
To find out more, visit thalamusdigital.co.uk.
My guest today is a Canadian writer and.
Designer for video games.
At the age of 14, she obtained a copy of Game Maker software on which she learned to make some simple games.
After studying computer science at Grand Prairie Regional College in Alberta, she moved to Vancouver and there rented a house in which she and her friends began working on a multiplayer combat game featuring four archers.
Tower Fall Ascension became a huge hit and the following year my guest took part in a game jam and co created a game based on her experiences bouldering.
That experiment grew into Celeste, which cast players as Madeline, a young woman suffering from anxiety and depression who aims to climb a mountain.
En route, Madeline meets manifestations of her self doubt which try to halt her progress.
A commercial version of Celeste launched in 2018 and became a smash hit.
It won best independent game at the Game awards and in 2022 was ranked 14th in a USA Today list of the best games ever made.
Welcome Maddie Thorson.
Hi.
Thanks for having me.
It's lovely.
I'm so pleased we could make this happen, Madeline.
So, you know, Celeste clearly changed your life, not only through its commercial success, but also because it was really tied up with your own story.
You wrote a blog piece in which you wrote, celeste taught me so much about myself and will always be a part of me.
So I was wondering, you know, six years on, what, what did making the game teach you about yourself, do you think?
Oh my gosh, so many things.