Best Rami Ismail Podcasts (2025)

1
Who Could Want Gameplay? with Alexander Clair Tseu Martin (a.k.a. droqen)

Play Pause

5M ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 184. The one and only droqen puzzle-platforms on over to discuss his latest game The End of Gameplay, and how it responds to the stubbornly present, all-too-alive gameplay in his game Starseed Pilgrim. This requires a provisional definition of gameplay. Whether the conversation’s other tributaries are required or not is a ques…

1
Twitch (With Nathan Grayson) 1:43:33

7M ago1:43:33

1:43:33

And now for something kinda different: As those of you who follow me, Nathan, probably know – because I will not shut up about it – I wrote a book! It’s called Stream Big: The Triumphs And Turmoils Of Twitch And The Stars Behind The Screen, and by the time you read this, it will be out! Stream Big was partially born of a desire to clear up misconce…

1
The Utility of Contrarianism, with Barney Oram

8M ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 183. Barney Oram gets into different patterns of sound design, in all sorts of different roles and at all sorts of different scales—plus his love of film in general and Billy Wilder in particular, the durable ethos that “if it sounds good, it is good,” and his extensive experience recording loud sounds that go bang. You can le…

1
Pilot Leaderboard 59:38

8M ago59:38

59:38

The 3 Habibis dive into everything from flying planes and wild airport stories to movies, gaming and life lessons from aviation. It's a rollercoaster of laughs, deep thoughts, and unexpected twists.By The Habibis

1
The Solo Indie Dev (With Mike Bithell) 1:06:50

8M ago1:06:50

1:06:50

With the triple-A portion of the video game industry reeling from layoffs, a lack of funding, and a series of high-profile flops, some fans, pundits, and even developers have begun looking to indies to save the day. But we’ve also arrived at a point in time where, more so than ever, “indie” means a lot of different things to different people. As it…

1
If We Can’t Do This, Then What Are We Doing? with Rasheed Abueideh and Rami Ismail

9M ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 182. Rasheed Abueideh and Rami Ismail talk about Dreams on a Pillow. We talk about how the game combines layered, poetic audiovisuals and gameplay with history and folklore in order to create an account of the Nakba “that is so true to what happened that it is borderline-illegal to say it.” You can help crowdfund Dreams on a P…

1
The Habibis Game of the Year 2024 - Packing Up The Year 1:02:57

9M ago1:02:57

1:02:57

Fawzi, Osama, and Rami try to beat Fawzi's AirBnB checkout time as they discuss their favorite games from an incredibly tough year for the games industry. Note that there are spoilers for the original Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth between 42:23 and 45:00.By The Habibis

1
Rebirth or Remake 1:09:41

9M ago1:09:41

1:09:41

The Habibis reunite to share laughs, stories, favorite games and what’s been keeping them hooked. Stick around for an exciting surprise reveal!By The Habibis

1
Horses (With Alice Ruppert) 1:00:07

10M ago1:00:07

1:00:07

After a first episode that delved into the darkest recesses of men’s hearts, it’s time for something a little lighter: horses, aka man’s best friend if we’re not counting dogs. They’re everywhere – in society and in media. We can all at least sort of draw one. And yet, some major games still fail to stick the landing when it comes to basics like le…

1
Arabic (With Rami Ismail) 1:26:10

10M ago1:26:10

1:26:10

For You Are Error’s inaugural episode, Nathan speaks to indie developer, speaker, and consultant Rami Ismail about video games’ long history of screwing up Arabic. Why is it such a pervasive issue, and did games inherit it from Hollywood, or did they take their own, equally fraught path to this point? How are mistakes like this symptomatic of a wid…

1
018 Rami Ismail - Games are a Magic Trick 1:21:33

1y ago1:21:33

1:21:33

Our hosts Chantal and Jörg have been busy making games, but Directional is BACK with a new season and a great guest, indie giant Rami Ismail (Ridiculous Fishing, Luftrausers, Nuclear Throne)! We're talking about the state of the games and media industries, the rise of AI and where we take our magical medium next.…

1
This Nightmare Will Never End! Hell Yeag! with Lilith Walther

1+ y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 181. Lilith Walther aetherboosts her way on over to talk about Nightmare Kart, its previously life as Bloodborne KART, its demake predecessor Bloodborne PSX, and the relationship between retro aesthetics, open development practices, and a general attitude of… YOLO? Nightmare Kart will be out for free on May 31. You can see mor…

1
Dragon’s Dogma II, Chaos, and Dogs

1+ y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 180. Dragon’s Dogma II is full of inventive, quirky flourishes, meaningful frictions, and… shameless micro-transactions that capitalize on those exact quirks and frictions. We can, of course, get meaning and joy out of art that comes to us compromised. Which is good news, since most art, if not all art, comes to us compromised…

1
017 Chantal & Jörg - "Positive Disintegration" 1:10:03

1+ y ago1:10:03

1:10:03

While the podcast has gone through a period of hibernation, the game ‘industry’ has, well, shat the bed. In this first episode of a new season and format, Chantal and Jörg look past the doom and gloom and towards a more sustainable and beautiful future. The waves are crashing down - so let’s surf! Notes: C-Smash VRS on Meta Quest: https://www.meta.…

1
Helldivers II and Making Art about Fascism without Making Fascist Art

1+ y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 179. Helldivers II is a wildly popular co-op shooter. It’s also extremely funny. It’s also very much about fascism, both in the sense that its satirical lens is aimed at fascist tendencies in moribund democracies, and in the sense that its core pleasures are… sort of fascist? The music makes you feel like a hero as you do your…

1
Palworld: A Ludic Reading and a Luddite Reading

1+ y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 178. While the show was taking a break, Drew started putting together some essays on the growing list of recent recent surprise hits—games that, for whatever reason, have been doing vastly better than their developers or publishers had expected. 2024 does, so far, seem to have a sort of serial monogamy to it, with the Sauron’s…

1
One Piece of Advice 1:38:11

1+ y ago1:38:11

1:38:11

Osama and Rami celebrate Fawzi's GDC Ambassador Award, and the Habibis catch up on what they've been up to, and what they've been playing and watching.By The Habibis

1
The Habibis Game of the Year 2023 - Part 2: Inshallah 31:16

1+ y ago31:16

31:16

How many Habibis does it take to make a Top 10 games of 2023 list? Three Habibis, it turns out: one to make the spreadsheets Fawzi can copy-paste into, one to correct Fawzi's copy-pasting skills, and one Fawzi. Happy New Year, everyone <3By The Habibis

1
Some of What We Played in 2023

2y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 177. Lucio and Drew talk about some of the games they’ve enjoyed gaming at this year, from KarmaZoo, Pizza Tower, Wobbly Life, and The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, to Remnant II, Spider-Man 2, Street Fighter 6, Jedi: Survivor, Wo Long, and Tears of the Kingdom. Speaking of, spoilers for Remnant II from 40:53 to 44:21. ——— • W…

1
The Habibis Game of the Year 2023 - Part 1: Cliffhanger 1:30:03

2y ago1:30:03

1:30:03

The Habibis start on the impossible task of creating a Habibis Top 10.By The Habibis

1
016 Luc Bernard — "Finding Light in the Dark" 1:22:47

2y ago1:22:47

1:22:47

Luc Bernard has built the Holocaust Museum inside Fortnite and put his own money into an acclaimed game about one of the darkest chapters in history. We talk about campaigning for peace and staying human in a world ravaged by politics. The Altruistic Personality (mentioned by Chan) Meghna Jayanth's thread on The Golden Joystick Awards…

1
You Should Be Free, with Glen Henry and Chase Bethea

2y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 176. Glen Henry and Chase Bethea drop achor awhile and talk about Sunken Stones, why pirates mean freedom, and why the Golden Age of Piracy was a lot more Caribbean than Pirates of the Caribbean would have you believe. Also, inevitably, One Piece. You can play the Sunken Stones demo on Itch.io, and wishlist the full game on St…

1
015 Sam Barlow — "Culture of the Auteur" 1:19:30

2y ago1:19:30

1:19:30

Auteurs can be geniuses, they can be villains, they can get all the credit even on games with big teams. We sit down with Sam Barlow, creator of "Her Story" and "Immortality", to dissect these curious creatures.

1
Unsammy Valley 42:36

2y ago42:36

42:36

Fawzi, Rami, and Osama try to figure out what they would sound like as Pokémon.By The Habibis

1
Talking Smack About Egyptian Kebab / We're Reasonable People Here 1:13:03

2y ago1:13:03

1:13:03

Rami recounts the story of how Fawzi turned the entire country of Portugal against Egyptian kebab (this may be an exaggeration).By The Habibis

1
Setting the Stakes, with Ezra Szanton

2y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 175. Ezra Szanton painstakingly platforms his way over to talk about To The Flame, the first in his new studio’s forthcoming kinda-trilogy of horror games. He also talks about how to effective horror, what makes a game interesting to watch as well as play, and some of the potentially-actually-pretty-intereting applications for…

1
Devs, Uh, Find a Way, with Eric Peterson (a.k.a. Baja the Frog)

2y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 174. Eric Peterson hops on over to talk about the joys of hobbyist game development, the things that need to change in professional game development (even when compared to other parts of tech), and the cultural importance of drawing little guys. You can play JOUNCER PX (as it’s called now) on itch.io. You can find a bunch of E…

1
Reality, Augmented and Otherwise, with Ryan Canuel

2y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 173. Ryan Canuel of Petricore stops by for a mostly-not-especially-spooky conversation about augmented reality, what bootstrapping actually means, and—alright, some stuff about horror movies right at the end there. You can get the Mythic Realms demo in Quest App Lab. You can wishlist AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! Remastered and…

1
That’s the Point of the Thing, with Jerry Belich

2y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 172. Jerry Belich talks about his wild work in the Alt.ctrl milieu, his boundary-redefining escape rooms (for lack of a better term), and his digital game work, from Recommendation Dog and Reel Steal on the Playdate, to High on Life and High on Knife. High on Knife is out now on Steam, Epic, Xbox, and Playstation. You can find…

1
Time Travel Episode: devcom 34:29

2y ago34:29

34:29

Fawzi & Rami visited devcom at the end of August, and caught up with Ahmed Salama to talk about devcom, gamescom, and games industry.By The Habibis

1
Ambitions and Ascensions, with Des Gayle

2y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 171. Des Gayle ascends to the sky island of podcastery to discuss his storied career as a producer, the difficulty of enjoying art when you know how it’s made—experiencing it with kids can help—and the joys of self-contained stories in the age of the mega-franchise. You can learn more about Altered Gene and Radical Forge on th…

1
Chance, Curation, Providence, with Matthew Brelsford

2y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 170. Matt Brelsford opens his hundred eyes and talks about the “loose collective” that is Tiny Mass Games, the spiritual dimension of game development, and (of course) Ophanim. You can find Tiny Mass Games on itch.io. You can also find Betty & Earl and Retro Wing Prime on Steam. ——— • Here are our interviews with Tijmen Tio fr…

1
All The Time Today, Folks! 58:13

2y ago58:13

58:13

Rami, Osama, and Fawzi talk abo-salaam!By The Habibis

1
014 Off the Cuff — Gamescom Re-Examined (Reunion Special) 28:22

2y ago28:22

28:22

Directional was born at Gamescom 2022 - chiefly as a passionate response to gaming's biggest event. A year later, Chantal and Jörg reunite in Cologne and re-examine their relationship to the chaos. Recorded live amidst 320,000 attendees.

1
Baldur’s Gate 3, as Rolled by Two D&D Neophytes

2y ago

—

ETAO PODCAST, EPISODE 169. Drew and L talk about their time so far with Baldur’s Gate 3, which works beautifully as a sprawling computer RPG, and as a unique intersection of free play and complex game rules—but how does it work as an introduction to Larian’s RPGs? How about to Dungeons & Dragons? This ends up being a conversation about expectations…