Nikolai Bæk Kristensen is a co-founder of Cottonhammer Studios, a new indie game studio started by experienced developers after the mass layoffs of 2023-2024. We discuss their upcoming game Ringfall, how the studio is structured, and the many strategic benefits of indie vs AA/AAA. | In The Keep | Support In The Keep | Follow us on X | Join our Offi…

Diego Lezcano is the producer of Who Are You!?, an upcoming video game collaborating with real-life UFO/UAP experts & psychologists developed by Haunting Humans Studio in Argentina. Sharing his personal experiences and thoughts, we dive deep into the nature and recent research that backs up the design decisions of the game. | Wishlist Who Are You!?…

Justin Egliskis is a personal trainer, coach, and host of the podcast Energy Alignment for Entrepreneurs. We discuss identity, vulnerability, cultural communication, self-discovery, and the power of storytelling in building authentic relationships. | Book a consultation with Justin | Energy Alignment for Entrepreneurs on: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Po…

Steve Mera is a parapsychological researcher, author, media personality, CEO of Phenomena Magazine, and member of the enigmatic Project Doorway - a research effort to understand concentrated areas of 'high strangeness'. We're discussing his efforts in psi research; ties between paranormal, crypo-zoological, & UFO/UAP phenomena; the nature of recent…

Antti Laakso is a Finnish independent filmmaker and game designer known for the recent HP Lovecraft game adaptation Dreams in the Witch House. We're also joined by the MK Schmidt, designer of Cyclopean: The Great Abyss to dive deep into how Lovecraft continues to inspire games. | In The Keep | Support In The Keep | Theme Song by Jon of the Shred |…

Jake Burchyett is a personal trainer, white water rafting guide, EMT, musician, and US Air Force veteran. Here we discuss his life growing up in rural Missouri, adventures on the rivers of West Virginia, his gradual dip into a years-long struggle with alcoholism, the experience of living with it while serving in the military, embracing sobriety, an…

Barry Fitzgerald is a world renowned paranormal investigator. As a cast member on Ghost Hunters International, expert consultant on Unsolved Mysteries, author, and instructor, Barry has been a prolific voice in the study of UAP, paranormal, cryptid, and esoteric phenomena for the better part of four decades. | Barry's Website | In The Keep | Suppor…

Sam Marshall is the head of DOSMan Games, an indie publisher and studio focusing on bite-sized retro FPS games. Their titles to date include Flash of the Blade X, Reverend, Reaper, DOSMan: Space Aliens in Space, Satan, and the upcoming ancient Egypt themed Skarab. | In The Keep | Support In The Keep | Theme Song by Jon of the Shred |…

Elijah Allen is the owner of Fire Plant Games and lead programmer on Viscerafest. Here he shares insights on balancing family life and game design, his work on Viscerafest, childhood gaming influences, and the tension between artistic integrity and commercial success. | In The Keep | Support In The Keep | Theme Song by Jon of the Shred |…

Thomas Vestergaard & Oliver Cohen Chime make up Woodhound, the Danish game studio behind Desecrators - a 6 degrees-of-freedom shooter set in the distant future of 4096. Our conversation ranges through unconventional storytelling, player agency, co-op gameplay, the many games from the line of Interplay's Descent, the Danish indie game development sc…

We are joined by the great Wouter van Oortmerssen, founder of VoxRay Games, who are currently working on Voxile, an open world RPG which features survival and FPS elements along with a robust creator system. Aside from the game, we discuss Wouter's career working on games such as FarCry, Borderlands 2, SimCity; designing and programming game engine…

MK Schmidt is an indie game designer, fine artist, and father of 7 lovely children. Here we discuss his experience releasing his latest title Cyclopean: The Great Abyss coming off the the success of his previous title Islands of the Caliph. We also talk through his journey breaking into the world of fine art, learning to sell yourself, UAPs, spirit…

John Dyer is a former professional Quake and Unreal Tournament competitor. He later went on to work in PR for Microsoft where he was a key player in the unveiling of Xbox Adaptive Controller, and has more recently reinvented himself as a voice actor, landing a role in Soulslinger: Envoy of Death. We cover a lot of ground ranging from the early days…

Co-directors Jason Sikorsky and Tad Sallee discuss their five-year journey creating Going Postal: The Legacy Foretold, a documentary on the game Postal and its creators, Running With Scissors. They explore filmmaking challenges, the gaming industry's volatility, and aim to inspire future creators. The film is set for release in Spring 2025 and is a…

Steven Mummery aka ThePrinceOfMars is a video game designer known for the light gun shooter 'Pixel Crisis' and currently working on 'Quartermain and the Cult of Cthulhu', a retro first person shooter being published in March 2025. | Wishlist Quartermain and the Cult of Cthulhu | Play Pixel Crisis | In The Keep | Support In The Keep |…

Molly Heady-Carroll is a 'Creature Consultant' and co-founder of Arcane Circus, a Netherlands-based game studio. She tours the world lecturing on the art of designing creatures and consulting for a wide variety of clients including the likes of BBC, Netflix, and Universal. | Molly HC on: X | LinkedIn | Zenibeasts | In The Keep | Support ITK on Patr…

Kevin Driewer is an artist and level designer currently working on In The Keep's upcoming FPS game Stellar Valkyrie. Kevin also illustrates a series of children's books called Pitter Patter the Pirate Hamster written by his wife Nikki Olson. We're discussing the trials and advice on finding work in the games industry, living with epilepsy, game sou…

Dr. Justin Sledge is a professor of philosophy and religion focused in Western Esotericism. His popular YouTube channel Esoterica is an amazing collection of lectures exploring the origins and evolution of arcane history, religion, magic, mysticism, alchemy, and the occult. | Esoterica on YouTube | Website | Bookstore | In The Keep | Support ITK On…

Chris Guerrero is an actor, writer, the star of In The Keep's Stellar Valkyrie, and U.S. Air Force veteran. He is playing the role of Dogsborough in the upcoming production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui opening Feb 20, 2025 at the Emmett Robinson Theater for the College of Charleston. Here we discuss the trials of transitioning from military …

Robert N. Brown is a programmer and game designer. Here we catch up one year removed from the release of Kingpin: Reloaded. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertnicbrown/ | www.captaindeath.com | https://inthekeep.com/ | https://www.patreon.com/InTheKeepPodcast |By In The Keep

Kyle Misko is a musician and composer of video game soundtracks. Here we discuss his journey from a small military town in Ukraine to traveling the world to find himself. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylemisko/ | https://x.com/kylemisko | https://www.kylemisko.com/ | https://inthekeep.com/ | https://www.patreon.com/InTheKeepPodcast | Timestamps: 0…

Link is the host of The Red Tunic Podcast. His mission is "to rediscover what makes gaming fun and enjoyable by having positive conversations with those related to the industry". | https://www.theredtunicpodcast.com/ | https://x.com/RedTunicPodcast | https://inthekeep.com/ | https://www.patreon.com/InTheKeepPodcast |…

Monica “M.L” Bullock is a medium, paranormal investigator, and author known for many book series including Seven Sisters, Gulf Coast Paranormal, and Lost Camelot. Here we discuss her early experience with the paranormal, how it led her on a path of spiritual exploration and authorship, why spirits do or don’t move on, ghosts, shadow people, polterg…

In this very special Halloween episode, we've asked our listeners to write in sharing their REAL paranormal experiences. Here are four accounts including: an apparition, a shadow person, a pagan ritual, and a ghost. | https://inthekeep.com/ | https://www.patreon.com/InTheKeepPodcast |By In The Keep

Boris Brnčal is a narrative designer, game director, and producer at Incidental Minds, an upstart game studio based in Slovakia. He is also a teacher at VŠMU and Skyro, a school focusing on AI and game design in Bratislava. Here we discuss living a sober lifestyle, Incidental Minds' upcoming games, my obsession with classic Lucas Arts' Point 'n Cli…

Jean Trindade Pereira AKA Muleke_Trairao is a Brazilian video game translator who specializes in localizing from English to Brazilian Portuguese. He is the host of LocJump Podcast where he interviews other translators in gaming and other mediums. This episode is a deep dive into linguistics & subtle differences among languages, as well as a look in…

Tony Manfredonia is a singer-songwriter and the composer behind many amazing video game soundtracks, not the least of which is Call of Saregnar. His most recent album ANCHORED is a rock opera telling the story of holding onto a marriage through spiritual crisis. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-manfredonia-8273a12b4/ | https://x.com/TonyManfredon…

Käy Vriend is a Dutch texture artist, military veteran, and founder of Icebreaker Creative Mentoring, a company that helps people get the advice and guidance needed to break into the games industry. Here we discuss Käy's military career, his work with Meta, his experience and thoughts on remote viewing, and lots more. | https://www.linkedin.com/in/…

Some quick thoughts on what happened to In The Keep Podcast, Stellar Valkyrie and Call of Saregnar updates, Gamescom recap and Realms Deep 2023 outlook. // Music by Kyle Misco: https://www.kylemisko.com/ // In The Keep: https://inthekeep.com/ //By In The Keep

Ben “Bauul” Mansell is the lead designer of Elementalism, a new mapset for Doom 2 featuring a “Who’s Who” cast of level designers and independent music composers. Originally spawning the ideas that later became 2019’s Cacoward winning Eviternity, Bauul carried on for 5 years to finally release this “spiritual ancestor”. We’re gonna spend a fair amo…

This episode is dedicated to Alon Machnes. Getting some thoughts out about the passage of time, gratitude, another trip around the world and the sun, Stellar Valkyrie & Call of Saregnar updates. // In The Keep: https://inthekeep.com/ //By In The Keep

Dario Casali is a level designer known for his contributions to Final Doom’s The Plutonia Experiment, the Half-Life series, Left 4 Dead, & Portal 2, to name only a few. Here he joins Bridgeburner to shed some light on what he’s learned in 25 years of designing levels for some of the greatest game franchises of all time. // Dario: https://doomwiki.o…

Tristan Clark - The Artist Formerly Known As Eris Falling - is a professional music composer, currently working on In The Keep's Stellar Valkyrie. The recent release of Elementalism punctuates a decade of Tristan's contributions to the Doom modding community. We're discussing topics ranging from advanced bass guitar fingering techniques to a strang…

Nash Muhandes is a 20 year veteran contributor to the GZDoom team. He’s now working on Darkadia, a survival horror game inspired by Resident Evil and Disdain, a retro shooter spawned from a challenge to create a Quake clone. // Nash: https://twitter.com/NashMuhandes // Hellforge Studios: https://hellforgestudios.com/games/darkadia/ // In The Keep: …

Douwe van den Berg is a martial artist, breath & movement coach, and Wim Hof Method instructor. Ben Reichstein is not only the sound designer of Stellar Valkyrie and Call of Saregnar, but also an avid student and practitioner of Douwe’s and Wim Hof’s teachings. Only a few weeks removed from their epic journey into the mountains of Poland - armed wi…

Chris Guerrero is the voice of Falco Crimson, the main character of In The Keep’s upcoming first person shooter Stellar Valkyrie. A long time student of acting, Chris also serves as a writer and casting director. He is also the host of The Chris Guerrero Destination podcast. // Music by Tristan Clark: https://twitter.com/erisfalling // Chris Guerre…

Jared Bair is a Twitch personality, marketing consultant, collaborator at E1M1 Magazine, and an avid enthusiast for classic and retro shooters. // Music by Mothership Loudspeakerz: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkwYFBTUDQoenz3SE4u65YQ/videos // Jared: https://twitter.com/DaBesJared //By In The Keep

Aleks with a K is a seasoned musician originating from the Northeastern American hard rock scene before slowly transitioning into the world of game soundtracks through his contributions to the Quake community (Dwell, Alkaline). He now works with Michael Markie composing for 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks. // Aleks with a K: https://alekswithak.ba…

Vince Steel is a multi-media content producing mercenary presently contracted by Dread. You'll either work with him now, or wish you had. Vince was part of the editing team for Realms Deep 2020 & 2021, went to produce trailers & podcasts for Dread XP/Central, and he’s making music too! Here we discuss whether or not Immorpher is evil… And other stu…

Foamy is the man behind No Light Games, currently working on the single player arena shooter Unleash Hell. We’re chatting about progress on Unleash Hell since Realms Deep, another top secret racing game, the differences between working alone and with a studio, and - as usual - a lot about rock ‘n roll. // Music by Jon of the Shred: https://scythesa…

One of our all time favorite guests... MK Schmidt, creator of Star Explorers, Paradox Vector, & Aberration Analyst. // https://inthekeep.com/ //By In The Keep

Check out this classic episode ft. Adreas 'Andeh' Wahl of QuakeWorld's SuddendeathTV! // https://inthekeep.com/ //By In The Keep

If you haven't heard it already - or even if you have - please enjoy this replay of an epic conversation with the man behind Nightmare Reaper! // https://inthekeep.com/ //By In The Keep

Enjoy this very early episode of ITK ft. Quake legend Dennis 'LocKtar' Larrson. // https://inthekeep.com/ //By In The Keep

Tristan ‘Eris Falling’ Clark has been a mainstay in the Doom community for many years now, most notably for his contributions to an array of musical contributions to projects including Eviternity, Elementalism, & In The Keep’s Stellar Valkyrie. // Tristan Clark: https://twitter.com/erisfalling / https://www.youtube.com/c/TristanClarkMusic // Stella…

Ty & Tony sit down to discuss their mutual love of music, the thought processes behind it, coming from different backgrounds, & why breathing is important. // Call of Saregnar: https://www.callofsaregnar.com/ // Tony: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4kK5e55OrxdBASRmD7ECtP?si=v9bCqEBCRImlNuHo77KSqg // In The Keep: https://inthekeep.com/ //…

This panel is a discussion of the process and philosophy behind sound design in film, television, and - of course - video games. We’re joined by Magnus Risager & Jonas Memborg of Slipgate Ironsworks/3D Realms, as well as In The Keep’s own Ben Reichstein. If you’re curious about the amazing sounds in your favorite media, thinking of pursuing audio e…

Omar Samir is the lead developer of BUFF, a surf/skate movement-based FPS game where you can ride on rocket enemies & blow up buildings. Christian Kendall is a programmer for 3D Realms, currently working on GRAVEN, while acting as a technical consultant on BUFF in his free time. This episode is a wild ride where we discuss everything from common is…

Chris Heist is a standup comedian, philosopher, & minimalist. He’s performed across the United States, published 11 comedy albums, made appearances on Kill Tony, &been banned from a frightening amount of comedy clubs. We’re discussing the education system, the importance of free speech, sociological experiments & how they shed light on our modern m…

Ty & Ben sit down to discuss the sound design of Call of Saregnar, Stellar Valkyrie, & Skywind. // Call of Saregnar: https://www.callofsaregnar.com/ // Ben: http://www.wolfsounddesign.de/ // In The Keep: https://inthekeep.com/ //By In The Keep