Our podcast is focused on preserving video game history through interviews with game developers. We will be interviewing indie developers from around the industry, big and small, to document their unique game development process and ensure that their stories, their ideas, and their motivation will be available for others to enjoy and learn from for years to come. If you are an indie developer or publisher and you would like us to interview you or your team, send us an email at hello@hitsave.org!
Keeping the Dream Alive: Twenty-Two Years of Free Online Gaming with XLink Kai
Earlier this summer we sat down with CrunchBite, the third-generation developer and current project lead behind XLink Kai (https://teamxlink.co.uk), the remarkable tunneling service that has been connecting console gamers across the internet for over two decades.
XLink Kai is what's known as a tunneling program - essentially a VPN that tricks game consoles across the globe into thinking they're on the same local network. This simple concept has enabled millions of players to experience LAN-enabled games with their online friends, from the original Xbox's Halo matches to modern Switch titles, all completely free of charge.
Our interview with CrunchBite reveals the story behind one of gaming's most enduring community-driven projects. What started as two friends in the UK wanting to play Halo before Xbox Live existed has evolved into a preservation effort supporting 15 different console generations and over 1,300 games.
28 May 2025
From PhD to Pixel Art: The Six-Year Journey Behind "So to Speak"
Erik Andersen discusses his six-year journey developing the innovative Japanese learning puzzle game "So to Speak," which transformed him from academic researcher to indie game developer in this interview.
15 Apr 2025
Keitai update Spring 2025 - Over 800 Japanese phone games preserved!
This podcast features a discussion with four experts working on preserving Japanese mobile phone games (keitai games) from the pre-smartphone era. The participants include Ellen Cooper (board member at Hit Save and founder of Keitai Wiki), Stephanie Gawroriski (creator of Squirrel JME), Max/Rockman Cosmo (game preservationist), and Yuvi (reverse engineer).
The conversation covers their collaborative efforts to preserve these historically significant games that would otherwise be lost, as many relied on networks that have since been shut down. They discuss notable preservation achievements, including over 800 preserved i-mode games such as Kingdom Hearts Coded, Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mayor, and Xenosaga: Pied Piper.
Technical challenges are explored in depth, including hardware hacking to extract data from phone chips, reverse engineering network protocols to recreate server functionality, and developing emulation software to make these games playable again. The team also discusses their work on a launcher to make these games more accessible to players interested in experiencing this unique part of gaming history.
The podcast highlights how these Japanese mobile games were technologically advanced for their time and served as important precursors to modern mobile gaming distribution and monetization models, making their preservation culturally and historically significant.
10 May 2024
Japanese Feature Phone Preservation update with RockmanCosmo, MemoryHunter, and Kraze
Japanese Feature Phone Preservation update with RockmanCosmo, MemoryHunter, and Kraze
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4 Oct 2023
From Game Jam to Galactic Quest: The Development of Goodboy Galaxy
Goodboy Galaxy (https://www.goodboygalaxy.com/) is an upcoming indie game developed for the classic Game Boy Advance by Rik Nicol (https://twitter.com/hot_pengu) and Jeremy Clarke (https://twitter.com/exelotl). It follows a space-faring dog named Maxwell as he travels to an alien galaxy seeking help for his dying planet. The game itself is best described as an exploration-focused platformer with some Metroidvania elements, where you'll explore planets and meet all kinds of obstacles, puzzles, bosses, and interesting characters.
Our interview with Rik Nicol provides an interesting look into how Goodboy Galaxy came to be. It started life as a 3 day jam game, called Goodboy Advance (https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43/goodboy-advance) for the Ludum Dare 43 (https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/43) game jam, with Rik and Jeremy experimenting to see if they could make a simple playable GBA game quickly. Buoyed by this initial success, they continued to expand the game bit by bit. The extra free time during COVID allowed them to polish a demo that helped fund the project via a successful Kickstarter campaign (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/penguinrik/goodboy-galaxy-exploration-platform-game-gba-pc-and-switch).
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28 Jul 2023
Artemio Urbina - Pioneering Tools to Keep Retro Gaming Alive
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Artemio Urbina, a software
developer and engineer based in Mexico who has created some fascinating
tools for the retro gaming community.
His most famous projects include the 240p Test Suite, MD Fourier, and
the CPS2 desuicide project.
Full blog post:
https://hitsave.org/artemio-urbina-pioneering-tools-to-keep-retro-gaming-alive
Support Artemio and follow his work through the following links:
https://www.patreon.com/aurbina
https://artemiourbina.itch.io/240p-test-suite
https://stoneagegamer.com/240p-test-suite-for-neo-geo-mvs-junkerhq.html
https://ko-fi.com/artemio
https://github.com/ArtemioUrbina/240pTestSuite/
https://twitter.com/artemio
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18 Dec 2022
Dawn of the Monsters - interview with Alex Rushdy, 13AM Games
We sat down with Alex Rushdy, CEO and Creative Director at 13AM Games, to talk about their new game Dawn of the Monsters. 13AM Games have previously made Pirate Pop Plus, Runbow, and Double Cross.
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10 Nov 2022
Feature Phone Game Preservation: Uncovering a Forgotten Era of Gaming - RockmanCosmo & NaoyaShinota
Prior to the advent of the iPhone and the rise of worldwide mobile phone gaming in the early 2010s, there was a fervent mobile gaming scene in Japan - feature phone gaming. Feature phones, also known as Japanese "dumbphones," had dedicated mobile internet services to connect users to an assortment of utilities, including storefronts from the likes of Capcom to Square Enix for purchasing and downloading video games. On top of porting existing games, they created completely original games specifically for these devices. Unfortunately, in recent years, this era of gaming history has become susceptible to becoming lost to time.
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4 Nov 2022
Super Marxist Twins - Interview with Eric Kesterson, Saun Conlin, Jim Bochanski, and Nick Zaleski
Super Marxist Twins is a fun and fast parody platformer with an old Soviet theme, where you play as the communist brothers Mikhail and Ludmil trying to take down the evil (literal capitalist pig) Tsar Boarov. We talked with developers Eric Kesterson, Saun Conlin, Jim Bochanski, and Nick Zaleski about the genesis of their idea, level design, characters and themes, and much more. More info here: https://hitsave.org/super-marxist-twins-a-roundtable-with-the-devs
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6 Oct 2022
Legends of Astravia - Interview with Jaiden Alemni, Studio Alemni
Jaiden Alemni of Studio Alemni is creating a wonderful role-playing game with an interesting story and game play mechanics.
Check it out: https://www.studioalemni.com/astravia
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1 Sept 2022
Betty & Earl - Interview with Matthew Brelsford, Giant Light Studios
Matthew has created a beautiful and creative puzzle game, where you control everything on screen at the same time.
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26 May 2022
Q-Cubed - Interview with Carolyn Lu at Cludosian Games
I had a blast playing Q-Cubed, and we're so happy to be talking to Carolyn about her game. Apologies for the somewhat crappy audio from my microphone. More information: https://hitsave.org/blog/q-cubed-with-carolyn-lu-cludosian-games/
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22 Feb 2022
GigaSword - an interview with Jack Breen
We sat down with Jack Breen, the sole developer behind the upcoming Metroidvania game GigaSword (https://hybridgamesofficial.com/). It's a game filled with charm, fun puzzles, great artwork and excellent music. The demo is available on both Itch (https://jackbreen-hg.itch.io/gigasword-kickstarter-demo) and Steam (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1885930/GigaSword/), and we highly recommend you try it out. Jack is also currently running a Kickstarter which ends on March 3, (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/726600008/gigasword-an-action-puzzle-metroidvania) so if you're interested in supporting his work on the game and get your name into the credits, head over there now :)
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2 Oct 2021
Wintermoor Tactics Club development team interview
Earlier this year we sat down with three members of the Wintermoor Tactics Club (https://www.wintermoortc.com/) development team: Ben Walker, Kyla Fury, and Ryan Anderson.
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10 Jun 2021
Interview with the developers behind Get-A-Grip Chip - Jon Lawitts and Vicky Wei of Redstart IO
We sat down with Vicky Wei and Jon Lawitts of Redstart Interactive (https://redstart.io/) just after they released their first game Get-A-Grip Chip (https://redstart.io/games/get-a-grip-chip/) on the Nintendo Switch. We cover their development progress which was very quick (less than a year!), how they met up with local play testers, and their influences for the game. We also talk about their experiences working with a translation team to get their game translated from English to Japanese, how the release process works to get a game onto the Switch, and much more.
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16 Dec 2020
Interview with Danny Silvers at Lantana Games
As part of our Indie Game Preservation efforts, we strive to preserve video game history through fun, open, and informative interviews with game developers.
Our first interview is with Danny Silvers, CEO and founder of Lantana Games, the studio behind the Mondrian game series. Danny talks about how he started Lantana Games and got into the indie game scene in Boston, gathered a team and made a name for themselves doing web games, and eventually getting the idea for Mondrian during a game jam. Danny then dives into his passion for helping and teaching others, and their student mentorships with partnered Universities.
Read our full blog post: https://hitsave.org/blog/interview-with-danny-silvers-of-lantana-games/
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Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 29 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
35
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
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