Exploring The Full History Of Supergiant Games' Bastion | Video Gameography

04/23/22 • -1 min

We've emerged from the depths of the BioShock series to begin a fresh season of Video Gameography! We're doing things differently this time as we're discussing the gameography of a developer rather than covering an individual game series. That studio is Supergiant Games, acclaimed indie developer of Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades. We kick things off by examining their debut outing, Bastion.

Bastion launched on Xbox Live Arcade on July 20, 2011, and was created by a ragtag team of seven friends that formed the core of Supergiant (all of whom remain at the studio today). Developed under two years entirely in co-founder Amir Rao's father's living room, Bastion gave the upstart team a chance to create the game of their dreams after spending years working for triple-A studios. We'll discuss Bastion's unorthodox development cycle (it had no pre-production phase), the origins of beloved elements such as its narrator and soundtrack, and how the game's success launched Supergiant into stardom.

Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), John Carson (@John_Carson), and Prima Games staff writer Jesse Vitelli (@jessevitelli) for an entertaining and informative chat about the history and narrative of Bastion! You can also decide which one of us does the best narrator impression.

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Exploring The Full History Of Bioshock Infinite | Video Gameography

Now that Season 3 of Video Gameography is complete, and the Uncharted series has been, well...charted, we're diving below the depths and soaring above the clouds to spotlight the Bioshock series in Season 4. This week we welcome our guest Bryan Vore back on the show as we take to the skies and explore the last game in this unfortunately short trilogy, Bioshock Infinite.

Bioshock Infinite started pre-production around the same time as Bioshock 2, but while 2K Marin was exploring the depths of the seas once again, Ken Levine and his team at 2K Boston/Irrational Games had their heads in the clouds. Focusing on American exceptionalism, Bioshock Infinite introduces players to the floating city of Columbia, an engineering feat inspired by the World's Fair attractions of yesteryear. We discuss the troubling development that miraculously came together late in the process as well as the main characters, Booker DeWitt and Bioshock's first constant companion in Elizabeth. And listen until the end as we reveal what's in store for the next season of Video Gameography!

Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), John Carson (@John_Carson), and former Game Informer Editor Bryan Vore (@Bryan_Vore) as we unpack the history and narrative of the final Bioshock released to date!

Next Episode

Exploring The Full History Of Supergiant Games' Transistor | Video Gameography

We've emerged from the depths of the BioShock series to begin a fresh season of Video Gameography! We're doing things differently this time as we're discussing the gameography of a developer rather than covering an individual game series. That studio is Supergiant Games, acclaimed indie developer of Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades. This week, we continue our season by analyzing the second game in Supergiant's catalog, Transistor.

Released for PlayStation 4 on May 18, 2014, and PC a day later, Transistor was a very different game for Supergiant to make compared to its freshman effort a few years prior. Development started just a few months following the release of Bastion, and while its first game was a success, the tight-knit studio wanted to prove what it did wasn't lightning in a bottle. In this episode, we discuss the various ways Supergiant pushed against the ever-present shadow of Bastion in the games design and the studio's production methods. We also cover the process of creating a new retro-inspired cyberpunk setting, the unique tactical action combat, and how the studio landed on a voiceless lounge singer named Red and her talking sword, the Transistor, as the main characters.

Join hosts Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), John Carson (@John_Carson), and Game Informer Magazine Content Director Matt Miller (@MatthewRMiller) for a verbal stroll through the history and narrative of Transistor!