👉Retro Handhelds Podcast S5 E17: Chris Cross shares fascinating developer stories and secrets from his time working at Dreamworks, EA, Blizzard and more. The main series he has created and directed over his 30 years in the gaming industry is the revered Medal of Honor franchise, from the PS1 original through Frontline, Rising Sun, and more! Chris shares behind the scenes and never-before-told secrets from his time in the trenches, working on games like Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, Metro: Last Light, Warcraft II, Diablo, Homefront, as well as what he's up to now, hosting the Brain Arcade podcast. Lastly, Chris teaches Stubbs and Rob how to be fit and healthy after 40, sharing quick and easy ways to exercise while having a busy lifestyle behind a desk. Don't forget when playing Chris's games, there's ALWAYS a peeing guy!
You can find Part 1 here: https://youtube.com/live/9fJkcUsZWQc
That episode was part of our live show, so use timestamps, but it has some excellent tidbits sprinkled throughout, including work on his games Jurassic Park game Trespasser, Darksiders, and more on MOH 1.
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Chris's website: https://coffeewithcross.com/
Chris's Brain Arcade podcast (available on all platforms):
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0wwuBojbr2lsvwdavg
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-arcade/id1805214243
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Brain-Arcade
Eltectracast: https://electracast.com/podcast/brain-arcade/
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Chris is also featured on the documentary series "Game Changers", which is available on HBO Max & Discovery:
https://press.wbd.com/na/media-release/discovery-channel/limited-series-game-changers-exploring-rich-history-nostalgic-gaming-premieres
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Chris's game dev credits: https://www.mobygames.com/person/11691/christopher-cross/credits/
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Panel:  @CoffeewithCross  @retrotechdad  @StubbsStuff Â
Timestamps:
[00:00] Intro: Welcome Chris Cross
[02:12] Brain Arcade: Focuses on the psychology of game design
[08:43] Chris's Early Career: QA tester at Blizzard (Warcraft, Diablo)
[09:53] Fighting Champ: A story about his Street Fighter 2 days
[14:33] Staying Fit: Advice for staying in shape after 40
[26:11] Transition to Game Design: Moving to Activision and then DreamWorks Interactive
[27:57] Becoming Lead Designer: How he landed the lead designer role for Medal of Honor
[31:59] Medal of Honor Concept: The initial idea was "GoldenEye in World War II"
[32:17] Technical Challenges: Creating a first-person shooter on the original PlayStation
[37:35] Medal of Honor Frontline: The Game He Wanted from the Start
[38:59] Game Weapons: Details about the M1 Garand and other weapons
[43:33] Realism vs. Realistic: Explaining this concept in game design
[45:45] Character Design: Behind-the-scenes details on character design and animation
[57:47] Music and Rhythm: The use of music and rhythm in Medal of Honor Frontline
[01:04:16] "Rule of Sevens": Applying this concept to game design
[01:06:19] Recalls Stephen Spielberg's reaction to the first Medal of Honor game
[01:11:35] His desire to work on different game genres besides FPS
[01:22:09] A story about a missing comma breaking a game build
[01:30:09] Space Marine: Discusses working on this classic WH40K title
[01:33:52] Working on Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse
[01:37:17] Working on Metro: Last Light
[01:38:50] Chris reveals a Frontline glitch where looking down stops enemy animations
[01:47:01] Discusses using AI as a tool in his current work
[01:47:52] Reiterates the goal of the Brain Arcade podcast
[01:49:32] The Importance of understanding the player's perspective
[01:53:34] Anecdotes and funny concepts for games
[01:55:04] There are no N words in the Medal of Honor games
[01:57:02] Thank you Chris , check out his podcast!
[01:52:32] Discussion on potential titles for this episode
[01:57:37] Thanks for watching!