Games of Note: #5 - X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994)

Surprise! we're not dead (yet)!

In this episode we discuss X‑Men: Children of the Atom, Capcom 1v1 fighter, driven largely by artist Katsuya Akitomo, and Marvel’s desire to expand its footprint in the early ’90s. Developed by key members of the Street Fighter II team on the CPS‑2 arcade board, the game embraced mutant abilities with super jumps, air combos, multi‑tiered stages, and a more explosive style than Capcom’s previous fighters, all under close visual supervision from Marvel.

Released in arcades between 1994 and 1995, it received mixed results in Japan but strong enthusiasm from Marvel and Capcom USA, later seeing several home ports of varying quality. More importantly, it laid the foundation for the entire Marvel vs. Capcom series and helped popularise the modern crossover fighter, influencing how franchises, fanbases, and IP mash‑ups are approached across games and entertainment today.

Show Notes

• Kotaku's detailed oral history of the game: Link
• Check out some of the sprites via Fighters Generation: Link
• Detailed move sets of each character in the game: Link

About Games of Note

Games of Note is a video game podcast hosted by game designer Will Luton & biz dev consultant Wayne Emanuel, where we discuss not if a game is good or bad, but the impact it had on the culture and business of video games.

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In our first ever 'Side Note', we discuss a number of video games that were directly affected by 9/11 and the Iraq War, titles that were delayed, altered, or cancelled in response to the events.

Show Notes

• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 - VATSIM group statement condemning people from recreating 9/11 within the games: Link

• Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 - Animation of the character attempting to press a detonator as you approach them remains intact 2:40 (pause at 2:44): Link

About Games of Note

Games of Note is a video game podcast hosted by game designer Will Luton & biz dev consultant Wayne Emanuel, where we discuss not if a game is good or bad, but the impact it had on the culture and business of video games.

Follow us:

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Contact Us:Email: gamesofnotepodcast@gmail.com

Bluesky |TikTok | YouTube Shorts

Games of Note: #4 - Dear Esther (2012)

In this episode, we dive into Dear Esther, the pioneering 2008 Half-Life 2 mod turned 2012 standalone title, often hailed as the first “walking simulator.” Forgoing combat, puzzles, and win-loss mechanics, it invites players on a solitary, poetic stroll across a mist-shrouded Hebridean island, exploring themes of loss and bereavement.

We discuss its roots in thechineseroom’s early research mods, unpack the debates over its legitimacy as a “game,” and celebrate how its success reshaped the indie scene and proved games could be profound, emotionally driven art.

Show Notes

• Antlion Soccer (Source/Half-Life 2) - a football mod but instead of a ball you use the gravity gun from Half-Life 2 to push the Antlion enemies into a goal: Link

• Korsakovia (Source/Half-Life 2) - a survival horror with a similar approach as Dear Esther with ambiguous story telling: Link

• Conscientious Objector (idTech4/ DOOM3) - a DOOM3 mod of the opening levels but your shotgun bullets are replaced with rubber bullets due to it being cheaper for the UAC: Link
• Dr Pinchbek paper on this mod called ‘Conscientious Objector: Pacifism, Politics and Abusing the Player in Doom 3’: Link

• PCGamer interview with Dr Pinchbek: Link
• Dr Pinchbek summary of the project from his blog: Link

About Games of Note

Games of Note is a video game podcast hosted by game designer Will Luton & biz dev consultant Wayne Emanuel, where we discuss not if a game is good or bad, but the impact it had on the culture and business of video games.

Follow us:

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Contact Us:Email: gamesofnotepodcast@gmail.com

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We discuss how FarmVille became one of the most iconic and widely played social games of all time, introducing timer-based mechanics, shared worlds, and cooperative play to the masses.

Reaching 300 million total players and over $1 billion in revenue, it peaked at 35 million daily users in March 2010, marking the rise of “appointment gaming” and drawing in a casual audience far beyond the traditional core gamer demographic, we chat about Farmville's rise & fall.

Show Notes

• Article discussing FarmVille as a clone: Link
• Medium interviews Amitt Mahajan: Link
• Blog post by Kostadis Roussos discussing firewalls potentially affecting FarmVille's performance: Link
• Slush interview with Mark Pincus: Link

About Games of Note

Games of Note is a video game podcast hosted by game designer Will Luton & biz dev consultant Wayne Emanuel, where we discuss not if a game is good or bad, but the impact it had on the culture and business of video games.

Follow us:

⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠RSS⁠⁠

Contact Us:Email: gamesofnotepodcast@gmail.com

⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠ |⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠YouTube Shorts⁠

Games of Note: #2 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Released on March 20, 1997, initially for the PlayStation and later for the Sega Saturn, this game, despite only selling 700,000 copies in the US and Japan, became a sleeper hit and cult classic, often topping “greatest games of all time” lists thanks to its clever design solutions and its role as the blueprint for future Castlevania titles (Igavanias) and the wider Metroidvania boom in indie games.

About Games of Note

Games of Note is a video game podcast hosted by game designer Will Luton & biz dev consultant Wayne Emanuel, where we discuss not if a game is good or bad, but the impact it had on the culture and business of video games.

Follow us:

⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠RSS⁠⁠

Contact Us:Email: gamesofnotepodcast@gmail.com

⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠ |⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠YouTube Shorts⁠

In our first episode, Will and Wayne dive into Shenmue — Yu Suzuki's overly ambitious Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment RPG, released for the SEGA Dreamcast in 1999 (Japan).

Shenmue was a groundbreaking title that redefined RPGs and adventure games with innovative mechanics like a dynamic day-night cycle and fully scheduled NPCs. However, its unprecedented production budget brought sky-high expectations that it didn't unfortunately meet. We explore the game's origins, mechanics, and lasting legacy.

P.S - Some background audio made its way into the recording — we're still fine-tuning our setup, so apologies for any unexpected sounds that came through!

Show Notes

• Project Berkley Trailer: Link
• Shenmue Dojo interviews Yu Suzuki: Link
• Polygon interviews Yu Suzuki: Link

About Games of Note

Games of Note is a video game podcast hosted by game designer Will Luton & biz dev consultant Wayne Emanuel, where we discuss not if a game is good or bad, but the impact it had on the culture and business of video games.

Follow us:

⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ | ⁠RSS⁠

Contact Us:Email: gamesofnotepodcast@gmail.com

⁠Bluesky⁠ |⁠TikTok⁠ | ⁠YouTube Shorts

Welcome to the Games of Note podcast!

This is just an introductory episode where we briefly discuss the purpose of the podcast, our backgrounds and what games/genres we dig (and a few we don't).

Games of Note is a video game podcast hosted by game designer Will Luton & biz dev consultant Wayne Emanuel, where we discuss not if a game is good or bad, but the impact it had on the culture and business of video games.

You can find all of our episodes below:

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