Isaac and Steve welcome skater, entrepreneur and former PopCap and Plants vs Zombies producer Matthew Lee Johnston to the show.

Learn what a first day at PopCap was like, discover interwoven webs of perfectly hand-balanced dependencies, attend to the differences between "porting" a game and "adapting" it, and be apprised of the many ways that folks can fail to see eye to eye on the very same adaptation process. All that and a fair bit more on this week's episode of The Unofficial PopCap PopCast!

CHAPTERS
00:00 The Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:19 Hello, Greetings
00:48 Introducing Matthew Lee Johnston
01:41 Tricked Into Interviewing
07:41 What's a Producer?
10:08 Most Noteworthy Games
12:42 First Day at PopCap
24:07 PvZ Xbox
27:04 Controlling PvZ
30:37 Fundamental Disagreement
38:23 Couch Co-op
41:16 Perfectly Hand-Balanced Dependencies
45:06 Working "with" George Fan
48:55 Plants vs. Zombies 2
56:18 MLJ Part 1 Wrapup

LINKS

PMA Magazine
https://www.getthatpma.com/

Isaac and Steve greet a very special guest: writer and former PopCap Customer Support agent, Dana Sweeney!

Dana dishes dirt on how she got into PopCap, what life in the CS trenches was like, how a manager in Ireland stepped up, how she branched out from Customer Support, why she got one game-related tattoo but not another, and much, much, MUCH more! Oh, and we get a glimpse at a cat! Check it out... if you DARE.

CHAPTERS
00:00 The Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:19 Welcome and Bonjour
01:02 PopCap Community
02:41 Temping Into PopCap
04:41 Free Games
06:02 Supporting Customers
07:09 Kitty Break - Lovey!
07:37 Bonkers Emails
11:43 Surviving CS
19:40 Career Development
21:16 Stuck in a Role
22:21 Special Memories
23:17 Great Place to be a Nerdy Person
25:49 Double Down
27:39 Undead World
29:03 In a Band
29:59 Tattoos
31:00 PopCorn Dragon
31:41 Cancelling Games
33:39 Shift to Mobile
34:48 Dumped in a Trash Can
36:00 Lust For Tomorrow
40:34 Writing Advice
41:35 Final Thoughts

LINKS
The Stronghold (Lust for Tomorrow & Trust In Tomorrow)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW4V2YCR

Matt Holmberg and Rich Werner! Two incredible Plants vs Zombies artists continue to blabble about games and more with Isaac & Steve.

Topics include but are not limited to: Conan the Barbarian, fast follows, premium vs. freemium, exploding books, industry dirt, how Rich got the PvZ art job, and what these magical creatures are doing RIGHT NOW. It's inadvisable to miss it, so don't!

CHAPTERS
00:00 The Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:19 Bonjour and Greetings
01:37 Influences
11:04 Emotion in Games
20:15 Getting Into PvZ
29:44 Game Names
34:24 Making PvZ
36:18 Premium vs. Freemium
39:54 After PvZ
43:45 Sequels
45:24 PopCap QA
47:47 PvZ Hits (The Video)
53:03 Modern PvZ (PvZ 2026)
58:40 Exiting PopCap
1:07:35 Magical Creatures
1:14:59 Right Now
1:18:03 Until Next Time

LINKS

Gulf Guardian
https://gulfguardian.io

This Book Might Explode (Explodeyworld)
https://explodeyworld.com/

Rich Werner & Matt Holmberg! Two amazing Plants vs Zombies artists join Isaac & Steve to blabble about making games.

We talk art school, teen translation, different paths into gaming, what it's like to work on soullessly empty media tie-ins, how the magic of PNGs make everybody's lives 1000x easier, and oodles of other things! Tune in!

CHAPTERS

00:00 The Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:19 Greetings
00:33 Early Inspirations
08:45 Getting Into Games
16:46 Interactive Entertainment
22:29 Sprout
29:50 Into PopCap
37:29 PopWar/Prince of Toys
47:18 Jank Animation
48:34 Tools
54:12 FT
55:26 Free Ball
58:27 Next Time: Part 2

Isaac & Steve launch into the legendary game-that-wasn't, Pig Up! Learn awful secrets about how indie games start, develop, show great promise, and get crushingly cancelled!

o0:00 The Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:21 Hello
01:12 The Rise and Fall of Pig Up
02:20 Prologue - When Pigs Fly
09:59 Prototype - When Pigs Flap
28:59 Development Heaven - The Rise
45:51 The Apex - The Award
48:42 Development Heck - The Fall
58:02 Crash Landing - Final Score
1:06:11 Next Time

LINKS
Wired article:
"Pig Up! Facebook Game Just Ruined Your Productivity"
https://www.wired.com/2011/07/pig-up/

DESCRIPTION
Isaac & Steve share their memories of when megacorp Electronic Arts bought PopCap Games.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Unofficial PopCap PopCast
00:18 Greetings!
02:52 Overview
05:34 The Announcement All-Hands
17:38 Follow the Money
31:26 What It Meant
54:34 Next Time

In the inaugural episode of The Unofficial PopCap PopCast, hosts Isaac Aubrey & Stephen Notley present their PopCap credentials and make the case for doing an insider podcast about the legendary indie game studio. Oink!