Episode · Spawn On Me with Kahlief Adams
The Mixtape Discourse, Saros, Directive 8020 & Double Fine Gets Organized
12 May 2026 · 53 min
Episode · Spawn On Me with Kahlief Adams
12 May 2026 · 53 min
This week, the internet did what it always does: took something good, something that clearly resonated with real people, and turned it into a battlefield. We're talking about Mixtape — the new game from Beethoven & Dinosaur and Annapurna — and why the so-called "controversy" surrounding it tells you more about gaming culture than it does about the actual game. Because let's be honest: a 2-to-3 hour game with a 95 Metascore on Xbox, thousands of positive Steam reviews, and music from Devo, Joy Division, and the Smashing Pumpkins doesn't NEED the internet's permission to be good. But here we…
by Spawn On Me LLC · English · Gaming
Kahlief Adams on games and the people who make and play them — centering diverse voices in gaming culture.
10 Jun 2026 · 13 min
At Summer Game Fest 2026, I sat down with IO Interactive's Matias (Principal Level Designer) and Hilde Sunde (Lead Environment Artist) to break down 007 First Light — the new James Bond game from the studio behind Hitman.We get into how IOI reimagined Bond for a new era, why First Light plays nothing like Hitman, the ammo-scarce combat that forces you to keep moving, the eavesdrop spy mechanic, and the wildly contrasting worlds — from a luxury Vietnam resort to the rough Mauritania desert. Plus dream Bond locations and the team's favorite 007 films. (Sorry, Pierce.)
27 May 2026 · 51 min
This week on Spawn On Me, I land an exclusive sit-down with the team behind NBA The Run , the upcoming 3v3 arcade basketball game from Play by Play Studios. If you've been waiting for a true spiritual successor to NBA Street since EA Sports BIG went quiet, you're going to want to hear this one. I talk with the team about how a small, passionate studio went from building a fictional streetball game called The Run: Got Next to landing an official NBA license — and how a single LinkedIn message changed the trajectory of the entire project. We get into Mike Young's two-decade journey from NBA…
13 May 2026 · 56 min
I sit down with Casey Baron, Senior Programmer for the Tribeca Film Festival's Games Program, for an exciting conversation about the newly announced 2026 Tribeca Festival Games Program. Casey shares his vision for the festival's 25th anniversary edition, running June 3-14, 2026, and we discuss how the games program has become an early champion of titles that go on to critical acclaim and deeply resonate with players. We dive into this year's selections that showcase the incredible breadth and ambition of storytelling in games today, including immersive projects like "Escape The Internet:…
16 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 28 min
On this episode, we talk about Xbox's Matt Booty's appearance on the Xbox Wire podcast — his discussion on the current state of their June showcase, Project Helix, and how teams are working together. I share my thoughts on how the Rockstar hack gives new insight into microtransactions, and I give my Pragmata review. We close out the episode with an interview with the team from ballandgun.com to talk about their new game. Check out the content here. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SpawnOnMe Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/SpawnOnMe Apple Podcasts:…
E569 · 6 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 38 min
The PS5 Pro just hit $900 and I've got a lot to say about it. This week I'm pulling the best clips from Kind of Funny's Xbox future breakdown and GamerTag Radio's conversation with industry analyst Mat Piscatella — then giving you my unfiltered take on what the industry is actually telling us right now about affordability, access, and who gaming is really being built for. Plus, I sat down with Whitson Gordon from ASUS ROG for a real behind-the-scenes look at how gaming hardware collaborations like the Xbox ROG Ally X and the Kojima Productions laptop actually get made. This episode covers:…
30 Mar 2026 · 30 min
I got to check out Sound System at GDC and immediately knew I had to get the team back on the show. This conversation with Echo Foundry's Lennon Lange, who worked on the original Guitar Hero, breaks down exactly why this could be the rhythm game revival we've been waiting for. We're talking about real innovation, not just nostalgia.• How Classic Mode and Pro Mode balance accessibility with hardcore challenge• The creator-focused tools that could transform how rhythm games work• Why having a Guitar Hero veteran leading this matters for the genre's future• What Sound System gets right about…
22 Sep 2026 · 42 min
Luc Bernard has been trying to make The Light in the Darkness for nearly 20 years. It's a graphic novel-style narrative game set in occupied France during World War II — where you play as a Jewish family, experiencing the Holocaust not through combat, but through helplessness, fear, and the slow erosion of safety. It's the first game of its kind. And on Episode 591 of Spawn On Me, I sat down with Luke to find out how it got made, what it cost him emotionally, and why the Director's Cut is the version the world actually needs to see right now.
14 Sep 2026 · 19 min
Go behind the scenes of Marvel's Wolverine with Insomniac's Head of Technology, Mike Fitzgerald. Learn how the team tackles complex development challenges. In this episode of Spawn on Me, we sit down with Mike Fitzgerald to discuss the realities of game development at Insomniac Games. We explore the technical constraints of bringing a major title to market, the intricate process of building character deformation tech, and what it takes to create high-end visuals in modern gaming. This conversation offers a unique look at the engineering hurdles faced by one of the industry's most prominent…
10 Sep 2026 · 25 min
I've waited on a Wolverine game like this my whole life as an X-Men fan, and after 20+ hours with Insomniac's take, I'm breaking down whether it earns a place next to Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 as one of their best.This is a spoiler-free review, but I get into the big-picture stuff: how Insomniac reimagines Logan's origin through Team X and gives him a more grounded, human throughline than we usually get from this character; how the combat carves out its own identity — close-quarters and brutal rather than the aerial mobility Spider-Man built its reputation on — and where that comparison…
6 Aug 2026 · 33 min
I've been wanting to have this conversation for a long time, and it did not disappoint. This week on Spawn On Me, I sat down with Mara Junot — the voice of Ikora Rey in Destiny, Storm across multiple Marvel games, and Queen Sindel in Mortal Kombat — and we went deep on everything from their origin story to what it actually takes to build a lasting career as a voice actor. Mara gets real about starting out with zero voiceover resources in their area, teaching themselves through YouTube and podcasts, and spending nearly 8 years as a country radio DJ before discovering the world of voice…