Harvey Smith is a game designer and writer whose work has helped shape some of the most atmospheric and influential games of the last two decades. After serving in the U.S. Air Force he began his career in video games as a tester on the formative System Shock.

Then he joined Ion Storm worked as lead designer on Deus Ex, one of the most influential immersive sims of the era. In 2008 he became a partner at Arkane Studios, where he co-directed the acclaimed Dishonored series and, most recently, Redfall.

Known for championing player agency, richly layered world-building, and morally complex storytelling, his games invite players to think as much as act. And whether crafting dystopias or dark fantasies, he’s remained a guiding voice in one of the medium’s most ambitious genres.

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Seropian is a pioneering American video game developer whose work helped shape some of the most iconic series in the medium. After studying mathematics at the University of Chicago, he co-founded Bungie in 1991, first developing Operation Desert Storm then titles such as Pathways Into Darkness, Marathon, and Myth.

In 2001, he and his team released Halo: Combat Evolved, a landmark first-person shooter that not only revolutionised console gaming but also established Microsoft’s Xbox as a viable force in the industry. In 2004 he left Bungie and founded Wideload Games, eventually becoming head of Disney Interactive Studios. Since then, my guest has continued to establish innovative studios, most recently, Look North World.

His depth of experience, from the earliest days of Macintosh design to modern cross-platform worlds, has given him a unique perspective on the craft, business, and evolution of interactive storytelling.

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Cerny is an American programmer, and game designer whose career has shaped not only how we play, but the systems we play on. A San Francisco native, he dropped out of UC Berkeley at 17 after receiving an invitation to join Atari. At 18 he designed the arcade hit Marble Madness.

He then moved to Japan to work with Sega, for whom he founded the Sega Technical Institute, developers of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Then played a key role in landmark titles such as Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, and Resistance. He’s perhaps best known, however, as the lead system architect of the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, helping to define the technical and creative possibilities of an entire generation of video games.

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.