Nick Guérin's guest appearances

Nick Guérin

Everybody's Talking At Once

Origin Story

Matthew Seiji Burns

Greg Lobanov

Chandana Ekanayake

Greg Kasavin

Jordan Thomas

Zach Barth

Erin Robinson

Ilan Eshkeri

Stephen Alexander

Jeremy Warmsley

Lydia Millet

Brooke Maggs

Laura Michet

Evan Hill

Owen Dennis

OwlTail

Nick Guérin is the creative director at Thunder Lotus Games where he directed and wrote Spiritfarer, which has been described as a “cozy management sim about dying.” Nick’s other work includes design work on several Assassin’s Creed games including Origins and Syndicate as well as design for Watch Dogs 2.In this episode, we interview Nick Guérin about how he translated the experience of caring for someone who is dying into a video game and why it is important to demystify and talk about death openly.In this episode, we interview Nick Guérin about how he translated the experience of caring for someone who is dying into a video game and why it is important to demystify death.Hosted by Phillip Russell and Ben ThorpLearn more about Spiritfarer here.Visit our website: Originstory.showFollow us on Twitter @originstory_Do you have feedback or questions for us? Email us theoriginstorypod@gmail.comCover art and website design by Melody HirschOrigin Story original score by Ryan Hopper

Nick Guérin is the creative director at Thunder Lotus Games where he directed and wrote Spiritfarer, which has been described as a “cozy management sim about dying.” Nick’s other work includes design work on several Assassin’s Creed games including Origins and Syndicate as well as design for Watch Dogs 2.In this episode, we interview Nick Guérin about how he translated the experience of caring for someone who is dying into a video game and why it is important to demystify and talk about death openly.In this episode, we interview Nick Guérin about how he translated the experience of caring for someone who is dying into a video game and why it is important to demystify death.Hosted by Phillip Russell and Ben ThorpLearn more about Spiritfarer <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjhgZ_i4cDxAhVSvJ4KHSctBggQFjAAegQICBAD&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fthunderlotusgames.com%2Fspiritfarer%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw1Wf0mfFfYbvZ4o75dchzax" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.Visit our website:<a href="http://originstory.show" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Originstory.show</a>Follow us on Twitter<a href="https://twitter.com/originstory_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> @originstory_</a>Do you have feedback or questions for us? Email us theoriginstorypod@gmail.comCover art and website design by<a href="https://melodyhirsch.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Melody Hirsch</a>Origin Story original score by <a href="https://www.ryanhopperdesign.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ryan Hopper</a>

Nick Guérin (Spiritfarer) on Death Positivity and Making Care into a Game Mechanic

ETAO Podcast, Episode 96. http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/etao.files.wordpress.com/2020/11/etao-podcast-96-nick-guerin.mp3 After a decade working on the Assassin’s Creed games, Nick Guérin joined Thunder Lotus Games as the Creative Director on Spiritfarer, a farming and management sim about death, kindness, labor, wants, needs, and all manner of other things that Assassin’s Creed (venerable though it is) rarely finds the space to explore. (What a moment it is, going indie). Here we talk about the thrills and pitfalls of inventing an afterlife—or a liminal space between life and death, as in Necrobarista—the importance of getting little human details right, and the enormous difference between a game that merely contains death and one that’s thoughtful about the process of dying. And yes, we do also talk about the whole Gustav thing. A content warning is in order for a (largely death-positive) conversation about death and dying. And a TRIGGER WARNING for a discussion of sexual assault from to 00:44:24 to 00:46:50.  You can get Spiritfarer on Steam, GOG, Epic, Itch, Switch, PS4, and Xbox (with also includes PC access via the Microsoft Store, and GamePass, and all that). You can hear the Spiritfarer OST on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple, Deezer, and YouTube. And you can get the Spiritfarer Digital Artbook on Itch. You can also follow  Thunder Lotus on Twitter. ——— • Here once again is that Yoko Taro “Philosophies of Violence” video. • For more on fostering a sense of closeness and community in games, check out our talk with Nils Deneken, and for more on death positivity (in and out of games), check out our talk with Gabby DaRienzo. • Here’s Gustave Doré’s etching of Charon from his illustrations of The Divine Comedy. This is the image that Nick mentions as one of the three main original points of inspiration for Spiritfarer, the other two being Studio Ghibli films like My Neighbor Totoro, and farm sims like Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley. • Here I thought I’d found an honest-to-God example of a pataphor in the wild, but that remains a tricky thing to do definitively. ——— “All The People Say (Season 3)” by Holly Hyperion. “Dust Bunnies” and “Oxbury” from the Spiritfarer Original Soundtrack by Max LL. We’re on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Spotify, PocketCasts, Overcast, Podyssey, and RadioPublic. You can also subscribe using good old-fashioned RSS. Logo by Aaron Perry-Zucker, using Icons by by Llisole, Dávid Gladiš, Atif Arshad, Daniel Nochta, Mike Rowe, Jakub Čaja, Raji Purcell and IconsGhost from the Noun Project. Left-click to play. Right-click to download.

<h3><a href="http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/etao.files.wordpress.com/2020/11/etao-podcast-96-nick-guerin.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ETAO Podcast, Episode 96</a>.</h3> <a href="http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/etao.files.wordpress.com/2020/11/etao-podcast-96-nick-guerin.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/etao.files.wordpress.com/2020/11/etao-podcast-96-nick-guerin.mp3</a> After a decade working on the Assassin’s Creed games, Nick Guérin joined Thunder Lotus Games as the Creative Director on Spiritfarer, a farming and management sim about death, kindness, labor, wants, needs, and all manner of other things that Assassin’s Creed (venerable though it is) rarely finds the space to explore. (What a moment it is, going indie). Here we talk about the thrills and pitfalls of inventing an afterlife—or a liminal space between life and death, as in <a href="https://etao.blog/2020/09/15/podcast-92/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Necrobarista</a>—the importance of getting little human details right, and the enormous difference between a game that merely contains death and one that’s thoughtful about the process of dying. And yes, we do also talk about the whole Gustav thing. A content warning is in order for a (largely death-positive) conversation about death and dying. And a TRIGGER WARNING for a discussion of sexual assault from to 00:44:24 to 00:46:50. You can get Spiritfarer on <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/972660/Spiritfarer/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Steam</a>, <a href="https://www.gog.com/game/spiritfarer" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GOG</a>, <a href="https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/product/spiritfarer/home" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Epic</a>, <a href="https://thunderlotus.itch.io/spiritfarer" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Itch</a>, <a href="https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/spiritfarer-switch/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Switch</a>, <a href="https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP2388-CUSA20182_00-0000000000000000" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PS4</a>, and <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/spiritfarer/9ng5l58fd3x5?activetab=pivot:overviewtab" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Xbox</a> (with also includes PC access via the Microsoft Store, and GamePass, and all that). You can hear the Spiritfarer OST on <a href="https://maxll.bandcamp.com/album/spiritfarer-original-soundtrack" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4F0pkUhnyUTPDw3Xqor0Pa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://music.apple.com/ca/album/spiritfarer-original-soundtrack/1527431360" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple</a>, <a href="https://www.deezer.com/en/album/166959782" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Deezer</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZTKFiCMA-o" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube</a>. And you can get the <a href="https://thunderlotus.itch.io/spiritfarer-art-book" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spiritfarer Digital Artbook</a> on Itch. You can also follow <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderLotus" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thunder Lotus</a> on Twitter. ——— • Here once again is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD6xCLlF5dY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">that Yoko Taro “Philosophies of Violence” video</a>. • For more on fostering a sense of closeness and community in games, check out <a href="https://etao.blog/2020/09/29/podcast-93/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">our talk with Nils Deneken</a>, and for more on death positivity (in and out of games), check out <a href="https://etao.blog/2019/01/12/podcast-47/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">our talk with Gabby DaRienzo</a>. • Here’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gustave_Dor%C3%A9_-_Dante_Alighieri_-_Inferno_-_Plate_9_(Canto_III_-_Charon).jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gustave Doré’s etching of Charon</a> from his illustrations of The Divine Comedy. This is the image that Nick mentions as one of the three main original points of inspiration for Spiritfarer, the other two being Studio Ghibli films like My Neighbor Totoro, and farm sims like Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley. • Here I thought I’d found an honest-to-God example of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%27Pataphysics#Pataphor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a pataphor</a> in the wild, but that remains a tricky thing to do definitively. ——— “All The People Say (Season 3)” by <a href="http://hollyhyperion.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Holly Hyperion</a>. “Dust Bunnies” and “Oxbury” from <a href="https://maxll.bandcamp.com/album/spiritfarer-original-soundtrack" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the Spiritfarer Original Soundtrack</a> by Max LL. We’re on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/everybodys-talking-at-once/id699052673" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ldGFvLmJsb2cvY2F0ZWdvcnkvcG9kY2FzdC9mZWVkLw==" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/everybodys-talking-at-once-podcast/everybodys-talking-at-once" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dd4c3d64-55d2-429c-b40c-5a050c1d1c6b/Everybodys-Talking-At-Once" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7G6zxPV0fh2ukmAJ3AnzNK" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://play.pocketcasts.com/web/podcasts/index#/podcasts/show/b6bba420-5bc0-0132-d57c-5f4c86fd3263" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PocketCasts</a>, <a href="https://overcast.fm/itunes699052673/everybodys-talking-at-once" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Overcast</a>, <a href="https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes699052673-Everybodys-Talking-At-Once" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Podyssey</a>, and <a href="https://play.radiopublic.com/everybodys-talking-at-once-GZLrv6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RadioPublic</a>. You can also subscribe using <a href="https://etao.blog/category/podcast/feed/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">good old-fashioned RSS</a>. Logo by Aaron Perry-Zucker, using Icons by by Llisole, Dávid Gladiš, Atif Arshad, Daniel Nochta, Mike Rowe, Jakub Čaja, Raji Purcell and IconsGhost from <a href="https://thenounproject.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the Noun Project</a>. <a href="http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/etao.files.wordpress.com/2020/11/etao-podcast-96-nick-guerin.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Left-click to play. Right-click to download.</a>

This Kindness unto Death, with Nick Guérin