In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Jake Solomon, best known for the XCOM reboot and Midnight Suns. They discuss how much money he had to give back to Accenture, how to animate multiple units at the same time, and why Sid suddenly started golfing so much. This episode was recorded on April 25, 2023.
Games discussed: Sopwith, Silent Service, Zork, Jumpman, Ultima V, Falcon 4, F-19 Stealth Fighter, Pirates!, Dungeons and Dragons, X-COM: UFO Defense, Midnight Suns, Warcraft 2, Doom, Duke Nukem, Age of Empires 2, Civilization 3, Dinosaurs!, SimGolf, Civilization 4, Civilization: Revolution, XCOM: Enemy Unknown
https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/jake-solomon-part-1
I’ve enjoyed all the episodes, but I could listen to you and Jake reminisce all day. Thanks so much.
This was great! I’ve heard/read a lot of interviews with Firaxis people over the years, but I think this is the first I’ve ever heard of a secret project pre-Civ4. What could still need to be secret 20 years later? ha. Excellent episode, hope part 2 comes out soon!
This podcast is amazing and has gotten me through so many work days!
This episode especially was a blast!
It’s been a really long while since Part 1 was released though. Any news on what’s happening?