DGC Ep 472: Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (part one)

DGC Ep 472: Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (part one)

Author: Brett Douville and Tim Longo May 20, 2026 Duration: 1:05:56

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we start a new series on 2005's Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. We set it in its time, talk about the Clancy of it all, and then get into the play and presentation. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
The first level or two

Issues covered: missing a week, games from 2005 and UbiSoft, stealth games and how we feel about them, what it borrows from its forebears, Tim's history and love of military themes, grounding the series in real places, hard milspec, the spectrum of more or less video-gamey, Brett's history with Clancy, offputting tone and writing, the weird nationalistic lens, the military melodrama, when you can mess up the formula, black and white and the icks, systems thinking in the game vs not the narrative, finding ways to maintain the black and white, the tutorial videos, seeing the mechanics against the real missions, controlling Sam's movement speed, other interface choices, alt-fire modes, shooting everyone in the head, having multiple kill moves, having mission objectives that get canceled, whether there's an alternate version, a number associated with your performance, the weirdness of speaking to your handler directly behind a target, your advisors, informing the choice of loadout, how different games reinforce the loadout, a review, Tim's Twitch drop.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Star Wars (series), God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Resident Evil 4, Psychonauts, Guild Wars, Civ IV, FEAR, The Undying, AC: Wild World, Guitar Hero, Mercenaries, Battlefront II, KotOR II, Lego Star Wars, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Peter Molyneux, Clint Hocking, Far Cry 2, Thief, Metal Gear Solid (series), Looking Glass, Dishonored (series), Hideo Kojima, The Division (series), Rainbow Six (novel), No One Lives Forever, Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin, Sean Connery, Doubleday (book publisher), Day of the Jackal, Tolkien, Project: Hail Mary, Ghost Recon (series), Rainbow Six (series), John Krasinski, Ben Affleck, Jack Reacher (series), Lee Child, Tom Cruise, Mark Greaney, The Gray Man, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rambo (series), Jon Bernthal, Call of Duty (series), Hitman (series), Shadowlord-72, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. 

Next time:
more TC's SC:CT!

Errata:
It was The Cardinal of the Kremlin. We regret the error. 

Twitch: timlongojr and twinsunscorp
YouTube
Discord
DevGameClub@gmail.com 


Dev Game Club is a conversation between two working game developers who have been there. Each week, hosts Brett Douville and Tim Longo pick a classic video game from the past-often a title that shaped design thinking or introduced a new technical standard-and break it down from their professional perspective. Their discussions go beyond nostalgia, examining how these older titles functioned, why certain creative decisions were made, and what lasting impact they left on the industry. You’ll hear specific analysis of game mechanics, narrative structure, and technical achievements, all filtered through decades of hands-on development experience. The goal isn’t just to reminisce but to extract tangible lessons that are still relevant for creators and deeply interesting for passionate players today. They invite you to play the game in question alongside them, then settle in for a detailed, insider’s post-mortem. This podcast offers a unique blend of critical appreciation and practical insight, treating video game history as a living textbook. It’s for anyone who loves games and wants to understand the craft behind them on a deeper level. New episodes release regularly, diving into a different influential game from the archives.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Dev Game Club
Podcast Episodes
DGC Ep 474: Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (part three) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:05
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. We talk about the game's tone, the depth of mechanics and their uses, the spaces, and the use of fidelity. Dev…
DGC Ep 473: Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (part two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:29
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. We cover lots of topics, delving into stealth and AI systems, objectives and their communication, and other th…
DGC Ep 471: Dungeon Keeper (part four) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:33
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on Dungeon Keeper. We talk about the various strategies we used to overcome some levels, possession, and units as resources of different kinds before turni…
DGC Ep 470: Dungeon Keeper (part three) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:51
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Dungeon Keeper. We talk about the weird mix of genres this game presents, and the unique problems that presents to level design and for the player. Dev…
DGC Ep 469: Dungeon Keeper (part two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:03
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 1997's Dungeon Keeper. We talk about its tone again, and delve into a number of design topics including interface choices, verbs, and level design. Dev…
DGC Ep 468: Dungeon Keeper (part one) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:22
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on 1997's Dungeon Keeper. We set the game in its team, Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing co…
DGC Ep 467: LoZ: Majora's Mask (part five) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:21:10
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. We talk about the demoralizing effect of a crash, hear about the notebook and time manipulation, and also turn to ou…
DGC Ep 466: LoZ Majora's Mask (part four) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:24
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Majora's Mask. Though it might come off as fairly negative, due to some of the hang-ups we've had while playing, we still love the swing of this game. D…
DGC Ep 465: LoZ Majora's Mask (part three) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:53
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Majora's Mask. We finally get into a dungeon and also talk more about tone, weirdnesses in the save system, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at cla…
DGC Ep 464: LoZ: Majora's Mask (part two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:00
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Majora's Mask. We talk a bit about getting stuck, the structure, and do some extended catch-up on email. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and…