DGC Ep 479: Splinter Cell CT Bonus Interview with Clint Hocking

DGC Ep 479: Splinter Cell CT Bonus Interview with Clint Hocking

Author: Brett Douville and Tim Longo July 22, 2026 Duration: 1:14:57

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we revisit our Splinter Cell conversation with a return interview with Clint Hocking. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Podcast breakdown:
1:08 Interview
1:04:47 Break
1:05:11 Outro

Issues covered: who is responsible for the MDA framework, moving to Montreal and working with New Yorkers, world-relative cameras, figuring out console cameras, the struggles with camera and controls, a game that had all the elements, neoconservative fantasy to save the world from future threats, having a team form around the ashes of disagreement, doing three jobs, clarity in the goals, design sins, having invited moments vs supporting being better than the designer, establishing a systemic language, the most complicated doors in video games, being bottom-up, negotiating all the types of doors, everyone being on board with the approach, intrinically motivated engagement, motivating the desired experience, real-world examples of what it means to get 100%, the one job, being remote vs being in the job, level design and script writing between entwined, the state of the industry.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: UbiSoft, LucasArts, Valve, Amazon, Build Machine Games, Far Cry 2, Robin Hunicke, Mark LeBlanc, Robert Zubek, Doug Church, Red Storm Entertainment, Hitman, Halo, Xbox, Bounty Hunter, Jedi Knight, Metal Gear Solid (series), Resident Evil (series), The Fifth Element, James Bond, J. T. Petty, Rainbow Six, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, EA, GoldenEye, Bloodborne, Sekiro, FromSoft, Dark Souls, mysterydip, Watch Dogs, Warren Spector, Psychonauts, Tim Schafer, Full Throttle, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. 

Next time:
Finish Psychonauts! (-ish)

Twitch: timlongojr and twinsunscorp
YouTube
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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: 50

Dev Game Club
Podcast Episodes
DGC Ep 459: Ultima IV (part two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:42
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 1985's Ultima IV. We talk a lot about the mysterious sense of the game, the talking interface and mechanics, and dive a bit into combat before turning t…
DGC Ep 458: Ultima IV (part one) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29:50
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a series on 1985's Ultima IV. After talking about the recent Defeating Games for Charity, we set the game in its time, talk about our encounters in the past with the ser…
DGC Ep 457: Pikmin (part three) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:25
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Pikmin. We talk about building back from loss, a rough ending, and compact level design, amongst other things. Dev Game Club looks at classic video game…
DGC Ep 456: Pikmin (part two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:47
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we return to our series on Pikmin. We talk about returning to the game after a break, the macro structure and persistence of the levels, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at…
DGC Ep 455: 2025 Year in Review [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Discord Game Club Ep. 15 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:55:24
We are off for one more weeke, so we are again reaching into the Discord Game Club interview archive. This time around, BioStats and Calamity Nolan interview Carlos from the Discord, an independent graphic novelist and p…
Discord Game Club Ep. 14 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:24
We are off for the next few weeks, so we are again reaching into the Discord Game Club interview archive. This time around, BioStats and Calamity Nolan interview RobotSpacer, who talks about his streaming, his hobby game…
Discord Game Club Ep. 13 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:17
We are off for the next few weeks, so we are again reaching into the Discord Game Club interview archive. This time around, BioStats and Calamity Nolan interview Brad Smith, who talks about his independent developer life…
DGC Ep 454: Portal Bonus Interview with Kim Swift [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:23
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we revisit our series on Portal with another bonus interview with Kim Swift. We get a look at the game from which it came before hearing about the development proper. Dev Game Cl…
DGC Ep 453: Bonus Interview with Ed Fries [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:27:28
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we try something a little different. Unattached to any particular game, we chat with Ed Fries, a long-time video game developer most well-known for his work shepherding the early…