My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin cover art

My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin

My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin

By: Simon Parkin
Listen for free

Summary

In My Perfect Console, Simon Parkin, award-winning author video game critic for The Observer invites well-known guests from the worlds of gaming, film and television, music, comedy and more to pick the five video games they would like to immortalise on a fictional games machine. They discuss those five games in chronological order of release, interspersed with biographical chat about the guest’s life and career –– a lens that often leads to new and unexpected insights.


"Thoroughly modern and ahead of its time...a gift." - NEW YORK'S VULTURE

"Charming, insightful." -- THE GUARDIAN

TIME OUT'S 50 Best Podcasts

VULTURE's Best Podcast of the Year

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

Simon Parkin
Science Fiction
Episodes
  • Chandana Ekanayake, founder Outerloop Games (Falcon Age, Thirsty Suitors, Dosa Divas).
    May 5 2026

    Chandana Ekanayake is a game developer and creative director whose career spans more than two decades of work across some of the industry’s most varied and inventive projects. Born in Sri Lanka he moved to the United States at the age of eight, and grew up watching his parents rebuild their lives from scratch—an experience that shaped both his work ethic and his creative perspective.


    After leaving art school early, he taught himself the skills that would carry him into the games industry at just nineteen. There he contributed to titles such as The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and The Matrix: Path of Neo. In 2017, he co-founded Outerloop Games, a fully remote studio built around collaboration across continents and a commitment to diverse, personal storytelling. Since then, the studio has released games including Falcon Age, Thirsty Suitors, and now, Dosa Divas, a game that combines turn-based combat and cookery.

    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.

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 27 mins
  • Natasha Hodgson, writer, composer, performer, Operation Mincemeat.
    Apr 28 2026

    Natasha Hodgson is a British writer, performer, and composer for theatre, television, and audio. As a co-founder of the theatre company Spit-Lip, she co-created, co-wrote, and co-composed Operation Mincemeat, the wildly inventive musical that began life at the New Diorama Theatre in 2019 before evolving through multiple runs to become a West End phenomenon.


    In 2024, the show won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, with my guest also nominated for Best Actress for her performance as Ewen Montagu. In 2025 she continued the role on Broadway, where the production opened to critical acclaim and multiple Tony nominations. Alongside her theatre work, she has written for television series including Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, The Amazing World of Gumball, and Bravest Warriors, and created the acclaimed BBC Sounds comedy series The Sink. Across stage and screen, her work combines sharp wit, musical invention, and a flair for ensemble storytelling.


    Why on Earth Have I Seen the Same Broadway Show 13 Times? An Investigation - Taffy Brodesser-Akner, New York Times Magazine.

    Operation Mincemeat Official Website

    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.

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 43 mins
  • Simon Lockerby, streamer, founder Fateless Games.
    Apr 21 2026

    Simon Lockerby is a game creator and studio co-founder whose path into development didn’t follow a traditional games pipeline, but instead grew out of everyday play and community building. While working as a sales director, he began playing Raid: Shadow Legends on his daily commute, eventually turning that hobby into a YouTube channel that grew rapidly.


    Within a year, he had built an audience of more than 100,000 subscribers and, alongside his collaborator Dan Francis, co-founded HellHades Gaming—a central hub for players seekingguides, tools, and community events. As that community expanded, one question kept resurfacing: when would they make a game of their own? In 2023, my guest answered that call by co-founding Fateless Games, a studio built around player agency, immersive storytelling, and fair monetisation—one where players help shape the game’s direction.

    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.

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 22 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.