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Human Can Opener Podcast

The 41st Precinct

Human Can Opener is a podcast where I interview game developers and people of interest in the Disco Elysium sphere of influence.

Originally started as a podcast focused on Disco Elysium, Human Can Opener now interviews game devs, creators, journalists, and fans on the subject of games inspired by Disco Elysium or areas of gaming that are similar in ways to what Disco Elysium set out to achieve.

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  • 20 episodes
  • Avg 2 hr 27 min
  • English

Episodes 20

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  • S3 · E9
    July 9 · 1 hr 57 min

    Josh Sawyer Interview - Human Can Opener Podcast

    In the latest episode of Human Can Opener I interview the legendary video game designer, Josh Sawyer. Josh Sawyer has been involved in some of the most iconic games of the past 30 years, working on the cancelled Fallout 3, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout New Vegas, Pillars Of Eternity and Pentiment. We discuss the career journey of Josh, his experiences working across a variety of projects and teams, and all of the interesting game design ideas that came from them. Timestamps Josh Sawyer 00:00 Early Years 24:00 Obsidian & Fallout New Vegas 1:12:00 Pillars Of Eternity 1:20:00 Pentiment 1:43:00 Disco Elysium Remember you can check out the full story of Disco Elysium with Max Stats in the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwfvoKfZEWS9akVSbg99jds3 Check out 3 seasons of Disco Elysium Podcasts in the playlists below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwfsoqZ9RcDqBRc8HiKp7qYM https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwclAOOf_bSyaXFsJatB3879 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-Qbwf2kzBtXPbFJDCkwd1qWBwb Check out all the Cool Secrets & Video Essay Stuff Here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwcS3GwXrL7lrRSsFynQU10a Maybe you want Disco Elysium Memes? Find them here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwdkX53f-6nL6RaUDYHO4qqj Follow me on social media here: https://x.com/The41stPrecinct https://www.instagram.com/the41stprecinct/ https://bsky.app/profile/the41stprecinct.bsky.social Support the channel here: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/the41stprecinct

  • S3 · E8
    April 4 · 3 hr 30 min

    Disco Elysium & Pentiment Writer Märten Rattasepp Interview - Human Can Opener Podcast

    Märten Rattasepp is a freelance writer who worked on Disco Elysium, Pentiment, Death & Taxes, and Broken Alliance.Timestamps00:00 Introduction to Märten Rattasepp17:52 Getting involved with ZAUM and Disco Elysium32:17 Märten's work on Disco ElysiumRemember you can check out the full story of Disco Elysium with Max Stats in the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwfvoKfZEWS9akVSbg99jds3Check out 3 seasons of Disco Elysium Podcasts in the playlists below:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwfsoqZ9RcDqBRc8HiKp7qYMhttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwclAOOf_bSyaXFsJatB3879https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-Qbwf2kzBtXPbFJDCkwd1qWBwbCheck out all the Cool Secrets & Video Essay Stuff Here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwcS3GwXrL7lrRSsFynQU10aMaybe you want Disco Elysium Memes? Find them here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwdkX53f-6nL6RaUDYHO4qqjFollow me on social media here: https://x.com/The41stPrecincthttps://www.instagram.com/the41stprecinct/https://bsky.app/profile/the41stprecinct.bsky.socialSupport the channel here: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/the41stprecinct

  • S3 · E7
    March 24 · 2 hr 4 min

    NoClip Creator Danny O'Dwyer Interview - Human Can Opener Podcast

    Legendary video game documentarian, cretor of noclip and of course the recent Disco Elysium 6 part documentary series, Danny O'Dwyer joins me on the Human Can Opener Podcast. We talk about the so-called "good old days" of starting out in a pioneering era for crowd funded video content, some of the fun stuff Danny got up to making early documentaries, and of course we explore the experience of making a documentary on Disco Elysium.You can check out the Disco Elysium series up to episode 5 now, with early access on the final episode plus incoming bonus content coming to their patreon!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH6mUTHZ5C4&list=PL-THgg8QnvU4a7h__E8u1XhML9076xNfoBig shoutout to @NoclipDocs for consistently producing some of the best video game documentaries out there. If you haven’t checked them out yet, you’re missing some incredible behind-the-scenes stories from the games industry, make sure to subscribe to their Youtube & Social channels on the links below:youtube.com/@NoclipDocsyoutube.com/@noclip2youtube.com/@noclippodcastyoutube.com/@nocliparchivenoclipvideo.bsky.socialinstagram.com/noclipvideoAnd if you want to help them keep making these films, consider supporting them on Patreon: patreon.com/noclip

  • March 20 · 2 hr 1 min

    Esoteric Ebb Creator Christoffer Bodegård Interview

    Christofer Bodegard returns to the podcast to discuss the now released cRPG inspired by Disco Elysium & Planescape Torment, Esoteric Ebb!Esoteric Ebb is a single-player CRPG inspired by the freedom of tabletop adventures. Unravel a political conspiracy with your goblin sidekick. Roll dice in tense encounters. Become a cleric of legends or completely ruin the campaign.You can purchase Esoteric Ebb on Steam here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2057760/Esoteric_Ebb/Check out the website for Esoteric Ebb: https://esotericebb.com/

  • S3 · E4
    Oct 23, 2025 · 1 hr 22 min

    Metal Gear Solid V Actress Stefanie Joosten - Human Can Opener S3E4

    In this exclusive interview, I talk with Stefanie Joosten, the actress, model, and musician best known for portraying Quiet in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.Stefanie shares her experiences working with Hideo Kojima, her transition from gamer in to games industry icon and the evolution of her creative career.We also chat about her recent playthrough of Disco Elysium, what she took away from its storytelling and world-building, and how narrative-driven games continue to inspire her as an artist.You can follow Stefanie on Twitch & Social Media via the links below:Twitch: https://m.twitch.tv/stefaniejoosten/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stefaniejoosten/Timestamps:00:00 Pre Show Chat05:49 Stefanie's Favourite Games17:49 Japan & Metal Gear Solid33:57 Gamescom 202542:00 Twitch Streaming47:31 Disco Elysium

  • S3 · E3
    Oct 6, 2025 · 1 hr 55 min

    People Make Games (PMG) Co-Founder Chris Bratt Interview - Human Can Opener S3E3

    In this episode of Human Can Opener i’m joined by People Make Games co founder, Chris Bratt. Most of you will probably know Chris from the two documentaries PMG have published on the seemingly bottomless pit of drama and intrigue which has come as a result of ZAUM studio’s battles in the court of law and of public opinion.Chris and PMG did a huge amount of work to uncover much of the detail in this story, revealing much of it to all of us for the first time, but they did also face a lot scruinty for the overall message they communicated.We talk about the first documentary, the responses to some of that criticism, how those events influenced the production of the follow up documentary, and explored in greater detail some of the challenges Chris and the team faced not just in their work on ZAUM but the channel as a whole.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro01:22 Who Is Christ Bratt & What Is PMG?30:29 Who Stole Disco Elysium? (First Documentary)1:26:47 The Disco Elysium Saga Keeps Getting Worse (Second Documentary)1:45:48 Closing ThoughtsSupport People Make Games Below:https://www.youtube.com/@UCZB6V9fUov0Mx_us3MWWILg https://www.patreon.com/cw/PeopleMakeGamesView The Two Disco Elysium Docs Here:https://youtu.be/JGIGA8taN-M?si=e3QJmm2mX6PMDD9Dhttps://youtu.be/lZEAs6M1wts?si=jvovlR4IcZ5iKaNECheck Out More Human Can Opener Here:Season 1:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwfsoqZ9RcDqBRc8HiKp7qYM&si=WdgfsA58MHwxpjVkSeason 2:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-QbwclAOOf_bSyaXFsJatB3879&si=zgVgl-jf8ZLzb2KRSeason 3:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB31s7g-Qbwf2kzBtXPbFJDCkwd1qWBwb&si=inDjgXgBizBzUdO-

  • S3 · E2
    Sep 20, 2025 · 1 hr 8 min

    Twigames Founder Valeriy Minenko on Making Games In Ukraine & The Story of upcoming cRPG Hollow Home

    This episode of Human Can Opener features Twigames founder Veleriy Minenko.Twigames is an independent game development studio based in Kyiv, Ukraine, founded in 2015. The team of around 20 developers, artists, and designers specializes in full-cycle game production, offering services from programming and art to porting and narrative design across PC, console, mobile, and VR/AR platforms. In addition to contract work, Twigames are now working on their very own title called Hollow Home, a narrative-driven game inspired by real stories of life during the war in Ukraine. Valeriy talks candidly about the challenges they have faced during the last 3 years since the invasion of Ukraine and how they have managed to continue being creative in the face of those circumstances.You can support Twigames by playing the demo of Hollow Home and wishlisting here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2362070/?snr=1_5_9__205

  • S3 · E1
    Sep 19, 2025 · 2 hr 29 min

    Il Manifesto Writer Giulia Martino Interview

    Join me in a thoughtful conversation with Giulia Martino—an italian game critic, and devoted gamer who has an immense passion for indie games and the people behind them.Giulia’s reflections on becoming a writer, her hobby as an amateur mycologist, independent game development and her broader engagement with the indie scene, some of her favourite indie games to look out for this year, and some key articles she has written on serious topics such as the war in Ukraine and the genocide taking place in Gaza.Please make sure to read all of Giulias work via the links below:https://www.giuliamartino.eu/https://www.finalround.it/staff/6/giulia-martinohttps://multiplayer.it/account/utente/1812924/giulia-martino/articoli/TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro00:42 First Steps As A Gamer19:00 Becoming A Game Critic32:00 Mushrooms!40:00 Indie Games01:10:47 Games Being Made In War Torn Countries - Ukraine & Palestine1:43:22 PlayHer & Female Representation In games1:57:16 Disco Elysium, ZAUM, and Hopes For The Future

  • S2 · E12
    Sep 15, 2025 · 1 hr 33 min

    Shore Of Jord Creator Alex Talks About His Upcoming Disco Elysium Inspired Narrative cRPG

    Shore of Jord is a story-driven cRPG set in an alternate world of Europa, where you take on the role of a retired military officer trying to resolve mysterious events from your past and survive the longest winter in history: strengthen or break friendships, find your love, and discover who you are. Wishlist on steam now!

  • S2 · E10
    Jun 2, 2025 · 2 hr 24 min

    Ted Litchfield - Human Can Opener S2E10

    Ted Litchfield is an associate editor at the biggest PC Gaming magazine, PCGamer. Ted has written many of the stories centred around ZAUM Studio, Disco Elysium, and more. With a wide breadth of knowledge on the industry, Tedspoke to me about his journey in to the industry, his love of cRPGS, what he really thinks of Disco Elysium Mobile and the new Project C4 from ZAUM studio. Search for DLIF Patrol on Bluesky and Ted Litchfield on the PCGamer website for all his published articles!

  • S2 · E9
    May 26, 2025 · 2 hr 37 min

    Alphyna Interview Ice Pick Lodge, Pathologic, Disco Elysium

    Human Can Opener Podcast welcomes Ice Pick Lodge writer and translator, Alphyna!As many indie devs often do, Alphyna has worn many different hats in the pursuit of creating games - taking the lead on the Russian localisation of Disco Elysium, but more commonly known for working at Russian indie studio Ice Pick Lodge, namely writing for and translating Pathologic 2, now taking on the role of Narrative lead on Pathologic 3.In this extensive interview we get a look in to the fascinating mind of Alphyna and many of the inspirations behind Pathologic, new details on Pathologic 3, and how she became involved with Disco Elysium.

  • S2 · E5
    May 8, 2025 · 3 hr 22 min

    Human Can Opener S2E5: Giacomo Montagnoli

    Season 2 Episode 5 of Human Can Opener welcomes Flat 28 and Glasshouse creative director, Giacomo Montagnoli. Support Glasshouse by wishilisting on Steam here: https://t.co/FweCybvr1o Check out the Glasshouse Discord: https://t.co/Q2GugvWirz Glasshouse is a Feudalpunk cRPG inspired by games such as Disco Elysium and Pathologic 2. You find yourself trapped in a lockdown apartment block at the dawn of a world war and you'll need to investigate the mysterious triple murder next door, fight the Political Conspiracy, and make terrible choices before the flatmates do it for you. Timestamps 00:00 Talking about our favourite games 31:05 Giacomo’s Other Media Recommendations 1:15:09 Filmmaking & Cyberpunk 2077 Documentary 1:47:19 Creating Glasshouse 2:20:51 Disco Elysium #glasshouse #humancanopener #indiegame #indiegames #crpg

  • S2 · E8
    Apr 19, 2025 · 2 hr 14 min

    Human Can Opener S2E8: Christoffer Bodegård

    Human Can Opener S2 Episode 8 welcomes Sudden Snail & Esoteric Ebb creator, Christoffer Bodegård.ESOTERIC EBB is a single-player CRPG inspired by the freedom of tabletop adventures. Unravel a political conspiracy with your goblin sidekick. Roll dice in tense encounters. Become a cleric of legends or completely ruin the campaign.You can play the demo of Esoteric Ebb and wishlist it over on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2057760/Esoteric_Ebb/Follower Chris on Twitter: https://x.com/chrisbodegardTIMESTAMPS00:00 Welcoming Chris & Talking Favourite Games13:00 Storytelling & Game Design19:00 How Esoteric Ebb Was Born45:00 The Influence of Dungeons & Dragons1:00:00 Christoffer's Previous Work1:04:48 Esoteric Ebb2:00:00 Disco Elysium

  • Mar 17, 2025 · 3 hr 11 min

    Human Can Opener S2E7: Jeffiot

    Human Can Opener S2 Episode 7 welcomes Swedish YouTube legend & super talented videographer, Jeffiot.He is creator of the recent Disco Elysium video essay titled "I Don't Want To Be This Kind Of Animal Any More" which you can check out here: https://youtu.be/Phns6c7j_mM?si=9otkA8Wxalo_Q64RYou can also check out Jeffiot's patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/jeffiotTimestamps:00:00 Introducing Jeffiot15:30 Jeff's Favourite Game, Movie, Band, TV Show and Book54:30 What is Jeffiot?59:01 The Influence Of Found Footage Movies1:10:00 Taking The Leap To Do YouTube Full Time1:27:15 I Don't Want To Be This Kind Of Animal Any More1:57:45 We Love The Hardie Boys2:04:00 Detective Cuno2:10:50 Jeff Talks About Some Of His Techniques2:21:44 Jeffiot's Patreon2:26:06 Disco Elysium

  • S2 · E4
    Mar 7, 2025 · 2 hr 37 min

    Human Can Opener S2E4: Joshua Jenkins

    Season 2 Episode 4 of Human Can Opener: A Disco Elysium PodcastIn this episode I speak with Artist & Writer Joshua Jenkins.Known for working concept art related to The Pale in Disco Elysium and currently working on new game Judas at Ghost Story Games, the new studio led by Ken Levine.Covering everything from video games, politics, cinema, and of course Disco Elysium. This is a fascinating conversation qith an equally fascinating person.Timestamps:00:00 Introducing Joshua Jenkins05:00 Talking About Our Favourite Media52:00 Becoming An Artist1:07:39 Ghost Story Games & Working For Ken Levine1:23:00 Working With ZAUM on Disco Elysium Art1:38:00 Pale Magpies1:45:00 Politics!1:54:00 Disco ElysiumEnjoy the episode, and let us know your favorite part in the comments!#DiscoElysium #HumanCanOpener #Podcast #GamingCommunity

  • S2 · E6
    Mar 7, 2025 · 2 hr 39 min

    Human Can Opener S2E6: Marko Smijlanic

    Human Can Opener S2 Episode 6 welcomes Emotion Spark & Rue Valley creative director, Marko Smiljanic.Rue Valley is a narrative RPG about a man trapped in a time loop, surrounded by a colorful cast with complex emotional stories, each hiding unexpected secrets. Dealing with mental challenges, the main character must rise from the depths, delving into the anomaly to uncover its enigmatic origins.Check out the Rue Valley Trailer: https://youtu.be/NiF7VF74OEwWishlist Rue Valley On Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2126190/Rue_Valley/Timestamps:00:00 Marko's Favourite Media16:23 First Venture In To Making Games36:57 Marko's Role As Creative Director45:44 The Rue Valley Timeloop51:40 Rue Valley's Conditions & Personality Traits1:04:00 Art Style & Presentation of Rue Valley1:12:45 The Mind Map 1:23:35 Purple Pills & More News Soon?1:28:43 Meeting Robert, Rostov, and Helen2:01:00 Disco Elysium

  • S2 · E5
    Feb 3, 2025 · 6 hr 26 min

    ZAUM The Inside Story: Part 2

    Welcome Part 2 of this very long & very special edition of my Human Can Opener podcast, featuring former ZAUM employees Argo Tuulik & Dora Klindžić. Argo has a fundraiser you can support here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-disco-elysium-writer-survive-the-winter Chapter Timestamps: 00:00 The President Of ZAUM 26:05 Show Me The Moolah 29:08 The Suffocation Of X7 39:45 The Power Of Creatives 50:04 Merging P1 & X7 1:08:34 Structure Talks 1:20:37 Conspiracy & Secrecy 1:35:05 Masks Are Slipping Off 2:06:44 An Alternate Timeline 2:18:35 Shadow CEO or Cult Leader? 2:42:51 Load The Dice & Keep On Fighting 3:40:34 Will The Real Toxic People, Please Stand Up? 4:18:47 Fighting The ZAUM 3.0 Plan 4:51:45 Complaints & Investigations 4:59:45 The Campfire Meetings 5:06:20 Going Public To The Press 5:20:29 The Mass Redundancy Process 5:25:40 A Cosmic Betrayal 5:32:30 Argo's Redundancy Meeting 5:44:29 Resigning Constructively 5:52:52 Crappy ZAUM Atelier 6:02:18 ZAUM United 6:12:42 Closing Thoughts https://x.com/The41stPrecinct https://bsky.app/profile/the41stprecinct.bsky.social Keywords: Disco Elysium, ZAUM, Robert Kurvitz, Argo Tuulik, Dora Klindzic, ZAUM controversy, Disco Elysium IP, X7 project, P1 project cancellation, Porto event, Martin Luiga blog, gaming industry drama.

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