Ep.256 - Starship Titanic with Arik Cohen

·1 hr 32 min·5 clips

Host Connor McCabe welcomes guest Arik Cohen to discuss the 1998 comedy adventure game Starship Titanic.

The episode begins with host Connor McCabe introducing the podcast's format of discussing meaningful video games with guests. Guest Arik Cohen, a comedy writer and sketch director, joins to talk about Starship Titanic. Arik first shares his early gaming memories, including playing at friends' houses due to his parents' initial anti-gaming stance. He details writing a 14-page contract to convince his parents to buy an N64, which they signed. Arik's gaming history focuses on the N64 and PC games, with favorites like Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Grim Fandango. The conversation shifts to Starship Titanic, a 1998 first-person adventure game based on a concept by Douglas Adams. They discuss the game's premise: repairing a crashed starship by solving puzzles and interacting with robots. Arik explains the unique 'SpookyTalk' system, which allowed players to type questions to robots with thousands of pre-recorded responses, though it had limitations. The game featured art deco visuals, voice acting by Monty Python members, and a tie-in novel by Terry Jones. Arik describes his personal connection to the game, including playing it with his friend Steve around his bar mitzvah in 1998. He shares anecdotes like extracting audio files to create a custom soundtrack CD and how the game's creepy atmosphere appealed to him as a kid. The episode explores puzzle design in adventure games, with Arik noting Starship Titanic's mix of absurd and engineering-based challenges. He connects the game's empathetic AI themes to modern perceptions, suggesting AI in media has become more negative. Arik also mentions similarities between Starship Titanic and the movie Passengers. The conversation wraps with Arik reflecting on how the game's vibe influenced his creative interests and memories of wandering real cruise ships.

As heard by us

A fond, clear-eyed look at Starship Titanic's art deco world and its unruly attempt at conversation.

Starship Titanic comes through as a neat case study in the charm and friction of 1990s game design, with Connor McCabe and Arique Cohen returning to Douglas Adams's art deco adventure.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want a shipboard visit where chatting with the bar bot becomes part puzzle, part conversation piece?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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