To listen in your browser click the play button above, or simply search “MGIF Podcast” in your favourite podcast player and subscribe!

This episode is with the marvellous Alex Donaldson.

Alex is a video game critic, the owner of RPG Site and Assistant Editor / editor at large for VG247.

We walked around the mean streets of Solihull and took in some gorgeous, verdant sights in the blazing sunshine - a huge long walk was had. Then we popped on the train to Birmingham to have a brief visit to NQ64 before sitting outside and soaking up a few more rays.

This is the first entirely roaming episode of the season, we talked for hours about all sorts and had a great day. What you will hear is a truncated version of our huge chat travelling all around Solihull and Birmingham with topics aplenty.

We spoke about Alex’s upbringing; his unusually early start in games writing, including his first visit to E3 at the age of 18; the future of expos and the games industry; family life; Alex’s obsession with projects, some of which involve tearing up his house (and installing arcade machines); choosing a direction for your websites and staying true to yourself, before closing out with a little bit of Street Fighter chat!

Alex is great and it was real pleasure scooting around Solihull and Birmingham, seeing the sights and chatting for hours til it was time to head home to London.

Thank you so much for listening, follow me over at @garydooton and @mgifshow. Stay subbed, stay following!

Lots of Love,

Gary x

To listen in your browser click the play button above, or simply search “MGIF Podcast” in your favourite podcast player and subscribe!

This episode is with the absolutely wonderful Simon Parkin!

Simon is a journalist, non-fiction writer and games critic. He also hosts the podcast My Perfect Console, where guests are invited to choose five games that are important to them to form their ideal fictional console.

As one of gaming’s best writers, it was an absolute pleasure to have someone like Simon appear on the show. We had a fantastic chat in Loading Bar Stoke Newington about writing both for games and away from games, how Simon picks a topic for his non-fiction books, the way games journalism has changed over the years, Simon’s love for writing and how he got into the industry, and many other little tangents and fun topics along the way.

Simon is wonderful and it was a delight to sit with him of an afternoon and get into some juicy topics. He’s great company and the episode is excellent as a result.

Thank you so much for listening, follow me over at @garydooton and @mgifshow. Stay subbed, stay following!

Lots of Love,

Gary x

To listen in your browser click the play button above, or simply search “MGIF Podcast” in your favourite podcast player and subscribe!

This episode is with the guy they very often call Paul Kilduff Taylor!

Paul is a previous guest of the show, and the man behind Mode7 Games. He is also an extremely brilliant music man who is behind several soundtracks in recent indie games, including the OSTs of Fights in Tight Spaces and the upcoming Knights In Tight Spaces, which is something we get into on the pod.

But not before having a walk around the Soho area and talking an extraordinary amount of shite first. But don’t worry, I’ve edited that bit right down into a manageable chunk of horseshit suitable for all the family.

We found a spare bench to park our bums on and get really into some excitable game design chat as well as generally enthusing about stuff we care about in games.

Paul is funny and knows his stuff in equal measure, so any time he’s on the podcast, it’s an excellent one.

Thank you so much for listening, follow me over at @garydooton and @mgifshow. Stay subbed, stay following!

Lots of Love,

Gary x

To listen in your browser click the play button above, or simply search “MGIF Podcast” in your favourite podcast player and subscribe!

This episode is with the fabulous Frankie Ward!

Frankie is an amazing, highly experienced presenter and streamer. She is an Intel Gaming Ambassador and is currently working on FC 24, VALORANT and Fortnite, but she’s done so much in her very busy career, so it was a pleasure and a privilege to share a couple of hours with her.

We got a good stroll in with another good doggie, this time by the name of Dina, before grabbing a coffee and making our way back to Frankie’s place for a well-earned rest.

We talked about FGC and the esports scene, being a mum and working as a freelancer, baking, Getting on with your job as a presenter and putting on a professional, brave face front of camera when everything is falling apart around you, women in esports scenes, both behind the desk and as competitors, and SO MUCH MORE!

It’s a lovely bumper episode this week, Frankie is brilliant and loads of fun, and I’m very grateful for her time and her openness in this episode. It’s another MGIF banger, but what else do you expect at this point?

Thank you so much for listening, follow me over at @garydooton and @mgifshow. Stay subbed, stay following!

Lots of Love,

Gary x

To listen in your browser click the play button above, or simply search “MGIF Podcast” in your favourite podcast player and subscribe!

This episode is with actress and voice over queen, it’s Jane Perry!

Jane is an actress who you may know as the voice of Rogue in Cyberpunk, Selene in Returnal - a role for which she won a BAFTA - and Agent 47’s handler, Diana, in the Hitman series reboot. I was so excited to get Jane on the pod, I’m a big fan and anyone who knows me knows that Hitman is one of my all time beloved game series.

We walked around town with Jane’s adorable, enormous Great Dane Harley, had a coffee outside in the sunshine before retiring back to her kitchen for a bit more sit down chat with the fancy mics.

Jane is a truly sweet person and so talented, and a real pleasure to be in the company of. I’m excited to bring you this one and I know you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. 

Thank you so much for listening, follow me over at @garydooton and @mgifshow. Stay subbed, stay following!

Lots of Love,

Gary x

To listen in your browser click the play button above, or simply search “MGIF Podcast” in your favourite podcast player and subscribe!

This episode is with Actor, comedian, voiceover artist and MUCH more, it’s Inel Tomlinson!

Recorded in February of 2024, we talk about firsts - first games, first stand up, first forays into TV, and from these starting points we go on ALL SORTS of tangents and journeys, and it’s an absolute riot.

Inel is hilarious and brimming with energy but we don’t just the comedian here - we get some insight into what it’s like to work in TV and how that landscape has changed, and the importance of timing and having a bit of luck in what you do, even when you’re very good at it. I really appreciated the honesty and how much he shared with me, it’s a great listen.

Thanks you so much for listening, follow me over at @garydooton and @mgifshow. Stay subbed, stay following!

Lots of Love,

Gary x

To listen in your browser click the play button above, or simply search “MGIF Podcast” in your favourite podcast player and subscribe!

This episode is with presenter and journalist Steffan Powell!

Recorded in January 2024, I met Steffan outside the South Bank centre in London. We went for a stroll alongside the Thames, grabbed a coffee from one of the stands before sitting down in view of a gorgeously sunny London. We covered every detail of Steffan’s long and involved career, how Rumpole of the Bailey inspired his early career choices, his lifelong love of gaming, Welshness in games, alongside myriad other topics.

Steffan is brilliant - very naturally enjoyable company - and my interviewer / reporter / journalist itch that I like to scratch with this podcast really gelled with Steffan’s passion for his work.

This is an extra long one because we got talking so easily and I didn’t think it was worth cutting much out, I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks you so much for listening, follow me over at @garydooton and @mgifshow. Stay subbed, stay following!

Lots of Love,

Gary x

This episode is with comedian, author, TV man and capital G GAMER, it’s Steve McNeil!

Recorded in October of 2023, I visited the VIBRANT / mostly concrete town of Milton Keynes, where Steve took me on a driving tour of everything the place had to see (basically the Milton Keynes concrete cows).

After doing our level best to not mention computer games at any point, we eventually succumb as we sit down in a beer garden after walking through a graveyard on a cold October afternoon - this episode really does have some devastatingly over 40s energy to it.

We talk about Street Fighter; whether we should cancel Charles Martinez; Steve’s 10 year running live show Wifi Wars; his book “Hey! Listen!” and - most importantly - California Games on the C64.

Steve is great and I had such a laugh in his company. This episode is pure chaos and I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks you so much for listening, follow me over at @garydooton and @mgifshow. Stay subbed, stay following!

Lots of Love,

Gary x

Photos courtesy of Lyndsay Spence

It’s a longer one this week as I take you on an audio journey to Scotland, as I make my way to the fabulous Glesgames!

Recorded THIS MONTH - March 2024 - I took a train to Edinburgh where I stayed with a friend (shout outs to Mark - I love you mate) before making my way over to Glasgow to attend Glesgames - an evening of socialising and gaming, opened with a live episode of the 2GoodBoys Podcast.

If you don’t know, the 2goodboys podcast is an occasional and very off topic podcast about - in their own words - nothing in particular. It’s headed up by Barry Topping and Guy Woodward, two quality members of what I like to call the Scottish Games Contingent. It’s a really funny, casual and unplanned chat which often goes really dark, exploring the worst bits of the internet, and has gathered quite a following over the years.

I catch up with the good boys after their live podcast to chat shite with them, as well as having a chat with regular 2GoodBoys guest, filmmaker, streamer and all round loveable lad Richie Morgan, who I intend to feature in a future episode.

After that, it’s time to plug the big microphones in and have a good chat with the lovely Gavin Spence, illustrator, podcaster, and youtuber legend in his own right (check out transformers done quick AKA TRDQ on youtube)

Then it’s on to the man himself, Simon Marshall, organiser of Glesgames, to chat about the show itself, why it sells out an hour after tickets go live and why you should not miss your chance to come to the next one, before ending the night with a chat with the absolutely wonderful Scott White, who was co host of Bitsocket before it sadly closed its doors last year, where we talk mainly about the reboot of Gladiators for some reason, alongside some computer games of course!

Thanks to everyone who chatted on the mic for me. This is a bit of a longer one with lots more ambient sound than usual because I really wanted to get the feeling of taking you on the journey for this one. I care about making this podcast a unique listen and I hope this recreates some of the feeling of journeying without the knackering element of actually bloody doing it.

So please join me for a trip to see 2GoodBoys, Glesgames, and all the other magical people you can meet in the Scottish games scene.

****Images of Glesgames credit to Lyndsay Spence**** - thanks to Lyndsay for covering it whilst pulling double duty as security for anyone trying to sneak in without a ticket.

Thanks you so much for listening, follow me over at @garydooton and @mgifshow. Stay subbed, stay following!

Lots of Love,

Gary x

Welcome back! Episode 4 is with returning guest George “not that one) Osborn!

Recorded in Octobier 2023, I was refreshing George’s headshots in Stoke Newington’s Loading Bar so I decided we should double up (or double down?) and crack out an hour of magical podcasting.

Surprisingly for us, we used up 80% of our usual mutual silliness putting the headshots together, so when it came to sit down and chat we actually became intelligent and insightful! That’s not to say we didn’t manage to eke out some prize horse shit along the way but the tone was one of a naturally occurring thoughtful discussion, and for that I am truly sorry.

George knows his bloody onions and it’s a pleasure to have my brain expanded by him. I would recommend signing up to George’s excellent weekly videogame news roundup, the Videogames Industry Memo. You can do that right here.

Thanks you so much for listening, follow me over at @garydooton and @mgifshow. Stay subbed, stay following!

Lots of Love,

Gary x

Welcome back! Episode 3 is with the magnificent Luke Hebbelthwaite!

Luke is head of games at BAFTA - if you’ve seen a BAFTA games thing in the past, you can bet Luke was involved in it!

Recorded in January 2024, Luke met with me in the churchyard close to BAFTA 195 in London Piccadilly where we had a mini tour of the surrounding area, before heading inside to BAFTA 195 where we had a big old chat about Luke’s career, his first love of games, as well as getting into the details of Luke’s extremely busy job getting games front and centre in various different ways at BAFTA.

Luke is an absolute smasher and I had a lovely time talking to him and finding out more about why BAFTA Games is making a difference. You can follow him on twitter at @Lukethehebble

Thanks you so much for listening, follow me over at @garydooton and @mgifshow. Stay subbed, stay following!

Lots of Love,

Gary x