About Steamcast
Steamcast was a fan-made podcast that hosted discussions about Valve and Steam, but also a wide range of gaming related subjects such as video game digital distribution, the art and design of video games and other topical video game related subjects.
(Above) The original logo used for the first few episodes, which was accompanied by a green and brown website colour scheme.
Steamcast was created in early June of 2009, born from the controversy of the Left 4 Dead 2 announcement at E3. Since then, it has been maintained by the three hosts; Sam, Saurabh, and Brad. Steamcast has enjoyed considerable success in that time. In August of 2009, Steamcast hosted its first exclusive interview with Gabe Newell, co-founder and managing director of Valve Software. Staying true to its aim of supporting the community, Steamcast allowed members of the community the opportunity to forward their own questions and concerns to Newell, resulting in an entirely community-produced interview. Since then, Steamcast has published a further six community-based interviews (including one other with Newell, along with Harry S. Robins, Marc Laidlaw, Alésia Glidewell, Ellen McLain, Jonathan Coulton and the Black Mesa mod team).
(Above) The logo that was used between 2009 and mid-2011 and sported a monochromatic website colour scheme.
As a community-founded podcast, Steamcast placed high importance on community participation, of which members are welcome to join the hosts and share their thoughts and opinions on specific topics. This gave the community — everyday gamers — the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns.
Steamcast ended in May 8th 2012 with a three hour special episode after publishing 99 episodes (103 including special episodes) in total over the course of 3 years.
Steamcast episodes were released in audio format, and generally lasted for around an hour in length. Episodes were recorded live every Monday and published the following Wednesday. It followed a three-part structure:
- Mail Bag — Emails and messages sent to us by our listeners were addressed
- News — The latest Valve, Steam, and gaming industry news was covered
- Threads of Discussion — A community-raised topic was discussed in detail
Audio versions of the episodes were published on the official Steamcast website, on a M4A-file RSS feed (which includes iTunes chapters) and on a MP3-file RSS feed. The podcast is listed in the .
There is also an official , and Steam Community group where the hosts talk with our listeners, post announcements and even give away free games from time to time.
About the hosts
Sam ...is British; tea? Alias: Flamov
With the superhero-power-worthy ability to never stop talking, Sam postulated the idea of Steamcast many moons ago. Equipped with an unrivalled butchering of a British accent and an unhealthy fasciation for RollerCoaster Tycoon, Sam has been playing PC games ever since Zork.
Saurabh ...is Canadian, eh! Aliases: Spitfire1945/Craeyon
Originally wanting to call the podcast The Steamers, Saurabh crowns himself as the most mature of the three hosts. Every full moon he unleashes his hidden persona and skill of a rapper, resulting in a schedule so saturated with mesmerised women he can not even find the time to play the original Half-Life.
Brad ...is Australian, mate. Aliases: Mimaz98/Bboynexus
Also known as Brad, DJ Bradley-D-Diddles has opinions as hot as the Outback and criticisms as cold as a pint of Australian-brewed beer. Having learnt the rites of gaming from his aboriginal guardians, Brad has an appreciation for story-writing in games as wide as the biggest deserts Down Under.