Joseph Fink, cocreator of the podcast Welcome to Night Vale, has cited the 1999 adventure game Grim Fandango as the primary influence on his understanding of storytelling. Fink discussed this and other topics in a recent interview, alongside the September 1st release of his new novella, The Nudge. The book, illustrated by Jessica Hayworth, who also provides art for Night Vale, follows a man trying to escape a mysterious evil.
Fink鈥檚 career spans multiple fiction podcasts and novels. Beyond Welcome to Night Vale, he created the noir series Unlicensed and the cosmic horror podcast Alice Isn鈥檛 Dead, which has a sequel series titled Don鈥檛 Tell Alice. His published works include three Welcome to Night Vale novels, an Alice Isn鈥檛 Dead novel, and The Halloween Moon. The Nudge is his latest release, described as a brief and unsettling story.
In the interview, Fink explained that Grim Fandango, a game about a grim reaper navigating a film noir afterlife, left a lasting impression on him. He noted that many of its lines and images remain vivid in his memory, even though some were parodies of classic films he did not recognize when he first played it. He also discussed Unlicensed, an Audible mystery series set in the less glamorous parts of Los Angeles, which he called one of the few projects that turned out exactly as he envisioned.
Fink shared his preference for the Android-only podcast app Podcast Addict, made by a developer named Xavier, saying it is better than other podcast apps and is the main reason he cannot switch to an iPhone. He also mentioned using Bluesky, noting he preferred it when fewer people were there to read his posts. On the topic of advice, he recalled a talk by musician Meshell Ndegeocello, who described shushing a student during a guitar workshop and emphasized that listening matters more than how well one plays.
Fink also discussed his habit of buying books, saying he never leaves a bookstore without purchasing several, and that he would build an addition to his house before getting rid of any. He admitted to having no interest in owning physical media like records or DVDs. Regarding the prospect of a movie based on his work, he joked that watching a writer type audio fiction on a computer would be boring and apologized for the idea. He noted he does not use GIFs or memes, preferring text-based social media.
More technology news from TechManNews.
