Game Maker's Notebook

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with Actor  Ben Starr . Together they discuss his role in the multi-D.I.C.E. Award winning game  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 ; balancing authenticity and restraint in the public sphere; voice acting in a game filled with intimacy in  Date Everything! ; and his observations on the difficulties many developers face today. This episode is supported by   Xsolla iam8bit Episode...

Adam Orth  chats with  Battlefield 6  Creative Director,  Thomas Andersson . Together they discuss his path in games from level design to direction; what it takes to lead a team the size it takes to create a Battlefield title; the pillars and core features that drove the mission in the newest entry; how the kinetic movement and destruction work together to create unique and epic moments; and the t...

Karrie Shao  chats with writer and narrative designer  Cara Ellison . Together they discuss her path from television to games; the global development scene and the difficulties facing developers today; her desire to bring local culture to the global stage; and her work with  Fireproof Games  on the  D.I.C.E. Award  winning VR title,  Ghost Town .  Episode Host: Karrie Shao Producers: Claudio Tapia...

Adam Orth chats with  Eyes Out  co-founders  Cory Davis  (Spec Ops: the Line) and  Robin Finck  (Nine Inch Nails) about their studio's debut game,  SLEEP AWAKE . Together they discuss their distinct paths from traditional games and music and how they found themselves collaborating together; the unique audio-first approach they took with  SLEEP AWAKE ; the psychedelic dreamlike horror themes presen...

Grammy Award winning composer Austin Wintory chats with Rev. Dr. Bradley D. Meyer , Audio Director at Sucker Punch Productions . Together they discuss his path to gaming and joining Sucker Punch ; his thoughts on audio design including on his latest work in Ghost of Yōtei ; the complex marriage of audio and music in large projects; and how they balanced the score of Ghost of Yōtei between Japanese...

Guest host  Tim Schafer  ( Double Fine Productions ) chats with  Jon Gibson  ( iam8bit )  Meggan Scavio  ( AIAS ), and  Sibel Sunar  ( fortyseven communications ) about their joint effort to celebrate the world of game art, the  Game Maker's Sketchbook . Together they discuss the history and goals of the showcase; the charities it supports in the  AIAS Foundation  and  Day of the Devs ; and how to...

Corey May  chats with  Abiotic Factor  developers  Geoff "Zag" Keene  and  Henry Feltham  from  Deep Field Games . Together they discuss the challenges and benefits of working in small teams; the importance of relationships and communication; narrative design as a production tool; balancing seriousness and comedy; and what they didn't like about the survival genre that they hoped to remedy with  A...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Ubisoft Mainz  Creative Director,  Manuel Reinher . Together they discuss his extensive work in the  Anno   series and his path from the art team to direction; the creative and technical challenges of working in the historical strategy game genre; their approach to depicting the Roman Empire in the latest series release,  Anno 117: Pax Romana ; how a seemingly simple tra...

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with  Adhoc Studio's   Nick Herman  about their debut title,  Dispatch . Together they discuss the difficulties of funding narrative based titles and how that led to their collaboration with  Critical Role ; how they approached the superhero genre from outside the fandom; balancing player choice with narrative intentions; what they learned from player testing; and why they...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Lee Petty , Creative Director on  Double Fine's  newest adventure,  Keeper . Together they discuss where the idea to anthropomorphize a light house; why they avoided dialogue and how it pushed them creatively; how silence and emptiness shape emotional tone; the importance of restraint; and what he's learned about leadership throughout his journey at  Double Fine . This e...

Jun Shen Chia  chats with  SILENT HILL f  game director  Al Yang  of  Neobards Entertainment . Together they discuss how Neobards collaborated with  Konami   and famed Japanese writer Ryukishi07 on creating the newest chapter in the Silent Hill series; designing the combat to create tension and feel like a puzzle; creating a game for existing fans that brings in new players; and balancing fun whil...

Adam Orth  chats with  Brandon Adler  and  Kyle Koenig  about their latest work at  Obsidian Entertainment ,  The Outer Worlds 2 . Together they discuss the lessons they learned from the first game and what they sought to improve; how they implemented comedic and narrative elements into every aspect of gameplay; what ideas ended up on the cutting room floor; and what's next for themselves and the...

This episode contains spoilers for the game 'Ghost of Yōtei' Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with actor and producer,  Erika Ishii  who stars as Atsu in  Ghost of Yōtei . Together they discuss Erika's journey in acting and how they found themselves working in video games; working with  Sucker Punch and their process working with performers; the advantages of bringing in the cast early in development; and...

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with  Oli Chance  and  Morgan Rushton  from localization studio  Shloc Ltd . Together they discuss how they got into the business of game localization; their long history working on massive IP like the  Final Fantasy ,  Dragon Quest , and  Death Stranding  series; how they tackle challenges like translating cultural differences; and working with actors and directors to loc...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Dotemu CEO,  Cyrille Imbert . Together they discuss  Dotemu's  work in licensed IP including how they pitch to license holders; the short-term financial and long-term relationship damage caused by releasing subpar products; how they inadvertently revived the beat 'em up genre with titles like  Streets of Rage 4  and  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge ; and...

Trent Kusters  chats with creator of the cult classic  Katamari Damacy  and the recently released  to a T ,  Keita Takahashi . Together they discuss how he went from sculpting to his first job at  Bandai Namco ; the origins and development of  Katamari Damacy and his subsequent works; his philosophy on creating games with experiences not available in the real world; and how he hopes his newest gam...

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with  Josh Sawyer , Studio Design Director at  Obsidian Entertainment . Together they discuss his thoughts on developing RPGs; what he learned from working at legendary studio Black Isle Studios; how to successfully adapt  Dungeons & Dragons to video games; writing for games with dialogue stacks; parsing and implementing feedback while keeping true to your creative vision;...

Adam Orth  chats with  Jeff Gardiner  from  Something Wicked Games . Together they discuss his long history in the world of RPG development including titles in the  Elder Scrolls  and  Fallout  series; the trials and tribulations associated with starting your own studio; the perilous state of the games industry from funding to consolidation; and the lessons he learned in leading teams from some of...

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with  Lis Moberly , Creative lead at  20th Century Games . Together they discuss how the path towards game development has changed over the years and the difficulties young people face with job placement; working with and helping junior writers join and stay in the games industry; the importance of institutionalized knowledge; and the value of collaborating with writers fr...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Dave Oshry  of  New Blood Interactive . Together they discuss how he went from games journalism to publishing; navigating the ins and outs of publishing on PC and how they landed their first deal; how nostalgia meets modern in the boomer shooter genre; their approach to the publisher/developer revenue split; how they uplift individual creators; and why their slogan of "W...

Adam Orth  chats with  Focus Entertainment's  Chief Content Officer,  Yves Le Yaouanq . Together they discuss his journey and the lessons he's learned working for some of the biggest game developers and publishers in the industry; his work on the research and development side of games; the need for publishers to focus on quality of content and gameplay; and his advice to developers on pitching the...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Sean Gorman  (Lead Designer) and  Mark Ranson  (Art Director) from  Void Interactive , creators of the tactical first-person shooter,  Ready or Not . Together they discuss how the studio balances realism, tension, and storytelling without glorifying violence; their "fear every door" design philosophy; lessons learned from AAA development; and how they decide what to cut...

Log in to your account at www.escapefromtarkov.com and redeem the code NIKITAONGMNPODCAST to receive a special gift from Battlestate Games. Trent Kusters  chats with Nikita Buyanov , the COO, Founder, and Game Director at  Battlestate Games , creators of  Escape From Tarkov . Together they discuss his journey in games to the founding of  Battlestate Games ; the inspirations behind  Escape From Tar...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Brendon Chung ,  Tynan Wales , and  Suzanne Will  about their immersive first-person shooter,  Skin Deep . Together they discuss the inspiration for  Skin Deep and how it evolved from it's original design; their desire to create an accessible entry point for the immersive sim genre; their ideas around level design and player guidance; what they left on the cutting room f...

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with actor  Alex Jordan  who most recently starred in the sci-fi survival game,  The Alters . Together they discuss his journey as an actor and his work in video games; the unique opportunity  The Alters provided due to it's premise revolving around clones; how he worked with the development team to find a distinct voice for each character; and how he approached a script w...