Game Maker's Notebook

Ted Price   chats with   Hilmar Veigar Pétursson , CEO of  CCP Games  the makers of  Eve Online . Together they reflect on 20 years of  Eve Online ; they discuss the social and economic forces that have developed inside Eve's virtual universe; the crucial partnership between CCP Games and the players; how seemingly small decisions can have galactic ripples throughout the Eve universe; and exciting...

Adam Orth  chats with  Ken Levine , the legendary creator behind the  Bioshock  series and the upcoming  Judas . Together they discuss Ken's journey into game writing; using art as a healthy outlet for processing uncomfortable subjects; dealing with the pressure of following up the first  Bioshock  game due to its massive success and popularity; how to tackle complex narratives and concepts aimed...

Ted Price chats with Todd Howard about Bethesda's much anticipated spacefaring RPG,  Starfield . Together they discuss the early ideas that led to Starfield and what the first year of development looked like; how they go about designing multiple complex game systems; how their extensive experience in open world RPGs helped them prioritize goals and milestones; building lore for an expansive origin...

Adam Orth  chats with SVP of Production at  Enhance ,  Mark MacDonald . Together they discuss Enhance's recently released game  Humanity , including the origin of the surreal puzzle-action experience; how Mark and  Tetsuya Miziguchi  met experimental artist  Yugo Nakamura , the game's designer; abstract narratives and how COVID influence their own story during development; and why they decided to...

Strange Scaffold's   Xalavier Nelson Jr.  chats with  Adam Hines  &  Sean Krankel  from  Night School Studio . Together they discuss releasing their latest game,  Oxenfree II: Lost Signals ; how new tools are improving the development process; trying to stay unpredictable as a studio; identifying core principles during development; and writing authentic worlds and characters while working with the...

Adam Orth  chats with  Jaeho Hwang  and  Nolan King  from  MINTROCKET Games , the studio behind the hit sushi restaurant/deep sea exploration RPG,  Dave the Diver . Together they discuss where the idea behind such a unique mishmash began inlcuding various influences inside and outside of games; forming the development team and pitching the game to the publisher; balancing all the gameplay systems...

Austin Wintory  chats with actor  Ben Starr , who played the lead role of Clive Rosfield in the latest entry to the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XVI . Together they discuss how he started acting and his early love of video games; his thought process behind when getting into character and bringing the writing to life; the psychological toll of performance art; and the difficult but freeing p...

Adam Orth  chats with  Max "Larry" Fink , one of the 3 developers behind the smash hit online shooter,  BattleBit Remastered . Together they discuss the history of BattleBit Remastered's development; how the team uses community feedback; being in the eye of the storm with the massive attention their game has garnered; and the unique design choices that help BattleBit Remastered stand out. The Game...

Austin Wintory  chats with actor  Laura Bailey  about her iconic work in games and animation. Together they discuss her early career and catching her first big break; her work in animation that led to a prolific career in video games; her process for getting into character; being a part of the highly popular  Critical Role ; and working together alongside the all-star cast of the recently released...

We're back with one of our past episodes with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Creative Director, Marcus Smith!  Ted Price chats with his long-time colleague at Insomniac Games , Marcus Smith. Together they discuss their history at Insomniac Games; his experiences on the Resistance series and Sunset Overdrive; his thoughts on being a creative director; how to build consensus and foster collaboration on...

We're on a break from new content this week, but check out one of our past episodes with Bryan Intihar, Creative Director at Insomniac Games for Marvel's Spider-Man! Originally released in April 19, 2019, Bryan joins host Ted Price of Insomniac Games live on the D.I.C.E. Summit stage to talk about his journey from journalist to game developer, the challenges of working on an existing IP, and his p...

Austin Wintory  chats with longtime  Star Wars  franchise composer  Gordy Haab . Together they discuss how Gordy found himself scoring more music for the space epic than even John Williams; creating music new music for an established franchise with your own voice and avoiding imitation; the complex approval process when working on Star Wars titles; and the fundamental differences between composing...

Digital Eclipse LA's   Adam Orth  chats with  John Johanas , the Game Director for the recently released rhythm-action game,  Hi-Fi Rush . Together they discuss John's journey into development and how he landed himself in Japan and working with legendary game creator  Shinji Mikami  at  Tango Gameworks ; transitioning from design to leading his first full game project on  The Evil Within 2 ; the p...

Austin Wintory chats with Composer Stephen Barton . Together they discuss his career inside and outside of games including his early work as part of the Metal Gear franchise; working with Infinity Ward on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise; and his recent projects with Respawn Entertainment on the Titanfall games, Apex Legends , and the Star Wars Jedi series including the recently released...

Trent Kusters   chats with  Sarah Northway  and  Colin Northway  from  Northway Games . Together they discuss both of their early careers and the path they eventually took which led them to develop games together; early projects including the  Fantastic Contraption  series and  Rebuild ; how their releases always seem to be at the zeitgeist of cultural and technological shifts in gaming; traveling...

Ted Price chats with Diablo IV Game Director, Joe Shely . Together they discuss the challenge of meeting expectations for such a beloved franchise; key decisions around classes, balance, and skill trees; their goals behind the end game; and how to design memorable bosses. Watch this episode on our Youtube channel. The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AO...

Trent Kusters  chats with Ben Esposito , Game Director behind the Annapurna Interactive published Neon White . Together they discuss what sparked his interest in game development; his work at The Unfinished Swan and What Remains of Edith Finch developer Giant Sparrow ; the long development journey of his previous game Donut County ; and how he followed that up by creating the "gamiest game" he cou...

Austin Wintory chats with award-winning composer Neal Acree , who has created music for several of Blizzard's most well known franchises including Warcraft , Diablo , and Overwatch . Together they discuss his career inside and outside of games; how he first started working with Blizzard ; the differences between composing music for an existing universe and creating for a completely new IP; and his...

Austin Wintory chats with veteran composer Chance Thomas . Together they discuss his 20+ year career across video games, television, and flim and what ultimately led him to recently announce his retirement. They cap off their discussion exploring his final and most ambitious work, the procedural score for  Ubisoft's The Settlers: New Allies . Check out Chance's memoir here: https://hugesoundrecord...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Shiny Shoe  Co-Founder and CEO  Mark Cooke . Together they discuss his journey in game development starting off as an intern at  LucasArts ; founding  Shiny Shoe  and the evolution of the studio; the conception and development of  Monster Train ; and their upcoming early access title  Inkbound . Watch this episode on our  Youtube  channel. The Game Maker's Notebook is sp...

Trent Kusters chats with Benjamin Coquelle (Project Manager and Game Designer) and Bruno Laverny (Marketing Director) from Ishtar Games . Together they discuss the journey that led each of them to Ishtar Games; the development of The Last Spell ; the features they felt were crucial to showcase to funding partners and potential customers; communicating with your community during early access; and t...

Trent Kusters chats with Phil Crifo , the Creative Director behind the recently released tropical open-world adventure game,  Tchia . Together they discuss his path into game development; meeting his development partner and releasing their first game to little fanfare; finding the courage and inspiration to start the next project; and how his home island of New Caledonia became the inspiration and...

Trent Kusters chats with Tarn Adams and Zach Adams , brothers who together created Dwarf Fortress . This is part 2 of an extended interview where they discuss the 20 year journey in creating the aforementioned title including the early inspirations that led them to learn programming; the games they developed before Dwarf Fortress ; crucial creative and community milestones; working together with K...

Trent Kusters chats with Tarn Adams and Zach Adams , brothers who together created Dwarf Fortress . This is part 1 of a 2 part extended interview where they discuss the 20 year journey in creating the aforementioned title including the early inspirations that led them to learn programming; the games they developed before Dwarf Fortress ; crucial creative and community milestones; working together...

Austin Wintory chats with  Aurélien Piters (Audio Director) and Maxime Touchon (Sound Designer). Together they discuss developing the audio design behind Asobo Studio's A Plague Tale: Requiem including their influences; the process of casting the actors; what they learned from the previous entries; working together with composer Olivier Deriviere and the music team in creating the right mood; and...