Game Maker's Notebook

Robin Hunicke chats with Asaf and Eyal Geva , the brothers behind the three person development studio Peanut Button . Together they discuss the early VR prototypes that led to their first release, The Secret of Retropolis ; how VR gives the players presence; and the challenges of adding characters and storytelling to VR experiences. Peanut Button is an independent studio, founded and run in Tel Av...

Brought to you by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the 24th Annual #DICEAwards is an annual awards celebration by game makers for game makers, honoring the games that connect us around the globe. These awards honor our fellow creators and the very best in interactive entertainment. Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me...

Brought to you by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the 24th Annual #DICEAwards is an annual awards celebration by game makers for game makers, honoring the games that connect us around the globe. These awards honor our fellow creators and the very best in interactive entertainment. Watch our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's K...

Brought to you by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the 24th Annual #DICEAwards is an annual awards celebration by game makers for game makers, honoring the games that connect us around the globe. These awards honor our fellow creators and the very best in interactive entertainment. Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me...

Ted Price chats with Arcade Berg and Tor Frick , Co-Founders and Creative Directors behind Neon Giant  who recently released The Ascent . Together they discuss what it was like building a massive AAA title with a small team; how they balanced procedural construction with bespoke flourishes to create a rich and immersive detailed world; how constraints can be a key problem solving tool; and their a...

Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Mobile Game of the Year. The nominees include: +Carrion +Ghost of Tsushima +Little Orpheus +Ori and the Will of the Wisps +The Pathless

Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Outstanding Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction. The nominees include: +Ghost of Tsushima +Hades +The Last of Us Part II +Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales +Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Outstanding Technical Achievement. The nominees include: +Dreams +Ghost of Tsushima +The Last of Us Part II +Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit +Microsoft Flight Simulator

Austin Wintory chats with Phillip Kovats , the Senior Director of Sound for the PlayStation Studios Creative Arts team. Together they discuss his long career working on some of the biggest titles in the games industry; learning to tell stories and finding your voice as an artist; using audio to marry visuals and music to help the player's emotional journey; and giving teams agency to explore their...

Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Mobile Game of the Year. The nominees include- -HoloVista -Legends of Runeterra -Little Orpheus -Song of Bloom -South of the Circle

Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Action Game of the Year. The nominees include- -DOOM Eternal -Hades -Half-Life: Alyx -Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales -Nioh 2

Listen to the nominees for the 24th Annual #DICEAwards Outstanding Achievement in Story chat with one another in intimate roundtable sessions, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams. The nominees include- -13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim -Ghost of Tsushima -Hades -Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition -The Last of Us Part II

Ted Price chats with Guha and Karthik Bala, brothers who founded both Velan Studios and Vicarious Visions . Together they discuss their incredible journey in games beginning with the founding of Vicarious Visions while they were both in high school and into their new venture at Velan Studios; their approach to problem solving; how failure leads to positive outcomes; and what they learned at MIT th...

Listen to the nominees for the 24th Annual #DICEAwards Adventure Game of the Year chat with one another in intimate roundtable sessions, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams. The nominees include- -Assassin's Creed Valhalla -Ghost of Tsushima -Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition -The Last of Us Part II -Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Watch our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Outstanding Achievement in Game Design. The nominees include- -Ghost of Tsushima -Hades -Half-Life: Alyx -The Last of Us Part II -Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Brought to you by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the 24th Annual #DICEAwards is an annual awards celebration by game makers for game makers, honoring the games that connect us around the globe. These awards honor our fellow creators and the very best in interactive entertainment. Watch our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards , moderated by Spawn on Me's...

Ted Price chats with Matt Firor , Founder and Studio Director at ZeniMax Online Studios and Game Director on The Elder Scrolls Online . Together they discuss how his team built and continues to expand on a giant online world; the balance between systems and hand created content; the importance of engagement metrics in order to maintain the health of the game; and the potential of online worlds in...

Austin Wintory chats with Mark Mothersbaugh about his long career in music including his band DEVO ; his work in film and television; his transition into video games; his thoughts about game development and interactive systems; and how his family has affected his thoughts on music. Mark Mothersbaugh is a celebrated composer, musician, singer, and songwriter best known for being one of the founders...

Ted Price chats with Harvey Smith of Arkane Studios . Together they discuss developing emergent mechanics, the importance of research to underpin creative decisions during development, and the importance of representation in games both culturally and creatively.  Harvey Smith is the Studio Director of Arkane Studios and Co-Creative Director on the upcoming Redfall . He is also known for his work o...

In this special 100th episode of the Game Maker's Notebook, we turn the tables on longtime host Ted Price . Guest host Tim Schafer  (Founder,  Double Fine Productions ) chats with Ted about life before game development, starting Insomniac Games and the challenges of developing their first game, the values and principles that have guided his company along the way, joining the PlayStation family of...

Ted Price chats with Blizzard's President, J. Allen Brack , about his start in gaming and game development; Blizzard's diversity and inclusion initiatives and how it affects the company culture and its games; lessons for live ops and player feedback experiences; and best approaches to building effective leaders. J. Allen Brack is the President of Blizzard Entertainment . J. joined Blizzard in Janu...

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 big projects; and the challenges the team faced on the newest entry in the Ratchet & Clank series. Marcus S...

Ted Price chats with Housemarque's Harry Krueger about their recently released game  Returnal . Together they discuss how Housemarque embraced an organic creative process, what effect their gameplay design decisions had on the procedural construction and combat, keeping the arcade spirit alive, and about the challenge of randomness.  Harry Krueger is a Game Director at Housemarque best known for h...

Austin Wintory chats with Composer Brian D'Oliveira about his music "laboratory" and using its space as a tool for music creation, how he began his career as a composer and learned to have zero limitations, his unique improvisational approach to composing, creating the soundtrack of his childhood in Papo & YO, and about his most recent work on the Resident Evil franchise.  Brian is an award winnin...

Ted Price chats with Hazelight's   Josef Fares about his move from film directing to game development, their focus on delivering a large amount of gameplay variety, their dedication to two-player coop experiences, and the pros and cons of replayability.  Josef Fares is the founder, writer, and director of  Hazelight Studios , who are best known for A Way Out and the recently released  It Takes Two...