Game Maker's Notebook

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...

Austin Wintory  chats with  Brian Trifon  and  Brian Lee White  from the  award winning music composition and sound design team,  Finishing Move Inc.  Together they discuss their history in music and what led them to games; why they began collaborating on game scores and the advantages that brings; how they tackled a massive franchise with set audience expectations; and the genres and techniques t...

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with actor  Ray Chase  about his first project as a game developer,  Date Everything . Together they discuss his memorable work as the voice behind many of our favorite characters and why he decided to try his hand at development; where the idea to date household objects came from; how they managed to write dialogue for 100+ dateable characters; and how they assembled the...

Trent Kusters  chats  Klaus Lyngeled  and  Olov Redmalm  from  Moonhood , who recently released the handcrafted cozy horror game,  The Midnight Walk . Together they discuss their early careers and how they found themselves working together and eventually co-founding their own studio; their previous work on titles such as  Fe  and  Lost and Random and how that informed their latest game; creating t...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Stéphane Varrault  from  Guerrilla Games  and  Xu Xiaojun  from  Studio Gobo  about their collaborative work on  LEGO® Horizon Adventures . Together they discuss how their two studios worked together on bringing Aloy's adventures to the  LEGO®   universe; what it takes to appeal to a younger audience; how they designed the game to focus on problem solving; adapting compl...

Adam Orth  chats with  Juhana Myllys , creator of physics based platformer  Bionic Bay . Together they discuss how he identifies great ideas and where he finds inspiration; the early designs and concept art that led to the development of  Bionic Bay ; designing the core gameplay such as the swap mechanic and platforming; and creating a visual language that is both mechanical and organic.  Episode...

Austin Wintory  chats with  Lorien Testard , the composer for  Sandfall Interactive's  debut hit RPG,  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 . Together they discuss his background in music theory and how he connected with Sandfall; working with singer  A lice Duport-Percier   to create the vocal pieces; creating a soundtrack with diverse sounds that keeps a unified vision; creating art for art's sake; and w...

Trent Kusters  chats with CEO and Co-Founder of  Shiro Games ,  Nicolas Cannasse . Together they discuss his career in games including co-founding two succesful indie studios with his prior work at  Dead Cells  developer  Motion Twin ; creating his own programming language called  Haxe ; his work as a game director on titles such as  Evoland ,  Northgard , and  Wartales ; DLC as a platform for ind...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Julian Gollop , founder and game designer at  Snapshot Games . Together they discuss his legendary journey designing games from the creation of the original  XCOM: UFO Defense  to his studio's latest release,  Chip 'n Clawz vs. the Brainioids ; how to use constraint as a key design pillar; having the courage to remove features for a better play experience; and when to le...

*This episode contains heavy spoilers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with  Jennifer Svedberg-Yen , the lead writer on  Sandfall Interactive's  debut hit,  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 . Together they discuss how she went from a career in finance and investments to her first job in games; how the world and characters evolved throughout the development process; exploring the...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Prokop Jirsa , Lead Designer on  Kingdom Come: Deliverance II , the hit historical RPG by  Warhorse Studios . Together they discuss the key pillars of the Kingdom Come series that influence the decisions they make around narrative and design; their focus on emergent gameplay and how that informs their philosophy on quest structure; designing a game where players feel the...