Game Maker's Notebook

This episode is supported by  Xsolla Greg Rice  chats with  David Hellman ,  Nico Recabarren , and  Nick Suttner  of  Furniture & Mattress , about their debut title as a studio,  Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure . Together they discuss how the team got together; the ground rules they established for the puzzle designs; decisions around scope; and how they balanced gameplay and narrative element...

This episode is supported by:  Xsolla Adam Orth  chats with  Matt Wood  and  Micah Breitweiser  from  Double Dagger Studio  about their first tile as a studio,  Little Kitty, Big City . Together they discuss how  Little Kitty, Big City began as a teaching opportunity for Matt's children; the iterative nature of development and having malleable design pillars; the importance of scope and restraint;...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Xalavier Nelson Jr. , the studio head, writer, and creative director of titles such as  El Paso Elsewhere ,  Space Warlord Orgran Trading Simulator ,  Clickolding , and the upcoming  I Am Your Beast . Together they discuss Xalavier's ideas around sustainable game development such as the importance of prioritizing shipping projects on time and within scope; how giving pla...

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with  Max and Nick Folkman . Nick  is a writer at  Insomniac Games  and Max  a writer at  Riot Games  who together also host the  Script Lock  podcast where they chat to fellow game writers. Together they discuss their ideas around writing for games; what it takes to get into the games industry; how to write for live service games versus single player games; and about thei...

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with writers Christal Rose Hazelton and Jaclyn Seto . Together they discuss the process and nuance of creating characters; the differences between creating for traditional narrative titles versus live service games; the importance of having a diverse group of voices in the writer's room; what it's like to work with a large development team; and their recent GDC talk, Creati...

Trent Kusters chats with Billy Basso about his solo-developed debut title,  Animal Well . Together they discuss how the ideas and development of Animal Well first began; how he was able to work as a solo developer and the tools he created to help him along the way; how he went about designs the game's countless puzzles and animals; when he recognized he needed help with the business and marketing...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Onat Hekimoglu  and  Ole Tillmann  from  Slow Bros . Together they discuss the 14 year journey of their debut title,  Harold Halibut ; the history of the  Slow Bros  and how they went from college friends to a full-time game studio; the homemade photogrammetry technology they created to craft the stop-motion inspired look; and what they learned from their first release t...

We're on a break from new content this week, but check out one of our past episodes with Supergiant Games' Amir Rao and Greg Kasavin! Originally released in Dec 20, 2020 , Amir and Greg sit down with Ted Price to discuss creating Hades, and how launching in early access helped during development, the difficult task of tuning the complex game systems, the creative culture at Supergiant, and finding...

Adam Orth  chats with  Stumbling Cat  CEO and Creative Director,  Renee Gittins . Together they discuss her journey to game development from starting in biotech engineering to working in VR; how work began on  Potions: A Curious Tale  as a side project; creating games that appeal to younger audiences rather than target them; her work with the  IGDA  and the important role they played during the pa...

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with writer and narrative designer  Whitney Beltrán . Together they discuss her background in environmental law and mythological studies that led to her work writing for RPGs; what it means to write inside the  Dungeons & Dragons  universe; focusing on what players feel after they put the controller down; the emergence of India as a leading market for players and hub for g...

Adam Orth  chats with legendary game developer  Mike Mika  of  Digital Eclipse . Together they discuss his long career developing titles across multiple console generations; finding his creative spark at a young age and developing his first game on a store kiosk Commodore 64; the profound influence Atari had on his life; and how game preservation is an opportunity to share the human stories behind...

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with actor turned game developer  Abubakar Salim . Together they discuss his career including how he got his first gig in games with  Ubisoft's   Assassin's Creed: Origins ; wanting to make his own game and starting his own studio; the lessons he learned from working with Ridley and Luke Scott that he applied to game development; how he wanted to tell a story of grief with...

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with writer  Evan Narcisse . Together they discuss his work across video games and comic books; how starting as an outsourcer helped him get his start in the industry; how outsourcing let him observe game development practices across many different studios; how his game  Dot's Home  explores historical practices that made home ownership difficult for minorities; and what t...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Ironwood Studios'   Alex Dracott  and  Seth Rosen  about their hit sci-fi first-person driving survival game,  Pacific Drive . Together they discuss their journey including their work on AAA games; what led to them creating their own studio and the hurdles they had to jump through to get started; the origin of  Pacific Drive  and what inspired them; and how the premise o...

Trent Kusters  chats with  Hunter Bridges  and  Dave Padilla  from  Evening Star . Together they discuss their studio's debut title,  Penny's Big Breakaway . Additionally they discuss their journeys into development and how the openness of developers helped get them started; how working with  SEGA  helped them prepare for future projects; the importance of documentation and avoiding knowledge silo...

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with Senior Narrative Director at  Insomniac Games ,  Jon Paquette . Together they discuss the craft of writing and working together on a writing team; how writers and designers collaborate to craft gameplay systems that fit within a game's narrative; and what it takes to create a dual protagonist story like that of  Marvel's Spider-Man 2 . Watch this episode on our  YouTu...

Austin Wintory  chats with Composer  Lennie Moore . Together they discuss his work on the original  Outcast  and its sequel  Outcast: A New Beginning  which came recently, 25 years later; the ins and outs of the business of composing music for video games including tips for young composers entering the industry; and the profound effect Lennie had on Austin's own career being one of his formative t...

Trent Kusters  chats with multidisciplinary artist  Niklas Åkerblad . Together they discuss his career leading up to his newest title,  Ultros , including his early love of games and illustration; the revolutionary game development scene in Sweden; the profound impact  Hotline Miami  had on his career; the complexity of games as expressive and technical creations of art; and the philosophical and...

Alexa Ray Corriea   chats with  Baldur's Gate 3  Actor  Neil Newbon . Together they discuss his journey as an actor and the challenges he encountered that almost caused him to abandon his craft; finding an avenue for creative expression in video games including acting and directing; how social media warps expectations; and why he decided to start teaching. If you enjoyed this episode, please consi...

The audio version of this interview is entirely in Japanese. To watch the subtitled version, please visit our  YouTube  channel. Shuhei Yoshida  chats with longtime producer of the  TEKKEN  series,  Katsuhiro Harada . Together they discuss Harada-san's journey from working at a Namco arcade to joining the development team for  TEKKEN ; how the series has evolved to target a global audience; the im...

Alexa Ray Corriea  chats with actor  Nadji Jeter . Together they discuss his journey throughout games and traditional film and television; what it's like being Miles Morales for the past decade; what it takes to bring the characters inside  Marvel's Spider-Man 2  to life; and the gravity of being a part of the Marvel universe.  Watch this episode on our YouTube channel. If you enjoyed this episode...

Adam Orth  chats with the Director of  Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty ,  Gabe Amatangelo . Together they discuss Gabe's journey to game development and how he found himself at  CD PROJEKT RED ; how the initial release of Cyberpunk 2077 affected the team and what steps they took to course-correct; the game design and story elements they emphasized to add weight to every decision; and being conscio...

Adam Orth  chats with  Roman Campos-Oriola ,  Eric Baptizat , and  Philippe Ducharme  from  Motive Studio . Together they discuss what led to the decision to remake a beloved classic in  Dead Space ; which elements from the original release they decided to keep and what they thought they could improve; and the intricate balance between the tools, enemies, and environments that create  Dead Space's...

Writer and Narrative Designer   Alexa Ray Corriea   chats with Actor  Samantha Béart . Together they discuss the difficulty they faced attempting to enter the games industry; working together with the cast and crew at  Larian ; the intricacies of romance amidst an impending apocalypse; and the steps the industry still needs to take towards the path of diversity and inclusion. Watch this episode on...

Austin Wintory  chats with award winning composer  Oleksa Lozowchuk . Together they discuss Oleksa's career across games, television, and film including writing music for hit games like Capcom's  Dead Rising  franchise and Sony's  Horizon  franchise; the pitfalls of self-referential compositions; transitioning to a creative director role and working on his own original IP; and what he learned thro...