Harbinger Of Fun

Game Designer Joe Mares, and Narrative Designer Ariel Giacobbe chat about creating an emotional hook in games, and what better guest to chat about this topic with than Emotional Game Designer Marina Díez. We talk about why emotions matter in game design and how to intentionally create them.

The tables have turned! The author of Blueprint for Fun and the host of this podcast Joe Mares, is interviewed about his recently released book! Narrative Designer Ariel Giacobbe asks about why it's important to engage an audience, where this Blueprint came from, and how it can make your product more fun.

Joe (game designer) and Ariel (narrative designer) interview author of Ahsoka, Star Wars: The Padmé Trilogoy, and Crimson Clmb, EK Johnston. We chat about her writing process, working with IP such as Star Wars and Dungeons & Dragons, and what to focus on when you're starting out as a writer.

Joe (Game Designer) and the World's leading expert on location based VR, Bob Cooney chat about trends in VR, how to make your location based VR business profitable, and common mistakes VR entrepreneurs make in their ventures.

I chat with Mental Cartographer and Muse for Hire, S. Stephon Brown. We chat about the principles of improv, how to create psychological safety on a creative team, and why certain companies may only be filling their wants and not their needs.

Game Designer Joe Mares and Narrative Designer Ariel Giacobbe chat about what a Narrative Designer does in the game industry, the difference between writing for linear story telling (tv/books) vs writing for interactive story telling (video games), and what makes a compelling story. Also Star Wars

Tony Baxter created the biggest hits in Disneyland history, Splash Mountain, The Indiana Jones Adventure, Star Tours, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, to name a few. Tony gives insight into his thought process on how he goes about designing themed attractions as he did for Disneyland and other Disney parks. We also talk about what makes something fun in general, how to be a maverick when it come...

My co-host Paulina Slivkova (UX/UI designer) and I chatted with Arash about understanding the mental health of creatives. How we create ideas and explanations to help anxieties and fears, and when it becomes hurtful. We also talk about mental illness, how fear can make creative people rigid but also provide motivation, and how new technology such as VR and AR can help via exposure therapy. Check o...

The godfather of the video game industry, and founder of Atari and Chuck E Cheese, Nolan Bushnell, and CEO of the Two Bit Circus Foundation, Dr Leah Hanes talk about their new book, Shaping the Future of Education. Co-host Kristin Torrence (learning designer) and I chat with them about how to make learning engaging and fun, the state of the current school systems, and innovation in the learning sp...

Russell Kennedy, my co-host Paulina Slivkova, and I talk about how the creative person can deal with their anxiety to be able create their best work. We chat about the science of fun, why play is important in healing, and how new technology like virtual reality can help in therapy.

Chris Heatherly (Disney, NBCUniversal) and I chat about why innovations is important in design, the difference between interactive storytelling (video games) and linear storytelling (movies/TV) and our shared love of pro wrestling and what advantage WWE has over AEW. We also chat about Fortnite, Location based VR, and, of course, Walt Disney.

My co-host Ami (VO Actress) and I interview cartoon writer and producer Rich Fogel. Rich has worked on Muppet Babies, Pinky & The Brain, Transformers, Batman Beyond, Justice League, The Smurfs, the list goes on and on. We talk about what makes an engaging cartoon, how to write story and character, and how to get your start in the animation industry (classic episode, originally aired Circa 2015).

Co-Host of The Learning Geeks Podcast and Learning Ingenuity Lead at Accenture, Bob Gerard, and I chat about how to make learning fun, how to do effective game and learning design, Super Mario Bros., Tears of the Kingdom and more!

My co-host Ami (voice-over actress) and I had the honor of interviewing comic book writer Chuck Dixon. We talked about his process when he wrote for Batman, Punisher, and Nightwing and co-creating Bane. He also gives writing advice, what makes an interesting character, how to engage and retain readers and talks about how to get in the comic book industry. Episode originally aired circa 2015.

Disney Imagineer, animator, and legend Rolly Crump talks to my co-host Ami Clover (voice over actress) and I about his career and gives advice for young creative folks. I, of course, ask about what it was like to work with Walt Disney. I could not be more honored to interview Rolly, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Classic Episode originally aired Circa 2015.

Veteran Game Producer (Majesco, SEGA, Sony, 2K Games) Dean Martinetti and I chat about how to get in the game industry, what we look for when we hire game designers, how to build an amazing team culture, and how women in the game industry are underrepresented.

Juliet and I chat about how to define your persona so you can resonate and engage with your audience. We also talk about being authentic to yourself, generative AI in copywriting, and the "curse of knowledge".

Songwriter Logan Grimé and I chat about how to innovate when songwriting, using generative AI during the creative process, and what the future of music holds.

Voice Actress and Tiktok influencer Zelda Diana Black talks about how to approach different characters when voice acting and how to resonate with and engage your Tiktok audience.

Screenwriter Paul Guyot talks about how to resonate with an audience, and how to write a truly compelling piece of work. We also chat about his time writing for the show Leverage, our opinion on Star Wars Episode 8, and what the game industry has in common with the film and TV industry.

Happy Halloween 🎃 Scare Actress Lauren Sanders talks about what it's like haunting people for a living, and I talk about what haunt this year at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights worked particularly well on me.

Nick Fore gives advice on writing screenplays, how to engage any audience, and how to write something innovate and new to an audience while keeping archetypes that are still readable by that audience.

Special guest host Kristin Torrence (learning designer) and I interview Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon, and CEO of Schell Games, Jesse Schell. We talk about his time in Walt Disney Imagineering, how to approach design for VR Experiences, and the difference between a learning game and an entertainment game.

I chat with Matt Fleming about his career working with The Game Show Network, and as Lead Content Desinger on Conan Exiles. We also discuss what makes a good Game Designer, the difference between a Senior Game Designer and a Design Lead, and what makes a good Game Producer.

Scott (Maximo and God of War designer) and I talk about the difference between designing a board game and a video game, how to get your creative passions into the production, and his infamously hard boss design for Pac Man World.