two & a half gamers The Real OG Jane Whittaker Unfiltered: 44 years in gaming, Alien vs Predator & Why fun still wins
Legend alert. In this episode, we sit down with Jane Whittaker, a developer, executive, and innovator whose career spans from coding 8-bit chart toppers and Atari’s biggest hits to shaping the DNA of open-world, survival, and RPGs.
Jane shares candid stories from the 1980s video game crash, building Alien vs. Predator with just two programmers, working with Sid Meier and Mike Singleton, and steering giants like EA and MGM.
What’s inside:
Real Video Game History
Indie Roots and All-In Dev: From writing sound drivers without knowing music to doing design, code, and art in a single project, Jane did it all before “indie” was a thing.
Survival Games Before They Were Cool
Open World Royalty: From Mike Singleton’s Midwinter to World of Warcraft landscape architecture and Microsoft Flight Simulator expansions, Jane’s fingerprints are all over gaming’s biggest virtual worlds.
Modding and Crafting Philosophy
No AI Shortcuts, Pure Craft
Why Fun Beats Tech
Key Takeaway:
Game design that stands the test of time is about creative risk, pure craft, and relentless focus on fun, not just graphics or tech. Jane’s story is a masterclass for anyone building or dreaming of building games.
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This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.
Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Matej Lancaric
Youtube: https://youtu.be/RyDJ88zRVwo
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to a Gaming Legend
02:42 The Evolution of Gaming: A Personal Journey
05:45 The Impact of the 1983 Video Game Crash
08:32 The Making of Alien vs. Predator
11:12 Transitioning to MGM and GoldenEye
14:22 The Legacy of Survival Games
17:24 Behind the Scenes of Dungeon Keeper and Marvel Games
20:00 Contributions to World of Warcraft
22:10 Crafting Immersive Game Worlds
25:50 Innovations in Game Mechanics
29:10 Creating Tension and Fear in Gameplay
32:55 The Role of AI in Game Development
38:12 Crafting Immersive Game Worlds
41:13 The Importance of Effort in Game Development
43:53 Balancing Budget and Creativity
46:02 The Role of Modding in Gaming
50:13 Lessons from Past Projects
54:35 Building a Passionate Gaming Community
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