Game Developer Podcast

Liz England, design director at System Era Softworks and known for her influential blog post "The Door Problem," talks about her adventurous journey in game design. She humorously discusses her unique approach to organizing books by color and the divisive opinions it sparks. England shares her take on the creative genius found in bad horror movies, revealing how constraints inspire innovation. The podcast delves into player behavior, emotional engagement in gaming, and the profound yet playful impact of seemingly trivial design challenges.

Joel Burgess, a former level designer at Bethesda and Ubisoft, and Kait Tremblay, a narrative director and Life is Strange author, dive into the making of Ambrosia Sky, a unique cosmic sci-fi game. They discuss the innovative intersection of death and gameplay through themes of alien mold and fungus. Their insight into balancing artistic vision and commercial success highlights the challenges indie studios face. They also emphasize the importance of collaboration and creative confidence in crafting engaging narratives that resonate with players.

This week on the Game Developer Podcast, actor and SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media negotiating committee chair Sarah Elmaleh stops by to discuss the success and strategy behind the union’s year-long strike. Follow Sarah Elmaleh on Bluesky at @selmaleh.bsky.social‬  - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

This week on the Game Developer Podcast, Sabotage Studio president and creative director Thierry Boulanger discusses the company’s approach to building a business off of retro-themed indie games. It's a journey into how to make retro games stand out in a crowded market, and also how to set up your business to last beyond a single shipped game.  Learn more about Sabotage Studio: https://sabotagestudio.com/  - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

This week on the Game Developer Podcast we quiz Bithell Games CEO and Disney TRON: Catalyst creative director Mike Bithell about his journey from small-time indie to head of a successful game development studio. In this episode, Mike breaks down his creative influences and leadership lessons from over a decade of making commercial games, and what his experience means for developers trying to survive the economic turbulence of 2025. Learn more about Bithell Games: https://www.bithellgames.com/ - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

In this episode fresh from the GDC Showcase archives, Bryant sits down with Ben Brode, Chief Development Officer at Second Dinner (Marvel Snap) to discuss the importance of expertise in your own game, exploring the limits of your design space, striking the balance between "functional" and "understandable," thinking like a game designer, and much more. More From Ben Brode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjhsY2Zuo-c - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

Deborah Chantson, a Writer and Narrative Designer at Sticky Brain Studios Inc., shares her impressive journey through games, TV, and interactive media. She discusses her evolution from aspiring soap opera writer to crafting engaging narratives for children. The conversation highlights the artistry behind her upcoming game, Rooster, featuring unique gameplay mechanics. Chantson emphasizes the need for collaboration between TV and gaming narratives while balancing creativity with everyday responsibilities, revealing how varied experiences enhance her storytelling skills.

Danielle sits down with legendary adventure game designer Charles Cecil, cofounder of Revolution Software, to discuss the upcoming remake of Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars, the difference between classic and modern adventure game players, the infamous "goat puzzle," finding that hint system sweet spot, and a lot more. Learn more about GDC Showcase: https://showcase.gdconf.com/ Check out Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2544110/Broken_Sword__Shadow_of_the_Templars_Reforged/ - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

Hot off the heels of major unionization wins at Blizzard Entertainment and Bethesda Game Studios, Senior Editor Bryant Francis is joined by Emma Kinema of the CWA, as well as Autumn Mitchell and Chris Lusco of Bethesda Softworks, to discuss the ongoing surge of organizational efforts sweeping the video game industry. Read more about the new unions at Blizzard and Bethesda: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/production/over-500-blizzard-entertainment-workers-form-wall-to-wall-union SAG-AFTRA performers call strike against major game studios over AI: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/production/sag-aftra-authorizes-video-game-actor-strike-over-ai Read Bryant's piece on Project 2025 and its potential impact on game developers: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/how-will-project-2025-impact-game-developers- - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

With Summer Game Fest 2024 and its commingling events safely behind us, it’s finally time for everyone’s favorite part of video game announcement season: the post-show analysis! Danielle is joined by Senior Editor Bryant Francis and News Editor Chris Kerr for an in-depth discussion of everything that Sony, Microsoft and Geoff Keighley brought to the table, as well as our favorites from Day of the Devs and a few choice words on raw incompetence. Read Phil Spencer's controversial defense of Xbox layoffs: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/phil-spencer-deems-xbox-layoffs-very-hard-but-needed-for-sustainable-business- Scope the rest of our SGF 2024 coverage: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/keyword/summer-game-fest Get the latest from our newsletter: https://gd-resources.gamedeveloper.com/free/w_gamf01/prgm.cgi - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau