The audio version of this interview is entirely in Japanese. To watch the subtitled version, please visit our Youtube channel. Shuhei Yoshida chats with YOKO TARO, Yosuke Saito, and Keiichi Okabe about their work in the NieR series. Together they discuss the early development of the NieR series and its connections to the Drakengard series; the early development of NieR: Automata and critical decisions regarding the gameplay, story, and music; deciding to release a new version of NieR: Replicant for overseas fans; and their thoughts on current development both inside and outside of Japan The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.    

Trent Kusters chats with Ben Brode, Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer at Second Dinner whose debut title MARVEL SNAP has been recently nominated for multiple D.I.C.E. Awards. Together they discuss his early inspirations in board games; his career at Blizzard Entertainment and work on Hearthstone; the road that led him to start his own studio and landing the MARVEL license for their first game; and key decisions they made with MARVEL SNAP to keep players engaged.  Watch this episode on our Youtube channel. The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.  

Trent Kusters and tinyBuild CEO Alex Nichiporchik revisit Alex's presentation from D.I.C.E. Barcelona 2022 where he discussed "Development Under Siege," the efforts tinyBuild went through to evacuate their development staff leading up to and during the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. tinyBuild had over 180 developers across both Ukraine and Russia, and Alex details the mass mobilization efforts they undertook to get their employees to safety and the challenges they faced along the way.  Listen to the full episode here or watch on our Youtube channel. This episode is sponsored by FusionAuth. For more information, go to FusionAuth.io/game.

Josh Sawyer, Game Director at Obsidian Entertainment, discusses his career in game development, including pitching a 16th-century murder mystery game, creating historical detail and references, and having fun with fonts.

Mike Salyh and Wyatt Bushnell, Co-Founders of Coin Crew Games, discuss developing Escape Academy, translating physical escape rooms into a video game, their early experiences with games, starting their own company, the inclusive nature of their game, and upcoming updates for Escape Academy. They also share their love for kebabs.

Austin Wintory chats with composer duo The Flight, Joe Henson and Alexis Smith. They discuss their journey into game development, the advantages of working together, creating fresh content in an established franchise, composition and continuity in Horizon Forbidden West, and the challenges of composing music for video games.

Trent Kusters chats with Massive Monster's Julian Wilton. Together they discuss developing the smash indie hit Cult of the Lamb; Julian's early work on Newgrounds; how local government funding kickstarted the establishment of Massive Monster; how the pitching process with Devolver manifested; and developing a title from the ground up with marketing at the forefront.  Watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman, creators of the Monkey Island series, discuss their journey into game development, developing the series at LucasArts, balancing the old and new in Return to Monkey Island, and tackling controversial endings.

Tara Saunders and Stuart Whyte, Co-Studio Heads at PlayStation London Studio, discuss studio culture, team well-being, and embracing diversity. They explore the evolution of the studio, establishing and maintaining studio values, empowerment and accountability, moving from content creators to leaders, the importance of diversity in the gaming industry, and advice for entering a leadership position.

Sam Barlow, Game Director at Half Mermaid, talks about his career in the gaming industry, working on the Silent Hill franchise, and his decision to go indie. They discuss the challenges and experiences that led to his first indie project, creating games that require a full film crew, and the design of his newest title Immortality.