The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook

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.

We're on a break from new content this week, but check out one of our past episodes with recent GMN host, Chris Charla of ID@Xbox! Originally released in Nov 11, 2019, Chris Charla joins Ted Price at the past D.I.C.E. Dubrovnik conference. Chris discusses his journey from journalism to game development, his work overseeing Xbox’s independent projects, challenges facing independent developers, opportunities available for independents in today’s development environment, and his thoughts on the future of games. Chris Charla is best known for leading ID@Xbox and now ID Productions, where he oversees the independent publishing program for Xbox One and Windows.

Adam Boyes and Chelsea Blasko, Co-CEOs of Iron Galaxy, discuss their roles, collaborating with founder Dave Lang, creating a safe work environment, and focusing on employee quality of life. They emphasize the importance of teamwork, selecting vendors, and unconventional career growth in the game industry.

Ted Price interviews Ilari Kuittinen, the Co-founder of Housemarque, discussing the ups and downs of Housemarque's 30-year history, growth, company culture, strategic advice for new companies, and the importance of well-being in the gaming industry.

Ted Price chats with Christian Linke and Alex Yee, two of the creative leads and executive producers of the Emmy award winning Netflix series, Arcane. Together they discuss what it was like creating a wildly popular and critically successful TV show based on one of the most popular video game IPs in the world; the ups and downs of the initial pitch process and early production; what they learned going from games to linear media; their advice for anyone who wants to take their game IP and build a new reality for it outside of games; and how key it is to make sure every creative decision is in service to the fans.  Listen to the full episode now or watch this episode on our Youtube channel. This episode is sponsored by FusionAuth. For more information, go to FusionAuth.io/game.

Raphaël Colantonio, Creative Director and President of WolfEye Studios and Co-Founder of Arkane Studios, discusses his career journey from Electronic Arts to founding Arkane and starting anew with WolfEye Studios. They also talk about their approach to accessibility and challenge in game development, the wins and near misses of their first game as a new studio, and the unique relationship between Devolver Digital and independent developers.

Mathijs de Jonge, Game Director for both the Horizon series and Killzone series, discusses building a sequel to a successful first entry while balancing new and existing features. They also talk about Guerrilla's approach to creating a massive and ambitious title like Horizon Forbidden West, including improving accessibility and melee combat, and the playtest process.