The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook

Austin Wintory chats with luminary composer Peter McConnell. Together they discuss his long pioneering journey through the games industry from LucasArts to his latest work on Double Fine's Psychonauts 2. Peter McConnell has composed award-winning scores for a diverse range of video games including Broken Age, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, the Sly Cooper series, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Psychonauts, Brutal Legend and Grim Fandango. Before working independently, Peter composed in-house at LucasArts contributing to beloved franchises such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Monkey Island.

Ted Price chats with the writer and director behind Twelve Minutes, Luis Antonio. Together they discuss Luis' transition from working at large AAA studios to creating his own independent game; his organic development process; the challenge of developing a branching narrative; and how one can tackle production stress and transform it into a joyous journey.  Luis Antonio is the writer and director behind Twelve Minutes, which was published by Annapurna Interactive. Prior to becoming an independent developer, Luis was an artist at Ubisoft and Rockstar Games. Additionally, he was also the artist for Jonathan Blow's The Witness.  Follow us on Twitter @Official_AIAS, Facebook or visit us at interactive.org.

Brought to you by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the 24th Annual #DICEAwards is an annual awards celebration by game makers for game makers, honoring the games that connect us around the globe. These awards honor our fellow creators and the very best in interactive entertainment. Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game. The nominees include: -Coffee Talk -Hades -If Found… -Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition -Noita Make sure to watch the full 24th Annual #DICEAwards on YouTube and stay up-to-date on all things AIAS at Twitter.

Brought to you by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the 24th Annual #DICEAwards is an annual awards celebration by game makers for game makers, honoring the games that connect us around the globe. These awards honor our fellow creators and the very best in interactive entertainment. Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Online Game of the Year. The nominees include: +Animal Crossing: New Horizons +Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War +Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout +Ghost of Tsushima +Tetris Effect: Connected Make sure to watch the full 24th Annual #DICEAwards on YouTube and stay up-to-date on all things AIAS at Twitter.

Brought to you by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the 24th Annual #DICEAwards is an annual awards celebration by game makers for game makers, honoring the games that connect us around the globe. These awards honor our fellow creators and the very best in interactive entertainment. Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Outstanding Achievement in Character. The nominees include: +Eivor, Assassin's Creed Valhalla +Zagreus, Hades +Abby, The Last of Us Part II +Ellie, The Last of Us Part II +Miles, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales Make sure to watch the full 24th Annual #DICEAwards on YouTube and stay up-to-date on all things AIAS at Twitter.

Robin Hunicke chats with Adam Volker and Bohdon Sayre of Flight School Studio. Together they discuss building traditional and non-traditional indie games; growing a studio and hiring and learning from developers of different backgrounds; issues with discoverability; and how engaging in a wide range of creative activities can enhance and enrich the development process.  Flight School Studio is a studio of artists and technicians. Collectively, the studio’s creative team boasts top creative accolades, such as Academy, Emmy, Annie, Cannes Lion and Lumiere Awards. In addition to developing self-released titles (Manifest 99, Island Time VR, Creature in the Well, and Stonefly), the team collaborates on innovative entertainment with agency and brand partners (Oculus, Google, Lionsgate, Sony, Dell, American Express, GM, SAP, Verizon, AT&T).  Follow us on Twitter @Official_AIAS, Facebook or visit us at interactive.org.

Brought to you by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the 24th Annual #DICEAwards is an annual awards celebration by game makers for game makers, honoring the games that connect us around the globe. These awards honor our fellow creators and the very best in interactive entertainment. Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Sports Game of the Year. The nominees include: +EA Sports FIFA 21 +MLB The Show 20 +NBA 2K21 +PGA Tour 2K21 +Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 Make sure to watch the full 24th Annual #DICEAwards on YouTube and stay up-to-date on all things AIAS at Twitter.

Brought to you by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the 24th Annual #DICEAwards is an annual awards celebration by game makers for game makers, honoring the games that connect us around the globe. These awards honor our fellow creators and the very best in interactive entertainment. Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Immersive Reality Game of the Year. The nominees include: +Down the Rabbit Hole +Half-Life: Alyx +Paper Beast +The Room VR: Dark Matter +The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Make sure to watch the full 24th Annual #DICEAwards on YouTube and stay up-to-date on all things AIAS at @Official_AIAS.

Brought to you by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the 24th Annual #DICEAwards is an annual awards celebration by game makers for game makers, honoring the games that connect us around the globe. These awards honor our fellow creators and the very best in interactive entertainment. Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Outstanding Achievement in Animation. The nominees include: +FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE +The Last of Us Part II +Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales +Ori and the Will of the Wisps +Spiritfarer Make sure to watch the full 24th Annual #DICEAwards on YouTube and stay up-to-date on all things AIAS @Official_AIAS.

Robin Hunicke chats with Asaf and Eyal Geva, the brothers behind the three person development studio Peanut Button. Together they discuss the early VR prototypes that led to their first release, The Secret of Retropolis; how VR gives the players presence; and the challenges of adding characters and storytelling to VR experiences. Peanut Button is an independent studio, founded and run in Tel Aviv by brothers Asaf and Eyal Geva. The Secret of Retropolis is a VR adventure game with a sci-fi detective story. It debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and was recently released on SteamVR and Oculus platforms to critical acclaim