The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook (Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences)

Shuhei Yoshida chats with FINAL FANTASY XVI Producer Naoki Yoshida. Together they discuss his career and what led to him helping relaunch FINAL FANTASY XIV and eventually producing the newest entry in the series; the key decisions they made with FINAL FANTASY XVI with their approach to story and gameplay; how they navigated the pandemic and how it impacted development; and his thoughts on what young game developers looking to break into the industry can do to prepare themselves.

The audio version of this interview is entirely in Japanese. To watch the subtitled version, please visit our YouTube channel.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

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 Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction.

The nominees include:
+Ghost of Tsushima
+Hades
+The Last of Us Part II
+Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
+Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Trent Kusters chats with Johnny Galvatron, the Creative Director behind the BAFTA award winning game, The Artful Escape. Together they discuss his transition from rockstar to game developer and how his experiences helped shape the narrative in The Artful Escape; building his first studio (Beethoven & Dinosaur) and searching outside of game development to find the right talent for the team; and working together with Annapurna Interactive who helped them put together a star-studded cast.

Listen here or watch the full episode on YouTube.

In this special 100th episode of the Game Maker's Notebook, we turn the tables on longtime host Ted Price. Guest host Tim Schafer (Founder, Double Fine Productions) chats with Ted about life before game development, starting Insomniac Games and the challenges of developing their first game, the values and principles that have guided his company along the way, joining the PlayStation family of studios, learning to accept feedback, and how embracing new ideas and change can help studios evolve into more welcoming places to work.

Ted Price is the President and Founder of Insomniac Games, best known for several successful franchises including Ratchet & Clank, Resistance, Spyro the Dragon, Sunset Overdrive, and Marvel's Spider-Man. 

Greg Rice chats with James Carbutt and Will Todd from Coal Supper. Together they discuss growing up in Yorkshire in Northern England, how they first got together and began developing games; what they learned from their early projects; the British influences behind Thank Goodness You're Here; and the intricacies of writing humor for video games.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Greg Rice

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review.

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Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

We're back with one of our past episodes with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Creative Director, Marcus Smith! 

Ted Price chats with his long-time colleague at Insomniac Games, Marcus Smith. Together they discuss their history at Insomniac Games; his experiences on the Resistance series and Sunset Overdrive; his thoughts on being a creative director; how to build consensus and foster collaboration on big projects; and the challenges the team faced on the newest entry in the Ratchet & Clank series.

Marcus Smith is a Creative Director at Insomniac Games, with his most recent title being this year's PlayStation 5 hit, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Previously he worked on several of Insomniac's best known titles including Marvel's Spider-Man, the Resistance series, and Sunset Overdrive. 

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

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Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Remy Siu and Pinki Li from Sunset Visitor to talk about their D.I.C.E. Award nominated game, 1000xRESIST. Together they discuss how they met and transitioned from live performance to creating video games; the real life inspirations behind the narrative design; how desperation can lead to great choices; and how theater influenced their approach to game design and storytelling. 

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review.

Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

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 Mobile Game of the Year.

The nominees include:
+Carrion
+Ghost of Tsushima
+Little Orpheus
+Ori and the Will of the Wisps
+The Pathless

Corey May speaks with the Oliver Lewin and Graham Parkes, two of the developers behind Before Your Eyes. Together they discuss how they created the blinking mechanic in game jams; the process of "learning by doing and learning by failing"; the technical and narrative challenges that arose from the game's central mechanic; and their experience releasing their first title to wide acclaim including winning a BAFTA. 

Listen now or watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with actor turned game developer Abubakar Salim. Together they discuss his career including how he got his first gig in games with Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed: Origins; wanting to make his own game and starting his own studio; the lessons he learned from working with Ridley and Luke Scott that he applied to game development; how he wanted to tell a story of grief with his first title, Tales of Kenzera™: ZAU; and what the business side of games can learn from film. 

Watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

Ted Price chats with Ilari Kuittinen, Studio Head & Co-founder of Housemarque. Together they discuss the ups and downs of Housmarque's 30 year history in game development; growth, how their company philosophy has evolved over the years leading up to their latest release, Returnal; company culture, and managing a work/life balance; and Ilari's strategic advice for new companies starting out in games today. 

Listen to the full episode here or watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

This episode is sponsored by CleanSpeak. For more information, visit CleanSpeak.com/gaming

Watch 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 Game Design.

The nominees include-
-Ghost of Tsushima
-Hades
-Half-Life: Alyx
-The Last of Us Part II
-Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Alexa Ray Correia chats with actor Suzie Yeung. Together they discuss how she got her start acting in games; her performance as Yuffie Kisaragi in the recent reboot of FINAL FANTASY VII; her extensive work in the anime industry; the process and differences in recording for animation versus games; how she prepared for her performance as Yuffie; and her advice for young voice actors beginning their careers.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review.

Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

Chris Charla chats with Chelsea Blasko and Adam Boyes while at D.I.C.E. Barcelona. Fresh off their discussion on the D.I.C.E. stage, they discuss what being Co-CEOs of Iron Galaxy means; their history with Iron Galaxy and what led to their current roles; how their respective strengths compliment each other; working together with founder Dave Lang to make key studio decisions; the predatory nature of treating a workplace as a "family"; and their company values focused on improving employee quality of life while helping them evolve as a studio.

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.

We're on a break from new content this week, but check out one of our past episodes with Bryan Intihar, Creative Director at Insomniac Games for Marvel’s Spider-Man!

Originally released in April 19, 2019, Bryan joins host Ted Price of Insomniac Games live on the D.I.C.E. Summit stage to talk about his journey from journalist to game developer, the challenges of working on an existing IP, and his perspective on what it takes to be a successful creative director. 

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

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This episode is supported by Xsolla

Adam Orth chats with Dom Matthews, Studio Head of Senua's Saga: Hellblade II developer Ninja Theory. Together they discuss the history of Ninja Theory as a studio and the unique DNA found in their games; their mission of crafting life changing art with game changing tech; avoiding making games for "everyone" and finding their audience; becoming a part of Xbox Game Studios and feeling empowered; and the importance of having a studio culture of trust.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Greg Rice chats with David Hellman, Nico Recabarren, and Nick Suttner of Furniture & Mattress, about their debut title as a studio, Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure. Together they discuss how the team got together; the ground rules they established for the puzzle designs; decisions around scope; and how they balanced gameplay and narrative elements.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

Robin Hunicke chats with Dr. Mitu Khandaker about her journey around the world and into the games industry, finding her feet at teaching, building games from the ground up rooted in diverse cultural experiences, and about representation issues facing the games industry and ways to help financially support creators of color.

Dr. Mitu Khandaker is CEO & co-founder of Glow Up Games, a new mobile free-to-play games & creative tech studio building systems-driven games for diverse audiences. She is also Assistant Arts Professor at the NYU Game Center, where she teaches game design and development. She holds a PhD on designing games for immersive interfaces such as VR, and has a background in computer engineering.

Austin Wintory chats with actor Ben Starr, who played the lead role of Clive Rosfield in the latest entry to the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XVI. Together they discuss how he started acting and his early love of video games; his thought process behind when getting into character and bringing the writing to life; the psychological toll of performance art; and the difficult but freeing process of acting for video games.

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

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Xsolla is a leading global video game commerce company with a robust and powerful set of tools and services designed specifically for the industry. Since its founding in 2005, Xsolla has helped thousands of game developers and publishers of all sizes fund, market, launch, and monetize their games globally and across multiple platforms. To learn more, please visit: xsolla.com

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Adam Orth

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review.

Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

Chris Charla chats with Director of Development for Double Fine Productions, Kevin Johnson. Together they discuss his intriguing journey within and outside of the games industry; teaching students the game production process from beginning to end; getting a life changing break at Double Fine; managing multiple projects and teams; and the impact of filming a documentary while developing a game. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review: https://apple.co/3rF0EtC

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

Watch this episode on our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialAIAS

Adam Orth chats with Ken Levine, the legendary creator behind the Bioshock series and the upcoming Judas. Together they discuss Ken's journey into game writing; using art as a healthy outlet for processing uncomfortable subjects; dealing with the pressure of following up the first Bioshock game due to its massive success and popularity; how to tackle complex narratives and concepts aimed at general audiences; his thoughts on AI; and how to avoid falling into the trap of arrogance.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review: https://apple.co/3rF0EtC

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

Watch this episode on our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialAIAS

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Max and Nick Folkman. Nick is a writer at Insomniac Games and Max a writer at Riot Games who together also host the Script Lock podcast where they chat to fellow game writers. Together they discuss their ideas around writing for games; what it takes to get into the games industry; how to write for live service games versus single player games; and about their experiences interviewing fellow writers and what they've learned from them.

Watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

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At the 2022 D.I.C.E. Summit, Austin Wintory chats with Philp Eriksson, Lead Sound Designer at Hazelight. Together they discuss his transition from music into game development; the incredible challenge of designing all the audio for the various worlds and themes of It Takes Two; and what steps the team took in order to tackle such a tremendous project.

Philip Eriksson is the Lead Sound Designer on It Takes Two. Prior to his work at Hazelight, Philip was a part of the sound team at EA DICE and worked on games such as Battlefield V and Star Wars Battlefront II.

Ted Price chats with David Cage about maintaining balance at an independent studio while juggling multiple responsibilities, his philosophy on writing and directing video games, Quantic Dream's new publishing arm, and what they look for when evaluating pitches from independent developers.

David Cage founded Quantic Dream in 1997, with the ambition of using interactivity as a new means of expression. Quantic Dream has released several award winning titles including Detroit: Become Human, Beyond: Two Souls, and Heavy Rain. Recently, Quantic Dream began to publish titles such as Jo-Mei's Sea of Solitude. 

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Adam Orth chats with Jaeho Hwang and Nolan King from MINTROCKET Games, the studio behind the hit sushi restaurant/deep sea exploration RPG, Dave the Diver. Together they discuss where the idea behind such a unique mishmash began inlcuding various influences inside and outside of games; forming the development team and pitching the game to the publisher; balancing all the gameplay systems including making diving fun and challenging; and how they went about creating an endearing and relatable main character in Dave. 

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

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Austin Wintory chats with Composer Lennie Moore. Together they discuss his work on the original Outcast and its sequel Outcast: A New Beginning which came recently, 25 years later; the ins and outs of the business of composing music for video games including tips for young composers entering the industry; and the profound effect Lennie had on Austin's own career being one of his formative teachers at USC. 

Watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

Austin Wintory chats with Mark Mothersbaugh about his long career in music including his band DEVO; his work in film and television; his transition into video games; his thoughts about game development and interactive systems; and how his family has affected his thoughts on music.

Mark Mothersbaugh is a celebrated composer, musician, singer, and songwriter best known for being one of the founders of the rock group DEVO. As an award winning composer, his credits include Moonrise Kingdom, 21 Jump Street, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Enlightened, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic, Pee Wee’s Playhouse, and the hugely successful Rugrats television, stage and film franchise. He has composed music for several hit video game franchises including the Jak and Daxter Series, the Crash Bandicoot series, the Sims series, and the recently released Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. 

Ted Price chats with Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games the makers of Eve Online. Together they reflect on 20 years of Eve Online; they discuss the social and economic forces that have developed inside Eve's virtual universe; the crucial partnership between CCP Games and the players; how seemingly small decisions can have galactic ripples throughout the Eve universe; and exciting news about the newest addition to the Eve universe, Eve Vanguard.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review: https://apple.co/3rF0EtC

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

Watch this episode on our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialAIAS

Chris Charla chats with Andrew Shouldice, the game developer and designer behind Tunic. Together they discuss his journey into game development and the decision to go indie; the influences behind Tunic; the pressure of debuting your first project; the joy of mystery and discovery; and building a world full of secrets. 

To watch this episode, visit our YouTube channel.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Trent Kusters chats with Maria Cornelius, the Chief Product Officer for HELLDIVERS™ 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios. Together they discuss her life outside of games at Spotify and how she found herself at Paradox Interactive and then to Arrowhead; the profound impact mentoring programs have had on her career; the development of HELLDIVERS™ 2; the lessons they've learned from running one of the biggest live service titles of the year; and how they're working with the community to continue fighting the galactic war into the future.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

Trent Kusters chats with Mike Salyh and Wyatt Bushnell, Co-Founders of Coin Crew Games. Together they discuss their debut title, Escape Academy; how both of their game development journies began; developing for location-based games and the lessons learned from the arcade; and transferring the real-life escape room experience into a video game while also building a unifying narrative.

Listen to the full episode here or watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

This episode is sponsored by CleanSpeak. For more information, visit CleanSpeak.com/gaming.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Trent Kusters chats with Tynan Sylvester, creator of RimWorld and author of Designing Games: A Guide to Engineering Experiences. Together they discuss his ideas around development concepts and processes; how crystalizing those ideas in book form led to the creation of RimWorld; his ideas around core systems and how they lead to successful games; generating human stories with elastic failure; and the fundamental theory on why people play games.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

Robin Hunicke chats with the duo behind Unsighted, Studio Pixel Punk's Tiani Pixel and Fernanda Dias. Together they discuss their journey leading up to developing their first game; the challenges of game development in the emerging Brazilian game dev scene; what inspired the look and feel of Unsighted; and the importance of diverse viewpoints in games. 

Unsighted is the first game by Studio Pixel Punk which is comprised of the two-person team of Tiani Pixel and Fernanda Dias. Published by Humble Games, Unsighted is a top-down action-adventure, tasking players to explore a world ruined by war. Alma must traverse the vast city of Arcadia before the life force of her friends and herself withers away, turning friend to foe. Time is ticking, and every moment matters.

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Shuhei Yoshida chats with Team ASOBI Studio Director Nicolas Doucet. Together they discuss his journey in game development from his early days in QA to his move to work at Japan Studio; building Team ASOBI to work on the emerging technology within SIE; the origins and development of Astro Bot; and how they worked with publishers around the world to represent their characters within the world of Astro Bot. 

Episode Host: Shuhei Yoshida

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review.

Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

Trent Kusters chats with Scott Chen of the Taiwanese independent studio Sigono. Together they discuss the early influences that led him to Carnegie Mellon where he met his Sigono Co-Founder, Brian Lee; their earlier titles and the lessons learned in narrative and scope that led to the Opus series; and the challenges and opportunities of the Taiwanese development scene.

Listen to the full episode here or watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with actor Nadji Jeter. Together they discuss his journey throughout games and traditional film and television; what it's like being Miles Morales for the past decade; what it takes to bring the characters inside Marvel's Spider-Man 2 to life; and the gravity of being a part of the Marvel universe. 

Watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

Austin Wintory chats with award-winning Composer Cris Velasco. Together they discuss his long and illustrious career working on some of the biggest franchises in gaming including Mass Effect, God of War, Darksiders, and Borderlands; and his love of painting and fine art and the ways his two passions inform each other.

Watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

Trent Kusters chats with Ironwood Studios' Alex Dracott and Seth Rosen about their hit sci-fi first-person driving survival game, Pacific Drive. Together they discuss their journey including their work on AAA games; what led to them creating their own studio and the hurdles they had to jump through to get started; the origin of Pacific Drive and what inspired them; and how the premise of a driving survival game allowed them to implement original ideas and add new levels of immersion.

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Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Odd Meter Studio Director, Dmitry Svetlow. Together they discuss the development of INDIKA including the origins and inspirations behind the haunting narrative; how they built the team and what it takes to be part of a small indie studio; their use of juxtaposition between dark and playful imagery; and balancing how much they reveal to the player and which questions they choose to answer.

Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review.

Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

Trent Kusters chats with Raphaël Colantonio, the President and Creative Director of WolfEye Studios, who recently developed Weird West. Previously, Raphaël was also one of the Co-Founders of Arkane Studios. Together they discuss how Raphaël got his start working at Electronic Arts; founding Arkane Studios and working on their early projects like Arx Fatalis; deciding to leave Arkane after 18 years and beginning anew with WolfEye Studios; how they approach accessibility and challenge in an immersive sim; and the wins and near misses they identified after their first game as a new studio. 

Listen to the full episode here or watch this episode on our Youtube channel

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Adam Orth chats with CEO & Co-Owner of IO Interactive, Hakan Abrak. Together they discuss Hakan's journey in games; the history and future of the Hitman series; their unique approach to live service in single player games; how they're preparing for a post-pandemic development environment; and their upcoming projects in the 007 universe and their own original IP. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

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.

Watch 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 Family Game of the Year.

The nominees include:
+Animal Crossing: New Horizons
+Astro's Playroom
+Dreams
+Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
+Sackboy: A Big Adventure

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.

Austin Wintory chats with the composing team collectively known as Ninja Tracks, Kaveh Cohen and Michael Nielsen. Together they discussed how they first met and what drove them to create a composing partnership; how they've worked together across various video games, TV shows, and films; and why they decided to add music publishing to their repertoire.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

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 Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year.

The nominees include:
+Crusader Kings III
+Desperados III
+Microsoft Flight Simulator
+Monster Train
+Per Aspera

Make sure to watch the full 24th Annual #DICEAwards on YouTube and stay up-to-date on all things AIAS at Twitter.

Austin Wintory chats with composer and Emmy winner Nainita Desai. Together they discuss her early life in music and musical heroes; the process and challenges of composing for games versus television or film; her recent work with Sam Barlow on IMMORTALITY and Telling Lies; and the touchstones they developed for creating music for such unique games.

Watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

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 Game Direction.

The nominees include:
+Ghost of Tsushima
+Hades
+Half-Life: Alyx
+Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
+The Last of Us Part II

Make sure to watch the full 24th Annual #DICEAwards on YouTube and stay up-to-date on all things AIAS at Twitter.

Strange Scaffold's Xalavier Nelson Jr. chats with Adam Hines & Sean Krankel from Night School Studio. Together they discuss releasing their latest game, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals; how new tools are improving the development process; trying to stay unpredictable as a studio; identifying core principles during development; and writing authentic worlds and characters while working with the complex conversation system present in Oxenfree.

Be sure to check out Xalavier and Strange Scaffold's newest game El Paso, Elsewhere on Steam.

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Watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

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.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Trent Kusters chats with Eric Monacelli, an executive producer at Marvel Games. Together they discuss his career working on the marketing and community side of some of gaming's biggest franchises including Bioshock, The Last of Us, and Call of Duty; the process of how development studios come to work with Marvel and what a successful collaboration looks like; the steps they take to maintain authenticity; and what it's like working with fan communities of established IP with high expectations. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with writer and narrative designer Whitney Beltrán. Together they discuss her background in environmental law and mythological studies that led to her work writing for RPGs; what it means to write inside the Dungeons & Dragons universe; focusing on what players feel after they put the controller down; the emergence of India as a leading market for players and hub for game developers; and thoughts on procedural generated narrative.

Watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

Min Kim from Bonfire Studios chats with Jeonghee "JJ" Jin, the CEO of Pearl Abyss America. Together they discuss how Korea's unique culture and environment has helped shape it's games industry; how Korean game companies are growing and evolving based on years of global expansion; and building experiencing for an ever growing global audience. 

Listen to the full episode here or watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

Chris Charla chats with Naughty Dog's Head of Culture and Communications, Arne Meyer. Together they discuss his early life playing games and getting his first break in PR working on the launch of the original Xbox; how his own personal work in fanzines led to his idea for grassroot ambassadorships inside the gaming community; his start at Naughty Dog around the launch of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves; and the complexities and processes of managing a development studio's internal culture. 

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Adam Orth chats with Rebecca Ford, Creative Director at Digital Extremes. Together they discuss how she got started in games and when she first joined Digital Extremes; her work with the Warframe community; her transition into the Creative Director role and thoughts on leadership; lessons you can learn by acknowledging failure; and the long history of Warframe and how they've kept it going all these years.

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Trent Kusters chats with Freehold Games' Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinbalt about their a science fantasy roguelike, Caves of Qud. Together they discuss the 17 year development journey to 1.0; developing the engine and systems that drive their game; their thoughts around modular design; balancing bespoke and procedural content; and the personal and professional challenges and lessons they experienced over the extended development period.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Trent Kusters

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Final Fantasy VII actor Briana White. Together they discuss the casting process and how she originally auditioned for both Tifa and Aerith; respecting the original Japanese performance by Maaya Sakamoto; how localization transforms the creative process; how she dealt with insecurity and imposter syndrome ahead of her performance; and what her next dream role would be.

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Ted Price chats with Moon Studios founders Thomas Mahler and Gennadiy Korol. Together they discuss the Ori series, Moon Studios' culture and approach around remote development, creating a workplace of respectful honesty and openness, and how to make a flat hierarchy work. 

Thomas and Gennadiy are the co-founders of Moon Studios, the development studio behind Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel Ori and the Will of the Wisps. 

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Trent Kusters chats with Sarah Northway and Colin Northway from Northway Games. Together they discuss both of their early careers and the path they eventually took which led them to develop games together; early projects including the Fantastic Contraption series and Rebuild; how their releases always seem to be at the zeitgeist of cultural and technological shifts in gaming; traveling the world while developing games; and the development of their latest hit, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist.

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Ted Price chats with Guha and Karthik Bala, brothers who founded both Velan Studios and Vicarious Visions. Together they discuss their incredible journey in games beginning with the founding of Vicarious Visions while they were both in high school and into their new venture at Velan Studios; their approach to problem solving; how failure leads to positive outcomes; and what they learned at MIT that helped them think in unexpected ways. 

Guha and Karthik founded Velan Studios which is known for Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit and the recently released Knockout City. They also founded Vicarious Visions which developed the Skylanders series as well as several titles in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, and Crash Bandicoot series.

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with actor Troy Baker. Together they discuss his award winning performance as Indiana Jones in MachineGames's Indiana Jones and the Great Circle; his biggest challenges in playing an iconic character; lessons he learned from his past projects that informed his preparation and performance; and the difference between a performance being simple versus boring.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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Adam Orth chats with the Director of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Gabe Amatangelo. Together they discuss Gabe's journey to game development and how he found himself at CD PROJEKT RED; how the initial release of Cyberpunk 2077 affected the team and what steps they took to course-correct; the game design and story elements they emphasized to add weight to every decision; and being consciously nuanced with real-world allegories.

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Ted Price chats with Diablo IV Game Director, Joe Shely. Together they discuss the challenge of meeting expectations for such a beloved franchise; key decisions around classes, balance, and skill trees; their goals behind the end game; and how to design memorable bosses.

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Ted Price chats with his long-time colleague at Insomniac Games, Marcus Smith. Together they discuss their history at Insomniac Games; his experiences on the Resistance series and Sunset Overdrive; his thoughts on being a creative director; how to build consensus and foster collaboration on big projects; and the challenges the team faced on the newest entry in the Ratchet & Clank series.

Marcus Smith is a Creative Director at Insomniac Games, with his most recent title being this year's PlayStation 5 hit, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Previously he worked on several of Insomniac's best known titles including Marvel's Spider-Man, the Resistance series, and Sunset Overdrive. 

Austin Wintory chats with David Garcia, Audio Director at Ninja Theory. Together they discuss his life growing up in Spain and studying music; his life as a composer and his musical work on games such as Rime; how he joined the sound team at Ninja Theory; and how they created the haunting audio behind the Hellblade series.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Austin Wintory

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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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 Technical Achievement.

The nominees include:
+Half-Life: Alyx
+Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
+Museum of Other Realities
+Paper Beast
+Tempest

Austin Wintory chats with veteran composer Chance Thomas. Together they discuss his 20+ year career across video games, television, and flim and what ultimately led him to recently announce his retirement. They cap off their discussion exploring his final and most ambitious work, the procedural score for Ubisoft's The Settlers: New Allies.

Check out Chance's memoir here: https://hugesoundrecords.com/memoir

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Trent Kusters chats with Game Director at Half Mermaid, Sam Barlow. Together they discuss how his career began; his early studio work and getting to work on the Silent Hill franchise; his decision to go indie; his experiences that led to his first indie project; the intricacies of creating games that require a full film crew; and looking at his newest title Immortality through the lenses of both Her Story and Telling Lies. 

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Trent Kusters chats with Derek Yu, Jon Perry, and Eirik Suhrke. Together they discuss how they collaborated along with other legendary indie developers to brainstorm the 50 games found in the retro-inspired collection, UFO 50; how important it was to have a core vision for each game, the creative decisions they made to fit within the limitations of the era; when they knew a game was finished; and how the long development time allowed them to start a game only to revisit it years later with fresh eyes and new skills.

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Ted Price chats with Hazelight's Josef Fares about his move from film directing to game development, their focus on delivering a large amount of gameplay variety, their dedication to two-player coop experiences, and the pros and cons of replayability. 

Josef Fares is the founder, writer, and director of Hazelight Studios, who are best known for A Way Out and the recently released It Takes Two. Josef also helped develop Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons for Starbreeze Studios; and was a celebrated film director prior to his start in games.

Austin Wintory chats with Composer Tom Salta. Together they discuss his career journey before games working in various aspects of the music industry; working with Arkane Studios on the Wolfenstein series and eventually Deathloop; assembling a score rooted in the 60s to support the various dynamics of Deathloop; and how his experiences in game development have helped establish his creative workflow.

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Austin Wintory chats with composer Stephanie Economou, who recently won the first ever Grammy for video game music for her work on Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök. Together they discuss her career in film and television; the differences between composing for traditional media versus games; the learning curve that comes with game development; and how Ubisoft allowed her to experiment with black metal and folk music on Dawn of Ragnarök's soundtrack.

Listen to the full episode here or watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

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.

Austin Wintory chats with Jakob Schmid, Co-Founder, Audio Director, and Music Director of Geometric Interactive. Together they discuss Geometric's debut title Cocoon including the way the audio works together with the gameplay to help players solve the games many puzzles; how his background in programming led to the generative systems that create the Cocoon's music; and his long relationship with Jeppe Carlsen who he worked with prior on the critically acclaimed Inside. 

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Adam Orth chats with narrative designer Meghna Jayanth. Together they discuss Meghna's childhood moving around the world and how those experiences shaped her views; the unique aspects of writing for games; the habits, development woes, and finances of live service games; and how Thirsty Suitors takes players through an authentic and emotional journey.

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This episode is supported by: Xsolla

Adam Orth chats with Matt Wood and Micah Breitweiser from Double Dagger Studio about their first tile as a studio, Little Kitty, Big City. Together they discuss how Little Kitty, Big City began as a teaching opportunity for Matt's children; the iterative nature of development and having malleable design pillars; the importance of scope and restraint; the conscious decision to direct players as little as possible; and the process of bringing the kitty to life and how Micah's career outside of games helped make that a reality.

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Austin Wintory chats with composer Jon Everist. Together this discuss how he transitioned from a career path in economics to composing music; his work with Harebrained Schemes across their library of games and his most recent contributions on Star Wars Outlaws; and how the concept of constraint can lead to creative freedom. 

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Adam Orth chats with Roman Campos-Oriola, Eric Baptizat, and Philippe Ducharme from Motive Studio. Together they discuss what led to the decision to remake a beloved classic in Dead Space; which elements from the original release they decided to keep and what they thought they could improve; and the intricate balance between the tools, enemies, and environments that create Dead Space's tension filled gameplay. 

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Alexa Ray Corriea chats with writers Christal Rose Hazelton and Jaclyn Seto. Together they discuss the process and nuance of creating characters; the differences between creating for traditional narrative titles versus live service games; the importance of having a diverse group of voices in the writer's room; what it's like to work with a large development team; and their recent GDC talk, Creating Diverse Characters: Writing What you Know and Don't.

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Austin Wintory chats with composer Kenny Young. Together they discuss his career featuring several collaborations with Media Molecule on the Little Big Planet and Tearaway franchises all the way to his latest project, Team Asobi's galactic trek across PlayStation history, Astro Bot.

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Trent Kusters chats with Gregorios Kythreotis (Creative Director, Shedworks) and Martin Kvale (Sound Designer) about their 2021 game collaboration, Sable. Together they discuss how Gregorios and his business partner Daniel Fineberg started their development studio Shedworks; how the idea for Sable developed; brining in Martin to design the audio; working together with Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast on the soundtrack; infusing British humor into the cast of characters; and how Sable is an expert exercise in restraint. 

Austin Wintory chats with Aurélien Piters (Audio Director) and Maxime Touchon (Sound Designer). Together they discuss developing the audio design behind Asobo Studio's A Plague Tale: Requiem including their influences; the process of casting the actors; what they learned from the previous entries; working together with composer Olivier Deriviere and the music team in creating the right mood; and what it takes to create the unsettling sound of a mischief of rats. 

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Austin Wintory chats with award winning composer Oleksa Lozowchuk. Together they discuss Oleksa's career across games, television, and film including writing music for hit games like Capcom's Dead Rising franchise and Sony's Horizon franchise; the pitfalls of self-referential compositions; transitioning to a creative director role and working on his own original IP; and what he learned throughout his career that can help young creatives navigate the unique challenges of games.

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Ted Price chats with Bungie's Luke Smith. Together they discuss the Destiny Universe; designing repeatable gameplay for live services; balancing a massive experience like Destiny for veterans and new players; ensuring a player friendly experience; and how live service experiences can benefit the games industry as a whole. 

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Trent Kusters chats with Tarn Adams and Zach Adams, brothers who together created Dwarf Fortress. This is part 1 of a 2 part extended interview where they discuss the 20 year journey in creating the aforementioned title including the early inspirations that led them to learn programming; the games they developed before Dwarf Fortress; crucial creative and community milestones; working together with Kitfox Games on the updated version for Steam; and their favorite stories from their ever growing community.

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Trent Kusters chats with Xalavier Nelson Jr., the studio head, writer, and creative director of titles such as El Paso Elsewhere, Space Warlord Orgran Trading Simulator, Clickolding, and the upcoming I Am Your Beast. Together they discuss Xalavier's ideas around sustainable game development such as the importance of prioritizing shipping projects on time and within scope; how giving players unique experiences keeps them coming back for the next game; and the challenges of their approach when pitching to potential partners. 

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Austin Wintory chats with composer Lena Raine about starting her games career as a designer and not in music, the distinct lessons she learned from game design that helped her begin composing for games, stepping outside of games to release a personal solo album, how Celeste changed her career trajectory, and being yourself on social media while using it as a productive communication tool.

Lena Raine is an award-winning & BAFTA-nominated composer most well-known for her work on Celeste, Minecraft, and Guild Wars 2. She also releases electronic music under the name Kuraine, as well as her own solo music such as her debut album Oneknowing.

Ted Price chats with Dinga Bakaba, the director behind the critically acclaimed Deathloop. Dinga shares his unique journey into game development; getting team buy-in for difficult development decisions; understanding the why and how of player decision-making in games; the connections between game themes and the impact they have on our real life; and why representation is important in games and what that means to him.

Dinga Bakaba is the Studio Head and Co-Creative Director at Arkane Lyon. In addition to his work on Deathloop, Dinga is well known for the Dishonored series.

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.

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with writers Ashley Poprik and Chris Holzworth. Together they discuss how they each started their careers and the titles they've worked on; the pressure of writing on a massively popular and long running franchise like Call of Duty; giving every developer the chance to be a storyteller; the differences between writing for single player and multiplayer; and the difficulty in referencing conspiracy theories with contemporary audiences.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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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

Xalavier Nelson Jr. chats with writer and content creator Alanah Pearce. Together they discuss how her love of writing and video games began; creating content across a variety of mediums; getting her start in game development; cleared misconceptions after leaving media and joining development teams; and the importance of creating accessible games for all people and her venture the Video Game Accessibility Awards.

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Adam Orth chats with SVP of Production at Enhance, Mark MacDonald. Together they discuss Enhance's recently released game Humanity, including the origin of the surreal puzzle-action experience; how Mark and Tetsuya Miziguchi met experimental artist Yugo Nakamura, the game's designer; abstract narratives and how COVID influence their own story during development; and why they decided to leave the fate of humanity up to a Shiba Inu.

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Trent Kusters chats with Ben Gabbard & David Adams of Remnant series developer Gunfire Games. Together they discuss their careers including their early work at Vigil Games on the Darksiders series; founding Gunfire Games and their early projects with Oculus; their early ideas for the Remnant series including key pillars; learning to be strategic given development restraints; and how Remnant II is a culmination of everything they learned from their previous projects.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review: https://apple.co/3rF0EtC

The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS.

Watch this episode on our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialAIAS

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 Technical Achievement.

The nominees include:
+Dreams
+Ghost of Tsushima
+The Last of Us Part II
+Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
+Microsoft Flight Simulator

Ted Price chats with Joseph Staten, the Head of Creative at 343 Industries and Halo Infinite. Joseph has been a part of the Halo franchise since the beginning and shares his insights on why Halo has had such broad, long-lasting appeal; how 343 Industries has tackled the challenge of developing an evolving single player campaign alongside a live-service experience; and his advice for creative leaders, designers, and writers.

Listen to the full episode here or watch this episode on your Youtube channel.

Ted Price chats with Blizzard's President, J. Allen Brack, about his start in gaming and game development; Blizzard's diversity and inclusion initiatives and how it affects the company culture and its games; lessons for live ops and player feedback experiences; and best approaches to building effective leaders.

J. Allen Brack is the President of Blizzard Entertainment. J. joined Blizzard in January 2006 and held multiple leadership roles prior to being named president in October 2018. Before joining Blizzard, he also held multiple roles at Origin Systems, Inc., working on the Wing Commander franchise, and at Sony Online Entertainment LLC, working on Star Wars Galaxies.

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 the nominees for the 24th Annual #DICEAwards Fighting Game of the Year chat with one another in intimate roundtable sessions, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams.

The nominees include:
+EA Sports UFC 4
+Granblue Fantasy Versus
+Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
+Them's Fightin' Herds

Make sure to watch the full 24th Annual #DICEAwards on YouTube and stay up-to-date on all things AIAS at Twitter.

Listen to the nominees for the 24th Annual #DICEAwards Adventure Game of the Year chat with one another in intimate roundtable sessions, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams.

The nominees include-

-Assassin's Creed Valhalla
-Ghost of Tsushima
-Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
-The Last of Us Part II
-Ori and the Will of the Wisps