Deconstructor of Fun

This one is a treat! This week our stalwart host Ethan Levy interviews Graeme Devine, a true game design legend. From his groundbreaking work on 7th Guest and 11th Hour to Doom 3, to Age of Empires III and Halo Wars, to Magic Leap, Graeme has found success across many different platforms. Now, as a co-founder of QXR Studios, Graeme has added another notch to his belt with WAX-powered blockchain CCG Metropolis Origins. In this episode, we cover some of the highlights of Graeme’s illustrious career, how he found himself working on XR at Magic Leap and what attracted him to Web3. Most importantly, we discuss what he’s learned through the launch and operations of QXR’s first blockchain game in Metropolis Origins.

The crew starts off by recapping Unity's rejection of AppLovin and why it went the way it did. Adam does an update on Supercell's games in soft launch now that Clash Quest became yet another could-be-hit in the company's soft launch graveyard. Finally, the guys debate what’s the right role of market research in early game development.

Hosts: Laura Taranto, Adam Telfer, Eric Seufert

It may be unthinkable for the Deconstructor of Fun audience, but people are still finding success with premium mobile games in 2022. It all depends on your aspirations and what your goals are. In this episode, Ethan Levy interviews fledgling game designer Sophie Artemigi whose freshman debut, the sex-positive Hook Up The Game found chart-topping premium game success on the App Store thanks to clever Tik Tok marketing and a Pride Month feature. We talk about the challenges Sophie faced along the way, the bravery of putting parts of yourself into your work, and generally joke about how Ethan is most definitely Old. Plus Sophie discusses what it took to persevere through the adversity of handicap and multiple health setbacks to release her debut game. This one is not to be missed!

Seufert is back from Europe and has a couple of words regarding last week’s analysis of the Hypercasual games' economy following Google’s ad changes. We’ll deep dive into AppLovin’s gangster move. JamCity’s massive layoffs and Roblox’s bookings miss. The gang also discusses why Blizzard and NetEase scrapped Warcraft Mobile and PlayStation Mobile’s hiring spree.

hosts: Eric Seufert, Ethan Levy, Adam Telfer

Art outsourcing can become a game changer or a hopeless money sink. To discuss how to outsource art in the smartest and most effective way, the Deconstructor of Fun podcast was joined by Silver Saaremäel, co-founder and Art Director of a boutique art outsourcing studio Fantastic Vagabonds (ex-Wooga & Crytek), and Kshiraj Telang, Art Director from Moon Active (ex-King and Rovio).

Special guest star, Matej Lancaric, a household name in the user acquisition circles and a podcaster extraordinaire (Two and a Half Gamers) joins the TWiG crew to give his view on Google’s latest Play Store policies and Apple’s new ad placements for advertisers. We also discuss whether Rockstar can get their culture less toxic and whether that will impact their super violent franchises. And we discuss if you really can make a great free-to-play game with just three steps...

the Gamescom event (link)

hosts: Eric Kress, Laura Taranto, Mishka Katkoff, and Matej Lancaric

You know her from TV (That 70’s Show, Family Guy), Film (Book of Eli, Black Swan), and have probably even heard of her hit NFT collections (Stone Cats, The Gimmicks). But did you know that Hollywood star Mila Kunis is a closet World of Warcraft addict? And that her love of WoW has led directly to the creation of a brand new, Web3-powered gaming IP in the Armored Kingdom? Along with her raid party turned production and design team, she is working to build a new fantasy universe on the Near protocol. In this episode, Ethan Levy talks to Producer Lisa Sterbakov, Emmy nominated writer/designer Hugh Sterbakov and writer/designer Brian Turner about the inspiration behind the Armored Kingdom, their choice to go Web3 and partner with the Near protocol, and what it's like to go undercover raiding with a famous Hollywood star.

As you may guess from his dadtastic body, the host Ethan Levy is a big fan of Peloton’s bike and fitness platform. That’s why he literally jumped at the chance to speak with Jim Green of Peloton Interactive about the present and future of gamified fitness on the Peloton platform. 

The two discuss Jim’s background in Facebook and mobile free-to-play, his transition to a Product role within a non-gaming org, the testing, launch, and reception of Peloton’s first game, the Guitar Hero-inspired Lane Break, and the future of gamified fitness for Peloton. Ethan also puts his wishes for a Vin Diesel-inspired bicep blow-out game to be designed for Peloton’s upcoming Guide product. It’s literally the only thing standing between Ethan and the fabled EA exec-approved body-mass index. 

links: careers at Peloton

Ethan Levy is back to talk about the crypto Winter giving us an update from his blockchain snow castle. In addition to the latest high-school basketball news, Eric Kress analyzes Snap’s shares plunge. Mishka Katkoff discusses the pros and cons of having a transparent salary structure in a gaming company. And we discuss Netflix Games once again after receiving some insights on what the future portfolio might look like…

Signup for DoF x Phoenix Games x Naavik Gamescom party in Cologne on 25th of August! >>> LINK

Hosts: Erick Kress, Ethan Levy, Mishka Katkoff

The crew returns back to Unity’s merger with ironSource as Eric Seufert offers his view of the deal. There’s a conversation about the latest government ruling not to regulate loot boxes. Talk about Tesla’s new gaming initiative and Netflix’s latest batch of gaming veteran hires. We also talk about E3’s return to in-person events and what we can expect from it.

Hosts: Eric Kress, Eric Seufert, Laura Taranto