Devoted Talks

What does more than 40 years of making games teach you about creativity, failure and refusing to compromise?In Episode 42 of Speakeasy, Ninel Anderson, CEO of Devoted Studios, sits down with legendary game designer Warren Spector for a conversation spanning the early days of computer games, Ultima, System Shock, Deus Ex, Disney Epic Mickey and the realities of leading increasingly massive development teams.Warren explains why player expression became central to his design philosophy and why, in his words, if two players describe exactly the same experience, the team has failed.They also talk openly about projects that went wrong.Warren breaks down what happened with System Shock 3, why he went through 23 versions of the narrative, how one mechanic reached nine iterations, and the lesson he took from the experience:We cover:- what game development looked like before modern engines and established genres- where Warren's philosophy around immersive sims came from designing games where players become authors of their own experiences- testing games built around extreme player freedom- how Deus Ex came together- protecting a creative vision without controlling your team- leading teams ranging from dozens to hundreds of developers- Warren's experience speaking publicly about bipolar disorder- studio closures, layoffs, and the current state of the games industry- what went wrong with System Shock 3- AI generated content, creative leadership, and the lessons Warren wishes he had learned earlier

Raphael Colantonio has spent his career building games that were never the safest choice.From founding Arkane Studios with four people and no engine, to co-creating Dishonored and directing Prey, to starting again with WolfEye Studios, his career has been shaped by creative conviction and persistence.In this episode of Devoted Speakeasy, Ninel Anderson sits down with Raphael for an honest conversation about building independent studios, surviving failed projects, working with publishers, defining immersive sims, developing games remotely, and protecting a strong creative identity.🔗 WolfEye Studios: https://wolfeye-studios.com/🎮 Play Weird West: Definitive Edition on Steam:https://store.steampowered.com/app/1097350/Weird_West_Definitive_Edition/🎙️ Devoted Speakeasy brings together the people shaping the games industry for honest conversations about creativity, production, business, and the decisions behind the games we play.Co-create with Devoted:https://devotedstudios.com/

🎨 Devoted Fusion — hire vetted game art talent, manage production, and ship faster.https://app.devotedfusion.com/artfeed?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=speakeasy_ep40

Horror games are kind of EVERYWHERE right now. Indie horror, psychological horror, spooky animatronics… You name it. So we wanted to talk to someone who literally makes these games and knows what is going on.

Jason Topolski (JTop) from Steel Wool Studios joined Devoted SpeakEasy to talk about making horror games, working on Five Nights at Freddy’s, and why fear is such a strong tool in game design. 

We get into why horror is a great starting point for small teams, how Steel Wool packs environments with layered details and backstories, and why leaving things unexplained can be WAAAAY scarier than showing everything.

🧑 About Jason:

Jason Topolski is a Creative Director and Co-Founder at Steel Wool Studios. He has worked at Pixar and Telltale and also does improv, board game design, voice acting, and directing.Jason on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtopolski/ Steel Wool Studios https://steelwoolstudios.com/ 

🔗 Follow Devoted Studios on Social Media: 

🎨 Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/devoted-studios  

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/devotedstudios  

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devotedstudios   

🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/devotedstudios_  

💬Discord:  https://discord.gg/6x46SWhC  

💻 Visit the website: https://www.devotedstudios.com    

Tired of sending out job apps and hearing… nothing? We get it. So we brought in Amir Satvat from Tencent Games to share what’s really happening in hiring right now.

🎨 Devoted Fusion — hire vetted game art talent, manage production, and ship faster.

https://app.devotedfusion.com/artfeed?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=GetHired_AmirSavat

🔗 Connect with Amir Satvat

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirsatvat/

Community Website: https://amirsatvat.com/

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/amirsatvatWriting an effective job post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/amirsatvat_if-youre-looking-for-work-right-now-here-activity-7349470427120914432-mmLj  

🧑People from Profile Review Section:

Dario Sartor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariosartor3d

Willamis Rodrigues: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willamis-rodrigues

Rainer Petter https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainerpetter

Jose Ramirez https://www.linkedin.com/in/jd-ramirez-u

Gustavo Souto https://www.linkedin.com/in/gustavo-souto-83a96a370

TIMECODES:

00:00 Intro

00:21 Amir Savat’s Story

07:05 Game Industry Jobs: Global Breakdown

10:31 How to Build Your Brand in Games

18:11 The Soft Skills That Actually Matter

21:52 Folks Talks

25:16 Profile Review

32:51 Rapid Questions!

36:57 Ending

We go deep into:

🎯 Where the real jobs are (and what’s drying up)

🧭 How to build a personal brand that feels genuine

💬 Why being recognizable beats applying to 500 roles

💡 Tips for introverts, interviews, and staying hopeful

🔗 Follow Devoted Studios on Social Media: 

▶️YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Devoted-Talks

🎨 Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/devoted-studios  

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/devotedstudios  

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devotedstudios   

🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/devotedstudios_  

💬Discord:  https://discord.gg/6x46SWhC  

💻 Visit the website: https://www.devotedstudios.com     

#DevotedStudios #SpeakEasy #GameDev #Careers #AmirSatvat #Hiring #GamingCommunity #TencentGames #GameDevAdvice #GameDevCareer #GamingCareer

What’s really happening in the game industry job market right now? 

Spoiler: it’s not all doom and layoffs.

🔗 Connect with Amir Satvat

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirsatvat/

Community Website: https://amirsatvat.com/

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/amirsatvat

Amir Satvat, Business Development Director at Tencent Games and the person behind Amir Satvat Community, one of the biggest game industry communities online, joins us for a grounded look at what’s really happening in game careers right now.

He shares what the data actually says about hiring in 2025, why location still shapes opportunities, and how recognizability (not just skills) helps you get hired.

We also talk about things like how introverts can build connections, what’s changing for veterans and early-career devs, and how community can make the job hunt feel a little less lonely.

👉 📌 Get insights about game development. Hit subscribe!

🔗 Follow Devoted Studios on Social Media: 

🎨 Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/devoted-studios  

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/devotedstudios  

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devotedstudios   

🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/devotedstudios_  

💬Discord:  https://discord.gg/6x46SWhC  

💻 Visit the website: https://www.devotedstudios.com    

Bret Robbins, Creative Director behind Dead Space and Call of Duty, joins Devoted SpeakEasy to share the unfiltered truth about creating a brand new AAA IP.

🔗 Check out Brett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-robbins-a91a3350/

TIMECODES:

0:00 - Intro

0:42 - Get to Know Bret Robbins

2:41 - The Early Days of Dead Space

6:17 - Breaking Through a Crowded Market

20:08 - Creative Role vs Leading a Company

31:08 - What Worked When Scaling a Studio

43:27 - How to Build a Successful New IP

48:16 - AI in Game Development

50:02 - A Success Story

53:01 - Blitz Round: Rapid Fire Q&A!

55:33 - Ending

🎮 What you will learn in this episode

• Why launching a new IP is tougher than ever

• The two things that make or break any game: a clear vision and a battle-tested team

• How timing and market noise buried Immortals of Aveum

• Lessons on early marketing, community building, and showing work in progress

• How tight budgets and real constraints can spark better design

• Remote versus in-studio production and what actually works for creative teams

👉 Subscribe for more SpeakEasy episodes with game industry leaders and visit Devoted Studios to learn how our strike teams help studios ship ambitious games faster. → https://devotedstudios.com/ 

🔗 Follow Devoted Studios on Social Media: 

🎨 Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/devoted-studios  

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/devotedstudios  

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devotedstudios   

🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/devotedstudios_  

💬Discord:  https://discord.gg/6x46SWhC  

💻 Visit the website: https://www.devotedstudios.com     

#GameDevelopment #gamedev #AAA #newIP #DevotedSpeakEasy #BretRobbins #DeadSpace #gameindustry #AAAGames #DevotedStudios #CoDevelopmentStudios #GameCoDevelopment

In the second part of the interview with Brandon Huffman, managing attorney at Odin Law, Ninel and her guest unpack the investor side: what to accept, what to push back on, and how to protect your team, your equity, and your roadmap.

We dig into:

✅ When to go to a publisher vs an investor

✅ How valuation and dilution can shrink your stake

✅ SAFEs vs convertible notes (and the surprise dilution hiding in them)

✅ Control terms like board seats, veto rights, and compensation

✅ Strategic investors and the rights that can block future deals

✅ Protecting founder equity with vesting, cliffs, and buybacks

✅ What drag-along and tag-along mean in practice

✅ How to handle a bad investor relationship

✅ Why it’s worth looping in a lawyer early (many defer fees until funding closes)TIMECODES:0:00 Intro

0:27 Our guest

1:46 When to choose a publisher vs investor

7:00 Key things to check in investor deals

18:04 Anti-dilution clauses and why they matter

20:04 Protecting your role as founder

26:29 Common investor terms

31:26 Managing a mismatch with an investor

32:59 Ending

👉 📌 Get smarter about game development. Hit subscribe!

🔗 Follow Devoted Studios on Social Media: 

🎨 Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/devoted-studios  

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/devotedstudios  

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devotedstudios   

🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/devotedstudios_  

💬Discord:  https://discord.gg/6x46SWhC  

💻 Visit the website: https://www.devotedstudios.com     

#GameDevelopment #IndieDev #GameBusiness #VentureCapital #SAFEs #ConvertibleNotes #GameStudio #Fundraising #DevotedStudios #BrandonHuffman #OdinLaw #GamePublishing

HOLD UP! ✋ In this episode of Devoted Speakeasy, Ninel, our CEO, talks with Brandon Huffman, managing attorney at Odin Law, to break down the traps, hidden clauses, and money math every indie (and even AAA) dev should understand before putting pen to paper.

From milestone traps to brutal recoup terms, Brandon shares the real-world contract details that can make or break your studio. Pitching your first game or your fifth, this is the episode that could save you years of headaches (and a lot of cash).

We cover:

🎯 Why publishers are tightening their terms in 2025

📊 The recoup clause that can wipe out your revenue

📅 How to structure milestones so you actually get paid

🚫 Termination clauses that can bankrupt a studio

💬 How to keep your creative vision when working with a publisher

If you’re an indie dev, a small studio, or anyone thinking about partnering with a publisher… watch this before you sign anything.

👉 📌 Subscribe for more unfiltered game dev talks!

🔗 Follow Devoted Studios on Social Media: 

🎨 Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/devoted-studios  

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/devotedstudios  

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devotedstudios   

🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/devotedstudios_  

💬Discord:  https://discord.gg/6x46SWhC  

💻 Visit the website: https://www.devotedstudios.com     

In this episode of Devoted Speakeasy, Ninel hangs out with Dimitri Berman, Lead Character Artist at Obsidian Entertainment, to talk about the chaos, creativity, and caffeine that went into building the cast of Avowed.TIMECODES:0:00 Intro

1:34 What Avowed Is Really About

4:03 Why RPG Character Pipelines Are So Complicated

15:29 Step-by-Step: Creating a Character

21:59 What It’s Like to Design 900 Characters with 3 Artists

30:17 Creature Design vs Outfit Design in Game Dev

38:03 What It Really Takes to Be a Character Artist

41:45 What’s Next for Character Development

43:24 Fail Stories

46:35 Blitz Questions

49:14 Ending

We get into:

• What it actually takes to build characters for a huge RPG

• Why they switched engines mid-production (spoiler: lighting was a nightmare)

• What it’s like designing mushroom-infected people and ogres with six-packs

• How much players really care about fashion… even in first-person

• And why creature artists are a little weird (in the best way)

If you’ve ever tried making a character, shipped an RPG, or just love hearing the behind-the-scenes of game dev, this one’s worth sticking around for.

👉 Like what you hear? Hit like, drop a comment, and don’t forget to subscribe. We’ve got more dev stories coming your way.

🔗 Follow us on Social Media: 

🎨 Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/devoted-studios  

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/devotedstudios  

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devotedstudios   

🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/devotedstudios_  

💬Discord:  https://discord.gg/6x46SWhC  

💻 Visit the website: https://www.devotedstudios.com     

#ObsidianEntertainment #Avowed #GameDev #CharacterArt #DevotedSpeakeasy #RPGDesign #DevotedStudios #Metahuman

Ever wondered who animated your Sim yawning, or who decided they should clean toilets with that much personality? In this episode, we go behind the scenes with two of the creative minds who have shaped The Sims for over a decade.🚀

✨ Jessica Stites (Art Director) and Lacey Banister (Senior Animation & VFX Director) from Maxis join Ninel Anderson to talk about everything from:

• Animating weird but lovable Sim moments

• Staying creative while working on the same game for years

• The necessity of cheat codes, 

• The evolution of inclusivity and expansion packs

• The real work behind making The Sims feel fun and familiar

• Being female team leaders in a male-driven industry

And yes… someone had to model every toilet. 🧼

Watch the video version:

https://youtu.be/7ZBwRHHLUtY

🚀 Check out our brand new Devoted Fusion platform – connecting game creators with curated freelance artists in minutes: https://shorturl.at/p1JgH

🔗 Follow us on Social Media: 

🎨 Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/devoted-studios  

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/devotedstudios  

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devotedstudios   

🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/devotedstudios_  

💬Discord:  https://discord.gg/6x46SWhC  

💻 Visit the website: https://www.devotedstudios.com     

#TheSims #GameDev #DevotedSpeakEasy #Maxis #Animation #GameArt #WomenInGames  #SpeakEasyPodcast  #GameDevelopment #DevotedStudios