Gunnar Holmsteinn from Quest Portal joins Oscar on his Podquest to explore the influence of Dungeons and Dragons and his decision to make the next generation of Virtual Table Tops (VTTs) - we also talk a little about a positive use of AI to support the games master.

In this episode of Growing Pains, GDL host and Games Strategy Consultant Jay Uppal sits down with Kae Cheung, senior designer at Payload Studios, they discuss Kae's path into game design and the broader industry trends that impacted Payload Studios. Once a proud champion of UK's games industry, Payload is only one of a number of studios that has recently been brought to the verge of bankruptcy. Jay and Kae have a candid discussion about the time period leading up to the recent decision that has seen Payload lay off roughly 90% of its staff, in a bid to understand what went wrong and if there were ways to mitigate it.

Amelia Price from Sustainable Film joins Oscar on his Podquest to explore the different challenges and lessons faced by Film and Game Studios when it comes to leaving a reduced impact on the world. What practical ways can we be more sustainable?

Greg Hennessey, Design Director at CCP Games (Eve Online), has had an interesting and winding journey through games which has brought him from his home country of Canada all the way to Iceland. In this episode, we take a peek at his life as a Design Director, cover how leaders can make themselves open to critique and leave the door open for conversation and talk about the his idea of a great party.

In this episode of Growing Pains, GDL host and Games Strategy Consultant Jay Uppal sits down with Anime Producer Will Feng to discuss everything about life in Japan. Will has been in the Animation space for 20+ years and has been right on the frontlines of the recent Anime boom that has inspired some of the recent transmedia strategies in games. Jay and Will dive deep into everything from life in Japan as a foreigner to the secrets behind building working relationships in Japan.

Growing Pains is a series focusing on key business trends and people shaping the Global Games Market and their impact on the Games Industry. In this series Jay speaks with industry leaders across the Games and Gametech space; trying to demystify the industry, understand the state of leadership, and answer the all-important question ‘Is having a fun game still enough to succeed in today’s games market?’

Jay Uppal Social https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayant-uppal-18ab34a5/

Will Feng Social https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-feng-93528a3/

Episode 5 Segments:

00:00 Introduction to Episode Five

01:46 Introduction to Will

03:46 Animation in US vs Japan
11:40 Cultural Differences Working in Japan
16:40 Business in Japan is just Done Differently
24:10 Legal is Still a Nightmare
28:10 Find Your Clan (Networking in Japan)
34:00 Life in Japan as a Foreigner
40:30 Bars in Japan
44:30 Transmedia in Japan
50:50 Are Visual Novels Games?
55:00 Do the Grind
57:00 Netflix – Anime, Games, & Live Action
01:03:15 Korean Webtoons on the Rise
01:05:15 Collaborating with Japanese Productions
01:10:20 Japanese Idol Culture
01:16:20 Ending Segment

Fellow host Laura joins Oscar on his Podquest to explore the nature of professional learning in various forms from the humble webinar to interactive workshops, accelerator programs, mentoring and even peer information sharing. Why does it matter that we keep on learning? And what does someone doing that training need to consider in the ways they deliver that?

In this episode, host Nina Kim

In this episode of Growing Pains, GDL host and Games Strategy Consultant, Jay Uppal sits down with Bastian Bergmann, the Co-founder of Solsten.io. Solsten is a Consumer Insights research firm that aims to put individual players back at the core of the game development cycle. They use psychologically backed techniques meshed with traditional behavioural research to identify the way and how behind a player’s action to offer clearer insights for decision-makers to better understand their audience and more effectively communicate with the player rather than the statistic.

Nina Kim from Rare joins Oscar on his Podquest to discuss the challenges of defining the multifaceted role of game designer, as well as the joys of the ever-evolving nature of design.

In this third episode, of Growing Pains, GDL host and Games Strategy Consultant, Jay Uppal sits down with Kamen Brestnichki, an AI researcher and Co-founder of Martian Lawyers Club, a newly founded Indie Games Studio based out of the UK. They dive into all things AI, discussing the hype behind the AI ecosystem and the broader ramifications of AI technologies in games and beyond.