Game Maker's Notebook

Karrie Shao chats with writer and narrative designer Cara Ellison. Together they discuss her path from television to games; the global development scene and the difficulties facing developers today; her desire to bring local culture to the global stage; and her work with Fireproof Games on the D.I.C.E. Award winning VR title, Ghost Town.

Episode Host: Karrie Shao

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

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Adam Orth chats with Eyes Out co-founders Cory Davis (Spec Ops: the Line) and Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails) about their studio's debut game, SLEEP AWAKE. Together they discuss their distinct paths from traditional games and music and how they found themselves collaborating together; the unique audio-first approach they took with SLEEP AWAKE; the psychedelic dreamlike horror themes present throughout the experience; and the contrasts and parallels they discovered with creating music and games.

This episode is sponsored by:

Xsolla

Episode Host: Adam Orth

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

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Grammy Award winning composer Austin Wintory chats with Rev. Dr. Bradley D. Meyer, Audio Director at Sucker Punch Productions. Together they discuss his path to gaming and joining Sucker Punch; his thoughts on audio design including on his latest work in Ghost of Yōtei; the complex marriage of audio and music in large projects; and how they balanced the score of Ghost of Yōtei between Japanese Folk and Spaghetti Westerns influences.

**Editor's Note: (01:01:48) Amon Tobin is the composer of the first inFAMOUS title.

This episode is sponsored by Xsolla

Episode Host: Austin Wintory

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

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Guest host Tim Schafer (Double Fine Productions) chats with Jon Gibson (iam8bit) Meggan Scavio (AIAS), and Sibel Sunar (fortyseven communications) about their joint effort to celebrate the world of game art, the Game Maker's Sketchbook. Together they discuss the history and goals of the showcase; the charities it supports in the AIAS Foundation and Day of the Devs; and how to participate and help celebrate the art that goes into creating the games we love.

Episode Host: Tim Schafer

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

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Corey May chats with Abiotic Factor developers Geoff "Zag" Keene and Henry Feltham from Deep Field Games. Together they discuss the challenges and benefits of working in small teams; the importance of relationships and communication; narrative design as a production tool; balancing seriousness and comedy; and what they didn't like about the survival genre that they hoped to remedy with Abiotic Factor.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Corey May

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

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Trent Kusters chats with Ubisoft Mainz Creative Director, Manuel Reinher. Together they discuss his extensive work in the Anno series and his path from the art team to direction; the creative and technical challenges of working in the historical strategy game genre; their approach to depicting the Roman Empire in the latest series release, Anno 117: Pax Romana; how a seemingly simple transition from square to hexagon tiles comes with massive ramifications in all parts of game design; and how they tackle accessibility without sacrificing complexity and depth.

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 Adhoc Studio's Nick Herman about their debut title, Dispatch. Together they discuss the difficulties of funding narrative based titles and how that led to their collaboration with Critical Role; how they approached the superhero genre from outside the fandom; balancing player choice with narrative intentions; what they learned from player testing; and why they chose the episodic format.

This episode is supported by

Xsolla

iam8bit

Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea

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

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Trent Kusters chats with Lee Petty, Creative Director on Double Fine's newest adventure, Keeper. Together they discuss where the idea to anthropomorphize a light house; why they avoided dialogue and how it pushed them creatively; how silence and emptiness shape emotional tone; the importance of restraint; and what he's learned about leadership throughout his journey at Double Fine.

This episode is supported by

Xsolla

iam8bit

Episode Host: Trent Kusters

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

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Jun Shen Chia chats with SILENT HILL f game director Al Yang of Neobards Entertainment. Together they discuss how Neobards collaborated with Konami and famed Japanese writer Ryukishi07 on creating the newest chapter in the Silent Hill series; designing the combat to create tension and feel like a puzzle; creating a game for existing fans that brings in new players; and balancing fun while trying to tell a deep emotional story.

This episode is supported by

Xsolla

Episode Host: Jun Shen Chia

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

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Adam Orth chats with Brandon Adler and Kyle Koenig about their latest work at Obsidian Entertainment, The Outer Worlds 2. Together they discuss the lessons they learned from the first game and what they sought to improve; how they implemented comedic and narrative elements into every aspect of gameplay; what ideas ended up on the cutting room floor; and what's next for themselves and the franchise.

This episode is sponsored 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.

Support the show and get all of our episodes early/ad-free: https://bit.ly/4kU34Lt

Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation