Game Prod Pod

Luke is officially missing in action on a mysterious side hustle, leaving Matt and Tash to seize the studio! With Luke out of the room, the duo breaks the ultimate rule and finally dives into what they've actually been playing lately—from tax-evading turnips to tactical SWAT breachers. Then, they clash over a big question: are we living in gaming's true "Golden Age," or is the indie boom built on the back of unpaid overtime, low-balled salaries, and pizza-bribe culture?

• Matt Ibbs: Games Leadership Coach / Host
• Natasha Nathani: Games Industry Veteran / Technical Producer
• (Luke Timms: Currently MIA on a work trip)

Episode 017: Lion Lifts, Emo Road Trips & The Creamy Vein of Gold

🦁 Tash Lifts a Lion & Luke Goes Missing. Tash recaps her 4th-place finish at the Powerlifting World Championships, witnessing a master lifter deadlift 200.5 kg (roughly the weight of a fully grown adult male lion). Plus, with Luke MIA, Matt and Tash break format to talk games.

• 🏋️‍♀️ Watch all 9 of Tash's World Championship lifts on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdTXdliChL9/?stkn=aHZqbGpjYWZmejNv

🎮 What Are We Playing? (The "One and Done" Special).

• Tash's Pick: Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, the northern slapstick brilliance of Thank Goodness You're Here!, tearing through Final Fantasy XVI (and roasting FF15 as a boyband emo road trip), fresh Hades runs, and chaotic Gang Beasts griefing.
• Matt's Pick: 80+ hours deep in Halo Campaign Evolved, deckbuilding in The Royal Writ, rough-and-ready dark fantasy in Tainted Grail, and tactical SWAT operations on the Steam Deck with Door Kickers 2.
• (Host Decree: We will never do this segment again. Sorry, Luke!)

🏆 The Golden Age Debate: Masterpieces vs. Corporate Rot. Is modern gaming in its golden era? Matt argues that beneath the crusty surface of AAA layoffs, there is an unprecedented "creamy vein of gold" powered by passionate indie creators and barrier-breaking tools. Tash pushes back with the harsh reality from the trenches: indie funding droughts, post-COVID salary cuts, mandatory return-to-office mandates, and studios still trying to pay developers in overtime pizza.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• AAA is Stagnant, Indies are Alive: Mainstream blockbusters take 8–10 years to iterate on safe sequels. True innovation lives entirely in AA and independent development.
• No More Pizza Currency: Overtime is not a gift, and dinner is not compensation. Set firm boundaries around your time.
• Grassroots Will Save Game Dev: The older generation of top-down command-and-control leaders won't change; sustainable studio culture will be built by newcomers collaborating horizontally.

🎙️ Sound Bites:

• "This woman lifted 200.5 kilos... she literally picked up a large adult male lion and put it back down."
• "Final Fantasy 15 is just emos going on a road trip in a car."
• "Stop brainwashing your devs into thinking overtime pizza is a courtesy. Pay me!"
• "AAA is dead or dying. The real golden age is the creamy vein of gold running just beneath the crusty surface."

A short trailer for the upcoming Episode "Is This the Golden Age of Gaming?" - stay tuned for more!

Tash returns from competition with shiny medals around her neck to join Matt and Luke for a deep dive into the serious side of gaming. From surgeons honing laparoscopic precision through video games to how game producers manage the "Zoom Lens"—balancing 30,000-foot strategic roadmaps with microscopic Jira weeds. Plus, Tash reveals her secret brain-cake baking past, and Matt defends his undefeated True or False streak.

• Matt Ibbs: Host
• Natasha Nathani: Games Industry Veteran / Technical Producer
• Luke Timms: Games Industry Veteran / Product & Delivery Leader

Episode 015: Management Track for You, My Boy

🎮 Hot Topic: Gaming Outside of Games (The Serious Business of Play).

Do video games actually save lives? We explore the data behind laparoscopic surgeons using simulation tools and first-person shooters to slash surgical error rates. We dive into tactile haptics, why gamers possess innate reaction advantages, and take a trip down memory lane—from 19th-century tabletop war games and the 1920s pneumatic Link flight trainer to police de-escalation VR.

🎯 Production Masterclass: The Zoom Lens (Macro vs. Micro). As a producer, how do you prevent yourself from drowning in daily bug tickets without losing sight of your 6-month release roadmap? We discuss the "Zoom Lens" mentality, Matt introduces the Flight Levels framework for cross-company alignment, and the team breaks down how to use Game Pillars to settle creative disputes and solve problems through subtraction rather than feature bloat.

🎲 True or False (The God Edition): Can Luke and Tash finally de-throne Matt? With descriptions featuring dialogue-sucking puppets (GREAT GOD GROVE), apocalyptic Dark Elder Gods (Shadows of Forbidden Gods), and deity simulators, the team tries to sniff out the ever-elusive Pig at the Disco.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Simulations Bridge the Gap: From pilot training to surgical dexterity, gamified virtual environments remove the deadly consequences of failure, accelerating mastery.
• Flight Levels Prevent Blind Spots: Layer your communication across Strategy (Level 3), Coordination (Level 2), and Operations (Level 1) to eliminate tribal knowledge.
• Add Value by Subtracting: When roadmaps are in jeopardy, don't look for features to add—look for what you can cut. First cut the diamond, then polish it.

🎙️ Sound Bites:

• "I used to have a bespoke cake business... my favorite was a Halloween brain cake with lemon-juice coagulated blood jam."
• "The Link flight trainer was made by a guy who built church pipe organs... so in Zelda, you're literally just training to fly."
• "First you cut the diamond, then you polish it. You can't polish a turd."
• "I have no discernible skills or traits... Management track for you, my boy!"

A Trailer for the upcoming episode... we're going to be taking all about serious gaming and simulations used outside of the games industry.

Tash is off "bodybuilding" (lifting heavy weights and grunting), leaving Matt and Luke to talk about the absolute state of game dev finance. Why are we celebrating a record-breaking $200B year while mourning tens of thousands of redundancies? We follow the money from first principles.

• Matt Ibbs: Games Leadership Coach / Host
• Luke Timms: Games Industry Veteran / Product & Delivery Leader

Episode 014: Putting the Fun in Funding

The $200 Billion Paradox. In this episode, the duo addresses the financial disconnect in modern game development. Global consumer spending has breached historical records, yet the industry is clawing through layoffs, cancellations, and restructures.

🤯 Hot Topic: The AAA Sustainability Crisis. We dissect why massive budgets (upwards of $300M + marketing) and 8-year development cycles are killing first-party studios. We look at the $500M Concord tragedy, discuss how digital storefronts destroyed the predictable "Madrid and Milan" sales pipelines, and analyze why "Triple-I" titles (under $30, finishable, highly polished, like Hades) are the future of sustainable gaming.

📢 The Naming Pivot: We take customer feedback seriously! After a LinkedIn user noted our titles were too confusing, we try to balance discoverability with our signature nonsense. Welcome to a slightly more readable era of Games Prod Pod.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Digital Storefronts are Wild: Old-school box sales had guaranteed retail shelf space; digital sales are completely consumer-led and highly unpredictable.
• Triple-I is the Sweet Spot: Games under $30 with focused scopes and smaller team overheads represent the most stable investment path in 2026.
• Understand Your Code: Younger developers are pushing back against AI automation to protect the core foundational understanding of the craft.

🎙️ Sound Bites:

• "Every meeting lately has a fan going... it sounds like Darth Vader is in the room."
• "We put a Switch 2 and three games in our cart, it hit £600, and I said: Maya, delete."
• "concord was half a billion dollars... and it peaked at 700 players. That's a worldwide total."
• "The young devs are calling AI art 'boomer art' and refusing to use it."

⏰ Chapters:

• 00:00 Banter: Fan noises, Darth Vader, and TikTok Shop scarcity traps
• 02:29 The £600 Amazon Switch Cart & "bodybuilding" Tash
• 07:21 Hot Topic: Follow the Money (Where does it go?)
• 10:12 Old School Box Pitches (Madrid & Milan) vs. Digital Chaos
• 12:17 Concord's $500M launch and toxic positivity
• 13:42 The AAA Sustainability Crisis (Ballooning break-even targets)
• 16:40 The Rise of "Triple-I" (III) and single-player/finishable games (Hades)
• 22:06 Global Games Market Breakdown (Mobile vs. PC vs. Console in 2025)
• 25:01 The Paradox: $200B Revenue vs. 50k redundancy waves (2022-2024)
• 34:22 Entrepreneurship: Why tough times are the best times to build
• 35:22 Claude AI Studio: Managing Virtual Tech Directors & Monetization Agents
• 38:33 BAFTA Youth Awards: Devs calling out "boomer art"
• 43:36 Growth Markets: African game dev and mobile accessibility
• 46:38 Customer Feedback: LinkedIn and the death of esoteric titles
• 50:11 Outro & Matt's Solo Intro

A Trailer for the upcoming episode: Putting the 'Fun' in Funding

There's a crisis happening. We're all feeling it.

Before we step away for a quick summer break, Tash and Luke crash Matt's solo studio session to review the absolute madness of our first 14 episodes. From Matt's "Pig at the Disco" addiction to Luke's legendary excuses for being late, we look at the numbers behind Games Prod Pod.

• Matt Ibbs: Games Leadership Coach / Host
• Natasha Nathani: Games Industry Veteran / Technical Producer
• Luke Timms: Games Industry Veteran / Product & Delivery Leader

Summer Break Special: Mid-Season Stat Attack!

☀️ We're Taking a Short Summer Break! Following our latest release (LinkedIn is Not a Dating Site), the trio is taking a few weeks off in August to recharge, mix cement, and lift heavy weights. We’ll be back in about a month with brand-new episodes, masterclasses, and hot topics!

📊 The Mid-Season Stats Breakdown:

• True or Flase: We’ve played 7 times, Matt is 100% undefeated, and "Pig at the Disco" has been uttered 4 separate times.
• Hall of Fame Excuses: Luke's lateness record includes mixing cement on his birthday, loft excavations, and confusing BST with US Eastern time.
• The Intro Leaderboard: Matt leads with 9 intros, Tash has 3, and Luke trails with 2.
• Top Short: Tash's "Easy Tash" clip takes the crown for our most-viewed YouTube Short!

🎮 Huge Announcement: A real indie game studio reached out to feature their upcoming game on the show! Matt is keeping it under wraps to surprise Tash and Luke in an upcoming True or Flase when we return.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• We’re Returning Soon: Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts so you don't miss our return in September!
• Get in Touch: Got a production challenge or game you want featured? Email us at [email protected].

🎙️ Sound Bites:

• "You can't be left on your own, Matt. You can't be trusted."
• "Four times I have uttered the phrase 'Pig at the Disco'."
• "Who mixes cement in January?"
• "An indie dev reached out... and have I got a segment for you!"

⏰ Chapters:

• 00:00 Welcome & Summer Break Announcement
• 01:52 True or Flase Stats & "Pig at the Disco"
• 04:20 The Hall of Fame: Luke's Lateness Excuses
• 07:30 Who Talks the Most? (Monologue Records)
• 08:39 Intro/Outro Leaderboards & Top Performing Short
• 11:00 Big News: Real Indie Game Studio Feature Coming Soon!
• 12:20 Outro & See You in September!

Before we step away for a quick summer break, Tash and Luke crash Matt's solo studio session to review the absolute madness of our first 14 episodes.

From Matt's "Pig at the Disco" addiction to Luke's legendary excuses for being late, we look at the numbers behind Games Prod Pod.

• Matt Ibbs: Games Leadership Coach / Host
• Natasha Nathani: Games Industry Veteran / Technical Producer
• Luke Timms: Games Industry Veteran / Product & Delivery Leader

Summer Break Special: Mid-Season Stat Attack!

☀️ We're Taking a Short Summer Break! Following our latest release (LinkedIn is Not a Dating Site), the trio is taking a few weeks off in August to recharge, mix cement, and lift heavy weights. We’ll be back in about a month with brand-new episodes, masterclasses, and hot topics!

📊 The Mid-Season Stats Breakdown:

• True or Flase: We’ve played 7 times, Matt is 100% undefeated, and "Pig at the Disco" has been uttered 4 separate times.
• Hall of Fame Excuses: Luke's lateness record includes mixing cement on his birthday, loft excavations, and confusing BST with US Eastern time.
• The Intro Leaderboard: Matt leads with 9 intros, Tash has 3, and Luke trails with 2.
• Top Short: Tash's "Easy Tash" clip takes the crown for our most-viewed YouTube Short!

🎮 Huge Announcement: A real indie game studio reached out to feature their upcoming game on the show! Matt is keeping it under wraps to surprise Tash and Luke in an upcoming True or Flase when we return.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• We’re Returning Soon: Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts so you don't miss our return in September!
• Get in Touch: Got a production challenge or game you want featured? Email us at [email protected].

🎙️ Sound Bites:

• "You can't be left on your own, Matt. You can't be trusted."
• "Four times I have uttered the phrase 'Pig at the Disco'."
• "Who mixes cement in January?"
• "An indie dev reached out... and have I got a segment for you!"

⏰ Chapters:

• 00:00 Welcome & Summer Break Announcement
• 01:52 True or Flase Stats & "Pig at the Disco"
• 04:20 The Hall of Fame: Luke's Lateness Excuses
• 07:30 Who Talks the Most? (Monologue Records)
• 08:39 Intro/Outro Leaderboards & Top Performing Short
• 11:00 Big News: Real Indie Game Studio Feature Coming Soon!
• 12:20 Outro & See You in September!

Luke is absent this week, leaving Tash and Matt to get into a heavy-hitting but critical reality: misogyny and predatory behavior in professional spaces. From Tash's viral LinkedIn call-out post to her podium-placing triumph at the European Powerlifting Championships, we are drawing a hard line in the sand.

• Matt Ibbs: Games Leadership Coach / Host
• Natasha Nathani: Games Industry Veteran / Technical Producer

Episode 013: LinkedIn is Not a Dating Site

🏆 European Championships & Monk Mode. We kick things off with some massive news: Tash competed in Limerick, Ireland, finishing in the top three of her category with a colossal 340 kg total. We discuss the intense discipline of "monk mode" as she preps for British Nationals and the World Championships.

🤯 Hot Topic: Misogyny and Professional Boundaries. Tash shares the creepy message that sparked her viral LinkedIn post:

"a beautiful lady in my home city into games..." We dissect why treating professional networking sites like dating apps is not "harmless friendliness," but rather a toxic, predatory behavior that makes women hesitant to engage in professional networks.

🛡️ The Backlash & Allyship. We address the enablers in the comments who told Tash to "silently block" rather than "humiliate" the sender. Matt and Tash discuss why public accountability is necessary, why "it happens to men too" is a false equivalency, and how male allies can actively support safe, respectful spaces.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Manners in the Workplace: Keep your romantic or physical evaluations out of professional spaces like LinkedIn.
• The Power of Shaming: Predatory behaviors thrive in silence. Reporting and calling them out publicly helps prevent them from continuing.
• Allies, Do Better: If you think creepy unsolicited messages are "harmless," you are part of the problem.

🎙️ Sound Bites:

• "I am a competitive powerlifter. I don't just pick things up and put them back down to annoy Matt in random places."
• "LinkedIn is a professional networking space... it is absolutely and categorically not a place to go chirpsin' on the birds."
• "For every one connection from a female professional, I got 10 to 15 males... sending similar messages: 'Oh, your eyes are lovely, your hair is beautiful.' You are part of the problem."
• "For the men watching this who think that message is harmless... don't be our audience, please."

⏰ Chapters:

• 00:00 Intro & Tasha's Powerlifting Triumph (European Championships in Limerick)
• 02:23 Monk Mode & the gateway to the World Championships
• 04:50 Matt and Tash's competitive streaks
• 06:25 Backstage sisterhood vs. Workplace realities
• 07:31 Hot Topic: Sexism, Misogyny & Tash's Viral LinkedIn Post
• 10:31 "It happens to men too" and the defensive backlash
• 13:41 Safe professional boundaries & the flood of creepy connection requests
• 17:06 "Just being friendly" – Analyzing the enablers in the comments
• 20:34 How to call it out & support female coworkers
• 22:50 Outro & Matt finally pronouncing Natasha Nathani's name right after 13 episodes!

Trailer for the upcoming Episode: LinkedIn is Not a Dating Site.

Manners - Professional or otherwise - cost nothing.

Don't harass people on LinkedIn.

Don't assume what you're saying is 'nice' or a 'compliment'.

Head to one of the myriad actual dating apps or sites out there instead.