GameDev Breakdown

Original Air Date: May 27, 2021 - Christopher Arnold of Crowned Daemon Studios calls in to talk about the studio's mental health-focused game, Syntherapy, the inspiration behind its development, and its reception in the community.Crowned Daemon Studios wants to guide you through an exploration of therapy and mental health issues unique from just about any other. Its visual novel adventure game, Syntherapy, places you (a therapist) in charge of the diagnosis and treatment of an artificial intelligence in a story with over 30 possible endings. This is not your average visual novel; Crowned Daemon leveraged publisher support to put together a fully voice-acted experience, and the sense of dramatic immersion is real.While you'll interact with an artificial patient in the game, the story's influence is both real and personal."A lot of it's just personal history," says Arnold. "This actually started as sort of a cathartic exercise of sort of externalizing thoughts and feelings and things that I was trying to figure out in a format where I could read it back a little bit later and it wasn't just on my mind all the time." He says the idea of making the game's patient an AI came from the realization that we look at mental health in terms of functionality, much the way we tend to troubleshoot technology.In terms of professional consulting and research, Arnold says the writing of psychologist blogger Scott Alexander provided an eye-opening look at the mindset of a practicing therapist. Arnold credits Alexander's work with his understanding of the field's complicated relationship to society and its problems that don't always have perfectly clinical answers.Syntherapy is available now on Steam.Show links • https://store.steampowered.com/app/1077470/Syntherapy/ • https://twitter.com/Syntherapygame

Original Air Date: Apr. 26, 2021 - Jonathan Ovadia of AEXLAB calls in to discuss the progress and the story behind the studio's upcoming virtual reality multiplayer competitive shooter, VAIL. He shares insight into a relatively new funding model for games, his team's vision for a connected, persistent VR experience, and more.AEXLAB aims to bring competitive multiplayer tactical gunplay to VRJonathan Ovadia has been playing video games all of his life. What started as a love of Pokémon and other classic video games has resulted in his co-founding and leading AEXLAB, a virtual reality technologies and game studio. AEXLAB is currently aiming to bring the quality and polish of shooters like Halo, Call of Duty, and Counter-Strike to VR to create a truly immersive competitive multiplayer experience, and he wants to work with other gamers to do it.The team funded VAIL VR out-of-pocket for years before seeking external funding and, eventually, allowing members of the game's community to become direct investors in the game. Since that time, AEXLAB has successfully raised a million dollars in funding toward the game's continued development."We're definitely not start-up guys," Ovadia says of his team. While he has an aggressive vision for the future of VAIL and AEXLAB, he says he prefers very slow and deliberate growth and that he doesn't care how long the game has to stay in development before it's ready.Show Links • https://store.steampowered.com/app/801550/VAIL_VR/ on Steam • http://PlayVAILVR.com • http://discord.vailvr.com Discord

Original Air Date: Apr. 24, 2021 - The Inside Video Game Creation virtual book tour continues with a segment for the always-entertaining Podcast vs Player podcast crew. We discuss the book, unusual interview experiences, balance and sacrifice in the industry, and more.Show Notes and Links • https://zerotoplay.com/ • https://twitter.com/PODCASTvPLAYER • https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09151NFSQ

Original Air Date: Apr. 21, 2021 - Todd appears on Carl Leducq's podcast, Zero to Play, to discuss his new book, Inside Video Game Creation, indie game development, trends in the game industry, and more.Show Notes and Links • https://zerotoplay.com/ • https://twitter.com/CarlsContent • https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09151NFSQFull Audio Showhttps://open.spotify.com/show/13V48s0adPvEQRHHKPUU13Full Video Showhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O89IVmOd7R0

Original Air Date: Apr. 7, 2021 - At long last, Todd's Q&A interview book is out!https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09151NFSQ at Amazon. Ratings and reviews are greatly appreciated!

Original Air Date: Mar. 20, 2021 - Accomplished writer Michelle Franklin of Recombobulator Games calls in to discuss cats, floods, and Space Boat, a shiny upcoming narrative adventure game being developed by a team of triple-A industry survivors with credits on Mass Effect 3, DeadSpace 2, Hannah Montana, and more.Michelle Franklin, Recombobulator Games, and Space Boat • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw3lYYQVoBo • https://twitter.com/RecombobulatorG on Twitter • https://recombobulator.ca/ • https://store.steampowered.com/app/1534720/Space_Boat__Episode_1/ on Steam • https://twitter.com/MrsDenAsaan on TwitterIf you enjoy GameDev Breakdown • Sign up for our https://codewriteplay.com/newsletter/! • https://codewriteplay.com/the-gamedev-breakdown-podcast/ to the podcast on the platform of your choice • Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gamedevpod, http://twitter.com/codewriteplay, http://twitter.com/mechatodzilla • Check show notes and articles at CodeWritePlay.com • Join us on https://discord.gg/auVvvK3!

Original Air Date: Mar. 16, 2021 - Welcome to GDC Showcase week! This is your first podcast check-in from the event. Hear about the sessions so far, including great chats with the legendary Warren Spector and Sucker Punch Productions co-founder Brian Fleming, then get tips for the event and what to keep an eye on for the rest of the week!If you enjoy GameDev Breakdown • Sign up for our https://codewriteplay.com/newsletter/! • https://codewriteplay.com/the-gamedev-breakdown-podcast/ to the podcast on the platform of your choice • Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gamedevpod, http://twitter.com/codewriteplay, http://twitter.com/mechatodzilla, Check show notes and articles at CodeWritePlay.com • Join us on https://discord.gg/auVvvK3!

Original Air Date: Mar. 10, 2021 - It's difficult pitching yourself and what you have to offer, but it's important that you're able to do it when you need to. In this episode, hear about some of the most common mistakes that even the pros make when pitching, and what you can do to stand apart.Support our sponsorsThis show was brought to you in part by Silen Media! Silen Media knows game audio, and they’re ready to connect with you about your work-in-progress! You can book a free game audio strategy session at http://silenmedia.com/booking.If you enjoy GameDev Breakdown • Sign up for our https://codewriteplay.com/newsletter/! • https://codewriteplay.com/the-gamedev-breakdown-podcast/ to the podcast on the platform of your choice • Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gamedevpod, http://twitter.com/codewriteplay, http://twitter.com/mechatodzilla • Check show notes and articles at CodeWritePlay.com  • Join us on https://discord.gg/auVvvK3!

Original Air Date: Feb. 24, 2021 - Twitch streamer and friend of the show Matt Hill returns to talk workplace antics and exit strategies.Support our sponsorsThis show was sponsored by Silen Media! Silen Media knows game audio, and they’re ready to connect with you about your work-in-progress! You can book a free game audio strategy session at http://silenmedia.com/booking.Show NotesMatt Hill streams a variety of great games on https://www.twitch.tv/ohcmrday. I drop in to chat and to play every time I'm able. Come hang out.Matt's on Twitter https://twitter.com/ohc_mrdayIf you enjoy GameDev Breakdown • Sign up for our https://codewriteplay.com/newsletter/! • https://codewriteplay.com/the-gamedev-breakdown-podcast/ to the podcast on the platform of your choice • Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gamedevpod, http://twitter.com/codewriteplay, http://twitter.com/mechatodzilla • Check show notes and articles at CodeWritePlay.com • Join us on https://discord.gg/auVvvK3!

Original Air Date: Feb. 18, 2021 - Friend of the show Viktor from Blue Pin Studio calls in to discuss how different the Steam launch experience has become, how the pandemic allowed him to chase his dream with a friend, a glimpse into the world of watch repair, and Fable speed runs.Show NotesYou can check out Eggnog Incorporated by Blue Pin Studio in the https://store.steampowered.com/app/1461360/Eggnog_Incorporated/.Blue Pin Studio posts news and updates under https://twitter.com/bluepinstudio1 on Twitter.If you enjoy GameDev Breakdown • Sign up for our https://codewriteplay.com/newsletter/!  • https://codewriteplay.com/the-gamedev-breakdown-podcast/ to the podcast on the platform of your choice  • Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gamedevpod, http://twitter.com/codewriteplay, http://twitter.com/mechatodzilla  • Check show notes and articles at CodeWritePlay.com  • Join us on https://discord.gg/auVvvK3!