In traditional war games, players assume the role of a soldier, fighting the bad guys and saving the day. But in reality, not everyone affected by war is a soldier. In This War of Mine, 11 bit studios simulates the experience of being a civilian in a war-torn country. By day, you make decisions about how to manage your meager resources to take care of your team; at night, you send your best runner to scavenge for supplies — and hope she makes it back.

In this interview, senior writer Pawel Miechowski explains how his studio created This War of Mine, the research that went into making the game authentic, what lines they decided they could and could not cross, and what the developers hope players get from the experience.

Watch the video above, or download the audio edition from Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

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