Kiwi Talkz

Jonathan Gwyn is a veteran artist in the video game industry having been in the industry for over 25+ years. He has worked on prestigious franchises such as Grand Theft Auto, The Matrix, Resistance etc.

#rockstargames #gta #gtav

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

01:01 - Jon’s Favourite Art To Work On Is Environment Art

03:00 - Stylised Environmental Art

04:20 - Restrictions Working On The Matrix Games

06:40 - Referencing The Matrix Movies While Working On The Games

09:10 - Jon Loves Movies/Seeing Reloaded & Revolutions Material Before The Movies Release

10:40 - The Wachowskis Were Video Games Guys/Path Of Neo/Animatrix

11:20 - Jon Likes To Draw While Watching TV & Movies

13:15 - Jon Doesn’t Like Being An Art Director & Prefers Working Alongside Artists

15:00 - Ego’s Getting In The Way With Some Artists Due To Age/Jon Doesn’t Want To Be A Lead Again

16:40 - Why Jon Has Moved Across So Many Gaming Studios

19:10 - How Jon Got The Job At Rockstar

20:10 - GTA Is Made In Scotland/Artists Pipeline For GTA V/Red Dead Redemption 2

22:00 - Rockstar Has A Toxic Work Environment

24:30 - The High Pressure Of Working At Rockstar/Rockstar Crunch

25:20 - People Love His Boring Environmental Work Just Because Its GTA

26:00 - The Art Lead’s Job For GTA V Would’ve Been Hell

27:35 - Concept Room At Rockstar

28:15 - Meeting Sam Houser/Houser Brothers

29:15 - Video Game Celebrities/Ego’s Within The Video Game Industry

32:13 - Brutal Commute In L.A. & San Diego

35:35 - Working From Home

36:40 - Being Extroverted/Mistakes Extroverts Make At Game Studios

38:30 - ARTWORK REEL - GTA V Environments

50:15 - ARTWORK REEL - The Matrix Games Environments

1:00:10 - Where To Follow Jonathan Gwyn

Chandler Murch worked at Valve for over 8 years in IT infrastructure; and oversaw a lot of esports Valve events specifically for Dota 2, he also did some work in the Dental AI space.

#valve #steam #dota2

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro/Being Associated With F.R.I.E.N.D.S

01:30 - How Chandler Ended Up At Valve

04:10 - What His First Job At Valve Was/Customer Service

06:59 - Valve’s IT Infrastructure When Chandler First Started

08:55 - How Chandler Improved Valve’s IT Infrastructure/Network Speeds

14:15 - Hitting Milestones With The Content Delivery Network/Capacity Planning

17:00 - Taking Into Account Internet Infrastructure Improvements Globally

19:09 - Organising E-Sports Events/DOTA 2

23:10 - Mitigating Problems With Live E-Sports Events/Audio & Player Problems

26:40 - Testing Live Setups With Players

29:20 - How Chandler Got Into Gaming & Steam

31:30 - Chandler’s Favourite Valve Games

32:45 - Chandler’s Involvement On Portal 2/How Valve Does Credits In Games

35:15 - Chandler’s Work On Left 4 Dead 2/Portal 2 Bugs

38:54 - Valve Games Have To Reach A Certain Milestone Before QA Testing

39:45 - A Valve Employee Did Wheatleys Voice Before Stephen Merchant

40:30 - Chandler Never Got The Passion For Game Design

41:35 - Chandler’s Interactions With Gabe Newell

46:45 - Steam Avoided Fragmentation Unlike TV/FIlm Streaming Platforms

49:35 - Misunderstanding That Valve Doesn’t Make Games Now

52:40 - The Cost Of Running Valve Servers/Valve’s Value

55:45 - What Chandler Did After Valve/Dentistry AI

1:00:37 - Dental Work Is Very Costly In The West/Dentistry AI Is Only Available In USA/Canada

1:04:00 - Where To Follow Chandler Murch

David Crislip has had quite the life! The man studied Japanese at Ohio University before moving to Japan to become an English Teacher there before ending up at Capcom Japan where he did localization for over 10+ years.

#capcom #residentevil #streetfighter

SOCIAL MEDIA

TWITTER - @DavidCrislip

INSTAGRAM - @davidcrislip

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

01:20 - What Prompted David Wanted To Learn Japanese

02:50 - How Long It Takes To Be Fluent In Japanese/Being An English Teacher In Japan

05:20 - Early Days Of Localisation Capcom Japan

06:20 - Why Direct Translation Doesn’t Work

08:16 - Japanese Is A Very Dense Language

09:00 - How Localisation Has Changed From The Old Days

11:20 - Playing Games In Different Dubs

12:30 - Ghost Of Tsushima Is An Example Of A Western Game That Got Japanese Correct

13:20 - Lip Flapping In The Old Days Vs Now/David Is Glad He Doesn’t Have To Localise AAA Games These Days

14:10 - Immigration Officers Geeking Out Over David Working At Capcom

16:42 - David’s Favourite Capcom Games

19:45 - Resident Evil 4 Remake

20:30 - Capcom Were Aware Well Making Resident Evil 4 That It Would Be Special

22:20 - Capcom’s Renaissance Is Very Gratifying

24:00 - David’s Favourite Capcom Game To Work On

25:45 - Capcom Have Westernised Games With Japanese Flavour

26:15 - How David Ended Up Voicing Winston Payne/Recording Lines

28:10 - Difference Between Translating Text Vs Dialog

29:40 - The Misunderstanding Gamers Have Of Localisation

31:00 - How Long It Took David To Adapt To Japanese Culture

35:10 - Its Very Difficult To Get A Job At Capcom/Applying For Jobs In Japan

36:40 - Japanese Are Aware Of Western Culture/Language Shapes Your Behaviour 

38:15 - David Doesn’t Translate In His Head Whether Its Japanese Or English

39:15 - Why Lay Offs Don’t Happen Often In Japan

42:00 - Japanese & Western Games Are Both On Equal Footing Now

43:00 - Consoles David Plays/David Shows Off His Game Collection

44:15 - David’s Favourite Game Of All Time/David Plays Games Most Days

46:09 - David’s Advice For Getting Into The Video Game Industry In Japan

48:07 - Where To Follow David Crislip

Happy 10th anniversary to DKC: Tropical Freeze!! Let's celebrate former artists on the game Eric Kozlowsky and Ted Anderson to go on a deep dive of working on it.

TWITTER LINKS

Eric Kozlowsky - @VoNKoZ

Ted Anderson - @Pixel_Possum

#donkeykong #donkeykongtropicalfreeze #retrostudios

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

00:50 - DKC: Tropical Freeze Early Days/Wii U Hardware

04:55 - Artists Experimented Very Early On/Mangroves Were The First Levels Worked On

07:15 - Office Structure Of Retro Studios

08:50 - Artists Collaborating With Animators

10:00 - Playtesting/Brilliant Design Of The Levels/Meltdown Mayhem

12:40 - Ted & Erics Collaboration On The Steamship

14:05 - ARTWORK REEL - World 3 Boss Behind The Scenes Art

16:15 - ARTWORK REEL - World 2 Boss Behind The Scenes Art

17:20 - ARTWORK REEL - Updating DKCR Art

19:45 - ARTWORK REEL - Creating A Texture Map

22:20 - ARTWORK REEL - Difficulty Of The Fruit In World 5

23:15 - ARTWORK REEL - Ensuring Colours Don’t Blend In With Donkey Kong

24:20 - ARTWORK REEL - Foreground To Background

25:10 - ARTWORK REEL - Rocket Barrel/Barrel Cannons

26:30 - Will They Use Tropical Freeze Art For The DK Movie?

27:10 - ARTWORK REEL - Fruity Factory Level

28:30 - ARTWORK REEL - Wireframes/Nintendo Ninjas

29:48 - ARTWORK REEL - Steamship Level Of Detail

31:20 - Alternate Universe - Working On Metroid Prime 4/Metroid Dread

33:25 - Limitations Fosters Creativity

34:30 - Tropical Freeze’s Crunch Period

37:00 - Oversight From Nintendo Of Japan/DK Fur Tech

39:30 - How To Deal With Frustration Of Having To Redo Art Due To NOJ

41:30 - Sign Off For Easter eggs

42:21 - Backlash Of The Tropical Freeze Trailer/Tropical Freeze Was Made Due To DKCR Sales

45:20 - The Legacy Of DKC: Tropical Freeze

46:50 - Where Donkey Kong Goes From Here/DK Spinoff Film

49:00 - Q + A - Working With Vince Joly & Ryan Harris

50:20 - Q + A - Stuff That Was Discussed But Never Made It Into DKC:TF

52:50 - Q + A - How Did The Snowmads Idea Come Up/Ted Voicing The Penguins

55:36 - Q + A - Would A David Wise Track Or Level Layout Inspire The Artwork

59:58 - Favourite Level In DKC: Tropical Freeze

1:03:28 - Plugs For Ted & Eric’s Games

Ryan Kaufman is an award-winning writer that came up working at Lucas Arts on games such as Revenge Of The Sith & Republic Commando before moving onto Telltale where he was one of the main writers.

#telltalegames #thewalkingdead #starwars

SOCIAL MEDIA

TWITTER - @M1sterFox

LINKTREE - https://linktr.ee/w.ryan.kaufman

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

00:47 - Ryan’s Dream Game To Make Would Be About Titanic

03:10 - What Should Come First Narrative Or Design

04:30 - Revisions Of A Script/Writers Room

06:00 - Constraints Of Game Of Thrones & Star Wars

06:59 - Being In Charge Of The Expanded Universe Of Star Wars For Lucas Arts

08:50 - Stigma At Lucas Arts For Star Wars Fanboys

10:10 - The Republic Commando Lay-Offs Made Ryan Leave Lucas Arts

12:08 - Not Being Too Attached To An Idea/Game Design

13:20 - The Hardest Part Of Writing/Stressing Over Writing

15:20 - Ryan Doesn’t Like To Play Narrative Based Games/Shadow Of The Colossus

16:35 - Story Vs Gameplay/What Is Story/DOOM

18:55 - Environmental Storytelling

19:50 - Ryan Finds Himself Critiquing Games/Film & Television Narratives All The Time

21:10 - The Good & Bad About Chat GPT

24:40 - Film Narratives Are Terrible These Days/Ryan Critiques Himself All The Time

26:20 - Telltale James Bond Pitch For James Bond To Be Pakistani

29:25 - The Experience Of Working At Telltale

30:50 - Telltale Game Development Had An Intense Schedule/Directing Voice Actors

35:40 - Ryan’s Strengths & Weaknesses As A Writer

38:30 - Reading A Dictionary & Thesaurus/Novel Writing Vs Game Writing

39:36 - Kiwi Reminds Ryan Of His Own Advice Regarding First Person/Third Person Writing

41:30 - Ryan Uses A Whiteboard For Story Beats/Pixar Storybeats

45:00 - Ryan Wanted To Make A Hellboy Telltale Game/Cost Of Redoing Narrative/Voice After Its Already Implemented

48:10 - Lip Syncing/Localisation Troubles With Dialogue

51:20 - Japanese Games Having Terrible English Dialogue/Translations

53:40 - Ryan Would Love To Work On A Rockstar Game

54:40 - Where To Buy Ryan’s Novel “Gawain A Year To Live

56:23 - Where To Follow Ryan

Peer Schneider is one of the co-founders of IGN and is currently IGN's EVP and Chief Content Officer. #ign #gaming #games

SOCIAL MEDIA

TWITTER - @peerign

INSTAGRAM - @peerign

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

01:20 - How Peer Fits In Gaming Time With His Busy Schedule

04:50 - IGN’s Current Work Model/Remote & Office Work

07:40 - Interview Process At IGN/Bad Interviewees

10:05 - How IGN Knows When To Change Strategy With Its Content

13:40 - The Different Youtube Channels/Youtube Algorithm

18:40 - Optimising Content/SEO

19:30 - Peer’s Views On Chat GPT & AI

23:40 - Other Publications Ripping Off IGN’s Content

26:20 - Mortal Kombat Guide Content That Was Ripped Off/ Contacting The Perpetrators

28:00 - Crediting Sources

29:00 - Being Blacklisted By Gaming Publishers/THQ Scandal

34:10 - Political Nature Of Gaming Journalism/Being Trustworthy

36:30 - Moving To America From Germany/Living In Japan

39:00 - Places In America Peer Hasn’t Been To

40:10 - Travelling For Work And Maintaining Energy/Gaming Behaviour Tour/Presentations

42:10 - Flight Times/Peer Hasn’t Been To New Zealand & Australia Yet

43:10 - Why There Won’t Be A Fourth Hardware Competitor

45:20 - Fortnite Itself Is A Platform

46:10 - IGN’s Approaches To Leaks

48:27 - The Legend Of Zelda Live Film Discussion/Video Game Movie Adaptations

51:40 - Metroid Prime 4, Wii U & Switch 2 Discussion

56:40 - The Biggest Misunderstanding People Have With IGN/ Publishers Do Not Pay IGN For Good Reviews

1:02:09 - How IGN’s Top Lists Are Made/Peer Doesn’t Like Ninja Gaiden/IGN Doesn’t Have A Hive Mind

1:03:58 - The Obsession With The Metacritic Score

1:05:12 - Starfield’s Review Score

1:06:56 - Reviewers Having Enough Time To Review A Game

1:07:50 - Kiwi’s PAX West 2024 Pitch With Retro Studios Devs/Outro

Garrett Young has been in the video game industry for over 25 years and has worked on games such as DOOM 2016, Rage Forza and James Bond: Quantum Of Solace.

#doom #doom2016 #forza

SOCIAL MEDIA

TWITTER - @garretty

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

01:05 - Working On DOOM 2016

06:43 - Early Builds Of The Game/Garrett’s First Week On DOOM 2016

12:30 - Single Player Mode/Push Forward Combat/

17:05 - Difficulty Story On Nightmare

21:56 - Tackling The FPS Platforming Problem In DOOM 2016

24:20 - Metroid Prime & Batman’s Influence On DOOM 2016

26:50 - Cancelled Soccer Game For Xbox/EA Sabotaged The Dreamcast

31:21 - Working On Forza

33:23 - Working On The City Tracks Vs Forza/Building Up The Team/Publishing Vs Game Studios

37:26 - Diversity In Skillset/ Knowing When To Pivot When Something Isn’t Working

39:51 - The Reality Of Crunch In The Industry/Management

48:20 - Fake Deadlines/Agile Development

51:20 - Where To Follow Garrett Young/Doing Another Podcast In The Future