IGN events editorial manager and indie game curator Rob Manuel joins us this week to discuss indie game trends, how to make an indie game stand out, and how indies should approach events.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Intro / Getting to Know Rob (Favorite Games, Immortality)

5:24 - Rob’s Indie Game Recommendations

12:05 - Indie Games for Fantasy Lovers

18:30 - How Rob Became an Indie Game Champion

25:04 - How to Find New Indie Games

29:16 - Current Indie Game Trends

37:36 - How Indie Devs and PR Reps Can Make Their Game Stand Out

44:24 - Indies at Physical and Digital Events

50:55 - Why Should an Indie Dev Attend a Gaming Event?

Kaitlyn Red Wing and Sam Mosher discuss this week’s hottest gaming topic: the Grand Theft Auto 6 leak. The hosts discuss what happened, other famous gaming leaks, why leaks are such a big deal in the industry, and how they relate to development transparency.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Intro / Our Thoughts on the Latest Legend of Zelda and God of War Trailers

9:21 - The Grand Theft Auto 6 Leak

17:51 - Will This Leak Change Development Transparency?

32:47 - What Does The Leak Mean for Work-From-Home Development?

38:30 - YouTuber Leaks Assassin’s Creed Details

47:12 - Other Famous Gaming Leaks

51:55 - Reel Time Strategy (Barbie Set Leaks)

Game Informer associate editor Wesley LeBlanc joins us this week to discuss his journey from freelance games writing to Game Informer, his advice for freelance writers, his love of pirates, and more.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Intro / Getting to Know Wesley (Final Fantasy XIII, Elden Ring, The Boys, Doctor Strange)

14:50 - Wesley’s Journalism Background (Local Reporting, Games Freelancing)

23:53 - Story Pitching

30:29 - Relationship Building and Remote Reporting

33:04 - Why Pursue Games Journalism?

35:19 - Avoiding Burnout as a Journalist

38:12 - Feature Pitching

42:42 - Wesley’s First Cover Story

44:58 - How Does Wesley Choose His Stories?

48:23 - Relationships with PR Contacts

54:15 - Wesley’s Dream Stories

1:01:14 - Dragonball Speak (Wesley’s Dragon Ball Podcast)

Real Time Strategy is back — just in time for the fall release season! TriplePoint account director Nick Shepherd joins Kaitlyn Red Wing and Sam Mosher to break down Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022 and where it stands in a landscape dominated by first-party showcases. Then the crew digs into Nick’s PR experience and how PR changes when working in house, with tech startups, when supporting ongoing games, and more!

Timecodes:

0:00 - Intro (Sports Metaphors, Chargers vs. Rams)

4:33 - Getting to Know Nick (Favorite Games, Fantasy Authors)

10:11 - Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022 Announcements

15:22 - Where Does Opening Night Live Stand Amongst Other Showcases?

33:02 - Nick’s Career from Tech Startup PR to Star Citizen to TriplePoint

43:12 - Tech PR vs. Gaming PR

46:28 - In-House PR vs. Agency PR for Video Games

51:29 - Advice for Understanding PR

54:13 - PR for Ongoing Games

Climate Replay members Cory Scheviak and Mariana Salimena are game developers working to make the industry more sustainable. Their organization is dedicated to educating players and developers about how to fight climate change, so they joined Kaitlyn Red Wing and Sam Mosher to do exactly that. They discuss the industry’s relationship with climate change and how it can get involved in saving the planet.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Intro / Getting to Know Cory and Mariana

6:43 - Cory and Mariana’s Professional Background

10:01 - What is Climate Replay?

14:10 - What is Gaming’s Relationship with Climate Change?

16:30 - What Can Developers and Players Do to Fight Climate Change?

23:52 - How to Make Climate Change Education Effective

26:24 - Forming a Community to Fight Climate Change

32:04 - What Are Climate-Positive Games?

36:17 - Climate Replay’s Game Jam

40:19 - Climate Replay’s NFT Guide

49:23 - What’s Next for Climate Replay

Connect with Climate Replay by joining its Discord or following the organization on social media. You can find links to these pages at climatereplay.org/contact. Follow us on Twitter @RealTimeStrats, and email us any questions at [email protected].

Brad de Ramón, Emily Gogle, and Sam Mosher break down the 2022 summer showcase season so far, including PlayStation State of Play, Summer Game Fest, Xbox & Bethesda Games’ showcase, and more.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Intro / Our Summers So Far (Rock Climbing, Music Festivals)

8:50 - UploadVR Summer Showcase

12:19 - PlayStation State of Play and PSVR2

23:27 - So Many Space and Evil AI Games!

31:06 - Work-from-Home Development and This Fall’s Release Calendar

34:43 - Our Favorite Games from the Summer Showcases So Far

43:40 - Hands-On Previews

46:38 - How Effective is the Summer Showcase Season?

NPR video game writer Keller Gordon joins Kaitlyn Red Wing and Brad de Ramón to discuss recent advancements in the use of video games as medical treatment.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Intro / Getting to Know Keller (Elden Ring, Relaxing Games)

15:22 - Our Favorite Games

22:21 - Keller’s Games Reporting Background

31:57 - Using Video Games to Treat Cognitive Disorders

Follow us on Twitter @RealTimeStrats, and email us any questions at [email protected]. Look for our next episode on Friday, June 24!

Kaitlyn Red Wing and Sam Mosher enter the metaverse this week with Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Byte, “the first-ever Coca-Cola flavor born in the metaverse.” The pair use the new soda to kickstart a conversation with fellow TriplePointer Zach Ferenchak about the metaverse, what it means for gaming, and how close we are to its realization.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Intro / Getting to Know Zach (Forza Horizon 5, PRSSA)

13:21 - Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Byte Review and Discussion

28:01 - What is the Metaverse?

33:25 - How Important is Virtual Reality to the Metaverse?

39:21 - Gaming’s Relationship to the Metaverse

51:57 - Our Favorite Near-Metaverse Experiences So Far

Follow us on Twitter @RealTimeStrats, and email us any questions at [email protected]. Follow Zach on Twitter @z_ferenchak. You can read Tony Parisi’s Seven Rules of the Metaverse here: https://medium.com/meta-verses/the-seven-rules-of-the-metaverse-7d4e06fa864c 

Look for our next episode on Friday, June 10!

Kaitlyn Red Wing and Emily Gogle attended PAX East 2022 and organized an amazing client event. This week, they sat down with Sam Mosher to share their stories and takeaways from one of gaming’s biggest consumer events.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Intro / Getting to Know Emily (Journalism, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Assassin’s Creed)

19:49 - PAX East 2022 and Event Safety

23:46 - Emily and Kaitlyn’s Ping-Pong Bar Client Event

38:41 - Other PAX East Stories (Food, Show Floor, Weather)

Follow us on Twitter @RealTimeStrats, and email us any questions at [email protected]. Look for our next episode on Friday, May 20!

GDC returned as an in-person event this year for the first time since 2019. Kaitlyn Red Wing and Erich Schuler attended the show and sat down with Sam Mosher this week to discuss their time in San Francisco, Erich’s experiences as a conference associate, and what to know and expect for future industry events.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Intro / Getting to Know Erich (Final Fantasy XIV, Games PR Background, Woovit)

8:21 - Our Love for The Legend of Zelda + Our Thoughts on Breath of the Wild 2’s Delay

16:10 - GDC 2022 Opening Thoughts

20:59 - Working as a Conference Associate

27:02 - Meeting Other PR Professionals

30:52 - Takeaways for Future GDCs and In-Person Events

36:39 - Industry Trends and Hot Topics from GDC 2022

44:01 - In-Person Demos

47:20 - Closing Thoughts on GDC

Follow us on Twitter @RealTimeStrats, and email us any questions at [email protected]. Look for our next episode on Friday, April 15!