It's our first ever, second time returning interview guest!

Nigel and Tazziii welcome back Dutch comic artist Renee Rienties for her second "Behind The Story" episode. We catch up with what she has been up to since we first spoke at the start of the pandemic in 2020. Renee tells us about the challenges faced as an artist during COVID-19, her new comic anthology project and which anime character she would date! Check out our May "Casual Conversations With Comic Creators" Twitch livestream where we'll be talking more with Renee about her Kickstarter campaign.

Show notes: https://mayamada.com/story-x-story-101-behind-the-story-with-renee-rienties-comics/

We're officially members of the Triple Digit Club and for the 100th episode of Story x Story, Nigel and Tazziii take a deep dive into Pixar's Turning Red. We tackle the controversy that surrounded the film as we also examine its characters and narrative themes. Then we reflect on the last 99 episodes of the podcast to discuss our highlights from story discussions over the past three years. You'll also hear audio from Episode 0, plus some heart warming messages from previous guests. Thank you for being on the journey with us, here's to another 100 episodes!

Other stories we've been enjoying: Loch of the Dead: Frey & McGray Book 4, Joy, Silent Sea, Judas and the Black Messiah, Resort to Love.

show notes: https://mayamada.com/story-x-story-100-the-triple-digit-club-turning-red/

This week, Nigel and Tazziii interview another awesome creative professional as we welcome cosplayer and Twitch Partner Jahara Jayde! Despite being new to both industries, Jahara has had an incredible rise and lets us in on her journey from Japanese Tutor to streamer cosplayer inspiring young BIPOC girls to enter the gaming and cosplay industry. She talks about finding what you love to do and the support needed to pursue it in this epic conversation!

Show notes: https://mayamada.com/story-x-story-99-behind-the-story-with-jahara-jayde-cosplay/

This week Nigel and Tazziii welcome Wesley Louis, Co-founder and Director at The Line Animation!

Get ready for a deep dive as we do a retrospective on the ground-breaking series that is Arcane: League of Legends. There is lots to talk about, from characters to emotional narrative and of course the incredible animation and art style. We cover it all from the perspective of storytellers with limited prior knowledge of the video game source material. We also get into this story's many themes and make a case for Silco being a good father...?

Show notes: https://mayamada.com/story-x-story-98-dont-cry-youre-perfect-arcane-league-of-legends/

This week, Nigel and Tazziii welcome Wireframe Magazine Features Editor Aaron Potter for a first appearance on the podcast! He joins us for a deep dive into the newly released Uncharted movie to discuss Tom Holland's latest blockbuster role. After a troubled production journey, we finally get to examine this video game adaptation and see how it stacks up to its video game source material. Our storytelling tip looks at the Hero's refusal of the call.

Other stories we're enjoying this week: Red Rocket, No More Heroes 3, Always A Witch, Kotaro Lives Alone, Space Force, Kuroko's Basketball: Last Game, The Silent Sea.

Show notes: https://mayamada.com/story-x-story-7-tales-of-ruffians-and-escapades-uncharted/

This week, mayamada co-founder Nigel Twumasi welcomes freelance games concept artist Emilie Rinna. Emilie talks about her time growing up in France, how she discovered the role of a concept artist and the key role her mother played in her journey. She also provides young and aspiring artists with advice on getting started in the industry. Thank you to the French Institute in London for making this interview happen!

Show notes: https://mayamada.com/story-x-story-96-behind-the-story-with-emilie-rinna-video-game-art/

This week's Story x Story episode is a Rewind of our Story Club Twitch livestream, Nigel and Tazziii joined by Sachin Shah from Gaming the Mind.

The panel did a deep dive into the 2021 sequel Psychonauts 2 and we discussed all aspects of the game from its unique art style, incredible level design and strong themes around mental health

Story Club is a regular deep dive live stream series looking at comics and video game stories. Follow mayamada on twitch to catch the next one live!

Nigel and Tazziii bring out the video game roundtable for a worldwide discussion industry news stories. This week, we're joined by Matt and Destinee from the Burn Out Brighter podcast, plus Hassan and Levi from The Nerd Alternative.

Acquisitions are the hot topic for the day as we get into the panel's thoughts on Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard, Sony's purchase of Bungie, and Nintendo's...well, who knows!

Games we're playing: Summer in Mara, Horizon Forbidden West, Skul: The Hero Slayer, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, Psychonauts 2.

Show notes: https://mayamada.com/story-x-story-95-the-mergers-acquisitions-roundtable-video-games/

In this week's Story x Story episode, Nigel and Tazziii talk with self-taught comic creator Feff Silvers.

We discover her journey from physics to illustration and how a visit to a comic convention sparked her passion for producing "very British" manga-style stories.

Feff also talks about the realities of self employment in the comics space, while giving plenty of tips for aspiring creators.

Show notes: https://mayamada.com/story-x-story-94-behind-the-story-with-feff-silvers-comics/

Season 4 starts here! We're back recording the Story x Story podcast and this week, Nigel and Tazziii welcome mayamada co-founder Lao K and Into Games Community Manager, Tom Bradstreet, for a deep dive into the sci-fi epic Dune.

And what a story to start with...we travel to Arrakis to get into this complex, multi-layered narrative and discuss how well this latest attempt at adapting Frank Herbert's novel fares with our panel. This week's storytelling tip looks at the different ways you can end your story.

Other stories we're enjoying this week: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Lord of the Rings, Amazing Spider-Man, Pillars of the Earth Naruto Shippududn, Halo: Memory Agent, Odd Taxi, Skyward Sword. Narcos: Mexico, Terror in Resonance, Star Wars Clone Wars.

Show notes: https://mayamada.com/story-x-story-93-did-i-mention-ive-read-the-book-dune/