This week, Nigel and Tazziii sit down with an amazing duo of creatives! Producer and founder of Singer Studios, Eloise Singer, and Dr. Dave Ranyard, founder and CEO of Dream Reality Interactive and Executive Producer of Pirate Queen.

They join us to talk about their journey from paths outside of the games industry to eventually meeting and deciding to work on the now Emmy-nominated VR experience. This is a must-listen for anyone looking for inspiration on breaking into video games when you're coming from different industries. We delve into how their experiences in film, TV, and music prepared them to bring the story of the legendary pirate Cheng Shih to life!

Join the conversation to appreciate the challenges and lessons that stuck with them, and gain insight into what really goes on at a fancy Hollywood party!

This week, we have a great Rewind episode for you with the audio from our autumn video game roundtable livestream! Nigel and Tazziii go live to recap the video games we've been playing before setting the stage for an exciting discussion on some of the biggest news stories that have captured our attention over the year so far.

As always, we're joined by an eclectic mix of video game professionals and have a bumper line up of guests: Host & Voice Over Artist Miabyte, Game Composer Chase Bethea, Twitch Streamer and Lego Gaming Community Manager Marta, and Cosplayer & Narrative Designer at Square Enix, Rhianne Murphy.

We cover news from the big three in gaming as well as other players in the industry and wider culture. So listen in as we give our thoughts on the latest failure in live service games, Xbox's Game Pass price hike, the price of the PS5 Pro and Nintendo's new cons—alarm clock?? Plus, we invite our cat to share their thoughts on the state of games today. Make sure you catch the debate and head over to the mayamada Twitch channel for our other Studio77 schedule of shows.

Video games we've been playing: Astro Bot, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Magic: The Gathering, Chessmaster: The Art of Learning, Yakuza Kiwami, Fields of Mistria, Dragon Age books, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, The Gunk, Mario Wonder, TMNT: Shredder's Revenge - Dimension Shellshock DLC, Pico Park.

This week, Nigel and Tazziii go back to where it all started for a deep dive into Hayao Miyazaki's pre-Studio Ghibli masterpiece (starting at 28:55), with guest Laura Watton, a comic creator known as Pink Apple Jam.

We revisit this title 40 years on from its release and discuss how relevant its environmental themes still are, as well as compare the changes in the acceptance of lengthy animated stories with strong female characters. At the time, a reluctance led to the disastrous Western adaptation, but what is it that made producers nervous?

We examine the brilliant worldbuilding that can be learned from and discuss the perception of gender roles in media. This week's storytelling tip is about utilizing exposition in your story's dialogue.

Other stories we're enjoying include: Ranma ½ remake (Netflix), Bob's Burgers (Disney+), The Kid Who Would Be King (Disney+), WandaVision — "Agatha All Along" (Disney+), Black-ish (Disney+), Restaurant to Another World 2 (Crunchyroll), The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses (Crunchyroll), Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (Crunchyroll), Solar Opposites (Disney+), Terminator Zero (Netflix).

This week, Nigel and Tazziii sit down with Moo Yu, Creative Director at Team Artichoke and a founding team member of POC in Play.

He discusses his journey over 20 years in video games working on titles like Knights & Bikes, LittleBigPlanet, and Ratchet & Clank. He is now making a new game with his own team and allows us to delve into the transition from Gameplay Programmer to managing a team.

We get to hear how his work across AAA has prepared him to create an inclusive environment for others to thrive while making his new game Myth Match. Join the conversation to appreciate the rewards and challenges of indie game development.

This week, Nigel and Tazziii conduct what can only be described as a narrative autopsy as we dive deep into the shallow waters of the Borderlands film (starting at 22:55), with our guest and Content Creator Mark Ōu Chéng.

We do our best to pick out the storytelling lessons from a story with a barely serviceable plot, characters that lack motivation, and worldbuilding that all seems to do its best to move away from the source material of the video game series… but it's not all bad, as we at least enjoyed the conversation!

This is certainly a cautionary tale for storytellers, and we examine the key elements that bring this story down and debate which moments could have worked if given more (or any) attention and care to the video game material. This week's storytelling tip is about how failing to use foreshadowing and misdirection effectively leaves an audience emotionally disengaged.

Other stories we're enjoying include: The Dispossessed, The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash, A Journey Through Another World: Raising Kids While Adventuring, Quality Assurance in Another World, The Way of Kings, and Shōgun.

We have a great Rewind episode for you with the audio from our latest Studio77 Report recording on Twitch. Each month, Nigel and Tazziii dive into our top video game stories of the month, which include the next evolution of The Sims franchise with Project Rene and the unexpected shutdown of PlayStation's new game 'Concord' just two weeks after launch.

We'll also share some valuable industry advice that reminds us of the importance of focusing on personal happiness and motivation. Finally, we reveal the new topic as we discuss the price of the PS5 Pro. Join the discussion and cast your vote!

Enjoy the audio, and if you'd like to watch us record it live, you can follow mayamada over on Twitch for this and other shows as part of our Studio77 platform: https://www.twitch.tv/mayamada

This week, Nigel flies solo as he chats with Myleah, the Founder of Lumikha Cosplay Resale, who works across multiple creative industries, including as a community manager in the video game industry. She reminisces over the family ties that brought her into the world of video games at an early age.

Myleah is currently working on the first annual FRAY World Game Jam, an immersive 48-hour game jam experience, alongside our own events team at mayamada. Listen to the discussion to hear how discovering anime and manga led her to becoming a cosplayer and a to a business journey that has taken her through a variety of life shaping experiences with communities around the world.

You can join the FRAY World Game Jam at https://frayworld.com/jam

And follow Myleah too!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/METTALEAH

Instagram: https://instagram.com/flyhinata

https://LumikhaCosplay.com

This week, Nigel and Tazziii engage in some fourth-wall-breaking corporate synergy as we do a deep dive on Deadpool & Wolverine (starting at 28:31), with Mega City Comics' Vik Deluca.

Deadpool's first foray into the MCU has led it to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, but does it function well enough as a narrative without the mix of humor and nostalgia?

We examine the buddy cop dynamic as we follow this combustible (and indestructible) pair through the void, debating which moments work and whether the story's themes shine through well enough to matter. This week's storytelling tip is about implementing dual protagonists in your story.

Other stories we're enjoying include: Black Myth: Wukong, Igazuri, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Futurama, Core Keeper, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Fallout, Zom 100 and The Boys.

This week, Nigel and Tazziii sit down with Mike Armstrong, a designer and cartoonist who is one of the co-organisers of WIP Comics, a global community of comic creators. He talks to us about his artistic upbringing and transition from working in advertising to the world of comics, highlighting the unique experiences that made him the artist he is today.

Mike is currently working on the 2024 WIP Comics anthology, "Tall Tales and Short Stories," which is the group's latest successful Kickstarter campaign due for release later in the year. Mike shares his journey to becoming part of the community and what goes into organising over 70 artists to produce their best work on time—or close enough to it!

This week, Nigel and Tazziii head to the Land of the Dead for a deep dive into Pixar's Coco (starting at 23:21), with Content Creator Coco!

We take a look back at this narrative deeply rooted in Mexican culture and discuss how it was handled and the considerations around creating stories informed by different experiences. In back-to-back Pixar deep dives, we also get to revisit the ongoing topic of the "Pixar Slump".

Then we look at the Hero's Journey and explore Miguel's wholly relatable quest to pursue a creative dream when all others around him say "no". It's an emotional journey and one that is sure to result in a tear or two by the end. This week's storytelling tip is about using foreshadowing and misdirection to lead your audience to a plot twist.

Other stories we're enjoying include: Naruto, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Futurama, Fairy Tail, Blue Lock, Andor, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead.