Trent Kusters chats with Julian Gollop, founder and game designer at Snapshot Games. Together they discuss his legendary journey designing games from the creation of the original XCOM: UFO Defense to his studio's latest release, Chip 'n Clawz vs. the Brainioids; how to use constraint as a key design pillar; having the courage to remove features for a better play experience; and when to lean on tried and true conventions and when to avoid them. 

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Episode Host: Trent Kusters

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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*This episode contains heavy spoilers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, the lead writer on Sandfall Interactive's debut hit, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Together they discuss how she went from a career in finance and investments to her first job in games; how the world and characters evolved throughout the development process; exploring the idea of loss through multiple perspectives; writing romance that's true to the characters; and how they crafted the endings to let players make the crucial decision that feels most right to them. 

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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Trent Kusters chats with Prokop Jirsa, Lead Designer on Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, the hit historical RPG by Warhorse Studios. Together they discuss the key pillars of the Kingdom Come series that influence the decisions they make around narrative and design; their focus on emergent gameplay and how that informs their philosophy on quest structure; designing a game where players feel the consequences of their decisions; and the importance of Czech culture and history to the look and feel of the Kingdom Come experience.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Trent Kusters

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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Alexa Ray Corriea chats with writers Dani Dee and Zaire Lanier about their work on Compulsion Games latest action-adventure, South of Midnight. Together they discuss how they began their careers in writing and what led them to Compulsion Games; how the team stayed authentic to the folklore of the American Deep South; the process of writing the main character and their emotional progression throughout the story; and how the game handles difficult subjects like trauma, loss, and powerlessness. 

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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Alexa Ray Corriea chats with actor Jennifer English, best known for her iconic roles in games like Elden Ring, Baldur's Gate III, and Sandfall Interactive's debut smash hit, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Together they discuss her prior career in classical theater as well as her previous work in games leading up to playing Maelle in Expedition 33; working with the development team and which practices she finds helpful in the booth; embodying a character and viewing the world through their eyes; the complex emotions actors feel when portraying difficult scenes; and what kinds of roles she hopes to play in the future.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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Trent Kusters chats with Tonda Ros, the creator of the mind bending puzzle roguelike, Blue Prince. Together they discuss his prior career navigating the film industry and how he found himself creating his first game; the early tools and resources that helped him get started; brining in additional team members and what that meant for the project timeline; and the significant influence board games had on the game's design. 

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Trent Kusters

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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Trent Kusters chats with brothers Adam and Seth Coster of indie studio, Butterscotch Shenanigans, who recently released Crashlands 2, the sequel to their hit debut release. Together they discuss their story of 3 brothers working in different fields who came together to make games; the mistakes and lessons they learned while building the studio; how their brother Sam's cancer diagnosis led to them diving into developing the original Crashlands; how they solved the marketing problem common to indie studios and how that led to their debut success; and the tools and procedures they created to help them efficiently move from concept to playable implementation. 

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Trent Kusters

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Carrie Patel, the Game Director on Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed. Together they discuss how the team worked within the Pillars of Eternity universe while expanding the world and characters; transitioning the gameplay from an isometric RPG to a focus on first person action; writing memorable companions; and the complexities of real relationships and how that affected their decision to avoid romance options.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Mike Laidlaw, Chief Creative Officer at Yellow Brick Games. Together they discuss his career developing role-playing games including his role as Creative Director on the Dragon Age franchise; the development of his new studio's first release, Eternal Strands; creating the physics based combat system; the key pillars for the world and story design; and the importance of identifying what it takes to finish a project.

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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Trent Kusters chats with Johan Pilestedt, the Game Director on Arrowhead Game Studios' smash-hit, HELLDIVERS™ 2. Together they discuss his path in games that led to the founding of Arrowhead alongside his classmates in Sweden; the development and release of their first title, Magicka; the original ideas around that laid the foundation for the Helldivers universe; their ideas around game design; and the ups and downs of the 7 year development journey of HELLDIVERS™ 2.

Episode Host: Trent Kusters

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

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Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation