The Game Dev Show

On this week’s episode of The Game Dev Show, we sat down with the brilliant Dr. Jo Twist, CEO of UKIE, the UK’s independent Trade Association for Interactive Entertainment.

Jo takes us from her time at University up to now, where she leads UKIE’s efforts to help the UK games industry continue to prosper. We talk internet cafés, dissertations, the inception of the internet, games, the BBC, and commissioning games at Channel 4.

Looking to her time at UKIE, Jo discusses the steps they’re taking to inspire and educate the next generation of developers, whilst keeping an eye on what’s next for the games industry.

Jo’s episode is the 50th, so thanks to all our listeners and followers for every listen, like, share, and your continued support. We can’t wait to share the next 50 incredible guests with you all!

We also talk about cats…

This week on The Game Dev Show we are joined by the fantastic James Brooksby, CEO @ Absolutely Games.

James talks about being CEO at several games companies, the indie games space, and the emotional cost of acquisitions - with a brilliant metaphor.

We also discuss floods, evolving game studios, Warhammer 40k and company culture. 

[Apologies for the sound quality of my mic, there were technical issues that have now been resolved]

This week on The Game Dev Show we had the pleasure of sitting down with Ambre Lizurey, Director of Operations at EA Motive.

Ambre walks us through her path into the industry, to Ubisoft and now at EA Motive, and how her role supports the people and project to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals whilst staying happy!

We cover everything from how data and qualitative testing impacts design decisions, the importance of well-being, supporting your community, STEM, mentorship...and cool t-shirts

What defines ‘indie’? This week on TGDS we pick back up with the wonderful Lorne Lanning, creator of Oddworld Inhabitants, in part two of our special feature.

Lorne continues the story of Oddworld as he discusses the perils of developing Oddworld: Soulstorm during the pandemic, managing feedback, the expectations of players and shareholders, and the emotional toll of game development.

We also cover the healing properties of games, Elon Musk, and the dangers of censorship.

This week's episode of The Game Dev Show is the first of a two-part special with the legendary Lorne Lanning, founder of Oddworld Inhabitants, and creator of the Oddworld series.

On the episode, Lorne discusses the early days of his career, the challenges of changing tech and art, and finding his way in an ever-evolving creative landscape, all while always looking ahead to see how he can keep his head above water.

Lorne covers the pivotal moment in his career that led to him creating Oddworld Inhabitants and the incredibly successful Oddworld series.

We also chat about fake glasses, badgers, and some of the brilliant creators Lorne has worked with throughout his life

On this week's episode of TGDS, we had the pleasure of speaking with Supergiant Games Creative Director Greg Kasavin, about his incredible career in the games industry.

Greg takes us through his journey so far, including what it was like working at Gamespot during the exciting 00s, his work at EA on games like the inimitable Red Alert 3, before jumping into Supergiant and creating 2020 GOTY Hades!

Greg also covers the motivations behind Bastion’s narrator, RTS and its influence at Supergiant, how Audio makes the game, and much more.

On The Game Dev Show this week we sat down with the brilliant Professor, and Director, Tracy Fullerton from the University of Southern California.

Tracy takes us through twenty years of interactive entertainment education, how the industry has changed during this time, and the role of education in shaping our industry.

We also talk about a vegetable based game...

This week on the Game Dev Show I had the pleasure of sitting down with the wonderful Alisha Thayer, Senior Technical Designer at Crystal Dynamics. 

Alisha takes us through her impressive career in the games industry; from the initial challenges of getting into the industry to getting to work on some of her (and our) favourite IPs – Tomb Raider, Max Payne, and Red Dead.

We also go down the rabbit hole of systems design, DEI, reboots, Overcooked, and what to say and what not to say in an interview...

What do Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate, Fallout, Knights of the Old Republic 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, Pillars of Eternity, and The Outer Worlds all have in common? Well that's simple, it's @Feargus Urquhart

Rarely is an individual as synonymous with a genre as Feargus Urquhart, Co-founder of Obsidian, is with RPGs.

This week on The Game Dev Show, Feargus takes us through his story, all the way from Interplay to founding Black Isle, and the eventual creation of Obsidian.

We also dive deep on isometric RPGs, D&D, character creation, game design!

Are character classes a liberating choice or a prohibitive cage?

This week on the game dev show we conclude the two part special with Warren Spector.

Warren discusses his current venture with Otherside, although, he avoids talking about System Shock 3…kind of.

We discuss how development has changed over the last two decades, Warren’s design ethos “choice, consequence, recovery”, and the many, many, nuances of game design.