We return with another grab bag episode for GDC 2025! Like last year, we brought a bunch of simple questions to ask folks, and in these three groups you get to hear how their answers differed. In our first group we had Chase Dodge (NYU student), Ruari Root (NYU student), Calliope Ryder (prev Lead Producer on Tales of the Shire at Weta Workshop), Chandana Ekanayake (Co-Founder and Creative Director of Outerloop Games), Hudson Janow (NYU student, Gay Gaming Professionals scholar), Apollo Umbra (Northwestern student, Gay Gaming Professionals scholar). Our second group had Lis Moberly (Lead Game Designer at Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Games), Vincent Perea (Senior Art Director at Disney Experiences), Lola Shiraishi (Co-Founder of Stellium Studios), and Meghan Thornton (Story Manger at Insomniac Games). And our last group had Emma Kidwell (Writer at Firaxis Games), Natalie Checo (PR Consultant at Future Friends Games, Journalist, and Game Writer/Editor), Sam Low (Global Communications Exec at Neon Noroshi, and SEA Brand Development Manager for Critical Reflex), Nessa Cannon (Game Writer and Narrative Designer), and Bria Davis (Community Director at Young Horses)

Topics included: favorite people they’ve worked with, hobbies that have paid off the most in their work, underrated game faves, ideas and mechanics that they are keen to put in their next games, what to do when you’re feeling drained and in need of inspiration, most recent games they’ve been playing, someone in the industry who did something nice for them, games they keep returning to, if they could force developers to do one thing what would it be, times they’ve messed up and what they learned from it, game character crushes, something they do as their process that saves time, what they would have on their ideal writing/narrative design test, how they creatively rejuvenate themselves, and more!

Our Guests

Group 1: Chase Dodge, Ruari Root, Calliope Ryder, Chandana Ekanayake, Hudson Janow, Apollo Umbra

Group 2: Lis Moberly, Vincent Perea, Lola Shiraishi, Meghan Thornton

Group 3: Emma Kidwell, Nessa Cannon, Natalie Checo, Sam Low, Bria Davis

Stuff We Talked About

Fear the Spotlight

Tangle Tower

Chants of Senaar

30 Flights of Loving

Spiritfarer

MÖRK BORG

Hues and Cues

Life is Strange

Papers, Please

Urban Shadows

Arctic Eggs

Citizen Sleeper

Metaphor Refantazio

Rimworld

Frostpunk 2

Monster Hunter Wilds

Hades 2

Return of the Obra Dinn

Dragon Quest V

Subnautica

The Artist’s Way

Final Fantasy VII

Our theme music was composed by Isabella Ness, and our logo was created by Lily Nishita.