The Game Dev Show

For the final episode of the season, we were delighted to be joined by Alix Wilton Regan, who is of course, the brilliant actor / voice behind Aya in Assassin’s Creed Origins, Alt Cunningham in Cyberpunk 2077 and many others. We talk about Alix’s early school days, Drama Studio London, creating the right environment in a voiceover booth, how gender plays a role in voice acting, and the importance of voice directors. Alix leaves us with this round up of her career “one and only”. As with...

This week is our penultimate episode of The Game Dev Show and we are delighted to be joined by Rasmus Poulsen, Franchise Art Director for IO Interactive. Rasmus talks to us straight about his journey from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts – School of Design, to being an Art Director on numerous AAA projects at several Studios. He stresses the importance of establishing art direction early on and how aesthetics matter. We also chat about the creative process, how to activate your...

Join us for this week’s episode of The Game Dev Show with Luis Antonio, a master artist of games including Manhunt 2, Midnight Club, and The Witness, and the visionary director of Twelve Minutes. We talk about life post Twelve Minutes release and four-day weeks, his start at Rockstar and move to Ubisoft, and his journey from Lead Artist to Art Director. Luis shares the challenges of being an artist, where he gets inspiration from, the importance of personal development and of course we...

On this week’s episode of The Game Dev Show we’re joined by composer and industry legend, Jason Hayes! You might know Jason from his incredible compositions for World of Warcraft and Dota 2. Jason takes us through his journey, from his Cajun roots playing Text Adventures, to studying Music Composition at the University of North Texas. And of course, we get into Jason’s start in the industry working at Sierra Online, his move to Blizzard, and working on the incredible soundtracks he’s so...

This week on The Game Dev Show we host the legendary Riot and League of Legends Shoutcaster, and Content Specialist, David Turley. David takes us through his journey from outcast at school, to being cheated as a Warcraft 3 Pro Player, joining Riot at the beginning of the League of Legends phenomenon, and going on to be synonymous with shoutcasting through his work with, arguably, the world's largest competitive game. We also discuss the power of data and automation in community management,...

Join us on this week's episode of The Game Dev Show where we chat with the wonderful Ben McCaw, Narrative Director at Guerrilla, currently working on the soon-to-be-released Horizon Forbidden West. We get into everything from living and working in Amsterdam, through Ben's early years as a Producer, writing on Prince of Persia, his creative process, all the way up to his amazing work at Guerrilla on the Horizon series. We also chat about Ben's love of Knights of the Old Republic, working...

This week on The Game Dev Show we sit down with Quinn Duffy, Design Director on 2021’s Age of Empires 4, for an exclusive interview following his departure from Relic after 24 years’ with the studio. Quinn takes us through his games career, from a Designer on Homeworld to Game Director on Company of Heroes 2 and Design Director on Age of Empires 4. We dive deep into the RTS genre, his first time seeing Homeworld, and the challenges and opportunities of working on the Age of Empires...

This week on The Game Dev Show we are joined by the (reluctantly titled) veteran industry journalist and Editor-in-Chief at Gamesindustry.biz, James Batchelor. James takes us through his 15 years in games journalism, and how games coverage has changed during that time. We chat about his industry beginnings as an Intern at PC Gamer, his time at MCV and Develop, all the way up to his current role at Gamesindustry.biz. With the ever-changing face of games coverage, James discusses...

Happy New Year! On 2022's first episode of The Game Dev Show we host the brilliantly talented Abubakar Salim, Founder of Silver Rain Games. Abubakar takes us through his unique journey from playing the lead role as Bayek in Assassin's Creed Origins, to creating Silver Rain Games while starring in Ridley Scott's acclaimed Raised by Wolves. We discuss the challenges and opportunities of starting a studio with EA Origins through a less trodden path, balancing the the growth of a young...

This is the official launch of The Game Dev Show! We are incredibly excited to share our work telling the stories of the greatest game creators in the world. Our First guest is Andreas Gschwari who is the CCO of Modern Wolf. We talk about how he started playing games, his favorite commodore game, lateral game design, and he asks the question: why are we leaving innovation to the Indies?

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.