Enduring Play: A Game Development Podcast2 Sep 2025

S1 E3: Creative Strategy for Thriving Teams with Amy Kalson

In this episode, we welcome versatile game designer and producer Amy Kalson, who is currently working as an Executive Design Producer at Meta on one of her biggest passions: extended reality. Amy's experience has carried her all the way to the C-suite and she is an alumnus of companies like SYBO Games, Disney Interactive Studios, and Bad Robot Games. Sometimes life is stranger than fiction: hear from two veteran video game producers about the nuances of navigating design for AAA games and the world's biggest IP, even when things get weird. Amy worked with me as Lead Designer on Disney Friends DS at Griptonite Games and also contributed to The Sims series at the same time I worked on the series at Electronic Arts. We start with a brief journey into Radio Lab territory to recount one of the world's weirdest pitch meetings before diving into deeper topics like effective game leadership, the varied role of video game producers, the art of effective creative collaboration video game labor rights, and how our shared experience at Electronic Arts during the EA_Spouse era influenced our perspective on what really matters when leading game development teams.

Enduring Play is a uniquely crafted, high production value podcast about the modern craft of video game development. The format is inspired by gaming itself, with a level structure and tutorials and asides that help listeners of all experience follow along. Season 1 of the Enduring Play podcast is drawn from interviews that informed Cheryl Platz's new book The Game Development Strategy Guide: Crafting Modern Video Games That Thrive, which is available worldwide as of September 16, 2025 and received a "Get It" recommendation from Kirkus Reviews. Show notes, including a full bio, episode outline, and links are available on the Enduring Play website.

Use code ENDURINGPLAYS1 at RosenfeldMedia.com to get 15% off your order - and all physical orders at Rosenfeld Media receive a free ebook. Podcast Season 1 discount offer expires November 30, 2025. Love the podcast or the book? Please spread the word with shares and reviews so we can change the industry together!

For those looking to learn more or who are already reading The Game Development Strategy Guide, Amy's episode covers a broad range of topics and is a complement for Chapter 1: What Makes Us Play; Chapter 3, Putting the Dev in Game Development; Chapter 4, Game Designer's Toolkit; Chapter 13, The Good and Bad of Game Processes; and Chapter 14, Let the Right Ideas Win.

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Episoder(23)

S2 E11: From Reviving to Thriving with Backyard Sports featuring Lindsay Barnett and James Deighan

How do you take once-beloved family games - source code lost to the ages - and revive them for new generations? And what about today's video game market might make the timing better than ever for an a...

12 Mai 1h 17min

S2 E10: Semper Gumby: Flexible Project and Community Management with Desirée Rincón

Millions of players enjoy playing games like Call of Duty that simulate military life, but how does experience as a veteran translate to video game development? Program manager, community manager, and...

5 Mai 1h 15min

S2 E9: Better Production Techniques, inspired by The Sims featuring Cory Tsang

Have you ever wished your production tools and process were more like the games you make? Lead gameplay engineer turned lead producer Cory Tsang is here to tell you that configuring JIRA can be like… ...

28 Apr 1h 7min

S2 E8: Authentic Games through Cultural Technical Design with Timothy Staton-Davis

In a world littered with vibe-coded experiences, how will games differentiate themselves? How can stories remain resonant? Melanated Game Kitchen Creative Director and adjunct USC faculty Timothy Stat...

21 Apr 1h 11min

S2 E7: Bringing Technical Design to Higher Game Dev Education with Jo Cronk

From software engineer to technical designer to game design professor - Jo Cronk has turned a successful career bridging the gap between engineers and creatives at companies like Crystal Dynamics and ...

14 Apr 1h 9min

S2 E6: Proactive People Programs for Thriving Game Studios with Amy White

Most game studios start out chasing a game, not a plan to stick around for the long haul - and that's where things start to fall down. Right at the moment when success knocks at the door and you start...

7 Apr 1h 11min

S2 E5: Helping Local Game Devs Reach Global Impact with Tim Cullings

Seattle's indie gaming scene boasts the largest thriving indie game community in North America - Seattle Indies - headed currently by Executive Director Tim Cullings. Tim's background started in tradi...

31 Mar 1h 10min

S2 E4: Events as a Catalyst for Thriving Communities with Cristina Amaya

What's a third space, where did they go, and what role can gaming events play in helping players pursue the growing motivator of play of companionship? Why are events the first to get cut when budgets...

24 Mar 58min