Insomniac Games Founder, Ted Price

Ted Price chats with Shannon Loftis, the retiring VP of Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios and Studio Head of World's Edge Studio. Together they look back on her long and prestigious career; her thoughts on leadership including advice for new leaders of large development teams; examples of initiatives Microsoft has implemented to foster diversity; and her thoughts on the future of the games industry. Shannon Loftis has contributed to more than 40 games throughout her illustrious career including Motocross Madness, Project Gotham Racing, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, Fable, Viva Piñata, Sunset Overdrive, the recently released Age of Empires IV.

4 Apr 20221h 10min

Robin Hunicke chats with Tyler Sigman, Co-Founder of Red Hook Studios. Together they discuss his journey into board games and video games; his start making table top games; his first steps into video game design; the difficulties of navigating funding for an indie studio in an emerging market; and the decisions that led to founding Red Hook Studios with Chris Bourassa. Tyler Sigman is one of the Co-Founders of Red Hook Studios, who are best known for releasing Darkest Dungeon and Darkest Dungeon II, which is currently available in early access. @tylersigman @hunicke

14 Mar 20221h 48min

Ted Price chats with Dinga Bakaba, the director behind the critically acclaimed Deathloop. Dinga shares his unique journey into game development; getting team buy-in for difficult development decisions; understanding the why and how of player decision-making in games; the connections between game themes and the impact they have on our real life; and why representation is important in games and what that means to him. Dinga Bakaba is the Studio Head and Co-Creative Director at Arkane Lyon. In addition to his work on Deathloop, Dinga is well known for the Dishonored series.

14 Feb 20221h 54min

Ted Price chats with Jean-François Dugas and Mary DeMarle from Eidos-Montréal. Together they discuss the development of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy including the challenges of developing a unique characterization for each Guardian; how they managed to weave together story, dialogue, and gameplay; the evolution of the combat mechanics; and the amazing soundtrack including the development of the fictional band "Star-Lord." Jean-François Dugas is the Senior Creative Director and Mary DeMarle is the Senior Narrative Director for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, developed by Eidos-Montréal. They are also known for the development of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

25 Jan 20221h 22min

Robin Hunicke chats with the duo behind Unsighted, Studio Pixel Punk's Tiani Pixel and Fernanda Dias. Together they discuss their journey leading up to developing their first game; the challenges of game development in the emerging Brazilian game dev scene; what inspired the look and feel of Unsighted; and the importance of diverse viewpoints in games.  Unsighted is the first game by Studio Pixel Punk which is comprised of the two-person team of Tiani Pixel and Fernanda Dias. Published by Humble Games, Unsighted is a top-down action-adventure, tasking players to explore a world ruined by war. Alma must traverse the vast city of Arcadia before the life force of her friends and herself withers away, turning friend to foe. Time is ticking, and every moment matters. Follow us on Twitter @Official_AIAS, Facebook or visit us at interactive.org.

19 Des 20211h 2min

Austin Wintory chats with audio engineer, architect, and programmer Buzz Burrowes. Together they discuss his early career at Sony, developing many tools and techniques still used in game audio as well as his recent work in exploring interactivity with music in games like FUSER. Buzz Burrowes is currently an Audio System Architect at Epic Games, which recently acquired Harmonix Music Systems where he helped develop titles such as FUSER. Previously, he was the Chief Audio Engineer at Sony Computer Entertainment America (now Sony Interactive Entertainment America) where he is credited on several classic series such as God of War, Syphon Filter, and Twisted Metal. Follow us on Twitter @Official_AIAS, Facebook or visit us at interactive.org.

13 Des 20211h 11min

Robin Hunicke chats with Art Director Lisette Titre-Montgomery of Double Fine Productions. Together they discuss her career trajectory into video games; advocating for a work-life balance; navigating sensitive complex issues in Psychonauts 2; how art and gameplay influence each other during development; and her work with Gameheads, a Game Development Accelerator program for Oakland youth. Lisette Titre-Montgomery is an Art Director with over twenty years of industry experience and 13 shipped titles. Specializing in creating studio cultures where artists and creatives thrive. Lisette has contributed to some of the industry’s highest profile games, including Tiger Woods Golf, The Simpsons, Dante’s Inferno, Dance Central 3, SIMS 4, South Park, and Transformers Age Of Extinction for Android and iOS. Her most recent project is Psychonauts 2 with Double Fine Productions. Follow us on Twitter @Official_AIAS, Facebook or visit us at interactive.org.

6 Des 202148min

Austin Wintory chats with composer and sound designer Martin Stig Andersen. Together they discuss his thought process behind designing the music behind the intense action packed scenes of Back 4 Blood; how much his classical music background informs his current work; his work on Playdead's LIMBO and INSIDE; and his performance work outside of video games. Martin Stig Andersen is a composer and sound designer with a background in the fields of acousmatic music, sound installations, electroacoustic performance, and video art. He is best known for his work in audio and music across several award winning titles including LIMBO, INSIDE, Control, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and the recently released Back 4 Blood.  Follow us on Twitter @Official_AIAS, Facebook or visit us at interactive.org.

22 Nov 20211h 38min