Little Kitty, Big City with Matt Wood & Micah Breitweiser

Trent Kusters chats Klaus Lyngeled and Olov Redmalm from Moonhood, who recently released the handcrafted cozy horror game, The Midnight Walk. Together they discuss their early careers and how they found themselves working together and eventually co-founding their own studio; their previous work on titles such as Fe and Lost and Random and how that informed their latest game; creating the real-life puppets and the scanning technology they developed to implement them inside the game; and blending horror with levity to create a thrilling yet relaxing experience.  This episode is sponsored by Xsolla Episode Host: Trent Kusters Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review. Support the show and get all of our episodes early/ad-free: https://bit.ly/4kU34Lt Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

28 Jul 2h 7min

Trent Kusters chats with Stéphane Varrault from Guerrilla Games and Xu Xiaojun from Studio Gobo about their collaborative work on LEGO® Horizon Adventures. Together they discuss how their two studios worked together on bringing Aloy's adventures to the LEGO® universe; what it takes to appeal to a younger audience; how they designed the game to focus on problem solving; adapting complex game mechanics for younger players; playtesting with children and applying player telemetry to improve the game; and how they translated the characters, world, and art to the LEGO® aesthetic. This episode is sponsored by Xsolla Episode Host: Trent Kusters Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review. Support the show and get all of our episodes early/ad-free: https://bit.ly/4kU34Lt Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

21 Jul 1h 43min

Adam Orth chats with Juhana Myllys, creator of physics based platformer Bionic Bay. Together they discuss how he identifies great ideas and where he finds inspiration; the early designs and concept art that led to the development of Bionic Bay; designing the core gameplay such as the swap mechanic and platforming; and creating a visual language that is both mechanical and organic.  Episode Host: Adam Orth Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review. Support the show and get all of our episodes early/ad-free: https://bit.ly/4kU34Lt Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

14 Jul 1h 31min

Austin Wintory chats with Lorien Testard, the composer for Sandfall Interactive's debut hit RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Together they discuss his background in music theory and how he connected with Sandfall; working with singer Alice Duport-Percier to create the vocal pieces; creating a soundtrack with diverse sounds that keeps a unified vision; creating art for art's sake; and what kinds of projects he hopes to work on next. This episode is sponsored by Xsolla Episode Host: Austin Wintory Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review. Support the show and get all of our episodes early/ad-free: https://bit.ly/4kU34Lt Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

7 Jul 1h 16min

Trent Kusters chats with CEO and Co-Founder of Shiro Games, Nicolas Cannasse. Together they discuss his career in games including co-founding two succesful indie studios with his prior work at Dead Cells developer Motion Twin; creating his own programming language called Haxe; his work as a game director on titles such as Evoland, Northgard, and Wartales; DLC as a platform for indie success; how to blend genres to create fresh experiences; and the importance of government advocacy for the health of the games industry. This episode is sponsored by Xsolla Episode Host: Trent Kusters Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review. Support the show and get all of our episodes early/ad-free: https://bit.ly/4kU34Lt Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

30 Jun 2h 6min

Trent Kusters chats with Julian Gollop, founder and game designer at Snapshot Games. Together they discuss his legendary journey designing games from the creation of the original XCOM: UFO Defense to his studio's latest release, Chip 'n Clawz vs. the Brainioids; how to use constraint as a key design pillar; having the courage to remove features for a better play experience; and when to lean on tried and true conventions and when to avoid them.  This episode is sponsored by Xsolla Episode Host: Trent Kusters Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review. Support the show and get all of our episodes early/ad-free: https://bit.ly/4kU34Lt Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

23 Jun 1h 34min

*This episode contains heavy spoilers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, the lead writer on Sandfall Interactive's debut hit, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Together they discuss how she went from a career in finance and investments to her first job in games; how the world and characters evolved throughout the development process; exploring the idea of loss through multiple perspectives; writing romance that's true to the characters; and how they crafted the endings to let players make the crucial decision that feels most right to them.  This episode is supported by Xsolla Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review. Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

16 Jun 1h 34min

Trent Kusters chats with Prokop Jirsa, Lead Designer on Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, the hit historical RPG by Warhorse Studios. Together they discuss the key pillars of the Kingdom Come series that influence the decisions they make around narrative and design; their focus on emergent gameplay and how that informs their philosophy on quest structure; designing a game where players feel the consequences of their decisions; and the importance of Czech culture and history to the look and feel of the Kingdom Come experience. This episode is supported by Xsolla Episode Host: Trent Kusters Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review. Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

9 Jun 1h 53min