The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook

Austin Wintory chats with Jeff van Dyck, the composer and sound designer behind 2021's indie hit, Unpacking. Together they discuss how Unpacking features over 14,000 individual sound effects; how the interactivity of games lead the Foley and music design process; how the transition from midi to linear recording affected audio workflows; and his journey in the games industry working on titles like Total War and Alien: Isolation.  To watch this episode, visit our Youtube channel.

9 Mai 20221h 37min

Austin Wintory chats with Maclaine Diemer, one of the composers behind ArenaNet's long-running MMO, Guild Wars. Together they discuss his insightful presentation at GDC 2022; his career path from sound design to composing music; and the importance understanding nuance when creating music that references foreign cultures while also being open to having tough discussions about appropriation. Watch the full interview on our Youtube channel.

2 Mai 20221h 1min

Trent Kusters (Co-Founder and Studio Director of League of Geeks) chats with Wren Brier and Tim Dawson, two of the developers behind the indie hit Unpacking. Together they discuss their journeys into game development; how the idea for Unpacking came about; important milestones during development; how clever marketing helped keep their game in the gaming zeitgeist; and important lessons they learned working on their first game as a couple. This episode is also available on YouTube.

25 Apr 20221h 16min

At the 2022 D.I.C.E. Summit, Austin Wintory chats with actor Maggie Robertson. Together they discuss her journey into acting and landing the role of Lady Dimitrescu in Capcom's Resident Evil Village; the ins and outs of voice acting and performance capture; and the incredible fandom that sprung around the vampire countess before the game was even released.

18 Apr 20221h 11min

At the 2022 D.I.C.E. Summit, Austin Wintory chats with Philp Eriksson, Lead Sound Designer at Hazelight. Together they discuss his transition from music into game development; the incredible challenge of designing all the audio for the various worlds and themes of It Takes Two; and what steps the team took in order to tackle such a tremendous project. Philip Eriksson is the Lead Sound Designer on It Takes Two. Prior to his work at Hazelight, Philip was a part of the sound team at EA DICE and worked on games such as Battlefield V and Star Wars Battlefront II.

11 Apr 20221h 10min

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