Enduring Play: A Game Development Podcast19 Aug 2025

S1 E1: Using UX Strategy to Put Players First with Celia Hodent, PhD

From her work as UX Director at Epic Games on classics like Fortnite to her widely respected published books on the psychology of video games, UX Strategist and author Celia Hodent, PhD has helped a broad variety of games, gamers, and game developers wrangle the complexity of possibility using classic human-centered design and research psychology techniques. In this first episode of Enduring Play, Celia and Cheryl go far beyond wireframes to redefine your mental model of what the discipline of user experience can truly bring to the table for video game teams. We also explore ethics for modern game economies, inspired by Celia's time as the founder of the Ethical Games initiative.

There's something in this conversation for everyone because the application of user experience to video game development is critical to crafting video games that thrive: far more than just delivering screens, the craft of user experience can help game development teams foresee potential problems early, make smarter business decisions, and apply the best of cognitive psychology to make games more fun to play.

Enduring Play is a uniquely crafted, high production value podcast about the modern craft of game development with a format 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 readers of Cheryl Platz's new book The Game Development Strategy Guide, Celia's episode is a perfect complement for Chapter 1: What Makes Us Play, which covers basic cognitive psychology and motivational principles that apply to all forms of play; Chapter 4, which is dedicated to user experience design in video games; Chapter 6: The Why of Multiplayer, which covers the difference between companionship and competition in more detail; and Chapters 10 and 11 which cover video game monetization and ethics.

#videogame #videogames #podcast #gamedesign #gamedev #gamedevelopment #userexperience #uxdesign #uxresearch #cognitivepsychology

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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 Maj 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 Maj 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 Mars 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 Mars 58min