The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook

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. 

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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 ...

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...

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 co...

*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...

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 thei...

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with writers Dani Dee and Zaire Lanier about their work on Compulsion Games latest action-adventure, South of Midnight. Together they discuss how they began their careers in writing and what led them to Compulsion Games; how the team stayed authentic to the folklore of the American Deep South; the process of writing the main character and their emotional progression ...

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with actor Jennifer English, best known for her iconic roles in games like Elden Ring, Baldur's Gate III, and Sandfall Interactive's debut smash hit, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Together they discuss her prior career in classical theater as well as her previous work in games leading up to playing Maelle in Expedition 33; working with the development team and ...

Trent Kusters chats with Tonda Ros, the creator of the mind bending puzzle roguelike, Blue Prince. Together they discuss his prior career navigating the film industry and how he found himself creating his first game; the early tools and resources that helped him get started; brining in additional team members and what that meant for the project timeline; and the significant influence board games had on the game...

Trent Kusters chats with brothers Adam and Seth Coster of indie studio, Butterscotch Shenanigans, who recently released Crashlands 2, the sequel to their hit debut release. Together they discuss their story of 3 brothers working in different fields who came together to make games; the mistakes and lessons they learned while building the studio; how their brother Sam's cancer diagnosis led to them diving into de...

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Carrie Patel, the Game Director on Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed. Together they discuss how the team worked within the Pillars of Eternity universe while expanding the world and characters; transitioning the gameplay from an isometric RPG to a focus on first person action; writing memorable companions; and the complexities of real relationships and how that affected their decision...

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Mike Laidlaw, Chief Creative Officer at Yellow Brick Games. Together they discuss his career developing role-playing games including his role as Creative Director on the Dragon Age franchise; the development of his new studio's first release, Eternal Strands; creating the physics based combat system; the key pillars for the world and story design; and the importance of identifying w...

Trent Kusters chats with Johan Pilestedt, the Game Director on Arrowhead Game Studios' smash-hit, HELLDIVERS™ 2. Together they discuss his path in games that led to the founding of Arrowhead alongside his classmates in Sweden; the development and release of their first title, Magicka; the original ideas around that laid the foundation for the Helldivers universe; their ideas around game design; and the ups and ...

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with actor Troy Baker. Together they discuss his award winning performance as Indiana Jones in MachineGames's Indiana Jones and the Great Circle; his biggest challenges in playing an iconic character; lessons he learned from his past projects that informed his preparation and performance; and the difference between a performance being simple versus boring.

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Trent Kusters chats with game designer Tom Francis of Suspicious Developments, developers of hit indie tactical strategy games like Gunpoint, Heat Signature, and Tactical Breach Wizards. Together they discuss how Tom went from games journalism to game development; his ideas around challenge and difficulty; weaving gameplay with narrative; and his thoughts and advice on playtesting.

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Alexa Ray Correia chats with actor Nhi Do, who starred in Sunset Visitor's debut narrative adventure, 1000xRESIST. Together they discuss her background in theater and how she landed her first part in video games; finding the entry point when playing a new character; the catharsis of finishing a project; and the importance of compartmentalization while getting our of your comfort zone.

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Adam Orth chats with MachineGames' Jens Andersson and Axel Torvenius about their critically acclaimed title, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Together they discuss why they decided to make an Indiana Jones game in first person; the importance of introducing players to the Indiana Jones world by recreating the iconic opening scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark; and Troy Baker's award winning and Harrison Ford ...

Alexa Ray Correia chats with actor Suzie Yeung. Together they discuss how she got her start acting in games; her performance as Yuffie Kisaragi in the recent reboot of FINAL FANTASY VII; her extensive work in the anime industry; the process and differences in recording for animation versus games; how she prepared for her performance as Yuffie; and her advice for young voice actors beginning their careers.

Trent Kusters chats with Insomniac Games' Ted Price. Ted recently announced his retirement from the games industry and received the 2025 AIAS Hall of Fame award at the 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. In this conversation, Ted recalls his life in game development as the founder and president of Insomniac Games from key projects and career milestones to lessons learned and his ideas for the future of games.