Claim OwnershipThe AIAS Game Maker's Notebook
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© 2025 Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
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A series of in-depth conversations between video game makers on the business and craft of interactive entertainment.
307 Episodes
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1Log in to your account at www.escapefromtarkov.com and redeem the code NIKITAONGMNPODCAST to receive a special gift from Battlestate Games. Trent Kusters chats with Nikita Buyanov, the COO, Founder, and Game Director at Battlestate Games, creators of Escape From Tarkov. Together they discuss his journey in games to the founding of Battlestate Games; the inspirations behind Escape From Tarkov that led to the creation of the extraction shooter genre; keeping their own artistic vision intact while listening to community feedback; balancing the game's meta and when they decide to intervene or not; and the early lessons that came out of their explosive debut. This episode is sponsored by: Xsolla Accelbyte 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
Trent Kusters chats with Brendon Chung, Tynan Wales, and Suzanne Will about their immersive first-person shooter, Skin Deep. Together they discuss the inspiration for Skin Deep and how it evolved from it's original design; their desire to create an accessible entry point for the immersive sim genre; their ideas around level design and player guidance; what they left on the cutting room floor and how they decided what to remove; and how they successfully increased scope and team size during the development process. 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
Alexa Ray Corriea chats with actor Alex Jordan who most recently starred in the sci-fi survival game, The Alters. Together they discuss his journey as an actor and his work in video games; the unique opportunity The Alters provided due to it's premise revolving around clones; how he worked with the development team to find a distinct voice for each character; and how he approached a script where he's essentially talking to himself. 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
Austin Wintory chats with Brian Trifon and Brian Lee White from the award winning music composition and sound design team, Finishing Move Inc. Together they discuss their history in music and what led them to games; why they began collaborating on game scores and the advantages that brings; how they tackled a massive franchise with set audience expectations; and the genres and techniques they leveraged to give Doom: The Dark Ages a distinct sound. 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
Alexa Ray Corriea chats with actor Ray Chase about his first project as a game developer, Date Everything. Together they discuss his memorable work as the voice behind many of our favorite characters and why he decided to try his hand at development; where the idea to date household objects came from; how they managed to write dialogue for 100+ dateable characters; and how they assembled the immense voice cast. 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
*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
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
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 throughout the story; and how the game handles difficult subjects like trauma, loss, and powerlessness. 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
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 which practices she finds helpful in the booth; embodying a character and viewing the world through their eyes; the complex emotions actors feel when portraying difficult scenes; and what kinds of roles she hopes to play in the future. 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
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's design. 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
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 developing the original Crashlands; how they solved the marketing problem common to indie studios and how that led to their debut success; and the tools and procedures they created to help them efficiently move from concept to playable implementation. 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
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 to avoid romance options. 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
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 what it takes to finish a project. 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
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 downs of the 7 year development journey of HELLDIVERS™ 2. 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
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the legend❤️🫡
I think Hades has surpassed the Witcher 3 as the most overrated game of all time.
I fucking loved their discussion on finish rate, game length, replayability and value. I honestly couldn't agree more with Josef. I am so sick of people associating value with game length, and replay ability with artificial mechanics meant to make games replayable rather than the game simply being so good that it naturally makes you want to revisit it. I honestly can't stand that shit. the supposed replayable games go on for so long that I almost never replay those. A way out on the other hand, a supposedly not replayable game I played 3 times. the last of us 1, at least 10. plus games like DOOM Eternal and Crysis 1 with gameplay loops so satisfying that I don't see myself ever stopping replaying them. I've played DOOM Eternal 13 times and it's only been a year and other than difficulty levels, it has no "replayability". I still can't stop playing it.
I love David Cages games. I don't get why he gets a bad rep. I think all 3 I've played are excellent tho I understand the criticisms of beyond two souls lack of choices.
Do you guys talk about Medieval Times?
I absolutely LOVED the pathless. unlike other zen like games it's also super fun and exciting to play because of the traversal and puzzles. I almost ranked it above ghost of tsushima this year. I liked it that much
this such a great interview, its too bad there is a constant bumping/shuffling noise throughout. its really killing it for me...
I haven't commented but this series is awesome.
amazing guests, can't wait for more! notifications on !
Kinda funny games shoutout peaked my interest. Thank you for a great informative podcast.