Destin Legarie Podcast | Save State Plus – Details, episodes & analysis

Tobias Stolz-Zwilling, PR lead of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, shares insights into the team's journey in creating the highly anticipated sequel. From the impressive techical optimzation to achieving a massive sales success and achievement in RPG design, Tobias discusses the passion and dedication that fueled the project. Learn about the steps taken to enhance realism, combat mechanics, and storytelling, and hear firsthand how the team’s collaborative efforts are shaping the future of medieval RPGs.

Palworld exploded in early 2024 and in this episode, I sit down with Bucky, Communications Director and Publishing Manager at Pocketpair, to talk about the game's meteoric rise. We dive into what the team expected at launch, their reaction when Palworld shattered expectations, and how they handled intense scrutiny.

Phil Spencer joined me to talk about the future of the Xbox brand, how Xbox plans to integrate AI, he even teased the Xbox Handheld. He took on some tough questions and I am very greatful he made the time to chat with me and answer your tough questions. There's a lot of Xbox news today that came out of this including Xbox exclusives, Xbox and Steam, the focus for the Xbox ecosystem, and even Xbox Game Pass was mentioned. Tune in for all the details.

Greg Miller joins Destin Legarie on Save State Plus to talk going independent, industry changes, and the future of gaming.

Paul Tassi and Destin Legarie join to discuss their Game of the Year for 2024 and why they think the official Game Awards could use a few tweaks in the nominees category.

Originally recorded November 2024.

Thomas Mahler, co-founder of Moon Studios, shares insights on No Rest for the Wicked, the success of Ori, and the evolving landscape of game development. He opens up about the challenges of early access, the importance of critique in gaming, and how social media impacts developers, and all of us in life. It was a pleasure to get some insight from Mahler on these topics and how Moon Studios has evolved since it began.(00:00) Introduction(01:00) Pipe Tease for No Rest for the Wicked(01:40) Success of Moon Studios(03:45) Early Access W or L?(05:15) Feedback Forums(06:30) Social Media(07:25) Social Media Fatigue(08:50) Ori Creation vs Today(10:50) Accessibility vs Difficulty(13:10) Ori 3?(14:30) Cheats in Games(17:20) AAA Missing The Message(23:00) Starcraft Art Process(25:00) Yellow Paint(27:00) Where should Art Go?(28:40) Critique Should Be Allowed(30:00) How Hardware Should Evolve(34:19) How No Rest For the Wicked Changed(38:14) Making Money vs Making GAMES(43:20) Philosophy of Devs & Gamers(44:22) What Happened to Game Budgets(46:40) No Rest Inspirations(49:00) Microsoft Approaching Moon(49:47) THAT Kotaku Story & The Changes It Created(58:10) No Rest For the Wicked Updates

PlayStatation Alum joins me on Save State Plus this week to discuss the future of the games industry, reminice about his time at PlayStation and discuss where the industry is headed in the future. We talk about that infamous God of War reveal that had crowds losing their mind when Kratos made a return, and what his biggest accomplishments were while at PlayStation. He also talks about the Xbox vs PlayStation vs Nintendo rivalry and what it meant to have all the leaders step out on stage together.(0:00) Introduction(0:45) Who is Shawn Layden(02:04) PlayStation Nintendo & Xbox on Stage(03:55) His Favorite Moment(05:03) What was it like revealing God of War?(08:55) Is gamescom the new E3?(10:50) The AAA Problem(12:20) A Path to a New Normal(14:40) The Forever Game Problem(19:30) Was the VIta Ahead of It's Time?(23:57) Are Handhelds the next Battleground?(27:00) Will Switch Overtake PS2?(28:10) Laydens Favorite PS Console(29:30) PlayStation's PC Release Strategy(34:00) Will Next Gen Dissapoint?(38:40) How Spider-Man & Insomniac Happened(41:40) Puddle Gate(45:10) Cross Platform Play(47:30) Shawn's Departure(49:40) Girls Make Games dot com(50:58) Xbox Shaking Up The Industry(53:40) This is How You Share PS4 Games(56:50) Patron Questions Xbox Games on PS5(57:47) Is Xbox Going 3rd Party?(58:12) Will Indie & F2P Take Over?(01:02:50) A New Generation of Gamers(01:04:50) Are Exclusives Moral / Helpful?(01:08:00) What Trend Would You Eliminate?(01:09:25) Would Layden Work at Xbox?(01:10:56) Should Xbox Buy Ubisoft?(01:12:23) Digital Game Ownership(01:15:40) Shawn's Favorite Game(01:17:40) Girls Make Games dot com

Colin Moriarty of Last Stand Media joins me on Save State Plus this week to Celebrate 8 years of LSM. We cover off on the history of Colin, how the team came to be with Last Stand Media, and where LSM goes from here. In addition we also cover off on the current state of the video game industry, where it's going, the steps it's taken to get here and what's next.

(0:00) Show Starts(0:15) Colin Introduction(01:30) Colin on 8 Years of LSM(03:13) The History of Colin(06:45) The Roster of LSM(09:45) Dustin Furman(11:40) Mama Micah(19:15) Defining Duke(21:00) Gene Park(22:54) Ideology in the Industry(26:03) Is the Industry Headed for Trouble?(29:50) The Bungie & Activision Impact(35:00) Xbox on PlayStation(38:20) Get Ready For More on PS5(44:05) The Biggest LSM Lesson Learned(48:27) Achievements & Trophies(52:05) Pressure Under Embargo(54:10) The Demon's Souls Gem(55:20) PlayStations Live Service Problem(57:30) Horizon Favoritism(59:00) The Shu Effect(01:03:30) LSM in 10 Years(01:05:40) Patreon Q: PS5 Day & Date on PC?(01:12:00) The Next Xbox(01:16:30) PlayStation's Next Step(01:20:20) How Gaming Will Evolve(01:22:10) Drum Solo

Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt is the first big expansion since POE2 launched in early access. Jonathan Rogers sat down with me to discuss the impact the Path of Exile 2 0.2.0 Update will have on the game and what players can expect from the latest from Grinding Gear Games. Including a little note about a pretty sweet budget for an incredible game.

(00:00) Introduction

(01:25) Regrets from Launch

(03:14) Player Health

(04:42) Free 2 Play Date

(05:16) Chris Wilson Leaving

(07:49) Roadmap Changes

(09:50) Fixing Underpowered Classes

(11:21) Path of Exile 2 Budget

(14:09) Favorite Coverage

(15:19) More Cinematics?

(16:45) Huntress Evolution

(21:20) Ascendancy Bugs

(22:33) Wisp Inspiration

(25:01) Witch Resurrections

(26:19) Broken Builds

(27:18) Bleed Builds

(28:05) New Ascendancy

(30:18) Ring Balancing

(32:00) Crackly Audio Warning

(32:37) Interaction Overrides

(32:58) Bind Actions

(33:20) Controller to KB&M Easily

(33:40) Challenged GGG Had

(34:47) POE1 Crafting

(35:53) Spears Cross Classes

(37:04) New Balances?

(38:22) Ascendancy Re-Roll

(38:56) Steam Performance

(39:59) Controller Improvements

(40:32) Ascension Fixes

(40:59) Auction House

(41:20) Future Content Updates

(42:19) Destin: How Are You Doing?

(43:35) Player Engagement

(45:21) Destin: Burn Out Follow Up

(45:54) Release in 2025?

(46:29) New Acts?

(47:12) MacOS Update

(48:07) His Favorite Question

(48:15) Best Huntress Skill Gems

Naomi Kyle joins the show this week to chat with Destin about AI, where the games industry is headed, and what it's like kicking off her new who with iHeart Radio.