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Kiwi Talkz – Details, episodes & analysis

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Podcast Kiwi Talkz

Kiwi Talkz

Kiwi

Leisure

Tv & Film

Frequency: 1 episode/12d. Total Eps: 216

Hosting podcast RSS.com

Podcast with various Video Game developers as well as other people involved in entertainment such as TV/Film

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Apple

Data updated on 27/09/2026

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© My Podcast Data · Independent project · Data from Apple & Spotify

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Kiwi Talkz, a podcast by Kiwi - Stats, Episodes and Rankings - My Podcast Data

#216 - Shawn Layden On Physical Discs, PS6 Handheld, Asha Sharma, Spreadsheets etc.

Episode 216

Monday, September 7, 2026 • Duration 01:06:57

The legendary Shawn Layden returns to provide wisdom on things surrounding the video game industry. As was the case last time, I tried to ask him a lot of stuff he hasn't been asked before. Enjoy!!

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro/Shawn Layden Made Kiwi Smarter

01:49 - Differences Between Working At Sony’s Offices In Japan,UK & US

05:45 - How The Japanese Felt When Sony HQ Moved From Tokyo To California

07:00 - Salaries In The US Are Hurting Game Development There/Outsourcing

10:20 - Nothing Will Beat GTA/Strauss Zelnick

11:45 - Shawn’s Role As A Chairman

13:30 - Shawn Knowing His Limitations As A Boss

15:01 - Games Aren’t Built By Gamers Anymore

15:45 - Publishers Are Becoming Risk Averse/Chasing AAA

18:00 - Why AAA Games Are Financed Over AA

19:15 - Institutional Knowledge/The Power Of Brand

23:00 - Sony Getting Rid Of Physical Discs

24:05 - Sony Can Take Japan Back From Nintendo

25:13 - Sony Can’t Support Two Consoles At Once

27:00 - Nintendo & Sony Are Becoming Direct Competitors Again

28:30 - Sony Putting Games On PC

31:30 - Shawn’s Views On Meetings

32:00 - Unproductive Meetings

36:00 - Employees Whose Jobs Are To Arrange Meetings

37:30 - Shawn Kills Rumor That He Spoke To Asha

38:50 - Shawn Speaks On Asha/Microsoft’s Goals

40:30 - Live Services Titles Successes Are By Accident

43:20 - Data Driving Decisions

44:50 - Spreadsheet Decision Shawn Made/Edutainment

48:10 - Success Is Seductive/Hire The Right Talent

49:30 - Avoiding YES MEN When You Are The Boss

52:00 - Shawn Is Happy He Never Has To Do A Budget/Plan & Peformance Appraisal Again

53:25 - Q+A - Was A Cell Based GPU Considered For PS3

54:16 - Q+A - How Do We Correct The Over Reliance On AAA

57:15 - Astro Bot/Sony Needs To Do More AA Games

1:01:15 - Why GTA 6 Is An Event/Diluting A Brand

1:02:20 - Q+A - Will The Japanese End Up Pulling Ahead Of Everyone Else

1:04:15 - GTA 6/Games Need To Be Shorter

1:05:30 - Girls Make Games Scholarship Fund

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#213 - Unleash The Avatar - India's First AAA Game | Developer Interview With Varun Mayya

Episode 213

Saturday, July 25, 2026 • Duration 01:21:24

Varun Mayya is an entrepreneur, content creator, author and now he is venturing into game development and working on India's most ambitious game ever. Unleash The Avatar

#unleashtheavatar #indiangaming

See the latest trailer gameplay footage here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_zBp21BWI0

WEBSITE - https://www.unleashtheavatargame.com/

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

01:28 - Varun Loves The Mechanics Of Dota & Rocket League

03:56 - How Varun Started Making Video Games

05:15 - Journey To Making Unleash The Avatar/Multiplayer Games

06:00 - Soulslikes/Black Myth Wukong/Sekiro

07:39 - Games Are Sustainable/Gamers Demands

11:19 - Unreal Engine/Photogrammetry Of India For Unleash The Avatar

12:48 - Scanning An Entire Indian Town For Assets In Unreal Engine

15:00 - 1st Trailer For Unleash The Avatar Was To Hire Talent

16:15 - Varun’s Smart Plan To Hire The Best Engineers

19:12 - Aftermath Of 2nd Trailer

21:30 - Developing The Game Start Up Style/Revelation From The 2nd Trailer

23:02 - Bollywood Influence On The Game/Anatomy Of The Story

28:10 - Varun Is Closely Involved With The Entire Project

29:43 - Target Audience For Unleash The Avatar

32:10 - Using A Metronome For The Bosses

33:20 - Aura Farming/Taunts In The Game/Difficulty Settings

36:22 - Black Myth Wukong Inspirations & Differences

41:39 - Black Myth Wukong’s Marketing

43:16 - Bold Marketing Strategy For Unleash The Avatar

50:14 - Why India Hasn’t Produced AAA Games/Entrepreneurs

54:55 - Risk & Reward/Varun’s Views On Business

57:00 - Stigma From Parents Regarding Gaming & Content Creation In India

59:00 - Success & Failures Drives Everything Forward

1:00:10 - Economics Of AAA Games In India Vs U.S.

1:06:40 - Unleash The Avatar Was Largely Made Inhouse/Rockstar India

1:08:31 - Why India Will Become A Haven For Game Development

1:13:30 - Assassin’s Creed Setting In India

1:15:30 - Indian Lore & Culture In Unleash The Avatar

1:18:39 - Where To Keep Up To Date With Unleash The Avatar

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#210 - Quentin Cobb Interview On Uncharted 4, The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog, Ironroot Games

Episode 210

Saturday, June 6, 2026 • Duration 01:04:46

Quentin Cobb is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ironroot Games, he was previously a designer at Naughty Dog on Uncharted 4 & The Last Of Us and did a 5 year stint at Zenimax before on a cancelled project he was laid off.

#uncharted4 #uncharted #thelastofus

SOCIALS

TWITTER - @QTrainCobb

INSTAGRAM @qtrain.cobb/ @I

IronrootGames https://ironrootgames.com/

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

00:30 - Why Quentin Cobb Loves Wutang Clan

01:37 - Crunch On Uncharted 4

04:02 - Working On Lost Legacy

04:40 - Why Quentin Left Naughty Dog

06:07 - Was It Harder To Salvage Uncharted 4 Rather Than Creating A New Game

07:36 - Quentin Worked On Chapter 8 In Uncharted 4

09:00 - Puzzle Sequences Were Difficult In Uncharted 4/Bruce Straley

10:35 - Difficulty Of Making Puzzles

11:50 - Shifting Mindset From Single Player To Multiplayer

13:39 - Why The Last Of Us Was A Life Changing Experience/Working With Bruce Straley

19:30 - Sony Executives Didn’t Believe The Last Of Us Would Succeed

20:30 - Naughty Dog Was Shocked How Well The Last Of Us Was Received

22:30 - Overcoming The Trauma Of Project Blackbird Being Cancelled

27:00 - Indie Dev Community Are Kind & Supportive

28:01 - Ironroot Games New Action-Adventure Project

29:40 - Naughty Dog Teams Were Well Connected/Small Team Sizes

32:00 - AAA Is All About Trends As Opposed To Making Games With A Heart

34:00 - Creating A Unique Game Can Be Tricky

36:30 - Advice From Bruce Straley/Pacing In Games

40:17 - Microsoft Pulled Funding For Bruce Straley’s Indie Game

41:40 - How Devs Try To Get In Front Of Layoffs/AAA Industry Isn’t Stable

43:04 - Naughty Dog Layoffs/No One Is Safe

44:00 - Last Of Us Part II/Quentin Is Glad He Didnt Work On It

45:39 - Working On Last Of Us Part 1 Was Nostalgic

46:30 - Intergalactic/Meeting His Old Naughty Dog Colleagues

48:05 - Quentin Didnt Work Much With Amy & Neil

48:58 - Q+A - Why Was India Chosen For Lost Legacy

50:17 - Is It Easier To Make A Story First Or Design Mechanics First

51:30 - Q+A - How To Get A Design Job At Naughty Dog

54:30 - A Portfolio Is More Important Than A Degree

57:19 - Q+A - What New Things Were Possible Going From PS3 To PS4 For Uncharted

58:55 - Diminishing Returns With The Next Hardware

1:00:30 - Padding In Open World Games

1:03:05 - Where To Follow Ironroot Games & Quentin

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