The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook – Details, episodes & analysis

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Trent Kusters chats with brothers and co-founders of SFB Games, Adam & Tom Vian. Together they discuss how they began creating games in the early days of Flash and Newgrounds; transitioning to console development and working with Nintendo on the multi D.I.C.E. Award winning Snipperclips; the inspirations and development of Crow Country; and the secret to making games look and feel how we remember while avoiding the limits of the past.

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Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

This episode is supported by Xsolla

Greg Rice chats with Aggro Crab developers Nick Kaman and Caelan Pollock about their recently released undersea soulslike, Another Crab's Treasure. Together they discuss how the team got started as a game design club in college; their first commercial project in Going Under; the early ideas that led to Another Crab's Treasure; avoiding the pitfalls of difficulty that players expect in the soulslike genre; and the nuance of discussing climate change as a central narrative theme.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

Adam Orth chats with Stumbling Cat CEO and Creative Director, Renee Gittins. Together they discuss her journey to game development from starting in biotech engineering to working in VR; how work began on Potions: A Curious Tale as a side project; creating games that appeal to younger audiences rather than target them; her work with the IGDA and the important role they played during the pandemic; and the complexity of game releases. 

Watch this episode on our YouTube channel.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a rating and review.

Austin Wintory chats with Maclaine Diemer, one of the composers behind ArenaNet's long-running MMO, Guild Wars. Together they discuss his insightful presentation at GDC 2022; his career path from sound design to composing music; and the importance understanding nuance when creating music that references foreign cultures while also being open to having tough discussions about appropriation.

Watch the full interview on our Youtube channel.

Trent Kusters (Co-Founder and Studio Director of League of Geeks) chats with Wren Brier and Tim Dawson, two of the developers behind the indie hit Unpacking. Together they discuss their journeys into game development; how the idea for Unpacking came about; important milestones during development; how clever marketing helped keep their game in the gaming zeitgeist; and important lessons they learned working on their first game as a couple.

This episode is also available on YouTube.

At the 2022 D.I.C.E. Summit, Austin Wintory chats with Philp Eriksson, Lead Sound Designer at Hazelight. Together they discuss his transition from music into game development; the incredible challenge of designing all the audio for the various worlds and themes of It Takes Two; and what steps the team took in order to tackle such a tremendous project.

Philip Eriksson is the Lead Sound Designer on It Takes Two. Prior to his work at Hazelight, Philip was a part of the sound team at EA DICE and worked on games such as Battlefield V and Star Wars Battlefront II.

Robin Hunicke chats with Tyler Sigman, Co-Founder of Red Hook Studios. Together they discuss his journey into board games and video games; his start making table top games; his first steps into video game design; the difficulties of navigating funding for an indie studio in an emerging market; and the decisions that led to founding Red Hook Studios with Chris Bourassa.

Tyler Sigman is one of the Co-Founders of Red Hook Studios, who are best known for releasing Darkest Dungeon and Darkest Dungeon II, which is currently available in early access.

@tylersigman

@hunicke

Ted Price chats with Dinga Bakaba, the director behind the critically acclaimed Deathloop. Dinga shares his unique journey into game development; getting team buy-in for difficult development decisions; understanding the why and how of player decision-making in games; the connections between game themes and the impact they have on our real life; and why representation is important in games and what that means to him.

Dinga Bakaba is the Studio Head and Co-Creative Director at Arkane Lyon. In addition to his work on Deathloop, Dinga is well known for the Dishonored series.