S2 E7: Bringing Technical Design to Higher Game Dev Education with Jo Cronk

S2 E11: From Reviving to Thriving with Backyard Sports featuring Lindsay Barnett and James Deighan

How do you take once-beloved family games - source code lost to the ages - and revive them for new generations? And what about today's video game market might make the timing better than ever for an accessible, co-op, family friendly sports game? Playground Productions CEO Lindsay Barnett, a former educator, went on a quest for educational games during the pandemic that took her all the way to acquiring the rights to the Backyard Sports franchise, headed by Backyard Baseball - and then she teamed up with Mega Cat Studios CEO James Deighan to start bringing the suite of the 6 original Backyard Sports games to life. We explore retro gaming and the art of reverse engineering to restore original games developed by Humongous Entertainment, the modern community response to these classic games, and how the folks at Playground and Mega Cat are now applying what they've learned from their community to build a modern Backyard Baseball release that is designed to withstand the test of time, thriving season after season with accessible controls and pricing and downloadable content. This conversation gives us a chance to explore Motivators of Play like immersion, education, comfort, and of course companionship and competition - and captures a unique moment in time between the demo of Backyard Baseball and its release in July 2026. Don't miss this exciting conclusion to Season 2 of Enduring Play and its exploration of themes like community, self-expression, and education. We are better together - as a baseball team, as a game development team, and as an industry. Game on. Enduring Play is a unique, human crafted, high production value podcast about the modern craft of video game development. The format is inspired by gaming itself, with a level structure and tutorials and asides that help listeners of all experience follow along. Season 1 of the Enduring Play podcast is drawn from interviews that informed Cheryl Platz's new book The Game Development Strategy Guide: Crafting Modern Video Games That Thrive [https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/game-development-strategy-guide/], and Season 2 explores the communities, systems, and research methods that help us lead curiously and sustainably to thriving games. This is the final episode of Enduring Play Season 2 - catch up on the episodes you missed and follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you don't miss a minute of Season 3 when it launches late this year! #gamedev #videogames #backyardsports #backyardbaseball #playgroundproductions #megacatgames #retrogames #classicgames #pixelart #humongousentertainment #education #edutainment #accessibility #pablosanchez #sportsgames #baseball Use code ENDURINGPLAYS2 at RosenfeldMedia.com to get 15% off your order - and all physical orders at Rosenfeld Media receive a free ebook. Podcast Season 2 discount offer expires July 30, 2026. Love the podcast or the book? Please spread the word with shares and reviews so we can change the industry together! For show notes including bonus material, head to: https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-play/enduring-play-season-2/enduring-play-a-game-dev-podcast-season-2-episode-11-lindsay-barnett-and-james-deighan-for-backyard-sports-show-notes/ [https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-play/enduring-play-season-2/enduring-play-a-game-dev-podcast-season-2-episode-11-lindsay-barnett-and-james-deighan-for-backyard-sports-show-notes/]

S2 E10: Semper Gumby: Flexible Project and Community Management with Desirée Rincón

Millions of players enjoy playing games like Call of Duty that simulate military life, but how does experience as a veteran translate to video game development? Program manager, community manager, and military veteran Desirée Rincón has a leadership style forged in the field: she understands innately that batons can't get dropped, that communication must be explicit, and that misses can have real-world consequences. The resilience she developed in the field has served her not just in her prior role as Program Manager for Xbox 3rd Party Operations but in her role as Head of Gaming Partnerships and Brand for Gold Star Gamers, a 501(c)3 nonprofit connecting kids in need to therapeutic gaming experiences, her role as Head of Creative (Art and Design) for the Always Supporting Games Community, and in her own life transcending multiple disabilities to continue to engage with her love of the game. Oh, and you might have already met her service dog, Sydney. You know, the one with the lightsaber? This is a unique episode that covers everything from children processing grief in games to the staggering stress of managing games manufacturing to first-person gaming stories from Iraq and navigating life as an unemployed game developer while helping thousands of others get hired. Enduring Play is a unique, human crafted, high production value podcast about the modern craft of video game development. The format is inspired by gaming itself, with a level structure and tutorials and asides that help listeners of all experience follow along. Season 1 of the Enduring Play podcast is drawn from interviews that informed Cheryl Platz's new book The Game Development Strategy Guide: Crafting Modern Video Games That Thrive [https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/game-development-strategy-guide/], and Season 2 explores the communities, systems, and research methods that help us lead curiously and sustainably to thriving games. #gamedev #videogames #xbox #veteran #military #goldstargamers #consoles #consolegaming #producer #accessibility #dogs #asgc #amirsatvatsgamecommunity Use code ENDURINGPLAYS2 at RosenfeldMedia.com to get 15% off your order - and all physical orders at Rosenfeld Media receive a free ebook. Podcast Season 2 discount offer expires July 30, 2026. Love the podcast or the book? Please spread the word with shares and reviews so we can change the industry together! To learn more about Desirée and the reference materials cited in this episode, check out the show notes at https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-play/enduring-play-season-2/enduring-play-a-game-dev-podcast-season-2-episode-10-desiree-rincon-show-notes/ [https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-play/enduring-play-season-2/enduring-play-a-game-dev-podcast-season-2-episode-10-desiree-rincon-show-notes/]

S2 E9: Better Production Techniques, inspired by The Sims featuring Cory Tsang

Have you ever wished your production tools and process were more like the games you make? Lead gameplay engineer turned lead producer Cory Tsang is here to tell you that configuring JIRA can be like… engineering Sims objects. And he should know, because as one of the original Object Engineers on the Sims franchise from the Sims 1 era, he's built everything from toilets to magic cauldrons. But halfway through his career, Cory's adaptability and drive for growth took him to Zenimax Online Studios where he had the opportunity to spend a decade honing a new craft as a Senior Producer, making JIRA sing for teams of up to 100+ artists on a thriving massively multiplayer online role playing game. Whether you're a Sims fan, a manager in video games struggling to hit the right pace, or an individual contributor who feels like JIRA is another world, this episode is for you. Enduring Play is a unique, human crafted, high production value podcast about the modern craft of video game development. The format is inspired by gaming itself, with a level structure and tutorials and asides that help listeners of all experience follow along. Season 1 of the Enduring Play podcast is drawn from interviews that informed Cheryl Platz's new book The Game Development Strategy Guide: Crafting Modern Video Games That Thrive [https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/game-development-strategy-guide/], and Season 2 explores the communities, systems, and research methods that help us lead curiously and sustainably to thriving games. #gamedev #videogames #thesims #maxis #elderscrolls #elderscrollsonline #eso #gameart #jira #gameproduction #projectmanagement #productmanagement #producer #engineer #zenimax Use code ENDURINGPLAYS2 at RosenfeldMedia.com to get 15% off your order - and all physical orders at Rosenfeld Media receive a free ebook. Podcast Season 2 discount offer expires July 30, 2026. Love the podcast or the book? Please spread the word with shares and reviews so we can change the industry together! To learn more about Cory's work or to follow up on the books and reference material cited in this episode, check out the show notes at https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-play/enduring-play-season-2/enduring-play-a-game-dev-podcast-season-2-episode-9-cory-tsang-show-notes/ [https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-play/enduring-play-season-2/enduring-play-a-game-dev-podcast-season-2-episode-9-cory-tsang-show-notes/]

S2 E8: Authentic Games through Cultural Technical Design with Timothy Staton-Davis

In a world littered with vibe-coded experiences, how will games differentiate themselves? How can stories remain resonant? Melanated Game Kitchen Creative Director and adjunct USC faculty Timothy Staton-Davis is a self-styled cultural technical game designer charting a path forward: a unique blend of game design, engineering, and cultural research and insight that weaves authenticity into each interaction in the games he serves as a contributor or consultant. Games like Spider-Man rely on this kind of deep insight to provide their players with games that live up to the motivators of play like Immersion, Education, and Self-Expression that we identified in the Game Development Strategy Guide, and Tim has extensive experience on world-class AAA games like Marvel's Avengers and God of War: Ragnarok that now inform his foray into independent gaming. In this episode, we explore broadly applicable topics like localization and culturalization that are critical to global success, complex topics like the nuanced ethical application of artificial intelligence in games (if it exists), an exploration of more gaming communities like Black in Gaming, a definition of cultural technical game design and Tim's new USC educational experience, and much more. #gamedesign #culturalization #localization #selfexpression #videogames #gameeducation #usc #indiegames #blackingaming #technicaldesign #culturaldesign #consulting Enduring Play is a unique, human crafted, high production value podcast about the modern craft of video game development. The format is inspired by gaming itself, with a level structure and tutorials and asides that help listeners of all experience follow along. Season 1 of the Enduring Play podcast is drawn from interviews that informed Cheryl Platz's new book The Game Development Strategy Guide: Crafting Modern Video Games That Thrive [https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/game-development-strategy-guide/], and Season 2 explores the communities, systems, and research methods that help us lead curiously and sustainably to thriving games. Use code ENDURINGPLAYS2 at RosenfeldMedia.com to get 15% off your order - and all physical orders at Rosenfeld Media receive a free ebook. Podcast Season 2 discount offer expires July 30, 2026. Love the podcast or the book? Please spread the word with shares and reviews so we can change the industry together! To learn more about Timothy's work or to follow up on the books and reference material cited in this episode, check out the show notes at https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-play/enduring-play-season-2/enduring-play-a-game-dev-podcast-season-2-episode-8-timothy-staton-davis-show-notes/ [https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-play/enduring-play-season-2/enduring-play-a-game-dev-podcast-season-2-episode-8-timothy-staton-davis-show-notes/]

S2 E7: Bringing Technical Design to Higher Game Dev Education with Jo Cronk

From software engineer to technical designer to game design professor - Jo Cronk has turned a successful career bridging the gap between engineers and creatives at companies like Crystal Dynamics and Snowblind Studios into a thriving career as an Assistant Professor of Technical Design at one of the top-rated game development schools in the world, DigiPen Institute of Technology. Jo brings extensive technical prowess and a mastery of game design techniques to both their course material and their approach to teaching. In this episode, we explore what technical design really means, the complexities of ideation and pre-production in the game development process, specific advice for navigating prototyping, the intricacies of video game engines, modern video game development curriculums, and much more. There are also some unexpected insights about human behavior, like how younger students show up in class and how that maps to disruptive behavior we see in games. Whether you're considering a video game education or looking to better understand your younger audiences and engineering colleagues, there's something in this episode for you. Enduring Play is a unique, human crafted, high production value podcast about the modern craft of video game development. The format is inspired by gaming itself, with a level structure and tutorials and asides that help listeners of all experience follow along. Season 1 of the Enduring Play podcast is drawn from interviews that informed Cheryl Platz's new book The Game Development Strategy Guide: Crafting Modern Video Games That Thrive [https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/game-development-strategy-guide/], and Season 2 explores the communities, systems, and research methods that help us lead curiously and sustainably to thriving games. #gamedev #videogames #technicaldesign #engineering #digipen #education #professor #tombraider #college #prototyping #production #gamedesign #indiedev Use code ENDURINGPLAYS2 at RosenfeldMedia.com to get 15% off your order - and all physical orders at Rosenfeld Media receive a free ebook. Podcast Season 2 discount offer expires July 30, 2026. Love the podcast or the book? Please spread the word with shares and reviews so we can change the industry together! To learn more about DigiPen or to follow up on the research and other information cited in this episode, head to the show notes at https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-play/enduring-play-season-2/enduring-play-a-game-dev-podcast-season-2-episode-7-jo-cronk-show-notes/ [https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-play/enduring-play-season-2/enduring-play-a-game-dev-podcast-season-2-episode-7-jo-cronk-show-notes/]