Stupid Little Games with Jess Pardue

The Wild West of The Gaming Industry - With Binni Erlingsson!

Do you say data (dah-ta) or data (day-ta)?  This week, Jess sits down with Icelandic video game VC and long-time data nerd Binni Erlingsson! They talk about the many many (many!) games that Binni is playing right now, how Jess is plotting to become a BAFTA voting member, and what Binni looks for when choosing gaming companies for Behold Ventures to invest in.  Then they play a Stupid Little Game that looks at a few very suspect *not recommended* ratings for some of your favorite GOTY titles.  You can catch Binni on Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brynjolfur/] and his Youtube page Binni's Retro, [https://www.youtube.com/@BinnisRetro] or here at Behold Ventures [https://behold.vc/].  NOTE: Stupid Little Games is taking a stupid little break over the month of July, but don't worry, we'll be back in mid-August! _____________________ Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out! Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest. Stupid Little Games is part of the Stupid Little Podcast Network.

Dear Chat - With Joseph Birdsong AKA Halfmoon Joe!

Hey Chat! Today Jess sits down with hilarious Twitch streamer, Youtuber, podcaster and certified Tamagotchi fanatic Joseph Birdsong, AKA Halfmoon Joe! They discuss Nancy Drew subculture, the realities of streaming for a living while (mostly) keeping your sanity, and the futility of trying to get through missions in Red Dead Redemption 2 while your unhinged (but amazing) chat actively spawns old maiden-type mobs.  Then during Joe's Stupid Little Game we find out which Tamagotchi is most likely to start a Fight Club! You can catch Halfmoon Joe on Twitch [https://www.twitch.tv/halfmoonjoe], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@halfmoonjoe], The Show with Sam and Joe [https://open.spotify.com/show/15CsKC59mwm04T969k1azB], and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/halfmoonjoe.com]. Join the HMJ community, it's a hoot! _____________________ Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out! Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest.

Uno Reverse - With Jess Pardue (& Gabe Koscky...)

On this week's very special episode, Audio Engineer Gabe has taken the reigns and interviews Jess for a change! Jess is completely comfortable with being on the other side of the microphone . . . yeah let's go with that.  They chat about Gabe's two rules for his Baldur's Gate 3 characters (Spoiler alert: one of them is being naked at all times), how Jess went from retail in SC to video games in NYC, and how operations management skills translate so well to being a good producer. They also wax poetic about making this very podcast. Then they play a Stupid Little Game all about cats in video games! (He's really perpetuating the "Jess is a crazy cat lady" stereotype. What did we expect from Jess' nemesis?) Great job hosting this week Gabe, but you still suck ass. You've gotta belv in youself. Special thanks to today's sponsor: Phantoms, Ghosts, & Other Heartbreaks [https://www.amazon.com/Phantoms-Ghosts-Other-Heartbreaks-Contemporary/dp/B0DPFDQN34/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RLLANK98UQRW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XCkUjRd68JXwCwDP-PmOaIllVvDCx03BJrOqIxwlqBgWA7XVOxfS281cAi2fncqW7zcOrRn2zwgo9pdTjvM8ZtsXNFHcb1RsP-ObnWcz1UJ0EeLnVI2TMKyipjyVSuFMVD1Lf3ElrFdOUX66iih3XAi_JX_FK978zjP7k59d6dAqlz6S4bXR952Iz37dPNAyfggWMzke9pq-Q7GvB7Xd9BYBxUPYAditED5zgn7mAgo.3kYjcUMipAfEi9cVJoQR7YwPAgLq7pIsKV9tRPDX_wY&dib_tag=se&keywords=beth+morton&qid=1738638610&sprefix=beth+morton%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-1] - a debut novel by Beth Morton. You can find it on Amazon paperback and kindle. Available now! _____________________ Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out! Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest. Thanks so much for listening!

Not That Type of Freudian - With Deborah Hendersen!

Hey y'all, onboarding is hard... So this week Jess sits down with Xbox Principal User Researcher and onboarding expert Dr. Deborah Hendersen!  They talk about the psychology behind onboarding for all types of games, Dark Souls being a bastard (but that's a good thing!), and the importance of playtesting, playtesting, playtesting.  Then they play a Stupid Little Game about the psychology of playground games, and Jess learns about the concept of puppyguarding. (Spoiler alert it's the rated G version of teabagging...)  You can follow Deborah on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahjohendersen/] or, if you are a game developer of any kind (indie to AAA) and would like to help shape the future of Xbox game development, you can sign up here! United States [https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/games/resources/xbox-research/] - International. [https://aka.ms/JoinIXGCPanel] _____________________ Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out! Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest.

Drawing Outside the Lines - With Natalie Asport!

New episode alert!  This week Jess sits down with the amazing Natalie Asport - former Avalanche hard surface and weapons artist and current senior prop artist making badass Mortal Kombat assets at NetherRealm Studios!  She's also an adjunct professor at NYU Game Center teaching the next generation of 3D artists. They chat about predatory puzzle game ads on Instagram, having the discipline to actually hone your craft when you just wanna *play* games, plus the thrill (and stress!) of working on iconic characters. Then they play a Stupid Little Game that asks the question, "What if Freddie Kruegger was in a movie with Chun Li?" Follow Natalie! IG: @guitartist93 [https://www.instagram.com/guitartist93/?hl=en], @natalieasportmusic [https://www.instagram.com/natalieasportmusic/?hl=en]; LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalieasport/], or Bluesky: guitarist.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/guitartist.bsky.social] Follow Jess! Bluesky: @caketease.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/caketease.bsky.social]; IG: @cake_tease [https://www.instagram.com/cake_tease/?hl=en], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesspardue/] Shout out to today's sponsor: Bean Sidhe [https://www.sealbeegames.com/bean-sidhe]: the new narrative walking sim from Sealbee Games. Available now as pay-what-you-want on Itch.io [https://sealbeegames.itch.io/bean-sidhe] with all proceeds going to trans and Palestinian mutual aid.  _____________________ Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out! Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest.