The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook

Alexa Ray Corriea [https://bsky.app/profile/alexaray.bsky.social] chats with Carrie Patel [https://x.com/carrie_patel], the Game Director on Obsidian Entertainment's [https://www.obsidian.net/] Avowed [https://avowed.obsidian.net/]. Together they discuss how the team worked within the Pillars of Eternity [https://eternity.obsidian.net/] universe while expanding the world and characters; transitioning the gameplay from an isometric RPG to a focus on first person action; writing memorable companions; and the complexities of real relationships and how that affected their decision to avoid romance options. This episode is supported by Xsolla [https://xsolla.pro/AIASP] Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea [https://bsky.app/profile/alexaray.bsky.social] Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review [https://apple.co/3rF0EtC]. Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS [https://linktr.ee/AIAS] Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation [https://www.aiasfoundation.org/]

Alexa Ray Corriea [https://bsky.app/profile/alexaray.bsky.social] chats with Mike Laidlaw [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-laidlaw-b0953a1/], Chief Creative Officer at Yellow Brick Games [https://yellowbrickgames.ca/]. Together they discuss his career developing role-playing games including his role as Creative Director on the Dragon Age [https://www.ea.com/games/dragon-age/dragon-age-inquisition] franchise; the development of his new studio's first release, Eternal Strands [https://www.eternalstrandsgame.com/]; creating the physics based combat system; the key pillars for the world and story design; and the importance of identifying what it takes to finish a project. This episode is supported by Xsolla [https://xsolla.pro/AIASP] Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea [https://bsky.app/profile/alexaray.bsky.social] Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review [https://apple.co/3rF0EtC]. Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS [https://linktr.ee/AIAS] Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation [https://www.aiasfoundation.org/]

Trent Kusters [https://bsky.app/profile/trentkusters.bsky.social] chats with Johan Pilestedt [https://x.com/pilestedt?lang=en], the Game Director on Arrowhead Game Studios' [https://www.arrowheadgamestudios.com/] smash-hit, HELLDIVERS™ 2 [https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/helldivers-2/]. Together they discuss his path in games that led to the founding of Arrowhead alongside his classmates in Sweden; the development and release of their first title, Magicka [https://store.steampowered.com/app/42910/Magicka/]; the original ideas around that laid the foundation for the Helldivers universe; their ideas around game design; and the ups and downs of the 7 year development journey of HELLDIVERS™ 2 [https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/helldivers-2/]. Episode Host: Trent Kusters [https://bsky.app/profile/trentkusters.bsky.social] Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review [https://apple.co/3rF0EtC]. Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS [https://linktr.ee/AIAS] Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation [https://www.aiasfoundation.org/]

Alexa Ray Corriea [https://bsky.app/profile/alexaray.bsky.social] chats with actor Troy Baker [https://x.com/troybakerva]. Together they discuss his award winning performance as Indiana Jones in MachineGames's [https://www.machinegames.com/] Indiana Jones and the Great Circle [https://indianajones.bethesda.net/en-US]; his biggest challenges in playing an iconic character; lessons he learned from his past projects that informed his preparation and performance; and the difference between a performance being simple versus boring. This episode is supported by Xsolla [https://xsolla.pro/AIASP] Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea [https://bsky.app/profile/alexaray.bsky.social] Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review [https://apple.co/3rF0EtC]. Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS [https://linktr.ee/AIAS] Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation [https://www.aiasfoundation.org/]

Trent Kusters [https://bsky.app/profile/trentkusters.bsky.social] chats with game designer Tom Francis [https://bsky.app/profile/pentadact.com] of Suspicious Developments [https://suspiciousdevelopments.com/], developers of hit indie tactical strategy games like Gunpoint [https://store.steampowered.com/app/206190/Gunpoint/], Heat Signature [https://store.steampowered.com/app/268130/Heat_Signature/], and Tactical Breach Wizards [https://store.steampowered.com/app/1043810/Tactical_Breach_Wizards/]. Together they discuss how Tom went from games journalism to game development; his ideas around challenge and difficulty; weaving gameplay with narrative; and his thoughts and advice on playtesting. Episode Host: Trent Kusters [https://bsky.app/profile/trentkusters.bsky.social] Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review [https://apple.co/3rF0EtC]. Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS [https://linktr.ee/AIAS] Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation [https://www.aiasfoundation.org/]