Episode 39 features Jason Knobler, a Senior Staff Engineer at Lightning Games in Philadelphia. Jay’s a fellow Full Sail University alumni, who has worked as an Engineer on Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption, and is also writing his own Harmony Game Engine.

1. (00:00) John’s Life Notes
2. (4:15) Who is Jason Knobler?
3. (14:19) Origins
4. (28:41) First Job Digital Embryo
5. (40:38) Rockstar San Deigo & Red Dead Redemption
6. (01:14:03) Going Back to Philly
7. (01:17:05) Harmony Game Engine part 2
8. (01:26:24) John’s Outro

Harmoney Game Engine GitHub: https://github.com/GameOverture/HarmonyEngine

Jay’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Game_Overture

Jay’s Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/game_overture

Connect with the host: http://elkingpin.com

Come On The Show: https://outofplayarea.com

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-play-area/id1550421307

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Da0qLAOBi6rV6ccSzx1gX?si=043f4ec5a6034bf0

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Episode 38 features Claude Jerome, a Lead Gameplay Designer for Firewalk Studios part of the Probably Monsters family. Claude’s experience has led him from Vicarious Visions, 1st Playable, to Microsoft on Project Spark, and Bungie on Destiny to where he is today. We talk about how he got where he is, where he’s trying to go, and everything in between.

1. (00:00) John’s Life Notes
2. (2:56) Who is Claude Jerome?
3. (17:23) Island Mates
4. (24:26) Firewalk Studios & Probably Monsters
5. (46:08) Building Culture
6. (50:18) Bungie
7. (01:09:32) Project Spark at Microsoft
8. (01:19:45) East Coast Dev
9. (01:27:33) Origin
10. (01:38:07) Final Round
11. (01:49:19) John’s Outro

Claude’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Claude_Jerome

Claude’s LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudejerome/

Game Devs of Color Expo 2020: Advanced Game Feel: https://youtu.be/EABa8X3lEPM

Project Spark E3 Demo: https://youtu.be/m37sVEgJrOA

Connect with the host: http://elkingpin.com

Come On The Show: https://outofplayarea.com

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-play-area/id1550421307

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Da0qLAOBi6rV6ccSzx1gX?si=043f4ec5a6034bf0

Follow @outofplayarea & @elkingpin on Twitter

Check out Descript using my affiliate url: http://descript.com?lmref=john@outofplayarea.com

Episode 37 features Chris Cole a Senior Pipeline Technical Artist working at Amazon Game Studios as of the debut of this episode. We discuss his time at Survios working in VR, breaking in on Blacksite Area 51 at Midway Austin, life at Blizzard working on World of Warcraft, and we discuss ways to better manage and retain your talent.

1. (00:00) John’s Intro
2. (2:10) Who is Chris Cole?
3. (13:15) Amazon Game Studios
4. (25:39) Breaking in at Midway Austin
5. (41:03) Leadership Style
6. (52:47) Neuro-Divergence & Superpowers
7. (01:15:07) Activision Blizzard
8. (01:24:05) Pay Transparency
9. (01:38:47) Final Round
10. (01:44:09) John’s Outro

Chris’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/overlorddagon/

Electric Nodes UE Plugin: https://unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/electronic-nodes

Connect with the host: http://elkingpin.com

Come On The Show: https://outofplayarea.com

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-play-area/id1550421307

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Da0qLAOBi6rV6ccSzx1gX?si=043f4ec5a6034bf0

Follow @outofplayarea & @elkingpin on Twitter

Check out Descript using my affiliate url: http://descript.com?lmref=john@outofplayarea.com

Episode 36 features Leon Kuperman, who gets his gamedev cred from text based Zork style adventures, and is a Co-founder and CTO at CAST AI. Formerly Vice President of Security Products OCI at Oracle, Leon’s professional experience spans across tech companies such as IBM, Truition, and HostedPCI. He founded and served as the CTO of Zenedge, an enterprise security company protecting large enterprises with a cloud WAF. Leon has 20+ years of experience in product management, software design, and development, all the way through to production deployment. He is an authority on cloud computing, web application security and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), e-commerce, and web application architecture. And that's where we talk about his journey through development, his views on building a resilient team and product, and more.

1. (00:00) John’s Intro
2. (3:20) Who is Leon Kuperman?
3. (14:45) Computer Scientists
4. (22:14) Cloud Computing
5. (34:57) Cloud Instance Pricing
6. (43:01) Cast.AI
7. (50:57) Finding the Right Fit
8. (01:04:35) Company Culture
9. (01:15:45) Final Round
10. (01:23:38) John’s Outro

Claim this Exclusive Offer from Cast.AI: https://cast.ai/outofplayarea/

Leon’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itexecutivecto/

Follow Cast. AI on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cast_ai

Connect with the host: http://elkingpin.com

Come On The Show: https://outofplayarea.com

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-play-area/id1550421307

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Da0qLAOBi6rV6ccSzx1gX?si=043f4ec5a6034bf0

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Check out Descript using my affiliate url: http://descript.com?lmref=john@outofplayarea.com

Episode 35 of Out of Play Area the game developer's podcast, we sit down with the creator of Treachery in Beatdown City and discuss founding his company NuChallenger, alongside his time working in the Game Devs of Color Expo, as well as his journey from NYC and the games industry.

1. (00:00) Who is Shawn Alexander Allen?
2. (11:14) Sneakerhead Transformation
3. (23:49) Hip-Hop
4. (29:57) NuChallenger Full Time
5. (37:29) Running Your Own Studio
6. (43:29) Treachery in Beatdown City
7. (58:52) Inspirations and Origins
8. (01:09:58) Combat Mechanics
9. (01:28:36) Game Devs of Color Expo
10. (01:48:33) Game Dev Origin
11. (02:00:38) John’s Outro

Shawn’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnalexanderallen/

Shawn’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShawnDoubleA

GDC Vault - Independent Games Summit: Indie SoapBox - https://gdcvault.com/play/1027343/Independent-Games-Summit-Indie

GDC Vault - Knights, Fist Fights, Lasers & Catacombs: Subversive Diversity to Improve Our Games - https://gdcvault.com/play/1023756/Knights-Fist-Fights-Lasers-Catacombs (Beyond Basic Represenation)

Treachery in Beatdown City: A Postmortem #GDoCExpo 2021 - https://youtu.be/4YKA_swJm5A

Game Devs of Color Expo's Shawn Alexander Allen on COVID-19, Allyship & Future Plans - https://youtu.be/MKRl1TeOlQA

Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups - https://www.bitmapbooks.com/products/go-straight-the-ultimate-guide-to-side-scrolling-beat-em-ups

Connect with the host: http://elkingpin.com

Come On The Show: https://outofplayarea.com

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-play-area/id1550421307

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Da0qLAOBi6rV6ccSzx1gX?si=043f4ec5a6034bf0

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Check out Descript using my affiliate url: http://descript.com?lmref=john@outofplayarea.com

Henry Golding is a Principal Software Engineering Lead at Xbox Game Studios currently spreading the significance of Test Driven Development and Automated Testing in Game Development. He's a native of the UK who has programmed for Sea of Thieves, Minecraft, Disney Universe, and Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii.

We talk about his latest endeavors as well as discuss his journey into the games industry.

1. (00:00) Who is Henry Golding?
2. (11:21) Software Architecture In Games
3. (25:13) Development Team Dynamics
4. (37:30) Academics & University
5. (51:02) Deadspace Extraction
6. (01:05:44) Rare & Work Visas
7. (01:19:01) Breaking in at Microsoft
8. (01:27:19) Final Round
9. (01:37:43) John’s Outro

Henry’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hgolding/

Henry’s MobyGames:https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,451834/

The Games Automated Testing Resource Hub : https://trello.com/b/nGE5yqZk/game-automated-testing-resource-hub

Henry’s GDC Talk - Lessons Learned in Adapting the 'Sea of Thieves' Automated Testing Methodology to 'Minecraft' https://gdcvault.com/play/1027345/Lessons-Learned-in-Adapting-the

Connect with the host: http://elkingpin.com

Come On The Show: https://outofplayarea.com

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-play-area/id1550421307

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Da0qLAOBi6rV6ccSzx1gX?si=043f4ec5a6034bf0

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Check out Descript using my affiliate link: http://descript.com?lmref=john@outofplayarea.com

Kent Hudson is a fellow Midway Austin colleague who now serves as a Design Director for Brass Lion Entertainment. We talk about his start at Ion Storm on Deus Ex in Austin TX, then his jump to 2K Marin on Bioshock 2, and end with his indie hit The Novelist and everything in between.

1. (00:00) Who is Kent Hudson
2. (15:38) Ion Storm
3. (24:12) Shipping Deus Ex
4. (39:09) Midway Austin Criminal
5. (51:23) Leaving for 2K Marin
6. (01:06:10) Bioshock 2
7. (01:34:06) Going Indie The Novelist
8. (01:57:36) Contract Advice
9. (02:07:55) Brass Lion Entertainment
10. (02:17:39) Final Round
11. (02:23:29) John’s Outro

Follow Kent on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KentInPublic

Kent's MobyGames: https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,70322/

Connect with the host: http://elkingpin.com

Come On The Show: https://outofplayarea.com

Learn more about Brass Lion Entertainment: https://brasslionentertainment.com/careers/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-play-area/id1550421307

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Da0qLAOBi6rV6ccSzx1gX?si=043f4ec5a6034bf0

Follow @outofplayarea & @elkingpin on Twitter

Fast Company Article on Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney - https://www.fastcompany.com/90741893/epic-games-ceo-tim-sweeney-talks-the-metaverse-crypto-and-antitrust

Zach Mumbach is a designer & producer at the Wandering Band who spent 17+ years at EA as a producer on Dante's Inferno, Dead Space, Battlefield: Hardline, Godfather 2, Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel, the Simpsons and more. We talk about his journey in and out of games and more.

1. (00:00) Who is Zach Mumbach
2. (07:21) Visceral Games & Ragtag
3. (18:28) Critical Skills
4. (27:32) Managing External Teams
5. (35:51) Being a Closer
6. (47:37) Montreal Memories
7. (56:10) Pitching at EA
8. (01:05:56) Rag Tag
9. (01:15:22) Time for New Adventures
10. (01:27:34) Something Calls You Back
11. (01:37:55) Publishing with Epic
12. (01:45:50) Final Round
13. (01:53:16) John’s Outro

Follow Zach on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zachulon

Zach’s MobyGames: https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,164514/

Connect with the host: http://elkingpin.com

Come On The Show: https://outofplayarea.com

Check out his latest game Airborne Kingdom: https://www.airbornekingdom.com/

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-play-area/id1550421307

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Da0qLAOBi6rV6ccSzx1gX?si=043f4ec5a6034bf0

Follow @outofplayarea & @elkingpin on Twitter