Time to sheath your lightsaber and listen to this podcast folks! This episode I am joined by Justin Perez, a gameplay designer who is best known for his work on games with incredible combat such as Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning and the Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order series. We discussed the current state of the games industry, him appearing in the book Press Reset and the importance of working from home. Furthermore we talk about all things Star Wars, what he pays attention to when it comes to combat, the industry being more transparent about the game development process and we dive into the menace that is Oggdo Bogdo.

Time – Topic Discussed:

0:00 - Intro

02:30 - Guest topic: What did I learn doing this podcast?

07:50 - Press Reset & The closure of 38 Studios

17:10 - You need only a few people to start a game but a lot to finish a game

21:00  - Seeing the release of Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning

24:25 - What is going on in the games industry?

37:20 - How games look like during development

45:00 - Star Wars guidelines

55:00 - Creating a sequel without hitting the reset button

59:40 - Does working on Star Wars games take something away from the excitement?

01:07:30 - Justin’s top 3 Star Wars content

01:09:18 - What makes great combat?

01:14:20 - Remote work

01:22:20 - Things that changed when becoming indie

01:23:50 - Outro

Things mentioned on the show:

Immortals of Aveum

Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II

Double Fine Documentary

The Making of STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order - Documentary

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Social Media:

Justin Perez

Justin Perez on Twitter (@thejustinperez)

YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY

YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Twitter (@youmeindustry)

Dorian on Twitter (@DorianChou)

YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Instagram (@youmeindustry)

Dorian on Instagram (@dorian.chou)

Intro/Outro by FreshMcZone

Artwork by Thomas Martin (Instagram: @thomas.martin.martin)

A brand new episode for all you great murder mystery loving detectives out there is here!

This time I am joined by Andrejs Kļaviņš from Color Gray Games. Andrejs and his brother are the creators of the Case of the Golden Idol, one of the best indie games of recent memory. We discuss making the game, how to find the right difficulty for a puzzle game and how becoming a father impacts your sleep schedule.

Furthermore, we go into detail on designing a word based game for an international audience, cut content of the game and if AI can help to create interesting puzzles.

Time – Topic Discussed:

0:00 - Intro

02:20 - Guest topic: Mobile games

04:50 - What is The Case of the Golden Idol?

06:15 - The starting screen

09:00  - Growing up with point and click adventure games

10:44  - Ramping difficulty

18:10 - Localization

20:50 - Testing and adding smaller features to help with difficulty

24:15 - When is something done?

26:30 - Cut content

29:15  - The prototype of The Case of the Golden Idol

31:15 - The post mortem of the game

35:25 - Using AI for the story of the next game

38:00 - Difficult aspects of game development that gamers underestimate

40:10 - Known developers that reached out to Andrej

43:15 - Latvian culture in the game

46:30 - The importance of disagreement

49:52 - Outside aspects of a game that impacts its success

54:20 - Balancing personal creative satisfaction and creating a commercially viable product

57:30 Getting a dog and a daughter

59:35 - Outro

Things mentioned on the show:

Slice & Dice

Social Media:

Color Gray Games

Andrejs Kļaviņš on Twitter (@AndrejsKlavins)

Color Gray Games on Twitter (@ColorGray7)

The Case of the Golden Idol Homepage

YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY

YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Twitter (@youmeindustry)

Dorian on Twitter (@DorianChou)

YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Instagram (@youmeindustry)

Dorian on Instagram (@dorian.chou)

Intro/Outro by FreshMcZone

Artwork by Thomas Martin (Instagram: @thomas.martin.martin)

Let’s get the dust off and finish this year strong! This episode I am joined by Stephen Gilarde, who is a DJ best known for being featured on the Hotline Miami 1 & 2 soundtrack. We discuss why he came back to the M|O|O|N moniker, his side project Was Fret, how Hotline Miami changed his life and his opinions on landlords.

Furthermore, we go into detail on the issue with Spotify, Stephen talks about the only good website on the internet, dealing with social media and we get never before shared insights on some of his work.

Time – Topic Discussed:

0:00 - Intro

03:26 - Guest topic: Baseball

15:24 - The problem with housing

24:48 - The origin behind the name M|O|O|N

29:33  - The beginnings of Hotline Miami

39:32  - After Hotline Miami

43:55 - Being called a video game musician

49:30 - M|O|O|N vs. Was Fret

58:50 - When is something done?

01:02:45 - Spotify and Bandcamp

01:09:30 - Social Media

01:15:50 - Does pineapple belong on pizza?

01:19:50 - Creating music for Trackmania

01:21:55 - How much is Spotify paying its artists?

01:23:03 - Comments on his past works

01:19:29 - Outro

Things mentioned on the show:

Hotline Miami Trailer

M|O|O|N EP 

Particles EP 

Artist: SCATTLE

Artist: Carpenter Brut

Artist: Pertubator

Gamergate

M|O|O|N - Mains hum

Social Media:

M|O|O|N

M|O|O|N on Bandcamp

Was Fret on Bandcamp

Stephen Gilarde on Instagram (@m.o.o.n.m.u.s.i.c)

Stephen Gilarde on Twitter (@m_o_o_n_music)

YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY

YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Twitter (@youmeindustry)

Dorian on Twitter (@DorianChou)

YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Instagram (@youmeindustry)

Dorian on Instagram (@dorian.chou)

YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Facebook (youmeindustry)

Intro/Outro by FreshMcZone

Artwork by Thomas Martin (Instagram: @thomas.martin.martin)