Playmakers - The Game Industry Podcast artwork

Playmakers - The Game Industry Podcast

53 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 46 ratings

Jordan Blackman interviews the leaders and legends of the video game industry so that you can succeed with your game project, career, or venture. Discover how you can produce, market, and operate games more successfully so that your career can be more satisfying and impactful, whether you're a game designer, engineer, or entrepreneur and whether you work at a studio, publisher, brand or startup. Jordan is an industry insider, who has worked as a Senior Producer at Ubisoft and a Lead Designer at Zynga. Since 2012, Jordan has been helping clients like EA Sports, AMC Networks, The Pokemon Company, Ellen Degeneres, and Capcom create and grow hit games. In each episode of Playmakers, he goes to work uncovering valuable insights, tactics, and know-how from a wide range of entertaining personalities including designers, writers, product managers, technologists, studio founders, executives, and more. Why? So that you get practical perspectives and insights week after week. No matter your experience or discipline, this is the show that can level you up on everything from raising funds to live operations, and everything in-between. Oh, and you'll have fun every step of the way, because there's a magic sprinkle of goofiness in each episode. So thwack that subscribe button and buckle your safety belt, 'cus this here is the wildest ride in the metaverse.

Video Games Leisure Business Careers games game design mobile games game careers game industry indie games game entrepreneurship
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Episodes

The Mindset of Personal Success in the Game Industry, with Tommy Tallarico

September 15, 2021 03:45 - 47 minutes

Tommy Tallarico is a veritable video game industry icon. As one of the most successful video game composers in history, he has helped revolutionize the gaming world, creating unique audio landscapes that enhance the video gaming experience. Now CEO of Intellivision, Tommy has worked as a designer, product manager, producer, writer, hardware executive, games tester, and heads of both music and video departments over the span of his 32-year long career in the gaming industry. Listen in to th...

How to Create Breakthrough Worldwide Hits, with Amy Jo Kim

September 08, 2021 12:40 - 41 minutes

Named by Fortune as one of the “Top 10 Influential Women in Games”, Amy Jo Kim is a game designer, community architect, and innovation coach. Her design credits include Rock Band, The Sims, eBay, Netflix, nytimes.com, Ultima Online, Covet Fashion, & Happify. Amy Jo helps entrepreneurs & innovators bring their ideas to life at gamethinking.io. She pioneered the practice of applying game design to digital services and is well-known for her books “Community Building on the Web” (2000) and “Game...

Shots On Goal, with Jon Radoff

August 25, 2021 04:52 - 51 minutes

Jon Radoff is the founder of Beamable, the creator-centric platform for building live games in Unity. Before founding Beamable, Jon built one of the first commercial games on the Internet, took a web content management company public, grew a game advertising network, and launched mobile games played by millions of people including Game of Thrones Ascent and Star Trek Timelines. He fights for the game makers of the world by helping make it possible for creative people to make the games they en...

How to Win as a Mobile Game Entrepreneur, With Joakim Achrén

August 17, 2021 11:06 - 44 minutes

Joakim Achrén is a gaming entrepreneur, with fifteen years of experience from two venture-backed gaming startups, including Next Games, which IPOed in 2107. Joakim is now running Elite Game Developers, a company that helps entrepreneurs start their first game company. He's also an angel investor in Skunkworks Games, Lightheart Entertainment, Savage Game Studios, and more. Joakim recently took on the role of Venture Partner at Play Ventures and hosts his own podcast, Elite Game Developers Podc...

What Games Truly Are, with Tadhg Kelly

August 11, 2021 03:14 - 58 minutes

Tadhg Kelly is a highly experienced consultant in augmented reality, virtual reality, and video games. He has a deep background in game design and production, as well as partner and developer relationship management. Since the early 90s, Tadhg has worked on all sorts of game projects, from board games and live-action roleplaying games to multi-million dollar PC projects. He has served as lead designer, senior producer, and a number of other roles at several companies including BSkyB, Lionhead...

How to Start a Mobile Studio, with Travis Boatman

August 03, 2021 15:09 - 40 minutes - 55.7 MB

Travis is CEO and co-founder of Carbonated, an LA-based mobile games studio. A 25-year veteran of the game industry (with over 20 years in mobile), Travis has also served as SVP Mobile at both Zynga and Electronic Arts, where he led global studios and mobile game strategy. Travis quickly rose in the ranks from producer to Senior VP, and now runs his own studio. We’re sitting down to chat about the keys to his success with topics like: - The three pillars of the game industry - Following the...

How to Create Innovative Game Designs, with Nick Fortugno

July 27, 2021 15:23 - 38 minutes - 52.2 MB

Nick Fortugno is an entrepreneur, interactive narrative designer, and game designer based in New York City. He is a founder and principal of Playmatics, a game development company that has created a variety of digital and real-world experiences for organizations including Pro Publica, Red Bull, AMC (such as the CableFAX award-winning Breaking Bad: The Interrogation), Disney, American Museum of Natural History, the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and ...

Crypto Gaming 101, with Emma-Jane MacKinnon-Lee

July 20, 2021 09:00 - 51 minutes - 71.4 MB

Emma-Jane is a space engineering dropout liberating gaming and fashion in web3 through mod culture. She is the Founder & CEO of DIGITALAX, the pioneer Digital Fashion NFT protocol and marketplace for gaming and esports. In short, she’s a dynamic innovator living at the intersection of gaming and emerging internet technologies. In this mind-bending episode, we deep dive into the metaverse and discuss how the game industry stands to be disrupted during the rise of ”web3” technologies that ena...

The Web3 Gaming Revolution, with Emma-Jane MacKinnon-Lee

July 20, 2021 09:00 - 51 minutes - 71.4 MB

Emma-Jane is a space engineering dropout liberating gaming and fashion in web3 through mod culture. She is the Founder & CEO of DIGITALAX, the pioneer Digital Fashion NFT protocol and marketplace for gaming and esports. In short, she’s a dynamic innovator living at the intersection of gaming and emerging internet technologies. In this mind-bending episode, we deep dive into the metaverse and discuss how the game industry stands to be disrupted during the rise of ”web3” technologies that ena...

From Late-Night Game Hobbyist to Successful Studio Owner, with Colm Larkin

July 13, 2021 14:39 - 40 minutes - 55.4 MB

Colm is a programmer, game designer, and board game enthusiast. He jumped into game development by founding Gambrinous in 2014 and has released two titles so far: Guild of Dungeoneering and Cardpocalypse. He is also involved with the Irish game development community, including spending four years on the board of Imirt, the association for Irish game makers. This highly insightful episode packs a punch with topics like: -How Colm transitioned from a part-time to a full-time game developer -...

Season 2 Trailer of Playmakers: The Game Industry Podcast!

July 06, 2021 15:45 - 1 minute - 2.47 MB

Playmakers is back with a brand new season by and for game industry professionals. We're bringing you actionable insights you can use to grow in your career, make better games, and improve your game industry business. The pandemic has been called "The Great Accelerator" and it's important to stay on top of where the industry is going. That's why we're bringing you an amazing variation of game industry leaders and legends to light the way. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast wherever you love ...

The Art of Transmedia Storytelling, with Chris Ferriter

June 29, 2021 11:00 - 47 minutes - 65.2 MB

Master of cross-medium storytelling, Chris Ferriter, joins us on the podcast today. Chris is an award-winning Producer and Designer whose career has spanned the motion picture and video game industries beginning in 1994 before transitioning to the game industry in 1998, where he went on to produce over 50 games for several of the game industry’s top publishers including THQ, Midway, and Ubisoft, and EA Sports. Chris is currently CEO and Executive Producer of Halon Entertainment, a visualizat...

How to Succeed in the Indie Games Business, with Jay Powell

June 22, 2021 17:15 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MB

In this value-packed episode, we’re joined by Jay Powell, founder of The Powell Group, a video game consulting firm focused on business development, publishing support, and licensing with clients like Other Ocean, Spill Games, and Deep Silver. Jay has also spearheaded the Indie Game Business Initiative which produces both a weekly podcast and hosts multiple virtual business conferences each year in order to help game creators develop a solid understanding of the business and marketing aspe...

Rapid Prototyping Secrets for Better Games with Bernard François

November 11, 2020 11:15 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MB

Bernard François runs Preview Labs, a company dedicated to helping studios create prototypes. They have created prototypes for Amazon, Wargaming, Unity, Google R&D, Disney Imagineering, and many more. In this highly actionable interview, we cover how to make prototypes that are efficient and effective. What kinds of problems prototyping can solve, the difference between internal prototypes and prototypes for a pitch, common prototyping mistakes, key variables to include in prototypes, and mu...

Rapid Prototyping Secrets for Better Games, with Bernard François

November 11, 2020 11:15 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MB

Bernard François runs Preview Labs, a company dedicated to helping studios create prototypes. They have created prototypes for Amazon, Wargaming, Unity, Google R&D, Disney Imagineering, and many more. In this highly actionable interview, we cover how to make prototypes that are efficient and effective. What kinds of problems prototyping can solve, the difference between internal prototypes and prototypes for a pitch, common prototyping mistakes, key variables to include in prototypes, and mu...

Inside the Mind of a Game God, with Steve Meretzky

September 15, 2020 16:30 - 51 minutes - 71.1 MB

I mean, it's Steve Meretzky, one of the greatest game writers and puzzle designers of all time. He's also served as VP of Games at King, VP of Creative at GSN, and VP of Game Design at Playdom/Disney. Steve is a hilarious creative force for good, and in this interview he shares stories and insights from his wide ranging and impactful career making games. Interested in contacting or working with Steve? You can find his LinkedIn profile in the show notes.

From Table Tops to Live Ops, with Bruce Harlick

September 07, 2020 17:00 - 49 minutes - 68.5 MB

Bruce Harlick is a prolific game designer and a beloved member of the bay area design community. He's worked at Monolith, LucasArts, Zynga, TinyCo, Hanger 13, and more on everything from MMOs to Facebook games. In our talk, we dive into live operations, content calendars, and managing KPI from a designers perspective.

Product Management & Monetization 101 & 201, with Gordon Rowe

August 31, 2020 08:45 - 1 hour - 122 MB

Gordon Rowe was a product manager on Mafia Wars, and then served as Zynga's only product manager on the 3rd party publishing team working with external studios to help them improve the performance of their games. He also worked on PC f2p as the Director of Product at Daybreak games. He's currently working at Facebook as an in-house consultant. Gordon has worked with dozens of external studios and has problem solved their products, and evaluated their chances of success. These are superpowers...

LOST EPISODE: How to Become (or work with) a AAA Game Composer, with Michael Bross

August 25, 2020 13:45 - 21 minutes - 9.66 MB

AAA audio composer and sound designer Michael Bross has composed on games like Ratchet and Clank, Counter Strike, Odd World, X-com 2, Simpsons Tapped out, World of Tanks, Arena of Valor, and many more. In this interview, you'll learn: * How Michael broke into the industry * What he looks for when hiring young composers and sound designers * When is the right time to bring an audio team into the game development process * How producers and developers can get the most from their audio teams *...

How to Become (or work with) a AAA Game Composer, with Michael Bross

August 25, 2020 13:45 - 21 minutes - 9.66 MB

AAA audio composer and sound designer Michael Bross has composed on games like Ratchet and Clank, Counter Strike, Odd World, X-com 2, Simpsons Tapped out, World of Tanks, Arena of Valor, and many more. In this interview, you'll learn: * How Michael broke into the industry * What he looks for when hiring young composers and sound designers * When is the right time to bring an audio team into the game development process * How producers and developers can get the most from their audio teams *...

015: Managing Your Game Industry Career with Marc Mencher

August 03, 2017 07:54 - 39 minutes - 55.7 MB

Marc’s first gaming job was at Sphere, which was later renamed to Spectrum Holobyte. He worked as a software engineer on the games Vet and Falcon 1. When Spectrum Holobyte merged with Microprose in 1993, Mencher was asked to staff the entity and hired over 200 people. He later joined The 3DO Company, a game console manufacturer, as Staffing Manager, and helped to build The 3DO Studio (The 3DO Company’s Game Development Studio) from scratch, hiring over 300 people.

Managing Your Game Industry Career, with Marc Mencher

August 03, 2017 07:54 - 39 minutes - 57.5 MB

Marc’s first gaming job was at Sphere, which was later renamed to Spectrum Holobyte. He worked as a software engineer on the games Vet and Falcon 1. When Spectrum Holobyte merged with Microprose in 1993, Mencher was asked to staff the entity and hired over 200 people. He later joined The 3DO Company, a game console manufacturer, as Staffing Manager, and helped to build The 3DO Studio (The 3DO Company’s Game Development Studio) from scratch, hiring over 300 people.

014: Aligning Game Chi on Deadspace & Battlefield with Ian Milham

July 27, 2017 17:35 - 41 minutes - 60.8 MB

Ian has been in the gaming business for twenty years, including time as an environment artist, the art director for the Dead Space games, and the creative director of Battlefields 4 and Hardline. In 2016 he became Game Director for Crystal Dynamics directing the Tomb Raider Series.

Aligning Game Chi on Deadspace & Battlefield, with Ian Milham

July 27, 2017 17:35 - 41 minutes - 60.8 MB

Ian has been in the gaming business for twenty years, including time as an environment artist, the art director for the Dead Space games, and the creative director of Battlefields 4 and Hardline. In 2016 he became Game Director for Crystal Dynamics directing the Tomb Raider Series.

013: Inside a Mobile Design Consultancy with Adrian Crook

July 18, 2017 09:10 - 49 minutes - 56.4 MB

Adrian Crook is an award-winning game design consultant with over 20 years’ experience in the social, casual, and core games sectors. He has produced and designed over two dozen products across platforms ranging from early Nintendo and Sega Genesis to PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, PC, Xbox 360, Wii, Facebook, iOS, and Online.

Inside a Game Design Consultancy, with Adrian Crook

July 18, 2017 09:10 - 49 minutes - 56.4 MB

Adrian Crook is an award-winning game design consultant with over 20 years’ experience in the social, casual, and core games sectors. He has produced and designed over two dozen products across platforms ranging from early Nintendo and Sega Genesis to PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, PC, Xbox 360, Wii, Facebook, iOS, and Online.

012: The 4 Pillars of Game Biz Success with Gordon Bellamy

July 14, 2017 07:51 - 41 minutes - 60.1 MB

Gordon P. Bellamy is an American video game executive. He has over 19 years of experience and leadership in the interactive entertainment industry. Gordon was the Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association from August 2010 until July 2012.

How to Build a Great Reputation in the Game Industry, with Gordon Bellamy

July 14, 2017 07:51 - 41 minutes - 60.1 MB

Gordon P. Bellamy is an American video game executive. He has over 19 years of experience and leadership in the interactive entertainment industry. Gordon was the Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association from August 2010 until July 2012.

Directing AAA Video Games, with Brian Allgeier

July 11, 2017 15:00 - 40 minutes - 58.5 MB

An American video game designer who is best known for his work as the lead designer and creative director on the Ratchet & Clank series developed by Insomniac Games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4.

011: Directing AAA Video Games with Brian Allgeier

July 11, 2017 15:00 - 40 minutes - 58.5 MB

An American video game designer who is best known for his work as the lead designer and creative director on the Ratchet & Clank series developed by Insomniac Games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4.

010: Casual Gaming Design Process with Dave Rohrl

July 04, 2017 15:58 - 57 minutes - 81.6 MB

Dave Rohrl has more than 22 years experience designing and producing online games for a mass audience. Over the course of his career, he has led design or production on more than 50 games and overseen or consulted on dozens more and held senior positions at Pogo, PopCap, Zynga, and Playdom.

Game Design Process Lessons from a Master, with Dave Rohrl

July 04, 2017 15:58 - 57 minutes - 81.6 MB

Dave Rohrl has more than 22 years experience designing and producing online games for a mass audience. Over the course of his career, he has led design or production on more than 50 games and overseen or consulted on dozens more and held senior positions at Pogo, PopCap, Zynga, and Playdom.

009: UX For Mobile Game Performance with Alfonzo Burton

June 21, 2017 07:28 - 33 minutes - 48.6 MB

Alfonzo Burton is one of the top designers in UI/UX. His insight and unsurpassed design techniques have been utilized by many of the top grossing games in the marketplace to date, many achieving the 100-Million-dollar mark. Alfonzo has founded two design companies that have both been a driving force in UI/UX for the past 15 years.

How to Create UX that Drives Retention & Monetization, with Alfonzo Burton

June 21, 2017 07:28 - 33 minutes - 48.6 MB

Alfonzo Burton is one of the top designers in UI/UX. His insight and unsurpassed design techniques have been utilized by many of the top grossing games in the marketplace to date, many achieving the 100-Million-dollar mark. Alfonzo has founded two design companies that have both been a driving force in UI/UX for the past 15 years.

008: Empathy & Emotion in Game Design with Robin Hunicke

June 02, 2017 14:51 - 1 hour - 87.1 MB

Robin Hunicke is an innovative American video game artist. She's also a professor of game design at UC Santa Cruz and the co-founder of Funomena. Hunicke is recognized in the industry for her support of independent game development, experimentation in game design, research in dynamic difficulty adjustment, and the advocacy of women within the games industry.

Building Empathy & Emotion into Your Game, with Robin Hunicke

June 02, 2017 14:51 - 1 hour - 87.1 MB

Robin Hunicke is an innovative American video game artist. She's also a professor of game design at UC Santa Cruz and the co-founder of Funomena. Hunicke is recognized in the industry for her support of independent game development, experimentation in game design, research in dynamic difficulty adjustment, and the advocacy of women within the games industry.

007: Game Design as a Way of Being with Eric Zimmerman

May 25, 2017 07:04 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MB

Eric Zimmerman is a game designer the co-author of four books including Rules of Play with Katie Salen, which was published in November 2004. Eric Zimmerman has written at least 24 essays and white-papers since 1996, mostly pertaining to game development from an academic standpoint. He's currently a founding faculty at the NYU Game Center. Eric Zimmerman is deeply embedded in New York Game scene. Having originally cofounded Gamelab, the studio that went out to create Diner Dash.

Game Design as a Way of Being, with Eric Zimmerman

May 25, 2017 07:04 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MB

Eric Zimmerman is a game designer the co-author of four books including Rules of Play with Katie Salen, which was published in November 2004. Eric Zimmerman has written at least 24 essays and white-papers since 1996, mostly pertaining to game development from an academic standpoint. He's currently a founding faculty at the NYU Game Center. Eric Zimmerman is deeply embedded in New York Game scene. Having originally cofounded Gamelab, the studio that went out to create Diner Dash.

006: The Secret Sauce of Story Design with Writer Ed Kuehnel

May 17, 2017 12:05 - 54 minutes - 77.5 MB

Ed Kuehnel, a screenwriter (Lumberjack Man) and game writer who has worked on over fifty video games for publishers such as Disney Interactive, Paramount Digital, Vivendi/Universal and Ubisoft.

The Secret Sauce of Video Game Story Design, with Ed Kuehnel

May 17, 2017 12:05 - 54 minutes - 77.5 MB

Ed Kuehnel, a screenwriter (Lumberjack Man) and game writer who has worked on over fifty video games for publishers such as Disney Interactive, Paramount Digital, Vivendi/Universal and Ubisoft.

005: Lorne Lanning 2 of 2: Hacking Kickstarter & What's Next for the Maverick Designer

May 10, 2017 09:23 - 43 minutes - 63.1 MB

Lorne Lanning is an American game designer, director, writer and voice actor. He is also co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants. He is best known for creating the Oddworld series including Abe's Abe's Exoddus, Munch's Oddysee, Stranger's Wrath and Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! He is currently working on Oddworld: Soulstorm.

Hacking Kickstarter to Fund Your Game, with Lorne Lanning Part 2 of 2

May 10, 2017 09:23 - 43 minutes - 63.1 MB

Lorne Lanning is an American game designer, director, writer and voice actor. He is also co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants. He is best known for creating the Oddworld series including Abe's Abe's Exoddus, Munch's Oddysee, Stranger's Wrath and Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! He is currently working on Oddworld: Soulstorm.

004: Lorne Lanning 1 of 2: The Secrets of Designing Games that Stand the Test of Time

May 09, 2017 10:06 - 50 minutes - 71.9 MB

Lorne Lanning is an American game designer, director, writer and voice actor. He is the co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants and is best known for creating the Oddworld series including Abe's Oddysee, Abe's Exoddus, Munch's Oddysee, Stranger's Wrath and Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty!. He is currently working on Oddworld: Soulstorm.

Designing Games that Stand the Test of Time, with Lorne Lanning Part 1 of 2

May 09, 2017 10:06 - 50 minutes - 71.9 MB

Lorne Lanning is an American game designer, director, writer and voice actor. He is the co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants and is best known for creating the Oddworld series including Abe's Oddysee, Abe's Exoddus, Munch's Oddysee, Stranger's Wrath and Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty!. He is currently working on Oddworld: Soulstorm.

How to Use Hollywood Talent in your Game, with Lev Chapelsky

May 06, 2017 23:12 - 40 minutes - 58.7 MB

Lev Chapelsky is a founding partner and general manager for Blindlight, a Hollywood-based production company that has been operating at the nexus of the videogame and Hollywood industries for the past 12 years. Leading game producers from all of the global top 20 game companies have turned to Blindlight when they want creative contributions from Hollywood, or when they need help navigating the murky waters between these two industries.

003: Taming Hollywood for the Game Industry with Lev Chapelsky

May 06, 2017 23:12 - 40 minutes - 58.7 MB

Lev Chapelsky is a founding partner and general manager for Blindlight, a Hollywood-based production company that has been operating at the nexus of the videogame and Hollywood industries for the past 12 years. Leading game producers from all of the global top 20 game companies have turned to Blindlight when they want creative contributions from Hollywood, or when they need help navigating the murky waters between these two industries.

One Million Downloads in One Week: The Power of Rapid Prototyping, with Mike Mika

May 06, 2017 23:06 - 36 minutes - 53.1 MB

Mike Mika has 20+ years game development experience. He helped launch NGMoco, pioneering some of the first free-to-play games for iPhone. He's run studios and played a major role in the shift to digital content distribution with Xbox Live and PSN. He has shipped over 190 games on every platform since the Game Boy, his most recent title, #IDARB was downloaded by over a million people in the first week of its release.

002: 1mm Downloads in One Week-- Rapid Prototyping with Creative Director Mike Mika

May 06, 2017 23:06 - 36 minutes - 53.1 MB

Mike Mika has 20+ years game development experience. He helped launch NGMoco, pioneering some of the first free-to-play games for iPhone. He's run studios and played a major role in the shift to digital content distribution with Xbox Live and PSN. He has shipped over 190 games on every platform since the Game Boy, his most recent title, #IDARB was downloaded by over a million people in the first week of its release.

001: Venture Funding for Game Studios with Jason Della Rocca

May 06, 2017 22:18 - 57 minutes - 82.5 MB

Jason Della Rocca is the co-founder of Execution Labs, a hands-on early stage investor for independent game developers. Prior, he served as the executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) for nearly nine years.

An Introduction from Your Host Jordan Blackman

May 06, 2017 22:06 - 4 minutes - 6.3 MB

In this short intro, host Jordan Blackman explains the genesis of the podcast, discusses who will get the most out its programming, and briefly outlines his own game industry experience.

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