YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY EPISODE 14: Lauren Davidson

Time to dig in... DIGGIN'...into another brand new podcast episode. This time I am joined by the incredible Lauren Davidson from Dropped Monocle Games. She previously worked on great games such as the wonderful Thimbleweed Park! On this episode I get to learn more about writing point and click adventure games, her journey into the industry and diversity as well as accessibility. We also get to gush about our love for the Yakuza franchise, Bugsnax and much more! Also, you should all check out the Twitter/Instagram page of the show to see some great art, which was drawn live during the show!

Time – Topic Discussed:

0:00 - Intro

2:15 - Guest topic: Diversity in video games and the industry

11:21 - How did Lauren join the games industry

15:41 - Working on Thimbleweed Park

18:38 - Writing humour in video games

21:20 - The writing process in video games

23:54 - Dealing with writer's block

25:55 - Writing Thimbleweed Park characters

27:25 - State of writing in video games

31:24 - Mass Effect: Andromeda 

33:45 - Fans demanding changes

35:50 - Avoiding Mary Sue issues

38:38 - Sims 100 baby challenge

39:50 - Gushing about Yakuza

42:53 - Accessibility in video games

51:55 - Grabbing a pen and paper

52:20 -  Working on free to play games

56:50 - Plugs

58:28 - Closing comments, drawing and outro

Things mentioned on the show:

Ron Gilbert Puzzle Dependency Chart

Tim Schäfer Design Document on Grim Fandango

Abby Russell Sims 100 Baby Challenge

Plumbella Sims 100 Baby Challenge

Social Media:

Lauren Davidson

Lauren Davidson on Twitter (@boosegoose)

Lauren Davidson Homepage

Dropped Monocle Games 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)

Dedicated to J.B. and L.B.