<![CDATA[Make Games, Drink Coffee]]>A weekly caffeine-spiked dose of hot game industry brew, featuring interviews with game developers telling their best war stories, sharing their artistic inspirations, and showing what making games is all about. This isn't a how-to, an in-depth guide, or a marketing tie-in; It's all about entertaining conversations with interesting people! Make Games, Drink Coffee is hosted by veteran game designer and developer Aaron Nemoyten, who's worked on a few games you might have heard of and a lot more you definitely haven't. Subscribe now to stay up to date, and check out http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com/ for more information!

]]>http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com/Riverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:31:35 GMTWed, 03 Sep 2025 20:11:42 GMT60Aaron Nemoyten<p>A weekly caffeine-spiked dose of hot game industry brew, featuring interviews with game developers telling their best war stories, sharing their artistic inspirations, and showing what making games is all about. This isn't a how-to, an in-depth guide, or a marketing tie-in; It's all about entertaining conversations with interesting people! Make Games, Drink Coffee is hosted by veteran game designer and developer Aaron Nemoyten, who's worked on a few games you might have heard of and a lot more you definitely haven't. Subscribe now to stay up to date, and check out http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com/ for more information!</p>episodicAaron Nemoytenaaron@nemo10.netno<![CDATA[S1E22 - Lauryn Ash (Part 2 of 2) - Screenwriting and the Matrix]]>This is part two of my interview with Lauryn Ash, a San Francisco-based game designer, writer, explorer of cities, texture enthusiast, and player who jumps on things that probably weren’t meant to be jumped on. With 13 years development experience, she’s worked on indie titles like Dungeon Defenders 2 and Star Child and AAA titles such as Marvel’s Avengers and State of Decay 3. We talked about screenwriting, the Matrix, and what makes screenplays unique!

00:00 Intro

00:30 Lauryn Asks ME About Film School

04:18 Creating An Experience For The Viewer

11:09 Why Screenwriting Is Unique

18:39 How The Matrix Script Establishes Tone

25:47 Quick Tangent: Kingsman

29:26 The Matrix Came At The Right Time

31:03 Outro

Here's a link to that Matrix screenplay: https://imsdb.com/scripts/Matrix,-The.html

Lauryn's Portfolio Site:

https://laurynash.com/

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>54d8c341-53d2-4d02-b66d-243fe4225ac6Thu, 18 Jun 2026 19:40:41 GMT<p>This is part two of my interview with Lauryn Ash, a San Francisco-based game designer, writer, explorer of cities, texture enthusiast, and player who jumps on things that probably weren’t meant to be jumped on. With 13 years development experience, she’s worked on indie titles like Dungeon Defenders 2 and Star Child and AAA titles such as Marvel’s Avengers and State of Decay 3. We talked about screenwriting, the Matrix, and what makes screenplays unique!</p><p></p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>00:30 Lauryn Asks ME About Film School</p><p>04:18 Creating An Experience For The Viewer</p><p>11:09 Why Screenwriting Is Unique</p><p>18:39 How The Matrix Script Establishes Tone</p><p>25:47 Quick Tangent: Kingsman</p><p>29:26 The Matrix Came At The Right Time</p><p>31:03 Outro</p><p></p><p>Here's a link to that Matrix screenplay: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://imsdb.com/scripts/Matrix,-The.html" target="_blank">https://imsdb.com/scripts/Matrix,-The.html</a></p><p></p><p>Lauryn's Portfolio Site:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://laurynash.com/" target="_blank">https://laurynash.com/</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:32:17122S1E22 - Lauryn Ash (Part 2 of 2) - Screenwriting and the Matrixfull<![CDATA[S1E21 - Lauryn Ash (Part 1 of 2) - Theater, Level Design, Foreshadowing, And Finally... COFFEE!]]>In this episode, I spoke with Lauryn Ash, a San Francisco-based game designer, writer, explorer of cities, texture enthusiast, and player who jumps on things that probably weren’t meant to be jumped on. With 13 years development experience, she’s worked on indie titles like Dungeon Defenders 2 and Star Child and AAA titles such as Marvel’s Avengers and State of Decay 3. We talked about level design as it relates to theater, foreshadowing, and about coffee for fifteen whole minutes! Yes, finally, an episode of Make Games, Drink Coffee about coffee!

00:00 Intro

01:01 How Theater Can Teach Us About Game Design

05:57 How Level Design Is Like Performing "In The Round"

09:26 The Importance of Negative Space and Novelty In Level Design

16:22 Foreshadowing!

21:02 "Ad" Break

21:26 In Which We Talk About Coffee For 15 Whole (Bean) Minutes

35:35 Outro

We'll be talking about the publicly-available Matrix screenplay in our next episode, so if you want to get a head start, it's here: https://imsdb.com/scripts/Matrix,-The.html

Lauryn's Portfolio Site:

https://laurynash.com/

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>fc1b2d00-1822-45b2-9685-ec1c149115c9Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:00:00 GMT<p>In this episode, I spoke with Lauryn Ash, a San Francisco-based game designer, writer, explorer of cities, texture enthusiast, and player who jumps on things that probably weren’t meant to be jumped on. With 13 years development experience, she’s worked on indie titles like Dungeon Defenders 2 and Star Child and AAA titles such as Marvel’s Avengers and State of Decay 3. We talked about level design as it relates to theater, foreshadowing, and about coffee for fifteen whole minutes! Yes, finally, an episode of Make Games, Drink Coffee about coffee!</p><p></p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p></p><p>01:01 How Theater Can Teach Us About Game Design</p><p></p><p>05:57 How Level Design Is Like Performing "In The Round"</p><p></p><p>09:26 The Importance of Negative Space and Novelty In Level Design<br /></p><p>16:22 Foreshadowing!</p><p></p><p>21:02 "Ad" Break</p><p></p><p>21:26 In Which We Talk About Coffee For 15 Whole (Bean) Minutes</p><p></p><p>35:35 Outro<br /></p><p>We'll be talking about the publicly-available Matrix screenplay in our next episode, so if you want to get a head start, it's here: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://imsdb.com/scripts/Matrix,-The.html" target="_blank">https://imsdb.com/scripts/Matrix,-The.html</a><br /></p><p>Lauryn's Portfolio Site:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://laurynash.com/" target="_blank">https://laurynash.com/</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:36:06121S1E21 - Lauryn Ash (Part 1 of 2) - Theater, Level Design, Foreshadowing, And Finally... COFFEE!full<![CDATA[S1E20 - Conventions, E-readers, and Evil Factorio (With Lindsay Barnett and James Deighan)]]>In this episode, I spoke with Lindsay Barnett, founder/CEO of Playground Productions, and James Deighan, founder/CEO of Mega Cat Studios. This is part 2 of a two-part series; In part 1, we spoke about reviving the Backyard Sports franchise. In this episode, we'll go on some tangents, covering conventions (and recruiting), how E-readers affect education, and James and Lindsay's dream projects!

00:00 Intro

01:01 MAGFEST and the Importance of Staying Involved

08:47 Studying Screens In Education And Being Seen Reading

17:18 What's Your Dream IP / Project?

19:43 Tangent: Hopecore, Rick and Morty

22:34 Sports Teaches Life

25:53 Anyway, What's Your Dream IP / Project?

30:35 What Does Fitness Teach About Game Development?

34:43 Outro

Playground Productions:

https://playground-productions.com/

https://www.instagram.com/playground.productions/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/playground-productionsllc/

https://www.youtube.com/@backyardsports

Mega Cat Studios:

https://megacatstudios.com

https://www.facebook.com/megacatstudios/

https://www.instagram.com/megacatstudios/

https://www.youtube.com/megacatstudios

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>adc77d6d-ef6b-40de-8b1f-380d24af8df5Thu, 21 May 2026 17:00:00 GMT<p>In this episode, I spoke with Lindsay Barnett, founder/CEO of Playground Productions, and James Deighan, founder/CEO of Mega Cat Studios. This is part 2 of a two-part series; In part 1, we spoke about reviving the Backyard Sports franchise. In this episode, we'll go on some tangents, covering conventions (and recruiting), how E-readers affect education, and James and Lindsay's dream projects!</p><p></p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>01:01 MAGFEST and the Importance of Staying Involved</p><p>08:47 Studying Screens In Education And Being Seen Reading</p><p>17:18 What's Your Dream IP / Project?</p><p>19:43 Tangent: Hopecore, Rick and Morty</p><p>22:34 Sports Teaches Life</p><p>25:53 Anyway, What's Your Dream IP / Project?</p><p>30:35 What Does Fitness Teach About Game Development?</p><p>34:43 Outro<br /></p><p>Playground Productions:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://playground-productions.com/" target="_blank">https://playground-productions.com/</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/playground.productions/" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/playground.productions/</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/playground-productionsllc/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/company/playground-productionsllc/</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@backyardsports" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@backyardsports</a></p><p></p><p>Mega Cat Studios:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://megacatstudios.com" target="_blank">https://megacatstudios.com</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/megacatstudios/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/megacatstudios/</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/megacatstudios/" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/megacatstudios/</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/megacatstudios" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/megacatstudios</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:35:21120S1E20 - Conventions, E-readers, and Evil Factorio (With Lindsay Barnett and James Deighan)full<![CDATA[S1E19 - Reviving Backyard Sports (With Lindsay Barnett and James Deighan)]]>In this episode, I spoke with Lindsay Barnett, founder/CEO of Playground Productions, and James Deighan, founder/CEO of Mega Cat Studios, about the return of the Backyard Sports franchise of games. We discussed running a "Blue Collar" studio with 90% employee retention, reviving a dead IP, and how to design accessible games for all ages. This is part 1 of a two-part interview, so be sure to tune in next time to hear more from Lindsay and James!

00:00 Introduction

01:59 How To Approach Accessible All-Ages Game Design

09:41 Learning From What Worked In The Past

13:10 Running A "Blue-Collar" Studio With 90% Employee Retention

19:02 Picking Projects With Your Heart

24:12 Hiring A P.I. For A Dead I.P.

Playground Productions:

https://playground-productions.com/

https://www.instagram.com/playground.productions/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/playground-productionsllc/

https://www.youtube.com/@backyardsports

Mega Cat Studios:

https://megacatstudios.com

https://www.facebook.com/megacatstudios/

https://www.instagram.com/megacatstudios/

https://www.youtube.com/megacatstudios

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>2275d8f9-b09c-48f6-8ac6-66f070d48ec5Wed, 06 May 2026 17:00:00 GMT<p>In this episode, I spoke with Lindsay Barnett, founder/CEO of Playground Productions, and James Deighan, founder/CEO of Mega Cat Studios, about the return of the Backyard Sports franchise of games. We discussed running a "Blue Collar" studio with 90% employee retention, reviving a dead IP, and how to design accessible games for all ages. This is part 1 of a two-part interview, so be sure to tune in next time to hear more from Lindsay and James!</p><p></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>01:59 How To Approach Accessible All-Ages Game Design</p><p>09:41 Learning From What Worked In The Past</p><p>13:10 Running A "Blue-Collar" Studio With 90% Employee Retention</p><p>19:02 Picking Projects With Your Heart</p><p>24:12 Hiring A P.I. For A Dead I.P.<br /></p><p>Playground Productions:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://playground-productions.com/" target="_blank">https://playground-productions.com/</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/playground.productions/" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/playground.productions/</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/playground-productionsllc/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/company/playground-productionsllc/</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@backyardsports" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@backyardsports</a></p><p></p><p>Mega Cat Studios:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://megacatstudios.com" target="_blank">https://megacatstudios.com</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/megacatstudios/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/megacatstudios/</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/megacatstudios/" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/megacatstudios/</a></p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/megacatstudios" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/megacatstudios</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:30:22119S1E19 - Reviving Backyard Sports (With Lindsay Barnett and James Deighan)full<![CDATA[S1E18 - GDC Vibe Check (I Asked Nine Game Developers How They Feel, What They Say Will Shock You!)]]>In this episode, I spoke with nine game developers at GDC Festival of Gaming (previously known as the Game Developers Conference). I asked each of them the same four questions: What are you scared about right now in the game industry? What are you angry about right now in the game industry? What are you hopeful about right now in the game industry? And, what are you excited about right now in the game industry? This is the GDC Vibe Check.

Guests: Michael Fitch, Lyn Dang, Dan Gerstein, Nat Loh, Jessica Flor, Erika Mariko Olsen, Thomas Fossgard, Jonathan Jennings, Tiffany Otto

00:00 Intro

01:06 Guest Introductions

02:57 What are you scared about in the industry right now?

10:34 What are you angry about in the industry right now?

16:30 Travel Tips and Non-Ad Ad Break

18:17 What are you hopeful about in the industry right now?

24:06 What are you excited about in the industry right now?

30:08 Random Hot Takes

33:55 Outro

Links:

Michael Fitch's personal web site: http://betterrealities.com/

Lyn Dang's personal web site: https://lynloves.games/

Dan Gerstein's company web site: https://pistolshrimpgames.com/

Nat Loh's personal web site: https://www.natlohdesign.com/

Jessica Flor's developer collective web site: https://www.hexwavegames.com/

Erika Mariko Olsen's consulting web site: https://pixel-strategy.com/

Thomas Fossgard's game announcement: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7229132539276201985/

Jonathan Jennings' personal portfolio: https://www.behance.net/Jonathanj

Tiffany Otto is mysterious and important and doesn't have a web site!

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

Make Games, Drink Coffee is produced, edited, and just generally all-around made by me, Aaron Nemoyten. Please email the Make Games Drink Coffee email address, I'm tired of only getting podcast SEO spam at that address!

]]>9d0ed36f-3a44-43c7-b3df-5a0eb2e5ce54Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:57:52 GMT<p>In this episode, I spoke with nine game developers at GDC Festival of Gaming (previously known as the Game Developers Conference). I asked each of them the same four questions: What are you scared about right now in the game industry? What are you angry about right now in the game industry? What are you hopeful about right now in the game industry? And, what are you excited about right now in the game industry? This is the GDC Vibe Check.</p><p>Guests: Michael Fitch, Lyn Dang, Dan Gerstein, Nat Loh, Jessica Flor, Erika Mariko Olsen, Thomas Fossgard, Jonathan Jennings, Tiffany Otto</p><p></p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p></p><p>01:06 Guest Introductions</p><p></p><p>02:57 What are you scared about in the industry right now?</p><p></p><p>10:34 What are you angry about in the industry right now?</p><p></p><p>16:30 Travel Tips and Non-Ad Ad Break</p><p></p><p>18:17 What are you hopeful about in the industry right now?</p><p></p><p>24:06 What are you excited about in the industry right now?</p><p></p><p>30:08 Random Hot Takes</p><p></p><p>33:55 Outro</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>Michael Fitch's personal web site: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://betterrealities.com/" target="_blank">http://betterrealities.com/</a></p><p></p><p>Lyn Dang's personal web site: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://lynloves.games/" target="_blank">https://lynloves.games/</a></p><p></p><p>Dan Gerstein's company web site: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://pistolshrimpgames.com/" target="_blank">https://pistolshrimpgames.com/</a></p><p></p><p>Nat Loh's personal web site: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.natlohdesign.com/" target="_blank">https://www.natlohdesign.com/</a></p><p></p><p>Jessica Flor's developer collective web site: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.hexwavegames.com/" target="_blank">https://www.hexwavegames.com/</a></p><p></p><p>Erika Mariko Olsen's consulting web site: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://pixel-strategy.com/" target="_blank">https://pixel-strategy.com/</a></p><p></p><p>Thomas Fossgard's game announcement: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7229132539276201985/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7229132539276201985/</a></p><p></p><p>Jonathan Jennings' personal portfolio: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.behance.net/Jonathanj" target="_blank">https://www.behance.net/Jonathanj</a></p><p></p><p>Tiffany Otto is mysterious and important and doesn't have a web site!<br /></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a><br /></p><p>Make Games, Drink Coffee is produced, edited, and just generally all-around made by me, Aaron Nemoyten. Please email the Make Games Drink Coffee email address, I'm tired of only getting podcast SEO spam at that address!</p>no00:34:4318S1E18 - GDC Vibe Check (I Asked Nine Game Developers How They Feel, What They Say Will Shock You!)full<![CDATA[S1E17 - Des Gayle (Part 2 of 2) - Streaming Games, Transmedia IP, and Bandersnatches]]>This week, Aaron chats with Des Gayle in the second of a two-part interview. Des is a Senior Partner Relations Manager at Unity (day job), Studio head at Altered Gene (his company), and does "production stuff" for a couple of indies. He describes himself as having "Produced one game that won a BAFTA (Life Is Strange) and plenty more that didn't."

In this episode, we discussed Netflix's games strategy and how other big tech companies have tried to get into gaming, as well as so-called "transmedia IPs," like Quantum Break, and adaptations like the Last of Us and Fallout.

00:00 Introduction

00:56 How to Run Games For A Streaming Service

11:28 Game And Movie Adaptations and Crossovers: Knowing Your Audience

16:52 What Has And Hasn't Worked In "Transmedia IP"

19:16 Building Your Own "Transmedia IP"

23:11 Outro

Links:

"There's a Last Time for Everything" Kickstarter campaign.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alteredgene/taltfe?ref=9odmgb

Des Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/kid_desimo/

Des Bluesky

https://bsky.app/profile/kiddesimo.bsky.social

Des Twitter
https://x.com/Kid_Desimo

"Kidd Copter" Playdate game

https://play.date/games/kidd-copter/

Altered Gene website

https://www.alteredgene.co.uk/

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

Make Games, Drink Coffee is produced, edited, and just generally all-around made by me, Aaron Nemoyten. Please email the Make Games Drink Coffee email address, I'm tired of only getting podcast SEO spam at that address!

]]>dda6cad4-1f6d-4977-b94b-1c208e8a1ef3Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Des Gayle in the second of a two-part interview. Des is a Senior Partner Relations Manager at Unity (day job), Studio head at Altered Gene (his company), and does "production stuff" for a couple of indies. He describes himself as having "Produced one game that won a BAFTA (Life Is Strange) and plenty more that didn't."</p><p></p><p>In this episode, we discussed Netflix's games strategy and how other big tech companies have tried to get into gaming, as well as so-called "transmedia IPs," like Quantum Break, and adaptations like the Last of Us and Fallout.</p><p></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>00:56 How to Run Games For A Streaming Service</p><p>11:28 Game And Movie Adaptations and Crossovers: Knowing Your Audience</p><p>16:52 What Has And Hasn't Worked In "Transmedia IP"</p><p>19:16 Building Your Own "Transmedia IP"</p><p>23:11 Outro</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>"There's a Last Time for Everything" Kickstarter campaign.</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alteredgene/taltfe?ref=9odmgb" target="_blank">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alteredgene/taltfe?ref=9odmgb</a></p><p></p><p>Des Instagram</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/kid_desimo/" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/kid_desimo/</a></p><p></p><p>Des Bluesky</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://bsky.app/profile/kiddesimo.bsky.social" target="_blank">https://bsky.app/profile/kiddesimo.bsky.social</a></p><p></p><p>Des Twitter<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://x.com/Kid_Desimo" target="_blank">https://x.com/Kid_Desimo</a></p><p></p><p>"Kidd Copter" Playdate game</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://play.date/games/kidd-copter/" target="_blank">https://play.date/games/kidd-copter/</a></p><p></p><p>Altered Gene website</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.alteredgene.co.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.alteredgene.co.uk/</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a><br /></p><p>Make Games, Drink Coffee is produced, edited, and just generally all-around made by me, Aaron Nemoyten. Please email the Make Games Drink Coffee email address, I'm tired of only getting podcast SEO spam at that address!</p>no00:23:44117S1E17 - Des Gayle (Part 2 of 2) - Streaming Games, Transmedia IP, and Bandersnatchesfull<![CDATA[S1E16 - Des Gayle (Part 1 of 2) - Indie Publishing And Diverse Narratives]]>This week, Aaron chats with Des Gayle in the first of a two-part interview. Des is a Senior Partner Relations Manager at Unity (day job), Studio head at Altered Gene (his company), and does "production stuff" for a couple of indies. He describes himself as having "Produced one game that won a BAFTA (Life Is Strange) and plenty more that didn't."

In this episode, we talk about game publishing and funding, and answer questions about how and why games with narratives focused on diverse protagonists and situations are or aren't funded. We also briefly discuss Des' short film, "There's a Last Time for Everything," for which he's running a Kickstarter campaign.

00:00 Introduction

02:13 Square Enix and Life Is Strange

04:35 Publishing Indie Games At Fellow Traveller

08:37 Why Don't Publishers Publish More Diverse Games?

11:34 The Current Funding And Publishing Landscape For Indies

17:54 Funding Tips and Tricks

22:24 Des' Short Film Kickstarter

24:37 Wrapping Up

Links:

"There's a Last Time for Everything" Kickstarter campaign. (Ends Sunday 29th March)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alteredgene/taltfe?ref=9odmgb

Des Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/kid_desimo/

Des Bluesky

https://bsky.app/profile/kiddesimo.bsky.social

Des Twitter
https://x.com/Kid_Desimo

"Kidd Copter" Playdate game

https://play.date/games/kidd-copter/

Altered Gene website

https://www.alteredgene.co.uk/

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

Make Games, Drink Coffee is produced, edited, and just generally all-around made by me, Aaron Nemoyten. Please email the Make Games Drink Coffee email address, I'm tired of only getting podcast SEO spam at that address!

]]>6d100e20-321e-4c32-85c1-919bb66e6eddThu, 26 Mar 2026 17:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Des Gayle in the first of a two-part interview. Des is a Senior Partner Relations Manager at Unity (day job), Studio head at Altered Gene (his company), and does "production stuff" for a couple of indies. He describes himself as having "Produced one game that won a BAFTA (Life Is Strange) and plenty more that didn't."</p><p></p><p>In this episode, we talk about game publishing and funding, and answer questions about how and why games with narratives focused on diverse protagonists and situations are or aren't funded. We also briefly discuss Des' short film, "There's a Last Time for Everything," for which he's running a Kickstarter campaign.</p><p></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>02:13 Square Enix and Life Is Strange</p><p>04:35 Publishing Indie Games At Fellow Traveller</p><p>08:37 Why Don't Publishers Publish More Diverse Games?</p><p>11:34 The Current Funding And Publishing Landscape For Indies</p><p>17:54 Funding Tips and Tricks</p><p>22:24 Des' Short Film Kickstarter</p><p>24:37 Wrapping Up</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>"There's a Last Time for Everything" Kickstarter campaign. (Ends Sunday 29th March)</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alteredgene/taltfe?ref=9odmgb" target="_blank">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alteredgene/taltfe?ref=9odmgb</a></p><p></p><p>Des Instagram</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/kid_desimo/" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/kid_desimo/</a></p><p></p><p>Des Bluesky</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://bsky.app/profile/kiddesimo.bsky.social" target="_blank">https://bsky.app/profile/kiddesimo.bsky.social</a></p><p></p><p>Des Twitter<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://x.com/Kid_Desimo" target="_blank">https://x.com/Kid_Desimo</a></p><p></p><p>"Kidd Copter" Playdate game</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://play.date/games/kidd-copter/" target="_blank">https://play.date/games/kidd-copter/</a></p><p></p><p>Altered Gene website</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.alteredgene.co.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.alteredgene.co.uk/</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p><p></p><p>Make Games, Drink Coffee is produced, edited, and just generally all-around made by me, Aaron Nemoyten. Please email the Make Games Drink Coffee email address, I'm tired of only getting podcast SEO spam at that address!</p>no00:25:17116S1E16 - Des Gayle (Part 1 of 2) - Indie Publishing And Diverse Narrativesfull<![CDATA[S1E15 - Monica Fan (Part 2 of 2) - Jump-scared By Your Own Face]]>This week, Aaron chats with Monica Fan in the second of a two-part interview. Monica is a game designer currently working at Pipeworks on an unannounced AAA game, but they consider themselves an eccentric creative at heart, having worked in entertainment media including newspaper, radio, theater, and film.  

In this second half of our two-part interview, we went DEEP on just a few topics: The importance of consuming more media to broaden your knowledge (even if it means playing games you don't like), short vs. long-term thinking in life and in your career, and the value of unconventional protagonists in games and how they could contribute to helping people love themselves as they are.

00:00 Introduction

00:59 Hot Take: Consume More Media, Even If You Don't Like It

10:25 Short Vs Long-Term Thinking

17:24 Unconventional Protagonists And Loving Yourself

29:49 Outro

]]>7ed02b94-5325-4589-9422-a3680ba97ef9Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Monica Fan in the second of a two-part interview. Monica is a game designer currently working at Pipeworks on an unannounced AAA game, but they consider themselves an eccentric creative at heart, having worked in entertainment media including newspaper, radio, theater, and film.  </p><p></p><p>In this second half of our two-part interview, we went DEEP on just a few topics: The importance of consuming more media to broaden your knowledge (even if it means playing games you don't like), short vs. long-term thinking in life and in your career, and the value of unconventional protagonists in games and how they could contribute to helping people love themselves as they are.</p><p></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>00:59 Hot Take: Consume More Media, Even If You Don't Like It</p><p>10:25 Short Vs Long-Term Thinking</p><p>17:24 Unconventional Protagonists And Loving Yourself</p><p>29:49 Outro</p>no00:30:28115S1E15 - Monica Fan (Part 2 of 2) - Jump-scared By Your Own Facefull<![CDATA[S1E14 - Monica Fan (Part 1 of 2) - Dopamine Slinging As A Career]]>This week, Aaron chats with Monica Fan in the first of a two-part interview. Monica is a game designer currently working at Pipeworks on an unannounced AAA game, but they consider themselves an eccentric creative at heart, having worked in entertainment media including newspaper, radio, theater, and film.  


In this first half of our two-part interview, we talked about Monica's supervillain origin story (the world's worst Tinder date, I'm not kidding), who gets to create underdog narratives and why, the importance of creating games that fulfill fantasies other than typical male-driven power fantasies, how Roblox is driving a new generation of game design, and more!


00:00 Cold Open

00:30 Intro

03:05 Monica's Supervillain Origin Story (AKA The Worst Tinder Date Ever)

09:24 Dopamine Slinging As A Career

12:13 Slop And The Fantasy of Creating Art

18:03 Roblox And Game Design For A New Generation

20:59 The Elder Millennial Teenage Boy Power Fantasy

23:23 Diverse Fantasies For Diverse Audiences

25:38 White Men Can't Introspect(tm)

32:13 ...But The Video Game Industry Is Still (Relatively) Small

34:25 Outro


Links:


You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 


Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com


Make Games, Drink Coffee is produced, edited, and just generally all-around made by me, Aaron Nemoyten. Please email the Make Games Drink Coffee email address, I'm tired of only getting podcast SEO spam at that address!

]]>9b865d75-517a-4cab-a92a-adc06c4e420cThu, 26 Feb 2026 18:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Monica Fan in the first of a two-part interview. Monica is a game designer currently working at Pipeworks on an unannounced AAA game, but they consider themselves an eccentric creative at heart, having worked in entertainment media including newspaper, radio, theater, and film.  </p><p><br /></p><p>In this first half of our two-part interview, we talked about Monica's supervillain origin story (the world's worst Tinder date, I'm not kidding), who gets to create underdog narratives and why, the importance of creating games that fulfill fantasies other than typical male-driven power fantasies, how Roblox is driving a new generation of game design, and more!</p><p><br /></p><p>00:00 Cold Open</p><p>00:30 Intro</p><p>03:05 Monica's Supervillain Origin Story (AKA The Worst Tinder Date Ever)</p><p>09:24 Dopamine Slinging As A Career</p><p>12:13 Slop And The Fantasy of Creating Art</p><p>18:03 Roblox And Game Design For A New Generation</p><p>20:59 The Elder Millennial Teenage Boy Power Fantasy</p><p>23:23 Diverse Fantasies For Diverse Audiences</p><p>25:38 White Men Can't Introspect(tm)</p><p>32:13 ...But The Video Game Industry Is Still (Relatively) Small</p><p>34:25 Outro</p><p><br /></p><p>Links:</p><p><br /></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p><br /></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Make Games, Drink Coffee is produced, edited, and just generally all-around made by me, Aaron Nemoyten. Please email the Make Games Drink Coffee email address, I'm tired of only getting podcast SEO spam at that address!</p>no00:34:56114S1E14 - Monica Fan (Part 1 of 2) - Dopamine Slinging As A Careerfull<![CDATA[Bonus Episode - Politics, Unions, GDC, and Doom: The Dark Ages]]>In this short bonus episode, instead of interviewing a guest for 30 minutes, I talk politics, unions, GDC, and Doom: The Dark Ages... for about six minutes. Why no guest? You'll just have to listen to find out!

Links:

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>5815258e-c5b3-49ad-93fe-d6964ddd5b93Thu, 12 Feb 2026 23:18:27 GMT<p>In this short bonus episode, instead of interviewing a guest for 30 minutes, I talk politics, unions, GDC, and Doom: The Dark Ages... for about six minutes. Why no guest? You'll just have to listen to find out!</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p><p></p>no00:06:081Bonus Episode - Politics, Unions, GDC, and Doom: The Dark Agesbonus<![CDATA[S1E13 - Daniel McLaren - Humility in game design, and don't call it "sportsball!"]]>This week, Aaron chats with Daniel McLaren. Daniel has been making games since 2005 and has worked on everything from MMOs to mobile games. While he has held a variety of roles over the years, from Game Designer, Producer, to even Product Manager, his primary focus is Design and Team Leadership. Daniel has a passion for reading books, laying on the ground, watching the San Diego Padres mismanage their team, and Path of Exile. Daniel and I worked together at EA on Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, and that's how we know each other.

We spoke about Daniel's philosophy of humility in game design, what it was like briefly working in Finland, how we should take sports seriously as lessons in game design, and more.

00:00 Intro

01:39 Humility As A Game Design Philosophy

09:43 Finland's Game Development Culture

11:50 Learning Game Design From Popular Sports

19:19 Spending Time With Friends Is Its Own Hobby

21:50 What Games Are You Playing Right Now?

Links:

Daniel McLaren doesn't have much of an online presence, so here's a link to the game he's working on at Stoic, Towerborne:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2458830/Towerborne/

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>af8b2aec-d033-4f87-b85f-6cdf2119e7cdThu, 29 Jan 2026 18:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Daniel McLaren. Daniel has been making games since 2005 and has worked on everything from MMOs to mobile games. While he has held a variety of roles over the years, from Game Designer, Producer, to even Product Manager, his primary focus is Design and Team Leadership. Daniel has a passion for reading books, laying on the ground, watching the San Diego Padres mismanage their team, and Path of Exile. Daniel and I worked together at EA on Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, and that's how we know each other.<br /></p><p>We spoke about Daniel's philosophy of humility in game design, what it was like briefly working in Finland, how we should take sports seriously as lessons in game design, and more.<br /></p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>01:39 Humility As A Game Design Philosophy</p><p>09:43 Finland's Game Development Culture</p><p>11:50 Learning Game Design From Popular Sports</p><p>19:19 Spending Time With Friends Is Its Own Hobby</p><p>21:50 What Games Are You Playing Right Now?</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>Daniel McLaren doesn't have much of an online presence, so here's a link to the game he's working on at Stoic, Towerborne:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/2458830/Towerborne/" target="_blank">https://store.steampowered.com/app/2458830/Towerborne/</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:30:25113S1E13 - Daniel McLaren - Humility in game design, and don't call it "sportsball!"full<![CDATA[S1E12 - Nat Loh - Skylanders, leadership, and asking questions...?]]>This week, Aaron chats with Nat Loh, a game design and leadership consultant with nearly 20 years of experience, including character gameplay design on every Skylanders game, mobile free-to-play, VR, and more! We spoke about designing characters in Skylanders, the need for better leadership training in the game industry, how to run better meetings, and why game developers need a seat at the table when big companies discuss the use of AI. This might be the most simultaneously topical and timeless conversation I've had on the podcast!

00:00 Intro and Industry Start

02:21 Character Gameplay Design in Skylanders

07:35 Leadership and Leadership Training In the Game Industry

12:41 More On Masking

15:02 Having A Seat at the AI Table

17:42 A War Story That's Not A War Story

19:10 The Importance of Asking Questions

25:00 Current Projects and Future Excitement

Links:

Nat's web site:

https://www.natlohdesign.com/

Toys for Bob's website from 2005 on the Wayback Machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20040224212701/http://toysforbob.com/

Dragon Sweeper on itch.io:

https://danielben.itch.io/dragonsweeper

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>0a19e9e1-62c6-47e3-9931-fa4d8bbb5ed7Thu, 15 Jan 2026 18:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Nat Loh, a game design and leadership consultant with nearly 20 years of experience, including character gameplay design on every Skylanders game, mobile free-to-play, VR, and more! We spoke about designing characters in Skylanders, the need for better leadership training in the game industry, how to run better meetings, and why game developers need a seat at the table when big companies discuss the use of AI. This might be the most simultaneously topical and timeless conversation I've had on the podcast!</p><p></p><p>00:00 Intro and Industry Start</p><p>02:21 Character Gameplay Design in Skylanders</p><p>07:35 Leadership and Leadership Training In the Game Industry</p><p>12:41 More On Masking</p><p>15:02 Having A Seat at the AI Table</p><p>17:42 A War Story That's Not A War Story</p><p>19:10 The Importance of Asking Questions</p><p>25:00 Current Projects and Future Excitement</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>Nat's web site:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.natlohdesign.com/" target="_blank">https://www.natlohdesign.com/</a></p><p></p><p>Toys for Bob's website from 2005 on the Wayback Machine:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20040224212701/http://toysforbob.com/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20040224212701/http://toysforbob.com/</a></p><p></p><p>Dragon Sweeper on <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://itch.io" target="_blank">itch.io</a>:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://danielben.itch.io/dragonsweeper" target="_blank">https://danielben.itch.io/dragonsweeper</a><br /></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> <br /></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:28:56112S1E12 - Nat Loh - Skylanders, leadership, and asking questions...?full<![CDATA[S1E11 - Clip Show ft. Kay Purcell and Sahil Bajaj]]>This week, we'll be listening to some bonus cut content from the first and third episodes of the podcast. These were answers that were both too long to include in their respective episodes, and too interesting to cut down into smaller pieces. First we'll hear from Kay Purcell, currently a Brand Manager at Konami and previously a community manager at DeviantArt and at Red Bull's gaming division, about TTRPG influence, scenarios, and subverting expectations. Then, we'll hear from Sahil Bajaj. Sahil is a writer and narrative designer on indie games he can talk about (such as ValiDate: Struggling Singles In Your Area), and AAA titles that he's still under NDA about. He's also an Indian living in Dubai who loves Western media, and I'm glad I finally have somewhere to put this interesting discussion about the history and current state of the movie industry in India. 

00:00 Intro

00:47 Kay Purcell on TTRPG Design, Influence, and Subversion

05:34 When Kevin Eastman Likes Your Hair

11:41 Silksong? No. Farming? Yes.

13:21 "Ad" Break

14:13 Sahil Bajaj: The State of Movies In India

22:58 Outro

Links:

Sahil's web site: 

https://sahilbajaj.dev/

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>d81feaf2-5d65-476b-a77f-b7bc73307a0aThu, 11 Dec 2025 18:00:00 GMT<p>This week, we'll be listening to some bonus cut content from the first and third episodes of the podcast. These were answers that were both too long to include in their respective episodes, and too interesting to cut down into smaller pieces. First we'll hear from Kay Purcell, currently a Brand Manager at Konami and previously a community manager at DeviantArt and at Red Bull's gaming division, about TTRPG influence, scenarios, and subverting expectations. Then, we'll hear from Sahil Bajaj. Sahil is a writer and narrative designer on indie games he can talk about (such as ValiDate: Struggling Singles In Your Area), and AAA titles that he's still under NDA about. He's also an Indian living in Dubai who loves Western media, and I'm glad I finally have somewhere to put this interesting discussion about the history and current state of the movie industry in India. </p><p></p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>00:47 Kay Purcell on TTRPG Design, Influence, and Subversion</p><p>05:34 When Kevin Eastman Likes Your Hair</p><p>11:41 Silksong? No. Farming? Yes.</p><p>13:21 "Ad" Break</p><p>14:13 Sahil Bajaj: The State of Movies In India</p><p>22:58 Outro</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>Sahil's web site: </p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://sahilbajaj.dev/" target="_blank">https://sahilbajaj.dev/</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p><p></p>no00:23:32111S1E11 - Clip Show ft. Kay Purcell and Sahil Bajajfull<![CDATA[S1E10 - Jonathan Jennings - Veteran VR Developer, "The dumbest good programmer you'll ever meet!"]]>This week, Aaron chats with Jonathan Jennings, a passionate VR developer with a decade of experience in the space. Jonathan is currently at Owlchemy Labs working on Dimensional Double Shift and is Director of Education at Black In Gaming. We had a wide-ranging discussion about VR development, its progress over the years, how it's different from non-VR game development, why the strengths of video games don't lie in cinematic experiences, Jonathan's labor of love VR game, Galactic Bar Fight, and more.

00:00 Introduction

01:23 The Evolution of VR Over the Last Decade

09:33 Good VR Game Design And Galactic Bar Fight

14:43 Learning From Volunteering With Black In Gaming

16:33 Technical Evolution of Unity VR Support

19:13 Finding VR's "Nintendo Moment"

22:46 VR Can Be Dangerous!

24:27 Loving Words and Simple Explanations

30:03 Wrapping Up

Links:

Jonathan's Personal Page:

http://jjenningsgames.weebly.com/

Galactic Bar Fight on itch.io:

https://weirdkidstudios.itch.io/galactic-bar-fight

Black In Gaming:

https://www.thebigfoundation.org/

Owlchemy Labs (yes, that's how it's spelled, not "Alchemy"!)

https://owlchemylabs.com/

Jonathan's LinkedIn, which has even more links to stuff he's done:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjennings3/

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>982b879f-4d1d-40e3-8440-4275ccaee8deThu, 04 Dec 2025 18:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Jonathan Jennings, a passionate VR developer with a decade of experience in the space. Jonathan is currently at Owlchemy Labs working on Dimensional Double Shift and is Director of Education at Black In Gaming. We had a wide-ranging discussion about VR development, its progress over the years, how it's different from non-VR game development, why the strengths of video games don't lie in cinematic experiences, Jonathan's labor of love VR game, Galactic Bar Fight, and more.</p><p></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>01:23 The Evolution of VR Over the Last Decade</p><p>09:33 Good VR Game Design And Galactic Bar Fight</p><p>14:43 Learning From Volunteering With Black In Gaming</p><p>16:33 Technical Evolution of Unity VR Support</p><p>19:13 Finding VR's "Nintendo Moment"</p><p>22:46 VR Can Be Dangerous!</p><p>24:27 Loving Words and Simple Explanations</p><p>30:03 Wrapping Up</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>Jonathan's Personal Page:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://jjenningsgames.weebly.com/" target="_blank">http://jjenningsgames.weebly.com/</a></p><p></p><p>Galactic Bar Fight on <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://itch.io" target="_blank">itch.io</a>:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://weirdkidstudios.itch.io/galactic-bar-fight" target="_blank">https://weirdkidstudios.itch.io/galactic-bar-fight</a></p><p></p><p>Black In Gaming:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.thebigfoundation.org/" target="_blank">https://www.thebigfoundation.org/</a></p><p></p><p>Owlchemy Labs (yes, that's how it's spelled, not "Alchemy"!)</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://owlchemylabs.com/" target="_blank">https://owlchemylabs.com/</a></p><p></p><p>Jonathan's LinkedIn, which has even more links to stuff he's done:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjennings3/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjennings3/</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:30:45110S1E10 - Jonathan Jennings - Veteran VR Developer, "The dumbest good programmer you'll ever meet!"full<![CDATA[S1E9 - Thanksgiving Special - Making Madagascar's Cutscenes]]>This week, we're doing something different. Instead of interviewing a guest, I (Aaron Nemoyten) am answering an email from someone who found the reel of my cutscene work on the Madagascar PS2/GameCube/XBox game (2005). So, in this episode, I'll be talking through the process of making cutscenes for a AAA licensed game in 2004/2005, a time when we didn't have timeline editors, motion capture studios, or even dedicated cutscenes tools. For a video version of this episode, check out the Make Games, Drink Coffee YouTube Channel.

00:00 Introduction

00:44 Working at Toys for Bob at 19

04:24 Getting Into It

05:50 Creating the New York Street Chase Ending Cutscene

13:41 All Timing Is Code

17:21 How Do Scenes Even Get Written?

20:18 Celebrity Impersonation VO

21:51 About Animations

24:39 A Look Book

25:45 Finalizing Animations and Music

27:06 Final Thoughts

29:05 Outro

Links:

The longplay I sourced the cutscenes from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPK7gYCGGHQ

My writeup of my time at Toys for Bob on my web site:

https://www.aaronnemoyten.com/madagascar-ps2-gamecube-xbox/

(This includes links to the YouTube reels I uploaded as well.)

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>bed91c28-93cf-407a-bfac-cb4c374ddab9Thu, 27 Nov 2025 18:00:00 GMT<p>This week, we're doing something different. Instead of interviewing a guest, I (Aaron Nemoyten) am answering an email from someone who found the reel of my cutscene work on the Madagascar PS2/GameCube/XBox game (2005). So, in this episode, I'll be talking through the process of making cutscenes for a AAA licensed game in 2004/2005, a time when we didn't have timeline editors, motion capture studios, or even dedicated cutscenes tools. For a video version of this episode, check out the Make Games, Drink Coffee YouTube Channel.</p><p></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>00:44 Working at Toys for Bob at 19</p><p>04:24 Getting Into It</p><p>05:50 Creating the New York Street Chase Ending Cutscene</p><p>13:41 All Timing Is Code</p><p>17:21 How Do Scenes Even Get Written?</p><p>20:18 Celebrity Impersonation VO</p><p>21:51 About Animations</p><p>24:39 A Look Book</p><p>25:45 Finalizing Animations and Music</p><p>27:06 Final Thoughts</p><p>29:05 Outro</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>The longplay I sourced the cutscenes from:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPK7gYCGGHQ" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPK7gYCGGHQ</a></p><p></p><p>My writeup of my time at Toys for Bob on my web site:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.aaronnemoyten.com/madagascar-ps2-gamecube-xbox/" target="_blank">https://www.aaronnemoyten.com/madagascar-ps2-gamecube-xbox/</a></p><p>(This includes links to the YouTube reels I uploaded as well.)</p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p><p></p>no00:29:5919S1E9 - Thanksgiving Special - Making Madagascar's Cutscenesfull<![CDATA[S1E8 - Jonathan Rucker - Senior Game Engine Programmer, Nerd, Beans Enjoyer]]>This week, Aaron chats with Jonathan Rucker, or just "Rucker," as he's known at work. Rucker is a Senior Game Engine Programmer who has worked on a ridiculous number of games, building tools and fixing bugs, doing some of the least glamorous stuff in game development and enjoying it anyway. This week's show is more of a "hang out" episode, with wide-ranging discussion from working on Nintendo DS game engines to 3D printing to restaurant horror stories, delicious smoked salmon, and even regional Mexican food in California! 

00:00 Intro

01:08 Getting Into Games Because of Your Mom

03:27 Getting Started In The Industry

05:31 Working On Nintendo DS Game Engines

07:35 A Few Minutes On Esoteric Hobbies

12:47 Mexican Cuisine

22:32 Digression: Salmon! Breakfast!

25:04 Restaurant Horror Stories

30:56 And Now: A Positive Restaurant Story

32:20 Wrapping Up

Links:

Rucker's Mobygames profile, because you just have to see all these games!

https://www.mobygames.com/person/300315/jonathan-rucker/credits/

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>13c7b05c-7c97-4549-a493-6e98b4f19a3cThu, 20 Nov 2025 18:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Jonathan Rucker, or just "Rucker," as he's known at work. Rucker is a Senior Game Engine Programmer who has worked on a ridiculous number of games, building tools and fixing bugs, doing some of the least glamorous stuff in game development and enjoying it anyway. This week's show is more of a "hang out" episode, with wide-ranging discussion from working on Nintendo DS game engines to 3D printing to restaurant horror stories, delicious smoked salmon, and even regional Mexican food in California! </p><p></p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>01:08 Getting Into Games Because of Your Mom</p><p>03:27 Getting Started In The Industry</p><p>05:31 Working On Nintendo DS Game Engines</p><p>07:35 A Few Minutes On Esoteric Hobbies</p><p>12:47 Mexican Cuisine</p><p>22:32 Digression: Salmon! Breakfast!</p><p>25:04 Restaurant Horror Stories</p><p>30:56 And Now: A Positive Restaurant Story</p><p>32:20 Wrapping Up</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>Rucker's Mobygames profile, because you just have to see all these games!</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.mobygames.com/person/300315/jonathan-rucker/credits/" target="_blank">https://www.mobygames.com/person/300315/jonathan-rucker/credits/</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:33:0018S1E8 - Jonathan Rucker - Senior Game Engine Programmer, Nerd, Beans Enjoyerfull<![CDATA[S1E7 - Manuela Malasaña - Graphics Programmer: Infecting Your Brain With Theater]]>This week, Aaron chats with Manuela Malasaña, a graphics programmer, tech artist, indie game developer, and hobbyist opera singer. Yes, I do keep finding guests with unusual hobbies! You've seen Manuela's work in games like Darkest Dungeon 2 and I Am Your Beast, where she helps indie game developers implement their games' distinct art direction and visual identity. We talk about that, studying economics in Europe, creating theater performances in video games, and learning to sing opera in your thirties! 

00:00 Intro

02:39 Visual Style and Consistency

06:41 Studying Economics, Doing Theater, Starting Game Dev

14:04 One Game Jam Starts It All

18:26 Adapting Plays To Video Games

21:49 The Role Of A Freelance Graphics Programmer

23:56 Advice For Indie Game Developers

25:11 Learning To Sing Later In Life

28:12 Lessons For Game Developers From Economics

30:04 Wrapping Up

Links:

Manuela's indie studio (Team Dogpit) Patreon: 

https://www.patreon.com/teamdogpit

Team Dogpit itch.io page:

https://teamdogpit.itch.io/

Team Dogpit on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TeamDogpit

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>818d4736-e001-4276-b69a-a4644d6ed106Thu, 13 Nov 2025 18:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Manuela Malasaña, a graphics programmer, tech artist, indie game developer, and hobbyist opera singer. Yes, I do keep finding guests with unusual hobbies! You've seen Manuela's work in games like Darkest Dungeon 2 and I Am Your Beast, where she helps indie game developers implement their games' distinct art direction and visual identity. We talk about that, studying economics in Europe, creating theater performances in video games, and learning to sing opera in your thirties! </p><p></p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>02:39 Visual Style and Consistency</p><p>06:41 Studying Economics, Doing Theater, Starting Game Dev</p><p>14:04 One Game Jam Starts It All</p><p>18:26 Adapting Plays To Video Games</p><p>21:49 The Role Of A Freelance Graphics Programmer</p><p>23:56 Advice For Indie Game Developers</p><p>25:11 Learning To Sing Later In Life</p><p>28:12 Lessons For Game Developers From Economics</p><p>30:04 Wrapping Up</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p>Manuela's indie studio (Team Dogpit) Patreon: </p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.patreon.com/teamdogpit" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/teamdogpit</a></p><p></p><p>Team Dogpit <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://itch.io" target="_blank">itch.io</a> page:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://teamdogpit.itch.io/" target="_blank">https://teamdogpit.itch.io/</a></p><p></p><p>Team Dogpit on YouTube:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@TeamDogpit" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@TeamDogpit</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:30:4617S1E7 - Manuela Malasaña - Graphics Programmer: Infecting Your Brain With Theaterfull<![CDATA[S1E6 - Kyle Holmquist - Writer, Narrative Designer... Blacksmith?!?]]>This week, Aaron chats with Kyle Holmquist. Kyle is a generalist game designer, writer, developer, and narrative designer with a ridiculous variety of experience writing and designing for indie, mobile, and AAA games. He is also a hobbyist blacksmith and volunteers teaching blacksmithing in his spare time!

00:00 Intro

01:02 What Makes A Good Narrative Designer?

04:44 Horro Games, Horror Movies, And A Bit Of Comedy

11:49 Media Literacy and Subjective Experience (And Helldivers 2)

17:38 What We [Developers] Notice Isn't What Others Notice

20:08 What Developers Get Wrong About Narrative Design

24:59 Getting Into Blacksmithing in 2020

28:53 Wrap Up

Links:

Kyle's Portfolio site:

https://www.kgholmquist.com/

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>e3ebd712-232a-422b-9684-6840d1a9bbf1Thu, 06 Nov 2025 18:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Kyle Holmquist. Kyle is a generalist game designer, writer, developer, and narrative designer with a ridiculous variety of experience writing and designing for indie, mobile, and AAA games. He is also a hobbyist blacksmith and volunteers teaching blacksmithing in his spare time!</p><p></p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>01:02 What Makes A Good Narrative Designer?</p><p>04:44 Horro Games, Horror Movies, And A Bit Of Comedy</p><p>11:49 Media Literacy and Subjective Experience (And Helldivers 2)</p><p>17:38 What We [Developers] Notice Isn't What Others Notice</p><p>20:08 What Developers Get Wrong About Narrative Design</p><p>24:59 Getting Into Blacksmithing in 2020</p><p>28:53 Wrap Up</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>Kyle's Portfolio site:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.kgholmquist.com/" target="_blank">https://www.kgholmquist.com/</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:29:4116S1E6 - Kyle Holmquist - Writer, Narrative Designer... Blacksmith?!?full<![CDATA[S1E5 - Don Bellenger - Founder of The Beauty Cult, indie dev, the most punk rock developer I know]]>This week, Aaron chats with Don Bellenger, founder of the indie game studio The Beauty Cult. We spoke about games as subversive art, Don's experience working at a high-flying company at the height of Facebook games, and the Oakland nonprofit Gameheads, which teaches game development to underserved youth.

00:00 Intro

01:26 Subverting Hard By Drinking Water

02:30 Games as Subversive Art

07:07 In Which We Talk About Horror Films

09:43 Working At Kixeye (At the height of Facebook games)

15:08 Volunteering and Mentoring at Gameheads

20:46 Advice On Breaking In

23:36 "Kids These Days"

Links:

The Beauty Cult: https://teambeautycult.com/

Black Future '88 (Don's other indie game): https://store.steampowered.com/app/751820/Black_Future_88/

Highsidin: https://gameheads.itch.io/highsidin

This game was mentioned in part of the interview that was cut for time but I wanted to link it anyway: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3255890/Relooted/

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>6ad6b972-2746-4e94-9228-84581de9f914Thu, 30 Oct 2025 17:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Don Bellenger, founder of the indie game studio The Beauty Cult. We spoke about games as subversive art, Don's experience working at a high-flying company at the height of Facebook games, and the Oakland nonprofit Gameheads, which teaches game development to underserved youth.</p><p></p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>01:26 Subverting Hard By Drinking Water</p><p>02:30 Games as Subversive Art</p><p>07:07 In Which We Talk About Horror Films</p><p>09:43 Working At Kixeye (At the height of Facebook games)</p><p>15:08 Volunteering and Mentoring at Gameheads</p><p>20:46 Advice On Breaking In</p><p>23:36 "Kids These Days"</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>The Beauty Cult: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://teambeautycult.com/" target="_blank">https://teambeautycult.com/</a></p><p></p><p>Black Future '88 (Don's other indie game): <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/751820/Black_Future_88/" target="_blank">https://store.steampowered.com/app/751820/Black_Future_88/</a></p><p></p><p>Highsidin: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://gameheads.itch.io/highsidin" target="_blank">https://gameheads.itch.io/highsidin</a></p><p></p><p>This game was mentioned in part of the interview that was cut for time but I wanted to link it anyway: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/3255890/Relooted/" target="_blank">https://store.steampowered.com/app/3255890/Relooted/</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:28:3015S1E5 - Don Bellenger - Founder of The Beauty Cult, indie dev, the most punk rock developer I knowfull<![CDATA[S1E4 - Benjamin Lindsay - Game Designer (formerly: Riot), "Give Everyone a Cookie!"]]>This week, Aaron chats with Benjamin Lindsay, game designer with experience mostly in multiplayer action live service. Benjamin worked for Riot Games on League of Legends and in one of their illustrious R&D studios, then for a startup called Sprocket Games. In this episode, we talk about some of the most topical issues that have ever come up on this podcast, including Silksong's difficulty, what makes 'good' game design, how to design and balance for live service games, and what it's like working on a Riot R&D project!

00:00 Introduction

02:03 "Resource Management Under Pressure"

03:23 Playing Games In Time to Catch the Discourse

04:14 The Silksong Discourse ("Good" vs "Bad" Difficulty, Audience Expectations, etc.)

16:33 Systems Design For Live Service Games ("Give Everybody a Cookie")

25:23 What Even Is "Good Game Design"?

28:36 The Riot R&D Process - Pros and Cons

32:08 Wrapping Up

Links:

Benjamin's person site: 

https://www.lowbo.io/

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>b52dfe5e-3dc4-4e64-bb0f-7a4121b296a0Thu, 23 Oct 2025 17:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Benjamin Lindsay, game designer with experience mostly in multiplayer action live service. Benjamin worked for Riot Games on League of Legends and in one of their illustrious R&amp;D studios, then for a startup called Sprocket Games. In this episode, we talk about some of the most topical issues that have ever come up on this podcast, including Silksong's difficulty, what makes 'good' game design, how to design and balance for live service games, and what it's like working on a Riot R&amp;D project!</p><p></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>02:03 "Resource Management Under Pressure"</p><p>03:23 Playing Games In Time to Catch the Discourse</p><p>04:14 The Silksong Discourse ("Good" vs "Bad" Difficulty, Audience Expectations, etc.)</p><p>16:33 Systems Design For Live Service Games ("Give Everybody a Cookie")</p><p>25:23 What Even Is "Good Game Design"?</p><p>28:36 The Riot R&amp;D Process - Pros and Cons</p><p>32:08 Wrapping Up<br /></p><p>Links:</p><p>Benjamin's person site: </p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.lowbo.io/" target="_blank">https://www.lowbo.io/</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:33:0514S1E4 - Benjamin Lindsay - Game Designer (formerly: Riot), "Give Everyone a Cookie!"full<![CDATA[S1E3 - Sahil Bajaj - Narrative Designer, Writer, "Bearly" Chillin'!]]>This week, Aaron chats with Sahil Bajaj, a narrative designer and game writer. Sahil has worked on the Blackwood Charter Escape Room with Sweet Baby Inc and with Veritable Joy on ValiDate: Struggling Singles in Your Area, as well as making his own Twine games for kids, and a bunch of other stuff still under NDA because that's just how the game industry rolls sometimes. In this conversation, we chat about growing up as an Indian immigrant in the USA vs. the UAE, humor in game writing and design, making interactive fiction for kids, and more!


00:00 Introduction

03:12 Cultural Influences and Identity

06:54 Experimentation and Humor in Game Design

15:37 State of the Discipline ("John doesn't know s$@%!")

21:34 Making Games For Kids

25:23 Wrapping Up


Links:


Sahil's web site: https://sahilbajaj.dev/


You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 


Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>da11fc36-4da8-4a00-945a-bf1d411c4904Thu, 16 Oct 2025 17:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron chats with Sahil Bajaj, a narrative designer and game writer. Sahil has worked on the Blackwood Charter Escape Room with Sweet Baby Inc and with Veritable Joy on ValiDate: Struggling Singles in Your Area, as well as making his own Twine games for kids, and a bunch of other stuff still under NDA because that's just how the game industry rolls sometimes. In this conversation, we chat about growing up as an Indian immigrant in the USA vs. the UAE, humor in game writing and design, making interactive fiction for kids, and more!</p><p><br /></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>03:12 Cultural Influences and Identity</p><p>06:54 Experimentation and Humor in Game Design</p><p>15:37 State of the Discipline ("John doesn't know s$@%!")</p><p>21:34 Making Games For Kids</p><p>25:23 Wrapping Up</p><p><br /></p><p>Links:</p><p><br /></p><p>Sahil's web site: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://sahilbajaj.dev/" target="_blank">https://sahilbajaj.dev/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p><br /></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:26:2913S1E3 - Sahil Bajaj - Narrative Designer, Writer, "Bearly" Chillin'!full<![CDATA[S1E2 - Christina-Antoinette "castpixel" Neofotistou - Pixel Artist, Cosplayer... Demaker!]]>This week, Aaron interviews legendary pixel artist Christina-Antoinette Neofotistou AKA castpixel. Christina has been in the industry for 20 years as an artist, illustrator, art director, and more. In this episode we talk about her experience growing up on obscure PC games in Greece in the 1980's, developing an individual style, aphantasia, demakes, having the same favorite game for nearly 40 years, and more!

00:00 Introduction

01:17 Art in College and Surrealism

05:59 Entering the Game Industry

08:29 Aphantasia

10:25 Developing an Individual Style

12:11 Growing Up with Unique Gaming Experiences

16:59 Demakes

18:56 The Same Favorite Game For Four Decades

22:26 What's Exciting? Not New Games!

Links:

Christina's ArtStation - https://castpixel.artstation.com/

You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 

Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com

]]>7b08c9ec-c722-4378-be1a-8421c3ad424cThu, 09 Oct 2025 17:00:00 GMT<p>This week, Aaron interviews legendary pixel artist Christina-Antoinette Neofotistou AKA castpixel. Christina has been in the industry for 20 years as an artist, illustrator, art director, and more. In this episode we talk about her experience growing up on obscure PC games in Greece in the 1980's, developing an individual style, aphantasia, demakes, having the same favorite game for nearly 40 years, and more!</p><p></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>01:17 Art in College and Surrealism</p><p>05:59 Entering the Game Industry</p><p>08:29 Aphantasia</p><p>10:25 Developing an Individual Style</p><p>12:11 Growing Up with Unique Gaming Experiences</p><p>16:59 Demakes</p><p>18:56 The Same Favorite Game For Four Decades</p><p>22:26 What's Exciting? Not New Games!</p><p></p><p>Links:</p><p></p><p>Christina's ArtStation - <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://castpixel.artstation.com/" target="_blank">https://castpixel.artstation.com/</a></p><p></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p>no00:28:4612S1E2 - Christina-Antoinette "castpixel" Neofotistou - Pixel Artist, Cosplayer... Demaker!full<![CDATA[S1E1 - Kay Purcell - Community Manager and Professional Dungeon Master!]]>This week, Aaron interviews Kay Purcell. 

Kay (she/they) is a community manager, marketing expert, project manager, and Jack-of-all-trades with experience at DeviantArt, Red Bull, Avalanche Studios Group, and games journalism. Kay is also a charity streamer, event organizer, and professional dungeon master!

This is Make Games, Drink Coffee, a podcast featuring conversations with game developers about their jobs, their hobbies, and whatever they're passionate about! No rambling two-hour interviews and no meandering monologues! It's short and sweet, thirty minutes or less, with bonus clips on the Make Games, Drink Coffee youtube channel, TikTok, etc.

Chapters:

00:00 Introductions and Texas Is Big

01:54 Community Management at DeviantArt and Red Bull

08:31 Games Journalism Is Hard (And Broken)

16:46 Being A Professional DM

20:07 The Fluidity of Game Lore

21:54 Understanding That Not All Media Is For Me (And That's Okay!)

25:47 Finding Your Audience

27:21 Kay's Favorite Game

28:53 Wrap-Up

29:10 Make Games Drink Coffee Outro Music.mp3


Links: 


Shout out to Rogue (independent games journalism!): https://www.rogue.site/


You can find the podcast at:

http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com 


Questions? Comments?

makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com


]]>d054dc91-d4cb-4803-9398-bbb3083c0694Wed, 01 Oct 2025 23:28:41 GMT<p>This week, Aaron interviews Kay Purcell. </p><p></p><p>Kay (she/they) is a community manager, marketing expert, project manager, and Jack-of-all-trades with experience at DeviantArt, Red Bull, Avalanche Studios Group, and games journalism. Kay is also a charity streamer, event organizer, and professional dungeon master!</p><p></p><p>This is Make Games, Drink Coffee, a podcast featuring conversations with game developers about their jobs, their hobbies, and whatever they're passionate about! No rambling two-hour interviews and no meandering monologues! It's short and sweet, thirty minutes or less, with bonus clips on the Make Games, Drink Coffee youtube channel, TikTok, etc.<br /></p><p>Chapters:</p><p>00:00 Introductions and Texas Is Big</p><p>01:54 Community Management at DeviantArt and Red Bull</p><p>08:31 Games Journalism Is Hard (And Broken)</p><p>16:46 Being A Professional DM</p><p>20:07 The Fluidity of Game Lore</p><p>21:54 Understanding That Not All Media Is For Me (And That's Okay!)</p><p>25:47 Finding Your Audience</p><p>27:21 Kay's Favorite Game</p><p>28:53 Wrap-Up</p><p>29:10 Make Games Drink Coffee Outro Music.mp3</p><p><br /></p><p>Links: </p><p><br /></p><p>Shout out to Rogue (independent games journalism!): <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.rogue.site/" target="_blank">https://www.rogue.site/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>You can find the podcast at:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com" target="_blank">http://www.makegamesdrinkcoffee.com</a> </p><p><br /></p><p>Questions? Comments?</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com" target="_blank">makegamesdrinkcoffee@gmail.com</a></p><p><br /></p>no00:29:4411S1E1 - Kay Purcell - Community Manager and Professional Dungeon Master!full