Designer Notes

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Why do we make games? Every designer has a different and very personal answer to that question. Soren Johnson, founder of Mohawk Games, sits down with noted designers to find out by examining their careers as a whole.

26-12-2025

Designer Notes 92: Paul Kilduff-Taylor

In this episode, Soren interviews Paul Kilduff-Taylor, best known for his work on Frozen Cortex and the Frozen Synapse series. They discuss whether a sword-fighting game should be controlled with a mouse, why Frozen Synapse uses simultaneous turns, and how it ended up as one of the first indie games on Steam. This episode was recorded on July 15, 2025.

3u 9m
18-11-2025

Designer Notes 91: Tomislav Uzelac

In this episode, Soren interviews Tomislav Uzelac, best known for his work on the Unity of Command series. They discuss how he taped his first games from a radio station, building the MP3 encoder for Winamp, and whether there is a solution to snowballing in campaign modes. This episode was recorded on April 15, 2025.

2u 28m
25-07-2025

Designer Notes 90: Patrice Desilets - Part 2

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Patrice Desilets, best known for his work on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the Assassin’s Creed series, and Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey. They discuss why they couldn’t put rewind into Assassin’s Creed, the problem with designing for a meeting, and why he needed to have players beat up the pope. This episode was recorded on April 15, 2025.

1u 42m
03-07-2025

Designer Notes 89: Patrice Desilets - Part 1

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Patrice Desilets, best known for his work on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the Assassin’s Creed series, and Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey. They discuss being hired as the first developer at Ubisoft Montreal, the similarities between improv theater and game design, and why he wants to remove UI from his games. This episode was recorded on April 15, 2025.

1u 44m
17-05-2025

Designer Notes 88: Caroline Marchal - Part 2

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Caroline Marchal, best known for her work on Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, and As Dusk Falls. They discuss how much a narrative game should acknowledge that it is a game, if a 50/50 player split for a binary choice is desirable, and whether you are in the shower or under the shower. This episode was recorded on September 6, 2024.

2u 2m
19-04-2025

Designer Notes 87: Caroline Marchal - Part 1

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Caroline Marchal, best known for her work on Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, and As Dusk Falls. They discuss whether narrative games should show all paths to players, should we care if characters walk up stairs correctly, and how Heavy Rain was built for non-gamers but enjoyed the most by gamers. This episode was recorded on September 6, 2024.

1u 53m
04-11-2024

Designer Notes 86: Anton Strenger

In this episode, Soren interviews Anton Strenger, best known for his work on Civilization 5, Civilization 6, and Beyond Earth. They discuss how he ended up paying Carnegie Mellon so that he could work at Firaxis, why there aren’t many Great People after 1900, and whether Civilization has secretly become a live-service game. This episode was recorded on October 22, 2023.

3u 6m
29-09-2024

Designer Notes 85: Zach Barth - Part 2

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Zach Barth, best known for his puzzle games, including SpaceChem, Infinifactory, Shenzhen I/O, and Opus Magnum. They discuss why he made a game about assembly language, how he guaranteed that Fortune’s Foundation is winnable, and whether he knows how to make fun games. This episode was recorded on September 11, 2023.

2u 31m

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Why do we make games? Every designer has a different and very personal answer to that question. Soren Johnson, founder of Mohawk Games, sits down with noted designers to find out by examining their careers as a whole.