Quest Markers

Quest Markers
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A monthly-ish podcast about video games and the stories they tell.

  1. 3d ago

    EP 48 | What is Music Mastering?

    Award-winning mastering engineer and sound designer Jordan Fehr (Guild Wars 2, Pacific Drive, Donkey Kong Country Returns) joins Marina Ryan to demystify the final step in the music making process. They talk about the differences between music mixing and mastering, topics like loudness and sound perception, why mastering is important for specific types of in-game music, what it’s like working on an MMO, and more. Grab a coffee, and join us for a chat.* * * * * * * TIMESTAMPS:(00:00:00) Intro(00:03:50) Jordan’s journey into games (00:11:21) What is music mastering?(00:17:38) What is the difference between mixing and mastering? (00:23:50) The value of working with a mastering engineer (00:26:20) Discussing loudness, sound perception, monitoring, normalization(00:41:08) What it’s like working on an MMO (00:45:27) If Jordan could only have 3 tools for the rest of his career… (00:52:04) What Jordan is listening for when receiving a mix(00:56:15) Jordan’s advice for up-and-coming audio engineers(01:00:00) What advice would Jordan give his younger self?(01:03:15 ) Outro * * * * * * * FOLLOW USQuest Markers: ⁠https://questmarkers.carrd.co/Live Show on Twitch: ⁠https://twitch.tv/marinahascoffeeJordan’s socials: https://lnk.bio/jordanfehr Jordan’s website: https://www.jordanfehr.com/ Marina’s socials: https://marinaryan.carrd.co/Music by Marina Ryan

  2. 3d ago

    EP 47 | How Live Orchestras Get Recorded for Games

    Grammy-winner Brooke Vlahos (Destiny 2, Halo Infinite, Shadow of Mordor, Guild Wars) joins Marina Ryan to talk about live music recording for AAA games, how she got into live recording, the various roles that she holds (scoring stage engineer, stage manager, front of house engineer), what makes for a good recording day, and more. Grab a coffee, and join us for a chat!********************** TIMESTAMPS:(00:00:00) Intro(00:04:00) How Brooke got into live music recording for games(00:05:55) Brooke’s roles: scoring stage engineer, stage manager, front of house engineer(00:09:15) What makes for a good recording day? (00:10:00) Is live recording becoming more available to non-AAA titles?(00:12:37) Advice for someone’s first recording session(00:17:30) Brooke’s dream collaborations(00:24:47) What is Brooke’s definition of success?(00:27:20) What advice would Brooke give her younger self?(00:29:20) Outro(00:30:33) From Q&A: Hardware that Brooke uses during live recordings**********************FOLLOW USQuest Markers: ⁠questmarkers.carrd.coMarina’s socials: marinaryan.carrd.coLive Show on Twitch: twitch.tv/marinahascoffee Music by Marina Ryan#gamedevelopment #gamedev #gamedeveloper #g

  3. Aug 11

    EP 46 | Working On Your First Video Game

    Musician and sound designer Ryako joins Marina Ryan to talk about the music and sound for The Spirit Lift, a ghostpunk, roguelike game. They dig into Ryako’s journey into game development, how her experience as a music producer has helped her with sound design, and what it’s like working on your first game. Grab a coffee, and join us for a chat!* * * * * * * TIMESTAMPS:(00:00:00) Intro(00:03:03) How Ryako got into game development (00:05:40) The music of The Spirit Lift(00:08:30) Sound designing the characters & implementation(00:12:05) Mixing and mastering the music (00:13:07) Ryako’s music composition process (00:16:45) What it feels like working on your first game (& being a first-time sound designer)(00:19:20) What it’s like working on a fully-remote team (00:29:30) Where Ryako draws inspiration from (00:39:15) What advice would Ryako give her younger self? (00:44:30) Outro* * * * * * * FOLLOW USRyako’s website: https://www.ryakomusic.com/ The Spirit Lift Soundtrack: https://ryako.bandcamp.com/album/the-spirit-lift-original-game-soundtrack Marina’s socials: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠ Live Show on Twitch: ⁠https://twitch.tv/marinahascoffeeQuest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠Music by Marina Ryan#gamedevelopment #gamedev #gamedeveloper #gamedevpodcast #videogames #videogamesoundtrack #indiegames #indiegamedev #indiegame #roguelike #roguelikedeckbuilder #deckbuilder #sounddesign

  4. Jun 27

    EP 45 | The Art & Science of Game Development

    Parker Hartzler (Resident Evil 4 Remake, Forza Motorsport, New Tales from the Borderlands) joins Marina Ryan to talk about motion capture, lighting, and technical art in video games. They dig into each discipline and discuss what game developers are responsible for as motion capture technicians, lighting artists, and tech artists.Grab a coffee, and join us for a chat!* * * * * * * TIMESTAMPS:(00:00:00) Intro(00:04:13) How did Parker get into game development?(00:10:05) What is motion capture?(00:16:30) What does a mocap technician do? (00:22:55) Is mocap becoming more available to indies and AA studios? (00:27:27) What do lighting artists do? (00:37:45) How is lighting done differently in cutscenes vs. gameplay?(00:46:50) What do technical artists do? (01:01:10) What advice would Parker give their younger self? (01:06:53) Outro* * * * * * * FOLLOW USParker’s socials: https://bsky.app/profile/parkerhartzler.bsky.social Parker’s Unreal Engine tool: https://bsky.app/profile/parkerhartzler.bsky.social/post/3mhgoxan3tk2t Marina’s socials: ⁠https://marinaryan.carrd.co/Live Show on Twitch: ⁠https://twitch.tv/marinahascoffeeQuest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠Music by Marina Ryan

  5. May 30

    EP 44 | The Journey of Becoming a Voice Actor in Video Games

    Abigail Carey (Morbid Metal, Mecharashi, Liminal Point) joins Marina Ryan to talk about the journey of becoming a voice actor for video games. They touch on various topics, from auditions, to equipment, to growth and overcoming failure.  Grab a coffee, and join us for a chat! * * * * * * *  TIMESTAMPS: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:23) How did Abigail get into acting? (00:07:17) How did Abigail get into acting for video games?  (00:10:51) What kind of characters does Abigail most enjoy portraying?   (00:12:40) How is voice acting for video games different than voice acting for animation or podcasts?  (00:14:35) How does Abigail prepare for a role?   (00:17:10) What’s it like being in the booth? (00:19:17) How does Abigail prepare to be in the booth?   (00:21:47) How does Abigail continuously work on her craft?   (00:25:25) Talking about equipment  (00:30:47) Growth, failure, feeling ready, perfectionism  (00:35:30) What advice would Abigail give her younger self?   (00:00:00) Outro * * * * * * *  FOLLOW US Abigail’s socials: https://linktr.ee/abigail.carey  Marina’s socials: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠   Live Show on Twitch: ⁠https://twitch.tv/marinahascoffeeQuest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠ Music by Marina Ryan #gamedevelopment #gamedev #gamedeveloper #gamedevpodcast #videogames #videogamesoundtrack #indiegames #indiegamedev #indiegame #voiceacting #voiceactingtips #voiceactingadvice

  6. Apr 29

    EP 43 | A Studio Lead's Best Practices for Remote Work

    Dr. Miko Charbonneau joins Marina Ryan to chat about best practices for remote work, how to prioritize the team’s wellbeing and happiness, and the path that took Miko from working on Minecraft to starting her own studio. Grab a coffee, and join us for a chat! * * * * * * *  TIMESTAMPS: (00:00:00) Intro (00:06:00) Miko’s path into game development (00:13:24) What is THE SPIRIT LIFT? (00:23:23) Game design, player psychology, and narrative    (00:28:55) Starting a remote game studio  (00:34:13) Running a healthy game studio that prioritizes the team’s happiness (00:56:50) What advice would Miko give her younger self?  (01:04:34) Outro * * * * * * *  FOLLOW USTHE SPIRIT LIFT Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1727590/THE_SPIRIT_LIFT/ Miko’s socials: https://linktr.ee/mikocharbonneau  prettysmart games’ socials: https://linktr.ee/prettysmartgames  prettysmart games’ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PrettySmartGames  Marina’s socials: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠   Live Show on Twitch: ⁠https://twitch.tv/marinahascoffeeQuest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠ Music by Marina Ryan Miko’s podcast episode about Ada Wong: https://www.hotbaddies.club/episodes/s1-e9  Miko’s book recommendation (not sponsored): Building Your Business the Right Brain Way by Jennifer Lee  This episode of Quest Markers is not sponsored.

  7. Mar 28

    EP 42 | Answering your questions about games publishing

    Rachel Heleva is back on the show to answer your questions about video game publishing! Grab a coffee, and join us for a chat!* * * * * * * TIMESTAMPS:(00:00:00) Intro(00:03:20) How Rachel got into the games industry (00:07:22) “What should I talk about when presenting a pitch deck?” (00:19:40) “What support do publishers offer besides financial support?”(00:27:50) “Should a game have a demo before we approach a publisher?”(00:34:55) “Where can I find a publisher that’s going to be the best fit for my studio?” (00:42:35) “What are some ideal terms and red flags in publishing contracts?” (00:49:55) Advice for independent game studios (01:00:05) What advice would Rachel give her younger and older selves? (01:07:11) Outro* * * * * * * January’s episode with Antonio Freyre: https://youtu.be/1NId9pvBvHI?si=aac3OAMNMjFRGu-h * * * * * * * FOLLOW USRachel’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hlywa.bsky.social Marina’s socials: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinahascoffeeLive Show on Twitch: ⁠https://twitch.tv/marinahascoffeeQuest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers⁠Music by Marina Ryan

  8. Feb 26

    EP 41 | How a Comic Book became a Video Game

    Tangleworm joins Marina Ryan to talk about the journey that led him to develop NOMIA, a tactics roguelike game. They delve into how fantasy and sci-fi can help us imagine a better world, how playtesters can shape the development of key game mechanics, and techniques to stay motivated while working on something as complex as a roguelike video game. Grab a coffee, and join us for a chat! * * * * * * * TIMESTAMPS: (00:00:00) Intro (00:04:00) Tangleworm’s path into game development (00:06:00) What is NOMIA? (00:07:35) The inspiration behind NOMIA’s development process (00:11:45) Why NOMIA is a game (and not a graphic novel) (00:15:50) NOMIA’s worldbuilding and narrative themes (00:26:00) Making indie game development sustainable (00:32:18) What’s been fun and challenging when developing NOMIA (00:36:36) Personal game dev philosophies (00:43:07) Advice for new game developers (00:48:50) What advice would Tangleworm give his younger self? (00:51:40) Outro * * * * * * * FOLLOW US Magenesium Ninja’s website: https://magnesiumninja.com/ NOMIA’s Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3608900/NOMIA/?curator_clanid=45661602 Marina’s socials: ⁠https://linktr.ee/marinaryan⁠ Live Show on Twitch: ⁠https://twitch.tv/marinahascoffee Quest Markers: ⁠https://linktr.ee/questmarkers ⁠Music by Marina Ryan

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About

A monthly-ish podcast about video games and the stories they tell.

Information

  • Creator
    Quest Markers
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    49
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Quest Markers
  • Show Website
    Quest Markers