Kiwi Talkz

Kiwi
  • 4.7 (6)
  • Video Games
  • Updated Biweekly

Podcast with various Video Game developers as well as other people involved in entertainment such as TV/Film

  1. 2d ago

    #214 - Kris Roberts On Midnight Club 5, RDR1, GTA 6, Rockstar, RAGE Engine, Houser Brothers etc.

    Kris Roberts was a former designer on Midnight Club 3, Los Angeles and Red Dead Redemption, in this episode he talks about his work at R*. WEBSITE - https://www.robertsmania.com/ T WITCH - https://www.twitch.tv/robertsmania YOUTUBE - @Robertsmania TWITTER - @Robertsmania #rockstargames #midnightclub #reddeadredemption TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 00:30 - How Kris Got Into Cars 01:58 - Working On Midnight Club Series/Angel Studios Early Days 05:57 - Midnight Club 2/Working In Gamesb 07:40 - The Key To Good Vehicle Simulations & Tuning 10:05 - Kris Takes Shots At Need For Speed 11:00 - iRacing Simulation/Realistic Simulations 12:30 - VR Driving Simulation 14:15 - GTA’s Vehicle Tuning 16:06 - Kris Is Not Interested In GTA 6 16:30 - The ARTS Engine Became The RAGE Engine 18:40 - How The RAGE Engine Evolved By RDR1 20:52 - RAGE Engine Summit 22:45 - Why Midnight Club 5 Was Cancelled 27:00 - Red Dead Revolver 29:00 - Initial Skepticism Over Developing Red Dead Redemption 30:15 - Being The Lead For RDR1 Multiplayer 33:15 - Kris Was Stressed Being A Leader 38:00 - Crunch On RDR1 42:15 - Dan & Sam Houser 45:45 - RDR1 Multiplayer Never Got Relief Unlike The Main Team 47:43 - Rockstar Wives Fallout/Jury Duty 48:40 - RDR1 Multiplayer Being Broken At Launch 52:20 - Why Kris Left Rockstar/Completion Bonus/Layoffs 59:10 - Kris Only Does Contracting Now/Working With Sony Online 1:03:21 - Q+A - Was RDR1 Multiplayer Always Planned As A Sandbox 1:03:50 - Q+A - How Fun Was It To Debug Customisation Options In MC3 1:05:40 - Q+A - Was Undead Zombies Considered For RDR1 In Free Roam 1:06:38 - Where To Follow Kris/Doing A 2nd Podcast About Valve

    #214 - Kris Roberts On Midnight Club 5, RDR1, GTA 6, Rockstar, RAGE Engine, Houser Brothers etc.

  2. Jul 25

    #213 - Unleash The Avatar - India's First AAA Game | Developer Interview With Varun Mayya

    Varun Mayya is an entrepreneur, content creator, author and now he is venturing into game development and working on India's most ambitious game ever. Unleash The Avatar #unleashtheavatar #indiangaming See the latest trailer gameplay footage here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_zBp21BWI0 WEBSITE - https://www.unleashtheavatargame.com/ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:28 - Varun Loves The Mechanics Of Dota & Rocket League 03:56 - How Varun Started Making Video Games 05:15 - Journey To Making Unleash The Avatar/Multiplayer Games 06:00 - Soulslikes/Black Myth Wukong/Sekiro 07:39 - Games Are Sustainable/Gamers Demands 11:19 - Unreal Engine/Photogrammetry Of India For Unleash The Avatar 12:48 - Scanning An Entire Indian Town For Assets In Unreal Engine 15:00 - 1st Trailer For Unleash The Avatar Was To Hire Talent 16:15 - Varun’s Smart Plan To Hire The Best Engineers 19:12 - Aftermath Of 2nd Trailer 21:30 - Developing The Game Start Up Style/Revelation From The 2nd Trailer 23:02 - Bollywood Influence On The Game/Anatomy Of The Story 28:10 - Varun Is Closely Involved With The Entire Project 29:43 - Target Audience For Unleash The Avatar 32:10 - Using A Metronome For The Bosses 33:20 - Aura Farming/Taunts In The Game/Difficulty Settings 36:22 - Black Myth Wukong Inspirations & Differences 41:39 - Black Myth Wukong’s Marketing 43:16 - Bold Marketing Strategy For Unleash The Avatar 50:14 - Why India Hasn’t Produced AAA Games/Entrepreneurs 54:55 - Risk & Reward/Varun’s Views On Business 57:00 - Stigma From Parents Regarding Gaming & Content Creation In India 59:00 - Success & Failures Drives Everything Forward 1:00:10 - Economics Of AAA Games In India Vs U.S. 1:06:40 - Unleash The Avatar Was Largely Made Inhouse/Rockstar India 1:08:31 - Why India Will Become A Haven For Game Development 1:13:30 - Assassin’s Creed Setting In India 1:15:30 - Indian Lore & Culture In Unleash The Avatar 1:18:39 - Where To Keep Up To Date With Unleash The Avatar

    #213 - Unleash The Avatar - India's First AAA Game | Developer Interview With Varun Mayya

  3. Jul 11

    #212 - John Ricchio On GTA 5, GTA 6, Rockstar, RDR1, Leadership, AI, Crunch, Cut Content etc.

    John Ricchio was a former producer at Rockstar on games such as GTA 5, RDR1 & Max Payne 3. In this interview he covers his time training people on QA, being a producer and a leader to teams at Rockstar, working on GTA, RDR, MP and more.. #gta #gta5 #rockstargames TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:27 - The Importance Of QA/Training QA People 04:30 - QA People At Rockstar/Advancing Your Career From QA 08:19 - Will AI Be Used To Save Time For QA 12:21 - Unicorn Dev Specialists/T Shaped Game Developers 14:30 - Managing Over 200 People On RDR & GTA 5/Producing Challenges 21:45 - Relinquishing Control/R* San Diego Changed Processes For GTA 5 24:40 - Cut Content From GTA 5 Due To Resources 26:10 - Working Through Constraints/Picking Your Battles 27:10 - Having Your Work Cut From R* Games 28:37 - Will GTA 5 Cut Content Be In GTA 6 29:21 - Cancelled Game Content Ended Up In GTA IV/Tech Changes 30:02 - New Ideas Usually Transcend Cut Content 30:57 - RDR Undead Nightmare/Hot Coffee Mini Game 32:05 - Rockstar’s Approach To DLC 33:17 - Managing R* Devs During High Times Of Stress/Crunch 41:20 - R*Can Get Away With Anything/Unionisation 42:15 - R” Are Good Because Of Iteration But It’s At The Cost Of Crunch 43:26 - Why John Left Rockstar/Crunch 46:45 - Leaders Initiate Crunch Either For Results Or Out Of Fear 52:40 - John Speaks About GTA 6 57:40 - The Future Of The Industry 1:00:11 - Q+A - Will R* Devs Lose More Creative Freedom As The Studio Gets Bigger 1:03:43 - Hanging Out With Dan & Sam Houser 1:05:10 - Following GTA 5’s Model For GTA 6 1:06:03 - GTA 5’s Launch 1:07:02 - Q+A - How Much Did The 360/PS3 Limit The Scope Of GTA 5 1:09:30 - Why R* Release On Console First Before PC 1:12:30 - John Is Currently Unemployed/Where To Follow John

    #212 - John Ricchio On GTA 5, GTA 6, Rockstar, RDR1, Leadership, AI, Crunch, Cut Content etc.

  4. Jun 20

    #211 - Andrew Kim On Naughty Dog, Uncharted, Marvel, Film, Concept Art, Sony Santa Monica

    Andrew Kim is a freelance concept artist who has worked on video games, tv and film. Hes done numerous concepts for games in the MCU and he did concept art for Uncharted 2-4 #uncharted #uncharted4 #uncharted3 ANDREWS WEBSITE IS HERE https://www.andrewkimart.com/ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 00:34 - Differences Between Working In Video Games & Film/TV 04:41 - Getting A Job at Naughty Dog 07:20 - Working With The Designers On Concept Art For Uncharted 09:03 - The Process Was Similar Between Uncharted 2,3 & 4 10:46 - Leaving Marvel/Being A Freelancer On Uncharted 4 12:30 - Why Andrew Left Naughty Dog 15:30 - How Film Union Works 18:23 - The Challenges Of Being A Freelancer In The Film Industry 20:55 - It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know 21:30 - How You Network In The Film Industry 23:10 - ART CONCEPT REEL - Uncharted 2 33:40 - Sony Santa Monica Has 6 Hour Interviews 35:30 - Naughty Dog Interview Was 20 Minutes 36:19 - Interviewing Process In The Game Industry Now 37:49 - Andrew Would Work On Uncharted 5 If Asked 39:20 - Andrew Had Limited Interactions With Amy & Bruce 40:17 - ART CONCEPT REEL - Uncharted 3 42:39 - Uncharted 3 Piece Got Andrew His Job At Marvel 44:00 - ART CONCEPT REEL - Uncharted 3 59:36 - Where To Follow Andrew

    #211 - Andrew Kim On Naughty Dog, Uncharted, Marvel, Film, Concept Art, Sony Santa Monica

  5. Jun 6

    #210 - Quentin Cobb Interview On Uncharted 4, The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog, Ironroot Games

    Quentin Cobb is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ironroot Games, he was previously a designer at Naughty Dog on Uncharted 4 & The Last Of Us and did a 5 year stint at Zenimax before on a cancelled project he was laid off. #uncharted4 #uncharted #thelastofus SOCIALS TWITTER - @QTrainCobb INSTAGRAM @qtrain.cobb/ @I IronrootGames https://ironrootgames.com/ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 00:30 - Why Quentin Cobb Loves Wutang Clan 01:37 - Crunch On Uncharted 4 04:02 - Working On Lost Legacy 04:40 - Why Quentin Left Naughty Dog 06:07 - Was It Harder To Salvage Uncharted 4 Rather Than Creating A New Game 07:36 - Quentin Worked On Chapter 8 In Uncharted 4 09:00 - Puzzle Sequences Were Difficult In Uncharted 4/Bruce Straley 10:35 - Difficulty Of Making Puzzles 11:50 - Shifting Mindset From Single Player To Multiplayer 13:39 - Why The Last Of Us Was A Life Changing Experience/Working With Bruce Straley 19:30 - Sony Executives Didn’t Believe The Last Of Us Would Succeed 20:30 - Naughty Dog Was Shocked How Well The Last Of Us Was Received 22:30 - Overcoming The Trauma Of Project Blackbird Being Cancelled 27:00 - Indie Dev Community Are Kind & Supportive 28:01 - Ironroot Games New Action-Adventure Project 29:40 - Naughty Dog Teams Were Well Connected/Small Team Sizes 32:00 - AAA Is All About Trends As Opposed To Making Games With A Heart 34:00 - Creating A Unique Game Can Be Tricky 36:30 - Advice From Bruce Straley/Pacing In Games 40:17 - Microsoft Pulled Funding For Bruce Straley’s Indie Game 41:40 - How Devs Try To Get In Front Of Layoffs/AAA Industry Isn’t Stable 43:04 - Naughty Dog Layoffs/No One Is Safe 44:00 - Last Of Us Part II/Quentin Is Glad He Didnt Work On It 45:39 - Working On Last Of Us Part 1 Was Nostalgic 46:30 - Intergalactic/Meeting His Old Naughty Dog Colleagues 48:05 - Quentin Didnt Work Much With Amy & Neil 48:58 - Q+A - Why Was India Chosen For Lost Legacy 50:17 - Is It Easier To Make A Story First Or Design Mechanics First 51:30 - Q+A - How To Get A Design Job At Naughty Dog 54:30 - A Portfolio Is More Important Than A Degree 57:19 - Q+A - What New Things Were Possible Going From PS3 To PS4 For Uncharted 58:55 - Diminishing Returns With The Next Hardware 1:00:30 - Padding In Open World Games 1:03:05 - Where To Follow Ironroot Games & Quentin

    #210 - Quentin Cobb Interview On Uncharted 4, The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog, Ironroot Games

  6. May 23

    #209 -Jake Kazdal Interview On Nintendo, Eiji Aonuma, Zelda, SEGA, Hirokazu Tanaka, Awaysis

    Jake Kazdal is a japanese game developer who has worked on games such as Galak-Z and Skulls Of The Shogun, he has worked for Nintendo, SEGA and Square Enix and is releasing his new game Awaysis very soon. This is a rare pullback of the curtain on Japanese design. #nintendo #zelda #botw WEBSITE - http://awaysis.jp/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/3334760/Awaysis/ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 00:45 - Differences Between Japanese & Western Development 02:30 - Differences Between SEGA & Square Enix/Japanese Work Culture 07:00 - Nintendo Devs Are Retiring/Japanese Devs Are Nimble 09:15 - Kyoto’s Indie Scene/Hiring People At 17-Bit 10:39 - Japanese Labour Laws 11:40 - What Nintendo Devs Do Once They Retire/Retirement Age At Nintendo 11:46 - Nintendo Dev Legends Have Playtested Awaysis 14:11 - Playtesting With Awaysis 16:25 - Importance Of Iterating On Tutorials/What Is Awaysis 20:20 - Local Multiplayer Can’t Be Matched/Online Multiplayer/Covid 23:30 - Getting Hirokazu Tanaka To Compose Awaysis/Jake Is A Huge Nintendo Fan 25:40 - Pitch To Hirokazu Tanaka 26:50 - Physics System Of Awaysis 29:54 - Super Mario 64/Game Controls Are Too Tight Nowadays 33:28 - Graphics Take Precedent Over Physics 34:28 - The Physics System In Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom 36:40 - Being Friends With Eiji Aonuma/The Glider In BOTW 38:14 - Physics Limitations In Unreal Engine 42:24 - Zelda BOTW & TOTK Are Masterpieces/Next Zelda 43:15 - Friendship With Eiji Aonuma 44:17 - Working At SEGA/Being Mentored By Tetsuya Mizuguchi 46:19 - Working With Steven Spielberg On Elemeno/Mirrors Edge 50:21 - Original Ideas In Games Are Few & Far Between 52:30 - Oversaturation Of Indie Games/Devs Leaving The Industry 55:11 - Devs Getting Laid Off Despite Success/The Dire State Of The Industry 56:15 - Stability Working At Nintendo & Valve/Struggles For Funding 01:01:00 - Gen-Z Play GAAS/Gamers Are Playing Old Games 1:03:49 - Where To Keep Up With Awaysis

    #209 -Jake Kazdal Interview On Nintendo, Eiji Aonuma, Zelda, SEGA, Hirokazu Tanaka, Awaysis

  7. May 9

    REVIEW - Super Mario Galaxy Movie With Former Nintendo Devs!!

    I got together some of the old Retro Studios crew including Kynan Pearson (Metroid Prime 2,3 & DKCR), Jay Epperson (DKCR & Tropical Freeze), Eric Kozlowsky (DKC Tropical Freeze) and Brad Taylor (DKC Tropical Freeze), the latter has never appeared on the show before. Hope you enjoy this, cause we had a blast recording it. #supermariogalaxy #supermario #mariogalaxy TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 00:25 - Overrall Thoughts 08:30 - Fox/Starfox Movie 09:53 - Smash Bros Movie 12:00 - Super Mario World Vinettes 13:12 - Lack Of Story/Nintendo Are Still Learning How To Make Movies 14:53 - Nintendo Fans Are Aging Out 16:00 - The Movie Shouldve Been Super Mario World Instead Of Super Mario Galaxy 18:03 - No Licensed Music 19:46 - Should Mario Have A Deeper Story? 24:04 - Film Critics Don’t Respect Gaming/Video Game Films 25:01 - Peach Is OP/Super Mario Bros 2 27:15 - Where Do They Go From Here 30:21 - Rumored Star Fox Game/Fox Appearance 33:38 - Kiwi’s Opinion On The Film/Hollwood Actors Being Mario Fans 36:25 - Being An Artist And Picking Apart Art In The Movie 39:43 - The Film Should Be Watched At 0.7 Watch Speed 40:30 - Nintendo Are Hands On With Legacy Characters 43:10 - Bowser Jr 44:30 - Koopalings/3rd Mario movie/Cappy 45:30 - Super Mario Odyssey/Original Idea For SMO’s Artstyle 48:00 - The Soundtrack/Starfox 49:23 - Nintendo Cross Promotion 52:40 - DKC Tropical Freeze Original Name 53:53 - Final Thoughts/Plugs For Nothing LOL 54:57 - The Dire State Of The Game Industry

    REVIEW - Super Mario Galaxy Movie With Former Nintendo Devs!!

  8. Apr 25

    #207 - Heather Cerlan Interview On Naughty Dog, Bethesda, Last Of Us, Hawthorne, Creation Engine

    Heather Cerlan a former artist at Naughty and Bethesda, in this interview she shares her journey from a passionate artist to a studio founder, discussing her experiences at Naughty Dog and Bethesda, her insights on game development, and her ambitious new project Hawthorne. Discover lessons on persistence, navigating industry challenges, and the future of game art and design. HAWTHORNE INFO https://playhawthorn.com/ #thelastofus #starfield #uncharted TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 00:55 - Being In A Rockband 02:30 - Heather Kept Pestering Naughty Dog Till They Hired Her 06:17 - Having Imposter Syndrome At Naughty Dog/Naughty Dog Didnt Have Producers 08:30 - Bethesda Are About Quantity/Naughty Dog Is About Quality 10:36 - Heather’s Role At Bethesda/Starfield 13:45 - Pros & Cons Of Creation Engine 15:05 - There Was Pressure Internally For Bethesda To Migrate To Unreal Engine 16:59 - Uncharted Lost Legacy Production Issues/Intense Crunch 22:44 - Working On The Shiva Temple 24:28 - Heather’s View On Her Work Getting Remastered/Originals Vs Remasters 29:28 - Working With Neil Druckmann/Lesbian Stories 33:04 - Heather Had Concerns On LGBTQ Themes In Last Of Us Part II 38:00 - Naughty Dog Were Split On Joel’s Death In TLOU Part II 38:48 - The Reason Heather Left Naughty Dog 40:04 - Work On Hawthorne/NEAR Studios 43:41 - Bruce Nesmith 46:00 - Hawthorne Is Skyrim Meets Stardew Valley/Raising Money/Bad Publisher Terms 48:15 - How Naughty Dog & Bethesdas Culture Has Influenced Hawthorne 51:16 - Q + A - Differences Between Naughty Dog & Bethesda 54:54 - Todd Howard Is A Neil Druckmann Fanboy 56:42 - Heather Feels Very Lucky/The Decision To Start Her Own Company 59:18 - Overcoming Fear With Hawthorne 1:05:22 - Where To Follow Heather & Keep Up With Hawthorne

    #207 - Heather Cerlan Interview On Naughty Dog, Bethesda, Last Of Us, Hawthorne, Creation Engine
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4.7
out of 5
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About

Podcast with various Video Game developers as well as other people involved in entertainment such as TV/Film

Information

  • Creator
    Kiwi
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    212
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2019 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Kiwi Talkz

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