YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY Dorian Chou

Time to sheath your lightsaber and listen to this podcast folks! This episode I am joined by Justin Perez, a gameplay designer who is best known for his work on games with incredible combat such as Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning and the Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order series. We discussed the current state of the games industry, him appearing in the book Press Reset and the importance of working from home. Furthermore we talk about all things Star Wars, what he pays attention to when it comes to combat, the industry being more transparent about the game development process and we dive into the menace that is Oggdo Bogdo.
Time – Topic Discussed:
0:00 - Intro
02:30 - Guest topic: What did I learn doing this podcast?
07:50 - Press Reset & The closure of 38 Studios
17:10 - You need only a few people to start a game but a lot to finish a game
21:00  - Seeing the release of Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
24:25 - What is going on in the games industry?
37:20 - How games look like during development
45:00 - Star Wars guidelines
55:00 - Creating a sequel without hitting the reset button
59:40 - Does working on Star Wars games take something away from the excitement?
01:07:30 - Justin’s top 3 Star Wars content
01:09:18 - What makes great combat?
01:14:20 - Remote work
01:22:20 - Things that changed when becoming indie
01:23:50 - Outro
 
Things mentioned on the show:
Immortals of Aveum
Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II
Double Fine Documentary
The Making of STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order - Documentary
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
 
Social Media:
Justin Perez
Justin Perez on Twitter (@thejustinperez)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Twitter (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Twitter (@DorianChou)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Instagram (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Instagram (@dorian.chou)
Intro/Outro by FreshMcZone
Artwork by Thomas Martin (Instagram: @thomas.martin.martin)

A brand new episode for all you great murder mystery loving detectives out there is here!
This time I am joined by Andrejs Kļaviņš from Color Gray Games. Andrejs and his brother are the creators of the Case of the Golden Idol, one of the best indie games of recent memory. We discuss making the game, how to find the right difficulty for a puzzle game and how becoming a father impacts your sleep schedule.
Furthermore, we go into detail on designing a word based game for an international audience, cut content of the game and if AI can help to create interesting puzzles.
 
Time – Topic Discussed:
0:00 - Intro
02:20 - Guest topic: Mobile games
04:50 - What is The Case of the Golden Idol?
06:15 - The starting screen
09:00  - Growing up with point and click adventure games
10:44  - Ramping difficulty
18:10 - Localization
20:50 - Testing and adding smaller features to help with difficulty
24:15 - When is something done?
26:30 - Cut content
29:15  - The prototype of The Case of the Golden Idol
31:15 - The post mortem of the game
35:25 - Using AI for the story of the next game
38:00 - Difficult aspects of game development that gamers underestimate
40:10 - Known developers that reached out to Andrej
43:15 - Latvian culture in the game
46:30 - The importance of disagreement
49:52 - Outside aspects of a game that impacts its success
54:20 - Balancing personal creative satisfaction and creating a commercially viable product
57:30 Getting a dog and a daughter
59:35 - Outro
 
Things mentioned on the show:
Slice & Dice
 
Social Media:
Color Gray Games
Andrejs Kļaviņš on Twitter (@AndrejsKlavins)
Color Gray Games on Twitter (@ColorGray7)
The Case of the Golden Idol Homepage
 
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Twitter (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Twitter (@DorianChou)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Instagram (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Instagram (@dorian.chou)
Intro/Outro by FreshMcZone
Artwork by Thomas Martin (Instagram: @thomas.martin.martin)
 

Let’s get the dust off and finish this year strong! This episode I am joined by Stephen Gilarde, who is a DJ best known for being featured on the Hotline Miami 1 & 2 soundtrack. We discuss why he came back to the M|O|O|N moniker, his side project Was Fret, how Hotline Miami changed his life and his opinions on landlords.
Furthermore, we go into detail on the issue with Spotify, Stephen talks about the only good website on the internet, dealing with social media and we get never before shared insights on some of his work.
 
Time – Topic Discussed:
0:00 - Intro
03:26 - Guest topic: Baseball
15:24 - The problem with housing
24:48 - The origin behind the name M|O|O|N
29:33  - The beginnings of Hotline Miami
39:32  - After Hotline Miami
43:55 - Being called a video game musician
49:30 - M|O|O|N vs. Was Fret
58:50 - When is something done?
01:02:45 - Spotify and Bandcamp
01:09:30 - Social Media
01:15:50 - Does pineapple belong on pizza?
01:19:50 - Creating music for Trackmania
01:21:55 - How much is Spotify paying its artists?
01:23:03 - Comments on his past works
01:19:29 - Outro
 
Things mentioned on the show:
Hotline Miami Trailer
M|O|O|N EP 
Particles EP 
Artist: SCATTLE
Artist: Carpenter Brut
Artist: Pertubator
Gamergate
M|O|O|N - Mains hum
 
Social Media:
M|O|O|N
M|O|O|N on Bandcamp
Was Fret on Bandcamp
Stephen Gilarde on Instagram (@m.o.o.n.m.u.s.i.c)
Stephen Gilarde on Twitter (@m_o_o_n_music)
 
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Twitter (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Twitter (@DorianChou)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Instagram (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Instagram (@dorian.chou)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Facebook (youmeindustry)
Intro/Outro by FreshMcZone
Artwork by Thomas Martin (Instagram: @thomas.martin.martin)

Let me pitch you an idea. How about you check out this new podcast episode?! This episode I am joined by Masao Kobayashi, who is the co-founder and the studio manager of Cut to Bits. We discuss growing up in Japan, pitching games to publishers and cultural differences.
Furthermore, we go into detail on community management, learning from mistakes and Masao shares his three essential manga recommendations.
Time – Topic Discussed:
0:00 - Intro
03:50 - The What else do you do?-podcast
09:30 - Doing the podcast for himself
12:23 - Splitting the podcast
16:50  - Growing up in Japan
22:15  - Cultural differences
29:20 - Pitching a video game
35:50 - Community management
40:03 - Food he misses from Japan
41:55 - The indie scene of Japan
48:30 - Manga recommendations
51:40 - Outro
 
Things mentioned on the show:
What else do you do? - podcast
How Asian do you feel - podcast
The Farewell by Lulu Wang
Asobu Japan
Manga recommendations:
Say Hello To Black Jack
Ushio & Tora
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
What else do you do? - Podcast Episode 45. Wait, you wanted to be a nun? (Rebekah Valentine Interview)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY - Rebekah Valentine Interview
 
Social Media:
Cut To Bits
Cut To Bits on Twitter (@CutToBits)
Homepage of Cut To Bits
 
Masao Kobayashi
Masao Kobayashi on Twitter (@MegaMasao) 



YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Twitter (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Twitter (@DorianChou)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Instagram (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Instagram (@dorian.chou)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Facebook (youmeindustry)
Intro/Outro by FreshMcZone
Artwork by Thomas Martin (Instagram: @thomas.martin.martin)

Haha! (imagine this being said in a Micky Mouse voice) This episode I am joined by AJ, who is the founder and CEO of Dlala Studios. We discuss their upcoming title called Disney Illusion Island and what it is like to run a 35 people studio. Furthermore, we get into the design decisions behind making great coop games, what keeps AJ up at night and with AJ being a Disney expert I had to ask about Goofy wearing pants while Pluto isn't.
 
Time – Topic Discussed:
0:00 - Intro
03:08 - Guest topic: Being blessed by a pug
06:10 - Guest topic: Bringing the band back together
08:30 - Revealing Disney Illusion Island on D23
12:22  - Interacting with Disney on the game
20:25  - Hard lessons learned during Battletoads
24:31 - Learning how to run a studio
29:30 - Dealing with responsibility 
32:00 - Winning UK’s Best Boss and Best Places to Work in 2022 from gamesindustry.biz
36:08 - How problems can arise in running a studio
44:50  - Feeding the beast
50:03 - Point and Click Adventures
52:30 - Disney Goes Classical
54:12 - Surviving the loss of a 3 million dollar deal
01:01:28 - The golden rules of great co-op
01:05:04 - Looking at reviews
01:07:30 - Lessons learned
01:19:29 - Outro
 
Things mentioned on the show:
Parsec
Disney Illusion Island - World Premiere Trailer
The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull
That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea by Marc Randolph
The Double Fine Documentary
Noclip - Video Game Documentaries
Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner
Immerse by Lifeformed (Music of the Double Fine Documentary)
Disney Goes Classical
How Dlala survived the loss of a $3m Disney deal by James Batchelor
 
Social Media:
Dlala Studios
Dlala Studios on Twitter (@dlalastudios)
Homepage of Dlala Studios
 
AJ Grand-Scrutton
AJ Grand-Scrutton on Twitter (@dnost) 
 
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Twitter (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Twitter (@DorianChou)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Instagram (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Instagram (@dorian.chou)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Facebook (youmeindustry)
Intro/Outro by FreshMcZone
Artwork by Thomas Martin (Instagram: @thomas.martin.martin)

Welcome all you cute foxes! This episode I am joined by Lifeformed and Janice Kwan, the composing duo behind the outstanding soundtrack of the indie darling Tunic. We discuss their working process, how a vacation to Taiwan became a permanent residence change and what breakfast essentials nourished them to compose a 60 track soundtrack. 
Furthermore, we discuss what it was like to work 7 years on a soundtrack, how they both come up with track titles and I get to lose a couple of potential sponsorships while asking about their hardware issues over the years.
Time – Topic Discussed:
0:00 - Intro
03:50 - Guest topic: Convenient store experiences
10:53 - The process of coming up with a song
23:45 - Warm up for making music
25:03  - Coming up with music ideas
28:41  - Finishing a track vs. working on multiple at the same time
30:10 - Going back to older tracks an re-doing them
35:25 - Swapping tracks
38:00 - Being worried about the game
41:00  - Coming up with new music
45:25 - How the environment impacted the music
48:20 - Being inspired by Chrono Trigger
50:55 - Coming up with track titles
53:35 - The food that is now associated with Tunic
54:40 - Finding your own voice
56:42 - When is a track done?
01:00:25 - Stopping yourself from crunching 
01:04:57 - Dealing with hardware problems
01:09:50 - Mixing
01:12:50 - Writing instinctual 
01:15:49 - Doing remixes
01:19:29 - Outro
 
 
Things mentioned on the show:
Podcast episode with Felix Kramer
The Tunic Soundtrack
Tunic Shop Theme (My Favourite Customer)
Redwood Colonade track of the Tunic Soundtrack
Secret of the Forest track of the Chrono Trigger Soundtrack
Janice Kwan x Gardener EP
Ocean Glaze track of the Tunic Soundtrack
 
Social Media:
Lifeformed
Lifeformed on Twitter (@lifeformed)
Lifeformed on Bandcamp
Lifeformed on YouTube (Lifeformed)
Lifeformed’s Homepage
 
Janice Kwan
Janice Kwan on Twitter (@alsojanice) 
Janice Kwan on YouTube (Janice Kwan)
 
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Twitter (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Twitter (@DorianChou)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Instagram (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Instagram (@dorian.chou)
Intro/Outro by FreshMcZone
Artwork by Thomas Martin (Instagram: @thomas.martin.martin)