22 episodes

Welcome to Branching Factor, a podcast about video games from people who play, develop and research video games.
In each episode, join our host Dr. Tommy Thompson as he sits down with co-hosts Dr. Anne Sullivan, George Osborn, Dr. Mike Cook, and Quang as they explore the gaming world.
Learn about how video games are made, the goings-on of the games industry, what academic research in games is all about, interviews with guests, and more!
Branching Factor is brought to you by the AI and Games YouTube channel, watch episodes on AI and Games Plus, and become a Patron to support the show.
Watch episodes of Branching Factor on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@AIandGamesPlus
Learn About AI and Games: http://www.youtube.com/@AIandGames
Become an AI and Games Patron: http://www.patreon.com/ai_and_games
Follow AI and Games on Twitter, Mastodon and TikTok

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Branching Factor AI and Games

    • Leisure

Welcome to Branching Factor, a podcast about video games from people who play, develop and research video games.
In each episode, join our host Dr. Tommy Thompson as he sits down with co-hosts Dr. Anne Sullivan, George Osborn, Dr. Mike Cook, and Quang as they explore the gaming world.
Learn about how video games are made, the goings-on of the games industry, what academic research in games is all about, interviews with guests, and more!
Branching Factor is brought to you by the AI and Games YouTube channel, watch episodes on AI and Games Plus, and become a Patron to support the show.
Watch episodes of Branching Factor on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@AIandGamesPlus
Learn About AI and Games: http://www.youtube.com/@AIandGames
Become an AI and Games Patron: http://www.patreon.com/ai_and_games
Follow AI and Games on Twitter, Mastodon and TikTok

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    #021 - Goal State Announcement Q'n'A

    #021 - Goal State Announcement Q'n'A

    Last week Tommy announced his new project 'Goal State', a series of online courses designed to teach people about AI for video games. It's going live on Kickstarter later this year, Here's Tommy replaying the livestream QnA hosted last week that answered as many answers as he could on the subject at this time.
    Follow 'Goal State' on Kickstarter at:
    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aiandgames/goalstate
    You can find out more about Goal State at:
    https://www.aiandgames.com/p/introducing-goal-state

    The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.
    With over 5,000 subscribers across our Substack and LinkedIn audiences, plus of course a YouTube audience of over 200K, now is a great time to consider sponsoring the Branching Factor podcast. Visit our sponsorship page for more details.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 1 hr 17 min
    #020 - Searching for Brilliant Indie Treasures with Quang and Jupiter Hadley

    #020 - Searching for Brilliant Indie Treasures with Quang and Jupiter Hadley

    Co-host Quang Nguyen returns to Branching Factor as Tommy welcomes long-time friend of the show Jupiter Hadley to come and chat with us. Quang and Jupiter are two of the organisers behind ‘Brilliant Indie Treasures’: a games event running this summer on July 10th during the Develop conference in the British seaside town of Brighton.
    You can find out more about the event itself, plus how to submit your own game or provide sponsorship at: https://brilliantindietreasures.com/
    The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.
    With over 5,000 subscribers across our Substack and LinkedIn audiences, plus of course a YouTube audience of over 200K, now is a great time to consider sponsoring the Branching Factor podcast. Visit our sponsorship page for more details.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 49 min
    #019 - On the Harvest Hunt with Mark Drew

    #019 - On the Harvest Hunt with Mark Drew

    In this episode Tommy sits down with Mark Drew, the director of Villainous Game studios. Their next title, Harvest Hunt, launches on Steam on May 22nd.
    We get into our shared history, my accent, making sure you survive your first indie game, the lessons learned from shipping anything to Steam, building a scalable game with a small team, and the benefits of having a publisher in those closing stages.
    Check out the store page for Harvest Hunt on Steam:
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/2009620/Harvest_Hunt/

    --
    The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.
    With over 5,000 subscribers across our Substack and LinkedIn audiences, plus of course a YouTube audience of over 200K, now is a great time to consider sponsoring the Branching Factor podcast. Visit our sponsorship page for more details.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 1 hr 16 min
    #018 Musings on Games Leadership with Melissa Phillips

    #018 Musings on Games Leadership with Melissa Phillips

    In this episode Tommy is joined by longtime friend Melissa Phillips, who is now the director of the Games Leadership Network: a a non-profit organisation that aims to promote and improve leadership skills in the games industry. We dig into what it means to build leadership skills in games, why training is so vital and reflect on the projects we worked on together many years ago at Norwich Games Festival and the BAFTA YGD programme.
    You can find out more about Games Leadership at:
    https://www.gamesleadership.com/
    --
    The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.
    With over 5,000 subscribers across our Substack and LinkedIn audiences, plus of course a YouTube audience of over 200K, now is a great time to consider sponsoring the Branching Factor podcast. Visit our sponsorship page for more details.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 1 hr 17 min
    #017 - Tommy & George @GDC2024

    #017 - Tommy & George @GDC2024

    Tommy and George are back for this episode of Branching Factor, recorded on the final day of the 2024 Game Developers Conference (GDC). The team reflect on the week that has passed, and just how valuable a solid nights sleep can be when caught up in all this madness.
    --
    The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.
    With over 5,000 subscribers across our Substack and LinkedIn audiences, plus of course a YouTube audience of over 200K, now is a great time to consider sponsoring the Branching Factor podcast. Visit our sponsorship page for more details.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 31 min
    #016 - Legendary Chat with Will Overgard

    #016 - Legendary Chat with Will Overgard

    Will Overgard, aka the Viking Blonde joins Tommy for a chat about his career as a Twitch streamer supporting game developers, and the current state of the industry going into GDC 2024. The conversation covers everything from good indie games to monetisation models, surviving as a game developer, being a content creator, generative AI, crypto and Web3, EA' project 10 dollar, good dogs, British civility and much more besides!
    Catch up with what Will's up to over at: https://www.twitch.tv/viking_blonde
    The Branching Factor podcast is sponsored by modl.ai: unleash an army of AI and ML bots that play, grow, and learn― all inside your game. With millions of players’ to your aid, game testing will never be the same again.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 1 hr 32 min

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