Designer Notes

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4.9 (115)
VIDEO GAMES
UPDATED BIMONTHLY

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.

JUL 25

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.

1h 42m
JUL 3

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.

1h 44m
MAY 17

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.

2h 2m
APR 19

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.

1h 53m
11/04/2024

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.

3h 6m
09/29/2024

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.

2h 31m
08/31/2024

Designer Notes 84: Zach Barth - Part 1

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 never originally wanted to make money on his games, why puzzle games are terrible, and whether he has ever played Minecraft. This episode was recorded on September 11, 2023.

2h 40m
06/06/2024

Designer Notes 83: Mitch Lasky - Part 2

In this episode, Soren interviews noted game investor Mitch Lasky, best known for his work as a venture capitalist at Benchmark, as the CEO of JAMDAT, and as an executive at Activision and Electronic Arts. They discuss how the industry’s business models have always affected design, why he was wrong about the Halloween pack ruining League of Legends, and why the litigation leaks are better than GDC. This episode was recorded on October 23, 2023.

1h 54m

See All (90)

4.9

out of 5

115 Ratings

G

May 11

nauseatingpain

Great stuff but please dampen the reverb
Love this pod

12/06/2023

Bellinater

I was wondering when you’d interview Jake Solomon! I’ve listened to other interviews with him and he mentioned you, so I was wondering why he hadn’t been on.
Quality conversations

11/05/2023

Just go ahead and shoot me

Soren manages to balance more technical questions with broader and personal ones such that the podcast is entertaining and relevant for a broad audience. A pleasure to listen to.
Great interviews with some games industry legends

10/27/2023

OhTheWerewolf

Very thoughtful and in-depth interviews with many of the greats of the field. I love that Soren, as a peer of his interviewees, is not afraid to sometimes be a bit critical of their past work while getting deep into how they made it succeed. I would go so far as to call it indispensable for anyone who cares about game design and development in general.

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.