The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

Ted chats with Hazelight's Josef Fares about his move from film directing to game development, their focus on delivering gameplay variety, their dedication to two-player coop experiences, and the pros and cons of replayability. 

Fares is the founder, writer, and director of Hazelight Studios, who are best known for A Way Out and the recently released It Takes Two. Josef also helped develop Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons for Starbreeze Studios; and was a celebrated film director prior to his start in ga

Robin Hunicke chats with Arshea Bimal about her first big break into games; the journey of a producer in the industry; working on systems that help increase diversity and inclusion in design; making sure everyone on the team has a voice; and what she hopes to accomplish in the future.

Arshea is a producer at Funomena and was previously a software engineer trainee at Zynga. Arshea was also selected as an WomenIn Scholar by the AIAS Foundation.

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Austin chats with composer Lena Raine about starting her games career as a designer and not in music, releasing a solo album, how Celeste changed her career trajectory, and being yourself on social media while using it as a productive communication tool.

Raine is an award-winning & BAFTA-nominated composer most well-known for her work on Celeste, Minecraft, and Guild Wars 2. She also releases electronic music under the name Kuraine, as well as her own solo music such as her debut album Oneknowing.

Ted Price chats with Moon Studios founders Thomas Mahler and Gennadiy Korol. Together they discuss the Ori series, Moon Studios' culture and approach around remote development, creating a workplace of respectful honesty and openness, and how to make a flat hierarchy work.

Thomas and Gennadiy are the co-founders of Moon Studios, the development studio behind Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

Robin chats with Chelsea Blasko about her path to the games industry, organic growth and diversity in projects and partners, finding the confidence to make decisions, the importance of feedback and support, and how culture and values can help a studio come together. 

Chelsea is the Co-CEO & Partner of Iron Galaxy Studios, who are best known for developing Killer Instinct, Divekick, and the recent Extinction. They have also helped studios finish and port titles, with over 60 games shipped worldwide. 

Ted chats with David Cage about maintaining balance at an independent studio while juggling multiple roles, his philosophy on writing and directing video games, Quantic Dream's new publishing arm, and what they look for when evaluating pitches from independent developers.

David Cage founded Quantic Dream in 1997. The studio has released several award winning titles including Detroit: Become Human, Beyond: Two Souls, and Heavy Rain. They also began to publish titles such as Jo-Mei's Sea of Solitude.