Caleb J. Ross is a gaming content creator and the author of Suddenly I was a Shark!, an exploration of What Remains of Edith Finch as well as numerous novels, short stories, and non-fiction works. He's also the creator of Beta Break, an innovative card game for the rock climbing gym.
In this episode we discussed life with all first names, the compulsive urge to try everything, failing comfortably, artistic perspective that shifts with age, and throwing up in a VR headset. Join us.
Caleb and Todd each have books in the StoryBundle Greatest Hits Game Bundle 2 through August 14th at https://storybundle.com/games.
Caleb's links:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/calebjross.com
https://calebjross.com/
Project Dolphin series author, Travis Nicholas, hangs out to discuss capturing the entire history of the Nintendo GameCube as well as its modern legacy.
Travis and Todd both have books in StoryBundle's Greatest Hits Volume 2 bundle which is available for about five more days at StoryBundle.com!
Follow Travis on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/projectdolphin.bsky.social
Catch more of his material in the Video Game Maps series created by friend of the show Brian Riggsbee!
Abby Nissenbaum hangs out to discuss her history in game development balanced with a day job, being a recording and performing music artist, and more. She's the voice of the hero in Benevolent, the debut first-person narrative exploration game in development at Skango Games.
We discuss the novelty of voicing a character while knowing no more than the player does (or less!), the rise of international teams in game development, 3-year-olds with podcasts, and more.
Abby's music is available on music streaming platforms and she posts on Instagram/Threads @AbbyNissenbaum.
Todd's book, Inside Video Game Creation is still available in the StoryBundle Greatest Hits Game Bundle with 65 other great gaming books until August 14th at StoryBundle.com.
Micah Orsie joins to discuss Wildwood Down, an award-winning hybrid 2D/3D adventure game featuring a protagonist with Down Syndrome, designed after and voiced by Micah's life-long friend.
Wildwood Down launches August 7th on Steam.
Todd's podcast companion book, Inside Video Game Creation, is currently part of a 66-book Greatest Hits collection at StoryBundle. All books are available at one great price until August 14th.
Original Air Date: Aug. 24, 2024 - Todd's weird connection to the game that set the world ablaze, and what's happened since.
Original Air Date: Nov. 4, 2023 - John Riccitiello is out at Unity. Most of us agree it's too little, too late. Lots of users are rightfully taking a look at Godot. I'm doing something a little different.
As always, show notes and more at CodeWritePlay.com.
Original Air Date: Mar. 20, 2023 - A second virus in less than a month ravages the Mitchell household as GDC goers discover a privacy policy so bad they thought there had been a data leak. We discuss the status of the Red Panda project, Todd's favorite getting-things-done methods, and what to do when you have an actual gamedev breakdown. For articles, show notes, and more, visit codewriteplay.com
Original Air Date: Mar. 6, 2023 - This one is all about the progress we've made in taking our red panda archaeology game concept and bringing it to life. It's a look at the implications of the game's concept, the philosophy of the art and character design, our intention to develop a simple map system with Godot's tilemap tools (prior to the recent release of version 4.0), implementation of basic RPG controls and collisions, and the UI work so critical to a story-driven game.For show notes, articles, and more, visit //codewriteplay.com
Original Air Date: Feb. 23, 2023 - Boss Fight author Sebastian Deken returns to the show to be our first guest co-designer. We discuss city living, echoes of the Satanic Panic, and more. Finally, we pull up the design whiteboard and ask, what secrets would an abandoned Animal Crossing village leave behind?Find show notes, articles, and more at https://codewriteplay.com
Original Air Date: Feb. 18, 2023 - A foreign government reached out, and what they said may pertain to you. Seriously. Also, an update on production for the game co-design episodes!
Original Air Date: Feb. 9, 2023 - Here's news about a fun new thing we're going to try in future episodes. Real game development ahead! Also, maybe social media is falling apart?
Original Air Date: Oct. 29, 2020 - Trying to leverage LinkedIn and participating in a discussion about parenting, revenue models, and publisher trust may have recently landed me deeper in enemy territory than I intended to go. Get the full story, hear a good rule of thumb for dealing with publishers, and learn a two-word phrase that lets you know to stop listening to anyone immediately.Show notesHighs and lows in leveraging LinkedIn • GaryVee swears by it, but he’s popular everywhere • GameDev tags are relatively quiet and full of self-promotion • Too many dreamers looking for free labor • Engagement/conversion is awfulThere are decent tips on using it professionally https://www.dummies.com/social-media/linkedin/10-tips-leverage-linkedin/Article: The £900 bill from my child’s Roblox gaming • Rachel Davies - TheTimes.co.uk - https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-900-bill-from-my-childs-roblox-gaming-ccjjkdmrzhttps://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-900-bill-from-my-childs-roblox-gaming-ccjjkdmrzhttps://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-900-bill-from-my-childs-roblox-gaming-ccjjkdmrz • Most of article behind paywall, intention clear • Davies is “generally against online gaming, BUT...” • Several children, one or more parents working from home • Let 8-year-old play Roblox with insufficient supervision • Says child had no idea they were spending real moneyDiscussion from LinkedIn • Claim: Game designers are seeking insane profits by exploiting players • Over 70% of all games revenue comes from IAP (unverified) • AI models developed by Ivy League PhDs are preying on you and your children to carefully extract money in-game • The industry should ask itself not how to improve models, but whether it should be doing this • The industry needs to “self-regulate” in the manner we saw in the 90s and the formation of the ESRBIn this episode • More to consider on the claims and ideas above • What parents say to manipulate you • Why key executives in games are helping the media create the screen time boogeyman • How parents and consumers should look at any publisher • Parental responsibility pertaining to softwareIf you enjoy GameDev Breakdown • Sign up for our https://codewriteplay.com/newsletter/! • https://codewriteplay.com/the-gamedev-breakdown-podcast/ to the podcast on the platform of your choice • Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gamedevpod, http://twitter.com/codewriteplay, http://twitter.com/mechatodzilla • Check show notes and articles at CodeWritePlay.com Join us on https://discord.gg/auVvvK3!
Original Air Date: Feb. 2, 2023 - We gathered Intellivision Amico news from all directions so you don't have to.
Original Air Date: Jan. 1, 2023 - An end-of-year look at how GameDev Breakdown is doing and what to expect in 2023.
Original Air Date: Dec. 23, 2022 - Variety streamer and longtime personal friend Bill Duhr drops in to talk about our trip to St. Louis' new dedicated VR center, //sandboxvr.com. Topics include how to make a car bed for adults, the worst hit-and-run attempt of all time, and why WWF No Mercy is one of the greatest video games of all time. Check out our https://codewriteplay.com/2022/11/25/an-evening-at-sandbox-vr/.Bill's links: • https://www.twitch.tv/hazard0643 • https://twitter.com/Hazard0643
Original Air Date: Nov. 21, 2022 - Jon Loiterman stops by to discuss what we can learn from recent stories like the Doom dispute between Bethesda and composer Mick Gordon, the Superman Demo on Steam story, and more. Catch this chat if you're an indie developer with legal questions and concerns. Show notes, articles, and more: https://CodeWritePlay.comJon's links: • https://twitter.com/protonperson on Twitter • Read Jon's industry coverage and schedule a free consultation on https://www.linkedin.com/in/jloiterman/.
Original Air Date: Nov. 6, 2022 - Potionomics composer Greg Nicolett discusses his work with Disney, how he learned the game composer's process, and Shia LeBeouf's unexpected influence on his career.Show notes: https://codewriteplay.comThis episode was sponsored in part by Packt Publishing. Check out https://www.packtpub.com/product/unity-3d-game-development/9781801076142, available now!Greg's links: • https://store.steampowered.com/app/1874490/Potionomics/ • https://gregnicolett.bandcamp.com/album/potionomics-original-game-soundtrack-deluxe-edition • https://twitter.com/gregnicolett
Original Air Date: Oct. 26, 2022 - Former RuneScape developer, Chris Knowles, discusses his time at Jagex, his design philosophy, and the one thing he refuses to do with his upcoming indie game.This episode was sponsored in part by Packt Publishing. Check out https://www.packtpub.com/product/unity-3d-game-development/9781801076142, available now!Chris Knowles Links: • Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tarrenam • Hexahedra Demo on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1248420/Hexahedra/ • Hexahedra's Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sidequestninja/hexahedra
