#53 - Revisiting The Door Problem With Liz England
This week on the Game Developer Podcast, System Era Softworks design director Liz England joins us to look back on her famous 2014 blog post “The Door Problem,” discuss her evolving game design career, and explain her antagonistic approach to organizing books by color on her bookshelf.
Follow Liz England on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lizardengland.bsky.social
Read The Door Problem: https://lizengland.com/blog/the-door-problem/
Recommended Reading/Playing:
The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker.
Planet Crafter by Miju Games.
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The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft.
Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com
Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews
Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial
Music by Mike Meehan
Edited by Pierre Landriau
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#52 - What Makes Ambrosia Sky So Unique?
This week on the Game Developer Podcast, Soft Rains creative director Joel Burgess and narrative director Kait Tremblay discuss the development of Ambrosia Sky, a cosmic science fiction game where players uncover the mysteries of a lost colony by cleaning up an alien mold and burying the dead. It’s the most interesting game you’ll hear about in 2025.
Check out the Ambrosia Sky demo on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3580160/Ambrosia_Sky/
Follow Joel Burgess and Kait Tremblay on Bluesky at @joelburgess.bsky.social and @kaittremblay.bsky.social
Learn more about Soft Rains: https://softrains.games/
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The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft.
Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com
Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews
Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial
Music by Mike Meehan
Edited by Pierre Landriau
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#51 - Digging into SAG-AFTRA’s Stellar Win With Sarah Elmaleh
This week on the Game Developer Podcast, actor and SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media negotiating committee chair Sarah Elmaleh stops by to discuss the success and strategy behind the union’s year-long strike.
Follow Sarah Elmaleh on Bluesky at @selmaleh.bsky.social
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The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft.
Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com
Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews
Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial
Music by Mike Meehan
Edited by Pierre Landriau
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#50 - Exploring Sabotage Studio’s Strategy For Balancing Creativity And Sustainability
This week on the Game Developer Podcast, Sabotage Studio president and creative director Thierry Boulanger discusses the company’s approach to building a business off of retro-themed indie games. It's a journey into how to make retro games stand out in a crowded market, and also how to set up your business to last beyond a single shipped game.
Learn more about Sabotage Studio: https://sabotagestudio.com/
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The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft.
Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com
Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews
Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial
Music by Mike Meehan
Edited by Pierre Landriau
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#49 - Mike Bithell’s Journey From Auteur To Studio Boss
This week on the Game Developer Podcast we quiz Bithell Games CEO and Disney TRON: Catalyst creative director Mike Bithell about his journey from small-time indie to head of a successful game development studio. In this episode, Mike breaks down his creative influences and leadership lessons from over a decade of making commercial games, and what his experience means for developers trying to survive the economic turbulence of 2025.
Learn more about Bithell Games: https://www.bithellgames.com/
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The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft.
Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com
Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews
Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial
Music by Mike Meehan
Edited by Pierre Landriau
Find out how video games get made! The official podcast for GameDeveloper.com brings you illuminating conversation and commentary from brilliant people in the video game industry. Hosted by Game Developer senior editor Bryant Francis. Music by Mike Meehan. Published every other Friday.