Designing for Nightingale: Game Dev Stories with Tatiana Funk
Mission Designer Tatiana Funk joins us this week to talk about her time on the live game Nightingale at Studio Monsoon. Game designing in a live game environment where mechanics evolve, players are constantly breaking things, and a new feature can change everything. We talk about designing around chaos, embracing player ingenuity, and how constraints can breed innovation.
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46:57
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46:57
How Theater, Parenting, and Raid Guilds Build A Great Game Producer
Producer Jessica Woodard (Terrible Posture Games) joins Brain Arcade to talk about how seemingly unrelated experiences like theater, parenting, and WoW guild raids can lead to powerful contributions in game development especially for small indie teams where everyone wears multiple hats. We explore how small studios benefit when team members are given space to grow and why embracing nontraditional backgrounds can lead to better, more empathetic games.
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47:56
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47:56
The Hidden Art of UX: Lessons for Game Developers with Ed Moore
UX makes or breaks your game, even if players don't know it. Good UX designers know their work is about designing the entire player journey. In this episode, Chris Cross talks with veteran UX designer Ed Moore about what makes good UX invisible, how friction shapes engagement, and why indie devs need to master the balance between challenge and clarity. Essential listening for anyone making games with intention.
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48:59
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48:59
How Retro Games Still Grab Our Hearts: with Stubbs from Retro Handhelds
In this episode of Brain Arcade, we dive into the psychology of nostalgia with Stubbs, founder and proprietor of Retro Handhelds, a news organization and community born during the isolated lull of 2020 to connect people to a simpler time. Retro games can really feel like time machines transporting us back to where you were, who you were with, and how it felt when you played them first. In this episode, we explore why handheld emulation is booming, how game nostalgia builds, and why old games still have something new to teach modern devs.
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Lessons from Neopets: Secrets to Successful Kids Content
Neopets is a wildly successful kids game, it taught people how to code, had a thriving economy, and people still love the game today. What made the game so popular and what is the secret sauce to creating engaging kids content? We talk to Natalie Odien, game designer and current Design Director with over 15 years of experience, about her time on Neopets and how making games for kids is different (or not) from her work on titles like DC Heroes United. Natalie sheds some light on the difference between designing “for kids” vs. designing “family-friendly” content and how respecting young players creates lifelong fans.
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Unlock the secrets of game design with Brain Arcade! Join Creative Director Chris Cross, a 30+ year industry veteran, as he dives into his insights on building engaging games and mastering the art of communicating with your audience. Looking for deeper knowledge that you can actually apply? Chris and his diverse guests from various professions examine theories and uncover fresh perspectives to validate or debunk Chris' experiential knowledge. Get ready to learn, challenge ideas, and elevate your brain.
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