Each episode will feature different developers or projects, and the format will be more like a sprawling conversation than a formal interview. Topics covered will vary depending on the developer in question, but some of the same topics will pop up with many of the guests. I’ll also interject some of my own opinions and views into the discussion.

Why am I doing this? Personally, I’m very interested in how other developers work. What motivates them? How do they deal with criticism? What do they find meaningful about games? (if anything?) What are the stories behind the development of their projects? I hope to learn a lot, and also help spread more knowledge around.

Colin Northway is an independent game developer and world traveler. He found great success with his web-based physics game Fantastic Contraption.

Recently Colin gave a talk at Sense of Wonder Night in Japan about his latest game, Incredipede. In this podcast, we talk about his latest fantastic creation, travel, game design before spinning wildly off-topic as we are want to do.

Developer Names: Colin Northway
Location: Everywhere, but sometimes BC
Website: colinnorthway.com

You can listen to the podcast here:

Podcast Download → Episode 14 – Colin Northway [2:04:13]

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Feedback Welcome!
Please post your thoughts below, or on the new Podcast thread. Thanks!

Interested in being on the podcast? Post in the comments and let me know what you’ve been up to.

Each episode will feature different developers or projects, and the format will be more like a sprawling conversation than a formal interview. Topics covered will vary depending on the developer in question, but some of the same topics will pop up with many of the guests. I’ll also interject some of my own opinions and views into the discussion.

Why am I doing this? Personally, I’m very interested in how other developers work. What motivates them? How do they deal with criticism? What do they find meaningful about games? (if anything?) What are the stories behind the development of their projects? I hope to learn a lot, and also help spread more knowledge around.

Fat Wizard fan art by jouste

Chevy Ray and Matt Thorson recently completed “Fat Wizard” for Adult Swim! In this podcast we talk about the development of the game. Partway through we switch into talking about the concept of “loss” in games, which is a topic Chevy and Matt are planning to explore in a new podcast that they are starting.

Play Fat Wizard here!

Developer Names: Chevy Ray Johnston and Matt Thorson
Location: BC and AB
Website: chevyray.com and mattmakesgames.com

You can listen to the podcast here:

Podcast Download → Episode 13 – Fat Wizard [1:06:11]

WIP RSS feed up here:
http://infiniteammo.ca/podcast.rss

Feedback Welcome!
Please post your thoughts below, or on the new Podcast thread. Thanks!

Interested in being on the podcast? Post in the comments and let me know what you’ve been up to.

Each episode will feature a different developer, and the format will be more like a sprawling conversation than a formal interview. Topics covered will vary depending on the developer in question, but some of the same topics will pop up with many of the guests. I’ll also interject some of my own opinions and views into the discussion.

Why am I doing this? Personally, I’m very interested in how other developers work. What motivates them? How do they deal with criticism? What do they find meaningful about games? (if anything?) What are the stories behind the development of their projects? I hope to learn a lot, and also help spread more knowledge around.

Tom Grochowiak is a Polish developer. He’s worked in the mainstream industry, the casual games industry and now he’s an indie developer. Recently, Tom’s game Cinders was mentioned on TIGSource.

Developer Name: Tom Grochowiak
Location: Poland
Website: http://moacube.com/

You can listen to the podcast here:

Podcast Download → Episode 12 – Tom Grochowiak [1:08:42]

WIP RSS feed up here:
http://infiniteammo.ca/podcast.rss

Feedback Welcome!
Please post your thoughts below, or on the new Podcast thread. Thanks!

Interested in being on the podcast? Post in the comments and let me know what you’ve been up to.

Each episode will feature a different developer, and the format will be more like a sprawling conversation than a formal interview. Topics covered will vary depending on the developer in question, but some of the same topics will pop up with many of the guests. I’ll also interject some of my own opinions and views into the discussion.

Why am I doing this? Personally, I’m very interested in how other developers work. What motivates them? How do they deal with criticism? What do they find meaningful about games? (if anything?) What are the stories behind the development of their projects? I hope to learn a lot, and also help spread more knowledge around.

Chris Van Yperen is an unusual guest for a couple reasons. He’s the first guest on the show who I haven’t met in person yet, and he has worked (and still works) in the mainstream game industry.

Chris actually works both the indie and mainstream angles simultaneously. Seeing as he was torn between two worlds, I was curious to find out what startling differences and striking similarities he had observed.

Chris also brings up the topic of MMOs, providing a slightly different perspective from the one usually heard on the show. He discusses his initial approach to marketing his indie game and how it didn’t work out the way he had hoped. (at least, not at first) We launch into a lot of other interesting topics on game design and personal stories.

We also talk a bit about Marian, touching on the 3D to 2D post and the ideas of “self-doubt” and “validation.”

Developer Name: Chris Van Yperen
Location: Vancouver, BC
Website: http://www.timetrap.se/

You can listen to the podcast here:

Podcast Download → Episode 10 – Chris Van Yperen [2:20:15]

WIP RSS feed up here:
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Feedback Welcome!
Please post your thoughts below, or on the brand new Podcast thread. Thanks!

Interested in being on the podcast? Post in the comments and let me know what you’ve been up to.

Each episode will feature a different developer, and the format will be more like a sprawling conversation than a formal interview. Topics covered will vary depending on the developer in question, but some of the same topics will pop up with many of the guests. I’ll also interject some of my own opinions and views into the discussion.

Why am I doing this? Personally, I’m very interested in how other developers work. What motivates them? How do they deal with criticism? What do they find meaningful about games? (if anything?) What are the stories behind the development of their projects? I hope to learn a lot, and also help spread more knowledge around.

Look at his giant head!

Andy Moore is a community manager and game designer, of Fantastic Contraption and Steambirds fame. In 2010, he sold most of his possessions and traveled across Canada in a vehicle known as the TIGVan. He also organized OrcaJam, and other Victoria-based indie game events.

Andy and I talk about how online communities work, the benefits and pitfalls of tracking stats in your games, the free-to-play business model and many other topics.

Developer Name: Andy Moore
Location: Victoria, BC
Website: http://www.andymoore.ca/

You can listen to the podcast here:

Podcast Download → Episode 9 – Andy Moore [3:04:27]

WIP RSS feed up here:
http://infiniteammo.ca/podcast.rss

Feedback Welcome!
Please post your thoughts below. Thanks!

Interested in being on the podcast? Post in the comments and let me know what you’ve been up to.

Each episode will feature a different developer, and the format will be more like a sprawling conversation than a formal interview. Topics covered will vary depending on the developer in question, but some of the same topics will pop up with many of the guests. I’ll also interject some of my own opinions and views into the discussion.

Why am I doing this? Personally, I’m very interested in how other developers work. What motivates them? How do they deal with criticism? What do they find meaningful about games? (if anything?) What are the stories behind the development of their projects? I hope to learn a lot, and also help spread more knowledge around.

John Graham is the handsome lumberjack/marketing guy at Wolfire games, and one of the main dudes behind the Humble Indie Bundle.

John talks about how crazy working on behind the scenes on the bundle has been, the origins of Wolfire, speculation on the future Bundles and he also shares some advice about how to get started as an indie game developer.

Developer Name: John Graham
Location: Unknown
Website: http://wolfire.com

You can listen to the podcast here:

Podcast Download → Episode 8 – John Graham [1:03:27]

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Feedback Welcome!
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Interested in being on the podcast? Post in the comments and let me know what you’ve been up to.

I’ve been making a series of audio podcast conversations with indie developers, and this seemed to be the perfect time to talk to Derek again. We hadn’t sat down and had a long discussion for a couple of years, so there was a lot to talk about!

We start off by talking about Derek’s Spelunky, what it’s like trying to “run” TIGSource. We talk a bit about how we first met, pretty randomly, to work on I’m O.K. We reflect on some Aquaria memories and lessons we learned, good times and bad times.

Eventually, Derek gets me to spill the beans Marian a bit. Here’s a screenshot I leaked a couple of weeks ago that may factor into the discussion:

This is an epic podcast! It is almost 3.5 hours along, so buckle up and hunker down – or listen in bursts if you prefer. I decided to leave it all unedited, including parts where I lose my voice and a bit where I may unintentionally sound like a pompous ass. (or at least, more so than usual) It’s raw, baby.

I usually feel tired after most podcasts, but after this one I felt extra drained. It’s a strange experience talking to someone that you got to know really well over 2 years again. It’s like being reunited with a missing limb or something. Kind of an emotional, bittersweet thing.

Developer Name: Derek Yu
Location: San Francisco, California
Website: http://derekyu.com

Podcast Download → Episode 7 – Derek Yu [3:20:23]

Podcast Feed
http://infiniteammo.ca/podcast.rss

Each episode will feature a different developer, and the format will be more like a sprawling conversation than a formal interview. Topics covered will vary depending on the developer in question, but some of the same topics will pop up with many of the guests. I’ll also interject some of my own opinions and views into the discussion.

Why am I doing this? Personally, I’m very interested in how other developers work. What motivates them? How do they deal with criticism? What do they find meaningful about games? (if anything?) What are the stories behind the development of their projects? I hope to learn a lot, and also help spread more knowledge around.

Today, Matt Thorson is on the ‘cast! You may know him as the developer of An Untitled Story and more recently, Give Up Robot 2.

We talk about a wide range of subjects, including school, money, bands, level design, the TIGSource conspiracy, expression, atheism… :O

Developer Name: Matt Thorson
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Website: http://mattmakesgames.com

You can listen to the podcast here:

Podcast Download → Episode 6 – Matt Thorson [2:13:24]

WIP RSS feed up here:
http://infiniteammo.ca/podcast.rss

Feedback Welcome!
Please post your thoughts below. Thanks!

Interested in being on the podcast? Post in the comments and let me know what you’ve been up to.

Each episode will feature a different developer, and the format will be more like a sprawling conversation than a formal interview. Topics covered will vary depending on the developer in question, but some of the same topics will pop up with many of the guests. I’ll also interject some of my own opinions and views into the discussion.

Why am I doing this? Personally, I’m very interested in how other developers work. What motivates them? How do they deal with criticism? What do they find meaningful about games? (if anything?) What are the stories behind the development of their projects? I hope to learn a lot, and also help spread more knowledge around.

Today’s episode is a discussion with game developer and best buddy, Kyle Pulver! Kyle is part of Retro Affect, and they recently released this kick-ass trailer:

Kyle has created many games on his own as well. If you haven’t already done so, you owe it to yourself to check out his freeware games; which include Depict1, Bonesaw and Verge among others.

I’ve also been lucky enough to write music for some of Kyle’s games.

Developer Name: Kyle Pulver
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Website: http://kylepulver.com

You can listen to the podcast here:

Podcast Download → Episode 5 – Kyle Pulver [2:36:14]

WIP RSS feed up here:
http://infiniteammo.ca/podcast.rss

Feedback Welcome!
Please post your thoughts below. Thanks!

Interested in being on the podcast? Post in the comments and let me know what you’ve been up to.

Each episode will feature a different developer, and the format will be more like a sprawling conversation than a formal interview. Topics covered will vary depending on the developer in question, but some of the same topics will pop up with many of the guests. I’ll also interject some of my own opinions and views into the discussion.

Why am I doing this? Personally, I’m very interested in how other developers work. What motivates them? How do they deal with criticism? What do they find meaningful about games? (if anything?) What are the stories behind the development of their projects? I hope to learn a lot, and also help spread more knowledge around.

Today’s episode is a discussion with game developer Chevy Ray Johnston. Chevy Ray is self-described as being “grotesquely optimistic”. I’d call him a non-stop, whirling ball of insane, creative energy. In this podcast we talk about being part time indie, reactions to Chevy’s game “Beacon”, big passion projects versus small prototypes, laugh tracks in sitcoms, voice acting, how Chevy got his start in games… and more!

Developer Name: Chevy Ray Johnston
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Website: http://chevyray.com/

You can listen to the podcast here:

Podcast Download → Episode 4 – Chevy Ray [1:46:44]

WIP RSS feed up here:
http://infiniteammo.ca/podcast.rss

Feedback Welcome!
Please post your thoughts below. Thanks!

Interested in being on the podcast? Post in the comments and let me know what you’ve been up to.