Skip to content
PodcastsLeisureKiwi Talkz

Kiwi Talkz

Kiwi
Kiwi Talkz
Latest episode

212 episodes

  • Kiwi Talkz

    #214 - Kris Roberts On Midnight Club 5, RDR1, GTA 6, Rockstar, RAGE Engine, Houser Brothers etc.

    17/08/2026 | 1h 8 mins.
    Kris Roberts was a former designer on Midnight Club 3, Los Angeles and Red Dead Redemption, in this episode he talks about his work at R*.
    WEBSITE - https://www.robertsmania.com/ T
    WITCH - https://www.twitch.tv/robertsmania
    YOUTUBE - @Robertsmania
    TWITTER - @Robertsmania
    #rockstargames #midnightclub #reddeadredemption

    TIMESTAMPS
    00:00 - Intro
    00:30 - How Kris Got Into Cars
    01:58 - Working On Midnight Club Series/Angel Studios Early Days
    05:57 - Midnight Club 2/Working In Gamesb
    07:40 - The Key To Good Vehicle Simulations & Tuning
    10:05 - Kris Takes Shots At Need For Speed
    11:00 - iRacing Simulation/Realistic Simulations
    12:30 - VR Driving Simulation
    14:15 - GTA’s Vehicle Tuning
    16:06 - Kris Is Not Interested In GTA 6
    16:30 - The ARTS Engine Became The RAGE Engine
    18:40 - How The RAGE Engine Evolved By RDR1
    20:52 - RAGE Engine Summit
    22:45 - Why Midnight Club 5 Was Cancelled
    27:00 - Red Dead Revolver
    29:00 - Initial Skepticism Over Developing Red Dead Redemption
    30:15 - Being The Lead For RDR1 Multiplayer
    33:15 - Kris Was Stressed Being A Leader
    38:00 - Crunch On RDR1
    42:15 - Dan & Sam Houser
    45:45 - RDR1 Multiplayer Never Got Relief Unlike The Main Team
    47:43 - Rockstar Wives Fallout/Jury Duty
    48:40 - RDR1 Multiplayer Being Broken At Launch
    52:20 - Why Kris Left Rockstar/Completion Bonus/Layoffs
    59:10 - Kris Only Does Contracting Now/Working With Sony Online
    1:03:21 - Q+A - Was RDR1 Multiplayer Always Planned As A Sandbox
    1:03:50 - Q+A - How Fun Was It To Debug Customisation Options In MC3
    1:05:40 - Q+A - Was Undead Zombies Considered For RDR1 In Free Roam
    1:06:38 - Where To Follow Kris/Doing A 2nd Podcast About Valve
  • Kiwi Talkz

    #213 - Unleash The Avatar - India's First AAA Game | Developer Interview With Varun Mayya

    25/07/2026 | 1h 21 mins.
    Varun Mayya is an entrepreneur, content creator, author and now he is venturing into game development and working on India's most ambitious game ever. Unleash The Avatar
    #unleashtheavatar #indiangaming
    See the latest trailer gameplay footage here.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_zBp21BWI0
    WEBSITE - https://www.unleashtheavatargame.com/

    TIMESTAMPS
    00:00 - Intro
    01:28 - Varun Loves The Mechanics Of Dota & Rocket League
    03:56 - How Varun Started Making Video Games
    05:15 - Journey To Making Unleash The Avatar/Multiplayer Games
    06:00 - Soulslikes/Black Myth Wukong/Sekiro
    07:39 - Games Are Sustainable/Gamers Demands
    11:19 - Unreal Engine/Photogrammetry Of India For Unleash The Avatar
    12:48 - Scanning An Entire Indian Town For Assets In Unreal Engine
    15:00 - 1st Trailer For Unleash The Avatar Was To Hire Talent
    16:15 - Varun’s Smart Plan To Hire The Best Engineers
    19:12 - Aftermath Of 2nd Trailer
    21:30 - Developing The Game Start Up Style/Revelation From The 2nd Trailer
    23:02 - Bollywood Influence On The Game/Anatomy Of The Story
    28:10 - Varun Is Closely Involved With The Entire Project
    29:43 - Target Audience For Unleash The Avatar
    32:10 - Using A Metronome For The Bosses
    33:20 - Aura Farming/Taunts In The Game/Difficulty Settings
    36:22 - Black Myth Wukong Inspirations & Differences
    41:39 - Black Myth Wukong’s Marketing
    43:16 - Bold Marketing Strategy For Unleash The Avatar
    50:14 - Why India Hasn’t Produced AAA Games/Entrepreneurs
    54:55 - Risk & Reward/Varun’s Views On Business
    57:00 - Stigma From Parents Regarding Gaming & Content Creation In India
    59:00 - Success & Failures Drives Everything Forward
    1:00:10 - Economics Of AAA Games In India Vs U.S.
    1:06:40 - Unleash The Avatar Was Largely Made Inhouse/Rockstar India
    1:08:31 - Why India Will Become A Haven For Game Development
    1:13:30 - Assassin’s Creed Setting In India
    1:15:30 - Indian Lore & Culture In Unleash The Avatar
    1:18:39 - Where To Keep Up To Date With Unleash The Avatar
  • Kiwi Talkz

    #212 - John Ricchio On GTA 5, GTA 6, Rockstar, RDR1, Leadership, AI, Crunch, Cut Content etc.

    11/07/2026 | 1h 15 mins.
    John Ricchio was a former producer at Rockstar on games such as GTA 5, RDR1 & Max Payne 3. In this interview he covers his time training people on QA, being a producer and a leader to teams at Rockstar, working on GTA, RDR, MP and more..

    #gta #gta5 #rockstargames

    TIMESTAMPS
    00:00 - Intro
    01:27 - The Importance Of QA/Training QA People
    04:30 - QA People At Rockstar/Advancing Your Career From QA
    08:19 - Will AI Be Used To Save Time For QA
    12:21 - Unicorn Dev Specialists/T Shaped Game Developers
    14:30 - Managing Over 200 People On RDR & GTA 5/Producing Challenges
    21:45 - Relinquishing Control/R* San Diego Changed Processes For GTA 5
    24:40 - Cut Content From GTA 5 Due To Resources
    26:10 - Working Through Constraints/Picking Your Battles
    27:10 - Having Your Work Cut From R* Games
    28:37 - Will GTA 5 Cut Content Be In GTA 6
    29:21 - Cancelled Game Content Ended Up In GTA IV/Tech Changes
    30:02 - New Ideas Usually Transcend Cut Content
    30:57 - RDR Undead Nightmare/Hot Coffee Mini Game
    32:05 - Rockstar’s Approach To DLC
    33:17 - Managing R* Devs During High Times Of Stress/Crunch
    41:20 - R*Can Get Away With Anything/Unionisation
    42:15 - R” Are Good Because Of Iteration But It’s At The Cost Of Crunch
    43:26 - Why John Left Rockstar/Crunch
    46:45 - Leaders Initiate Crunch Either For Results Or Out Of Fear
    52:40 - John Speaks About GTA 6
    57:40 - The Future Of The Industry
    1:00:11 - Q+A - Will R* Devs Lose More Creative Freedom As The Studio Gets Bigger
    1:03:43 - Hanging Out With Dan & Sam Houser
    1:05:10 - Following GTA 5’s Model For GTA 6
    1:06:03 - GTA 5’s Launch
    1:07:02 - Q+A - How Much Did The 360/PS3 Limit The Scope Of GTA 5
    1:09:30 - Why R* Release On Console First Before PC
    1:12:30 - John Is Currently Unemployed/Where To Follow John
  • Kiwi Talkz

    #211 - Andrew Kim On Naughty Dog, Uncharted, Marvel, Film, Concept Art, Sony Santa Monica

    20/06/2026 | 1h 3 mins.
    Andrew Kim is a freelance concept artist who has worked on video games, tv and film. Hes done numerous concepts for games in the MCU and he did concept art for Uncharted 2-4
    #uncharted #uncharted4 #uncharted3
    ANDREWS WEBSITE IS HERE https://www.andrewkimart.com/

    TIMESTAMPS
    00:00 - Intro
    00:34 - Differences Between Working In Video Games & Film/TV
    04:41 - Getting A Job at Naughty Dog
    07:20 - Working With The Designers On Concept Art For Uncharted
    09:03 - The Process Was Similar Between Uncharted 2,3 & 4
    10:46 - Leaving Marvel/Being A Freelancer On Uncharted 4
    12:30 - Why Andrew Left Naughty Dog
    15:30 - How Film Union Works
    18:23 - The Challenges Of Being A Freelancer In The Film Industry
    20:55 - It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know
    21:30 - How You Network In The Film Industry
    23:10 - ART CONCEPT REEL - Uncharted 2
    33:40 - Sony Santa Monica Has 6 Hour Interviews
    35:30 - Naughty Dog Interview Was 20 Minutes
    36:19 - Interviewing Process In The Game Industry Now
    37:49 - Andrew Would Work On Uncharted 5 If Asked
    39:20 - Andrew Had Limited Interactions With Amy & Bruce
    40:17 - ART CONCEPT REEL - Uncharted 3
    42:39 - Uncharted 3 Piece Got Andrew His Job At Marvel
    44:00 - ART CONCEPT REEL - Uncharted 3
    59:36 - Where To Follow Andrew
  • Kiwi Talkz

    #210 - Quentin Cobb Interview On Uncharted 4, The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog, Ironroot Games

    06/06/2026 | 1h 4 mins.
    Quentin Cobb is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ironroot Games, he was previously a designer at Naughty Dog on Uncharted 4 & The Last Of Us and did a 5 year stint at Zenimax before on a cancelled project he was laid off.
    #uncharted4 #uncharted #thelastofus
    SOCIALS
    TWITTER - @QTrainCobb
    INSTAGRAM @qtrain.cobb/ @I
    IronrootGames https://ironrootgames.com/

    TIMESTAMPS
    00:00 - Intro
    00:30 - Why Quentin Cobb Loves Wutang Clan
    01:37 - Crunch On Uncharted 4
    04:02 - Working On Lost Legacy
    04:40 - Why Quentin Left Naughty Dog
    06:07 - Was It Harder To Salvage Uncharted 4 Rather Than Creating A New Game
    07:36 - Quentin Worked On Chapter 8 In Uncharted 4
    09:00 - Puzzle Sequences Were Difficult In Uncharted 4/Bruce Straley
    10:35 - Difficulty Of Making Puzzles
    11:50 - Shifting Mindset From Single Player To Multiplayer
    13:39 - Why The Last Of Us Was A Life Changing Experience/Working With Bruce Straley
    19:30 - Sony Executives Didn’t Believe The Last Of Us Would Succeed
    20:30 - Naughty Dog Was Shocked How Well The Last Of Us Was Received
    22:30 - Overcoming The Trauma Of Project Blackbird Being Cancelled
    27:00 - Indie Dev Community Are Kind & Supportive
    28:01 - Ironroot Games New Action-Adventure Project
    29:40 - Naughty Dog Teams Were Well Connected/Small Team Sizes
    32:00 - AAA Is All About Trends As Opposed To Making Games With A Heart
    34:00 - Creating A Unique Game Can Be Tricky
    36:30 - Advice From Bruce Straley/Pacing In Games
    40:17 - Microsoft Pulled Funding For Bruce Straley’s Indie Game
    41:40 - How Devs Try To Get In Front Of Layoffs/AAA Industry Isn’t Stable
    43:04 - Naughty Dog Layoffs/No One Is Safe
    44:00 - Last Of Us Part II/Quentin Is Glad He Didnt Work On It
    45:39 - Working On Last Of Us Part 1 Was Nostalgic
    46:30 - Intergalactic/Meeting His Old Naughty Dog Colleagues
    48:05 - Quentin Didnt Work Much With Amy & Neil
    48:58 - Q+A - Why Was India Chosen For Lost Legacy
    50:17 - Is It Easier To Make A Story First Or Design Mechanics First
    51:30 - Q+A - How To Get A Design Job At Naughty Dog
    54:30 - A Portfolio Is More Important Than A Degree
    57:19 - Q+A - What New Things Were Possible Going From PS3 To PS4 For Uncharted
    58:55 - Diminishing Returns With The Next Hardware
    1:00:30 - Padding In Open World Games
    1:03:05 - Where To Follow Ironroot Games & Quentin
More Leisure podcasts
About Kiwi Talkz
Podcast with various Video Game developers as well as other people involved in entertainment such as TV/Film
Podcast website

Listen to Kiwi Talkz, Smith and Sniff and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app

Get the free radio.net app

  • Stations and podcasts to bookmark
  • Stream via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
  • Supports Carplay & Android Auto
  • Many other app features
Kiwi Talkz: Podcasts in Family
  • Podcast Kiwi English
    Kiwi English
    Education, Language Learning