Kiwi Talkz

Andrew Willis was a producer on DOOM TDA & Revelations and planned on staying at ID Software till retirement, till the dreaded Microsoft layoffs. In this episode he covers his time at ID Software and the terrible layoffs.

#doom #doomthedarkages #idsoftware

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
00:35 - Going From Manager At A Pizza Place To ID Software Producer
06:38 - Why ID Software Culture Was So Great
09:00 - Realising His IT Knowledge Was Useless At ID Software
10:45 - Being A Producer At ID Software
13:10 - ID Tech Engine
13:59 - Smash Bros/Doom Slayer In Smash Bros
15:30 - ID Software Layoffs
22:30 - Not Being Allowed Back In The Office To Get Belongings
24:07 - ID Software PR Statement Is BS/Nightmare Production On DOOM 2016
25:10 - The Firings Will Be Analysed
25:59 - Microsoft’s 14 Layers Of Management Are Lies
29:00 - Game Development Has Been Taken Over By Greedy Execs
34:30 - Nintendo Protect Their IP & The West Doesnt
35:30 - Gamepass Is Mismanaged
39:50 - How Gamepass Affected DOOM: TDA
41:10 - Happy Xmas Story At ID Software
42:50 - Working With Hugo Martin
45:00 - Developing The Dragon & Mech In DOOM TDA
47:15 - ID Software Started To Become More Hieracachal
49:40 - Q+A - Was The Buzzshield Inspired By Captain America
50:25 - Q+A - Will ID Software Switch To Unreal Engine
52:29 - Q+A - Were Things Cut From DOOM TDA DLC
54:32 - DOOM Revelations Is Bittersweet/Layoffs On The Day Before Release
58:34 - Andrew Planned To Retire There/Unionisation
1:01:37 - Q+A - How Much Does Ray Tracing Speed Up The Production
1:05:02 - Working With Alex Klingle/Finishing Move On The Soundtrack
1:06:00 - Andrew Thanks DOOM Fans/Changing The Industry

The legendary Shawn Layden returns to provide wisdom on things surrounding the video game industry. As was the case last time, I tried to ask him a lot of stuff he hasn't been asked before. Enjoy!!
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro/Shawn Layden Made Kiwi Smarter
01:49 - Differences Between Working At Sony’s Offices In Japan,UK & US
05:45 - How The Japanese Felt When Sony HQ Moved From Tokyo To California
07:00 - Salaries In The US Are Hurting Game Development There/Outsourcing
10:20 - Nothing Will Beat GTA/Strauss Zelnick
11:45 - Shawn’s Role As A Chairman
13:30 - Shawn Knowing His Limitations As A Boss
15:01 - Games Aren’t Built By Gamers Anymore
15:45 - Publishers Are Becoming Risk Averse/Chasing AAA
18:00 - Why AAA Games Are Financed Over AA
19:15 - Institutional Knowledge/The Power Of Brand
23:00 - Sony Getting Rid Of Physical Discs
24:05 - Sony Can Take Japan Back From Nintendo
25:13 - Sony Can’t Support Two Consoles At Once
27:00 - Nintendo & Sony Are Becoming Direct Competitors Again
28:30 - Sony Putting Games On PC
31:30 - Shawn’s Views On Meetings
32:00 - Unproductive Meetings
36:00 - Employees Whose Jobs Are To Arrange Meetings
37:30 - Shawn Kills Rumor That He Spoke To Asha
38:50 - Shawn Speaks On Asha/Microsoft’s Goals
40:30 - Live Services Titles Successes Are By Accident
43:20 - Data Driving Decisions
44:50 - Spreadsheet Decision Shawn Made/Edutainment
48:10 - Success Is Seductive/Hire The Right Talent
49:30 - Avoiding YES MEN When You Are The Boss
52:00 - Shawn Is Happy He Never Has To Do A Budget/Plan & Peformance Appraisal Again
53:25 - Q+A - Was A Cell Based GPU Considered For PS3
54:16 - Q+A - How Do We Correct The Over Reliance On AAA
57:15 - Astro Bot/Sony Needs To Do More AA Games
1:01:15 - Why GTA 6 Is An Event/Diluting A Brand
1:02:20 - Q+A - Will The Japanese End Up Pulling Ahead Of Everyone Else
1:04:15 - GTA 6/Games Need To Be Shorter
1:05:30 - Girls Make Games Scholarship Fund

Rico Flores is an animator who is best known for his tenure on Uncharted 3 & 4, he is currently at emptyvessel working on their game DEFECT

#uncharted4 #uncharted #uncharted3
TWITTER - @r1c00
WEBSITE - https://www.emptyvessel.io/

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
00:34 - Animating Doors Is Tedious/Naughty Dog Has A Door System
03:12 - Being Chucked In The Deep End On Uncharted 3/How Rico Got Hired
08:10 - Rico Had No Idea How Prestigious Naughty Dog Was When He Got Hired
08:47 - Being Interviewed At Naughty Dog
09:58 - Working On Uncharted 4
12:15 - Assets On Uncharted 4 Werent Carried Over From Uncharted 3/Mocap
14:00 - The Benefits Of Mocap
17:13 - You Could Shoot Mocap As Much As You Wanted At Naughty Dog
20:00 - Naughty Dog’s Flat Structure
22:50 - Intergalactic
25:10 - Crunch On Uncharted 4
28:43 - Staying Healthy While Doing Crunch
31:11 - Commuting Time In L.A.
33:05 - Why Rico Left Naughty Dog/Naughty Dog Pay
36:46 - Culture Of Bioware/Incorporating ND Culture Into Bioware
38:10 - Emptyvessel/Meeting Emanuel Palilic/AAA Isn’t Safe For Devs Now
42:20 - Destructible Terrain In DEFECT/Optimisation
44:45 - Single Player Will Be In DEFECT As Well
46:43 - Mick Gordon
47:43 - Q+A - How Naughty Dog Pull Off Animations Ahead Of It’s Time
50:15 - Naughty Dog’s Engine
52:10 - Q+A - Biggest Challenge In Animating Nathan Drake
54:00 - Working With Programmers
57:12 - Q+A - What Challenge Kept You Up At Night
59:59 - Institutional Knowledge/Microsoft Layoffs
1:01:26 - Working With Bruce Straley
1:02:50 - Where To Follow Rico Flores/Follow DEFECT

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

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