[NEW PODCAST SERIES] Introducing Beyond the Pixels, A Games Industry Podcast with Nick Calandra
Hey folks!
Today I'm excited to share a new podcast series we've been working on for the last couple months called, Beyond the Pixels.
You may remember that I released a few Patreon exclusive interviews that I did with Tonda Ros, the developer of Blue Prince, Abubakar Salim from Surgent Studios, and Kepler Interactive a few months back.
We've now formalized those interviews into a proper podcast that will cover a wide range of industry topics with guests on every single episode.
For this first batch of episodes, we'll be exploring topics like:
The alleged Rockstar union busting effort
The 13-year development journey of Routine
The Knightling and struggling to sell in an over-crowded market
How small independent teams are competing with AAA
I've got even more interviews lined up for the start of the new year and they're all topics I'm really excited about covering. Doing these types of interviews are some of my favorite things to work on, so I hope you enjoy this new podcast series.
This will be a pre-recorded show and not a livestream. Episodes will be available on YouTube in video format, alongside the usual podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple, etc. You can also get it ad-free at our $5 tier here on Patreon.
The show may still be syndicating to Apple and other platforms, so if you don't see it there just yet, keep checking back as it comes online.
Even At Rockstar, You Can Be Just Another Cog in the Machine | Beyond the Pixels Podcast (YouTube)
Comments (13)
I enjoyed this, but I need it as an audio only version. Needing to have a YouTube video open constantly is just going to mean I don’t get around to dedicating the time to listen unfortunately.
Spotify is linked on the post, it’s available on Apple Podcasts, etc now too :)
As a game designer who got laid-off sometime ago after working for roughly 10 years, I can tell that this is pretty much happening everywhere regardless of what company you work for. Almost every publicly traded game company is getting pressured by shareholders who are disappointed by huge performance dips occurred after pandemic-era and managements are scrambling to meet their expectations. The quickest way, of course, is to fire workers. If you are a senior employee, there is a higher chance for you to get fired because you are an expensive asset to keep around. It is much more cost efficient as a company to just fire old ones and hire new ones with much less payment. The development and push towards AI-centered workflow is all part of that as well. It is just a glorified-corner-cutting so they can please investors. I still am looking for new job while also learning to be a solo/indie game developer as well. It is safe to have some sort of stable salary, but at the end of the day, you can never trust a publicly traded company.
This is great, but i dont think this needs to be a weekly show. If you only make episodes when relevant topics occur then it keeps the content fresh, and you dont have to fish for weekly topics
We’ll see what happens with it. I’ve been stockpiling interviews for the last month or so that are more evergreen topics. May be a show I do batches of and then take a break and come back for more. Just depends on how much people like it or not, I suppose. I love doing these interviews!
Great interview Nick. The hot issue of AI use in gaming runs in parrallel with union busting in my mind - both deal with the human cost of decisions made by executives. To me, union busting is the more tangible, immediate and solvable problem. Thanks for keeping this issue in the spotlight.
All of this sounds amazing can't wait to see what you come up with.
Thanks, got quite a few interesting interviews lined up already beyond what I've shared here. Should be a fun show.
Thank you for pre-recorded, presumably edited content! I don't have time to listen to somebody else's 4-hour hang.
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I can't ever bring myself to watch the long livestreamed conversations, so having something that's pre-recorded and edited into shape is definitely going to work much better for me. Thank you!
I'm hyped! This sounds awesome.
Hell yeah!