Out of Play Area

In episode 3, Mayling Tan, a Senior Game Designer at Google Stadia in Montreal falls Out of Play Area and talks about the bombshell news that Google Stadia announced to their game studios. She candidly walks through her mindset to move forward, while reaffirming her passion for what she does as a Social Designer and everything that entails. Of course, we also get her to open up on how she broke into the industry.

(00:00) Who is Mayling?

(01:08) Intro Theme

(01:35) Talking Shop over tea

(03:24) Working at Google Stadia

(06:17) Social Design

(10:48) Power of Community

(19:53) Stream-Sniping & ChatPlay

(27:52) Gameplay Implications

(35:39) Team Dynamics while WFH

(42:05) Prioritizing Accessibility & Inclusion

(47:03) When Did May fall for games?

(50:11) Breaking into the Games Industry

(57:06) Game Dev Roadmap

(01:02:40) Game Dev Organizations

(01:08:48) John's Recap

(01:10:20) Next Episode Teaser: Jameson Durall

(01:11:22) John's Outro

Mayling Tan on LinkedIn
Mayling Tan's Mobygames Credits

IGDA Accessibility Committee

Pixelles Group

MSGY Allies FB Group

In episode 02, we sit down with Benjamin Johnson, or Mr. Benja as he’s known online, who is a designer and creative living in SoCal best known for being the lead designer on Rockstar Games Presents: Table Tennis and being a prominent open-world scripter for Red Dead Redemption.

Early on, he was introduced to the arts, but when he came across video games, he quickly decided to make game development his focus. Benja obtained degrees in Information Systems and Software Engineering from Florida A&M University and Michigan State University, respectively.

From there he went on to create and design video games for companies such as Sony Santa Monica, 3DO, WowWee, and, of course, Rockstar Games San Diego.

Afterward, he turned his focus away from the corporate and has since moved into creative ventures including podcasting, gallery curation, and a fine arts project called The 8Bit Cubist. And as he explains, “Life Imitates Game.”

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Chapters:

1. (0:00) Who is Mr. Benja?
2. (01:01) Intro Theme
3. (01:27) Are Games Art?
4. (04:56) A Toast: JÄGERMEISTER & Peloton de la Muerte Mezcal
5. (11:22) Falling in love with video games
6. (17:29) Learning & Applying DirectX
7. (23:10) Committed to Getting a Game Dev Job
8. (28:27) Interviewing at the 3DO Company
9. (41:21) Being a Gameplay Engineer at 3DO
10. (55:49) Playing Grand Theft Auto 3
11. (01:06:36) Can I be a Rockstar?
12. (01:14:26) Lead Designer for Rockstar Presents Table Tennis
13. (01:34:54) Red Dead Redemption Bounty Hunter
14. (01:43:52) Game Design is Dead
15. (01:50:47) Q&A - Suprise from Chris Bourassa
16. (01:53:00) Mr. Benja Farewell
17. (01:56:06) John's Recap
18. (01:57:26) Next Episode Teaser: Mayling Tan
19. (01:57:58) John's Outro

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Additional Resources:

Ben Johnson's Game Credits

The 8Bit Cubist
Mr Benja's ADD Experience
Follow Benja on Twitter @mrbenja

Follow Benja on Instagram @mrbenja

Follow you host John R. Diaz on Twitter @elkingpin

http://outofplayarea.com

Out of Play Area is a bi-weekly podcast series where video game developers open up about their craft, themselves, and their motivations, for the benefit of other game devs both veteran and aspiring. Hosted by Game Designer John R. Diaz.

I come from humble beginnings from 2 parents who emigrated from the Dominican Republic and gave birth to me in 1983. Being raised with lots of love, I nerded out on comic books, action figures, collecting cards, and playing NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, Gamecube, Xbox, and Playstation, and thought Computer Engineering was the way to do what I love.

I had nobody to talk to or show me that video game development could be a career and where to even start. I burned 3 years in college before I found Full Sail University in FL in 2004 and transferred and got my Game Design & Development degree. From then on a good friend Rob Coble helped put me on at Midway Austin in 2007 and I've never looked back. Since then I worked on some of the biggest games of our time including Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2, Gotham Knights and more.

It was a hard road getting here that could've saved me time & money if I had someone to talk to. That's why I put this podcast together. To share my story and bring my friends on who has worked on all the games you've enjoyed and will enjoy so that you too can do what you love because it's all for the taking in the video games industry.

Find episodes of Out of Play Area right here every other Monday beginning Monday, February 1, 2021.

http://outofplayarea.com

In milestone episode 10, Danny Bulla, a co-founder and Design Director at Polyarc Games in Seattle, WA shares what it takes to leave the comfort of Bungie to open your own VR game dev studio with trusted friends.

We talk about the power of empathy to be the best designer, giving objective feedback, and the hub for game development and music that Seattle has become.

Chapters:

(00:00) Who is Danny Bulla?

(10:29) Convey Your Vision

(22:04) Leaving Bungie to Open Polyarc

(34:04) Breaking Down Design Direction

(46:53) Trust Your Teammates

(55:59) Seattle The Hollywood of Game Dev

(01:06:47) Merging Music & Game Dev

(01:18:16) Old Lessons from Midway Austin & Mookie

(01:27:19) Remember Mega Ran

(01:32:40) John's Final Thoughts

Episode External Resources:

Connect with Danny Bulla on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannybulla/

Follow Danny Bulla on Twitter - https://twitter.com/DBulla

Danny's Moby Games Credits - https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,295310/

Follow John Diaz on Twitter: https://twitter.com/elkingpin

To be a guest book a meeting here: https://calendly.com/outofplayarea/preshow

Connect with us http://outofplayarea.com

In the acapella version (no background music) of the inaugural episode, we sit down with fellow Full Sail University Alumni, dear friend, Detroit’s own Douglas Burton currently working as a Senior Designer for PolyArc in Seattle, WA.

Doug has worn various hats in game development riding the full spectrum between Game Design & Coding to refine his specialty in Puzzle Design.

I got to work with Doug at Midway Austin on our first shipped game Blacksite: Area 51 where he’s gone on to work for various studios throughout the US and in the UK.

In this episode we'll discuss:

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1. (0:00) the dream of being a game dev consultant for Hollywood
2. (3:10) cheers, sante , salud, let's enjoy a stout
3. (4:28) developing in the pandemic
4. (6:00) working in mobile slot games at Scientific Games in Austin Texas.
5. (15:28) figuring out game development was his calling
6. (18:15) meeting Steven Spielberg while working on Boom Blox
7. (30:20) finding the right college to achieve his goals
8. (43:20) discuss the responsibilities of a game designer
9. (53:00) approaching high-level puzzle design
10. (1:03:00) his perspective on the importance of studio culture and equitable hiring practices at Polyarc

• Show Notes & Transcription on Medium
• Doug's Game Credits on Mobygames
• Reducing Bias in Game Audio Hiring
• xMiraMira's Sims Melanin Pack
• Follow Doug's team Polyarc - @PolyarcGames
• Follow Doug's work - @Dougomite_Dev
• Follow your host John Diaz - @elkingpin
• http://outofplayarea.com