MGIF S3 E3: Failbetter Games

Explicit content warning

06/24/18 • 59 min

Hit play for the podcast interview below. MGIF is also available on iTunes or with whatever podcast software you use. Just search for "Making Games Is Fun" and hit subscribe.

Failbetter Games are an indie game studio responsible for Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies and browser based game Fallen London.

I sat down and spoke to Hannah Flynn, Olivia Wood and Lesleyann White about life in an indie dev studio, the importance of building a community and a fanbase around your games and paying attention to feedback. We also discuss their love of games past and present, the challenges of making gaming accessible and the state of representation and diversity in gaming today.

This was a really fun episode to make. Hannah, Olivia and Les are a fantastic, riotous trio, and we are treated to some excellent insight into indie game dev. It was a privilege.

Hannah Flynn, Communications Director, Failbetter Games

Lesleyann White, Support and Quality Analyst, Failbetter Games

Olivia Wood, Narrative Editor, Writer and Content Manager, Failbetter Games

Hit play for the podcast interview below. MGIF is also available on iTunes or with whatever podcast software you use. Just search for "Making Games Is Fun" and hit subscribe.

Failbetter Games are an indie game studio responsible for Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies and browser based game Fallen London.

This was a really fun episode to make. Hannah, Olivia and Les are a fantastic, riotous trio, and we are treated to some excellent insight into indie game dev. It was a privilege.

Hannah Flynn, Communications Director, Failbetter Games

Lesleyann White, Support and Quality Analyst, Failbetter Games

Olivia Wood, Narrative Editor, Writer and Content Manager, Failbetter Games

Previous Episode

MGIF S3 E2: Lauren Cason

Hit play for the podcast interview below. MGIF is also available on iTunes or with whatever podcast software you use. Just search for "Making Games Is Fun" and hit subscribe.

In the National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham, there currently hangs a gallery of my photodocumentary following ustwo games over the course of 15 months as they made Monument Valley 2. As this is Making Games Is Fun, it was a study of the people there as well as the game they were making.

Lauren Cason, an artist at ustwo, is about to fly the nest to return to America, so I felt it was time for us to chat. I like to interview people on the cusp of change, which is why I interviewed Jessica Curry as she was due to take a step away from The Chinese Room and Aubrey Hesselgren as he ventured into the world of freelance. Like many of us, both of their lives have changed significantly in the last couple of years.

Similarly, Lauren is very much about change, variety, adventuring. I wanted to talk to her about how she was feeling about leaving and what makes her so keen to soak up as many experiences as she can.

We eat a delicious meal, we go for a walk in the beautiful early afternoon sunshine and we even draw a few tarot cards to find out what our futures hold for us. And whilst Lauren will be missed, we know that, when it's once again time for her to move on, we'll see her back here some day.

@miss_lady_pants

@makingamesisfun

Next Episode

MGIF S3 E4: Shedworks

Hit play for the podcast interview below. MGIF is also available on iTunes or with whatever podcast software you use. Just search for "Making Games Is Fun" and hit subscribe.

Greg Kythreotis and Dan Fineberg are a duo known as Shedworks - a two man indie company who work out of a small shed in London.

They are currently working on Sable, an open world, combatless title focusing on characters, dialogue and a sense of place.

I sat down with Greg and Dan in their lovely shed and we chatted about Sable, how the game blew up out of nowhere (and how they dealt with the sudden surge of interest in the game) and how they hope to live up to the expectations.

Greg Kythreotis

Dan Fineberg