Enduring Play S1 E8 Released: The Methodical Magic of Systems Design with Joe “joemag” Magdalena

Enduring Play S1 E8 Released: The Methodical Magic of Systems Design with Joe “joemag” Magdalena

The eighth episode of Enduring Play, A Game Development Podcast hosted by Cheryl Platz is now available with guest Joe Magdalena, better known around the internet simply as joemag, sharing his perspective as an experienced systems designer on games like Hearthstone and Teamfight Tactics. Listeners will learn about what it takes to design content for live operations games and why joemag believes all game designs are systems design challenges. You'll hear about the magic of spreadsheets and tuning curves, learn some basic truths about progressions, player rewards, and community relations, and get insight into how designers partner with other disciplines…
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Enduring Play S1 E7 Released: Engineering for Scalable, Sustainable Games with Caerie Houchins

Enduring Play S1 E7 Released: Engineering for Scalable, Sustainable Games with Caerie Houchins

The seventh episode of Season 1 of Enduring Play: hosted by Game Development Strategy Guide author Cheryl Platz, is now live with guest Caerie Houchins, current Chief Technology Officer for indie gaming studio Wicked Fox Games. Caerie brings her perspective working on world-class live-service games as an engineering leader to this episode of the podcast, and our conversation explores what it was like working as a critical member of the launch team of VALORANT and how that work differs from her work at the helm of an indie gaming studio today. This episode also explores the role of artificial intelligence…
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Enduring Play S1 E6 Released: Growing and Shepherding Thriving Design Culture in Games with Eric Kabisch

Enduring Play S1 E6 Released: Growing and Shepherding Thriving Design Culture in Games with Eric Kabisch

The sixth episode of Season 1 of Enduring Play: hosted by Game Development Strategy Guide author Cheryl Platz, is now live with guest Eric Kabisch, a seasoned gaming design executive with experience at companies like Scopely, Roblox, Google, and VRChat. This episode provides a rare look behind the veil of the life of a design executive working at global scale in the video game industry and succeeding with multiple companies, while learning from the engagements that didn't go as planned. Eric's approach is deeply people-focused, with advice about leading with curiosity that can apply to people at all stages of…
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Enduring Play S1 E5 Released: Ludonarrative Harmony for Narrative Designers with Whitney Beltrán

Enduring Play S1 E5 Released: Ludonarrative Harmony for Narrative Designers with Whitney Beltrán

The fifth episode of Season 1 of Enduring Play: A Game Development Podcast, hosted by Game Development Strategy Guide author Cheryl Platz, is now live with guest Whitney Beltrán, a multiple award-winning Mexican-American Narrative Director with over 12 years of experience in narrative design and professional writing whose experience spans triple-A video games, mobile games, extended reality games, tabletop roleplaying games, and pretty much anything interactive. Most listeners will be learning plenty of new concepts as the field of narrative design is fairly specialized - but understanding what goes into good narrative design can improve everyone's game development craft. Our…
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Enduring Play S1 E4 Released: The Global Heartbeat of Music Games with David Ventura

Enduring Play S1 E4 Released: The Global Heartbeat of Music Games with David Ventura

The fourth episode of Season 1 of Enduring Play: A Game Development Podcast, hosted by Game Development Strategy Guide author Cheryl Platz, is now live with guest David Ventura, CEO and Creative Director of Swedish indie gaming studio Ichigoichie Games. This unique episode also features music from Ichigoichie's games in the transitions between the podcast levels, helping listeners get a sense of what they can create when playing David's games. The conversation covers some of the early history of the music game genre tied to David's early career at iNiS Corp in Japan, and expands to bigger philosophical discussions about…
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Enduring Play Season 1 Episode 3 Released: Creative Strategy for Thriving Teams with Amy Kalson

Enduring Play Season 1 Episode 3 Released: Creative Strategy for Thriving Teams with Amy Kalson

The third episode of Season 1 of Enduring Play: A Game Development Podcast, hosted by Game Development Strategy Guide author Cheryl Platz, is now live with guest Amy Kalson, Executive Design Producer at Meta. This week's episode starts out a bit like an episode of Apple TV's hit series Mythic Quest with a real-life story of video game development shenanigans that seem almost too scripted to be real, but were a shared core memory for both Amy and host Cheryl during their time on Disney Friends DS. After the walk down that memory lane, the talk turns towards life as…
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Enduring Play S1 E2 Released: Safe and Thriving Prosocial Gaming Communities with Carlos Figueiredo

Enduring Play S1 E2 Released: Safe and Thriving Prosocial Gaming Communities with Carlos Figueiredo

The second episode of Season 1 of Enduring Play: A Game Development Podcast, hosted by Game Development Strategy Guide author Cheryl Platz, is now live with guest Carlos Figueiredo, Director of Player Trust and Safety for Mojang Studios/Minecraft and co-founder of the Thriving in Games Group. Today's conversation brings hope for the future of positive gaming experiences, and is a must-listen for anyone creating multiplayer gaming experiences but also any parents of gamers who are wondering what goes into creating or encouraging safe online gaming experiences. https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-play-season-1/enduring-play-season-1-episode-2-safe-and-thriving-gaming-communities-with-carlos-figueiredo/ Key Quotes: "Prosocial behavior is something that's actively contributing to a thriving community.…
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New Game Development Podcast: ‘Enduring Play’ Explores Thriving Games and Studios With Industry Veterans

New Game Development Podcast: ‘Enduring Play’ Explores Thriving Games and Studios With Industry Veterans

Level up your game development career at any stage of the game with 10 candid interviews that explore the best and the worst of modern video game development. BELLEVUE, WA, UNITED STATES, August 19, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- It’s time to level up your game development career by learning from a series of engaging and candid conversations with game development veterans passionate about building a better industry in Enduring Play: A Game Development Podcast, launching today on all major podcast networks. Explore what it takes to create thriving video games and game development studios with host Cheryl Platz – creative director, faculty…
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Enduring Play Season 1 Episode 1 Released: Using UX Strategy to Put Players First with Celia Hodent, PhD

Enduring Play Season 1 Episode 1 Released: Using UX Strategy to Put Players First with Celia Hodent, PhD

The first episode of Season 1 of Enduring Play: A Game Development Podcast, featuring author, UX Strategist, conference organizer, and former Epic Games UX Director Celia Hodent PhD is now available on all major podcasting platforms. Hosted by Game Development Strategy Guide author Cheryl Platz, this conversation between two user experience designers demystifies portions of the craft in a thoughtful way that's accessible to people from all disciplines. https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-play-season-1/using-ux-strategy-to-put-players-first-with-celia-hodent-phd-enduring-play-s1-e1/ Key Quotes: "One of the things that I see a lot in the game industry is people don't necessarily want process because it's a creative industry. And I get it. But…
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Strategy Guide and Podcast Merch now available!

Strategy Guide and Podcast Merch now available!

If you just don't have enough purple in your life... or, more importantly, you're looking for wardrobe additions that'll spark interesting game development conversations, the new merch collection for The Game Development Strategy Guide and Enduring Play: A Game Development Podcast is here for you. The launch products include: Enduring Play Podcast Logo Apparel and Merch "My Video Game Art is More than Pixels" Spectrum of Game Art Apparel and Merch "What Makes You Play" Motivators of Play Apparel and Merch If you don't like the main product offered, scroll to the bottom to view alternative offerings like other types…
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